Jessie. She looked at Pansy as the door shut behind Zach.
“Oh,” Pansy said. “I do think he likes you.”
Jessie knew what was really on Zach’s mind. “I don’t think so. I just think he’s very protective.”
Pansy put away her knitting. “You know, it’s been difficult for Zach. He’s the middle child, and was often pushed to the side. Not quite the man of the house, and not the baby. Sometimes I thought he was never certain whether he wanted to follow in Duke’s footsteps or be a role model for Pepper. He tried to do both and somewhere along the line, he became a bit arrogant and somewhat overly determined.”
“I can see where women would be attracted to that trait.”
“Yes,” Pansy said with a smile, “but he’s never bothered to ask any of them to take a walk.”
Jessie shook her head. It didn’t matter. She was leaving as soon as her car was fixed. There were enough stray matters in her life to occupy her time. “Thankfully my car might be repaired tomorrow. Good night, Pansy. Thank you for everything.”
Pansy waved a hand as Jessie stood. “I’m enjoying having you here, Jessie. Plan on staying as long as you like.”
Until the morning, Jessie thought. And then I’m out of here.
Before she was waylaid by the temptation of an attentive, opinionated cowboy who had “bad for you” written all over him.
JESSIE SLEPT WELL. In the morning she showered, ate breakfast with Pansy and Helen—scones and hot tea—packed her carpetbag and hitched a ride in Sheriff Duke Forrester’s truck to the Triple F.
“If my brother gives you any more trouble,” Duke said, “you just let me know. I’ll give him a pounding he’ll never forget. Or better yet, just tell Pepper. Zach hates it when Pepper gets on to him.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Jessie smiled. “My car should be fixed by now, and I’ll be out of everyone’s hair.”
“Well,” Duke said, “if you ever want a place to visit, I know the ladies would love to have you back. They’re always trying to entice people to settle here.”
“Oh.” Jessie looked out at the passing countryside. “It’s pretty here, but—”
“Not your kind of place,” Duke said kindly. “I understand completely.”
“You do?”
“Sure. Liberty has a wedding shop in Dallas, as well as one here. I go into town with her from time to time. There’s a lot to offer folks in the city. Here in Tulips, we live life at a snail’s pace.”
“The Gang doesn’t seem very snail-like to me,” Jessie said. “They seem rather lively.”
He grinned. “Be careful. They’d just love to figure out a way to bring you into the fold. Wait until you meet Liberty. Together, they got me to the altar.”
She heard the pride in his voice. “I rather like the single life.”
“I did, too, for a while. But Liberty had other plans.” He laughed. “Actually, that’s a small-town big tale. It was hard to catch that little girl, and I did all the chasing.”
Jessie smiled as they pulled into the Triple F. “I think I may have heard that from Helen and Pansy.”
“You watch those two. If they decide Tulips would be better off with you on the census rolls, here you’ll remain. All I do as sheriff is make certain everyone behaves.”
Jessie got out of the truck. “Thanks for the ride, Sheriff.”
“Sure.” He glanced around. “Where’s the pink Caddy I’ve heard so much about?”
“T-bird. Maybe the roadside assistance person moved it.”
Zach walked out on the porch, waving. “Good morning.”
“Where’s her car?” Duke asked.
“I sent it over to Holt’s to look at. The roadside repair guy was terrible. Didn’t know his hat from his ankle.”
“Holt’s our town hairdresser,” Duke said to Jessie. “It’s in good hands now.”
Jessie’s eyes went wide. “I don’t see how hair relates to automobiles.”
“Oh, he can fix anything,” Duke said easily. “Don’t worry about a thing.”
Jessie felt her teeth grinding. “Did Holt say how long it would take for him to fix it?”
“No,” Zach said. “Come on in and have some breakfast. Pepper’s cooking.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Duke said, striding toward the porch. Jessie hung back.
“Is there a problem?” Zach asked.
“Yes,” Jessie said. “I can’t seem to get my car back into my possession.”
“It’s Saturday,” Zach said. “What’s your hurry?”
Jessie took a deep breath. “I don’t trust you. I want away from you, and this town. I feel like I’ve fallen into Peyton Place, or maybe even Brigadoon, and I want back into the twenty-first century—my life as I know it.”
Zach nodded. “You can borrow my truck to get wherever it is you need to go.”
Jessie’s breath left her for an instant. “Really?”
“Of course.” Zach frowned at her. “You’re not a prisoner, Jessie. For Pete’s sake!”
“I—” She narrowed her eyes.
He shook his head. “You’re not being a drama queen, are you?”
Jessie put out her hand. “Keys.”
A moment stretched long between them as he stared at her. Reaching into his pocket, he tugged his keys out and handed them to her.
Jessie looked at him another long moment, clutching the metal pieces of freedom.
“It’s over there,” he said, pointing. “Happy trails, Jessie.”
Chapter Four
Giving Jessie his truck was the fair, manly thing to do. After all, he was hiding her car. This way, he wasn’t exactly kidnapping her, as Duke had claimed, threatening to put him in the jail until Jessie left town if he didn’t behave. Zach was wisely keeping a bargaining chip. Something precious to her for which she would return. When she came back after the convention, perhaps there would be some light shed on the subject he was most worried about.
He looked at Jessie as she considered his offer, dismayed to realize he was envisioning her in a maternity dress. Liberty could whip Jessie up a beaut.
Shoving
