Expecting…hoping for anything more would only break her heart. And worse, she couldn’t hurt Brian. He was too good a man to suffer heartbreak.

  She gasped when a hand closed around her calf, and she was pulled backwards until her body was tight against Brian’s. He rarely put his strength on display, but he was doing it now. His hold on her made it clear that she wasn’t getting away.

  He was breathing heavily, but then so was she. “I want you to answer me this question,” he said. “What would you have done back then if I’d told you that I’d fallen in love with you?”

  How was she supposed to answer that? “I don’t know,” she said, planting her hands on his shoulders and trying for a little distance between them. “You can’t ask me that now. How can I possibly answer?” They couldn’t go back in time and make different choices. He’d said it himself. No one could change the past.

  He gave her a long look, his eyes searching hers. “All right. Fair enough. We’ll leave the past alone. What would you say now if I said I was starting to care for you again?”

  Her heart flipped in her chest. She was thrilled. No, she was terrified. Oh, god. She didn’t know what she was feeling. It was so much more than she’d ever expected. All she knew for sure was that touching him felt right, being with him felt right.

  Her fingers curled into his shoulders, bringing him closer when she’d intended to push him away. She could think of no words to say, so she kissed him, softly, questioningly at first, but passion soon swept them along. Their bare skin rubbed together, igniting her desire as he deepened the kiss. The water lapped against them, but nothing could come between their bodies and the feelings that drove them on.

  “Why do we always end up in places where we can’t make love?” he gasped when the kiss ended.

  “Is this worse than my car?” Her fingers were in his hair, flicking away the droplets of water.

  “Different,” he said, as they bobbed in the water. “Come make love with me, darlin’.”

  They swam to shore together. As soon as her feet hit the sandy bottom of the lake, Brian lifted her in his arms and stalked toward the picnic blanket. He dropped to his knees, putting her down gently in the center. Without pausing, he removed her bikini and his swim trunks.

  “Good thing we’ve got the place to ourselves,” she whispered when he lowered himself on top of her.

  “We’d be trying out the backseat of my truck otherwise.” He kissed her then, robbing her of speech for several minutes. “The ground’s too hard for you,” he muttered and rolled them until she was on top.

  “Um…I like this.” She pushed up a few inches and studied his face in the sunlight. She felt an almost overwhelming urge to tell him that she was falling in love with him again, but she kept the words inside her. It wasn’t fair to say it when she had no intention of staying. It would only hurt them both. There wasn’t a future for the two of them.

  But they could have now. Her fingers played with the hair on his chest. She could show him love, and not say the actual words. Maybe he was thinking the same thing as his hands coasted down her back and squeezed her butt.

  Giving in to the passion. She could do that much for him.

  “I think I could stay like this with you forever, darlin’,” he said.

  “Forever?” she smiled at him. “I think you’d be looking for some release pretty quick.”

  “I’m a patient man.”

  “We’ll see about that.” She dipped her head and ran her tongue over his nipple, and felt pleased when he sucked in a breath. “Have I told you how handsome and sexy you are? How much I love to touch you?”

  “Touch away,” he whispered, so she moved slowly down his torso, kissing him, until she reached his erection and ran her tongue over the tip. “Ah, darlin’.” With his words as encouragement, she took him in her mouth and plunged down on him. “God damn, that’s good.”

  “Glad you think so,” she said before taking him again. She was enjoying pleasing him with the warm sun on her back and the lap of the waves nearby. After a few minutes, she felt his hand in her hair.

  “Come here,” he said, his voice hoarse with need. “I want you.”

  She made her way back up his body. She meant to take her time, but he lifted her and held her so he could suckle her breasts. The desire that shot through her made her whimper his name. “I want you, too.”

  He reached for his wallet, pulled a condom out, and quickly sheathed himself in it. She straddled him, so ready to have him inside her, but he had other ideas. Before she could come down on him, his fingers went between her thighs, teasing and stroking, until she nearly came just from his touch. She caught his wrist and met his eyes.

  “I want us to come together. I want to feel that with you,” she whispered, aware that her face probably revealed all the feelings in her heart. With her hands on the hard muscles of his chest, she lowered slowly onto him, letting him fill her. As they always had, they easily found a rhythm to increase the pleasure of their joining, riding it until the moment when she couldn’t hold on any longer. Her orgasm rolled through her when he thrust up into her, breathing her name as he came.

  She collapsed onto his chest with her head tucked into the crook of his shoulder as their breathing calmed and bodies cooled. Sex had always been good with Brian, but simple sex was not what they’d just shared. This was making love, pleasing each other as a sign of that emotion, and not just a physical release.

  She pushed herself off his chest and rolled onto her side, next to him. One thing was clear to her. She owed him the words in her heart.

  “Your fair skin’ll burn in this sun,” he said before she could speak. “Better put my shirt on.” He rolled away from her to grab it, giving her a full view of his butt.

  “Wait,” she said, putting her hand on his side to hold him still. “What’s this?” She ran a finger over a tattoo of a yellow flower on his right butt cheek. Good boy Brian had a tatt? And then it hit her. It wasn’t just any tattoo. She caught her breath. It was an exact copy of the flower drawing she’d left for him—the one that had been a substitute in place of saying she loved him. He’d had it permanently marked onto his skin. “I can’t believe…” She didn’t know where she was going with that sentence, but she felt overwhelmed.

  “Put the shirt on, darlin’.” He helped her pull the shirt over her head and fit her arms through the sleeves. It was too big on her, but that didn’t matter.

  She studied his face before taking a deep breath. Her next words were going to be tough ones, but ones she had to say. “Brian, I think I’m falling for you all over again.”

  His smile was instant and sexy. “God, I hope so.” He kissed her then and she felt warmth spread throughout her. He’d made it easy for her. That was so like him, which was one of the many reasons it was easy to love him.

  “Tell me about getting this tattoo,” she said when they were again stretched out in the sun, side-by-side, her hand in his. “I want the details.”

  “Kind of embarrassing.” He wasn’t getting away with that.

  “Those are the best stories.” She rolled over and propped her chin on his shoulder. “Were you drunk?”

  “I was at a bachelor party over in Carson. And, yeah, we’d had too much whiskey and were short on sense,” he admitted.

  “You regret getting it?” The thought that he might bothered her.

  “Not for one minute, darlin’. But it was tough to sit down the next day.”

  She laughed, but felt she had to ask the next question. “Why the flower?”

  “Because it was from you.” He tilted his head and his eyes met hers. “I’d carried the picture in my wallet since you left it for me that morning.”

  His words stunned her. She had no idea her little picture had been so important to him, especially since he couldn’t have known then what it meant to her—what she’d almost left behind for him instead. “Do you still have it?”

  “The picture? No, I ended up in flood waters up to my waist two years ago and it disintegrated.” His tone was regretful.

  “Good thing it’s permanently on your butt. I wonder what that says about me. Am I a pain in your ass?” she teased. “I think I have been at times.”

  “Never,” he said, so quickly and vehemently that it set her heart racing. He turned toward her, bringing them face-to-face.

  “Good to know,” she whispered. “But I’m still curious. Who knows about the tattoo? Just the guys at the party?”

  He shook his head. “They were so far gone I doubt anyone remembers it. And, thank god, Jake wasn’t there that night or I’d never have heard the end of it.”

  “Because it’s not macho to get a tattoo of a pretty yellow flower?” she asked softly.

  “Because he knew I had it in my wallet and knew it was from you.”

  “Ah,” she said, understanding. Brian’s twin didn’t want him to be hurt by love. More proof that his family was a thousand times kinder and more caring than hers. “I’ll keep your secret, but I want to show you something.” She got to her feet, pulled on her shorts, and put his Stetson on her head. “Come on, sheriff. Let’s go for a drive.”

  10

  “Turn left at the next crossroad,” she said, directing him.

  “Where are you taking me?” he asked as he made the turn. Part of him was anxious to return to Darby Crossing. He’d been out of contact with his deputies for hours. But the rest of him was surprised at how anxious he didn’t feel. For the first time since he became sheriff, he wasn’t worried about what was happening in town. Being with Caitlin was too important to him to fixate on his job when he wasn’t even on duty. He was still processing what she’d said by the lake about falling for him. It was as if his wildest dream had come true.

  “Pull off here,” she said, “and park under that cottonwood tree.”

  He did as she asked. They got out of the truck and walked through a small stand of trees to a field of yellow wildflowers on the other side of it. He recognized them immediately. They were the same as the one from his tattoo.

  “What are they?” he asked, as he studied the flowers. Each bloom was small, only an inch or two across, but all together they looked like a golden carpet. Texas offered a variety of types of wildflowers, but he didn’t know the name of this kind.

  “I looked them up once—they’re a type of coreopsis called Golden Wave. But to me, they mean freedom and happiness.” She walked into the field and spun around in a circle, completely unguarded for a moment. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen her quite like that—unburdened and happy.

  “Tell me why,” he encouraged her, wanting to understand better.

  “When I was in high school, I used to ride my bike out here, sit in the flowers and draw. It was my place where no one could find me, where nothing mattered but making myself happy,” she said. He understood her need to escape from her family. So this had been her secret spot during those tough years. She paused, her arms dropping to her sides, as she turned her face to the sun. “I haven’t been here since coming back to town. I’ve missed it.”

  Suddenly he got why she’d drawn the flower for him all those years ago instead of writing I love you. It was her way of inviting him into her world, sharing what was precious to her. He wished he’d understood that then, because maybe…maybe things would have turned out differently for them. But he was starting to believe in second chances.

  “I can’t go years without seeing them in bloom again,” she said.

  “You should come back more regularly to visit the field. It’s not that long of a drive,” he said. She opened her eyes and looked at him. “You could come often, probably every weekend because you wouldn’t want to miss anything…any changes in the flowers, that is.”

  “Maybe I should do that.” Her voice was soft, but her gaze was direct. “Since it isn’t far, and there’s something here to draw me back.”

  They both knew they weren’t really talking about the flowers. What if they could see each other every week? It could work. He’d stay here and continue as sheriff, and she could live the life she wanted in the city. They could have weekends together. Other people managed relationships at a distance. It wasn’t ideal, but if that was all they could have, he’d take it.

  He walked toward her, cutting a path through the field. When he reached her, he plucked a flower and tucked it behind her ear. The sunny color almost matched the shade of her hair.

  “It’ll fade fast,” she warned. “They do after they’re picked.”

  “Not this one. This one will stay beautiful.” He cupped her cheek, his thumb stroking over the soft skin.

  “And you know that how?” She tilted her face up to his, inviting a kiss.

  “I’m sheriff.” He kissed her forehead and then the tip of her nose. “That gives me some special powers in my jurisdiction.”

  She wrapped her arms around his waist. “You must be a mighty sheriff if even the flowers have to follow your orders.”

  “It’s the law,” he said and kissed her fully.

  Only the fact that he didn’t have any more condoms with him kept him from laying her down amongst the flowers and making love to her again. He kissed her while the sun shone on them before leading her back to his truck and heading back to town.

  “I’ll drop you off at home,” he said as he turned off Main Street onto Chaska. “I want to check in with my deputies, but I won’t be long.” He’d pick up some paperwork and take it home to complete it. That way, he could spend more time with Caitlin before he had to go to work the next day.

  “Hurry back,” she said. “I have plans for you.”

  “I’ll need to work some.” But he could imagine her curled up on the couch next to him, maybe sketching as he’d seen her do often while he worked.

  “See you in a bit.” She leaned across the seat and kissed his cheek before getting out of the truck. He waited until she was in the house to drive to the station. He couldn’t quite believe what had just happened between them. He was still processing what it meant for their relationship, their future. The thought that he had a future with her put a smile on his face.

  All of his good feelings disappeared as soon as he opened the door and saw men in each of the holding cells. His chief deputy was on the phone, but Sofia gave him a nod and held up one finger, indicating that she’d explain in a minute. To top it off, his youngest deputy was excitedly pacing between the holding cells, his head swiveling between them as if he expected one of the men in custody to spontaneously combust at any moment.

  “Kilpatrick,” Brian snapped out. “What’s going on?”

  “Hey, boss.” Mack made a beeline for him. “You should’ve seen what happened. That guy had that guy in a headlock—”

  “In my office,” Brian said, not wanting this recitation to go on in front of the “guys” who seemed to be the problem. He waited until Mack had closed the door and taken a seat to pin him with a stare. “Start from the beginning.”

  “Sure thing,” Mack began. “We got dispatched to the tavern at three till one. I’d just concluded a traffic stop on Lariat Road, so I hustled back to town, and got there ahead of Sofia.”

  Brian didn’t want to even think how fast his deputy had driven to beat someone who was likely closer. “What did you see when you arrived?”

  “The guy in the denim shirt out there had the red shirt guy in a headlock, and it looked like they’d been going at it for a few minutes. Tables and chairs were shoved all over the place.” Mack gestured as he spoke. “Margie got sliced, too.”

  “What?” Someone had gotten hurt? That wasn’t the norm in Darby Crossing, even in a bar fight.

  “You know Margie.” Mack gave him a wide-eyed look.

  “I know who you mean.” Everyone in town knew the tavern’s bartender and manager. She’d been working there since Brian could remember. “Sliced by what?”

  “The red shirt guy had a knife, about a five-inch-long blade. Before I got there, Margie’s arm got cut when she tried to break up the fight herself. You see, these guys had some bad blood left over from the rodeo. They’re both bull riders. Denim shirt beat red shirt by a smidge and was ragging on him about it. After a few beers, they started to shove each other around, and it got worse from there. Like I said, denim had red in a headlock when I walked in.”

  Brian shuddered to think what his overly enthusiastic cowboy of a deputy did then. “Your response?”

  “Just like we trained for a couple months ago, I started talking to them, trying to de-escalate the conflict.” Mack adjusted his tone as if he were speaking to the drunks.

  Brian had all his deputies take the course, but he wouldn’t have bet money that the training had sunk in for Mack. He was reluctantly impressed. “And it worked?”

  “Took some time, but yeah. Red shirt agreed to drop his knife so long as the other guy released the headlock. I counted it down from five, just like we were taught. When I got to the number one, they both did what I asked. By that time Sofia was there, so we took them into custody and brought them back to the station. What charges do you think we should file? I mean, we could go for attempted murder because of the knife, but I’m thinking assault might be better. Sofia said to wait and ask you.”

  “Right.” Brian wanted to hear Sofia’s take on the story before making any decisions. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Mack—especially since it sounded like he’d handled this surprisingly well—but getting two perspectives was always better. His door opened and Sofia walked in. “Mack, you go on out and get working on your report. We’ll be out in a minute.”

  “Sure thing, boss.” Mack went past Sofia, but not before giving her a lingering look. Brian shook his head. He was going to have to deal with that office crush sooner rather than later. Not at the moment, though. There were bigger problems.

  “You tell me what happened,” he said to Sofia. She went through the incident for him, and her account tallied with Mack’s. “So he really did de-escalate it?”