Acquiring Trouble (11 page)

"Well, let me know how it goes next week at poker night." Pierce stood up and turned to go.

"Hey, Pierce."

"Y
e
a
h
?"

"Thanks for the advice." Miles watched as Pierce
'
s face transformed back into a boyish grin.

"You're welcome."

Morgan thanked the farmer and watched as he drove off down the
bare
field in his tractor. Last week she had managed to get some signatures and even turn one of Miles'
s
members, but this week was something
entirely
different.
It didn’t matter that in the month she’d been here she had garnered a good number of signatures when this week she had failed to get any.

She tucked the unsigned paper back into her leather satchel and started the long trek back to
her car through what would be
a
sweet corn field
come
summer
. Her four
-
inch heels sunk n
icely into the
ground.
It took her ten minutes to walk back to her car. She was
dirty, cold
, and pissed. A Keeneston
s
heriff cruiser sat directly behind her car
. Great. Was she going to be arrested again? It was the one thing missing from
her
teenage
days:
Old Sheriff Red watching her like a hawk and bringing her to the jail to scare her straight
—m
ost of the time for things she didn't even do.
So, what was Red going to arrest her for now?

Morgan put on her best game face and then cringed when she saw her reflection in the car window. Her game face resembled a very nasty scowl. The door to th
e cruiser opened and a
woman in
jeans and a black fleece with a gold star embroidered on the chest
got out of the car. Was she being
punked
? Where was Red?

"Expecting someone else?"

"Yea
h
, where's Red?"

"Arizona. He retired there this year."

"And you're the new sheriff?"

"No, my brother-in-law is sheriff."

"Ah, small town
nepotism at its best. How
I’ve
missed this place." Morgan rolled her eyes and then realized she might be
close to
crossing
the line. She really didn't want to be arrested for some bogus charge.

"Ha! I knew I’
d like you," the woman laughed, resting her hand
s
on her
hips
.

Morgan just stared at the woman in total confusion. Her red hair wa
s pulled back into a pony
tail that bounced as she laughed. She was slightly taller than her own five feet five inches and lo
oked very athletic,
except for
a slightly rounded belly
.
She also looked very comfortable with having a gun on her hip.

"So, who are you and what can I do for you?" Morgan asked cautiously.

"I'm Annie Davies. I just wanted to meet you."

"Davies? Which one are you married to? And which one is sheriff?"

"I’
m married to Cade. He's a teacher
and football coach
at the high school.
We just had a baby at Christmas, but I had to come meet you. Oh, and
Marshall is no
w the sheriff," Annie told her.

"I can see Marshall being sheriff. Bu
t, Cade married to a deputy
?
W
ere you like a kindergarten teacher before and then got this job when you married in
to
the family?"

"Me? Kindergarten teacher! Ha
rdly
! No, I was an undercover DEA agent before I married into the family. I took a step down in my career, but it's been great."

"You were an undercover DEA agent? You're messing with me right?"

"Nope. I transferred up here two years ago from Miami."

"So, why exactly did you want to meet me?"
Morgan asked in amazement.

"I had to meet the other black sheep. When Cy comes home there'll be three of us
,
" Annie smiled
.

Morgan couldn't imagine what she was talking about. This woman in front of her was as far from a black sheep as she was from a
movie star. And what did Cy have to do with it? If she remembered, he was a quiet and serious boy who liked c
hess.
Not very black
-
sheepish.

"I see you're confused. See, you're not the only one with a bad reputation. I might have a rather thick file at the DEA. I had a rather large chip on my shoulder having grown up in some bad foster homes."

Oh. Maybe she was more like her than Morgan knew. While she didn't grow up in foster homes, she did have a rough home life. It's something that a person with loving parents just wouldn't understand. "What about Cy? He was nothing but a little chess
-
playing nerd when I left town."

Annie broke out in laughter again and this time Morgan
would’ve
sworn she s
aw tears rolling down her face.
"Last time I saw Cy his hair was in
a short buzz cut, he had a
scar along
his jaw and
was
built like an action movie star
.
He
was
the mystery. He claim
ed
he's a farmer, but since
he
was
never here
we
're all guessing he's doing something very bad and
/
or dangerous. Underground MMA fighter is my guess."

"No way!" Morgan laughed. She stopped suddenly, realizing this was the first real conversation she'd had that didn't involve explaining herself or doing her sales pitch. It was certainly the first time she laughed since she got back to Keeneston.

"Well, I'll let you get back to work. I just wanted to introduce myself. Feel free to stop by anytime and chat. From what I
’ve
heard you know where the sheriff's office is.
I’ll be back to work in eight weeks, but I like to drop by a lot to make sure they keep in line
.
" With a wink Annie got back in her cruiser and left Morgan shaking with laughter. Wow
!
Had she just made her first friend in Keeneston? It ha
d only taken
just
over thirty years.

Morgan sat down in the back booth at the Blossom Café and ordered a tall glass of sweet tea. After meeting Annie
,
her day went back down the drain.
The other three farmers she met with rejected her outright. One even threatened to shoot her. Then she had to drive the two and half hours back to Keeneston.
About the time s
he hit Elizabethtown
,
her boss
had called her
.

Her ears were still ringing from that chewing out. He had told her that her time was limited before he
fired her
.
She had three months
,
and
i
f she didn't secure this takeover
by any means necessary
,
she would be
out of a job.
After she had hung up the phone, she had an overwhelming desire to go home. Not to her condo in
DC,
but to Keeneston. She wanted the war
m and comforting food from the c
afé. She wanted to hear the voices of those she grew up with and she wanted to
pretend for once she belonged.

"Everything okay, dear?" Miss Daisy asked reluctantly as she put
down a plate with a huge slice of red velvet cake, dripping with rich cream cheese frosting.

The red of the cake matched the red hearts the Rose sisters had decorated each table with for Valentine’s Day.
Just one more thing to make her feel like crap.
She wondered if Hallmark made a card for women like her
—“
Happy Valentine’s Day. One more year celebrating your spinsterhood.”

"Why would you think it's not?
And why would you even care?
" Morgan asked as she forked in a large bite of cake.

"
Maybe be
cause you have this
sorta
dazed
look in your eyes and you forgot to or
der dinner. And we do care
, we always have
.”

Morgan just
raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

“Okay, maybe that’s a stretch.
May I recommend t
he chocolate chess pie for your
next course."

"Yum
. Sounds perfect." Morgan gave Miss Daisy a hesitant smile and was rewarded when she received one back. It was
a slightly awkward moment, but as she watched Miss Daisy walk away she suddenly felt relieved. Something shifted inside her, just like it had when she talked to
her mother all those years ago.

"
May
I join you?"

"Hmm?" Morgan broke from her thoughts and looked up, then up so
me more into Miles'
s
hazel eyes.

She noticed they were greener
tonight. Morgan also remembered that they turn
ed
dark brown when
she had kissed him
. Her eyes traveled to his lips bringing memories of
the office kiss
flooding back. He had so gotten better with age like rich bourbon ag
ed
to perfection. And, man, was he aged to perfection.

"Um, Morgan?"

"Yes?"
s
he as
ked, still lost in her fantasy.

"You
’ve
got something…"

She watched as Miles reached out
toward her. She closed her eyes in
breathless
anticipation. He w
as going to kiss her again.
S
he just knew it. H
er body yearned for his touch. For t
he feel of his hand caressing her face before bringing his lips to hers in a feverish kiss
—t
he feel of his finger wiping her face with a napkin.
Morg
an's eyes snapped open in time to see him pull a napkin with a white smudge of frosting on it.

"You had some frosting. So,
may
I join you for dinner?"
Morgan felt her face turn pink and ducked her hea
d hoping Miles wouldn't see it.

"Sure."

"What are you having?"
h
e asked with his deep southern voice. She blushed again thinking about the way his husky voice vibrated through her when he was close to her. The voice, the body,
the
way he kissed
…
God
,
she wanted him. "Morgan? Is everything alright?"

"Oh, yes! Yes!" Morgan clamped a hand over her mouth and looked
wide-eyed
at Miles. He sat across from her with a huge grin on his face.
His five o'clock shadow ma
de
him sexier than sin and she knew right then that he knew
she
hadn’t
been answering him.

"Well, that's good to know
.
" He reached across the bistro table and covered her hand with his.

He made a slow circle with his thumb that sent heat shooting straight
through
her… Morgan
leapt
up, but Miles still had hold of her hand. Her knee hit
the table
sending it tipping in the opposite direction. Morgan wa
tched as the huge slice of red velvet cake slid right into Miles'
s
lap.
Oh
G
od. What was wrong with her?

"If you didn't want me to have
dinner with you, you
could’ve
just said so," Miles said as he p
ut the plate back on the table.

"Oh dear!" Miss Daisy hurried forward with a towel in hand. "
Bless your heart
, let me help with that."

Morgan felt her eyes widen as Miss Daisy
pulled up a chai
r, sat down next to Miles
, and
started wiping frosting and cake off of
his
lap.
It
was the first time
anyone had seen Miles turn red with
embarrassment.
He
grabbed Miss Daisy's hand as it wandered c
lo
ser to the center of his lap.