Bad Girls Don't (5 page)

“No problem.”

She waved as they drove away.

Now where were her keys? She had them somewhere in her tote bag . . .

She was still searching for them when a patrol car slowly pulled up beside her and Nathan got out.

Skye rolled her eyes. “What law did I break this time, huh? Was I breathing too heavily?”

“I don’t know. Were you?”

“There some law against that?”

“Depends what made you breathe heavily in the first place.”

“It wasn’t you.”

“No?”

“No. And it wasn’t drugs.”

“I was just trying to help.”

“If that’s your idea of help, I’d hate to see your idea of . . .” What was the opposite of help? She couldn’t think straight. Not that she’d ever been a fan of linear thinking. She was more into abstracts. Like the image of his jaw. You could do sharp U-turns on that square jaw.

“Of what?” he prompted.

Skye blinked at him. “Huh?”

“You’d hate to see my idea of what?”

“Just about anything.”

“That’s pretty broad.”

“Don’t you have some thief to chase down or something?”

“Your shoplifting charge came up when I checked your record earlier.”

“So you stopped to pat me down? Make sure I didn’t steal anything from the station?” She held out her arms. “What’s the matter? Are you missing any staplers or tape dispensers?”

Nathan just gave her a look. And it wasn’t a “You’re a sexy goddess” look. It was a “You’re a loon” look. “We seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot,” he said.

“Would that be the foot you planted on my neck?”

“That never happened.”

“I was speaking figuratively.”

“You’ve really got a thing against authority figures. Why is that?”

“And you’ve really got a thing against free spirits. Why is that?” she countered.

“Look, I just stopped to give you something.”

“The keys to the city?”

“Your car keys.” He handed over the ring. “You left them at the station.”

“Why didn’t you give them to me when you stopped Sue Ellen?”

“At first, I didn’t know you were in the car.”

“And once you did?”

“I guess I got distracted.”

“No,” she scoffed. “You? Distracted? By little ol’ me? No way.”

“You do have a powerful personality.”

“So do you.”

“Something we have in common, I guess. The only thing, probably.”

Suddenly, she had the overwhelming urge to prove him wrong. “Naw, I’m sure there are other things we have in common. You breathe air. So do I. I read from left to right. So do you. I live in Rock Creek. So do you. See, that’s a bunch of things.”

There it was again. That hint of a smile. This time, she called him on it. “Hey, I saw that.”

“What?” His face was impassive once more.

“That smile. Don’t bother denying it. I saw those lips of yours move upward just at the corners there.”

“You did, did you?”

“Absolutely. You should smile more often. It’s good for you. Relieves stress. Laughing is even better.”

“How do you know I don’t laugh a lot?”

“You don’t seem the jolly type.”

“Now who’s being judgmental?”

“You’re right.”

“I am?” He seemed surprised.

“Yeah. Maybe you’re a balloon clown on your days off, I don’t know.”

“A what?”

“A balloon clown. You know, those people who dress up in clown outfits and twist balloons into little dog shapes for kids. Or maybe you’re a stand-up comic on the side and you just aren’t telling anyone.”

“Not likely.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Why did you take your sunglasses off when you were speaking to Sue Ellen, but you don’t remove them when you talk to me?” The question was on her mind, so she asked it. That was the way she was.

“I didn’t wear them when I spoke to you in my office.”

“You want to know what I think?”

“Not really. But I have a feeling you’re going to tell me anyway.”

“I think I throw you off balance, so you wear those sunglasses to put a wall between us. To keep me at a distance. What’s the matter? Do I scare you?” She shimmied her hips and moved closer.

“Right.” He was using that scoffing tone again, but his voice sounded a little huskier this time.

“Intimidate you, maybe?” She made another tempting move.

“Not at all.”

“Provoke you? Excite you?”

“None of the above.”

“Right.”

“Like I said earlier, try to stay out of trouble. Although I have a feeling that might be difficult for you to do.”

“Who knows? Maybe I’ll surprise you.”

Skye thought she heard him mutter “You already have” before he marched back to his patrol car and left her, standing there at the side of the road.

 

 

“She got to you, didn’t she?” The comment came from Nathan’s administrative assistant, Celeste Fox, the minute he walked into the building. In her early sixties, Celeste acted more like a mother hen than an employee, the way she fussed over Nathan. “That rowdy girl, Skye. I bet you’re gonna dream of her in that
I Dream of Jeannie
outfit of hers tonight. Don’t give me that look like you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

“I
don’t
know what you’re talking about. And it doesn’t matter, because we do have work to do.”

“It’s done.”

“It can’t be. Law enforcement work is never done.”

“Enough of it is for you to take a break. You work too hard, Sheriff.” Celeste placed her hands on her ample hips. “What did you have for breakfast?”

“Coffee.”

Celeste shook her head and tsked him, something she did a lot. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You shouldn’t be skipping that. It’s not healthy. I’ll bet you skipped lunch, too. Here.” She reached over to her desk, picked up a thick sandwich covered in plastic wrap, and shoved it at him. “That’s homemade tuna salad on fresh-baked bread. Eat that for lunch. If you keep skipping meals, you’re going to end up skinny as a beanpole, like Timmy Johnson.”

The name of Nathan’s deputy only served to remind him of how Skye had conned the less-experienced officer into doing her bidding. Well, that wasn’t going to happen to him. She could shimmy her hips all she wanted. He was immune.

So why was she even in his thoughts? Aggravated with himself, Nathan headed for his office.

Celeste was right on his heels.

“Look, I promise I’ll eat the sandwich,” he told her. “Later.”

“There’s no time like the present.” She plopped into a chair across from his desk. “You can eat while I tell you about your phone messages.”

“I thought they were supposed to repair the voicemail system by this morning.”

Celeste nodded. “That was the original plan, yes. But there was a glitch.”

Nathan had learned that there was always a glitch where the town of Rock Creek was concerned. “So when will it be fixed?”

Celeste shrugged. “They’re saying tomorrow. Possibly. It could happen. Meanwhile, I’ve been taking your phone messages.” She paused to consult her notes. “Your mother called from Nebraska and wanted to know what’s on your birthday list. And the mayor wanted to remind you about the city council meeting tomorrow night.”

“Right. Anything else?”

“Yes. I just wanted to assure you that I squelched any beginnings of a rumor about you and that rowdy Skye.”

“What kind of rumor?”

Celeste lowered her voice and leaned closer. “Apparently, someone overheard her telling you not to . . . ‘cop a feel’ was the way I believe they put it. Not that you’d ever do such a thing.” Her eyes behind her huge glasses reflected her outrage. “Which I informed them in no uncertain terms.”

“That was nice of you.”

Celeste waved his words away. “Niceness had nothing to do with it. I wasn’t going to just stand by and let someone bad-mouth you. I’ll bet that hussy-woman Skye threw herself at you. Is that what happened?”

“Uh . . .”

“Am I interrupting something?” The question came from Nathan’s best friend and college roommate Cole Flannigan, the local vet.

“No, come on in. I was just about to take a lunch break. Thanks, Celeste.” He nodded at her, hoping she’d take the hint that it was time to leave now.

She did, reluctantly, closing the door after her.

“The woman dotes on you, you know,” Cole told him with a grin. He turned the straight-backed oak chair around and sat facing Nathan, his arms propped on the back.

“Why do you have to rearrange the furniture every time you walk into a room?” Nathan asked before biting into his sandwich.

“Don’t give me any grief. I had to pick up a hundred-pound Newfoundland this morning, and sitting this way makes my back feel better.”

“You’re gettin’ old, man.”

“I’m younger than you are,” Cole retorted. “I see Celeste gave you lunch again. Hey, remember that pizza-eating contest we had back in college?”

“Yeah, I beat the crap out of you.”

“That’s not how I recall it.”

“Of course not. You were drunk at the time.”

“Ah, those were the days, huh?”

“Yeah.” Those were the days when Annie was still alive. She’d been Nathan’s college sweetheart. After finishing his stint in the Marine Corps, he’d gone back home and enrolled at the University of Nebraska in Omaha, where he majored in criminal justice. That’s where he’d met Cole.

Cole had been Nathan’s best man when he exchanged wedding vows with Annie in front of a church packed with friends and family. Cole had also stood beside him during the funeral, when they’d lowered Annie’s coffin into the ground on a frigid January day.

Cole was the reason Nathan had ended up here in Rock Creek. He’d had to leave Nebraska to escape the darkness threatening to overtake him after Annie’s death. When Cole told him about the opening for sheriff, Nathan had decided to apply for the job.

He’d been surprised to get it. Now he knew why there hadn’t been many applicants. The pay wasn’t all that great and Rock Creek was a town definitely down on its luck. Not much going on in these parts. Until Skye blew into town.

There she was again. Belly dancing her way into his thoughts. She was definitely . . . challenging.

There was a time in Nathan’s life when he’d gone after challenges. That was no longer the case.

At the ripe old age of thirty-one, Nathan had learned the hard way that the saying was true:
Life’s a bitch and then you die.

Only, Annie had died much too young. When that dump truck ran a red light and hit her car broadside, killing her instantly, something within him had died along with her. And it was never coming back.

 

 

“I never thought I had to worry about Skye.” Angel patted the llama’s head as she confided her innermost concerns to her. This morning, Tyler had driven Angel out to the Amish farm where her two llamas were boarded. “And I thought I’d given up worrying, because it attracts problems. Although I did start worrying again with that situation with my daughter Julia. She’s the older one. You remember her, right? You stayed in her backyard for a while.”

Lucy the Llama blinked her luxurious lashes at Angel and nuzzled her for more treats.

“There was that whole mess with my not telling Julia who her biological father was,” Angel continued. “He was too rich. Still is. But Julia seems to be doing okay now. I think Luke will make her happy. I’m not sure what will make Skye happy.”

Angel paused to feed Lucy a piece of banana.

“Not that Skye is unhappy, exactly,” Angel continued. “She’s not a worrier. She’s a lot like me. Or how I used to be. I’ve been getting hot flashes, did I tell you? Despite all the soy I’ve been taking. I’ve told Tyler that he’s the one making me hot. You’ve met him. He thinks I’m a little crazy for talking to llamas, but he doesn’t really seem to mind. Anyway, I love him. You love Ricky too, huh?”

Ricky joined them, moseying over at a llama-paced stroll.

“You two are the stars of my Luna Llamas business.” Their sheared dual-fiber fleece was oil free, which made it a spinner’s dream. “Most fiber artists just buy yarn, which I do as well. But I also bought you. And then I sort of went broke. That’s why I had to move in with Julia last year. But I’m slowly coming back. People seem to like the hats and scarves I crochet. In fact, I have a waiting list now, so you two keep growing that great dual-fiber fleece. And have a baby. Have a little
cría
.”

Angel paused to rub their ears. “You are such a great couple. Like Julia and Luke. And Tyler and me. And Skye and . . .” Angel frowned. “I don’t know who would be right for her. That sheriff sure responded intensely to her presence yesterday. Not that I can see a match there. I mean, I love my daughter dearly, but even I know that she reacts adversely to any kind of authority figure. She has to do things her way.”

“Are you talking to the llamas again?” Tyler asked as he joined her near the fence. As always, he was wearing jeans, and his long gray hair was in a single braid. Since it was August, he’d traded his customary flannel shirt for an extremely faded T-shirt.

Tyler was the man in her life. The man she’d discovered in Serenity Falls, of all places. A Rollerblading misfit who worked as a handyman but didn’t really fit within the tidy confines of a town like Serenity Falls, recently named one of the Top Ten Best Small Towns in America. Angel considered herself lucky to have found him.

“Did you get tired of waiting in the car for me?”

“Yeah.” He hugged her. “I missed you.”

“Thanks for coming with me today.”

He just smiled down at her, keeping his arms loosely looped around her waist.

She looked at the surrounding rustic landscape. Twin silos rose from beside the barn like a pair of proud parents. In the distance, fields of grain swayed in the gentle summer breeze. The gently rolling hills gave Angel a sense of being safely nestled in Mother Earth’s embrace. “It’s beautiful out here in the country, isn’t it?”