Her Last Love (Small Town Hearts Trilogy #1) (14 page)

"It's personal." Hillary's curt reply came as she mirrored the officer's stance. "Just trying to iron out a misunderstanding."  

"A misunderstanding?" Kari snorted from where she stood next to Lynn. "Was a misunderstanding that had you knocking me on my ass in front of all my customers?"  

"She physically assaulted you?" The sheriff looked over at Kari at her comment.  

"Shoved me to get me out of the way so she could go after Lynn." Kari nodded her head at her friend. "That was about thirty seconds before you walked in the door."  

"You want to press charges for assault?"  

Kari glanced over at Hillary, gave a smirk. Hillary may have had an I'm-a-badass expression on her face, but her eyes said that she was scared of going to jail.  

"No. I'll let it pass this time." She gave him a quick smile before turning back to Hillary. "But she's not welcome in the café in the future."  

"Like I'd set foot in this shithole again." Hillary gave Kari one last glare before giving the sheriff a bored look. "Can I go? Seeing as how she's not pressing charges."  

"You're free to go." Sheriff Lockwood gave her a hard look. "However, I'd suggest in the future that you find a different way of 'ironing out' your misunderstandings. Preferably one that doesn't involve assault or domestic disturbance."  

"Whatever." With that, Hillary stomped out just has she had stomped in, leaving the diners to wonder what would happen next. They soon found out when Kari addressed the room.  

"Sorry for the disturbance, folks. Everything's fine now. Your waiters will bring you all one of our deluxe cookies for dessert, compliments of the cafe." Her diners appeased and now murmuring to one another once more, Kari turned back to the officer. "There's one for you as well, Sheriff. And your lunch is on the house today." She patted his arm in thanks as she moved towards the kitchen, where her staff was drifting back to work.  

"Care to tell me what that was about?" The sheriff relaxed his stance, hooking his thumbs into his pockets as he studied Lynn.  

"Let's just say, she was attempting to express her disapproval at the fact that I've been seeing her soon-to-be ex-husband and their sons."  

"Ah." Lakewood nodded in understanding. "Gotcha." He narrowed his eyes, tilted his head. "She didn't get physical with you too, did she?"  

"No. She wanted to, but didn't get the chance."  

The sheriff hummed under his breath as he mulled over the situation. He'd known the woman standing before him since she'd been a small girl. Which is how he knew that she wouldn't pull any punches in a fight, should it come to that.  

"How long has she been giving you problems?"  

"Not long."  

"Lynn." He folded his arms again, his eyebrows dipping into a vee and his mouth forming a thin line.  

"Honestly, not long. She's called me one time, that's it."  

"How'd she get your number?"  

"No clue."  

Lakewood relaxed his arms, putting one hand on a hip as he scratched his head with the other before placing it on the other hip.  

"How'd she know you were here?"  

"Other than maybe seeing me in passing or asking around, I really don't know." A thought occurred to her that had her closing her eyes as she attempted to keep her cool. "Actually, I may have an idea on that."  

"Yeah? What's that?"  

"Emails." Lynn opened her eyes, met the man's gaze. "She's been hacking into her estranged husband's email account. I sent him an email yesterday telling him I was meeting my friends for lunch today." She watched as this man, this officer that she'd known most of her life, frowned over this new piece of information.  

"I think you'd better be careful and watch your step on this."  

"I am. Trust me, I am. Plus, my friends are looking out for me. And Carter, too."  

"Carter?" Lakewood tilted his head, looked up at the ceiling as he jogged down memory lane. "Carter Mathis?"  

"Yeah." Lynn laughed at the expression of genuine surprise on the officer's face.  

"Huh. How about that?" Knowing they’d been a pretty serious item at one time, he gave a chuckle before he sobered again. "She seems pretty bent on getting back at you. Maybe you should consider a restraining order."  

"I don't know, Sheriff...."  

"Now, don't be stubborn. It may seem like just a piece of paper, but it may also be the deterrent you need to keep her away from you. The prospect of jail can keep people from doing stupid things."  

"I know." She laid a hand on his shoulder before giving it a pat and stepping away. "I'll think about it. I promise. Now, I have to get Kari to get me a to-go box, so I can get back to work before I get fired." With a smile for the Sheriff, she stepped over to the counter to request her box, then headed down the hall towards the bathroom where she immediately pulled out her phone. Lynn figured she'd better text Carter and fill him on what happened before the small town grapevine took care of that for her.  

* * *  

"So, tell me again...she just came into the café?" Carter's confused voice carried across the telephone line later that afternoon.  

"Yep. With guns blazing. Metaphorically speaking, of course." With her phone sandwich between her ear and her shoulder, Lynn looked over the papers she held in her hand. She'd gone back to work after the scene at the café, and was trying her best to focus on the tasks at hand.   

"Wow." Carter, sitting in his truck as he waited to unload, ran a hand through his hair.  

"Yeah.” She shifted the phone from one ear to the other. “Listen, Carter, I'm not trying to brush you off, but I'm really behind here." She lifted another folder from her desk, then dropped it again as she gave up momentarily. "I'm sorry. I'd love to talk to you, but I've got somebody coming in about five minutes."  

"Sure, no problem. Why don't we meet up for dinner later? You can fill me in then."  

"You’re sweet to offer, but I don't really feel like going out anywhere."  

"How about ordering take out? Maybe some enchiladas from Casa de Mexico?" He knew those were her favorite, and hoped they would tempt her into agreeing. "My house around, say, six-thirty?"  

Lynn looked over the stacks of files waiting for her attention, crowding her desk. And decided that if she didn't get a break soon, one that didn't involve her sitting in an empty house and eating a microwave dinner, she'd scream.  

"Six-thirty sounds perfect. I'll see you then." Hanging up the phone, Lynn got to back work.  

* * *

By the time an exhausted Lynn pulled into Carter's driveway later that evening, the sun had already set and stars were winking at her from the sky. One of the downfalls of this time of year was what always seemed to be perpetual darkness. It was dark when she drove to work, dark when she drove home. And during the daylight hours, she was closed up indoors. No wonder people became more depressed in the late fall and winter months.  

Shaking off her somewhat gloomy mood, Lynn gathered her things and stepped from the car. She was looking forward to getting out of the suit she wore to the office and into the stretchy jeans and sweatshirt she had in her large tote bag. Even more, she was looking forward to curling up next to Carter, eating copious amounts of Mexican food till she burst, and letting a relaxing evening wash away the strains of the day.  

At least that's what she hoped.  

With a quick knock at the door, Lynn let herself into the house, calling for Carter as she closed the door behind her.  

"In the living room!"  

Dropping her bag and purse by the door, Lynn made her way through the foyer into the living room. At the sight before her, Lynn's heart did a slow melt. Instead of making dinner a formal affair at the kitchen table, Carter had set everything out buffet-style on the large coffee table that sat in front of the couch. Some giant throw pillows, piled on the floor between the table and the couch, invited someone to pull up a patch of carpet, relax, eat. Small votive candles burned bright in their glass holders, adding a touch of romance to the setting.   

"Carter! This is so sweet! You didn't have to go to all this trouble, though."  

"It was no trouble." Carter rose from the couch, wandered over to drop his hands on her shoulders so he could look into her face. He saw tired eyes from a long day of work, but no stress over the incident in the café. Satisfied, he smiled. "That's the great thing about take-out. Super easy." He pulled her forward to kiss her on the forehead.  

"It smells amazing." She smiled up at him as she rested her hands lightly on his hips. "And suddenly I'm starving."  

"Well, that's good. Because I went a little overboard." He gave her his boyish grin as he angled himself to slide his arm around her shoulders, gestured grandly to the low table with the other hand. "We have the supreme enchiladas, as promised. We also have tortilla chips and guac, some of the white queso dip you like. Some soft shell tacos. Fajitas, one order with chicken, one with beef. Rice, refried beans. Oh, and a six pack of Dos Equis to wash it all down with."  

"¡Ole'!" Lynn laughed as she slid her arm around his waist. "All that food and fancy Mexican beer too? I'm so in. But first, I'd like to change clothes. This suit may look great, but it gets a tad uncomfortable after it's been worn for eight or nine hours."  

"Sure, go ahead." Carter gave her a quick squeeze and a kiss on the head before releasing her. "I'll get the plates and such while you're changing, then we make total pigs of ourselves." He shot her another grin as he started to walk towards the kitchen. Stopping to look at her, he asked, "You want a glass for the beer?"  

"Pfft." She waved away the question with her hand. "Please. Why waste the time and the glass? Just give me the bottle."  

"I knew I liked you." With another laugh, Carter headed to the kitchen while Lynn made her way down the hall to change. 

Ten minutes later, the pair of them were sitting on the floor, cold bottles of beer open and plates mounded with food. As they began to eat, Lynn groaned in appreciation and let her head fall back, her eyes closed in bliss.  

"This is so good. So. Good." Picking her head back up, she opened her eyes to look over at Carter, who smiled at her around a mouthful of fajita. "Thanks for this Carter. Not just the food, but the company."  

"One of my better ideas." He took a swig of beer, surveyed his plate as he contemplated what to go for next. "So, now that we're comfortable, and are settled in with much food and beer...you want to fill in the details about what went down at lunch today?" A soft shell taco won the debate, and he took a healthy bite as he waited for Lynn to speak.  

Between bites of her own meal, and sips of beer in between, Lynn took him through her lunch break. When she got to Sheriff Lakewood's offering of a restraining order, and her indecision on the matter, he paused to study her.  

"Just out of curiosity...why wouldn't you get a restraining order? Obviously, she's not going away."  

"It would be...weird, I guess is the word. Because we’re dating, because of the boys." Lynn toyed with a forkful of rice before dropping the utensil to her plate and reaching for her beer. She took a sip as she mulled the question over, then gestured with the bottle, tipping it to the left. "On the one hand, a restraining order would make me feel better, like I'm being proactive in getting her to leave me alone." The bottle now tipped to the right. "On the other hand, a restraining order could just add fuel to the fire, give her another reason to be pissed off and come at me again." With a sigh, Lynn took another sip before setting the bottle back on the coffee table. She shot a look at Carter. "How is this not weird for you? I mean, this is your almost ex-wife we're talking about here. The mother of your children."  

"Because I know how she is. How she can be. And I'm concerned about you. That trumps any weirdness."  

"Well, when you put it that way." Lynn tipped her head back against the seat of the couch and closed her eyes again. "In all honesty, I don't think a piece of paper - no matter what force is behind it - will do much good with Hillary. It may come in handy in the long run, say if she comes after me and tries to assault me. But I really don't think it will stop the phone calls, the visits. She's going to do what she wants regardless." She rolled her head, opened her eyes a fraction to bring Carter's face into focus. "What do you think?"  

"Well." Carter picked up his beer, resting it on his leg as he, too, sat back against the couch. "I agree with you. On all points. I think that if you have her served with a restraining order, she'll just laugh and keep on coming. So the decision's on you as to whether you want to go through the motions of getting one." He propped his arm on the edge of the couch as he turned towards her, gave her a serious look. "But whether you do or don't, you need to make sure you have some sort of a deterrent, a form of self-defense."  

"I'm not carrying a gun."  

“No, not necessarily a gun. I was thinking pepper spray. Small enough to keep on a keychain, but potent enough if she comes around and catches you alone, and things get out of hand."