Long Way Home (26 page)

         In
the coming days, Tessa and Shane spent all their free time together, just
getting to know each other again.  Tessa found the more time she spent in
Shane’s house, the more she loved it and the more she loved him for having
built it with her in mind.  They had yet to take their relationship any
farther than just kissing at this point.  At first, Tessa wasn’t sure she
was ready to move on to the next phase and Shane didn’t seem to be in a hurry
about it, either, but she’d begun to feel something was missing, and it was
becoming harder and harder each night to leave him.

         Shane
had been wonderfully kind and patient with her and she knew he was afraid to
take things beyond kissing, afraid of triggering unpleasant memories for her,
and while she loved him for it, she knew they needed to try to take things to
the next level if they were ever going to have a future together.  On
Friday she decided to go about planning his seduction. 

         They
didn’t have a wedding that weekend, so that afternoon she told her mother and
Gib that she wouldn’t be home that night and that it would be better not to
expect her for the entire weekend.  She could tell they were both happy
and alarmed, but out of love for her, neither voiced these opinions.

          
She decided to go into Shelmerdine’s and shop for lingerie for the weekend,
something to entice Shane out of his chivalry.  It was while she was on
her way to the lingerie section that she noticed two figurines in the
collectibles section.  They were about 12 inches tall, of a fierce male
warrior angel.  In one, he was facing off against a large black dragon and
in the other, he stood guard over two children, his wings curled to protect
them.  She knew the minute she saw them that she had to have them. 
They were her Shane; her Dragon Slayer and her Protector.  His middle
name, Gabriel, was after the Archangel Gabriel, after all.  She turned one
over and blinked at the high price but decided it really didn’t matter; she’d
already made up her mind.

         “Aren’t
those beautiful?” Mrs. Shelmerdine asked, coming to stand beside her. 

         “They
really are,” Tessa replied, holding the one with the dragon.

         “Harold
bought those from an artist out of Tyler.  We’ve had them for
months.  No one ever seems interested enough to buy them, though.”

         “I
want them both,” Tessa told her.

         Mrs.
Shelmerdine smiled.  “Really?”

         “Yes,
ma’am.  They are perfect.”

         “Well,
all right, let’s get you checked out.  I have boxes for them.  Are
they gifts?”

         “This
one is.  I’m keeping the other one.”

         “Who
is the lucky recipient?”

         Tessa
smiled.  Gotta love small towns.

         “Actually,
I’m going to give this one to Shane.  It fits him, don’t you think?”

         “It
surely does.”

         They
chatted a bit more and then Tessa took her purchases and headed toward Shane’s
office.  Becky greeted her with a warm smile when she walked in.

         “Tessa
Kelly.  I haven’t seen you in years!  Everyone was talking about how
you were back in town and how beautiful you’ve become.  They certainly
weren’t lying.”

         Tessa
smiled.  “Thanks, Becky.  How have you been?”

         “Oh,
can’t complain.  I get to come to work with six of the hottest men in town
every day,” she said with a grin and a wink.

         “You
are one very lucky girl,” Tessa laughed. 

         Tessa
looked up when Shane rounded the corner, her smile brightening when she saw
him.  He wore his usual work attire of boots, jeans and black henley and
her heart accelerated at the sheer masculine sexuality rolling off of him.

         “Very
lucky indeed,” Becky said.

         “I
thought I heard your voice out here,” Shane said, eyes only for Tessa. 
“What brings you here?”

         Tessa
raised her shopping bags slightly.  “Brought something for you.”

         “Oh,
yeah?  Come back to my office, you can show it to me.  Hey, Becky,
could you fax this over to Sheriff Braswell for me?” he asked, handing Becky
the papers that were in his hand.

         “Sure
thing, Sheriff.”

         He
placed his hand on the small of Tessa’s back to lead her down the hall to his
office.  It was the first time Tessa had been in there since he took over
from his dad, and when she stepped in, she was surprised at the changes she saw
from Luke McCanton’s office to now Shane’s.  For one, computers covered
the credenza behind his desk and one with two monitors sat on his desk. 
She remembered from when she used to volunteer in the file room that his father
had resisted having a computer brought in for as long as he could, and how he
would curse at his so loud the whole office could hear him. 

         “Close
the door, please,” she told Shane when he stepped inside.  One dark brow
lifted in surprise but he obediently shut it behind him.  Tessa stepped to
him and also closed the blinds on the window that let him see out into the
squad room.

         “Is
something wrong?” he asked warily, watching her turn toward him.

         “Oh,
no, Sheriff, everything is right.  I just didn’t think you would want an
audience when I did this,” she said, sliding her arms around his neck and
pulling him down for an intense, passionate kiss.  After a few moments, he
groaned and tried to pull back but she caught his lower lip between her teeth
and began to suck on it, not letting him pull away.

         “Tess,”
he groaned when her hands slid down his back to cup his muscular butt.

         She
smiled up at him while she squeezed her second favorite part of his body. 

         “Yes?”
she asked innocently.

         “What
are you doing?”

         “Saying
hello to you.”

         “You’re
killing me,” he groaned.

         Giving
him a final kiss and squeeze, she stepped back and lifted the shopping bag to
his desk.

         “I’ll
give you a reprieve...for now.  I bought something for you.  I was in
Shelmerdine’s and saw these and I immediately thought of you.  Let’s see,
which one is yours...oh, this one,” she said, handing him a box.  He took
it and leaned on the edge of his desk to open it.  When he pulled the figure
out of the box, she loved the way it looked in his big hands, and the way he
studied it, his thumbs tracing over the angel’s wings.

         “Tess...this
is...wow.”

         “You
like it?  He makes me think of you, my own personal Dragon Slayer, and you
know, since you’re named for an angel...”       

         His
head came up.  “What?”

         “The
Archangel, Gabriel.  Shane Gabriel.  I mean, I know it’s a family
name, that you’re named after him,” she said, gesturing toward the picture on
his wall of the first McCanton to be named Sheriff of Indian Springs, Gabriel
Shane McCanton, “but Gabriel is also the most powerful of all the Angels in
Heaven.  The Protector of women and children.  And anyway, I saw that
and I knew you had to have it.  I got this one for me,” she said,
unwrapping the one of the Guardian Angel.

         He
looked at it then looked into her eyes and her breath caught at the look in
his, just before he leaned down and placed a tender, lingering kiss on her
lips.

         “Thank
you,” he whispered against her mouth.

         She
smiled softly at him.  “Do you like it?”

         “I
do, yes.  It’s perfect.”  He stepped away from her and placed it on
the shelves over his credenza, so that it would be seen right when someone
walked into his office.

         She
couldn’t stop smiling as he walked back to her and folded her into his embrace. 
They stood for several moments, just holding on to each other, taking comfort
from each other’s presence.  Then, feeling that it needed to be said now,
when they were in the midst of a moment of sweetness, Tessa tilted her head
back and looked him square in the eye.

         “I
love you, Shane McCanton.”

         His
hold tightened on her and he captured her mouth in a kiss that left her
clinging to him.

         “I
love you, too, Tessa Kelly.”

         She
smiled.  “Good.  Now, give me your house key.  I’m going to go
start dinner.  When will you be home?”
 

         He
blinked at her rapid change of subject, but dug his keys out of his pocket.

         “I’ve
got a conference call in about thirty minutes that will probably last an hour
or so.  Should be able to leave after that.”

         “Perfect. 
Call or text when you are leaving.”

         He
cupped her face in his hands and kissed her until she was once again clinging
to him for support, then pulled back.

         “Thanks
for coming by and for the statue.”

         She
winked as she reached for the door.  “Anytime, Sheriff.”

         Shane
watched her leave and felt his heart swell in his chest when she winked at him
over her shoulder before closing the door.  Was he really being given this
second chance with her?  He felt like the luckiest man in the world in
that moment...and it scared him.  Every time in the past, when he’d felt
like things were going his way, something always happened to turn his world
upside down.

         “Sheriff,”
Becky said, leaning into his office.  “You have a call on line 2.  He
says it’s urgent.”

         “OK,
thanks, Becky,” he crossed to his desk and absently picked up the
receiver.  “McCanton.”

         “Shane,”
he heard Bruce’s voice and he was immediately alerted by the tone of his voice
that something was wrong.

         “Bruce...what
is it?”

         “The
Heltons escaped.”

         “Both
of them?” he asked incredulously.

         “Afraid
so.  And they know who Tessa is, since they are working as their own
attorneys...you need to be prepared.”

         “Son
of a bitch!  How could this happen?”

         “They
underestimated the brothers’ appeal.  They charmed and bribed their way
out.  I’ve called the state guys in your area but you need to be ready.”

         “Yeah,
I hear ya.  Damn it.”

         “I’ll
keep you updated on any information I find.”

         “Thanks.”

         He
slammed the receiver down and stormed out of his office to call his guys
together and brief them on the situation.  Then he picked up the phone and
called his dad and asked him to be on alert and to call any of his friends to
do the same.  He also alerted the Sheriffs and Police Chiefs of
neighboring towns and counties.  If the Heltons were in the area, he
wanted as many eyes as possible looking for them.

         “Becky,
I’m heading out.  Forward any urgent calls regarding the Heltons to my
cell, OK?”

         “Will
do.”

         He
went out to his truck and headed out of town to his house, trying to tamp down
the feelings of anxiety over this most recent development.  Tessa was on
her way to becoming some semblance of her old self; she didn’t need the threat
of the Heltons hanging over her head.

         A
smile touched his lips seeing her car in his drive as he pulled in to the
garage.  When he opened the door, his smile widened when he smelled the
delicious aroma coming from the kitchen.

         “Hey,
Tess!” he called, dropping his keys on the counter.  He stepped out of the
kitchen and then froze when he saw a trail of rose petals on the floor and
noticed candles lit on every surface along the path of roses, leading to his
bedroom.  His heart immediately began beating faster as he slowly followed
the path.  God, was he ready for this?  Tessa had been through so
much at the hands of those monsters, was she really ready for this?

         He
opened the door to his room and heard soft music playing, and what looked like
thousands of candles flickering in his room and in the open door of the
bathroom.  He stepped in and found Tessa neck deep in the tub, two flutes
of champagne sitting on the side, and an open bottle chilling in a bucket of
ice next to the tub.  Her golden hair was piled on top of her head, a few
tendrils clinging to her face and neck in the steam.

         “Welcome
home, Sheriff,” she said low, her eyes locked on his.

         “Hey,”
he said coming to sit on the side of the tub.  “What’s all this?”

         “This,
is me, welcoming you home.  Champagne?” she asked, handing him a flute.

         “Tess,
this is...”

         “Shh,”
she said, slowly standing.  He kept his eyes locked on hers, doing his
best not to admire the way her wet body glistened in the candlelight.  She
smiled and stepped out of the tub, accepting the towel he held out for
her.  “Come on, Shane, don’t play shy now.”