Ryker’s Justice (15 page)

“I
know I haven’t.” Her voice became a breath in his ear. “I love you, Jude.”

“Aw,
honey, I love you, too.” Saying the words became the easiest thing in the
world, although once he had believed they would be difficult to share. Hell,
he’d once been certain he probably wouldn’t ever say them to a woman.

After
his declaration, she snuggled closer and relaxed in his arms. Jude held her
tight and listened to the rain drumming on the roof. Contentment spread through
his body and he savored the moment. For now, there was no future, no tomorrow
to deal with, nothing to figure out, just the woman he loved and a comfortable
bed beneath them. Living in the moment had its appeal, he decided, and did. When
Nicole slid into an easy sleep, Jude followed and basked in the immediate, not
the long term.

Chapter Fourteen

Everywhere
he went, people talked and he listened with a closer ear than ever before. At
the end of a hectic week, when Jude visited Aunt Tillie to check out the
neighboring property and spent time at David’s bedside by the teen’s request,
he took time out to go fishing with Adam, Elijah, and Sheriff Cole. His
original notion—to stop by the jail—had been rejected and after a little
thought, he had agreed. If it had been up to Jude, he would have chosen the
river but Adam opted for
Grand
Lake
. “It’ll give us more
privacy,” he told them. “Less tongues to notice and wag, too.”

After
a long day spent out on the water, Jude returned home, sunburned, windblown,
and worn out. As much as he enjoyed fishing, the hours spent casting and
reeling in a few fish exhausted him. The Indian summer warmth when they set out
on the water faded by mid-afternoon when the wind switched and temperatures
dropped. If it didn’t frost overnight, he would be surprised.

“You
ought to come to church tomorrow,” Adam said when he dropped Jude off in front
of the old home place.

Jude
curled his lip. “I haven’t done church in years,” he said. “I don’t know. I’m
not much into the idea of anyone trying to save my soul.”

His
brother laughed. “I didn’t figure you were but people flap their gums at
church. You might hear something worthwhile. Besides, Josh will be there and
maybe you can talk to him.”

Adam
had him. “Shit,” Jude said, resigned. “What time and where?”

“Sunday
school starts at
nine thirty
,”
his brother replied with a smirk. “Services are at eleven. Same place as
always. Bring Nicole, if you want.”

The
idea appealed to him. “I might,” he said. “I’ll call her, I guess. I’m too damn
tired
to run the roads to go over to the inn.”

“See
you then, brother.”

He
nodded and waved, then mounted the porch steps with slow tread. Funny, back in
Washington
he never
minded coming home to his apartment, but Jude hated walking into the house
alone. The larger space loomed empty and made him lonely. Most of the time, he
never missed having a television, but right now he would welcome the noise and
distraction it could provide. He ached, ready for a cold drink, a warm fire,
and his comfortable chair. If he wasn’t too damn tired, he could slap together
a sandwich or open a can of ravioli.

When
he pushed the front door open, he paused. A pleasant aroma met his nose,
combining a sweet floral scent, a little wood smoke, and something that
reminded him of bacon.
Damn, I’m more
tired than I thought. I’m imagining things.
Jude rubbed his face and shook
his head to clear it. The fire crackled and he wheeled around to stare at it. He
would swear he had banked it before he left to go fishing, but apparently not.
Lucky I didn’t burn the damn house down.

Shower
first,
then
food, he decided, and headed toward the
stairs.

“Jude?”

The
feminine voice brought him to a halt. “Nicole?”

She
emerged from the kitchen. Gladness swept over him. “Oh, honey, I’m glad to see
you,” he said. Jude wrapped his arms around her and planted a kiss on her lips.
“How’d you get here?”

“Abigail
brought me over,” Nicole said. “It was her idea actually, but I liked it. She
thought you might like some company.”

His
sister’s insight surprised and pleased him. “She’s right. What time do you need
to go back to the inn?”

Her
smile widened. “I don’t. I brought a bag and I’m staying.”

He
opened his mouth to protest and she held up one hand. “Mary and Rick think I’m
staying at Abigail’s tonight so don’t fuss.”

“I
won’t,” Jude told her. “In fact, I might want to keep you longer.”

Like maybe forever if there was
one.

“Good,”
she told him. “So, are you hungry?”

Five
minutes ago he wasn’t but now he was. “Starving, but I’d like to get a shower
first.”

“Sure,
go ahead. There’s no hurry. When we sit down to eat, you can tell me about your
day and what you’ve found out so far.”

Jude
inhaled the delicious smells from the kitchen. “What’s cooking?”

“Navy
beans seasoned with bacon,” she said. “I’ve got cornbread in the oven, too.”

Until
now, domestic bliss hadn’t been something he believed existed. In the past, he
had jeered good naturedly at some of his colleagues when they were eager to get
home. He’d turned a deaf ear to their boasts about good home cooking, too. Since
tasting a hint of it, he craved more. “Sounds good,” he said. He couldn’t remember
the last time he had eaten homemade beans simmered on the stove for hours with
cornbread made from scratch—it had to be years.

Nicole’s
smile brightened. “It will be,” she told him. “One thing Southern girls know
how to do is cook.”

After
a warm shower, dressed in gray sweatpants and a simple white T-shirt, Jude came
to the kitchen in far better spirits than when he had come home. He kept his
tread light and sneaked behind Nicole as she stirred the beans. One glance at
the tender nape of her neck tempted him to kiss her there. His lips lingered
over her soft skin as short bursts of pleasure rushed through him. When she put
down the spoon, Nicole turned into his arms and kissed him full on the mouth.

Emotion
welled up in his heart and overflowed. God, he loved this woman. He kept his
tone light, though, when he said, “Let’s eat.”

Over
the tasty, white navy beans, they discussed his day and the case.

“I
like Mitch Cole,” he told her. “He seems to be a fair sheriff and a good LEO. I
can trust him but we’re not much farther along. I told him about Aunt Tillie’s
neighbors, what I saw myself when I went over there, and he agrees it sounds
like a meth lab. He
kinda
thinks it’s not connected
to the bigger picture, though. It’s more of a small-time deal.”

“So
are they planning to raid it?”

He
nodded. “They are soon but if there’s a tie to the moonshine operation, it has
to wait until we can find it. If they bust them now, the ‘shine people will
have time to move and hide. Stills are damn easy to transport. And if it’s not
connected, it can wait.”

A
slight frown creased Nicole’s forehead. “So you still have to find the
moonshiners? Aren’t they going to help you?”

“They
will if they can, baby. But it’s my assignment and always has been. I’ve got a
few new ideas, though, about where to look. That reminds me, you
wanna
go to church with me tomorrow?”

Her
smile vanished.
“Church?
Oh, I don’t know, Jude.”

Disappointment
soured his mood a little but he shrugged both shoulders. “It’s okay if you’d rather
not. I know it’s a pain in the ass.”

She
shook her head. “It isn’t that, Jude. Simon, my ex-husband, made me go to
church and warm a pew for years. His sanctimonious bullshit wore thin and I
about gave up on the whole God thing. Maybe I should face my feelings and go. It’d
be different with you. You just surprised me because I didn’t know you went.”

Relief
tempered his view. “I don’t, not anymore, but Adam wants me to go. He says
church folk gossip and besides, Josh will be there. I might get the chance to
talk to him and see what he knows about moonshine, so I’m going.”

A
variety of emotions played across her face and her expression shifted with each
one. “Then I’ll go with you,” she told him. “I don’t know what I’ll wear,
though. I have a few pairs of slacks and a dress at the inn, though.”

He
laughed. “Unless they’ve changed a bunch, a nice pair of clean blue jeans and a
pretty blouse will be good enough. They’re not fancy at Grace Chapel.”

“Okay.
How was fishing?”

Jude
waggled his hand back and forth. “I prefer the river over the lake. The river’s
natural, the lake is man-made, but it was all right. We caught a few but I gave
mine to Adam to take home. I didn’t know you’d be here and I didn’t feel much
like messing with them. I enjoyed it but they stayed a hell of a lot longer
than I would on my own. I’m sun- and wind-burned, plus tired.”

“You
look it,” she said. Nicole handed him the butter for the cornbread. “Are you
all right, otherwise?”

Her
concern touched him. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said with a sigh. “It’s been a rough
week or so and it’s not improving anytime soon. My director’s on my ass to get
the information to wrap the case and it’s moving too slow to suit him.”

“Let
him wait.” Sometimes her inner steel amazed him, hidden behind her pretty
package and soft voice.

Until
now, he hadn’t told anyone about March’s phone call he had received the
previous day. “Get the goods so you can get them and get back,” his boss had
said. “If you don’t, I’m going to pull you and send someone else. I think I
made an error to send you in the first place. You’re too close, too involved.”

Despite
Jude’s protests, Mark March refused to relent. “Get me something definitive by
next weekend or you’re out.”

Damned
if he did, damned if he didn’t—his director’s ultimatum put him between a rock
and a hard place. Just the kind of cliché the man hated with fervor. Either
way, if March prevailed, Jude would be headed back to
Washington
in a week, two at most.
Talk about pressure.
He could nail the
case but he needed time, which he no longer had.

Jude
told Nicole none of his concerns. He also failed to mention Mitch Cole had
offered him a deputy position should he ever choose to stay back in the hills. The
idea appealed but he possessed an old fashioned superstition, worried he might
jinx the possibility if he talked about it.

“I
don’t know how long he will,” he said. Jude swallowed a spoonful of beans and
let the warmth slide down to his stomach with pleasure. “But I’ll try, honey. If
I could get some rest, maybe I could think straight and come up with some
strategy.”

Nicole
cut another wedge of cornbread and handed it to him. “Why don’t you just enjoy
supper,
then
relax this evening? Maybe if you don’t
try so hard, you’ll be able to figure something out.”

Her
calm suggestion soothed his soul the way the beans sated his hunger. “You’re
right,” he said. “This food’s good, better than anything I’d had in ages,
better than anything at the inn.”

“Thanks.”
Her smile sparkled. “I figured you could use some comfort food. I even made a
crumb cake for dessert. How’s David, did anyone say?”

Jude
settled down, shoulders relaxed. He hadn’t realized how taut he had been
sitting. “He’s improved enough that he’s cranky,” he said. “He’s more than ready
to go home and heal but the doctors said he’ll be there through Monday anyway,
maybe longer. After church, I thought we might swing by and visit him.”

“That’s
a good idea. We could bring
a malt
or ice cream or
something.”

“He’d
love it,” he said. “Good idea, honey.”

With
an effort, Jude thrust away all thoughts of moonshiners, hospitals, and
anything complicated. He enjoyed the simple meal and saved space for a slice of
cake. Afterward, he remained at the table while Nicole cleaned up with brisk
efficiency. She kept the conversation lively, sharing tidbits about books she
had recently read and places she wanted to see in the area. With his belly full
and body warm, his mind became sluggish but he listened as much as he could. He
enjoyed the sound of her voice even if he missed some of what she said.

“
Grand
Lake
sounds pretty,” she said. With the water running in the sink and her back
facing him, Jude strained to hear. “I’d like to drive down and see it someday. I
don’t think I’d want to go fishing for hours but I would enjoy the view.”

“I
imagine you would,” Jude said. “Did I tell you there are seagulls?”

“No,
but that’s awesome. I loved the ocean, the few times I visited. It sounds
almost like it.”

He
laughed. “Well there’s no salt smell to the air and it’s not nearly as huge,
but it might remind you of the sea, a little. There’s an old time village on
the shores of the lake at Grove,
Oklahoma
.
It’s a museum but it has
a schoolhouse, church, log cabins
,
and all kinds of exhibits...I think you’d like it.”