The Good, the Bad, and the Naughty (18 page)

There were only two men she wanted horny and gawking at her, and they were many, many miles away in Texas. They left the day after they captured LaRue. They tried to talk to her several times that day and the day before they left, but she refused. She hid out at John’s place and asked him and Mat to make excuses for her. She knew if she’d seen them, then her heart would shatter into a million pieces and never mend again.

But unfortunately, it still shattered in a thousand pieces, and so far, she still hadn’t put it back together. Hopefully, with time, she’d be able to move on. In the meantime, when Mat came to her room this morning telling her Sam wanted her to come to the office to talk to her and that it was important, her spirits lightened a bit.

She hoped her eldest brother had finally come to his senses and realized what an asset she’d be as one of his deputies in Little Rock. She asked him time and again to let her try out for the job, but he refused.

After both their parents died in an accidental fire when Belle was only thirteen, he took it upon himself to take care of his little sister. Even though, she grew up before his eyes, he obviously still saw her as his baby sister. The job would be too dangerous for a girl, he had told her over and over again.

Mat and John disagreed with him and let him know their opinions, but unfortunately, their reasoning landed on deaf ears. He was the sheriff, and his decision was final.

To prove her overprotective brother wrong, Belle came up with this whole complicated plan of going to Fort Smith. Mat and John refused to help her in the beginning, but once she explained her detailed scheme, they agreed with hesitations.

She found out Eden’s Paradise looked for a singer, and she decided to try out for the job. She knew Eden’s Paradise was the most popular saloon in all of Arkansas and if the bandits responsible for the train robberies in these parts were still here, then that would be the place they’d frequent.

She’d been right. Of course, she didn’t figure out Sally was really Wild Isabelle LaRue and that she and her gang had been responsible for all the heists. But when all the cards were played, she did end up catching the criminals responsible. So it had to count for something, right?

Looking around in the office this morning, she asked, “Where’s Sam?”

John pointed to the office in the back. “In there. He’s with someone.”

“Okay, then I’ll wait.” She moved to sit next to him.

But before she could sit, he added, “No, he told me he wanted you to go in. Whoever it is wanted to talk to you.”

Creasing her forehead, she stood straight and mumbled, “Hmm,” as she headed for the door.

Knocking, she heard her brother respond, “Come in.”

When she opened the door, her eyes registered a tall, husky man stand to greet her. Her brother did the introductions as she closed the door behind her.

“Belle, I’d like you to meet Captain Peak. He was the Texas Ranger captain in charge of the train robberies case you solved.”

“Howdy, Miss Belle.” The captain’s smile widened as his hand stretched out before him. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet the lady who took down one of the most notorious outlaws in the West.”

“Thank you, Captain Peck.” Her cheeks heated at the compliment as she shook his hand.

He gestured with his hand. “Please, have a seat.”

He glanced at Sam, then continued. “I came in a few hours ago and have been talking here with your brother. He has been filling me in on all the details of Isabelle LaRue and her gang’s capture and just how much you were involved in the takedown. And that is why I asked him to call you here.”

“Oh?” Belle looked at her brother in confusion.

The captain turned more to his side, toward her, and leaned his elbows on his knees as he continued. “Well, the Texas Rangers are in need of more Rangers, and from all I’ve heard about you and your quick draw and cunning, I believe you’d be the perfect Ranger. There is a particular case that’s been on my desk for the past few months, and we’ve been having one hell of a time solving it.”

He took a deep breath. “Truth be told, we need a female Ranger spy on this particular case, and unfortunately we have no female Rangers at this time.” He paused a second and then asked, “So, Miss Belle, would you be interested in joining our team?”

She could hardly believe her ears. Could this be happening? She stared at her brother, waiting for him to show his opposition to his offer.

Instead, he nodded and said, “Belle, I think you’d be a great Ranger. You proved to me just how good a law woman you are.”

Her jaw fell even though she tried to keep it closed. She wanted to pinch herself to see if this was all a dream, but figured she’d look pretty foolish if it wasn’t. What the hell, she’d play along with it, and if she woke up and it had been a dream, then it was fun while it lasted.

Smiling broadly, she gazed at the captain. “I’d be honored to become a Texas Ranger. Thank you, Captain Peak, for offering me the job.”

He stood up and reciprocated her wide smile. “Now that’s what I like to hear.” He put his hand into his jacket pocket and took out a ticket. “I was hoping you’d say yes and brought a train ticket for you for Austin, Texas. That’s where our division is situated. The departure date is in a couple of days. Will this be enough time for you to get your things together by then? If not, we can change the date for later, but I would prefer you get started on the new case as soon as possible.”

Her eyes sprang open with her will to register the realness of everything happening so fast.

“Oh, that’s fine. I can leave then. There’s no problem.”

“I must be going now. I have further business to take care of in Fort Smith, but I’ll see you when you arrive back in Austin.” He looked at Sam and back at her. “I’ll have someone pick you up at the train station.” He extended his hand first to Sam. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Sheriff Samson.”

“The same goes for me, Captain Peak.” Sam shook his hand vigorously, smiling back.

The captain turned to her and grinned wide while he shook her hand. “Welcome to the team.” Then he walked over to the door and left, saying, “Bye,” right before he shut the door behind him.

Belle slumped into the chair behind her, sighing and gazing at the ceiling. John walked in then and looked at Belle and Sam with wide eyes.

“So who was that? And what did he want with Belle?” he asked.

Sam replied for her since her giddiness made her slow to react. “That was Captain Peak, a Texas Ranger, and he offered our sister, here, a job as a Ranger. She leaves for Austin, Texas, in a few days.”

“Austin, Texas?” A frown came over John’s face.

Then it hit her. She’d be leaving her family behind. Suddenly, the high she had been riding on came crashing down and sadness began to choke her.

Chapter 13

Belle waited in Captain Peak’s office, fidgeting with her gloves. She was excited, terrified, and exhausted all at the same time.

Throughout the long and tiring train trip, she had been thinking about her brothers and how hard it would be leaving Little Rock and them behind. But Sam convinced her it was an opportunity of a lifetime, and she shouldn’t throw it all away. It was time she stood on her two feet and forged her way in law enforcement. Only good things were on the horizon for her from now on.

They promised they’d come visit her next month when she was settled in her job, and that helped reassure her in her decision.

As she sat in the office waiting now, the sound of her heart pounding hammered in her ears, and her breath became shallow with anxiousness. One of the Rangers who picked her up at the train station said that the captain was busy on another case, but that her partners she would be working with on this case would be coming in soon to talk to her.

Gosh, she was actually here and soon would be working on her very first official Texas Rangers case. She could hardly believe it. She wondered who her partners would be. She hoped they’d be easy to work with.

Deep in her heart, she hoped that she would have seen Trevor and James when she arrived, but she figured they were probably away on another case. The odds of crossing paths with them would be slim. And the thought weighed heavily on her mind and heart.

Although several weeks had passed since she last saw them, her feelings for them hadn’t changed. If anything, they intensified, and she longed for them every night when she went to bed. She hoped this new job would keep her so preoccupied that thoughts of her loves would be buried and she could heal finally.

And just as she reflected on that hope, the door to the office opened, and two of the handsomest faces she had ever seen peeked in. She lost her breath at the sight.

When they walked in smiling, she barely whispered, “Oh, my God,” and ran to them as James closed the door. She jumped into Trevor’s arms, surprising him.

He had to take a step back to keep from falling backward. “Oh, I like that reception!” was all he said.

She twisted her head to look at James as he turned to face her, beaming.

He opened his arms, asking, “Do I get a hug, too?”

She laughed. “Yes, of course you do.” And she let go of Trevor to hug James.

“We’ve missed you, Belle.” He lifted her in his arms and twirled her around,

Tears had begun to trickle down her cheeks, and she sniffled. All her emotions flooded her at once. And she let them spill out into her words. She couldn’t keep them bottled any longer.

“I’ve missed you both, too.”

James gently put her down and wiped her tears. “Why didn’t you let us talk to you before we left? We wanted to explain everything to you.”

Honesty was her only crutch today, and so she took a deep breath and drew on it for strength.

“Because it hurt too much to be near you, to see you again knowing you’d be leaving for Texas the next day. I couldn’t bear it.”

“Belle, it doesn’t matter anymore. You’re here now.” He bent down and kissed her gently and sweetly on her lips.

“And we are never going let you go ever again.” Trevor hugged her from behind and kissed the top of her head.

She laughed. “Well, that’ll be hard since I’m going to be meeting my new partners in a few minutes and heading out on my first…” She paused and stopped breathing. The smug look on James’s face revealed everything.

“Oh, my God! You’re my new partners?” she inquired while covering her mouth with her hands in awe.

He nodded. “Uh-huh. We convinced the captain that we’d need your help for one of our unsolved cases, and once he heard everything you did in the LaRue case, he decided to personally come recruit you himself.”

“You did that for me?” was all she could reply.

“No, pretty lady, we did it for us. We need you, we love you, and want to spend every waking hour with you,” Trevor responded.

His words made her swoon. “Really?”

James agreed, “Uh-huh. We love you, Belle, and need you in our lives forever.” Then he grinned. “We also really do need your help on this case. We’ve been working on it for months and can’t make any headway on it.”

“Oh, what’s it about?” Her curiosity piqued.

“Well, the outlaw we need your help with has your name, actually.”

Her mind searched and then her mouth fell open when she realized who he meant. “No, it can’t be Belle Starr, can it?”

“The one and only,” Trevor responded, nodding.

She twirled around on the heel of her shoe with excitement. “Oh, my God, I can’t believe it.” Swallowing and taking a deep breath, she asked, “So what is it you’d like me to do?”

Trevor stared at James before saying, “We can talk about that later on when you’re settled in.”

James picked up her bags while Trevor extended his arm for her to take.

“If you’ll follow us, pretty lady, we’ll show you where you’ll be staying. I’m sure after the long train trip, you want to freshen up.”

She tittered, taking his arm. “That sounds nice.” Entwining her arm through his, they left Captain Peak’s office. Her feet hit the floor with every step, but she was riding on such a high that it felt like she floated on a cloud of happiness instead.

* * * *

Trevor couldn’t wait until they arrived at the room. He and James discussed this several times in the past couple of weeks, and he hoped her reaction would be favorable. It was a big step for all of them, but both he and James were ready for it. Now the question if she would be ready for it, too, battered in his brain.

“This is where you’ll be staying, pretty lady. Hope you like it.” He glanced at her while he put the key into the lock.

Anxiousness flowed through his body, making his hands sweaty, and he needed to squeeze the knob tighter in his grip to twist it open since his fingers slipped. When he opened the door and saw her reaction, he couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction.

“You like it?” he asked.

She stepped in, her eyes big, and twirled around, taking in every inch of the place.