Loving a Lawman (10 page)

Side by side they walked through the people all milling around, eating chili, and drinking beer. Lots of other people were gulping milk when the peppers got too hot.

“You ready to try Manny's?” Seth asked.

“I've had Manny's chili. Many times.”

“Yeah, but I heard that he was trying something new for this competition.”

“Like Kora Mae's recipe?”

He laughed. “Some exotic pepper. Though he won't tell anyone what it is until after the judging.”

“Competition is rough this year.”

“Don't you know it?” He grabbed them each a cup of Manny's chili. They tasted it and looked at each other.

“Is it just me or does this taste just like—”

“Kora Mae's.” Seth nodded. “It's going to be a long night.”

“
Hola
, Sheriff.” Manny stepped out from behind his table and offered Seth a hand to shake. “How is it?” The honky-tonk owner asked.

“Good. Good,” Seth replied as Jessie reached for the milk to calm the heat of the peppers.

Manny winked and nudged Seth in the side. “I hope I can count on your vote this year.”

Seth gave him a quick nod and a smile. “Of course.”

Jessie whipped her head around to see if he was serious. Didn't he just tell Kora Mae that he would vote for her?

“Gracias
.
”
Manny clasped Seth's hand and shook it some more. “I really appreciate you, Sheriff.”

Jessie waited until they had walked out of Manny's earshot before turning to Seth. “Did I just hear you say that you were voting for Manny's chili?”

“Yep.” Seth tipped his hat to a passing couple.

“And before that you told Kora Mae that you would vote for her entry?”

“I did.”

She stopped so suddenly he was ten feet away before he realized she wasn't next to him.

He backtracked to her side. “Is there a problem?”

“You can't vote for both of them.”

He nodded. “And I don't. I vote for all of them,” he said. “It's the only way to keep the peace.”

He grinned and continued on to Chuck's tent.

Jessie shook her head and tagged along, feeling as if she had learned more about Seth in this last hour than she had her entire life.

Seth accepted the cups of chili from Chuck and handed one to Jessie.

“So, what about Kora Mae and Manny?”

Seth smiled, and she melted like chocolate in the summertime. “I'm hoping that it was just a coincidence and praying that one of the others wins.”

She laughed. The man was too charming by far.

He took a bite of the chili and looked over to where Chuck waited expectantly. “I think we have a winner.”

Chuck beamed as only an overweight middle-aged man in a dirty apron could.

“You are bad, Seth Langston.”

“No, I'm good.”

She almost choked on the bite of chili.

Seth pounded her on the back until she managed to recover.

“Nothing like a little self-confidence.”

He just grinned, and they moved on to the last booth.

Juan Garcia was owner and chef at the Cantina and current reigning champion of the Restaurant Wars.

Seth got them both a cup of chili and promised to vote for Juan.

“I'm going to laugh if you get caught stuffing the ballot box.”

“It's okay. I know the sheriff.”

“Very funny.”

“So, who gets your vote?” Seth asked.

Jessie scraped the last of the chili from the cup and raised it in salute. “Juan, definitely.”

She took her ballot and marked it for Juan, then stuffed it in the nearest collection box.

Sometime tonight, after everyone went home, the mayor and his crew would tally the votes, and tomorrow after church, the winner would be announced in the town square.

“We can only hope that the name of the winner doesn't leak like last year,” Seth said. “With all the talk of stealing recipes and secret peppers, there may be riots.”

Jessie shook her head but chuckled all the same.

She enjoyed the night, just walking next to Seth doing nothing more than eating chili and making small talk. It was almost as if they were back to where they had started from before that hot afternoon. Well, almost. They were back to themselves with a new, sexy charge in the air. But getting involved with Seth was an even worse idea than staying involved with Chase. She was breaking ties with this town, and she could hardly wait until she saw the last of it. But tonight she had seen it from Seth's point of view. All the little eccentricities that made Cattle Creek what it was.

When she heard him talk about the town, she wondered why she ever wanted to leave.

“You ready to head home?” Seth asked. Night had fallen while they ambled around the cook-off. The strings of minibulbs lit the area, looking like tiny lightning bugs in flight.

“I guess I better. I told Meemaw I'd be home by nine.”

He looked up at the indigo sky. “I think you're already late. Do you want a ride?”

“Thanks, but I'll walk.” The last thing she needed to do was to get into a car with him.

“Suit yourself,” he said, but fell into step next to her.

“You don't have to walk me home.”

“I think my mother would disagree with that. But I also want to.”

As much as she wanted to, she couldn't tell him no. It didn't help that she wanted tonight to go on forever. She shrugged. “Suit yourself,” she said, echoing his earlier sentiment.

Together they started toward Larkspur Lane. The farther they got from Main, the quieter the streets became. The lights and sounds of the Cattle Day celebration faded to almost nothing.

“Well, here we are,” Seth said.

“I had a good time tonight,” she said, only then realizing that the words were part of date conversation and this wasn't a date. “Thanks for walking me home.” She spun around and started toward the porch.

Seth measured her stride for stride.

She made it to the door before she turned to face him. “Seth?”

He hooked one finger under her chin and lifted her mouth to his.

His kiss was sweet, but controlled. His hands trembled as he held her in place. It was a shadow of the kiss they had shared the afternoon of the kiss that had started it all. But it held promise, as if to say “there's more where that came from.” And she wanted more. Heaven help her, she did.

But for how long? Until she saved enough money to get out of town? That could be months, and if she kept kissing Seth Langston, she might be completely in love with him by then. She would be brokenhearted and Seth would move on to the next one of his casserole groupies.

She stepped back away from him, when she wanted nothing less than to melt into him completely.

“Good night, Seth.” She turned away to let herself into the house, but Seth stopped her, planting one last kiss on her lips.

“Good night,” he said, and then he was gone.

J
essie!” her grandmother called. “That Langston boy is out front.”

Jessie came out of her darkroom, coaching herself not to run to the doorway. “Seth?” she asked as she peeked out the front window.

All day Sunday she had relived their kiss from the night before. And the last little peck he gave her, as if to tell her that she wasn't running the relationship, he was.

But it wasn't Seth. Chase stood in her driveway having just got out of his newly repaired pickup truck.

It was Monday afternoon. Another week had passed. Another week of avoiding Seth, which was proving to be impossible, counting and recounting her escape fund, and making sure that her grandmother took her medication.

Nothing had changed. Not really. He'd kissed her and walked with her at Cattle Days. Nothing overly special. So why did her life feel so complicated?

Normally she would have run down the porch steps and
flung herself into Chase's arms, but not today. Not after the past few weeks.

The screen door slammed behind her as she came out to greet him. “Does this mean you're talking to me again?”

“Hey to you too, Jessie. The truck does look nice. Bill does a good job.”

She shoved her hands into her front pockets, more than uncomfortable with the situation.

He smiled that devil-may-care, crooked grin that had melted her heart since day one. “Aren't you going to come give me a kiss?”

She shrugged. “That depends.”

“On?”

“Whether or not you still want to kill me.”

“Oh, Jessie, you know how it is.”

She dipped her chin and made her way to his side.

He wrapped one arm around her and pulled her close, planting a quick kiss on the top of her head.

“I thought we might catch a show.”

“You're staying?” She craned her head back to look at him.

“Just for a while. I've got to be in Denver tomorrow night.”

“Oh.”

“So, you up for a movie?”

She shook her head. “Can we just go someplace and talk?”

The shadow of a frown crossed his face, but just as quickly as it came it disappeared again. “Sure.”

“Let me get my hat.”

Chase smiled. “That's my girl.”

His girl? Jessie ran back into the house to get her knockoff Stetson as Chase waited outside. Was she Chase's girl? Dang, she was confused.

“Meemaw,” she called as she let herself in. “I'm going out for a bit.”

A fit of coughing was her only response.

“Meemaw?” Jessie grabbed her hat and made her way into the parlor. Her grandmother's cough grew worse with each passing day. Jessie knew the prognosis was bleak, but if her grandmother would take her medicine, she would at least be more comfortable. And maybe then her cough wouldn't rack her frail frame until Jessie herself wondered how her grandmother could stand such torture.

Meemaw was doubled over in her chair, her breath heaving, as Drew Carey asked for bids in the
Showcase Showdown
.

Jessie grabbed the bottle of pills and a glass of water, then knelt at her grandmother's side.

“I'm not dead, you know,” she said without sitting up.

Only worry kept Jessie from rolling her eyes. “I know that, Meemaw. Now take your pills.”

Her grandmother slowly pushed herself upright and took the medication that Jessie offered. “What was that you said?”

“I'm going out for a bit.” Maybe she shouldn't go. Her grandmother's color wasn't good. Maybe she should tell Chase they would have to postpone their talk until later.

Or maybe she was just being a coward.

“I'll be home in a little while, okay?”

“Fine, fine,” she groused. “I'm a grown woman, Jessica Elizabeth. I think I can manage by myself for a couple of hours.”

“Yes, Meemaw.” Jessie donned her hat and started for the door, pausing for a moment to look back at her grandmother before heading out to Chase's truck.

“Is Manny's okay?” Chase asked as she climbed into the cab next to him.

“Sure.” Jessie would have preferred to eat at the Chuck Wagon, but she knew that it was too far in town for Chase. He seemed to stay on the fringes, frequent the places closest to the highway so he would have the quickest means of escape.

How many times had she ridden next to Chase in his shiny red truck? Countless. How many times had he kissed her? She couldn't recall. But it had been a while. Funny, but as much as she was Chase's girl, he seemed to be keeping her at a distance these days.

She leaned toward him, across the console, pointing to something out the driver's-side window as an excuse to get closer. Chase leaned to the opposite side.

But did that prove anything?

How many times had they gone out in the last few months? How many times had he asked her?

She had asked him to the Sadie Hawkins Dance. But that was sort of the point. And she had asked him to go to last year's Cattle Days Picnic. He had asked her to the movies a couple of times, but it seemed that more and more their relationship had become increasing platonic.

She was so confused! She couldn't remember a time in her life when she wasn't in love with Chase Langston. So why did she keep thinking about Seth? And what did it all mean?

With a sigh, she shifted back to her original position, all too aware that once she moved, Chase eased into place as well.

She thought about trying her theory again and moving closer to Chase, but decided against it. She was confused enough as it was. And a few minutes later they pulled into the graveled parking lot at Manny's.

She did her best not to be hyperaware of Chase as they walked toward the entrance. Like most small-town Texas honky-tonks, Manny's served just enough food to keep people coming in at all hours. They opened their doors at lunch and closed them at two a.m., serving hot wings and cold beer every day but Sunday.

How could she be so conscious of Chase when he wasn't even touching her? Or maybe it was because of that lack
of contact that she was so aware. Seth would hold her arm, place his hand on her back, cup her elbow in his palm. Chase walked behind her. Just there. Not touching, not helping or guiding. Had it always been like that? She couldn't remember.

“Hey, look who's here.” Chase pointed across the empty dance floor.

Seth and Millie were seated on the opposite side of the place, their heads bent close together as they talked over the pulsing beat of the jukebox.

What were they doing here? And why did she care that they were together? They had a history, but she and Seth had . . .

“Let's sit over here.” She slid into a booth farthest from the pair. How was she supposed to talk to Chase about everything with Seth just across from them?

“Sure.”

A waitress Jessie had never met came over and Chase ordered them a couple of soft drinks and a basket of wings.
She must have been the one who took my job.

“So, what do you want to talk about?” Chase asked as their server moved away to turn their order in to the kitchen.

Jessie took a steadying breath, but all the words that she had practiced on the way over left her in an instant “I thought you were never going to talk to me again.”

He shot her a rueful smile. “You know how it is. I can't stay mad at my best girl.”

“That's just it,” Jessie said, nervously shredding the top napkin from the stack the waitress had left for the earlier patrons, “if I'm your girl, why did you bring the blonde here the other night?”

“I didn't bring her—”

“Please don't tell me she followed you.”

“But she did.”

Jessie shook her head. He just couldn't see it. “Whether
she followed you or not, that didn't mean you had to . . . to . . .” She waved a hand in the air, searching for the best word to describe Chase's behavior. She came up short.

“Is that what this is all about? Angela?”

“That was her name?”

Chase frowned. “I think so.”

“Yeah,” Jessie said, but her gaze was drawn back to Millie and Seth. What were the two doing together? “I guess you could say that.”

“You don't really think she meant anything to me.” It was half question, half statement.

“What am I supposed to think?” she asked as Seth looked up and caught her gaze. Even with the entire width of the dance floor between them, she could see the flash of hurt and anger in his green eyes. What call did he have to be upset with her? He was the one who asked her to date him, then showed up with another girl just days later.

The memory of his desk the night he arrested her surfaced in her mind. There had been casserole pans stacked on top of cake pans on top of muffin tins and more.

No doubt Seth Langston was one of Cattle Creek's most eligible bachelors, and there he was, sitting across the bar with his onetime girlfriend. It just went to prove it.

She wondered if Darly Jo had come by the office to pick up her good Pyrex pan. And if anything else happened.

White-hot frustration flooded her. That was all it was. Just aggravation over falling victim to the charms of Seth Langston.

A new record dropped in the jukebox and a soft ballad started. Jessie grabbed Chase's hand and stood, tugging him to his feet. “Dance with me.”

“What? Now?”

“Yes, now.” She pulled on him until he stood and took her into his arms.

“The wings will be ready soon.”

“They can wait.” She didn't know what possessed her,
but she wanted to show Seth that she could move on. Or maybe she wanted to show him that their afternoon together didn't mean any more to her than it did to him.

She stepped a little closer to Chase, glancing over to see if Seth was watching. He was and somehow she managed to curb her smirk of triumph. She had slept with him willingly, but she would not be his pity date.

Chase twirled her around just in time to see a glaring Seth stride toward them.

“Sorry, brother—I'm cutting in.”

Chase looked as if he might protest, but then he released her and bowed out. Jessie had one last look at him approaching the table where Millie sat before Seth tugged her close.

“What are you trying to prove, Jessie?” A smile still pulled at his lips, but it didn't reach his eyes.

“I'm not trying to prove anything.” She tossed back her head as Dustin Lynch continued to sing about cowboys and angels. It was far better to concentrate on the song's lyrics instead of how it felt to be in Seth's arms once again. Right. That was how it felt. But how could that be?

She was vaguely aware of Chase leading Millie out onto the dance floor. At three o'clock in the afternoon they were the only people in Manny's and certainly the only ones dancing.

“Then why are you here with him?” Seth asked.

“Why are you here with her?”

“I asked her to meet me here to talk about coming to work at the jailhouse.”

“Did you fire Nancy?”

“I don't think she's coming back, but until she does, there's still a lot to do.”

“So the two of you came all the way out here?”

Seth chuckled. He had pulled her close enough that she felt the sound vibrate and rumble out of his chest. “Why, Jessie, you sound almost jealous.”

She squarely met his clouded gaze. “Why would I be jealous?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing.”

“Whatever.” Not the pithy remark that she would have liked, but it would have to do on short notice.

“Your turn,” he said.

“He came by the house today. I thought it would be as good a time as any to tell him about . . . you know.” The heat that filled her face could have toasted bread. But she wasn't sure what to call that afternoon in Seth's truck.

“And?”

She tossed back her head so she could see him better from under the brim of her hat. “It hasn't come up yet.”

He made some sort of derisive noise, but Jessie decided to let it slide. He was entitled to his opinion.

But one thing was certain: she would never tell Chase as long as she was dancing in the warmth of Seth's embrace. She stepped away from him and surprisingly he let her go.

Without a backward glance she tapped Millie on the shoulder. “I believe this dance is mine.”

*   *   *

W
hat was that all about?” Millie asked.

Seth shrugged and led her back to their table. He hated leaving Jessie with Chase. But hadn't it always been that way? “Oh, you know Jessie.”

“Yeah, but I've never seen her act that way around . . . you.” She slid back into the booth and pinned him with that deep brown, knowing gaze. “Does this have anything to do with the other night and Chase's truck?”

“No,” he answered truthfully.

“Then what's going on between the two of you?”

“You know Jessie,” he repeated with a dismissive flick on one hand. It took every ounce of willpower he had not to look over to where Chase and Jessie danced. He didn't succeed. They were dancing close. Real close and though
he wanted to get up and snatch a couple of feet between them, he managed to keep his seat. Whatever the game she was playing, he wasn't going to fall for it.