Part Time Cowboy (Copper Ridge Book 1) (22 page)

Interesting how those two desires had put them on such different paths. She’d thrown up her hands and let it all go. Walked away and never looked back because when she’d realized that nothing in her family would change, she’d realized that she couldn’t stay. That she couldn’t even tempt herself to try.

And yet Eli had stayed. And he’d made changes here that were concrete. He’d done what he’d always dreamed, in many ways. Even though he still hadn’t saved his family. It made her feel like the flake she’d been accused of being more than once.

Especially next to this solid man who had dug his heels in and stayed, even when it was hard. Even when it seemed like there was no point.

But then, she had no brothers and sisters. She’d had no one to stay and fight for.

What about your friends? Alison?

But then they would have known. They would have known what had happened to her and the simple fact was, she hadn’t been able to take the humiliation.

She’d lost her spleen and her family, so it had seemed a bit much to also lose her pride by letting everyone know that her dad had beaten the shit out of her and her mother had sided with him.

No, thank you. Internal bleeding was enough.

Man, what a massively horrible train of thought that was. She was done with it in three, two...

“I think it’s amazing you did what you set out to do,” she said.

“And what about you?” he asked.

Well, darn. She wasn’t in the market to talk about her.

“What about me?”

“Did you always want to be a therapist?”

“No,” she said. “I’m not even sure I wanted to be one when I was one. Which is why I typically did other things on the side. Painting, working part-time in coffeehouses, that kind of thing.”

“Then why did you do it?”

“I was able to get financial aid for school with the help of a guidance counselor.” That counselor and Jenny, her therapist, were the only two people she’d ever talked to about her dad. “And then from there it was recommended I see a therapist. And it was part of being a student at the school, so I went. Jenny listened to me. It made me feel good. I realized that having someone to listen was important.”

She’d never spoken with honesty before. Not even to her high school friends. They’d spoken in veiled terms about how bad it was. Some had unexplained bruises. Some had drugs they’d stolen from their parents’ dresser drawers. They were all escaping, supporting each other, but none of them had ever wanted to detail what their home life was like. If they spent their time away doing that, what was the point of leaving?

She cleared her throat. “Anyway, it was different with Jenny. She made me feel like my words had value. Like I mattered. Like my experiences mattered and like I’d solved something by talking about them. I wanted to do that. And I had to choose a course of study so...I ended up getting a master’s in social work. I figured I would find a way to help people.”

“And you chose crisis counseling.”

“That’s partly because I move so often. It makes more sense for me to work with people who are dealing with a sudden, isolated event, rather than people who need long-term care. I like to help people. But it’s not an easy job. I mean, people in crisis are...well, they’re in crisis. And hearing about those problems isn’t always the most fun.” She drummed her fingers on the door handle. “Though I imagine I’m preaching to the choir.”

“Yeah,” he said. “Law enforcement isn’t all locking up bad guys and being the hero. It’s a whole lot of sad reality.”

“Reality is lame. It’s basically my least favorite.”

“Too bad there’s so much of it around.”

“Man, I feel like you
get
me,” she said, laughing and letting her head fall back against the seat. She was happy being with him. And she didn’t want to examine that too closely.

“We’re going to park up here,” he said.

She sat up straighter, her heart thundering. “And make out?”

“And wait for speeding cars to go by.”

“Uh. Boo. I like mine better.”

“This,” he said, waving his hand between them, “has to stay in your bedroom.”

“Then why did you meet me for coffee?”

“Why did you meet me?” he asked, pulling over and turning to look at her.

“Because it seems like I should know you a little. And that we should talk without fighting. If we’re going to sleep together.”

“I thought the same thing.”

“Well, so then this makes sense,” she said, biting her lip.

“Yep.”

“And we’re not making out in the patrol car.”

“No,” he said. “Please tell me you aren’t a badge bunny.”

“A badge bunny?” She turned to face him. “Is that a thing? Tell me that is not a thing.”

“It’s a thing.”

“Wow. You sound so regretful about it. It’s like a badge-related groupie, right?”

“Yes, yes, it is.”

“And you don’t sound thrilled.”

He let out a sigh. “It’s weird. I’m not a rock star or anything. Women who are hyper into the whole uniform thing...it’s weird.”

“Most guys wouldn’t question it.”

“Jack wouldn’t. Jack doesn’t,” Eli said. “The other bunny we get is the buckle bunny. They like cowboys. They go after Jack and Connor.”

“Connor obviously doesn’t go back.”

“No. He was never much of a player. And he’s less of one now. Jack, on the other hand...”

“That’s your friend. The one I met briefly the night I burst the pipes. And he was with you in the bar, too, right?”

“Yeah. That’s him. He’s more like a degenerate brother. But he’s never taken anything half as seriously as Connor or I do. Which is probably why he’s happier.”

“If more sex is equal to more happiness, then sure. Though you should be bucking up by now.”

“We’ve only had sex twice,” he said.

“We probably could have doubled that if you would have stuck around for a while last night.”

“Not the best time to have this conversation.”

“Well, just don’t go scuttling off into the cold tonight and you’re likely to get a little more action.”

He cleared his throat. “I didn’t want to assume.”

“Oh, I can go all night, buddy,” she said. Which wasn’t a theory she’d tested. Because usually one and done for the evening was fine with her. One orgasm basically put her under the table. She was a sexual lightweight in that way.

“Good to know,” he said, sounding a little strained.

She liked that she could affect him this way. Because he was so solid. So stoic and serious and
good
. She liked that a little naughtiness got him hot under the uniform collar. And clip-on tie.

“So now we wait in semi-camouflage,” she mused, looking into the woods on the passenger side of the car, “for an unsuspecting speeder to go by?”

“Basically,” he said.

“I’m drunk with power,” she said. “And I don’t even have ticket-writing powers. How the hell do you do this without succumbing to the urge to abuse your authority?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

“Humorless response coming, beware.”

“I expected nothing less,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“If I abused my power, my entire reason for wanting it wouldn’t be the same. I want to fix things, remember?”

“So you’re not going to go breaking them further.”

“Not exactly.”

The radio buzzed and Eli held up his hand, putting his hand on the black button. A woman’s voice filled the car, along with a decent amount of feedback. “Disturbance at Oak and Scotchbroom. Suspect appears to be unarmed but is threatening diner patrons.”

“Copy. En route.”

He put his hand back on the shifter and put the car in Drive, flipping a U-turn before turning on the lights and heading back toward town. “More than you bargained for?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said, hanging on to the door handle. “The diner.”

“Yep.”

“We would have been meeting up even if I hadn’t gone with you,” she said, suddenly very glad she was on this end of the call, and not the other. Because men—violent men—did scare her. There was a place down in her soul that went cold when she saw violence in a man’s eyes. That same part curled up in a ball and cried like a little girl getting kicked, over and over again, by her father.

A memory that was never buried as deep as she wished it were.

Suddenly she felt tense. Tense and transparent. He would know that she was afraid. That heading toward whatever was happening was like walking back into a fractured memory she never wanted to revisit.

Calm the hell down, Sadie. It’s a man creating a disturbance and you’re with a man who has a gun.

She took a deep breath and let her internal pep talk bolster her a little.

“Everything will be okay, right?” she asked, in spite of herself, looking over at him.

“I have a 100 percent success rate on making it through the day. I don’t expect today to be any different.”

She didn’t argue with him about how everyone on earth had the same success rate he did, right up until they didn’t. Because it was too nice to hear him say that. Too encouraging. And it made her warm all the way through. Banished that ice-cold fear. And for now she was going to let it, because it was so much better than being afraid.

They entered the town and her tension rose, metallic fear flooding her mouth, like her internal thermometer had broken, poisoning her with a wave of mercury. Or possibly she was being overdramatic. Hard to tell, what with the fact that she was panicking.

He pulled into the lot of the diner and she saw a group of men standing in the parking lot, and Alison on the fringes, wringing her hands.

“Stay in the car,” Eli said.

“But Alison—”

“Stay. In. The. Car,” he repeated, his words terse as he got out, his hand resting on the top of his gun.

* * *

E
LI
SURVEYED
THE
CROWD
,
assessing exactly what was happening. It was what he suspected—a late-morning drunken dispute, which was something that shouldn’t happen, but did—and he doubted anyone’s life was in danger today.

But then, those kinds of thoughts got people killed, and he well knew it, which meant his hand was staying on his gun. He didn’t want to come in looking like a threat, but he wasn’t going to be passive, either.

He knew these guys. Loggers mainly, and unsurprisingly, at the center, Alison’s husband, Jared. He was the drunk one from the looks of things, and the one causing trouble.

“What’s going on here?” he asked, walking over to the knot of men.

“Jared being an asshole,” said Randy, a middle-aged man with a long beard and a tobacco habit that had taken a toll on his teeth.

“Typical day, then,” Mark, a fisherman, added.

“I’m just defending what’s mine,” Jared growled, his expression mutinous and unfocused.

“Jared...” Alison said.

“Shut up. Shut the fuck up,” Jared spat in his wife’s direction. “I wouldn’t have to be down here if you weren’t acting like a slut. So shut your whore mouth.”

Eli let out a long slow breath. Because otherwise he would be tempted to get violent. And that wasn’t what he was here for. But the temptation to move in and shut Jared’s mouth with his fist was a lot stronger than he’d expected.

“There’s no need to talk like that,” he said, his tone hard.

“Free speech, Deputy,” he said.

“We could take a vote on whether or not we like your kind of speech,” Bud, not the one from the gas station, said. “I, for one, would cast my vote with my fist.”

“That’s enough,” Eli said. “Is anyone hurt?”

He looked around the group. There was no blood or visible bruising. But there was no way he could say there was no harm done. Alison was ashen. Terrified. And it churned his gut.

“Is anyone wanting to press charges?” he asked.

“Nah,” Mark said. “No one got hurt.”

Dammit.

He could escort Jared home, but that was about it. State laws regarding public drunkenness were essentially nonexistent. A public health concern, not a misdemeanor. And given that no punches had been thrown, he was back at sending Jared back to his house, where Alison would be later. And that gave him no small amount of concern.

“Jared, I’m going to make sure you get home okay.”

“No, thank you, Deputy,” he spat.

“Oh, well, see, that’s not your choice. Get in on your own, or get in in handcuffs.” He turned back to his car and opened the passenger door. “Out, Sadie, I have to make a delivery, and I’d rather you weren’t with me.”

She looked at him with big worried eyes and it made something in his chest twist. She’d been afraid on the way to this call, and he’d dismissed it as normal, civilian fear, but right now he had a feeling it was something different.

Especially when she got out of the car without argument and headed to the side, not approaching the crowd.