Ryker’s Justice (3 page)

Once
he said that, he thought maybe he’d gone too far too fast, but Nicole nodded.
“Sure, if you want. I’m guessing you bagged some squirrels today and since
you’re eating here tonight, I could cook them tomorrow.”

Maybe
he should pinch his arm because their conversation had a surreal dream quality.
“Tomorrow’s fine with me,” he answered. “I live out in the boondocks, though.”

“Not
a problem.”

He
laughed. “And here I thought I had you pegged as a city woman, but you seem to
have at least a little country raising.”

She
responded with a full smile. “My grandparents gave me some but it’s been a long
time…”

So
they shared some common ground. “I know the feeling well.”

“I
suppose you do,” she said. “So, you’re a native around here?”

“Born,
bred, and gone as soon as I got old enough to make tracks,” Jude told her. It’d
been his standard answer since he turned eighteen. “No matter how far I’ve
traveled, though, these hills will always be home to me. What about you?”

“I’m
from
Memphis
,”
she said. That confirmed his notion she had an urban background. “But I spent a
lot of time with my grandparents down near
Greenville
,
Mississippi
.
They go squirrel hunting there, too. I learned to fry chicken like a Southern
belle from my Granny, and to bake the best chocolate cake you ever tasted. Pop
taught me to shoot, too, and although I haven’t been around a gun in years, I
used to be a fair enough shot.”

Jude’s
first impressions had been positive but the more Nicole talked, the more he
admired the woman. He noticed the lingering marks where she’d worn a ring on
her left hand, for a long time judging by the way it cut into her skin. Curious,
he asked, “You’re a long way from home, honey. What brought you from the Delta
to the Ozarks?”

When
the sparkle in her eyes diminished and her faint smile faded, he wished he
hadn’t asked.
I don’t know what’s in her
past but you just put your foot in your mouth, Ryker
.

Nicole
released a heavy sigh and although she didn’t move away from him, her shoulders
hunched tighter. “It’s a long story and not a very happy one,” she said after a
pause.

Afraid
he might have pissed on any chance that they might get
together,
Jude tried to salvage the conversation. “Hey, if you don’t want to tell me,
it’s cool. It isn’t any of my business and I shouldn’t have asked. So forget
about it. Now if you look across the road, past the cedars, there’s three deer.
Do you see them?”

She
squinted. “Yeah, I think so. They’re beautiful.”

“Yeah,
they are.”
And so
, he thought,
are you
, but he didn’t dare say it, not
now.

They
rocked in silence--but an uncomfortable one. He wished she would speak because he
didn’t, afraid he would say the wrong thing again. After a lengthy pause, Nicole
turned toward him. “Jude?”

Here’s where she tells me to get
lost or that she’s got a migraine or some other shit.
“Yeah?”

Nicole
twisted her hands together and rubbed her bare ring finger. “I’ve made a lot of
mistakes and one of them was my marriage. I know it’ll sound cliché but I was
trapped in hell for too long. I came here because I had to get away. My divorce
was final the end of last week and I can breathe again.”

Her
words slammed into him with the force of a hammer. Her sad eyes, furtive
manner, and bashful ways until now made sense. But a ricochet romance wasn’t
something Jude sought and his heart skipped a beat. “I’m glad, honey,” he told
her. “But now I need to ask you something.”

She
cocked her head and met his gaze. “What?”

“Are
you ready for this?”

Her
cheeks blushed pink. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

Jude
damn well knew she did. “We’re sitting out here on the porch together. You’re
coming over to my house to make squirrel and dumplings tomorrow. I’m staying
for supper at the inn, mostly so I can spend more time with you. I don’t do any
of this unless I’m hoping for something more than friendship. You’ve been here,
what, six weeks, or is it eight? And now it’s October and your divorce was
finished a week ago. Are you emotionally ready, or are you toting around a lot
of bullshit baggage?”

From
the stunned look on Nicole’s face, he guessed he’d been about as subtle as a
baseball bat and opened his mouth to apologize, but she smiled. Everything
shifted in that moment. Emotion, tempered with desire, flared between them,
potent as an advancing thunderstorm.

“I
left all my baggage back in
Memphis
,”
she said. “If I wasn’t ready, Jude, I wouldn’t have hollered at you from the
window or be sitting here beside you. The ink on the divorce may not be quite
dry but believe
me,
I was done with my old man a long
time ago. I haven’t lived with him for two years, a good part of which he spent
in jail. So I’m ready—if you’re willing.”

Someone
who hadn’t been raised on classic country music and rockabilly tunes might not
have caught the reference to one of Johnny Horton’s songs but Jude did. One of
the few things shared with his often silent father had been music and the
upbeat tunes of another era provided Jude with many happy moments. He could
remember singing into a wooden spoon in front of the mirror, pretending to be a
famous singer. “I like the way you smile,” he sang. “Would you like to spoon
awhile?”

Nicole’s
shy smile turned on full wattage until she glowed. “I just might,” she said.

The
old-fashioned screen door twanged as it opened and Mary stepped onto the porch.
“There you are, Jude,” she said. “Supper’s ready and Rick said you’re staying.”

He
stood. “I am, as long as you don’t mind.”

Mary
slapped his arm playfully. “Of course I don’t. I’m glad you’ll join us. It’s
been awhile since you have.”

Jude
snorted. “I’ve only been home since May, Mary. And I’ve shared your table at
least four times in six months.”

She
beamed at him. “You could join us anytime you wanted.”

“I
know.” And he did. Jude extended his hand to Nicole and without any hesitation
she took it, her skin smooth against his calloused palm. Mary’s eyes focused on
their joined hands but she said nothing.

Hand
in hand, Jude and Nicole headed for the dining room in Mary’s wake.

Chapter Three

Jude
had imagined a cozy table for two near the windows overlooking the river, but instead
he and Nicole joined both
Cockrells
at a six-seat
round table. No other guests were staying at the inn so he figured they couldn’t
refuse without offense. They dined family style, passing dishes and filling
plates with light, comfortable conversation. The pot roast turned out to be the
most tender he’d ever eaten and the rest of the meal matched in quality.

“So
what do you think of the high school football team this year?” Rick said after
they’d shared a brief grace. “Last year they made it to districts but a lot of
the best players graduated, or so I hear.”

“I
haven’t really been following them,” Jude said. His mind had been on other
matters. “Maybe I should go to a game. After all, I used to play for the
Hawks.”

Rick
leaned forward, fork in hand. “I’d heard that. Fullback, weren’t you?”

“Yeah,
most of the time, but I played kicker and wide receiver positions too.”

“Went
to State your senior year, I hear, and took the championship.”

They
had, and it’d been a rough game, battled in drizzling rain. Jude had suffered
multiple bruises, a cracked rib, and ended up with pneumonia a week later, but
it’d been a glorious victory. “Oh yeah, we did,” he said.

“They
still talk about the victory down at the feed mill and convenience store,” Rick
said with a gleam in his eyes. “Didn’t you get hurt?”

“Sick,
too,” Jude replied. “But the pain was worth the gain.”

Both
men laughed but the women frowned. “I remember,” Mary said. “How long ago was
it, anyway?
Eight, ten years ago?”

He
had no need to count, he knew. “Seventeen years ago,” Jude said. He’d been a
senior,
then
tried college for two years before he
abandoned the effort for the Navy. “It’s been a long time. I’ve been around the
world and back since then.”

Nicole
broke her silence of several minutes. “Weren’t you in the service, Jude?”

“Yes,
I was--in the Navy,” he said. “How’d you know?”

Mary
answered before Nicole could open her mouth. “Word gets around. You’re
kinda
famous around here. People never forgot you, and when
you came home they talked about it.”

“I
don’t know why they would,” he said. Mary’s comments made him self-conscious,
the way he’d been when he went to school with holes in the soles of his shoes
or a torn shirt. “It’s not that big of a deal, not really. I decided to come
home for a while.”

Rick
reached for a hot roll and buttered it. “I hope you’re planning to stay, Jude.
You’re a right fair handyman and Mary likes you.”

The
roast, potatoes, gravy, lima beans, and hot rolls became a heavy lump in his
stomach. If he’d come home for kicks or to settle down, he probably wouldn’t
mind but since he came with an agenda, Jude preferred not to talk about his
plans. His execution of duty hinged on keeping a low profile so if anyone
decided he returned with a purpose, it could turn bad with speed. He enjoyed
being back but he figured after he’d finished the investigation, he would
return to the wider world, far afield. Jude hadn’t thought about it much, but
for the first time he realized he liked it here, more than he had guessed. On
some deep level he ached to stay. As he sought something to say to shift the
topic, Nicole spoke up.

“I
like you, too.” Her husky voice sent shivers down his spine--because he
believed she meant it. After their earlier conversation, he wanted her. His
cock hardened beneath the table and he imagined, for a brief moment, taking
Nicole on top of it. “I’m delighted you returned or I wouldn’t have met you. I
like the Ozarks, especially this small corner of it.”

Their
eyes met, charged as lightning. “I like it myself,” Jude said. Relief eased his
tight gut and he reached for another slice of meat. “River’s beautiful. Have
you been on a float trip yet?”

“No,
but I’d like to experience one. I’ve watched them pass by from my window.”

Images
of a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson popped into his head from a literature
class.
“The lady of something”
,
Jude thought as he recalled bits and
pieces of the poem. It’d been something about a reclusive woman living in a
tower, watching the world go past on the river below. “Watching’s okay but
doing is much better,” he told her. As soon as he spoke, he realized his words
could hold a double meaning. From the way her eyes sparkled and her lips pursed
into a smile, he knew she realized it, too.

“I’d
like to do it,” Nicole said.

“Sure,
if we can work it in while you’re here. How long are you staying?”

“At
least until Thanksgiving,” Nicole replied. In unison, the
Cockrells
turned toward her, mouths drooping, eyes wide. Apparently they hadn’t expected
her answer. She added, “If, of course, there are rooms available.”

Mary
responded with enthusiasm. “Oh, honey, sure there are! From Thanksgiving on,
we’re almost fully booked because we’ve got people who always come during the
holidays. We put up a huge tree in the lobby and decorate the place. We sing
carols in the parlor every night and Rick has a lot of traditional recipes.
Remind me after we finish and I’ll go to the desk to book you, if that’s really
what you want.”

“Yes,
thanks.”

Jude
suspected her decision related to him and their mutual interest. If so, he
liked the idea but he wondered what happened after he tracked down the moonshiners.
His original plan had been to return to his life far away but he enjoyed being
back in his native country, and he liked Nicole. Anything could happen, though,
and he didn’t want her basing decisions on what might or might not happen
between them.
I’ll give it a chance, see
what happens, and deal with whatever comes.

Mary
distracted him with an unexpected comment. “Your mama sure loved the holidays,
Jude.”

Had
she? He barely remembered but vague memories stirred. For a few seconds, he
swore he could smell evergreen and thought he recalled watching his mother roll
out cookie dough. “I suppose she did.”

“Oh,
yes. I always forget you’re the last one and don’t always remember everything,”
the older woman said with kindness. “But we grew up together, your mama and me.
We were good friends. It sure was a shame about her passing away so young.”

“Yeah,”
Jude said. He might not remember the holidays with clarity, but he did recall
every detail of the day his mother died. Jude also realized, with more than a
little dismay, that his mom had been younger than he was now. Memory hit him
with force and he shut his eyes for a moment as the past stretched out in his
mind, stinging him with pain as he recalled the details of that fateful
afternoon.