The Trouble With Love

THE TROUBLE WITH LOVE

by Becky McGraw

This is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real.  Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

THE TROUBLE WITH LOVE, Copyright @
July 2,
2012
by Becky McGraw. 
ISBN: 9781476029115

All rights reserved under International and Pan American Copyright Conventions.  By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen.  No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the author.

PROLOGUE

Sabrina was hot and tired, having just got into
Bowie
a few hours ago, and now rushing to the bridal shop with Cassie to get fitted for the dress she had to wear tomorrow in the wedding.  She walked out of the dressing room and stopped short to gawk at her beautiful blond friend. 

"Oh. My. God. Cassie you look like a country princess," Sabrina told Cassie looking over the gorgeous wedding dress with the asymmetrical hemline.

Cassie smiled from ear to ear then twirled with her arms out to the side and asked her,  "Think Luke's gonna like it?"

"If he doesn't he's a blind man," Sabrina hooted.

"That red dress is amazing on you too, Bri," she told Sabrina.  "I think we might have to throw Cole in the horse trough to cool him off."

Sabrina chuckled then told her friend seriously, "You know Cole and I are just friends, right?"  Sabrina thought Cassie might be hoping that friendship would turn into something more, but it wasn't happening.

"I think that's what
you
think, but that's not what
he
thinks, that's what I think," Cassie said then shook her head. "Or maybe not what he wants."

"I'm not sure I'm ready for anything else right now.  Cole is a nice man and damned good looking, but he's a lawman, and I swore when Kenny got killed I would never date another cop."

"Maybe you should talk to him," Cassie suggested gently.

"Maybe I will.  I'm just enjoying his company so much...it's been a long time, since I've let a man get close enough to do that."

"Well, then just be his friend, Bri...and see where things go."

"That's what I'll do, thanks Cassie."

Cassie's eyebrows pinched together like she was worried, and Sabrina wondered what she was thinking, but didn't want to talk about Cole Jackson anymore, so she didn't ask.  Sabrina had thought about the man enough, since she'd met the charming Sheriff in
Phoenix
a month ago, when he'd been there helping Cassie and Luke.

Since he left
Phoenix
, they'd talked on the phone a lot too and she thought she might be getting a little too close to him
,
letting him too far inside her comfort zone.  She couldn't afford to get attached to
Sheriff Cole Jackson
.

"Okay help me get out of this dress so I can take a deep breath," Cassie laughed and stepped down off the pedestal to follow the short round woman back to the dressing room.

When she came back out, they walked out of the bridal shop together smiling and laughing, with their dresses over their arms, and packages stacked so high they couldn't even see the truck.  Cassie stopped and pushed the unlock button on the key fob and Sabrina opened her door and put her packages inside. 

Sabrina looked across the cab and saw Cassie's face go pale, then she reached into her purse and was fumbling around.  Moving her packages around on the floor, Sabrina tried to get them in arranged so she had space to actually sit on the seat.  She looked up when Cassie jumped in the truck and hit the lock button.  Her hands were trembling on the steering wheel.

"Sabrina get in quick," Cassie said in a panicked voice and looked over at her with hollow eyes.

Sabrina felt the blood rush from her face, then pulled her gun out of the shoulder holster under her arm.  "What's wrong, Cassie?  What did you see?"

"I might be seeing ghosts, but I swear I just saw James.  His hair was black, but I'd know that
flat
back
side
of his anywhere."

Sabrina lifted her gun and got in a ready stance
.  U
sing the truck door for cover, she swung her weapon
in conjunction
with her eyes along the sidewalk and down the street looking for James Barton, Cassie's ex-fiance', the man who had escaped a lengthy jail sentence in Phoenix and was now threatening her friend.  "Lock the doors, Cassie
,
and call Cole," she said forcefully then started down the street, he gun pointed downward but ready.

At each corner to an alley, she squared and brought her weapon up then swept the area until she was satisfied it was clear.  Halfway down the block, she saw
someone dart into
an alley
and
took off running
.  Sabrina stopped and
put her back against the wall outside the alley and yelled, "Police! Come out with your hands up!"  She waited a second then squared on the alley and ran toward the man who looked like the one Cassie described, who was jumping the back fence.

"Freeze! Police!" she yelled again and trained her weapon on him, but he didn't stop, instead he dropped down on the other side of the fence.  She looked at the six foot tall fence, and knew there was no way she would be able to scale it.

With a frustrated sigh, she turned back around and Cole Jackson was about two feet from her
,
his face was mottled with rage,
and his gun was out and at his side
.

"
What the fuck do you think you're doing, Sabrina?!?
" he asked incredulously his volume hurting her ears.

"I'm going after
my
fucking
suspect," she told him nastily. 
She didn't use the 'F' word often, but it was necessary now. 
How dare he take an attitude with her, she thought, then walked past him, brushing his shoulder.

He grabbed her arm and turned her back around to face him, "
I'm the Sheriff in this town and you have no jurisdiction, not to mention
he could have shot you
!"

"I'm a trained police officer,
Sheriff
. The man I was chasing is an escaped convict from
my
jurisdiction, from a case
I'm
assigned to by my department.  If anyone should have backed off, it's
you
!"

His green eyes narrowed and he told her in a low and lethal voice, "You told Luke you'd protect Cassie, and you left her in the truck alone...you should have stayed with her and called me to come and check things out."

Sabrina would give him that point, but she wasn't going to tell him that
, besides Cassie was armed and hardly defenseless
. He was using it as an excuse for his abrasiveness, but that wasn't why he was upset with her.  It was because she was a woman, a petite woman, and he was afraid for her safety.  He thought she couldn't do the same job as he could.  Sabrina had seen it enough during her years on the force to recognize it.

She gave him a smug half-smile and told him, "Nah, I know what your problem is Sheriff...you don't think a woman can do this job.  You are a male chauvinist, who thinks he's a big bad lawman
and
has to protect the females of the species," she told him then finished, "Get this straight, Cole Jackson...I don't need or want your protection." 

Sabrina turned on her heel and stomped off up the alley toward the sidewalk with him on her heels.  They rounded the corner on the sidewalk, walking back toward the truck and he yelled at her waving his free hand, "Wait just a damned minute, I am the most open-minded man you'll ever meet, I am
not
a chauvinist!"

She spun around on him and waved her hand at him, "How many women do you have in your department?" she challenged.

His face got redder and she snorted then turned away and continued walking to the truck then yelled over her shoulder, "Go fuck yourself Mr. Big Bad Lawman!"

When Sabrina got back to the truck adrenaline and anger were coursing through her veins like lava.  Breathing heavily, she shoved her weapon back in the holster then slung open the truck door and jumped up inside, then slammed the door shut.  "That man is a male chauvinist
pig
," Sabrina grated out between her teeth.

"Welcome to
Texas
, honey," Cassie told her and chuckled.

"He had the audacity to
yell
at me for going after James," she huffed out then took the rubber band out of her ponytail to smooth her hair, then refasten it again.  "The
nerve
of the man.  James is
my
fugitive, and I have
every
right to go after him."

"You sure do...what did he say?"

"He said I should have stayed in the truck and called
him
," Sabrina said angrily then raised her voice to mimic the infuriating man, "I'm the Sheriff in this town and you have no jurisdiction, not to mention he could have shot you," then she stuck out her tongue for emphasis.  "He sounded like something out of a bad western movie."

"What did you tell him?" Cassie asked pinching her lips obviously trying to hold in the laughter sparkling in her eyes.

"I told Mr. Big Bad Lawman to
go fuck himself
," Sabrina hissed through her teeth.

Cassie roared laughing, so intensely she gripped her sides. Sabrina chuckled with her then guffawed, and before long she was laughing as hard as Cassie was. 

The truck door on Cassie's side was wrenched open and then Cole was standing there, his face mottled with rage.  "Cassie you need to quit all the goofing off and get your ass home, before Luke has a stroke.  I called him and he was fit to be tied," he told her then slammed the door. 

Cassie's humor fled and she sucked in a trembling breath then put her seatbelt on, and put the truck in drive.  Damn, Cole...he had to go and worry Luke.  She groaned then looked over at Sabrina, "Wanna run away together?"

Sabrina chuckled, "I have a feeling where Luke's concerned, you can run, but you can't hide.  He'd find you."

CHAPTER ONE

Bridesmaids were supposed to help prevent the bride from having stress on her big day.  Although, Sabrina Roberts was a
Phoenix
detective, that job had been outside of even her capabilities today.  James Barton, Cassie Bellamy's, ex-fiancé had seen to that. 
He
almost ruined
Cassie and Luke's
wedding. 
Thank goodness that man would never be a problem for any of them ever again.

Sabrina was glad to be able to
just
kick up her heels
and relax now
.  After all the excitement
earlier before the ceremony,
a
fire,
a
shooting, and
the groom's
almost trip to
the hospital, she deserved it.

She wasn't glad
Cassie's wedding dress had been ruined
,
forcing them
to wear jeans and western shirts
for the ceremony
,
but she was very
happy
she wasn't wearing
the four inch heels she'd bought to wear with the red dress she was supposed to wear
. 
Being vertically challenged,
Sabrina had o
nly bought them so she didn't look ridiculous standing next to the five
-
foot
-
ten bride.

After dancing to six two-step songs in a row with six different cowboys,
if she had those skyscraper heels on
, her dogs would really be barking, instead of just pinching
like they were
in
her
new boots. 

Glancing around the huge tent where the reception was being held, Sabrina acknowledged that
Texans sur
e knew how to
throw a shindig.
 
There was enough food to feed an army, and Sabrina thought this crowd slightly resembled one.
  The only difference was that this
army
was
in Stetsons and Wrangler jeans.
 

A great country band had been playing non-stop since they'd walked under the huge tent, and the guests
,
along with
the
gloriously happy
bride and groom,
were certainly taking advantage of the opportunity to dance.
  Sabrina
was too, she
loved to dance, but she hadn't had the opportunity to do it in a long time
.  N
ot since Kenny died.

Shoving that morose thought to the back of her mind, before it invited more into her head, she patted the shoulder of the young red-haired guy she was dancing
with
and said breathlessly, "I think I need to take a breather...
thank you for the dance.
"

"No ma'am--thank
you
," he told her and leaned down to kiss her cheek
then gave her a squeeze
.
  She'd learned since being in Texas, that every female above twenty-one and some who weren't
,
were
often
referred to as 'ma'am'
by the male gender
. 
She'd
taken offense to it at first, thinking they were making fun of her age, but she
'd
asked Cassie
, a native Texan,
about it and had been
educated on southern manners.
  At thirty,
Sabrina
hardly qualified as old, so she was relieved to hear that bit of news.

Sabrina smiled at
her dance partner then turned
to
walk to
the bar to get a beer.  It was hot and humid out
,
since the rainst
orm earlier
was being turned into a steam bath now
by the bright sun that had decided to reappear
.  That combined with a
ll the dancing she'd been doing had her 'glowing'.
  Cassie also told her that
southern wo
men didn't sweat--they glowed.

Well,
Sabrina thought she
must be
'
glowing
'
like a hundred watt bulb. 
Grabbing
a few bar napkins
, she
dotted them over her face then pulled
out
the front of her shirt
to fan
it to get some air flow going.

"Well
,
aren't you the Belle of the Ball..." Cole
Jackson
,
drawled sarcastically beside her and raked her from head to toe with his eyes.  T
he tall blond Sheriff
,
who she'd thought charming in
Phoenix
, but
who
had since proven to be anything but,
was
lean
ing on
h
is elbow on the bar beside her.

She
cut him a heated gla
re
then
ignored him and looked at the bartender who'd just walked back up.  "Bud, please
,
"
she requested sweetly.

He nodded
then
reached into a big tub of ice behind him and
pulled
out a bottle
and
uncapped it
,
before handing it to her.  "Here you go, sugar," he told her and winked.

Sabrina
put a five-dollar bill on the bar and slid it over to him then
winked and
said in her best imitation of a
Texas
drawl, "Thanks, sugar
."
S
he let
her eyes rove over his impressive chest, which was fairly obvious under
the
tight
black t-shir
t
he wore
.
 

The bartender was too young for her,
probably early twenties,
and she certainly wasn't in the market
for a pickup
,
but she knew that Cole was paying very close attention, and he wasn't happy...which made her
very
happy.
  She owed him a few.

The bartender's brown eyes lit with interest and he said, "Save me a dance, I'm taking a break in ten minutes."

"I'll be waiting..." she told him
saucily
with a
not
h
er
wink then turned
her back on
Cole
and walked
toward the bridal party table
set up
in the corner of the big tent.

S
abrina
was still extremely angry with
Cole
for the way he'd treated her in
Bowie
when she'd been chasing James Barton.
  The nerve of the man
to reprimand her for going after Barton
,
her
fugitive from
Phoenix
. 
Not to mention the show he put on at the bar in
Bowie
when he was out with Luke for his bachelor party
last night
, playing tonsil hockey
right in front of her
with the loose blond he'd picked up. 
All that t
opped off by
his sarcastic remark
to her
just now
pretty much killed any warm and fuzzies she had
developed
for
Sheriff Cole Jackson
in the month
or so
she'd known him
.

When she'd met
Cole
at Cassie's house in
Phoenix
, she'd been captivated by the
charismatic
Sheriff.  Since she'd gotten to know him a little better
though
, her opinion was that he was a top-notch male chauvinist ass
...
and
definitely a player. 

Sabrina didn't need that in her life.  It had taken everything in her just to open herself up to the possibility of a friendship with him. 
She hadn't done that
with any man
since Kenny died eighteen months ago.  And
now
Cole had definitely shown her
she needed to
choose more carefully when she decided to dip her toe into the dating or friendship
pool
with men.  Her
'he's a jerk
' radar must be rusty.

Just as she got to the table,
yet
another guy grabbed her hand before she could sit down and she pulled it away.  "I'm sitting this one out, but thanks anyway," she told the very large and slightly rough looking cowboy
with a small smile
.

He grabbed her hand again an
d pulled her to him,
causing her to slosh her beer on her shirt. 
She looked up at him and told him firmly,
"I said, I'm not interested in dancing,"
then
pulled away from him to swipe the liquid from her chest.

"You've been dancing with everyone else...you too good to dance with me?" His voice had an edge to it that bothered her.
  Paired with the fact that he was obviously drunk, that edge bothered her even more.  Sabrina hated mean d
runks, she'd arrested enough of them when she was a beat cop.

"No, I just
don't
want to dance
," she grated out between her teeth.  This guy was evidently pretty slow if he didn't get that.

His eyes darkened and his lip curled before he took a step into her personal space.  Okay, this wasn't looking good, she thought
,
looking around at the other guests nearby who were chatting
in small groups
, oblivious to her dilemma here
.  She did not want to have to give this guy a knee to the balls, but if he took another step closer, that's exactly what he'd get.

"Too damn bad, we're dancing
," he said and grabbed her upper arm with a big beefy hand, his fingers gripping painfully
.
"
No way in hell are you gonna turn me down when you danced with all my friends."

Sabrina narrowed her eyes and
told him in her sternest cop voice
, "I'd suggest you let go of my arm..."

He hooted, "Or what?"

Sabrina sighed,
then
pretended she was going to actually dance with the big oaf,
and
maneuvered him to where he was facing her
.  Drawing her
foot back unt
il it almost touched her butt,
she
thrust her knee into his groin
with everything she had
.
 

"Or that..." she said right when the blow landed
.

The big oaf
gave a high pitched squeal then grabbed his balls
and
fell to
his knees.
She stood beside him and smiled down at him smugly.  "Wanna dance?" she asked him
mockingly
with a
laugh.

As many people as were under the tent celebrating, nobody noticed what was going on with her and big oaf, except his friends. 
She saw several of the men she'd danced with earlier
headed their way
to see what was going on. 
Once they got there, and
figured out what had happened
,
they all started razzing him and laughing like a bunch of
drunk
monkeys.

Turning her back to them, she walked away from the table toward the edge of the tent.  She needed some air, and she needed to get away from those drunk morons before they decided to
take it to another level once big oaf's balls dropped back in place.