Loving a Lawman (24 page)

But right now he had something more important to do. “Chester. I've got something I need to take care of.”

“You need to take care of this.”

How close had she been to the highway when Jake called? He wished he knew. He was running out of time.

“Let me get Dusty out here. Or even Summers.” Bradley Summers was his latest deputy, fresh-faced and eager. Brad was the grandson of the previous sheriff and nephew to Darly Jo, but even with all that stacked against him, he still wanted to be in law enforcement.

“What's he, twelve?”

“Twenty,” Seth corrected. “And he loves the law. I'm sure he could straighten this out for you.” That was a lie, but Seth needed to go; time was wasting.

“Sheriff, you gotta do something about this.” Amos came barreling through Chester's pasture.

“You need to get off my land,” Chester countered.

“It ain't enough that he violated my mailbox and other private property. Now he wants to go and . . .”

Seth blocked out the two and thumbed his cell phone to the address book. He was going to need backup. “Millie, get Dusty out here to the Gibson place. Jessie's leaving, and I need help.”

“Jessie's leaving?”

“Just get Dusty out here. Now.” Somehow he managed to keep his cool when he wanted to do nothing more than yell, scream, and jump up and down.

The line was silent for two whole seconds as Seth waited. “He'll be there ASAP.”

“Thanks, Millie.”

“Sure thing, Sheriff.”

He dialed his second number and did his best to ignore
the dueling seniors behind him. This was far more important to him than pink mailboxes and faux-beaver dams.

“Yello,” the young voice on the other end greeted.

“Brad, it's Seth.”

“Oh! Sheriff.” He could almost hear the boy's heels click together in military fashion. “What can I do you for?”

“I need you to find my wife.”

“Jessie?”

“She would be the one, yes.” He used one finger to plug his ear as Chester and Amos continued their arguing. “She's heading toward the Shell station out on the highway.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I need you to find her and stop her.”

“Stop her from what?”

Seth closed his eyes. “Stop her from leaving town.”

“Jessie's leaving town?”

“Can you do it?” Seth asked.

“I think so.” His tone did not inspire Seth's confidence.

“Don't think,” Seth instructed. “Do. Do whatever it takes but don't let her leave town.”

“Roger that.”

“And, Brad?”

“Yes, Sheriff?”

“Don't answer the phone ‘Yello.'”

“Yes, sir.” There went that military click again.

Seth hung up and eased back over to the two men. They hadn't even known that he was gone.

“And furthermore,” Chester was saying with a flourish and a brandishing of his long pointer finger.

“Furthermore, nothing,” Seth interrupted. “This has got to stop, and I need it to stop now.” He turned to Amos. “The Nolan twins painted your mailbox. They thought it would be a good joke and no one would care because they put a pink ribbon on it. You know, the whole breast cancer awareness thing. They also painted Miss Gleeson's, the
fire chief's, and the one in front of the hospital. They're doing two weekends of community service and will be putting up new mailboxes in all four places.”

He turned back to Chester. “The basketball team built that dam. Well, more than likely. They've gotten into more mischief this summer than I care to recall. It's time you got that through your head. Amos has a bad back and couldn't get down long enough for that sort of construction without spending weeks in traction afterward. I'll call the coach and have a talk with him. He'll have the boys come out and dismantle it for you. Until then, leave your neighbor alone.
Capiche?
” Seth asked.

“What exactly does that mean?” Amos asked.

“It means understand, you imbecile,” Chester said.

“I'm the imbecile? At least I speak American.”

Chester rolled his eyes.

Seth would have laughed, but daylight was burning. “I'm leaving, gentlemen. I trust this incident is over.”

He waited for them both to give a nod of agreement before tipping his hat, turning on his heel, and heading back for his truck.

He could only hope that Brad could hold the scene until he could get there.

*   *   *

T
he blue-and-red strobe lights flashed in her rearview mirror.

Jessie glanced back, hoping against hope that it wasn't Seth. Surely he would know his own vehicle. It was probably the highway patrol. Had she been speeding?

Her heart was breaking, so she hadn't been paying the best attention to how fast she was going.

She rolled down the window as Bradley Summers came up to the side of her car.

“Can I see your driver's license and registration please?”

Sadie let out a bark from her perch in the passenger's seat. Then bared her teeth and emitted a low growl.

“Hi, Brad. Is there a problem?”

“Just driver's license and registration.”

“I understand that.” Jessie fished her wallet out of her purse and handed her license to him. “But why did you stop me?”

“We can talk about that after I see your registration.”

What had Seth done with the registration papers? She leaned over and dug around in the glove box, but there was nothing. She checked over the visors—passenger's side and driver's side. Nada. “Let me check under the seat.”

“Ma'am, do you have a registration for this vehicle?”

This was growing more bizarre by the minute. “I don't know what Seth did with it, Brad, and why are you calling me ma'am?” She fished around under the seat and came back with a folder of papers. Thank heaven, the registration for the Jeep was right on top.

She handed it to Brad.

“Thank you, ma'am.”

“I babysat you, and you tried to kiss me at church camp. Why are you calling me ma'am like you don't even know me?”

“Wait here, ma'am.” He walked back to his car, and Jessie wondered what the odds were that he would follow her if she floored it.

Only two things stopped her. One was the fact that she had Sadie in the car and she wouldn't risk the pup's life in a potentially high-speed car chase. And two, she might have known Brad Summers her entire life, but that didn't mean other agencies wouldn't get involved in whatever was playing out right now.

Oh, and it was against the law. There was that too. She certainly didn't want to spend the afternoon in jail. One night there had been enough.

She checked her rearview to see if Brad had taken her
documents into his car or if he had done something else. With the way this day was turning out, she wouldn't have been surprised if he had set fire to them both and was now performing the Mexican Hat Dance around their smoldering remains.

Thankfully he had slid behind the wheel of his car and was talking on the radio. To Millie? To Seth?

Maybe she should take her chances.

“Great,” she muttered as Seth pulled up.

She watched in the mirror as he came up to the car. She didn't get out.

“What are you doing?” he asked. He looked as if the devil himself had taken up residence. His eyes blazed, his cheeks were red, and his breathing was labored.

“I'm leaving, Seth.” She had said it three times now and it hadn't gotten any easier.

“Why, Jessie?”

“Don't make me say it.” She closed her eyes, but they snapped back open again as he responded.

“Say it.”

“You don't love me, and I can't make you stay married to me. Not now.”

“You're wrong. I do love you. More than you will ever know.”

“And this is why I didn't want to say it.” She shook her head. “You're a great guy, Seth. One of the best I know. Maybe
the best
. But I can't trap you into staying married to me. Let me go. There's somebody out there for you to love. I can't keep you from that.”

“Jessica Langston, what the hell are you talking about?”

“I'm talking about words, Seth. Don't tell me you love me when we both know that's not true. They're just words, Seth. Only words.”

“Get out of the car, Jessie.”

Something in his voice made her comply. She slid from the cab of the Jeep and immediately wished she hadn't.
He towered over her in both height and anger. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

Next thing she knew, he had confined her hands in cuffs, and she was on her way to his service vehicle.

“What are you doing?”

“I'm taking you to jail.”

Y
ou're what?”

Seth escorted her past the shocked deputy, then opened the back door of the car. “Watch your head.”

Had the entire world gone insane?

“You can't do this,” she said as he urged her inside.

“Oh, but I can. You see, you stole my car.”

“I thought it was a gift,” she mumbled.

“Tell that to the sheriff.”

“You are the sheriff.”

“Hmmm.”

She looked to Brad. “It was a gift. Help me.”

“Was it a gift?” Brad asked Seth. She had to hand it to the kid. He had a pair for sure.

“Maybe. Maybe not,” Seth answered, slipping his sunglasses back into place.

“I'm not sure if you can arrest someone for taking a gift, sir.”

“Fine.” Seth pressed his lips together and gave him a
curt nod. Then he turned back to Jessie. “You're under arrest for stealing my dog.”

*   *   *

S
eth was surprised that he had any molars left by the time he got Jessie to the jail. This had to be one for the history books. How many sheriffs had had the great honor of arresting their wives? Not once, but twice!

He opened the door and helped her from the backseat.

All eyes were on them as he escorted her inside and to one of the holding cells.

“You have anything you want to tell me?” he asked.

“Now, why would you go and ask a fool thing like that?”

“Nothing in your own defense?”

She tossed back her head like an angry filly. “Nope.”

“Then you have the right to remain silent—”

Jessie shut the door before he could even finish. “Lock me up, Sheriff.”

“Are you bad to the bone?” he asked, repeating her words from that fateful night just a couple of months ago.

“Damn straight.”

“A smart man once said, ‘Pride goeth before a fall.'” He watched her reaction as he locked the cell door. Damn, but she was full of piss and vinegar.

“Bible,” she mumbled.

“I beg your pardon.”

“It was in the Bible.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “I believe you're right.”

“You think I'm being prideful?”

“Honey, I know you are. But it's okay. I've got all day.” He sat down in his chair and propped his booted feet on the desk. “Hell, I've got at least another year before election time comes around again.”

“What do you want from me, Seth?”

“I want you to admit that you love me.”

“Why, so you can rub my nose in it? One more notch on the bedpost for Cattle Creek's most eligible bachelor.”

“No, because it's a terrible thing, to be in love alone.”

“Who said that? Grandma Esther?”

“Nah, it was on that box of herbal tea you left in the pantry.”

“Sage advice from Lipton.”

He snorted.

“You don't love me, Seth. Just let me go.”

“You don't know what I feel. You've never given me a chance to explain.”

She crossed her arms and huffed. “Fine. Explain.”

The straight line of her shoulders and the set of her jaw looked dangerous.

“What do I have to do, Jessie? What do you need from me?”

“I need the truth.”

“Never mind.” He had tried, and he was all out of ideas. He couldn't make her believe. Not when she didn't want to so badly.

He started toward the door.

“Does this mean you're going to let me out of jail?”

“No.” He said the one word, then turned to Millie. “Whatever you do, don't let her out of that cell.” That said, he walked out of the building.

*   *   *

J
essie flopped back onto the cot and mulled over her options. There really weren't any. Not until Seth decided to let her out of jail.

Unless Seth hadn't considered Millie as a weakness. . . .

She was on her feet in a heartbeat. She wrapped her fingers around the bars and said a little prayer this would work.

“Why is he doing this, Millie?” He was only making it harder on them all.

Millie didn't look up from the papers she was reading.

“Millie,” Jessie tried again. “Just let me out of here. I won't tell.”

She turned the page but didn't acknowledge Jessie's words.

“I know you know where the keys are.”

Millie didn't answer.

“It's better this way,” Jessie said. “It's time for me to go. All I want to do is start over. Millie?”

She turned another page, not taking her eyes off her reading.

Time to pull out the big guns. “I love him, you know. But it won't work between us. We've tried.”

“I'm not taking sides, Jessie.”

“But if you're not taking sides while I'm in jail, doesn't that mean you are—in a sense—taking Seth's side?”

Millie shook her head, but then she met Jessie's gaze. “What?”

Jessie didn't have time to answer as Dusty came into the station.

“You get everything taken care of with Chester and Amos?” Millie asked.

Dusty gave a quick nod, then looked from Millie to Jessie. “Are you kidding me?” he asked.

Millie shrugged. “I just work here.”

“Why did he arrest her this time?”

“Stealing his dog.” Jessie and Millie said the words at the same time.

Sadie barked.

Dusty muttered something under his breath that didn't bear repeating.

Jessie cringed as he stalked to his desk, rummaged through the top drawer, and removed a key. Still muttering under his breath, he stalked over to the key cabinet, opened it, and retrieved the key to the jail cell door.

He unlocked it with more force than necessary, the ring of keys jingling like a string of bells.

“You're free to go.” He stepped back from the door.

She had plenty of room but was hesitant. “Is this some kind of trick?”

“No.”

“Dusty,” Millie started. “I don't think—”

“It's okay, Millie,” Dusty said. “Come on, Jess. You want to leave, leave.”

When he put it like that, it made her seem cold and heartless. Didn't he understand? She was doing this for her and Seth. But mostly for Seth. He deserved to find his one true love. Not the girl he got pregnant and had to marry.

“But Seth said—” Millie tried again.

“I'm not worried about Seth. Go on, Jessie.”

Left with nothing else, she slipped from the cell. “Do I need to sign anything?” she asked.

Dusty shook his head. “Just go.”

She nodded, her throat suddenly constricted with tears. She picked up Sadie and started for the door. The pooch didn't need to stay with Seth any more than she did. They were the same; just a couple of strays that had once been Langstons.

With a sniff, she picked up her purse and started for the door.

“Why'd you do that?” Millie asked Dusty as Jessie reached for the handle. “Seth will kill you for letting her leave.”

Jessie paused.

“She won't make it out of town.”

She pushed out of the sheriff's office, looking first one way and then the other, Dusty's words ringing in her ears.

It was leaving time. Yet how?

Seth had taken her keys. She didn't have time to get another car. She needed to get out of town. Once that was accomplished she could take her time in building her life back one piece at a time.

Did Dusty think she had no means? Okay, so maybe
she didn't have any way of leaving now. But she still had a few friends in this town.

“Come on, girl.” She walked across the street to the Chuck Wagon, praying the whole while that Sheridan would still be at work.

She pushed into the restaurant, her gaze darting around until it landed on her friend.

“Honey, are you okay?”

Jessie swiped at her cheeks, only then realizing that she had been crying. “Yeah. I will be.” But how long it would take was still undetermined. Six months? A year? Forever?

“Come sit down. I'll get you something to drink. You want a Coke?”

Jessie shook her head. “I need a ride. Can you help me?”

“A ride? Where?”

“To the bus stop.”

Sheridan pressed her lips together and shook her head. “Jessie.”

“Please,” Jessie begged, her tears starting anew.

Sheridan thought about it a minute; then Chuck came out of the back.

He took one look at Sadie and shook his head. “Jessie, get that mutt out of here.”

“Sheridan?” She turned her attention back to the waitress. “Please. I need your help.”

She shook her head. Her blond ponytail swinging from side to side. “Let me get my keys.”

*   *   *

Y
ou want to tell me about it?” Sheridan asked as they headed out to the bus station at the edge of town.

“No.” Jessie looked out the window and watched Cattle Creek roll by. How long had she dreamed of this moment? Forever. And now that it was here she didn't want it anymore.

“He's a good man, Jessie. Maybe you should talk to him.”

“It's not about him.”

Sheridan stopped her car at the light at First and Main. Jessie could feel her gaze on her, but she kept her eyes trained on the sights outside the window.

Then the light turned green and they were headed out again.

“You know, I didn't really know your mother that well. I mean, we were in the same class and all, but we didn't hang out with each other.”

“You knew my mom?”

Sheridan looked at her for a second, then turned back to the road. “Yeah. But like I said, we weren't really friends, but there was something about your mother that you couldn't help noticing when you were around her.”

“What was that?” No one had ever really talked to her about her mother.

“Her bravery.” Sheridan smiled. “You make me think a lot of her. Your smile and spunk.”

“Thank you,” Jessie murmured, petting Sadie's head and thinking about what Sheridan had just told her.

“You're also the hardest-working person I know. So was she.”

Jessie could hear a “but” coming, though she didn't say as much.

“But she never left this town,” Sheridan continued. “Not until she had to.”

Jessie tried to let those words sink in, but they kept bouncing around just out of reach.

Her mother had come back to this town from college, pregnant with no father in sight. She'd raised her the best she could in an unforgiving town. Jessie never remembered her mother's chin being down. Donna McAllen lived as if each day was a gift. And somewhere along the way, Jessie had forgotten that about her. Her smile, her laugh, the way she smelled when she just got out of the shower.

“She would've never given up on something she wanted.”

But there was more to it. She had turned to tell Sheridan
that when she caught sight of the water tower and an image that had her shaking her head and rubbing her eyes.

“Oh, honey.” Sheridan peered through her windshield, then pulled her older-model Chevy to the side of the road.

Jessie got out of the car and, standing in the V of the door, continued to stare.

“Is that really . . . ?” Sheridan asked.

“Seth,” Jessie whispered.

The sheriff of Page County was standing on the water tower's catwalk. Next to the longhorn mascot in large red letters, he had painted
SETH LOVES J
. He had even spelled out the word
loves
. His paintbrush was working on the next
e
in her name.

“Oh, honey,” Sheridan said again.

She had doubted his love for her all this time. What a fool she had been.

“You still want to go to the bus stop?” Sheridan asked.

Jessie shook her head, unable to take her gaze from Seth.

“Good. Because I wasn't going to take you. Not after that.”

Jessie smiled and shaded her eyes to get a better look at her husband. He loved her. He had been telling her all along. But she couldn't believe. Those were just words, and he was a man of action. This was his way of showing her.

“Thanks, Sheridan.” Jessie scooped Sadie into her arms, then went around the front of the car to give her friend a quick hug.

“I would say anytime, but I hope you never need another ride to the bus station.”

Jessie smiled. “I don't think I will.” She was staying right there in Cattle Creek. Right where she belonged.

“Go get your man,” Sheridan said, then ducked back into her car.

Jessie carried Sadie over to Seth's patrol vehicle and climbed onto the hood. He hadn't looked down even once.
He was wholly concentrating on the task at hand while her heart was near to bursting with her love for him.

A car drove by and honked.

Jessie turned and waved, registering in that split second that it was a carload of high schoolers showing their support.

A classic Lincoln pulled to a stop next to Seth's truck and Miss Alma Brown got out. Miss Alma had taught almost every resident of Page County piano or violin at one time or another. She propped her hands on her pudgy hips and gazed up at the water tower. “Has he gone crazy?”