Loving a Lawman by Amy Lillard Read Free Book Online Page A

early. Had the man even slept?
    â€œI talked to Chase this morning. He said he’d drop the charges as long as you agree to pay to have his truck fixed.”
    She had known all along it would come to this. Just for a moment she had forgotten about the “incident” at Manny’s, the state of Chase’s truck, her stint in jail, and the damages she’d need to pay for. Okay, so maybe she hadn’t
forgotten
, but it had slipped to the back of her mind, and now . . . well, now she was once again faced with a county full of people who always expected the worst from her, including the man she loved.
    â€œFine,” she said, then set her coffee mug down on the floor and retrieved her belt. She laid it on the cot next to her, then pulled on her boots. At least she wouldn’t lose both her jobs. Maybe Chuck would let her pick up a few more shifts until she could find something else. Then paying for Chase’s truck wouldn’t put such a dent in her savings. Or maybe Manny had cooled down and would regret firing her. If she was lucky—and she wasn’t usually—he’d let her have her job back this afternoon. Hey, it could happen. Page County was home to only a little over three thousand people. In such a small labor force, it wasn’t easy to find someone willing to take on the rowdy cowboy crowd that congregated at Manny’s.
    She stood and pushed the tail of her shirt back into her jeans, barely taking the time to refasten them before threading her belt through its loops. Ignoring her sleep-trodden, half-braided hair, she shoved her hat back on her head and grabbed her half-empty coffee mug before facing Seth.
    He sat behind his desk, sipping his own cup of coffee. All of last night’s food had been cleared away, only to be replaced with a new batch—a pan of brownies, a box ofdoughnuts, and a sticky caramel coffee cake that Jessie was certain was Heather Clemens’s grandmother’s recipe.
    â€œCan I go now?”
    He nodded once, and Jessie started for the door.
    â€œThis isn’t over, you know.”
    â€œYeah, Seth. It is.”
    In more ways than one.
    *   *   *
    D
amn fool woman!
    Head bent over his notebook, Seth cut his gaze up and watched Jessie jerk open the station door. It took all his energy not to pop up from the chair like some crazed jack-in-the-box and go after her, demand that she tell the truth. Demand she forget her damned pride that kept her from defending herself against these charges in the first place.
    She was going to make this hard on him. Thank heaven above Chase was on his way to New Mexico. If Seth had to deal with both of them at the same time, he’d resign.
    No. He’d shoot them both, and
then
he’d resign.
    â€œHey, Dusty.” Jessie brushed past his deputy and she was gone.
    â€œHey back,” Dusty replied to her retreating form before the sandy-haired man turned his attention to Seth.
    â€œWhat was Jessie doing here?”
    â€œYou already forget about Chase’s truck?”
    â€œNo, but—”
    He didn’t even give the man a chance to answer, his voice sounding impatient and harsh even to his own ears. “But what?”
    â€œI just didn’t think you’d throw her in jail.”
    â€œI didn’t throw her anywhere.”
    â€œBut she spent the night here.”
    â€œShe admitted to the damage done to Chase’s truck,” Seth said through clenched teeth.
    â€œWell, now, somebody got up on the wrong side of the couch this morning.”
    Seth stood and slammed his hands down on his hips, his sleepless night making him as surly as that mare Jake insisted he’d keep, though no one—not even Chase—could stay on her. He still had a bad case of heartburn from Darly Jo’s casserole, and he hadn’t been able to do anything last night but lie awake and listen to the even rhythm of Jessie’s breathing. “If you