A Most Shocking Revelation (2 page)

Not exactly staring, but she did risk a few glances his way while he peered out the windshield, silently navigating the rural roads, one large hand resting on his thigh, the other braced on the steering wheel. He had a strong profile to match his strong personality. His jaw was square and his neatly-trimmed hair was the color of warm earth. The small cleft in his chin had held her fascination on more than one occasion, and so had his eyes. Brown eyes that seemed to change depending on his mood—lighter when he was being mischievous, much darker when he sported a serious expression, which wasn't all that often. A beautiful man with an abundance of charm. A man she should avoid like the flu plaguing the town.

Unbeknownst to the sheriff, something about him had resonated in Valerie from the first time she'd met him. Maybe it was his honor or his easy smile. Whatever the case might be, she'd always secretly reacted with excitement every time he'd stepped foot in the diner, disrupting her carefully crafted composure. But even though she'd tried to avoid him, had tried to ignore his
flirtations, for the past few weeks he'd begun to splinter her resistance. Entering his private world, if only for one night, could play havoc with her defenses, the way his close proximity at the moment was playing havoc with her heartbeat.

“What's wrong with your car?” he asked, intruding into Valerie's thoughts.

The car was too old, and she was too broke to buy another one. “Transmission leak. I tried to see if I could repair it, but I wasn't successful.”

“You tried to fix it?”

Valerie glanced at him long enough to notice he looked as shocked as he'd sounded. “Yes, I tried to fix it, heavy emphasis on
tried.
I know how to change a tire and the oil and replace a battery. I can do a few other minor repairs, too. But without the car on a rack, it was too hard to tell what was happening with it.”

“You're pretty amazing.”

That brought her gaze back to him. “Why? Because I'm a woman and I know a thing or two about mechanics?”

“Yeah. I'm just kind of surprised.”

He definitely would be surprised if he knew everything about her. “The more you know, the more money you can save in the long run.”

“Who has your car now?” he asked.

“Rhodes Garage downtown.”

“Bill Rhodes is good, and honest.”

And expensive, especially when it came to major repairs, or so Valerie had heard. Her funds were already limited, and she had to rely solely on her salary now instead of her savings. But the bills she'd incurred for her grandmother's hospital stay had been all but paid off, the only real positive accomplishment in recent months.

“Are you warm enough, Val?” Gavin asked.

Oh, she was warm all right. Hot, as a matter of fact, for several reasons, the least of which was her inability to ignore his charisma. She also didn't care for anyone shortening her name. Only one person had been allowed to do so, and now her beloved
grandmother was gone. “As I've said before, it's Valerie, not Val. And I'm fine.”

“You don't sound fine.”

She sent another glance at Gavin and cursed all the things that made him too attractive to overlook. But ignore him she would. Or at least she would try. “Okay, I'm as fine as someone who's being held captive can be.”

“I'm not holding you captive. I'm giving you a helping hand. You should appreciate it. When I told Harvey Joe I wasn't arresting you, he wasn't happy about it.”

Another positive, both the lack of arrest and ticking Harvey Joe off. She shifted as close to the door as the seat belt allowed. “And exactly how did you get around not arresting me, since he probably had a legitimate complaint?”

He took his hand from his thigh long enough to scrub a palm over his shadowed jaw. “I told him that I'd tell his wife he was trying a little slap and tickle out on their renter and that I'd encourage you to file attempted sexual assault charges.”

Valerie had to admit she appreciated his assistance. “What happened tonight, that wasn't like me. I'm not a violent person.”

His laugh was low and compelling. “I tend to believe that. I don't consider a string mop as a hardened criminal's weapon of choice.”

Valerie couldn't stop her own laugh. A small one, but still a laugh. “I guess not. I just happened to have it in my hand when he grabbed me. I lost my temper.”

“Harvey Joe had no right to touch you. You had to defend yourself.”

“You don't know the half of it.” And he didn't. About Harvey Joe's penchant for lewd remarks or her reasons for being in Royal. Better things stayed that way for now, if not indefinitely.

“We're here,” Gavin announced as they took a left turn into a lengthy drive lined with white piped fencing.

Valerie couldn't make out much more than a few lights dotting the horizon as they ascended a slight hill. But as the residence came into view, to say she was surprised by Gavin O'Neal's
ranch was a definite understatement. The sprawling stone house looked to be four times the size of her recent residence—and apparently sixty times the luxury. Yet as she followed the sheriff through the heavy front door, that theory proved partially untrue. She'd expected more opulence, but the area was relatively un-adorned, the walls all but bare with the exception of a few framed prints of landscapes. She'd expected more country than contemporary, and that, too, was not the case. No animal horns or heads decorating the hearth. No cowhide furniture. Just simple brown suede sofas with matching chairs, plain oak tables, woven rugs in black and russet tones covering beige slate-tiled floors. The stone fireplace spanned upward to the high ceiling, dividing what appeared to be an open loft surrounded by a rough-hewn railing, wooden stairs flanking each end of the room.

She was only mildly aware that the door had closed and totally unaware that Gavin was standing behind her until he said, “Welcome to my home.”

Valerie faced him and managed a weak smile. “Thank you. I really do appreciate your hospitality and I'll be out of your hair soon. I'll start looking for a new place in the morning.”

He gave her a grin designed to melt an ice cap. “Don't rush off on my account. There's plenty of room here for the both of us.”

Valerie didn't necessarily agree with that. Right now he made the massive room seem to shrivel and made her feel equally small—in a nice kind of way. “I'm sure you don't need me hanging around, disrupting your social life.”

He looked somewhat amused. “Not much opportunity for a social life in Royal. Most women are either married, engaged or over the age of sixty.”

“I suppose that's true.” Considering his kindness, she decided to make a concession. “And you may call me Val.”

He studied her a long moment, drawing her further into his dark, dark gaze. “I don't want to do anything you don't want me to do.”

“Believe me, I'm not inclined to do anything I don't want to do, Sheriff.”

“Okay, Val. As long as you call me Gavin. In this house, I'm not the sheriff.”

But he was incredibly sexy with his ruffled brown hair and sleepy brown eyes. “It's a deal.” She offered her hand and he took it without hesitation. But instead of giving it a shake, he held it in his callused palm for a long moment, his gaze never faltering. And Valerie allowed the gesture for a few moments before reality wormed its way into her haywire psyche. She could not accept anything but his friendship—cautious friendship. If he knew the truth, knew who she was and what she had planned, he could try to thwart her goals. Worse, he might view her as so many had in her lifetime—as someone not worth knowing.

Valerie tugged out of his grasp and released her breath. “We should go to bed now.” And that sounded like a proposition.

The sheriff's trademark smile crept back in. “The thought has crossed my mind.”

Valerie's, too, and that was one thought she couldn't afford. “Mind showing me to my room?”

Gavin didn't even try to mask his disappointment. “Okay, if I must.”

She sent him a wry grin. “Yes, you must.”

“Follow me then.”

Valerie snatched her bag from the floor and trailed behind him, keeping her gaze centered on his broad back. She refused to give in to the definite flicker of threatening desire or feminine inquisitiveness that dictated she check out the territory below his belt. She'd avoided that very thing when he came into the diner, disregarding his presence until he was seated at a booth. From the beginning she'd had a goal, and fraternizing with Gavin O'Neal hadn't been a part of it. It couldn't be. But just this one time she gave in to her curiosity and let her gaze drift downward. As suspected, he filled out his jeans nicely. Very nicely. Too nicely.

Valerie nearly collided with him when he came to a halt at a closed door, her face almost landing in the middle of his back, saved only by a quick step away from him.

“This is the biggest room, aside from mine,” he said as he opened the door. “It has a private bath.”

She stepped past him without even a cursory glance in his direction. Instead she focused on the bed, a heavy four-poster draped in a red comforter. The floors were covered in a plush beige carpet, and a lone bureau sat angled in the corner. A small TV rested on a stand across from a narrow lounger on the far side of the room. Closed beige drapes spanned the wall, and Valerie would guess they opened to windows overlooking the surrounding land.

She walked to the bed and ran her hand over one post. “It's going to be nice when my feet hit the floor in the morning without turning into ice blocks.”

“It's simple but comfortable.”

She finally turned to him. “Simple suits me fine.”

He narrowed his gaze. “I suspect there's nothing simple about you.”

In a way, he was right, especially when it came to her secrets. “Believe what you will, Sheriff, but I've never required a lot in the way of material objects. To me, this room is the equivalent of a four-star hotel suite.”

“Glad you like it.” He took a step into the room, shrugged off his jacket and draped it and the holster housing his gun over one arm. “You can hang your things in the closet, and all the drawers are empty.”

“Thanks.” She put her uniforms away, and even after she began to unpack he continued to watch her. As she had back at the old house, she withdrew her bras and panties from the bag and took her time placing them in the bureau's top drawer, hoping to send him on his way. But he didn't budge.

He did say, “I didn't know you were living at a hog farm.”

With a prime pig, no less. “I've only been there a couple of weeks.”

“Where were you staying before that?”

“The Skyline Motor Inn.” She flashed him a quick smile. “Have an hour, we've got a room waiting. No charge for the roaches.”

“That's a seedy place.”

She concentrated on settling several pairs of her jeans into the next drawer. “Yes, which is why I left. I didn't feel too safe.”

“How did you end up in Royal?”

She rearranged clothes that didn't need rearranging to avoid his gaze, but she couldn't really avoid the question without rousing suspicion. “I answered the ad Manny put in the paper.”

“Where did you live before you came here?”

“Several places.” The first lie. She'd only lived in one place before she'd settled in Royal, another fact that would remain hidden from him for the time being.

“Have you always been a waitress?”

Valerie shut the drawer and leaned back against the bureau.

“Aren't you tired yet?” She hid a fake yawn behind her hand.

He smiled. “Not really, but you are.”

She stretched her arms above her head. “Yes, I am. I need to be up early in the morning.”

“Me, too.” He released the top button on his starched beige shirt. “Just tell me what time and I'll wake you up.”

She was having one heck of a time thinking since he seemed bent on removing his shirt. “Very early.” She pointed at the bedside clock radio. “I'll set the alarm so you don't have to bother.”

He slipped another button. “I don't mind waking you.”

Valerie minded that he kept undressing. It made her uncomfortable, and not in a bad way. “I'll get myself up.”

He set his gun and jacket on the bureau and tugged the shirt-tails from his jeans before tackling the remaining buttons. “Suit yourself then. Anything else you need?”

Yeah. She needed him to leave his clothes completely intact and her alone with her devious thoughts. “Not that I can think of.”

When he started toward her, Valerie's breath hitched hard in her chest. But he kept going without giving her a glance.

“What are you doing now?” she asked as he pulled the curtain aside.

“Making sure the windows are locked tight.”

Good grief. “I promise I'm not going to climb out, if that's what's worrying you.”

He settled the curtain back into place and turned, his shirt now gaping to reveal a monumental muscled chest covered in a fine mat of golden-brown hair. “I'm making sure no one gets in.”

“Are you trying to scare me?” He certainly was shaking her up.

“Just making sure you're safe.”

Valerie didn't feel all that safe at the moment. She felt a little too warm and way too distracted. “Thanks.”

“Guess I'll go to bed now,” he said. But he just stood there, tempting her with his sex appeal and sultry smile.

“Do you remember where your bed is?” she asked when he didn't move.

He pointed to his right. “Next door. Just a few steps away if you need anything from me.”

Valerie noted the invitation in his eyes and disregarded the strong urge to answer it. “I'm sure I have everything I need.”

“Okay then.” When he passed her again, he patted her cheek.