Sheriff in Her Stocking (16 page)

Training the
binoculars on the car’s license plates, he noticed both cars were from Cook
County, Chicago. A strange, unwelcome feeling settled in his gut when he
realized one of the vehicles looked exactly like Jake’s car.

Suddenly, the barn
door opened a crack. He saw Harden stick his head out and look toward his house
before opening the door wider.  Three men stepped outside.

One of them was
Jake DeSalvo.

He handed Oliver
an envelope. Stunned, Rick watched as Oliver opened the envelope, removed a wad
of cash and fanned through it. Jake and the strange man headed for their cars.
Quickly, Rick backed the squad car further off the road and into a thicket of
trees. Hidden from view, he waited until the cars passed and Harden went back
inside his house.

Betrayal
rocketed through him. He clenched the steering wheel until his knuckles turned
white. His body still hummed from being with Delaney. Her unique scent clung to
his skin. He leaned his head against the back of the seat and closed his eyes.
Hell, she was in his blood.

He straightened
in the seat and cranked the engine. Why didn’t he see this coming? 
Because he hadn’t been able to see past his dick, that’s why!

The entire
situation was obvious. She and Jake had set him up. The night of the storm, had
she really been stuck?  He watched her car swerve and hit the snow bank.
But had her car accident been planned from the beginning?  Had she been on
her way to Avery to soften him up?

How long has
Oliver been involved in drugs?  Had Jake been in town before and he just
didn’t know it? 

Rick shoved the
gear into drive, executed a wide turn and headed toward the highway. What about
the phone call from New York?  Was the call concerning a job or was Jake
phoning to find out how things were progressing? 

He slammed his
palm against the steering wheel. Damn it, she had played him for a fool. He
thought she had enjoyed the sex they’d shared. She hadn’t wanted him to
dominate her, she was just going along with his requests, submitting to him had
been an act. She should get an academy fucking award for her performance. She
really had him snowed. The whole thing was meant to distract him so a drug deal
could go down.

The worst cut of
all was her phony speech about loyalty.

Turning into the
highway, he slammed his foot on the gas. No, the worst wasn’t her phony speech
about loyalty the severest blow was to his heart because damn it, he was in
love with her.

He’d never been
in love before and it scared him to death, making him feel weak-kneed, shaky
and vulnerable. He’d never been emotionally vulnerable to a woman in his life.
He raked his fingers through his hair. Why Delaney?  Why couldn’t his life
go back to the way it was before he ever met her?  Even as he asked
himself the question, his mother’s words rang in his brain.
“When you meet
the right woman, everything about her will hit you like a brick. You’ll wonder
where she’s been all your life. Just like when I met your father.”

* * * * *

When Rick
returned to the office he phoned the police department in Great Falls and asked
for help from the head of the narcotics unit. He gave him a description of the
men, the cars and the license plate numbers. He told them about Jake and gave
them Oliver’s name.

In a few minutes
they called back and told him good old Oliver had a record with a conviction
for drugs in his former state of Arizona. Rick thanked him then called the
phone company and had them fax over a copy of Oliver’s phone records. The
records showed frequent calls from Jake. They had been speaking for weeks.

By the time he
hung up, Rick felt sick to his stomach. A movement outside the window caught
his eye. Delaney climbed from her car, looking gorgeous. She’d curled her hair
and wore the new jacket he’d bought her the day they went ice fishing. He pasted
on his friendly cop face as she started toward the office door. He’d be damned
if he’d give her the benefit of knowing how much she’d hurt him. He’d act like
everything was fine as if nothing had happened, nothing at all but a shit load
of betrayal.

She smiled at
him through the window and for the life of him he couldn’t see one trace of her
lies in her gaze. If he hadn’t seen Jake and Oliver this morning exchanging
money and drugs with his own eyes, she’d still be playing him for a dupe.

* * * * *

The door swung
open and Delaney walked in. “Hi.”  She stomped the snow from her boots,
took off her coat and hung it on the coat rack.

“Hi,
yourself.”  He gave her a sexy knowing smile, the same one he gave her
right after they’d made love in the shower that morning. He sat back in his
chair with his hands behind his head and looked at her. “Want to go get some
lunch?”

“Sure, I’m
starved.”

He walked around
the desk, took her in his arms and kissed her softly then brushed a hand over
her hair and looked at her.

There was a hint
of goodbye in his eyes and Delaney’s heart squeezed with uneasiness inside her
chest. Was he planning to dump her after all?  “What’s wrong?  Did
something happen?”

“No, nothing at
all. I’ve just really enjoyed the time we’ve spent together. It’s meant a lot
to me.”

 “It’s
meant a lot to me too.”

Just as they
were about to walk out the door, Delaney’s cell phone rang. She recognized the
area code as New York. A tingle of excitement started in her belly and raced up
her spine. Maybe it was Taylor’s. Maybe they changed their mind. “Hello.”

“Ms Monroe, this
is Alison Wright at Lilly’s On Fifth in New York. How are you?”

Delaney’s heart
fluttered and anticipation zipped through her veins. Lilly’s On Fifth was one
of the best stores in New York, even more prestigious than Taylor’s. “Fine and
you?”

“I’ll get right
to the point Ms. Monroe. I saw you on the news yesterday and the improvements
currently being made to the town of Avery Montana. I also saw the gorgeous
display you designed for the mayor’s office window. Needless to say, I was
quite impressed.  I’d like to offer you a job as head window designer for
our store. You would not only cover our flagship store in New York but our
second location in San Francisco.” 

The woman quoted
a salary that had Delaney’s eyes widening and her pulse leaping through her
veins. She never believed she would ever make that much money in her life.

“If possible I’d
like an answer before the first of the year.”

“Of course. I’ll
think it over and get back to you.”

* * * * *

A few minutes
later, Rick and Delaney sat in the diner and had ordered lunch. Delaney
positively beamed. She practically had rays of sunlight streaming out of her
ears and the ends of her hair.

“Well, are you
going to tell me about the phone call?”  She was really the best actress
he had ever seen. The woman had missed her calling.

Bubbling over
with excitement, Delaney told him about the call, the job offer and the salary.
She and Jake really set this whole thing up well. Now she would kiss him
goodbye and drive away as if she really did have a job waiting for her. Fine.
The sooner she left the better off he’d be and the sooner he could get on with
his life...or at least try to. She had used him body and soul. He was nothing
more than a toy for sex. Did she fake her orgasms too?  No, no way. He had
given her as good as she gave him.

She reached over
and took his hand. “This couldn’t have come at a worse time. If I take the job
it will mean leaving Avery and you. Keeping a relationship going while I fly
back and forth across the country will be nearly impossible. But I’ve waited so
long for this kind of opportunity. I don’t know what to do.”

Rick lifted her
hand, kissed her knuckles and stared into her gorgeous, deceitful eyes. “Take
the job. I would never try to hold you back.”

* * * * *

Delaney called
the lady back at Lilly’s on Fifth and accepted the job. She snapped her cell
phone shut.  She should be ecstatic; it’s what she’d always wanted. But
instead misery permeated every cell in her body. What a jerk!  How could
Rick have done this to her?  Her heart felt shattered into a thousand,
jagged pieces.

A lump
threatened to rise into her throat, tears stung the back of her eyes. She wiped
them away. No damn it, she wouldn’t cry, she wouldn’t.  Delaney gathered
her cosmetics from the jail’s bathroom and stuffed them into her bag.

She walked back
into her cell and looked around the small room. Her heart throbbed with a dull
ache. She couldn’t let herself think about Rick and the time they’d spent
together, instead she focused on gathering her clothes. She was glad she’d gone
to the Laundromat the day before and done some wash. At least she could leave
town with the dignity of clean clothes. Delaney crammed her jeans into her bag
then zipped it closed. Lifting the bag from the cot where she and Rick had made
amazing love that cold, snowy night, she knew no matter how long she lived she
would never forget it. She’d been apprehensive at first about staying in a cell
but she would miss every inch with all her heart. There would be no repeat of
that night she’d shared not just her body but her heart with Rick as well.
  

She’d gotten
through breakups before. She’d get through this one. But how she wondered as
she made her way to the front? 

Jake DeSalvo was
the last person she expected to see walk in the office door as she was walking
out. She blinked back her tears and gave him a watery smile. “Hi, I was just on
my way out.”

He frowned and
laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Hey, are you all right?”

She nodded
rapidly. “I’m fine. Take care.”

Scooting around
him, she smothered a sob and walked out the door.

* * * * *

Rick felt like
ten miles of bad road. His heart throbbed in his chest like an old wound, a
wound from which he was afraid he might never recover. He drove through the
center of town glancing at the Christmas decorations that seemed to mock him.

It had been one
hell of an afternoon. Oliver Harden had been arrested and taken into custody.
Poor Roberta. He’d never forget the look on her face. She’d looked at Oliver,
stared at the diamond on her hand, then burst into tears. The news would spread
through Avery like a prairie fire via Roberta’s sister who happened to be there
at the time. She was the biggest gossip in town.

Rick pulled up
in front of his office alongside one of the cop cars from Great Falls. When he
stepped inside he was shocked to find Jake and one of the officers laughing.
They glanced his way before shaking hands.

“If you ever get
tired of being a big city cop, Jake, Great Falls could use a good man like
you,” the officer said. He put on his hat and coat before walking over to Rick
who stood beside the door dumbfounded. He gave him a light cuff on the arm.
“Good job, Sheriff. If you every come up to Great Falls drop in. I’ll by you
dinner.”  He threw Jake a quick wave and walked out.

Rick stared at
Jake. “You’re still a cop?  How?  I told them about seeing you at
Harden’s place, I watched you put cash in his hand. What the hell is going
on?” 

Jake managed a
smile and motioned to a chair. “Sit down.” 

Rick settled
into the chair behind his desk and laid his hands on the surface.

Jake sat on the
edge of his desk. “I’ve been working undercover for the past few years. The
last six months we’ve been tracking Oliver Harden. The chemicals to make meth
were brought into Montana and Oliver had a little lab in his barn. He made the
chemical then shipped it across the country.”  He folded his arms over his
chest and gave Rick a rueful smile. “Montana State Police informed me about
Harden only recently. I never dealt drugs, Rick. I’m sorry for all the hurt
that lie caused you, hell caused both of us. But I was sworn not to tell
anyone. Even Gail didn’t know.”  Regret covered his face and sadness clouded
his eyes. “Mr. C’s death was a terrible accident.”

The truth of
Jake’s words resonated through Rick’s body. Suddenly, his anger and feelings of
betrayal drained out of him.

Mr. C’s death
wasn’t Jake’s fault.

Good God, his
loyalty had never been misplaced. Which meant Delaney and Jake had never been
working together as he had stupidly thought. Suddenly, a profound emptiness
permeated the office. He smelled Delaney’s scent on the air but he hadn’t seen
her car out front. “Where’s Delaney?  Have you seen her?”

“You just missed
her. What happened between you two anyway?  She looked pretty upset when
she left.”

Fearing he’d
lost her, he rose from his chair. “Where is she?”

“Gone, Rick. I
thought you knew.”

He grabbed Jake
by the upper part of his arm. “What time did she leave?”

“About ten
minutes ago.”

He snatched his
coat from the rack as he raced out the door. She hadn’t betrayed him after all.
She really liked submitting to him. All of her tender words, the hot sex, the
intense pleasure of having her in his arms was true, not false. Did she love
him?  Oh, God if she told him she loved him it would be the ultimate gift.
She’d given him her body, every sweet inch, but would she give him her heart?

Despite wanting
to speed through town, Avery was small and the citizens didn’t need him to go
racing through it with sirens blaring. As soon as he hit the highway, he headed
northeast and floored it. She couldn’t have gotten very far. He would bring her
back and convince her what they had was meant to be.

If none of that
worked he’d used his handcuffs. Just the thought of handcuffing Delaney made
him hot. Hurling down the road he saw her mini Cooper in the distance. He
flipped on his siren and flashing lights then pulled up right on her bumper.

When he saw her
glance in her rearview mirror, he signaled for her to pull over. She did almost
immediately. No sooner had she stopped than the driver’s door flew open.
Delaney quickly climbed from the car not bothering to close the door. She
planted her feet and stood with her hands fisted on her hips and fury
blanketing her face.