Sky's Pride And Joy. Sandra Steffen

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СКАЧАТЬ had kicked in, making him strong, and her weightless in his arms. It hadn’t done a thing for his mental state.

      “I saw the light on in the store, and I thought maybe we should talk. I knocked, but you didn’t answer. My imagination conjured up several scenarios, and you were in trouble in every one. So I decided to try the back door.”

      “What did you want to talk about?” She’d spoken softly, her face inching closer.

      Of everything he’d said, she’d picked up on that? “I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

      He loosened his hold, slowly lowering her feet to the floor. By the time she was standing, her entire body was indelibly imprinted on his. Both were breathing shallowly. Another second, another millimeter, and he would know if he’d been imagining the taste of her lips, the touch of her mouth, the passion of her kisses. Just a second, and a millimeter…

      “Hold it right there!”

      They jerked apart, and swung around. Sheriff Nick Colter burst into the room, one hand on his flashlight, the other on his gun.

      “Nick!” Sky exclaimed. “For crying out loud, don’t shoot. What are you doing here?”

      Nick lowered his gun and his flashlight, but not his guard. He took a few steps closer, stopping between an antique trunk and a floor lamp. His gaze was assessing, his voice steady. “A 9-1-1 call came in from this number.”

      “You were fast!” Meredith exclaimed, still breathless.

      “You called 9-1-1?” Sky asked.

      She wet her dry lips, and pushed her hair out of her eyes. “I thought you were an intruder, or perhaps a thief.”

      “You two know each other?” the dark-haired sheriff of Jones County asked, watching them closely.

      “No,” Meredith said.

      “Yes,” Sky said at the same time. She looked at Sky.

      Sky looked at her.

      They both shrugged.

      “We’ve met,” she said.

      “Briefly,” Sky amended. “But we don’t really know one another, I guess.”

      Meredith averted her face because sometimes the truth hurt. “I fell asleep, and was awakened by a noise,” she said to Sheriff Colter. “I thought somebody was trying to break in. It turned out to be a false alarm. I’m sorry, Sheriff.”

      Nick Colter and Sky were nearly the same height. They both had dark hair and muscular bodies. The similarities stopped there. Nick had never been, nor would he ever be a cowboy. Until two years ago, he’d been a decorated police officer in Chicago. He’d come to Jasper Gulch because his then estranged wife and young daughter had moved here. He and Brittany had reconciled, and he’d stayed, taking over as sheriff of Jones County when Wyatt McCully had accepted a position on the police force in Pierre. Nick was more than qualified for the job. Meredith had a feeling his intuition was telling him more than either she or Sky had. He glanced around the store. “Looks like you’re almost ready to open for business.”

      She could have kissed him for his tact. Instead, she walked with him toward the back door, which, until now, she hadn’t realized was still wide open. “I’m planning to have a grand opening sale in a week or so. I hope you and your wife can join me.”

      “I’ll tell Brittany.” With a tug at the brim of his police hat, he left as quietly as he’d arrived.

      Suddenly, the only sounds in the room were the resonant tones of the wind chimes high in the rafters. Meredith couldn’t think of anything to say. Worse, she couldn’t believe how close she’d come to kissing Sky. If Sheriff Colter hadn’t arrived when he did, they could very well have been doing more than kissing right now. Whatever was between them was explosive. For a moment, when she’d discovered that she was in his arms, yearning had swelled inside her like it had that night a month ago. Now, something he’d said just before Sheriff Colter had interrupted them nagged at the back of her mind.

      “What did you mean?” she asked. “When you said you don’t want me to get the wrong idea. The wrong idea about what?”

      She watched as he strode toward the door and scooped his cowboy hat off the floor. His movements were fluid, graceful in a way that was uniquely masculine, uniquely Sky.

      Worrying the brim of his Stetson with his callused fingers, he said, “I don’t take women to bed often.”

      Something dangerously close to hope found its way inside her. A semblance of self-preservation kept her from letting it show.

      “There’s a good reason for that,” he said. “Most women want a commitment, a relationship. And I can’t offer either.”

      She glanced at his left hand.

      “No. I’m not married. I intend to keep it that way. That’s my point.” His gaze was as direct as his next words. “You wouldn’t be the first woman to see signs where there are only chicken scratches in the dirt. I meant what I said that night last month. I’m not the marrying kind. If you came back because I’m here, you’re wasting your time.”

      Her back straightened and her chin came up a notch at a time. What an ego. Skyler Buchanan was a serious, smoldering man any woman in her right mind should avoid. He’d seemed so different that night over a month ago. For a few, brief hours, she’d believed she’d found a kindred spirit. She’d been wrong, of course, just like she’d been wrong about so many things in her life.

      “Look,” she said. “That night, I was reeling from the news that Kate and Dusty were forever lost to me. My defenses were down, my emotions were a mess, my heart was heavy. Don’t worry. I’m not looking for a husband. Even if I were, I’d have to be an idiot to think you’re husband material. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to lock up.”

      Before Sky knew how it had happened, he found himself staring at the peeling paint on the outside of her back door. He heard the lock turn. He was pretty sure the clunk that followed was a heavy piece of furniture being propped against the door. For some reason, that rankled.

      She could take care of herself. That much was clear. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so quick to put an end to what could have been another night of unforgettable passion.

      Forget it, he told himself, cramming his hat on his head. Meredith Warner was putting down roots. No matter what she said, pretty soon she would want a man, a ring and a family. That made her off-limits to him. Now, if only someone would explain that to the part of him still reacting to the sight, scent and feel of her in his arms.

      Meredith listened to the sound of Sky’s retreating footsteps. Scrubbing a hand across her weary eyes, she turned very slowly, and finished closing the windows and turning out the lights.

      She waited until she was in her apartment upstairs to commend herself for holding her head high, biting her tongue, swallowing her true feelings and keeping her pride intact. For a woman who was feeling under the weather, she’d handled that pretty well.

      Her stomach pitched. Oh, she felt wretched. Lowering to the edge of her bed, she swallowed with difficulty.

      Too exhausted СКАЧАТЬ