I Shocked The Sheriff. Mara Fox

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      “WHAT WAS TED DOING IN HERE?” Sheriff Hermann gestured toward the man who’d just walked out of her room with a clipboard.

      “He’s desperately in love with me, but he’s really not my type.” Roxy smiled as she finished slipping into her sandals. The way the sheriff had run out on her she’d have bet quite a sum on him never coming back. Seemed he had more gumption than she’d given him credit for, or maybe he was interested in seeing her hind end again.

      “I guess you’re feeling better. You want to tell me what Ted wanted or do I have to go and ask him?”

      She sighed. Was he always so impatient? “He’s the checkout committee. I’m releasing myself and they don’t want to be responsible.”

      He didn’t look at her. Instead he seemed to be focusing on the insipid wallpaper above her head. “I heard you made quite a fuss.”

      Fuss was her middle name. When her governess had tried to mold her into being a debutante destined for an advantageous marriage, she’d rebelled, doing and saying most anything that occurred to her.

      “Have you come to take me to the police station, Farmer John?” Her voice sounded just as steady and offhanded as she wanted it to. Let him think he intimidated her by hanging around with his uniform buttoned up tight enough to choke him. “Is it a crime to want to avoid spending the night in a hospital?”

      He put a hand up to his badge. “They usually just release people when they’re ready. It’s not really a hospital, just a clinic. But they’ve got to be careful with out-of-town folks.”

      “You just can’t trust anyone these days,” she told him flippantly.

      “The doc was trying to do you a favor, Miss Dallas.” The sheriff looked at her earnestly. “You weren’t clearheaded enough to wire for money until after the bank closed. Where’re you planning to sleep?”

      “Are you taking me to the station or not?” Roxy demanded.

      He’d looked at her insurance card when they’d gone out to get her car. Her legal papers had been in the glove compartment and up-to-date. He’d found nothing illegal. “How many times are you going to ask me? You didn’t break any laws. You just got sick. The doc said that between the dehydration and the low blood sugar you probably weren’t thinking too clearly.”

      “You reckon?” Sarcasm all but dripped from her tongue.

      He didn’t seem to notice. “So there’s no reason to take you to the station.”

      She surged to her feet. “Darn right.”

      “I just thought I’d come by and see if you need a ride to the Cozy Daze Motel. You can get a clean room until you’re ready to leave town.”

      She took a couple of steps closer to him. He had great shoulders, great chest but too much cop attitude.

      Still, it was fun to rile him, or have him blushing like a choir boy over a little flesh. And she definitely felt better. “You in a hurry to see me leave town? You don’t want me to stick around and see the…sights?”

      “I think you’ll be on your way home real soon. But I realize you don’t have your purse with you. I thought I could help you if you need some funds.”

      “Funds? Ain’t that a bit formal?” She sidled right up next to him, rolling her hips as she walked. “You offering me bed and board?”

      His cheeks pinkened. “I’m offering you a loan until you get some money from home.”

      “How am I gonna get some money? I don’t even have a credit card or a check.” She leaned in closer.

      He nodded. “I’ll help you.”

      “Why?” She touched the top button on his uniform.

      He stepped back from her as if her touch burned him. “I figure you need a hand. You don’t know anyone in town.”

      “I don’t know you. And this morning you looked at me as if I were slime crawling out from under a rock. Now you’re just dying to send me back me to where I belong. Am I so dangerous?”

      “I didn’t look at you as if you were slime. I didn’t want you to die in the heat. It was one-hundred-thirteen degrees out there today. I was doing my job.”

      She took the step he’d put between them. This time his lips tightened, yet he stood his ground. She smiled. She reached up and touched a bead of sweat on his brow. His dark hair waved temptingly just above where she touched him. She took a deep breath. He smelled like sweat and something else. Something manly. “I guess it’s…hot.”

      He didn’t budge, even when she rubbed her bare leg against his trouser leg. But he licked his lips. His nostrils flared as if he was catching her scent, as well. “It’s hot all right.”

      She hoped he couldn’t feel her leg trembling. She hadn’t felt the flare of honest desire in a long time. Hadn’t allowed herself to stray off course. A course chosen for self-preservation. Seemed he might be more dangerous to her than she to him.

      “You saved me….” This time her voice shook. He threw her off balance. Made her feel things.

      “I was just doing my job.” It came out husky. His eyes slid down the length of her body.

      She abruptly pulled away. She didn’t need the distraction of an affair right now. She needed to get her head on straight. “Your job’s done, Farmer John. Don’t worry about me. I put in a call to my father. He’s going to wire money and some paperwork to the Goat Herder’s Bank of West Texas. I’ll be moving along before I can infect your town with my evil ways.”

      “It’s Ranchers Security Bank.” He sounded angry.

      She went to the side of the bed and collected her sunglasses. “Yeah? I’ll remember that when I go looking for the right bank. This town probably has a slew of banks to choose from. I’ll bet you folks even got a Wal-Mart and a laundry called Duds and Suds, or something equally charming.”

      “At least we don’t have to send for Daddy’s money to bail us out when we’re irresponsible.” His voice sounded mild. “And we don’t have a Wal-Mart.”

      It took her a moment to feel the sting.

      “I guess you never had to call Daddy to bail you out of trouble.”