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  But if Ransom had learned anything from the past, it was how to protect his heart. Falling for a woman who had a life elsewhere wasn’t smart. He needed to keep things as casual as possible until she finally headed out of town.

  He rubbed his knuckles over his heart. It already hurt from losing her but he knew it was wise to prepare himself and not dwell on possibilities. Hoping and dreaming was for fools and Ransom had never held that title. A smart man knew how to keep his distance, so he would enjoy her for a while then wish her well. That was best.

  He tossed a few bills on the littered table and reached for his hat. He’d settled it into place and headed for his truck parked just outside when he spotted the sheriff. “Hey, Jack. I was just coming out to see you.”

  Jack nodded in greeting. “Glad I could save you a trip. Guess you want to know what’s up with Granger.”

  “You’ve got that right. What did he have to say for himself?”

  “That’s just the thing, he’s disappeared. He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed but I figure that once he sobered up, he knew he’d be in deep shit for pulling that stunt. He was in prison for assault with a deadly weapon and knows he violated probation by drinking, hanging out in a bar and then the final act of vandalizing a car. Once I prove he did this, he’s going straight back to jail. I put out an alert to be on the lookout and I keep checking with his running buddies for information. He could be long gone from the area but we’ll find him.”

  “Sooner the better. What about Lynn’s car? Do you need to keep it at the police impound?”

  “No, I took pictures at the scene and more at the office impound so she’s free to pick it up. It’s not pretty but it runs. If you want, I’ll take it over to Ranger’s Body Shop and have him take a look.”

  Ransom nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Lynn already called her insurance company. I’ll have her give Ranger a call. You coming out to the barbecue tonight?”

  “Yeah, I’m actually off so I’ll be there. When does it start?”

  “Head out around sundown and we’ll fix you up with a plate.”

  * * * * *

  If she’d known how busy the day was going to be, Lynn wouldn’t have worried so much about missing Ransom while he was dealing with business in town. To describe the events of yesterday as life-altering was an understatement. Just a few hours in Ransom’s bed had opened her eyes to a whole new world. She had never considered herself a sexually adventurous person but it hadn’t taken her long to realize that denying herself a life outside work was really dumb. Like other women she had dreams of a life filled with family, children, but had always believed that some people just weren’t lucky enough to have those things. Now she was beginning to think that it was simply a lack of courage that kept her from going for what she wanted.

  Life was short. Her work as a doctor had taught her that and she knew it from Ransom and the loss he’d suffered. Lynn was stronger than she realized and it was time to reach for her dreams and not just the professional ones. Most of her adult life had been spent hiding behind her career and it was time she moved beyond that protective curtain. Taking charge was the only option.

  When she thought of the men of her acquaintance in Dallas, however, none of them rang any bells for her. No, Ransom was the man she wanted, but how was such a thing possible? He’d given her no indication, no clues that his feelings for her ran deeper than something temporary. Love and caring didn’t happen overnight and she was realistic about that.

  Though her brain was running at warp speed today, she thankfully didn’t have a lot of time to mull over the mess of her life. Women from Delight had been arriving all afternoon helping to prepare for tonight’s barbecue and were at the moment busily covering long tables with red gingham tablecloths and centerpieces that featured worn cowboy boots and colorful flowers. Several men hung lanterns from tree branches and tonight they’d provide a festive atmosphere for the big party. Ransom’s kitchen was full of baked goods, and aluminum pans filled with typical barbecue fare were lined up on every smidgen of countertop. She’d just reentered the house, thinking she’d take a break from all the work to grab something cold to drink, when the doorbell rang.

  Abandoning all hope of catching her breath for a minute or two, she hurried into the living room to greet the new arrivals. Melanie Honeycutt and Harley June Dobbs greeted her with hugs and smiles before walking straight into the kitchen, their arms loaded with tubs of potato salad and coleslaw. Lynn quickly helped them find a place to put the food.

  “Busy around here today, huh?” Harley asked, looking around the crowded kitchen. “I guess that’s to be expected but it’s still pretty weird to see this many people running around.”

  Melanie reached into the fridge, grabbed three bottles of water and handed them off before settling her lanky frame into a kitchen chair. T’s fiancée wore standard coaches’ garb of a tee shirt, basketball shorts and court shoes. Her reddish hair was pulled back in a ponytail. “Hot today. Let’s take a break before we head back out there. I’ve been dealing with the kids’ basketball camp all morning and I need to catch my breath. Working with roughly fifty little girls has frazzled my last nerve.”

  Lynn and Harley joined Melanie, and Lynn knew these two, who were thicker than thieves, had something on their minds. It was obvious from the wicked little looks they kept exchanging and it didn’t take a genius to figure out they wanted the scoop about her and Ransom. This was insane. Nothing to speak of had happened until yesterday afternoon and there was no doubt in her mind that the whole town was already buzzing.

  Lynn tapped her fingers on the table. “Okay, spill it. Everybody in Delight is talking, aren’t they?”

  Mel and Harley exchanged quick looks, then Harley reached over to pat Lynn’s hand. “Don’t worry about it. We Dobbs stick together so we’ve got your back. Nobody is saying anything mean.”

  “That’s right.” Mel nodded. “They wouldn’t dare either. But you know how small towns are and mainly everybody is hoping that Ransom is finally taking a step at getting over losing Cassie. He’s taken mourning to a whole new level and I, for one, am happy to see him get on about the business of living. T worries about him constantly.”

  Lynn put up her hands. “Whoa. I don’t know what you’re talking about. Ransom and I are both adults and, well, I’m just here for a week. A week. That’s not a very long time and I’m beginning to think that everybody should just leave Ransom alone. He helped me out of a big mess and I’m grateful.”

  “Wait a minute. What mess? I just heard about you guys getting stranded together at the old house.” Harley leaned forward and propped her elbows on the table. “What happened?”

  Lynn told them about that first night outside the honky-tonk and about the vandalism to her car. Both women’s eyes widened.

  “Well, of course Ransom would bring you here. Who would want to stay at that ratty motel after something like that?” Mel was indignant. “That damn Dusty! His folks are nice people too. It’s a shame he grew up to be like this.”

  Lynn shook her head. “I don’t want to get into it, but this isn’t the first time he’s harassed me. I don’t know what I ever did to cause him to keep coming at me this way.”

  Harley gave her a steady look. “Some people don’t need a reason. He’s no good and that’s a fact. I’m glad you’re here. I know you have every right to leave this town and never look back but there are more nice folks here than creeps like Dusty. I hope they find him and put him back in jail where he belongs.”

  Lynn shrugged. “I just want to enjoy the rest of my vacation in peace and get my car fixed. My insurance company is taking care of car rental until repairs are made. Fortunately there’s only body damage so I should have it back pretty soon. Then I can go home and get back to my life.”

  “What about Ransom?” Harley quietly asked.

  Lynn shrugged and tried to be casual about what had been a life-changing event. “What about him? He’s a nice guy who has helped me out a lot. I
like him but there is no future for us.” It broke her heart to make the admission but she didn’t dare let these women, so close to Ransom, know how she really felt. It was embarrassing enough that one sexual experience with the man had her turned inside out. How pathetic and sad was that? Lynn had learned a long time ago to keep her thoughts private. And dreams? She wasn’t going to share those with anyone. It was safer that way.

  Melanie exchanged a glance with Harley and together they looked at her. “Harley and I have been talking about some things since you came to town.”

  “Oh really?”

  Harley cleared her throat. “I don’t normally take a lot of mental trips back through the halls of Delight High but something has been bothering me for years. Kids are so ridiculous and thoughtless. Looking back, I know you didn’t feel part of things. I’m sad about that. I was stupid and oblivious.”

  “You were never mean, Harley. Really, honey, it was a long time ago. You and Mel were always together, besties even then, and there was Cooper and T. If I remember correctly, you guys were never mean to anyone.”

  Mel frowned. “I’m with teenagers almost every day and I watch them ignore others, tease and, yes, sometimes bully and it makes me sick. I keep thinking back to my own teen years and just cringe over how easy it was to get caught up, to be selfish. I didn’t make a serious attempt to include you and I’m so sorry. I feel like a bitch.”

  “Oh my God! Ladies, please, you never did anything wrong, and for what it’s worth, I should have gotten more involved. Maybe things would have been different. I had a lot of obligations that most kids don’t have but I never opened myself up to others. It’s in the past now and I try not to dwell on any of that stuff. There might be an incident or two that I still remember, but I try my best to concentrate on the here and now. I think if you asked most people, they’d rather go straight to hell than back to high school.”

  Harley shook her head. “You’ve got that right. What a nightmare!”

  They all laughed and talk of high school ended as they began to catch up on events in their lives and Melanie enthusiastically discussed wedding plans. Lynn enjoyed the girl talk, something that was relatively new to her, and once again, she regretted having to leave Delight. There was no doubt in her mind that she could be great friends with Mel and Harley. They were nice women.

  Conversation came to a halt at a knock on the kitchen door and Thelma Raymond stuck her head inside. “Well, hey there, girls! Catching up on old times?”

  “You could say that, Miz Raymond,” Harley said. “Want to come on in and put your feet up? It’s hot out there today.”

  Delight’s very own chatterbox stepped inside and flopped into a chair. “Don’t I know it! Why just this morning I bought one of these little fans. Isn’t it the cutest thing?” Thelma lifted a tiny purple fan that hung suspended from a string around her neck and showed it off. “I swear, it’s the niftiest gadget and just what the doctor ordered on a day like this.”

  Tiny black-and-white spotted cows dangled from slender chains at Thelma’s ears, precisely matching her white-and-black cow-appliqued tee shirt. Without missing a beat, Thelma turned on the small fan and it began to whir as she applied it to her round face.

  “Hm, maybe I need to get one of those,” Lynn said.

  Thelma lifted a brow and gave her a pointed look. “If you’re gonna keep hanging out with Ransom Dobbs until all hours, I figure you’ll need it. That man is hot!”

  Oh boy.

  Small towns never ceased to amaze her.

  Chapter Seven

  Since late afternoon, the Double D had ceased to look like his ranch and started to look a lot more like a carnival. The area between the outbuildings and the ranch house was really a small parking lot and people were everywhere. Seemed the whole town had turned out for the final event of the long reunion weekend. Off in the distance, Cooper and T had set up a bandstand for a group of local guys who were banging away on their instruments as they played the old standard Cotton-Eyed Joe. Thelma and her mister were in on the dancing with the miniature Thelma yelling “Bullshit” at all the appropriate moments, her boots moving seamlessly on the asphalt floor. She was quite a character who never failed to make him smile.

  Seemed he was doing more than his fair share of that lately. He looked out over the crowd and spotted Lynn near the food tables where rows of slaw, potato salad, ranch beans and barbecue filled every surface. Another table held enough pastries to clog every artery from here to Dallas and back. Lynn seemed to enjoy popularity with the other ladies that she’d never had as a kid growing up in Delight. She looked awfully pretty tonight, he thought as he watched her laugh with Harley and Mel and a few other women. There was something about a laughing woman that warmed his heart but the rest of him was downright hot.

  That woman sure filled out a pair of jeans.

  They molded to her ass as if they’d been painted on and she’d topped them off with a fluttery shirt that bared her shoulders. Damn if he couldn’t envision snagging that bit of silk and dragging it past her breasts, exposing them to whatever kind of touching he might want to do. Her hair swung to her shoulders with a soft wave that framed her face to perfection. Like Cassie, she was blonde but there the similarities ended.

  Cassie was a petite, blue-eyed woman who had no yearnings for anything but a small-town life that included taking care of him and any children they might have. She had been loved by two parents and raised in an affluent household, never lacking for anything she might need. Her sweetness and generosity of heart made her loved by everyone, including himself. Lynn couldn’t be more different yet there were similarities too, and maybe that was what drew him to her. Like Cassie, she was sweet and generous but she possessed a toughness that was lacking in his late wife. She’d had to be strong considering the adversities in her life, but she’d risen to every challenge and carved a purposeful life for herself.

  He’d never considered having such strong feelings for another woman and it somehow felt like a betrayal of Cassie, whose life had been cut tragically short. Still, Ransom could no longer deny that he was interested in exploring a relationship with the beautiful doctor. But long-distance relationships seldom worked.

  Who the hell was he kidding?

  This was an impossible situation.

  His mind veered back to the night before and he knew he’d never again walk into his folks’ old house without remembering Lynn spread out beneath him in bed, his name a frantic whisper on her lips.

  Mercy.

  Savage instincts, the need to possess her, clawed through his belly.

  “Looks like you need one of these,” Cooper said, handing off an icy longneck.

  Ransom sprawled in a chair on the patio and shifted to accommodate a growing erection. Watching her from a distance was disturbing, but up close? Forget about it. She was a tall, curvy stick of TNT to his libido. He didn’t like feeling so out of control. Gratefully taking the beer, he dragged his gaze away from Lynn and turned his attention to Cooper, who took the chair next to him and indulged in a long pull from his own beer before speaking. “Hot night. Figure it’s about to get hotter if that hard-on you’re sportin’ is any indication.”

  “Shut the fuck up.”

  Cooper laughed. “You’ve got it bad. Admit it.”

  “Why should I tell you anything? Maybe you should go find your own woman and leave me the hell alone.”

  “Hey, that’s the problem, oh surly one, you’ve been alone too long. It has made you mean as a snake.”

  Ransom grunted. “I like being with her, okay? Just leave it alone.”

  “You won’t get any argument from me.” Cooper sat up a little bit and frowned. “Hey, looks like Sheriff Jack is making a move on your girl.”

  The song had changed and the local band struck up a slow ballad as the lead singer crooned something into the microphone about grabbing your best girl. Jack leaned close to Lynn and whispered something and before Ransom could do more than cuss, she took his hand
and walked with him onto the parking lot, which now served as a dance floor.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Cooper muttered, obviously incensed on his behalf. “You’ve got dibs on her.”

  “Dibs? What the hell are you smoking? Obviously I don’t have anything.” Ransom was pissed for no reason. He had no claim on Lynn unless hotter-than-hell marathon sex counted, and without the sweet words to go along with that, it didn’t mean diddly. Any jackass could fuck a woman but words mattered if the woman meant something more than a brief fling. He hadn’t said the words that could bind her to him but was that what he wanted?

  Hell yes.

  She was amazing.

  What he wanted was more time with her and he didn’t have that. He only had a few more days and then she’d be off in Dallas helping little kids who were sick. Damn it. He was an idiot. She was perfection. Lynn Halstead was more than a man like him deserved and that was a fact. Another fact remained…she was dancing with a handsome single man while he sat here with his brother, sporting a hard dick and drinking beer. What a catch.

  Morosely sipping at the longneck, lost in self-pity and not in the least happy about that, he watched Lynn waltz with Jack and for once Cooper was quiet while he brooded. When the longest song in the history of country music was finally over, he handed his empty to Cooper. “Take this. I’m going to get her.”

  “Thank God for small miracles.”

  Ransom didn’t respond but stalked through the crowd of dancers, finally stopping beside Jack and Lynn. Lynn looked at him, still smiling, but the humor quickly died from her face. “Hey, Ran.”