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“I happen to love redheads.”
“Since when?”
“Since I found true love with sweet Mary Jane Hanover.”
Jack snorted out a laugh. “Is this the same Mary Jane whose very large boyfriend kicked your ass for sleeping with her?”
Seth swallowed a drink of beer. “He wasn’t her boyfriend at the time. I don’t poach.”
“Unless you won’t get caught.”
“Unless I won’t get caught,” he agreed. “And I didn’t get my ass kicked. I held back so I wouldn’t hurt that idiot.”
“Whatever helps you sleep at night. Anyway, as I remember, sweet Mary Jane wouldn’t give you the time of day, let alone any sexual favors, until I buttered her up for you.”
“Please—” Seth held a hand out to stop him. “Don’t use expressions like buttered up when talking about Mary Jane. Gives me ideas. And don’t think you can get away with changing the subject, either.”
Jack hooked his foot on the rung of his stool and debated the chances of getting Seth to drop this discussion. He bit back a sigh. Not going to happen. Seth’s laid-back attitude and humor hid a tenacity unrivaled by mere mortals. “Her name is Kelsey Reagan and she’s Dillon Ward’s sister.”
“Ward…You mean the guy who lives above the bakery?”
“One and the same.” He glanced over to see Kelsey talking to the bartender. “She’s only in town for the night.”
Seth grinned. “Too bad. You could—”
“Hello, gentlemen,” a female voice purred.
Jack turned and found himself looking into a pair of darkblue eyes. “How are you, Shannon?” he asked the beautiful blonde.
“Couldn’t be better,” she replied in her husky smoker’s voice. “I was wondering if I could buy you a drink?”
“Would you look at the time?” Seth didn’t bother glancing at his watch as he drained his beer. He stood and tossed a five dollar bill on the bar. “I’d better get going.” He flashed a grin at Jack. “Catch you later.”
Jack clenched his teeth as his ex-friend cheerfully abandoned him. Wasting no time, Shannon claimed the empty stool. Her short, black skirt rode a few inches above her knee to show a good deal of her toned, tanned thigh. She shook her long, golden hair behind her shoulder and looked at him from under her lashes.
As far as sultry looks go, hers was top-notch. Jack wondered if she practiced it in the mirror.
“What’ll it be?” she asked.
He’d have one quick and painless escape, please. Unfortunately, his position as police chief, and hers as the wife of a prominent city councilman, made running like hell an impossibility.
Too bad.
“Thanks, but I’m not drinking tonight,” he said.
She looked pointedly at his empty glass.
“That’s fine,” she assured him, leaning forward. Though he suspected she was giving him a clear view down the V-neck of her silky white shirt, he kept his gaze on her face. “I wanted to talk to you about the security for the country club’s Harvest Ball.”
Sure she did. And thirteen-year-old boys snuck peeks at Playboy for the articles.
The headache he thought he’d got rid of earlier began to come back. He blamed it on Shannon’s perfume, something floral and overly sweet. Remembering Kelsey’s fresh, sexy scent, he glanced in her direction. Humor lit her expression as their eyes met.
Jack broke eye contact first and turned his attention back to Shannon. “Everything’s all set for the dance. If you have any questions, we can go over them at next week’s meeting.”
“Those meetings are always so hectic.” She pouted and laid a well-manicured hand high up on his thigh, her red fingernails stark against his jeans. “Why don’t we go back to my house? We can discuss it now.”
Her lips said discuss, but her eyes said let’s get naked and do the nasty.
Jack groaned inwardly. Polite tact was lost on Shannon. He lifted her hand off and stood.
“I’m sorry but I already have plans.” He kept his voice low, controlled and, though it almost killed him, pleasant. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I see someone I need to speak with.”
Ignoring the angry flush staining Shannon’s cheeks, he turned and walked to the end of the bar. He wasn’t sure which was worse, the way Shannon blatantly came on to him whenever they were in the same room together. Or the fact that to escape Shannon, he was heading straight for Kelsey Reagan.
He stopped next to Kelsey’s stool and waited until she looked up. “Mind if I join you?”
Kelsey glanced behind him then back. “Using me as an escape hatch, Sheriff?”
“I’m not the sheriff.” Jack sat next to her. “I’m the chief of police.”
She waved that distinction away. “Whatever you are, you’ve surprised me.”
“How so?”
“By not being interested in Tropical Tan Barbie over there. Most men would sell their soul to have a woman like that coming on to them. Either you’re one of the few faithful married men alive—”
“I’m not.” As usual, when he thought of Nicole he felt a slight pinch to his heart. When Kelsey raised her eyebrows he added, “I’m not married.”
She tilted her head, watched him thoughtfully. “Oh, well then. Maybe you’re just not into women.”
What the hell? He straightened and tried to laugh, but the idea of a sexy woman thinking he was gay was about as nonfunny as you could get. “I’m not gay.”
The humor lighting her eyes told him she knew damn well he was straight. She’d just been yanking his chain. “What’s the matter then? Jeez, she was practically drooling in your lap.”
“For some reason, drooling desperation doesn’t turn me on.”
“Huh. Go figure.” The bartender came over and slid a plate of cheese-covered French fries in front of Kelsey.
“What brings you back to The Summit?” he asked when they were alone again.
“I was hungry,” she said and popped a dripping fry into her mouth.
“And, besides clogging your arteries, you wanted another shot with your brother.”
She swallowed then took a sip of her drink. “Wow. That’s brilliant detective work. You should be a cop or something.”
Jack’s lips twitched.
“You, on the other hand,” she continued, wagging a fry at him, “are not only hiding from the blonde, but you’re also checking up on me.” She leaned toward him, her citrus scent tickling his nose. “Shouldn’t you mutter something about this town not being big enough for both of us?”
He lifted a shoulder. Eased back to put some distance between them. “Too cliché for me.”
The amused look on her face told him she noticed how he’d backed away from her. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone your secret.”
“I already told you,” he said quietly, “I’m not gay.”
“No kidding. But that’s not what I’m talking about. And the real reason you’re over here isn’t because you’re running from the blonde.”
“It isn’t?”
“Nope.”
Jack waited. She dug in to her food with the enthusiasm of a linebacker three times her size. Though his gut told him he would regret asking, he couldn’t stop himself. “Are you going to enlighten me?”
“You’re attracted to me.”
Holy hell. Was he that easy to read?
He kept his face expressionless, his voice dry. “Amazing.”
“What?”
“That ego of yours. How’d you ever get something that big through the doorway?”
“It’s not ego. I felt it—the pull between us. Are you going to try and tell me you didn’t?”
He swallowed. Hell yes, he felt it. The attraction between them wasn’t exactly subtle. Physical and momentary, yes, but not subtle.
But just because he felt it, didn’t mean he had to acknowledge it. Or worse, act on it. He controlled his body, and his feelings, they didn’t control him.
He deliberately straightened and shifted so that their knees brushed. Her startled gaze shot to his. At the quick, telltale nervous gesture of her pink tongue wetting her lips, his stomach tightened.
Damn, but she was sexy. And tempting. And a distraction he couldn’t afford.
“Let’s cut to the chase,” he said.
“Okay. You first.”
The pulse at the base of her neck beat rapidly. He had the strongest urge to press his lips against it.
He jerked his head up. “I’m not over here because I’m attracted to you.”
“No?”
“No. After your foray into breaking-and-entering this afternoon, I’m over here to make sure you keep your nose clean while you’re in my town.”
“Don’t worry, Sheriff, like I said I won’t be in your town much longer. Besides,” she added with a quick, lethal smile that made his heart skip a beat, “other than that little misunderstanding, I usually avoid trouble at all costs.”
He studied her, looking for subterfuge beneath the humor. She sure as hell seemed sincere. So much in fact that for some crazy reason, Jack found himself wanting to believe her.
He straightened where he sat. Damn it, he couldn’t ignore his instincts, not again. And if he let his guard down for one moment, he’d give in to his attraction to her. And that he couldn’t afford to do.
CHAPTER THREE
THE DISBELIEF ON JACK’S FACE told Kelsey he didn’t trust her. She shrugged and dug back into her food to hide her embarrassment. So much for her vow to think before she spoke.
She was supposed to be proving she could curb her impulsive and reckless tendencies. Guess she still needed practice.
“So, you walk the straight and narrow?” Jack asked.
Finished with her fries, Kelsey wiped her mouth with a paper napkin and tossed it onto her empty plate. “Haven’t had so much as a parking ticket in the past ten years.”
“That’s quite an accomplishment.”
“It’s more of an accomplishment for some than others.”
“Looks like you’re going to get your wish,” Jack said.
“What wish is that?”
He gestured to the door. Dillon stood across the room, his eyes on her. Luckily, the same blonde who’d tried to pick up Jack stopped Dillon before he could leave. But, if Kelsey didn’t hurry, she would lose her chance to talk to her brother tonight.
She jumped off the stool, dug some money out of her front pocket and tossed it on the bar.
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Jack asked.
“I just want to talk to him.”
“You tried that once.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t give up easily.” But the idea of Dillon blowing her off again kept her rooted to her spot.
Biting her lower lip, she looked back at her brother. His expression darkened as he listened to the blonde now hanging on his arm. Dillon’s mouth thinned but he didn’t shake her off. Instead, he met Kelsey’s eyes for one long moment, turned on his heel and led the blonde out the door.
Dillon was gone.
“I’d heard there was bad blood between them—your brother and Shannon,” Jack said, bringing her attention back to him. “Something about a job he did at her house. Guess whatever the problem was, it’s fixed now.”
“Gossiping, Sheriff?”
Her toes curled at the grin he shot her. “Everybody here knows everybody else’s business.” He leaned toward her and lowered his voice. “Especially their secrets.”
She swallowed. Jack’s face was inches from her own, his blue eyes so mesmerizing, she was unable to look away. Suddenly everything was too much. The noise in the bar. The number of people. And especially Jack, sitting close enough for her to feel his body heat, his expression knowing and intense.
“It’s getting late,” she pointed out. “I’d better head back to the B and B.”
Jack got to his feet. Kelsey stepped back and bumped into the stool in her haste to make sure their bodies didn’t touch. Other than a slight quirk of his lips, he gave no indication he noticed.
