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She’d taken a private shuttle from the Aspen airport to the upscale hotel where Kevin had made a reservation. She’d originally been scheduled to come on this trip with him, three days in the mountains of Colorado with a few meetings thrown in to make it a legitimate business expense. Sienna hadn’t been back to Colorado in almost two decades, and to make a trip so soon after her estranged brother’s visit to Chicago last year... Well, it had been too much to even consider.
Yet in the end, she couldn’t stay away. Kevin had acted so disappointed she wasn’t coming, dropping subtle hints that he’d planned to pop the question in Aspen. So she’d taken a red-eye into Denver, then a commuter plane to Aspen, thinking how fun it would be to surprise him.
She’d surprised him all right, in bed with another woman. Could it get more clichéd than that? Her life had been reduced to a cliché.
“How about we start with the registration?” the sheriff asked, his voice gentling as if somehow he could sense what a mess she was on the inside.
That infuriated her even more. Sienna didn’t do vulnerable. People around her saw what she wanted them to see, and the thought that this mountain-town Mayberry lawman could see beyond her mask made her want to lash out at someone. Anyone. Sheriff Hot Pants, for one.
She dipped her chin and looked up at him through her lashes, flashing a small, knowing smile. “How about I write a healthy-size check to the police foundation or your favorite charity...” She winked. “Or you for that matter and we both go on our merry way?”
“Are you offering me a bribe?”
She widened her smile. “Call it an incentive.”
The sheriff took off his sunglasses, shoving them into his front shirt pocket. His eyes were brown, the color of warm honey, but his gaze was frigid. “How’s the thought of being arrested as an incentive for you to hand me the registration?”
He smiled as he asked the question. His full lips revealed a set of perfectly straight teeth in a way that made him look like some sort of predator. “Or perhaps you’d like to step out of the car and I’ll handcuff you? Another viable option, ma’am.”
Blowing out a breath, Sienna grabbed the stack of papers from the glove compartment. She hated that her fingers trembled as she leafed through to find the registration card.
She held it up without speaking, and the sheriff plucked it from her fingers.
“Do you have anything else you’d like to say before I run your information?” he asked conversationally.
“I might like to call my lawyer in Crimson,” she answered automatically. It would be just her luck that Kevin the scumbag had reported his rental car as missing after she’d convinced the bellman to release it to her. It had felt like a tiny sliver of retribution for what he’d done but now it was coming back to bite her in—
“You have an attorney in Crimson? I find it hard to believe you have ties to anyone in my town.”
“Your town,” she muttered. “Like you own it.”
“Ma’am.” This iteration was a warning.
“I do know an attorney,” she snapped before he could say anything more. “Jase Crenshaw.”
The sheriff laughed. “You know Jase?”
The way he asked the question made her feel two inches tall. As if Jase Crenshaw wouldn’t want anything to do with a woman like Sienna. Which was both ridiculous and possibly true at this point.
But she didn’t let him see her doubt. Never show anyone the doubt.
Instead she flashed another smile. “I certainly hope I know Jase. He’s my brother.”
* * *
Cole Bennett blinked. Once. Twice. He rubbed a hand over his jaw, then pulled the sunglasses out of his pocket and returned them to his face.
If the gorgeous and obviously high-strung blonde in the Porsche had told him her brother was the President, he wouldn’t have been more surprised.
He patted his open palm on the top of the car. “Sit tight.”
“Are you going to call Jase?” she asked, her voice suddenly breathless.
“I’m going to run your plates and make sure this car hasn’t been reported stolen.”
She snorted, a strangely appealing sound coming from a woman who looked so uptight he guessed she’d never made a noise that wasn’t appropriate for a luncheon at a ritzy country club. Living in the mountains of Colorado, Cole had little use for anything fancy, even with Aspen an easy thirty-minute drive down the road.
“My cheating, dirtbag, sleazeball ex is probably too busy entertaining his mistress to even realize the car is gone.”
Cole was amused despite himself. “And when he does?”
She rolled her pale blue eyes. “I borrowed the car. I’m planning to return it.”
“I gather you recently discovered the cheating, dirtbag, sleazeball side of him.”
“Along with a view of his saggy, naked butt in bed with another woman—that part I could have done without.”
“How long did you date?”
“A little over two years.”
“And his saggy butt came as a surprise?”
She laughed, low and husky, and he felt it all the way to his toes. “I got good at not looking. He had other redeemable qualities.”
“Fidelity wasn’t one of them?”
He regretted the question when the corners of her mouth turned down. He liked seeing her smile and got the impression she didn’t do it half as much as she should.
“Apparently not.”
“Do I need to confiscate the keys so you don’t take off?” he asked conversationally. “I’m not in the mood for a car chase today.”
She met his gaze, her blue eyes sparking with some emotion he couldn’t name but that resonated deep in his gut. “Do I look like a flight risk?”
“You look like ten kinds of trouble,” he answered, then turned and headed for the Jeep he drove while on duty. Cole Bennett didn’t need trouble in his life, no matter how appealing a package it came wrapped in.
Both the car and the woman checked out fine, but Cole didn’t trust that things wouldn’t go south when the ex-boyfriend realized the car was gone. Maybe she was indeed going to return it, or maybe she was going to do something stupid that would end up bad for all of them.
Cole prided himself on his ability to read people and situations. It was a skill he’d learned first in the army and then through a more recent career in law enforcement. But Sienna Pierce was an enigma.
On the surface, she was a perfect, polished society type—the kind of woman he would have looked right through on any given day. But a current of something more ran just below the surface—a feral energy he didn’t quite understand but that drew him despite his better judgment.
He glanced through the front window of the Jeep to the Porsche and sighed. He could call Jase and dump this problem onto his friend’s doorstep. There was no doubt Sienna was going to be a problem. Jase rarely talked about the sister who’d left with their mother when they were kids.
But Cole knew his friend had received a letter from his estranged mother last fall. It had pushed his recovering alcoholic father, Declan, off the wagon in a tumble that had almost cost Jase the town’s mayoral election and the woman he loved.
Jase was a good man, honest and loyal. Cole understood better than most how much that meant and what a rare commodity it could be. No matter what Sienna’s intentions were, her brother would give her the benefit of the doubt and open his home and heart to her. Cole wasn’t convinced she deserved that chance.
Sometimes people were too kind and they got hurt because of it. His mother had been one of those gentle-hearted souls. Jase likely was, as well, although his wife, Emily, was tough enough for the both of them. Either way, Cole would do his best to protect his friend. He made his decision, called the station to tell the department’s secretary his plans and got out of the car.
Sienna turned her head as he approached. She’d put on tortoise-framed sunglasses in the interim so her eyes were hidden from view. Also hidden—or at least ruthlessly tamped down—was any of the wild spirit he’d sensed in her earlier. The woman frowning up at him was so cold she could make a polar bear shiver.
“It’s your lucky day, ma’am,” he told her, handing back her license and registration.
Her rosy lips pressed together. “Is that so?”
“You’ve earned yourself a sheriff’s escort.”
“Was the car reported stolen?” she asked with much less concern in her voice than he would have expected. “Are you arresting me?”
“The car’s fine,” he answered. “For now. I’m going to make sure it stays that way. We’re heading back to Aspen, Ms. Pierce, to return the Porsche.”
“I don’t need your help with the car.”
“Good.” He leaned a little closer. “Because it’s not you I’m helping. It’s your brother I care about.”
Chapter Two (#ue7914f52-7a3f-51d9-91d7-eae1f29c4d65)
Kevin stood on the sidewalk under the hotel’s blue awning, obviously arguing with one of the valets, as Sienna pulled the Porsche to the curb.
“You stole my car,” he yelled as she got out, stalking toward her. “What the hell were you thinking?”
She took a moment to adjust her skirt and ran a hand through her hair, then tossed the keys to the relieved young man in the valet uniform gaping at them both.
“What were you thinking?” she countered, strangely empty of emotion at the moment. Her heels made a soft clicking noise on the pavement as she moved to stand in front of him.
“Come in the hotel, Sienna. We’ll work this out.”
“There’s nothing left to work out.” She reached in her purse and handed the valet a twenty-dollar bill. “Thank you,” she told him with a serene smile. From the corner of her eye, she saw Cole Bennett climb out of the Jeep that had the words Crimson County Sheriff emblazoned across the side.
Under normal circumstances, Sienna loathed drawing attention to herself. Right now she couldn’t find the energy to care.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kevin snapped. “I made a mistake. It was one night. I didn’t even know her.”
“That doesn’t make it any better,” Sienna said through clenched teeth.
“Ready to head out?” Cole asked as he came to stand beside her.
“Who the hell are you?” Kevin demanded.
Cole flashed an aw-shucks grin that would have done Andy Griffith proud and pointed to the badge on his chest. “Good morning to you, too, buddy. I gather you can read as well as cheat on your girlfriend?”
Kevin narrowed his eyes as he gave Cole the once-over. “A cop,” he muttered.
“Sheriff,” Cole corrected.
“I want this woman arrested.” Kevin pointed toward Sienna. “For grand theft auto.”
Sienna felt her body go rigid, then Cole put a hand on her back, whether as comfort or as a silent reminder not to flee, she couldn’t tell.
“A fan of video games, I take it,” Cole said conversationally. “‘Grand Theft Auto’ is good but I prefer ‘Call of Duty’ myself.”
Kevin’s hands clenched into fists. “This isn’t a damn joke.”
“I borrowed the car because I needed to compose myself,” Sienna said, forcing her voice to remain calm. “Then I returned it.”
“She has a witness,” Cole added. He pointed to the young valet. “You saw her return it.”
The gangly teen swallowed. “Yes, sir.”
Kevin lifted a brow. “Come with me and work this out, and we’ll let it go. Otherwise, you’re going to have to explain to your parents why you were arrested for stealing a car. Mommy won’t like it when that hits the news cycle, and what a blow after she just finished chemo.”
He reached for her, but Cole moved forward, effectively blocking his access. “The only thing you’re letting go of is Sienna,” he said, all trace of civility gone from his tone. Sienna had a sudden twinge of sympathy for whatever bad guys were lurking around this section of the Rocky Mountains. Cole Bennett was clearly not a lawman to tangle with.
“This is none of your business, Sheriff.”
“Are you joking?” Cole threw up his hands. “You’re going to force me to use the ‘I’m making it my business’ line? I try not to veer into TV cop stereotypes, but if that’s what it takes...”
Sienna raised a hand to her mouth, stifling a giggle. The situation was no laughing matter and Kevin had the right of it with his implied threat about her parents. Both her mom and stepdad assumed her marriage to Kevin was a done deal, the engagement just a box to check off the official wedding to-do list.
Maybe she was light-headed from lack of oxygen at this altitude, but she realized she not only had other options in life but wanted to explore them. To see who she could have become without the rigid constraints of the life her mom had orchestrated. Her mother had gone through her own emotional journey during her battle with cancer, one that had culminated with reuniting with the son she’d left behind. But Sienna wasn’t on the path of reconciliation, and certainly not with Kevin.
She pointed at her ex-boyfriend. “You have a saggy butt.”
The valet snickered as Kevin’s mouth dropped open.
Cole turned to her, one corner of his gorgeous mouth twitching with amusement. His honey-brown gaze held hers for a moment. “You went there,” he muttered. “Really?”
“I deserve better than you,” she continued, moving around Cole to go toe-to-toe with Kevin. “I deserve better than how you treated me.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” he said, and she wondered why she’d never noticed that when he smiled it looked more like a sneer. “If you weren’t such a stuffy prude, I wouldn’t have had to find another woman to warm the bed. This is your—”
His head snapped back as her fist connected with his nose. She yelped, as surprised by the fact that she’d punched him as she was by the pain in her knuckles. Kevin cried out, covering his face with his hands.
“You saw her. Assault and battery,” he shouted through his fingers.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Cole promised. He gestured to the valet. “Get him a towel and some ice.” Then he grabbed Sienna’s arm. “I think you’re done here.”
“I didn’t mean—”
“No more talking,” he told her, half leading and half dragging her across the street to his Jeep. “Let’s just get out of this town before you cause an even bigger scene.”
She stopped a few feet from the car. “Are you going to make me sit in the back seat?”
“I should after that stunt,” Cole said but opened the passenger door for her. “Get in. Your saggy bottomed ex has gone into the hotel. We should be gone by the time he comes out again.”
Neither of them spoke as Cole drove out of Aspen. The upscale shops and restaurants housed in historic brick buildings gave way to apartment complexes and other, newer structures and finally changed to open meadows as he took the turn onto the highway that led to Crimson. It was the third time today she’d driven this stretch of road.
