Branded by the Sheriff
Delores Fossen
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Imagine a family tree that includes Texas cowboys, Choctaw and Cherokee Indians, a Louisiana pirate and a Scottish rebel who battled side by side with William Wallace. With ancestors like that, it’s easy to understand why Texas author and former air force captain Delores Fossen feels as if she were genetically predisposed to writing romances. Along the way to fulfilling her DNA destiny, Delores married an air force top gun who just happens to be of Viking descent. With all those romantic bases covered, she doesn’t have to look too far for inspiration.
To Debbie Gafford, thanks for always being there for me.
LaMesa Springs, Texas
A killer was in the house.
Sheriff Beck Tanner drew his weapon and eased out of his SUV. He hadn’t planned on a showdown tonight, but he was ready for it.
Beck stopped at the edge of the yard that was more dirt than grass. He listened for a moment.
The light in the back of the small Craftsman-style house indicated someone was there, but he didn’t want that someone sneaking out and ambushing him. After all, Darin Matthews had already claimed two victims, his own mother and sister. Since this was Darin’s family home, Beck figured sooner or later the man would come back.
Apparently he had.
Around him, the January wind whipped through the bare tree branches. That was the only sound Beck could hear. The house was at the end of the sparsely populated County Line Road, barely in the city limits and a full half mile away from any neighboring house.
There was a hint of smoke in the air, and thanks to a hunter’s moon, Beck spotted the source: the rough stone chimney anchored against the left side of the house. Wispy gray coils of smoke rose into the air, the wind scattering them almost as quickly as they appeared.
He inched closer to the house and kept his gun ready.
His boots crunched on the icy gravel of the driveway. No garage. No car. Just a light stabbing through the darkness. Since the place was supposed to be vacant, he’d noticed the light during a routine patrol of the neighborhood. Beck had also glanced inside the filmy bedroom window and spotted discarded clothes on the bed.
The bedroom wasn’t the source of the light though. It was coming from the adjacent bathroom and gave him just enough illumination to see.
Staying in the shadows, Beck hurried through the yard and went to the back of the house. He tried to keep his footsteps light on the wooden porch, but each rickety board creaked under his weight. He knew the knob would open because the lock was broken. He’d discovered that two months earlier when he checked out the place after the murder of the home’s owner.
Beck eased open the door just a fraction and heard the water running in the bathroom. “A killer in the shower,” he said to himself. All in all, not a bad place for an arrest.
He made his way through the kitchen and into the living room. All the furniture was draped in white sheets, giving the place an eerie feel.
Beck had that same eerie feeling in the pit of his stomach.
He’d been sheriff of LaMesa Springs for eight years, since he’d turned twenty-four, and he’d been the deputy for the two years before that. But because his town wasn’t a hotbed for serious crime, this would be the first time he’d have to take down a killer.
The thought had no sooner formed in his head when the water in the bathroom stopped. He had to make his move now.
Beck gripped his pistol, keeping it aimed.
He nudged the ajar bathroom door with the toe of his boot, and sticky, warm steam and dull, milky light spilled over him.
Since the bathroom was small, he could take in the room in one glance. Outdated avocado tile—some cracked and chipped. A claw-footed tub encased by an opaque shower curtain. There was one frosted glass window to his right that was too small to use to escape.
Beck latched on to the curtain and gave it a hard jerk to the left. The metal hooks rattled, and the sheet of yellowed vinyl slithered around the circular bar that supported it.
“Sheriff Beck Tanner,” he identified himself.
But his name died on his lips when he saw the person standing in the tub. It certainly wasn’t Darin Matthews.
It was a wet, naked woman.
A scream bubbled up from her throat. Beck cursed. He didn’t know which one of them was more surprised.
Well, she wasn’t armed. That was the first thing he noticed after the “naked” part. There wasn’t a gun anywhere in sight. Just her.
Suddenly, that seemed more than enough.
Water slid off her face, her entire body, and her midnight-black hair clung to her neck and shoulders.
Because he considered himself a gentleman, Beck tried not to notice her small, firm breasts and the triangular patch of hair at the juncture of her thighs.
But because he was a man, and because she was there right in front of him, he noticed despite his efforts to stop himself.
“Beckett Tanner,” she spat out like profanity. She swept her left hand over various parts to cover herself while she groped for the white towel dangling over the nearby sink. “What the devil are you doing here?”
Did he know her? Because she obviously knew him.
Beck examined her face and picked through all that wet hair and water to see her features.
Oh, hell.
She