Cash’s heart sank. Great. An ambitious cop. Wasn’t that just the kiss of death? After Dad, Cash had had a bellyful of cops with ambition.
She was DEA, she likely investigated drug problems in every part of the country. Probably thought Ordinary was a hick town compared to the places she’d been.
He wandered to the living room and stared at the empty furniture. Shit. For a few minutes there, he’d had this incredible dream.
He went to the front door to call in the dogs but his voice caught in his throat. Disillusionment and disappointment weighed on him. That feeling of being stuck in life slunk back in from the shadows of the yard and settled in his chest.
No way would Shannon settle in a place like Ordinary, Montana, and no way would Cash leave, not when he had a great job, amazing friends and this house.
He knew what life in the big city was like, chock full of temptations to distract a man from what was really important—family—and Cash wanted no part of those distractions.
* * *
EARLY THE FOLLOWING morning Cash returned to the Wright ranch, his nerves humming.
He thought of the woman in the house.
She’s on her way to the top, Denny had written.
He walked to the stable and pulled open the heavy doors. He didn’t mind taking over this task while C.J. was gone.
C.J.’s neighbor to the east was taking care of the cattle. Cash need only worry about the horses.
He fed them, then turned them loose in the corral.
Still no movement in the house that he could discern. Too early for her to be up, maybe. He returned to the stable to muck out the stalls, enjoying how his muscles burned at the effort, how this activity differed from sitting behind a desk writing reports.
When he finished his chores he washed up at the sink in the barn then grabbed a pressed, beige uniform shirt from his truck and changed out of his flannel shirt in the meager warmth of the stable. He’d head straight into Ordinary for work from here.
He slipped into his sheepskin ranch coat and pinned his Sheriff’s badge to the outside. He traded his old work boots for his polished cowboy boots.
There’d been no flicker of light in the house. Odd. He hadn’t taken her for a lazy woman.
He pulled onto the highway for the drive to town and had gone no farther than C.J.’s neighbor’s land when he saw Shannon jogging along the shoulder toward him.
Facing traffic. Smart girl.
The rising sun highlighted one side of her body.
She wore a snug long-sleeved t-shirt under a quilted vest, and tight jogging pants that hugged mile-long legs. Her calves and thighs looked strong.
She’d pulled that pretty blond hair into a ponytail that swung with each step. She looked young and stunningly beautiful.
The breath lodged in his throat.
He pulled over and rolled down his passenger window. She approached, panting steam into the cool air.
“You always run this early?” he asked.
She nodded, her cheeks pink from exertion. “It’s the most beautiful part of the day.”
She looked across the fields and the early-morning light turned her hair and skin to gold. Her face was relaxed, unlike he’d seen it last night.
Cash imagined how tempting she must look waking up in bed before crawling out for her run. He would have trouble letting her go.
“It’s gorgeous out here, isn’t it?” She smiled at the scenery and he wished he’d put that smile on her face this morning.
She’s on a fast track to the top.
Cash cleared his throat. “How long was your run?”
“I just finished five miles.”
Fit, all right. And ambitious. A real go-getter.
He wouldn’t be dating her.
Just Cash’s luck. He finally meets the perfect woman and she’s off-limits—and not only for her ambition. His first instinct about her being a cop was the right one. Cash didn’t sleep with co-workers. Ever. His father had done enough of that and look what happened to him. Disgrace. Public humiliation.
Dad had worked tirelessly, had investigated every angle, had spent weeks on end ignoring his family while he worked cases, on his way up to Commissioner of the San Francisco police force. Always the big shot. Dad hadn’t walked. He’d run. And strutted.
Cash valued his job and his relationships in this town. He would fight for them tooth and nail, against any enemy, even a green-eyed girl who was already turning him inside out. Cash set his jaw hard to ignore his frustration.
He had to keep his distance.
She reacted to his frown and backed away from the car.
“See you around,” she said.
In his rear-view mirror, he watched her run away from him. A sudden groin-stirringimage of her naked legs wrapped around his waist jumped to mind.
“Hell.”
This attraction was wrong.
He didn’t need his dying Dad coming around telling Cash he was late getting a wife and family, nor did he need a stunning DEA agent visiting town to wreck his stable life. He needed to reconnect with his priorities, his goals. He wanted a family. He wanted it here in Ordinary, where people appreciated and respected him. Where life was sane.
He whipped out his cell phone and called Timm Franck.
“Ordinary Citizen.” Timm published the town’s newspaper.
Without preamble, Cash said, “You know Angel’s been trying to hook me up with Danielle Beacon?”
“Good morning to you, too,” Timm answered with laughter in his voice. “Sure, I remember. You ready to take the plunge?”
“Yep. How soon?”
“You’re serious! Okay. How about tonight?”
“Can’t. It’s Austin’s movie night.”
“I forgot. Let’s double date tomorrow night then, at Chester’s.”
“Have Angel call Danielle then tell me what time to pick her up.”
Cash hung up and chuffed out a frosted breath in the cold truck. He closed the passenger window and pulled out onto the highway.
He needed to rub the image of the prettiest woman this side of the Rockies out of his mind, even if she did have slim, strong legs that went on forever. Another woman could help him do that.
So you say.
Yeah, so I say.
All the way into town he told himself that a little determination could go a long way.
CHAPTER THREE
WHEN CASH ARRIVED in Ordinary, he glimpsed Austin Trumball, his Little Brother, sidling into the laneway at the edge of town, his manner secretive.
Twelve-year-old Austin was a good kid, but lost these days. Cash was always on the lookout for him. He had a bad feeling about Austin, that without a little guidance, he could end up in trouble.
The only place that laneway led was the alley running the length of Main Street behind the businesses.
Why was Austin going back there? Over a year ago Cash had caught him dumpster-diving, starving and scrambling