“I’m not closing early, Joseph.” She glares at him. He cups her face and whispers something we can’t hear. “Okay. I’ll close up.”
“Good girl.”
I watch Vanessa as she stares at them. Her eyes are wide and dazed, like a girl with a crush. Snarling, I lean in and say, “He’s happily married.”
“Yes, and I can see why you’re not. Look. If you don’t need me and I’m not under arrest, I’m leaving.”
“How are you getting home?”
“Same way I got here. On these things, they call feet.” She wags her foot at me.
“No. Mick, Jackson? Can one of you guys take her home?”
“Sure. I’m not meeting Penny for a while,” Jackson says.
“Go with Jackson, and then I’ll be in contact with you later.”
“What about my bag?” I hand her back the bag without the gun. “Um, what about my gun? It’s legal and mine.” I leave no space between us when I stare down into her bright blue eyes.
“Don’t think so. I need to run a check on it first. Besides, I can’t trust that you won’t leave the bookstore and go outside to pop that ass in the head.”
“Fair point, Sheriff, but if I don’t get it back, I’ll find out where you live and get it back one way or another.” She steps back and poses like a surfer, causing the guys’ brows to raise. They each grip their sacs, having witnessed her badass skills in action.
“Trust me. I wouldn’t let you get near my balls unless we were both naked and my cock was buried deep inside you.” She gasps and turns red. “Don’t play with grown men because we’re not all like Darrell.”
She moves to Jackson’s side with two steps while I do my best to contain the instant jealousy. Jackson’s madly in love with his wife. “Come on, Doc. Let’s go deal with this asshole so I can get back to the station.” I leave the bookstore without stealing another glance because I’ve already fucking said more to her than I should have for now. Later, we’ll deal with this attraction and get it squared away.
“So, is that the future Mrs. Lawrence?” I wonder if the guys managed to tell him anything before he rushed in here. I doubt it because I know I wouldn’t have waited to hear shit to get to my woman.
“One can hope.”
“Good luck. She’s not immune to you.”
I nod because that’s true, but I was her savior twice, and that could be all I am to her. “Well, you’ve met her before, and I’m not sure she sees me as anything more than her hero.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you remember when that crazy bastard came after Mackenzie and kidnapped her co-worker?”
“Oh shit. Is that her?” Of course, he wouldn’t remember her because he’s seen thousands of patients since, and he’s madly in love with his wife. I, on the other hand, haven’t met a soul who could erase that one encounter from my mind, even if I tried. Still, I didn’t try hard and even became a mild stalker over the years.
“Yeah. She dyed her hair, and she’s grown up a lot in that time.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit, something’s on your mind.”
“Just trying to fight the guilt. Do you know that the first time I saw her in that trunk, I was fucking turned on?” I fought that attraction and just equated it to a need to protect her, but maybe it was always under the surface. Shit, I’m sick as fuck.
“Well, that would have been a problem back then, but she’s an adult now. Is that why you’ve stayed away from any of the women in town?”
“You got me there. Anyway, enough of that shit. I want this scumbag out of my sight. Let’s get this over with.” I open the back door so Doc can do his thing while I sit in front and start typing up his arrest for drunken disorderly conduct. Less than ten minutes later, Doc is finished.
“He’ll be okay after an ice pack and some ibuprofen. He claims that he’s hardly in any pain, although that’s probably not good right now because he’s still wasted. To be safe, he’ll have to follow up with a doctor in a day or two. Our nuts are more durable than we make it seem.”
“Good. If he’s still in custody, I’ll have him taken to the hospital here, so no questions will be asked.”
“Sounds like a fair plan. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to check on my wife and take her home. Good luck with your lady. I have a feeling you’re going to need it. She’s got one hell of a temper and a good fight in her. You might need to talk to Cowboy about how to tame a wild one.” I flip him off, but he might not be too far off. She’s made it clear that she’s not afraid to fight even a cop to get her hands on that lowlife, so I’ve got my work cut out for me.