“Let her go,” Nick said in a low voice.
Willy’s smile grew, and Kara realized this was exactly what Willy had wanted.
“Nick,” Kara warned, but Willy’s fist was already in motion. She watched in horror as it connected with Nick’s stomach. She was impressed when Nick didn’t even wince.
He’d seen the punch coming and had stepped back far enough that Willy’s fist only grazed his gut.
Willy didn’t get a second swing before Nick yanked him off the bench. He landed on the floor facedown.
Dean and Mike started to get up, but a glance from Willy had them relaxing back.
“I got this,” Willy hissed as he got up off the ground.
Just then, Kyle Morgan and his wife stepped over. Just seeing the officer, even out of uniform, had Willy straightening up.
“Is there a problem?” Kyle asked, his eyes glued to Willy.
“No sir,” Willy sneered. “Just… fell out of the booth.”
Kyle’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I think you and your boys have had enough fun for one night. Don’t you?” Kyle said firmly.
Willy’s eyes narrowed slightly. Instead of answering, he motioned to his two friends, who slid out of the booth and followed Willy into the crowd.
“Liz, I heard it’s your birthday,” Kyle’s wife, Emma, said. The woman had been one of Liz’s and Kara’s favorite teachers in high school. “Happy birthday, sweetie.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Morgan.”
“We’ll leave you young kids to your party. My husband promised me a few dances before we have to take the babysitter back home,” Emma said with a wink as she tugged her husband’s hand and pulled him out onto the dance floor.
“Are you okay?” Nick asked, sitting across from them.
“Yeah,” both she and Liz answered at the same time.
“What an ass,” Liz said, taking the drink from the waitress when she set a tray down on their table.
“The food will be a few more minutes,” the waitress said and then disappeared.
“He was obviously trying to get to me,” Nick said with a sigh. “His dad is sitting in a jail cell, waiting for his court date on Monday.”
“He’s in jail?” Liz asked. She took a sip of her beer.
“They arrested him yesterday on fraud. He made a fake deed to the ranch and tried to pass it off as real to put up for some pretty big purchase like the new vehicles and a few other items around town,” Nick said. “He honestly believed that once he took over the ranch, he’d get everything, all the money and the bigger income.”
“What will happen to you if they get your ranch?” Liz asked.
Kara took a sip of her beer and tried not to think about that possibility. She loved her place. Really. But the thought of living next to Willy scared her.
Nick glanced at her briefly before answering. “I’d maybe travel for a while.”
Her heart skipped at the thought of traveling the world with Nick for a year or two.
“I’ve always wanted to go to Italy,” Liz said. While they ate their food, they talked about where each of them would like to travel and what they had hoped to see and do in other places.
After she was done eating, she pulled Nick onto the dance floor. Over the years, she’d seen him dance. He’d taken loads of girls to the Firehouse, and she’d watched and wished from afar.
The man knew how to move. Feeling him up against her tight as they bumped to the fast music was a different kind of thrill that she’d never experienced with any of her previous partners. Liz was beside them, dancing with one of her exes. The man looked completely gone over her. Liz looked like she was just having fun.
Then the music turned slow, and her desire bubbled deep within her, almost causing her to pull Nick into a dark corner.