Alice Sharpe - Cowboy Undercover

“Then one day I found a bottle of barbiturates in Jeremy’s desk drawer and I knew in a flash that he’d been drugging me so I’d appear intoxicated in front of other people. I worked up the courage to ask for a divorce. He said I was welcome to leave as long as I left alone. I protested, of course. I planned to take Charlie, but Jeremy promised that would never happen. He said everyone knew how paranoid I’d become, and that I drank. He said I’d trapped him by getting pregnant and everyone knew that, too, and felt bad for him. He said it would be better all the way around if I just died. That way he would get total control of Charlie and be a sympathetic widower to boot. He laughed when he said it, but you have to know Jeremy. His laugh has nothing to do with humor.”

“So you bolted,” Chance said. With her now austere hair and colorless clothes, she actually looked like the kind of person life beat into submission. He suddenly missed her bleached hair and dangling earrings and then it occurred to him that perhaps that persona had been as much a facade as this one.

“More or less,” she said. “I started gathering every scrap of paper I could find, every receipt, anything that looked potentially valuable. I found a few photographs, made copies of records... Anyway, they’re all in a safety-deposit box in Boise. I’ve never tried to make sense of them, there was never time. I just knew I needed something on him if I was ever going to win custody of Charlie. I was hoping I’d find evidence of collusion or something. But then he came home one night and he had had a horrible day. He’d been riding high after winning a conviction against a child murderer and his name was being discussed in political circles. But then a kid hanged himself in his cell and the prosecutor’s office came under investigation. Jeremy was livid.

“Anyway, I didn’t say the right thing or look the right way, who knows? Jeremy hit me so hard I blacked out and when I came to, Charlie was sitting beside me, crying. I’ll never forget the look on his face. A week later, I’d made my plans and Charlie and I left. The mother of an old school friend took me in for a day or two and then she called your father and he offered me a job and refuge so that’s how I ended up here.”

“You never called the police?”

“No. I’d tried that before and wound up looking like a nutcase trying to ruin my husband’s reputation. It wouldn’t have done any good. Jeremy was respected, and feared, by so many people and I was a nobody.”

They both startled and got to their feet as engine noise came from the yard.

“I hope that’s not the police,” Lily said. By now they were at the back door and could see through the small window.

“It’s Gerard’s truck,” Chance said. “We’re going up to get the heifers today.” He opened the door and watched his brother approach. Gerard had had a couple of rough years, starting with the tragic accident that had taken the lives of his wife and daughter, followed by a spell of amnesia. But he’d come out on top when he fell in love with Kinsey Frost, the woman who helped him find himself in both a literal and figurative way.

Gerard stopped walking as Lily stepped out onto the porch beside Chance. He tipped his hat and said hello the way a cowboy does to a female stranger.

“It’s me,” Lily said, moving down the steps to intercept him.

He still looked confused.

“Lily,” she added, coming to a stop in front of him. Gerard looked from her to Chance. Chance knew that his older brother and Kinsey were probably the only two people in the world who understood what it had meant to him when Lily left and he crossed mental fingers now that Gerard wouldn’t spill it. He should have known he wouldn’t. Gerard gave her a hug and then looked around. “Is Charlie asleep in your car?”

“He’s not with me,” Lily said.

“Come inside,” Chance added. Lily turned to come back up the steps. In a moment of clarity, he saw the terror lurking in back of her eyes.

“Kinsey is going to be so sorry she missed seeing you,” Gerard added as they once again closed the doors on the three dogs. “She flew back to New Orleans to help her grandmother for a couple of days. How long are you going to be here?”

“I’m leaving in a few minutes,” Lily said. “I wanted to ask your father for advice. I thought maybe... Oh, I shouldn’t have come.”

“We can give advice, too,” Gerard said as they entered the house.

“A lot is going on,” she said, picking up the glasses she’d taken off when she first arrived. She folded them into a pocket and added, “Chance can fill you in after I’ve left.”

“No, Chance can’t,” Chance said but he suspected Gerard didn’t need too much filling in.

“Why?” Lily demanded.

“Because I’m coming with you.”

“You don’t even know where I’m going,” she protested.

“You’re going to Boise. You’re going to see Jeremy Block. You’ll need someone to bail you out of jail.”

A defiant expression crept onto her face. “You don’t have to do that,” she said, thrusting her chin high in the way the Lily he’d known before used to. That woman he had chided and baited and given a rough time and she had returned it all with a spirit that intrigued him to this day. “I don’t need someone to take care of me,” she added.

“Yeah, right. Anyway, we’ll stop at my place so I can throw some clothes into a duffel, tuck a big fat gun under the front seat and then we’re off.”

“What is it about men?” she asked no one in particular. “You all think you can rescue the damsel in distress.”

“Well, when the damsel shows up so early in the morning, what are we supposed to do?”

“Listen when she says no thanks.”

Silence ensued until Gerard cleared his throat. “May I say something?”

“Sure,” Lily said.

“Just take him along for the ride, will you please? He’s impossible when he gets like this and he might actually come in handy.”

She looked at Chance, who silently returned her scrutiny. She was beautiful under all that drabness, delicate and feminine as long as she didn’t start arguing. But he couldn’t wrap his head around the thought of her leaving on this mission all by herself. If she refused to let him come with her, he’d follow on her tail.

“Oh, all right,” she said.

“Unless Frankie shows up, you and Pike will have to get the heifers on your own,” Chance told his brother.

“We’ll manage,” Gerard said as he poured himself a cup of coffee and added with a wink, “You two kids be careful.”

Chapter Two Contents Cover Introduction “I’m going to get to my truck and take the gun out of the back. Do you want to wait inside it?” She flashed him a wry smile. “What do you think?” “I think you want to come with me, but I also think you’d better consider what’s good for Charlie. He needs his mom.” “Point taken,” she conceded. They ran to the truck, and Lily slid inside while Chance took his revolver out of the locked case and handed her the keys. “If anything goes wrong, get yourself out of here, okay, Lily?” “Chance, I—” “Not now, sweetheart,” he said. “I’m in a hurry. Lock the doors. I’ll be back.” He leaned inside and kissed her. Her lips were cool and wet and perfectly delicious. He tore himself away and ran toward the back of the church. Title Page Cowboy Undercover Alice Sharpe www.millsandboon.co.uk About the Author ALICE SHARPE met her husband-to-be on a cold, foggy beach in Northern California. Their union has survived the rearing of two children, a handful of earthquakes, numerous cats and a few special dogs, the latest of which is a yellow Lab named Annie Rose. Alice and her husband now live in a small rural town in Oregon, where she devotes the majority of her time to pursuing her second love, writing. You can write to her c/o Harlequin Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279, USA. An SASE for reply is appreciated. Dedication I’d like to dedicate this book to all readers who, just like me, love a good story. 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 Extract Copyright