Jan Hudson - The Sheriff

“And getting warmer by the minute,” he said.

Marshaling her composure, Mary Beth turned and tried to remember what they’d been talking about. Heating and cooling. Ductwork. She smiled, nervous. “Texas summers are always hot. What do you suggest?”

“It’s always been my feeling that if you’ve got an itch, you ought to scratch it.” He swiped his handkerchief over his chest. And over his navel.

Aware that her gaze had followed the handkerchief’s path, she jerked her attention away again, her face fiery. “I was talking about heating and cooling the apartment.”

“You can always pick up a couple of second-hand window units to use temporarily through the summer, but come winter, you’ll have to think about keeping warm.” He gave her a lopsided grin that told her he’d be happy to provide the warmth.

“J.J., stop that!”

Dear Reader,

This book is the first of three about the Outlaw family. I hope you’ll enjoy them. The germ of the idea for the Outlaw brothers came when I remembered Jesse James—not Jesse James the Missouri outlaw, but Jesse James the Texas state treasurer who held office many years ago. Talk about name recognition! And how could you resist the irony of having a famous outlaw in charge of the state’s money? He was reelected for years.

From that bit of history I created old Judge John Outlaw, a wily Texas politician who started the tradition of naming his sons after famous outlaws to give them a leg up in the world (name recognition) and pointing them in the direction of politics and public service. His grandsons, all charmers, have fulfilled his dream and are in law enforcement: a sheriff, a judge and a cop.

The series is set in Naconiche (NAK-uh-KNEE-chee), a fictitious small county seat in the east Texas area where I was born and still live as of this writing. Although there’s a real Naconiche Creek, the town and colorful characters are from my imagination—but, trust me, they could be real. And the love stories…well, love is always real.

Join me on a bus trip to the Piney Woods, and we’ll soon arrive at the town square of Naconiche, population 2438. We can stay at the Twilight Inn….

To love and laughter!

Jan Hudson

The Sheriff

Jan Hudson

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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To old friends

Tootie, Elizabeth, Wanda and Carol

for all the happy times and winning hands

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

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

When the Greyhound bus pulled to a stop at Wally’s Feed Store, a ton of memories flooded Mary Beth Parker. This was the first time she’d been back to Naconiche, Texas, in twelve years—a lifetime ago, or so it seemed.

“Wake up, Katy,” she whispered to her daughter, kissing the little blond head that nestled against her. “We’re here.”

Katy stretched and yawned, moving slowly, tired after the long trip from Natchez. Mary Beth had hated to put the four-year-old through the exhausting bus trip, but there simply wasn’t enough cash to buy plane tickets—even if there had been an airport nearby. They had endured some rough times in the past two years, but their luck had finally changed. Just when she was starting to feel most desperate, Mary Beth had received word of an inheritance. A distant relative on her father’s side had died and left everything to her—not a huge estate, the attorney had cautioned, but anything at all would be welcome to Mary Beth. She and Katy had been living off the kindness of friends.

Mary Beth struggled to her feet and got her crutches and her carry-on from the overhead bin. The blasted cast on her foot made moving in the cramped space awkward, and her leg ached from the long ride.

“Don’t forget Penelope and your toy bag,” she told Katy. Penelope, a worn, flop-eared stuffed dog, went everywhere with her daughter, including to bed at night.

Several passengers called goodbye as they moved down the aisle. With her bubbly personality, Katy had become the mascot of the group and had told anybody who would listen, “We’re going to find our fortune in the town where my mommy was queen.” Katy was quite precocious, but she hadn’t learned the finer points of discretion yet.

The driver helped them off and unloaded their bags from the belly of the bus. “Good luck to you, ma’am. And to you, too, Katy.”

“Thanks, Mr. Emmett.” Katy waved merrily and turned to face the old courthouse across the street. “Where’s the square, Mommy? The one where you rode when you were queen.”

“That’s it, sugarplum. See, the courthouse is in the middle and the streets make a square around it.”

As the bus drove away, a tan sheriff’s car pulled up. The door opened and a tall man in a black cowboy hat climbed out. Mary Beth thought his slow, deliberate movements seemed familiar. Broad-shouldered and ruggedly handsome, he walked as if he owned the place. When he started toward her, a big grin spread across his face.

Her heart almost stopped. It was the grin that she recognized—that Outlaw grin. The years had been kind to him; they had etched his face with character, changing him from a boy to a man.

Automatically her hand started to her hair, then she forced it back down. She looked as if she’d been pulled through a knothole backward and she knew it. She’d hoped to have time to prepare herself before running into him. Actually, she was hoping that he had moved to Houston or Topeka—somewhere far away so that she wouldn’t have to face him in her humiliation. But there he stood, sexy as all get-out, and her looking like a frump in rumpled clothes with sleep in her eyes. There was nothing to do but keep her chin up and play it cool.

“Mary Beth Beams? Darlin’, is that you?”

“J.J.?” she asked, as if she didn’t know.

“In the flesh,” he said, taking her into his arms in a bear hug.

The crutches made hugging him difficult, but she gave it her best shot. It felt so good to be in a strong, masculine embrace—so darned good. The years seemed to roll away. She was a girl again, secure in familiar arms.

“You look great,” he said, “but what in the world happened to your foot?”

“I broke it. A really stupid accident.”

She felt a tug on her jacket and looked down.

“Who’s he?” Katy asked in a loud whisper.

Mary Beth stepped away, grateful that her daughter had pulled her back to reality. J.J. seemed happy to see her, but she was sure the man hadn’t spent all this time pining for her. In fact, an old pain slashed through her as she recalled he hadn’t even pined for her a full day when she’d broken up with him all those years ago. But those days were long past. He probably had a wife and four kids by now. “This is J. J. Outlaw, an old friend of mine. J.J., this is my daughter, Katy.”