Linda Conrad - Last Chance Reunion

They’d been close once. At least he’d thought so. The best friend he’d had in high school. But right before graduation he had decided to make them more than friends—to take their relationship to another level. He’d kissed her—a lot. As he recalled, both of them had liked where their new status was headed.

But before he’d had a chance to suggest more, she’d disappeared. Up and left town without a word. He’d always wondered if it had been something he’d done—or not done.

Tonight’s dark and moonless sky made it difficult to see her expression. To judge her thoughts. But it was not so dark that he couldn’t see how her body had turned out after ten years. Even in the stiff long-sleeved uniform shirt and heavy khaki pants, it was clear she’d filled out nicely.

The womanly curves that had been only hinted at as a teenager were now vividly apparent. He had dreamed of her, what she might look like all grown up. So her curvy female form didn’t feel like much of a surprise. He’d known in his gut she would turn out to be a beautiful woman.

But that she stood there in a deputy’s uniform and holding a gun on him was another matter. The sight of her uniform, knowing she was working for her stepfather, triggered a cold shudder inside him. The questions he’d always had about her disappearance were suddenly magnified by brand-new questions.

He cleared his throat and straightened up. “I’ve been in Chance for about a month. Came home to heal.”

“I noticed the limp—when you were running the other direction. What happened to you?”

“It’s a long story. But the injuries have put my career on hold, so...I decided to find out what’s new in Chance, Texas.” He took a breath, giving himself a moment to get his head back in the game.

Lacie—in league with Sheriff McCord? That came as a bigger shock than discovering she’d become a deputy sheriff. His first impulse upon seeing her had been to skip all the questions and to jump ahead and ask for her help. But maybe that idea would need some revision.

The brisk late-winter winds whirled dust and dirt around them. “Could we take this reunion somewhere else?” He forced another half smile, trying to make her feel more at ease.

It seemed to work.

She holstered her gun. “Back to the office. We can talk there and you can convince me not to throw you in a cell for trespassing.”

* * *

Lacie tried to calm her hammering pulse as she escorted Colt across the empty fields to the parking lot. She shut off her car and gave him a light frisking backed up against it. Touching him had been hard...difficult. No, hard was the perfect word to describe coming into contact with his body during the pat down. She did everything in her power to do the job right. Though really, it never occurred to her that he might be lying about having a weapon.

Colt had been her dearest friend and her only regret once upon a time. He never lied about anything. But she needed to maintain her professionalism here. Being a good cop was all she had to fall back on.

She let him lead the way to the sheriff’s office across the deserted parking lot. The beam coming from the flashlight she carried winked up and down, catching weeds and then sky while she fought to stem her trembling hands.

Her shakes and breathless condition came from encountering the one person who’d meant the most to her in this small town. Her savior. Her hero. The boy who, at the age of ten, had taken the new girl in town under his wing and protected her from the bullies who’d been dying to get the best of the sheriff’s stepdaughter. Much later, Colt had even tried to take on her stepfather all by himself. Standing up to him and always getting in his face.

He’d taken the pressure off her at a time when she’d needed it the most. And she’d idolized him for it.

All these years later, she didn’t know how to remain steady and outwardly in control while in his presence.

Colt didn’t appear to take notice. Or if he did, he never said a word. He looked calm and collected. Not much different from the boy she’d left behind ten years ago. As a teen, he’d been sure of who he was and what he wanted. Then as now, he’d always seemed so cool.

And still the handsomest male she’d ever laid eyes on. Broad shoulders. Trim hips above a mighty fine, tight butt covered in denim. The nights of her senior year came to mind as she remembered how his lips had sent chills down her spine with her first real kiss. She’d never forgotten.

Stumbling slightly, she came to the conclusion that she’d better stop ogling the man before breaking her neck and embarrassing herself beyond hope.

She touched the radio control at her shoulder. “Louanna? I’m coming inside. Bringing a man with me. Buzz us in, please.”

“Sure thing, Lacie. Are you okay?” The dispatcher answered with many more questions brimming over in her voice.

Lacie wavered, wishing she had someplace else to question Colt. But it was well past midnight in a town that buttoned up at 10:00 p.m.

Luckily, Louanna knew the value of keeping her mouth shut and staying out of other people’s business. The middle-aged woman made a terrific night dispatcher because she only asked the questions she was paid to ask. Still, Lacie would have to come up with a good reason for bringing Colt into the station at this late hour.

The front and back doors were kept locked and alarmed after hours. As Louanna buzzed them inside the front, Lacie thought about seeing that light wink off inside the back room right before she spotted Colt. He did have some explaining to do.

Instead of introducing Colt to the dispatcher, Lacie said, “I spotted this man on foot outside and I thought we’d have us a chat. We’ll use the break room. Is there any coffee?”

“Just made some.” Louanna squinted up at Colt’s face. “Do you know him? He looks like one of the Chance family. You’re related to the Bar-C Chances, aren’t you, son?”

Before Lacie could stop him, Colt nodded and took off his Stetson.

“We won’t be too long, Louanna,” Lacie hurriedly mumbled. Grabbing Colt by the elbow, she dragged him down the hall, turning on lights as she went.

“You need me to notify the sheriff?” Louanna called after them.

“No need to wake anyone. But thanks. This is not a big deal.”

Once inside the break room with the door firmly shut behind them, Lacie took a deep breath and tilted her head toward the small table and chairs. “Sit down. Want coffee?”

“Nope.” Colt propped his hat on the back of a chair and tucked his tall lean frame into another one. “You always offer coffee to suspects?”

“You are not a suspect.” She poured herself a mug and sat across the plastic tabletop from him. “Well, on second thought, you do need to explain yourself. What were you doing hanging around outside the sheriff’s offices in the middle of the night?”

Under the harsh break room fluorescents, Colt’s features were razor-edged, more adult than the teenager she remembered. But his stormy blue eyes were still as clear and intense as when she’d left town. He studied her with a piercing gaze. It made her squirm, wondering what he was thinking.

Straightening her shoulders to give herself a lift, she tried to regain control. But soon she found herself thinking that the creases at the edges of his eyes and the darker stubble on his jaw made him much more interesting and appealing than he’d been as a kid.

Stop, she cautioned herself. She needed to stop noticing now.

He didn’t answer her directly, but linked his fingers together on the tabletop, stared down at them and asked his own questions without looking up. “How long have you been back in town, Lace? And what made you become a deputy?”