Jillian Hart - Almost Heaven

Don’t think about that night. Cold snaked through her veins, where her heart used to be. If there had been anything redeeming about that horrible night when everything changed for her, it was Cameron’s kindness. He’d been truly kind, when she’d neither wanted it nor needed it.

Remembering, she couldn’t meet his gaze. Staring hard at the steering wheel, she ran her fingertip around the bottom of the rim. Since that night she hadn’t wanted to be alone with any man. Especially Cameron.

“I’ll get that changed. Thanks for letting me know. It was decent of you.”

“I try to be decent when I can. Especially to a pretty lady like you.”

The way he said it wasn’t flirtatious or anything, but he was sounding friendly. It made her start to shake.

She really wanted him to go. “Thanks again.”

But he didn’t leave. “Let me guess. You were at the sale today. The Bureau of Land Management’s auction.”

Was he trying to make small talk? It was probably a slow day for him. Hardly anyone was out and about in this heat, but still. She didn’t know Cameron well and that’s the way she wanted it. Could she be outright rude and tell him so? No.

“I saw the flier—it came to the office. You got wild mustangs back there?”

“Yes.”

She kept staring at her steering wheel. Icy sweat broke out on her palms. This was the way it was whenever she was alone with any man near her age.

Would it always be this way? Prayer had helped her; at least she didn’t shake so hard that he might notice.

“Wow. Mind if I take a peek at them?”

Oh, so he was interested in the horses. Kendra relaxed a little but the quaking didn’t stop. “Sure. Just be careful. They’re not used to people yet.”

“I’ll just look.” His grin was in his voice.

Kendra’s gaze flashed to the side mirror where he was ambling away, his boots striking the dirt at the side of the road with a muffled rhythm.

With his spine straight and shoulders squared, he looked invincible. Undefeatable. Like everything honest and good and all-American. Just as he’d been for her, a calm strength when the world was smashing apart around her.

Get a grip, Kendra. That night was a long time ago. It isn’t worth thinking about. Jerrod was gone and a part of the past. Look forward, not back.

Cameron crunched through the gravel as he returned. “Those are some fine-looking animals you got.”

“Thanks.” She appreciated Cameron’s help, but now she knew about the tire. She would fix it and be on her way—once he was on his. “I don’t want to hold you up. I know you have speeders to catch and tickets to write.”

“Are you trying to get rid of me?”

Yes. “Here comes a car right now. You might need to check your radar. Could be income for the town.”

He peered in the direction of the luxury sedan creeping down the main street. “Mrs. Greenley? Nah, she’s driving under the limit, like she always does. I’ve clocked her for the better part of the six years I’ve worked in this town and never caught her speeding once. The town is safe from rampaging, careless drivers for a few more seconds, it looks like.”

“You can never be too sure. You go back to your speed trap and I’ll take care of the tire.”

“Afraid I can’t let you do that, Kendra.” Cameron planted his hands on his hips, emphasizing the power in his arms and the gun on his hip. “This is my jurisdiction, ma’am, and I believe there’s an ordinance that states I must aid stranded motorists in my town or suffer serious consequences.”

Her left eyebrow shot up. “You’re kidding.”

“Would I do that?” Absolutely. There wasn’t any such ordinance, but he wasn’t about to tell her that? “If I don’t make sure your vehicle’s safe to drive in this town, I’d be breaking my own laws.”

“What laws?”

“The ones that say I’d have to write myself a ticket.”

“Go ahead. I don’t mind.”

“I would.” He had her, he knew it by the twinkle in her pretty eyes. “Might even have to throw myself in jail and that’s not how I want to spend my day.”

“So, why would I care? I’m perfectly capable of changing the tire.”

“Yeah, but I have a flawless record. Not a single infraction to date. You wouldn’t want my reputation besmirched, would you?”

“Sure I would.”

Humor tugged at the corners of her soft, lush mouth. Cam felt some pride about that. Kendra McKaslin might look cool and unapproachable, but she seemed like a real nice lady.

He’d been trying to approach her for the last few months, but he had a lot of questions about horses. He didn’t know where to start. He didn’t want to look like a dummy. After all, a man had his pride.

But Kendra didn’t strike him as someone who’d made anyone feel dumb. She seemed as sweet as spring, with her long blond hair shimmering down her back like liquid gold in the sunlight. She’d grown up in one of the wealthier families in their humble valley, but was she snooty?

No. Down to earth, filled with common sense, Kendra was country-girl goodness soul-deep. He could feel it. He’d watched her kindness to her horses every time she’d ridden one of them into town on an errand to the store or to visit her family’s coffee shop.

She appeared to be real good with the animals. Everyone said she was the best in the area when it came to horsemanship. But he hadn’t gotten up his courage to talk to her.

Now was his chance. “I know you’re an independent kind of woman. You’re more than capable of changing that tire on your own.”

“So why are you still standing here?” The hint of her smile grew into a real one.

“I’ve got an election coming up. What would folks think if they see you stranded here in obvious need of help—”

“Stranded? I don’t think so!”

“Still, they’ll watch me drive off and leave you behind and draw their own conclusions. All folks will see is that their elected official abandoned a woman stuck along the side of the road, slacking off on his duties.”

“Like anyone would think you were a slacker.”

“I can’t risk it. Folks might vote for my opponent come September. I’d lose my job. Won’t be able to pay my bills. You don’t want to be responsible for that, do you?”

“Sure.” There were more sparkles in her pretty blue eyes.

She had a quiet kind of beauty, one that wasn’t only skin-deep.

His chest gave a strange hitch in the vicinity of his heart as he opened the truck’s door for her. That was odd, considering how he hadn’t felt much beside grief since Deb’s death. “Your sister’s sign is still on in the window. Why don’t you go in, say hello and get something cool to drink? Give me twenty minutes and I’ll have this taken care of.”

“That’s not right. It’s my trailer.”

“Yeah, well, it’s a slow day. I don’t see a lot of wild speeders or crime sprees on Thursday afternoons. It’s okay to let me do this, Kendra.”

He could see the argument coming. He’d learned to read people during his fifteen years wearing a badge. He saw a woman used to doing things herself. “If it bothers your conscience, then you can bring a batch of cookies or something by the station. My deputy has a sweet tooth you wouldn’t believe.”

She swept down from the seat with an easy grace that she didn’t seem aware of.

He was. It sure threw him for a loop.

Today she looked summery and girl-next-door fresh in a white tank top, a pair of jean shorts and slip-on tennis shoes. Her blond hair, streaked by time in the sun, was tied back in a long ponytail. She slipped her sunglasses from the top of her head onto her nose and circled around the rig to look at the damage.

“I think my spare went flat.” She said it wearily, more to herself than to him. Probably expecting some kind of reprimand.