Page 18 of Tough Justice
Unable to resist temptation any longer, she leaned back and relished the warmth of him so close to her body. He smelled of garlic and a hint of orange peel.
“You’ll figure out how to deal with her.”
His eyes narrowed. “How can you be so sure?”
“Problems always get solved one way or the other. Most the time it’s the sitting around, figuring out how to solve it that’s the hardest…that takes the most time. But no one likes that ickyfeeling. And now that she’s forced your hand, you’ll find a way to end the problem.”
Amusement lifted his eyes brows. “Icky?”
“Yeah, you know that feeling in the pit of your stomach.” She pressed a fist to her gut to emphasize her point. “It’s like the craziness of kamikaze butterflies who won’t stop bombing your stomach lining, but without any of the warm fuzzy feelings. But you’re too scared to make a move because you aren’t sure which is the right one and which is the wrong one. You’re stuck in the ick.”
His warm chuckle skimmed the side of her neck. “Doesn’t sound pleasant.”
“It isn’t, which is why you’ll eventually find a way out of it. And when you do, the problem will get resolved.”
He let out a long breath. “As absurd as it sounds, you do make sense. I got to get out of the ick.”
“Exactly,” she said, grinning. “And now that I’ve shown you the light, I should head home.”
“Are you sure? You can crash in my room if you don’t want to be home alone tonight.”
Butterflies of her own swarmed to life at the invitation, but if she spent the night at Duke’s bed, she’d want him in it with her. Any other arrangement would just be disappointing.
“No thanks,” she said, jumping to her feet. “I’m not the one with a crazy ex running around town.”
“Not sure I believe that. There’s got to be a cowboy or two you’ve left brokenhearted.”
Oh boy, he had no idea about the shitshow that was her past dating life, but it was always her heart that seemed to be broken. The cowboys she fell for leaving her far behind while they searched for their next big ride.
She forced a smile to her lips. “A story for another time, my friend.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.” He stood and brushed a few stray crumbs from the thighs of his jeans. “I’ll walk you out. And not to sound like too much of a worrywart but will you let me know when you get home?”
Warmth spread from her chest and morphed her smile into one a lot more genuine. “I will.”
She walked to the front door and slid on her shoes before shrugging into her jacket. “Thanks for tonight. It was fun.” She lingered for a beat, not wanting to leave.
Duke shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans and nodded. “It was—well, except for the constant losing.”
“Nah, that was the fun part.” She let her eyes lock with his moment longer than she should then forced herself to open the door.
Where a giant fireball engulfed the mailbox at the end of the driveway without a soul in sight.
7
Duke’s anger burned brighter than the fire devouring his mailbox. But he couldn’t dwell on that now. He had to act fast before anything else was set aflame, destroying more than just the old wooden box he hadn’t bothered to replace yet.
“Oh my God,” Suzy said, covering her mouth with a shaky hand.
“Call the sheriff’s department. I’ve got to put out the fire.”
He ran into the cold night. Light snowflakes fluttered from the moonless sky. He bolted for the hose at the side of the house and twisted the knob attached to the wall. The green rubber lay coiled like a snake in the dried-out mulch, and as he grabbed the head, he prayed it was long enough to reach the street.
Sprinting toward the fire, he pulled the lever on the spray nozzle, but nothing came out.
Shit.
Sparks shot up from the flames. Dancing in the wind and sending embers into the grass.
