It Had to Be Him (25 page)

“I . . . can’t yet.”

“Okay.” Josh nodded and closed his eyes.

She wished she could tell him she loved him, but it was just too soon for her.

Snuggling against his side, she laid her palm on his cheek and whispered, “I don’t mean to hurt you, by not saying it.”

When he opened his eyes and met her gaze, she worked up a smile. “I will admit this, though. Your way
was
a lot more fun.”

She expected a smug grin, but he just stared into her eyes in that unnerving way of his. Waiting for her to address the situation instead of avoiding it.

“Oh, all right.” Propping her head up on her hand, she returned his steady stare. “You were right when you said earlier that I’m afraid to be totally vulnerable. To allow myself the possibility of being hurt again. So if I say I love you, that’s when you’ll know I’m ready.”

“Fair enough.” He slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that. Won’t happen again, okay?”

She nodded while swallowing back the emotion clogging her throat. “’Kay.”

His lips stretched into a grin and the fun Josh returned. “Told you so about slowing it all down though, right?”

And they were back to normal.

She poked his shoulder before she rolled out of bed. “I already admitted you were right, so go away. I have a deck to demolish.”

“How about I pick up a pizza for dinner, then after we eat,
I’ll
tear down the deck?”

Meg tugged her clothes back on. “Pizza sounds great, but I can do the deck on my own.”

“I know you’re capable, but what if you get hurt while you’re all alone out here? Promise you’ll let me do it, Meg.”

“Whatever.”
That
she could give him.

He quirked a brow. “So was that a yes?”

“Yes!” She leaned down and laid a hard kiss on his lips. “And for bringing me pizza, I may just let you have your way with me again after Haley goes to sleep tonight.”

Then she’d see if it was as mind-blowing the second time. Because really, after so long, any sex would have probably been great. Maybe it was just what she needed so her heart would finally know what to do.

“Sex for a pizza delivery. Works every time.” Josh rolled out of bed and scooped up his jeans.

“Yep. A total win-win. I’ve trained you well.”

She laughed at the befuddled look on his face as he tried to work out who had just achieved the upper hand on that one.

A
lmost the whole town stood behind Zeke’s garage to watch Meg’s car get blown to bits. Josh smiled at the turnout, hoping it’d give people a chance to see he wasn’t the villain he’d been made out to be.

The volunteer fire department moved into position, ready for the drill, while the whole police force helped corral the people behind the barriers Josh had set up. Because most of the police were also volunteer firefighters, that made a total of six guys.

He’d give the people a good show, but he’d made sure the explosion would be controlled and burn out quickly. He’d just finished removing the last tire when he glanced up and caught Meg’s brother Ryan watching closely, with a suspicious gleam in his eyes. Ryan would get proof his sharp instincts were right soon enough.

Meg strolled up with Haley on her hip. “Hey.”

“Hey, back. How are my two favorite girls?”

“Good.” Meg shot him a smile that smoldered with heat. They’d been enjoying making up for lost time in bed the last couple of days. “But I guess this is goodbye to my poor old car. May she rest in peace.” She gave him a quick hug.

In front of the townspeople. More progress.

And it spoke volumes that Meg would allow him to take Haley to the ranch later, albeit reluctantly. When they got back,
she was even going to let him babysit while Meg went to her girls’ thing.

He’d made a point of giving Meg a break every day and taking Haley on little outings, getting ice cream at the diner, going to the toy store, or just playing in the park, but he hadn’t had her alone more than a few hours at a time.

He loved spending time with Haley and listening to the funny things that came out of her mouth. Especially stories about Meg that he’d teased her about later. Apparently no family secrets were safe with a two-and-a-half-year-old around.

He’d told Meg he could handle the longer day, but he hoped to God he’d know what to do with a little girl for that many hours straight.

“Hi, Daddy.” Haley reached her arms out for him to take her.

As Meg handed Haley over, she asked, “So what’s with the little slips of paper in the sack going around?”

“Ever heard of Zozobra?”

Meg nodded. “The fifty-foot-tall ugly puppet guy they burn to the ground every year in Santa Fe. You calling my car ugly?”

“Absolutely. But Zozobra embodies gloom. So anyone with worries can write them down and we’ll put them all inside the car, like they do the puppet. By destroying their worries in the flames, people can feel free to move on. Might even help someone forget the past and give a guy another chance. Wanna try it?” He handed her the piece of paper and pen in his pocket he’d put there just for her.

“Thank you, Mr. Subtle.” She sent him a smirk. “But I suppose it couldn’t hurt. Turn around, I need your back to write on.”

When he turned, he spotted Meg’s grandma making her way toward them. She carried a rifle over one shoulder and a cane in her other hand, looking like a fierce Annie Oakley with a limp.

Haley waved. “Hi, Grandma!”

The woman actually smiled. And she still had all her teeth. He’d never seen anything but a scowl before.

“Hello, sweet girl.”

She could be nice? He’d always assumed mean was just her nature. She must really hate him. “Hi, Mrs. Anderson. How are you today?”

She cocked a brow. “Old. Tired. But still one of the best shots in these parts. I come to prove it to you, so you’d know I’m serious about shooting you again if you mess up, boy.” Before he could respond she asked, “So what’ve we got here? How’s it all going to work?”

Meg popped her head from around his back. “Hi, Grandma. We should probably save you for last, or this show’s going to be over before it starts.”

Ryan joined them too. “Yeah. At that distance, not many are going to be able to make that shot, Granger. I’m not even sure my men could hit that small target you got marked there.”

Josh nodded. “Didn’t want to take the chance on anyone getting hurt by being too close. I’ll go last if I have to. I can make the shot, and I guarantee it’ll be worth the show.”

Grandma grunted. “Cocky, aren’t ya?”

“Nope. Just a really good shot.”

Ryan asked, “Yeah, about safety. How much gas is in that tank, Granger?”

“None. It’s all under control.” Josh had rigged it so a bunch of small explosions would go off, making a lot of noise for effect, but controlling what and how high things went up.

Crossing his arms, Ryan said, “How does a software guy know how to blow up cars?”

“YouTube. Are we all set?”

Abe, the fire chief, placed the bag with the worries on the front seat and then gave him the thumbs-up. Josh handed Haley
back to Meg. “There’s going to be a really big bang, Haley, and then some fire, but nothing to be scared of. Okay?”

“Momma said it’s gonna go BOOM!” She flung both hands up in the air to demonstrate.

“That’s right.” Satisfied he wouldn’t scare the crap out of his kid, he accepted the rifle Zeke held out.

Josh turned to the crowd, put two fingers in his mouth, and whistled for everyone’s attention. “Ready to blow this rig?” After the cheers settled down, he said, “So, we’ll all use this rifle. You’ll get three shots. Hit the target dead on, and then she’ll blow.”

Brewster called out, “What’s the prize if we hit the target?”

“Bragging rights and a damn good show.”

The men smiled and nodded. The women rolled their eyes.

Meg’s grandma spoke up. “That’s a tough shot. We should use my Remington to give people a better chance. Got a problem with that, Granger?”

He’d calibrated Zeke’s scope. It was as close to perfect as it could be. But maybe he’d score some points with Meg’s grandma and let her have her way. “Sure. Why not? But do you mind if I take a practice shot to test it out?”

“Go ahead.” She handed over her gun. “Let’s see you take off the side mirror first.”

Josh moved up to the bales of hay that surrounded the car and assumed a position slightly behind the vehicle to give him an angle. Taking aim, he held his breath, then slowly squeezed the trigger. The mirror dropped straight to the ground. He’d taken out the small support that held it to the car. “Looks true.”

Grandma let out an unimpressed grunt.

Josh handed the gun to Toby first. “You any better at this than darts?”

“Yep.” He turned to Meg. “So if I make this—”

Josh laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “Not happening. Got it?”

Toby smiled. “Loud and clear.” He made a show of rolling his shoulders and moving his feet into position, finally taking a shot. He came close, but missed all three times.

After the next few shooters were unsuccessful, Meg’s grandma jumped the line and declared it was her turn. When no one argued, she hobbled over and accepted the gun from Josh. “Because I’m interested in knowing just how good you think you are, Granger, let’s have us some fun before we blow the car up. What do you say?”

The gleam in the woman’s eyes and the soft chuckles from everyone should probably have warned him off. “I’m game. What did you have in mind?”

“Let’s see how you do with something that’s not standing still. See those two big pinecones hanging side by side on the tallest tree at the top of the ridge there? I’ll go first. The one on the left.” She leaned her cane against the hay in front of her and aimed the rifle. After taking a moment to gauge the sway in the light wind, she popped off a shot. The pinecone burst into pieces, then drifted to the ground.

“Nice shot, Mrs. Anderson.”

He accepted the gun and calculated the range of movement, then took out his pinecone.

She slowly nodded. “Not bad. Okay, how about we add a little pressure. There’s an old, run-down shed a ways over there. Through the trees. There’s one window left with four panes. See it?”

He searched the stand of trees, finally glimpsing sunlight reflecting off the glass. It wasn’t far away. But getting a straight line of sight would be the challenge. “I see it.” Although he wasn’t sure how she was seeing it through her wire-rimmed glasses.

In a raised voice, she said, “I told Meggy earlier I didn’t like
the idea of you taking Haley away in that truck of yours. I’m not convinced you’d bring her back.”

That wasn’t going to help his credibility, dammit.

Grandma continued, “Shoot out a pane and you can take Haley to the ranch. Miss, or don’t take the challenge, and she stays here with me. All safe and sound.”

All eyes turned to him.

The chances of making that shot were less than 50 percent, even for him. The interest brewing in the people’s eyes was evident as they all stared at him. Waiting.

Meg called out, “Grandma, stop!”

Meg moved by his side. Then, loud enough for everyone to hear, she said, “You don’t have to do this, Josh. I know you’ll bring her back.”

A little trust from Meg. At last.

He shot her a smile, but if he didn’t at least try, the rest of the town wouldn’t fall in line. His negotiation training told him upping the stakes on the other side would be the next move. Remembering something Zeke had told him the other day, he said, “I’ll take the shot, but only if you take the shot too. If I hit and you miss, you’ll have to break down and finally accept Zeke’s offer for dinner and a movie.”

Chuckles sounded all around.

Zeke called out, “Never known you to back down from a direct challenge, Ruthie. What’s it gonna be?”

Meg’s grandmother sent Zeke a scowl.

Josh added, “But if we both miss, the whole deal is off, except you’ll have to quit pointing guns at me when I come to visit Meg and Haley.” He held his hand out for her to shake.

Everyone waited silently as Meg’s grandmother stared at Josh’s hand while she considered. “You think you’re pretty clever, don’t you, Granger?”

Meg laughed. “Welcome to my world.”

Meg’s grandmother turned and checked out the target again. “You figuring what I am? Maybe thirty-five, forty percent chance we can hit that?”

She might be old, but she was still sharp. “Yep.”

“And you’re still willing to take the challenge?”

He nodded.

“Okay then, we got ourselves a deal. A body’s gotta eat dinner anyway and a movie won’t kill me.” She returned the shake. “You want to go first or second?”

“Ladies first.”

As Meg’s grandmother moved into position, Josh grabbed a handful of straw and tossed it up so they could both see how the wind took it. “A little to the left if it holds steady.”

Her eyes shifted toward his. “But it’s gusting a bit. What we’re both going to need is luck.” She lifted the rifle, stared down the sight, then whispered, “You bringing her back, Granger?”

“Yep.”

“I’m so old I’ll just plead Alzheimer’s or something and take you out if you’re lying to me.”