Silver Bracelets: A Loveswept Contemporary Classic Romance (6 page)

“Sarah, I appreciate what you did for me last night, the way you tried to make me feel better about what happened. Nobody has ever cared much about my feelings and I thank you. Now, I’d better get back to town. I ought to check in with my office and report my truck as stolen.”

“No, don’t go, Deputy Canyon. I assume you must be off today, since you haven’t said anything about being late for work.”

“Well, I did sign out for today and tomorrow, since I expected Jeanie to be here.”

“Of course. Naturally, you’d expect to be … with her.”

“Sarah, you don’t understand,” Asa began. “The truth is there really wasn’t anything like that between us.”

“You don’t have to explain, Asa Canyon. All I need is to be with you, even just for today.”

“Sarah, I don’t think you know what you’re saying. I mean you saw what happened when
I kissed you. Being with me would not be wise.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. But if it makes you uncomfortable, we’ll explore other ways to release your tension.”

Asa groaned. Exploring with Sarah was the primary cause of his tension. He didn’t think that he could take much more.

“I’m afraid to ask what you have in mind?”

“Softball.”

“Softball? Sarah, I’m not very good at playing ball.”

“That’s okay. My team just plays for fun. We’ll find something for you to do. Do you have a glove?”

“Not since I was in high school. If I remember right my glove was retired during my junior year by request from the rest of the team.”

“Well, no matter. I have an extra one, and a shirt and running shoes, too. Let me change clothes, and we’ll see what we can do,” she said. “Wait here.”

Uneasy, Asa watched Sarah dance out of the kitchen and down the corridor. He was lousy at certain sports. Golf, hunting, and fishing, he’d mastered. But football, basketball, and baseball always made him feel like a stick figure dancing on a hand-held board. In everything else he’d played, he’d been all knees and feet.

Before he could begin to formulate a refusal Sarah was back and he lost every rational thought he might have voiced. She was wearing
a pair of shorts and another T-shirt. This one said, “Smyrna Smart Guys” on the front, and had the number 32 on the back. He didn’t know anything about the guys on her team, but if they were anything like the women, the opponents might as well give up.

Sarah handed him a matching shirt, a pair of running shoes, and a glove. “I think you can wear this glove. It belonged to one of our guys who broke his ankle. There’s an extra cap in the van and a couple of bats. I hope the shoes fit. They belonged to my dad. Fortunately, you don’t have to have cleats. We don’t take this very seriously.”

Asa glanced at his watch. “Isn’t this early for a ball game? Even the chickens don’t get started before noon.”

“We’re playing in the end-of-the-year tournament. The league winner goes to the state finals. They’ve already been playing for hours.”

“And I can just come in and play without having been a member of the team?”

“Yep. We’re allowed to add three people to the roster for the grand finale.”

Oh, great, he was part of the grand finale, substituting for a player who’d broken an ankle. Somehow that seemed to be an omen. Until he looked at Sarah’s confident expression and felt her smile melt all his hesitation.

Officer Paul Martin was the Smyrna Smart Guys’ pitcher. Asa recognized Jake Dalton,
the young mayor of Smyrna, as the catcher. Sarah played shortstop and more or less directed everyone. Two other women and seven men completed the mixed roster. They welcomed Asa and after a few warm-up tosses, the game got underway.

Though it had been years since he’d been on a field, Asa gave it his best. After he endured two strikeouts and missed three fly balls in a row, Sarah took pity on him and suggested he keep score and man the water buckets. Asa agreed with gratitude. Someone called his name. He looked up and nodded at a fellow county police officer who wandered up.

“Canyon, didn’t know you were playing on Sarah’s team.”

Damn. He’d hoped that nobody would recognize him. “Neither did I,” Asa said with a warning in his voice. “It just happened.”

“Yeah, Sarah’s hard to turn down. She’s a good person, Canyon,” he said, and wandered off.

Hard to turn down? Watching Sarah’s long legs as she ran across the infield and scooped up a ground ball made Asa uncomfortably aware of what playing with Sarah could mean. Like some teenager with a crush, he studied her, fighting the threat of an erection with every move she made.

At one point when the Smart Guys were up to bat, Sarah glanced at her watch, came over, gave him a hug, and asked, “You okay?”

“Sure. Why?”

She didn’t answer. She just smiled and took the field after the third out. It took Asa a few minutes to figure out that Sarah had just wanted to make him feel better. And he did. At least he felt something that promised infinite possibilities. That is, if he was into promises.

A moment later, when Asa noticed that the right fielder was playing too deep, he yelled, “Move in, move in.”

The batter made Asa’s call look good by dropping a soft fly ball just over the first baseman’s head. When the outfielder made the catch, Sarah gave Asa a thumbs-up sign. By the next inning, Asa was moving the players around the field as if he’d been appointed coach and they were playing the World Series.

It wasn’t until Sarah came and sat down beside him that he realized she was distressed.

“What’s wrong, Sarah? We’re winning.”

“Yep, but the guys aren’t accustomed to being managed by someone so serious about winning. They just like to fool around, do their own thing, you know? No pressure. Relax.”

“But you’re good, really good. Don’t you want to win? These guys you’re playing signal what they’re going to do. Why not take advantage of it?”

“Because that makes it too serious, Asa. I tell the others what to do sometimes, but this is mostly just for fun. If we miss a ball, we don’t care. If they hit it over our heads, fine. We’ll get it next time.”

Asa bit back a retort. She was serious. They didn’t care whether they won or not. Twice Jake Dalton sat down and watched the ball bounce around behind him while he laughed at his own lack of skill. With a little organization Sarah’s team could probably beat any of the teams he saw playing, but they’d rather goof off. He continued to keep the score book, but the game lost some of its interest for him.

The Smart Guys managed to pull out a win in the seventh inning. Afterward, Asa found himself swept up in the group going for pizza. By the time they’d finished eating and celebrating it was midafternoon. He hadn’t checked in with his office and he still hadn’t reported the theft of his truck. He didn’t know how he felt about the day. He couldn’t quite remember ever spending one like it. He’d certainly never met a woman like Sarah before.

Now they were in her van with Mayor Dalton, who’d bummed a ride. Sarah was singing rowdily.

“Come on, Asa,” Jake cajoled. “How can we sing rounds with only two people?”

“What in hell are rounds?”

He hadn’t intended to sound so gruff. He was beginning to feel out of sorts again and he didn’t know why. There was no reason for him to be angry at Jake, except it was obvious that the mayor was Sarah’s friend and that he’d like to be more. Asa had no claims on Sarah, even if he had kissed her. Even if she had kissed him back. Even if her face had a
smudge of red dirt across her forehead that he wanted to wipe away. This was her van and he was the guest.

“Rounds,” Sarah explained politely, “are when we each sing the same song at different times. I start with
Row, row, row your boat.
When I get to the second line, Jake comes in. When he gets to the second line, you come in.”

“Forget it,” Asa growled. “I don’t sing any better than I bat.”

Sarah looked over at Jake and said, “You have to forgive him, Jake. Today was very hard for him. He doesn’t mean to be a grouch.”

“Oh? How’s that?” Jake asked innocently.

“Asa had—”

“His truck stolen,” Asa said sharply.

“Sorry,” Jake sympathized. “I can’t believe a thief would steal a deputy sheriff’s truck. Obviously he didn’t know whose vehicle it was.”

“The thief knew.”

“Well, if it took place in Smyrna, I’m sure our fine police department will apprehend the culprit in no time,” Jake offered. “Don’t suppose you’d like to swap over from county to city law enforcement, would you?”

“Nope. Nothing personal, mayor, but living in the city drives me crazy. I like my privacy and my log cabin too much. I don’t know how you fellows stand it.”

“Speaking as mayor, I disagree. But I’m afraid that Sarah prefers the country, too. You ought to get her to show you her playhouse
sometime. We had some fine times there when we were teenagers.”

Sarah and the mayor? In her barn? “I’ll bet you did.” The idea of Sarah comforting someone else suddenly made Asa angry. “Let me off here,” he blurted out. “I think I’ll run the rest of the way to Jeanie’s apartment. I have to see the manager about breaking the lease and returning that bed.”

Sarah reluctantly pulled over. Of course he didn’t want to go home. She didn’t want him to. She could even understand that he was delaying, but she’d gone as far as she could to keep him from being alone without being pushy. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Well, all right. But how will you get from the apartment to your cabin?”

“I’ll call for a county car from the apartment manager’s office. Don’t worry. This will give me time to work through my thoughts. Besides, exercise is good for the body I was told,” Asa added, pointedly looking at Sarah.

Sarah flushed. “Good. I’ve always said, physical expression of emotion is always the best release.”

“Sure,” Asa said as he got out of the van. “But there are better ways than running.”

“Yeah,” Jake agreed with a warning smile as Asa slammed the door. “A cold shower. Bye, Asa. Our next game is tomorrow morning, if you want to give it another try.”

“No thanks, I think a cold shower is easier on the nerves.”

Sarah watched the sharp interchange between Jake and Asa in confusion. She didn’t know what set Jake off. He was normally congenial and fun. She didn’t think that Asa could ever be thought of in those terms. But there were other ways to judge a man.

She watched Asa lope down the sidewalk, his long legs and arms moving in a measured rhythm. Organized, even down to his jogging, Sarah observed.

Asa might think that he was working off his tension, but watching him run she wasn’t sure that he knew how. Every step he took was like another line on her drawing. His trek was turning into a muddle. By the time he got to the apartment, he would have worried his mind into a frazzle.

Sarah released the clutch and pressed the gas pedal. Asa Canyon was definitely a Type A personality—go, go, go, full speed ahead. He needed to slow down and smell the flowers. It looked as if she’d have to teach him how. Asa Canyon was a caring man and maybe, just maybe he’d let her show him what it meant to be cared for in return.

She’d already found a way to reach him, with a kiss. No matter how much he protested, he liked kissing her. His body told her the truth, even if he tried to pretend otherwise.

Sarah didn’t think that she was in love with Deputy Canyon. Love didn’t develop that quickly, but there was something between them. She was beginning to suspect that
there were man/woman relationships that she didn’t understand. Still, her kiss was a promise, a promise to find out.

“Where is Asa’s cabin, Jake?” she asked casually.

“Out by the lake.”

“I didn’t know there was a cabin there.”

“Most folks don’t. You have to cut down past the lake and around behind the dam.”

Sarah’s only comment was “Hmm.”

When she stopped at the mayor’s house to let him out, Jake surprised her by reaching over and taking her face in his hands. He touched his lips to hers and said, “That’s just to say that I like you, Sarah Wilson.”

“You do?”

“I do, and I don’t want the deputy to cut me out without you knowing it.”

“The deputy is only interested in his job, Jake. He’s just being a … a—”

“Don’t say friend, Sarah. Asa Canyon may be many things, but I don’t think a friend is one of them. Everybody in law enforcement knew about him long before he left his security job and came to Cobb County. He’s a legend, and he’s hard. Be careful. He’s known to be pretty single-minded when he’s after something.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because whether you know it or not, I think the deputy’s after you.”

All the way down Atlanta Road toward her shop Sarah thought about Jake’s statement. In spite of what Jake said, she knew Asa
Canyon wasn’t the kind of man who flitted from woman to woman like a hummingbird. Asa Canyon didn’t have casual flings. Whatever he did, he went all out.

Still, Jake Dalton was a pretty smart man. If he thought that Asa was interested, who was she to argue? Maybe he wasn’t a ballplayer, but the man definitely had other talents. She’d just have to teach him that it wasn’t winning that mattered, but the friendship that they enjoyed. Sarah smiled. What was friendlier than kissing?

Sarah checked the mailbox in her shop. Nothing but a few bills, which she jammed into the box beneath the counter that she used as a cash drawer. She was about to leave when a taxi stopped in front and an elderly man got out. He stopped and took a long look around before he came inside.

“Excuse me,” he said, hesitating as he gave Sarah a curious look and took another furtive glance around. “Is the locksmith in?”

“I’m the locksmith,” Sarah explained. “I know I don’t look like it, but I’ve been playing in a softball tournament.”

“You? Is there anyone else here?”

“No, just me.” Then she remembered Asa’s warning about risky situations. “I mean not at the moment, but I expect the men to be back shortly.”

“I have a job for you.”

Sarah watched the man return to the cab. He and the driver brought a small lead safe inside and placed it on the counter. As the
taxi drove away, Sarah’s customer counted his change and placed it in a purse made of leather and strung together with thongs, the kind that a child might make in a craft class at summer camp. He was having a hard time holding it because the thumb on his right hand was missing. It looked as if it hadn’t been gone long.