Taking Chase (7 page)
She sighed. “I’ll think about it.” She got into the car and then rolled down the window. “And any woman not attracted to you is blind or a damn fool.”
Before he could respond, she’d pulled out and was driving away, leaving him wearing a goofy grin.
He took those words as a sign along with her pool game. Later that night in his bed he stopped pretending he wasn’t totally gone for her and just accepted it. He’d never failed at pursuing a woman and he certainly didn’t plan to start. He wanted Cassie Gambol and not just for a few nights in his bed. At first it had been a mild crush, then an interest and now he’d developed a serious fascination with Cassie. She made him think about her in ways he’d never thought about a woman before.
The very specter of the feelings that had sent him running out on Maggie two years before seemed totally right and he realized he was ready for Cassie. The issue was that he had to make her ready for him.
He’d take it slow even if it killed him. He made himself promise to not rush up on her as he walked toward Fourth Street the next morning.
She sat there, ebony hair glossy in the sunshine, pretty blue eyes shaded by sporty black sunglasses and he was drawn to her immediately.
He’d thought she was gorgeous as he caught sight of her but the smile she gave him once she’d recognized him made her a goddess. “Mornin’, Cassie.” He stuck his hands in the front pockets of his shorts to keep from touching her. “Good morning, Sheriff. What brings you out here on such a sweltering Sunday?”
She did. He’d tossed and turned and finally had to take matters into his own hands in the shower. The woman drove him to distraction, turned him on, electrified him with her presence and it drove him wild. That she apparently had no idea she affected him that way was even more irresistible.
“Oh just looking.” He motioned to her wares on the table. “You made all this?” Her creativity was impressive. He admired her skill and the craftsmanship of the things she’d made.
“I did. What do you think?” Her voice had gone soft and shy.
Reaching out, he fingered a pretty beaded necklace that she’d hung on some sort of stylized branch thing. “I think you’re amazingly talented. This is all beautiful. In fact, I think this would look good on Maggie, don’t you? And this for my momma?”
Her smile returned, brighter than before. “This amber color would go really well with Maggie’s hair, yes. I’ve seen her wear something similar to this before. But this,” she touched the necklace he’d indicated for his mother, “is too delicate for your mother. She’s much bigger than this necklace. Her jewelry should be bolder.”
“She’s barely five feet tall.” Shane chuckled.
“Ah yes, but your mother is ten feet tall in personality. That’s what I mean. Her hair is very…” Cassie chewed on her lip and he grinned, waiting to see what she’d say. “It’s so festive and her accessories are all very large.”
She looked over the things on the table and shook her head. “I don’t have anything that’s right for her.” Reaching down, she pulled out a plastic container and flipped it open, rustling through it for a few moments. “Aha!” She held up a pretty piece of glass swirled with blues of all hues and a thread of silver. “This. Let me make her something with it. I’ll let you know when I’ve finished it. If you don’t like it, no harm.”
“You’d do that for me?” “Sure. I was thinking of having it hang vertically, I think it would draw out her neck.”
He smiled at her, not knowing what the hell she was talking about but it sounded good. And it gave him the chance to see her again. “Thank you. That’s very nice of you. Her birthday is next month. Can I buy that necklace there for Maggie now though?”
“Oh.” She blushed and he liked that the blush was for something innocent and sweet between them and not her usual shyness. “Sure. Thank you. Would you like me to wrap it up for her?”
He nodded, without words. He watched her graceful hands draw the necklace from where it was hanging and lay it in a box and then proceed to wrap it up so fancy he was sure he’d fuck it up by the time he got it to Kyle and Maggie’s.
She handed it to him and he paid her. He didn’t want to leave but people had come to her table and were browsing.
“Well, thank you again, Cassie. I’ll see you around.” She waved at him as he walked away.
Cassie watched him walk away, feeling giddy. Oh man, she had a crush on the sheriff. She wanted to put her head down on the desk and sigh wistfully. Wanted to write his name on her notebook and ask Maggie if Shane liked her.
This was bad. She couldn’t have a crush on the damned sheriff. She didn’t need the big goon, damn it. She—if and when she decided to ever date again—needed some nice, easygoing man about half a foot shorter. With like, a third the testosterone. Shane was a walking testosterone factory. He emanated masculinity. It disturbed and attracted her all at once. What she needed was a plumber, an accountant or a carpenter. She didn’t need law enforcement or men with god complexes.
That made her wince. She was being unfair and she knew it. Shane Chase had been very sweet to her and while he was obviously arrogant in some ways, he didn’t appear to have a god complex. Still, what the hell would she do with a man like him?
A smile crept back onto her face as she pondered the answers to that question. Several days later, Shane walked into Paperbacks and More and held up a take out bag when Cassie looked in his direction.
“Hi there, darlin’. Care to share a couple of sandwiches and some soft drinks with me?” This was just another step in the “get to know me” plan. He wanted to just sort of barge in and order her to come have lunch with him. It probably would have been how he’d have handled another woman. But this one needed special handling and he wasn’t sure where his patience was coming from but he was thankful for it nonetheless.
“I don’t know. I…”
Before Cassie could finish her sentence, Penny poked her head out of the back. “It’s lunchtime anyway. You came in early and worked late day before yesterday. Flex out the time. That’s a Honey Bear bag he’s holding. Best sandwiches in town. I’ll see you in an hour.”
Cassie’s mouth moved a few more times but Penny simply took over and pretty much pushed her into Shane. He’d have to thank her for that later on.
“I guess I can, yes. Thank you, Shane.”
“There’s a big ol’ shady spot near the fountain at City Hall that’s got our name on it.” He held out his arm and after a brief hesitation, Cassie took it.
“Shady sounds very good.”
They walked the few blocks to City Hall. He liked the way she felt next to him, her arm in his. Liked the way she fit against him even as she’d forget herself and lean a bit before pulling herself away.
Shane wasn’t a fool, he wanted her to himself so he’d chosen a time after the lunch rush and had scoped out the bench earlier that day. “This is nice. Thank you very much. How much do I owe you?”
He snorted, handed her a soda and unwrapped her straw, poking it in the top of the lid. “Please. It’s not going to ding my retirement account to buy you a sandwich, a lemon bar and some soda.”
“A lemon bar?”
He grinned, liking the sound of eagerness in her voice. “You like them huh? Me too. Turkey okay? It was the special today.” He handed her a sandwich wrapped in wax paper. While she unwrapped it, he flattened the bag between them and put a bag of potato chips there for them to share.
She toed off her shoes and dipped her feet into the cool water of the fountain, sighing. He wanted to groan aloud at the sight of her pretty red toenails.
“Uh oh. Are you gonna give me a ticket now?” He nearly choked on his sandwich and looked up at her. “What?”
She gestured toward her feet. “You were staring at my feet in the water. I figured I was breaking the law somehow.”
He laughed, if she only knew just what he’d been thinking. “Nah. I like your toenail polish. It’s sexy. And if I didn’t have work boots on, my feet would be in there too.”
“This heat is spectacular. Thank goodness for the shade. I don’t know how you all deal with it.” She leaned her head back, her spine arched.
He coughed as the erotic carnival of delights returned to his head. “Uh, yeah, it’s bad but you’ll get used to it. How’s the sandwich?”
Must not think of sex, must not think of sex…
Must not think of sex, must not think of sex…
“It’s as good as advertised. I didn’t realize how hungry I was. Really, thank you for thinking of me.” Her voice suddenly turned shy and he saw a delicate blush work up her neck.
“Well, it’s not hard. Thinking of you, that is. So uh, what did you do back in Los Angeles?” Jeez, the woman had the power to make him babble. Him, Shane Chase, a man thought of as smooth and cool, turned into a mass of babbling, lovesick fool. His brothers would have a field day.
She blinked at him a few times and he wasn’t sure if it was about his question or the comment about thinking about her. “A little of this, a little of that. Nothing major really.”
He may be a small town cop but he was still a cop. He knew when someone wasn’t telling the whole truth and Cassie Gambol was not telling anywhere near the whole truth.
“Okay, if you say so. Do you have any family?” “I have a brother.” She smiled. “Ah, progress! Older or younger? Parents?”
“He’s older by three years. My mother died when I was twelve and my father nearly two years ago now.” “I’m sorry. It must have been hard to grow up without a mother. And then to lose your father at a young age too.”
“It was, yes. But my brother was always there for me and my dad was a good man. He worked a lot but he was home every night for dinner. We survived as families do.”
“Did you grow up in LA then?” “Born and raised. My father too and his father before him.”
He liked the way her voice changed when she talked about her family. There was a fondness there that appealed to him. “Which high school did you go to?” She snorted and balled up her wax paper as she finished the sandwich. “Where’s my lemon bar?”
He laughed and handed it to her. Her eyes lit up with greed as she pulled the plastic wrap free, amusing him. The way her eyes slid half closed and she moaned as she took a bite did other things to him entirely. He had to put his napkin over his lap to hide the ridge of his cock pressing against his zipper. “That’s so good.”
“You have a sweet tooth to go with that sweet voice, huh?” His voice was hoarse. “I love sweet things. My big failing.” She smiled sheepishly, avoiding the rest of his comment. “You’re doing well being friends with Maggie then. She’s quite a hand in the baking department.” “You seem very close to her. To all your family.”
“I have a great family. My parents are the best, they’ve supported me in everything I’ve ever done and Maggie is my family now too. She and Kyle are great together.” He leaned forward and drew the pad of this thumb over her bottom lip. Her eyes widened and he saw the pulse at the base of her throat flutter. “You had a bit of powdered sugar there.”
She brought her hand to her lips briefly and the moment between them stretched until she licked over the spot he’d just touched. The unwitting eroticism of it sent him reeling.
Clearing her throat she took a deep breath. “Uh thanks. That’s lovely. About your family I mean. Oh, I’m nearly done with your mother’s necklace. If you like, I can leave it at Matt’s for you in a few days. Or I can bring it to work on Friday and you can get it then. When is her birthday? I didn’t want to miss it.”
Impulsively, he took her hand and held it in his own for a few moments. She turned, her gaze locked with his. Relief rushed through him to see there was no fear in her eyes.
Bringing her hand to his mouth, he brushed his lips across her knuckles ever-so-softly and laid her hand back in her lap. Her taste tingled on his lips.
“Her birthday is Labor Day. So you have three weeks. And I’ll drop in the shop Friday. We can have lunch again.” She bristled. “I don’t know. I told you before, I don’t know if I’m ready to do this yet.” He turned to her, bending his knee between them. “Do I make you feel pressured?”
“No.” “You said you didn’t have any feelings for your ex, right?”
She shuddered and he dug his fingers into his calf, wanting to demand she tell him about it. Instead he waited. “No. God, no. Well, not any good ones. It’s just, I don’t know if I’m ready for a relationship or dating.” “We’ll take it one step at a time. This is step one here, friendship. It’s going pretty well, don’t you think?” She cocked her head and studied him carefully. “You’re running a game on me, aren’t you?”
“A game?” He fought a smile, liking her pluck. Sighing, she sat back.
“It’s just lunch. Look, you know I’m interested in you, there’s no pressure there at all. You know where I stand and I know you’re interested in me too. You’re the kind of woman who’d tell me to hit the road if I got too uppity.”
“I used to be.” Her voice was quiet, sad.
He paused a moment, not knowing how to approach and not wanting to put her off or make her upset. Aw, hell, he could only be who he was. “Cassie, you know you can tell me. You’ll feel better for sharing it. Not as the sheriff, tell me as your friend.”
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