The Sheriff Meets His Match (8 page)

J
ack rounded
the corner of the block and came upon a scene straight out of an episode of
The Twilight Zone
.

What the hell?

A kid, Ted Farley if he wasn’t mistaken, stood near an overturned toboggan full of newspapers and was busy rolling them up and hurling them at the trio wrestling?—in Laurel’s doorway as fast as any all-star quarterback he’d ever seen.

Her Uncle Max had an arm locked around another man’s neck and was yanking for all he was worth, while Laurel pummeled the guy around his head and shoulders.

Jack threw the car into park and had his door open almost before the tires quit rolling. His breath formed little puffy clouds in the crisp air as he raced past Ted with barely a what-the-hell’s-going-on glance. The crunch of his booted foot on the snow-encrusted stair turned the focus of attention on him and took away the element of surprise.

Laurel cried out and fell to her knees, the stranger’s hand fisted in her hair. Jack growled, adrenaline spiking with his rage. His heart stuttered when he noticed the gun in the man’s other hand, and then he saw where it was pointing and his blood turned to ice. Tina stood in the shadows of the entry, tears flowing down her white face. Jack froze, his hands fisting at his side near his own firearm.

Now that he was close enough, Jack recognised the perpetrator from his mug shot. It was their missing man from the hotel.

“Get back,” Joe London snarled. “Drop your weapon.”

Uncle Max was the first to move, his arms loosening their hold on London’s neck and dropping down to his considerably shorter height. Joe straightened and wrenched on Laurel’s disheveled mop of hair, yanking her to her feet in front of him.

“I mean it, cop. Move, or I’ll blast your little girl to kingdom come.”

Laurel’s desperate gaze warned him to listen and not do anything rash, but it wasn’t easy. Tina’s harsh sobs wrung his heart out. What kind of man allowed the women he loved—yes, he knew now without a shadow of a doubt that he was crazy in love with Laurel Thomas—to be placed in danger and not do something about it? Frustration clawing at his insides, Jack did as he’d been told and removed his gun from its holster with two fingers, letting it fall to the snow a few feet away.

“Your niece and I are going for a drive, old man.” Joe waved the revolver at Max, urging him to move. The older man shuffled with a stiff gait to Tina’s side and wrapped a comforting arm around the teen, then Joe shoved Laurel toward the stairs, his attention split between the two locations.

“Hit the ground,” he yelled, his blue eyes almost feverish, his hand clamped around Laurel’s forearm.

Jack ignored the command for a moment to stare into her beautiful whiskey-colored eyes in an effort to impart as much strength as he could. She met his gaze valiantly, but her lips quivered giving away her fear.

London squeezed her arm until she winced and let out a whimper. Jack swore, the air around him turning blue. He dropped to his knees and then his chest, hands anchored behind his head. He barely even registered the cold impact of the snow, until he got a close-up of Laurel’s feet. The fucker hadn’t even let her put on a pair of boots. Instead she was wading through ankle deep tufts in bare freaking feet. Her toes were already turning white from the cold, the red nails almost garish in contrast.

A murderous rage such as he’d never felt before descended. Jack had always taken his oaths seriously, swearing to uphold the letter of the law no matter what the offence. But, dear God, he wanted to kill the man coming down those stairs. Cut him up in little pieces and feed him to the wolves. If he got his hands on him, Jack couldn’t guarantee what he’d do.

* * *

L
aurel hurt
. Everywhere.

Joe had taken malicious pleasure in twisting her hair as though he planned on pulling it out, roots and all. Her skin burned from the viselike grip he had on her arm, and her bare feet were froze into hard lumps that made walking almost impossible. But, worse than any physical pain Joe could administer, was the agony of seeing Jack swallow his pride and sink to the ground because of her.

She hated the fact that Jack and Tina were in danger. She’d brought this down on them. Jack would never forgive her and she didn’t blame him. All she could do now was get Joe away from them as quickly as possible. The question of the non-existent money would come later.

“You and your uncle thought you were so smart, didn’t ya?” He taunted, his breath a stench like rotten eggs near her ear. “Thought you could run away and leave me hanging with that sniveling whelp of a wife while you live high on the hog from all those scams you run. Not this time. Like I explained to your cousin, that kind of dough should be shared with your family.”

He pushed her down the first stair and it felt like spikes were being driven into her heels and up her frozen legs. She gasped, and Jack’s body jerked as though in pain.

Joe laughed, the bastard.

“It took some persuasion, but she finally came around to my way of thinking and told me where you were. Smart girl.”

Not so smart or Bethany would never have come near this jerk in the first place. Laurel kept her focus glued to Jack’s dark head. His coat was bunched between his shoulders from having his arms crossed. He seemed almost defenseless laying there on the icy walk. She leaned away from Joe, anxious to put some space between them and Jack, but he only dragged her back.

“Quit horsing around,” he warned. “That’s how people get hurt.” He gave Jack a vicious kick to the ribs.

Laurel screamed. Jack grunted and moved into the blow. He grabbed Joe’s ankle and yanked, knocking both Laurel and London to the ground.

Laurel looked up at the blue sky, unable to breathe, but then snow sprayed her face and jerked her back to her surroundings. The air around her was filled with curses and groans as the two men rolled on the ground, each struggling for control over the other. Fists met faces and blood sprayed, coloring the ground beneath their bodies like some kind of abstract painting.

Tina screamed for help, but Laurel couldn’t look away from her horrified fascination of the scene being played out in front of her.

The men broke apart and came to their feet with cat-like grace. They crouched, arms akimbo, searching for their opponent’s weakness.

Laurel spotted the gun at the same time as Joe. They both made a dive and she landed on the bottom. The air whooshed out of her lungs but her hand was on the weapon. Joe wrapped his arm around her neck and tried to roll her over but Laurel fought him off. And then he was gone. Seemingly plucked away by a giant’s angry hand.

Jack threw him to the ground like yesterday’s trash and then straddled the overturned body. He grabbed the other man’s arms and yanked them behind his back, ignoring the cry of pain, then reached for his cuffs and clipped them around Joe’s wrists. Breathing hard, he leaned back and swiped the blood from his nose.

Laurel stumbled to her feet and lurched across the distance to fall against Jack’s broad chest, tears streaming down her face.

* * *

J
ack fell backward
onto his ass and heaved a sigh of relief. It had been touch and go for a minute there. Thank God Laurel was okay. He reached around and pulled her into his arms, careful not to squeeze like he wanted to, so tight that they became fused together. And even then it wouldn’t be enough.

When he pictured her diving for that gun and London landing on top of her, his heart stopped. He’d never forget that feeling of utter terror. She’d risked her life for him. He peered down into her tear swollen face and crooked his lips.

“So, that’s what you do for entertainment on a Sunday afternoon, huh?”

Her beautiful eyes widened and then slowly filled with humor.

“Wait until you see what I have planned for Monday,” she murmured, and met him halfway in a kiss guaranteed to make his world right.

G
rits and Grace
was filled to overflowing with last minute shoppers cramming the small café carrying bags of every color and description. Elvis crooned about a Blue Christmas while excited children pestered their parents and seniors gathered to share fond memories.

Laurel sat in a booth near the back, squeezed between Jack and Tina. Across the table, Jack’s brother Ty snuggled with his pretty wife, Katy, while his sisters looked on from their spot at the end of the table. The only ones missing were Jack’s parents, who were on their way, and Uncle Max.

After hours of questioning and a promise to reappear for court, Jack let Max go home to his family for the holiday. There would be penalties incurred due to his plot to relieve Grace of her life savings, but Jack’s sister who’d agreed to take on the case, assured her it would be minimal. After all, no crime had actually been committed.

Not so for Bethany’s ex-husband. Joe was going to get plenty of time to know the inside of a jail cell. Aggravated assault of a police officer is a felony; he wouldn’t be bothering any of them for a very long time.

Jack leaned over and peered into Laurel’s face. “A penny for them?” he asked, his eyes crinkling at the edges and making her heart go pitter-pat.

She smiled and rubbed her hand along his jean-clad thigh. “I’m just wondering if I remembered everything for dinner tomorrow. This will be my first time cooking a turkey, you know. I hope you have good insurance.”

Ty groaned. “Remind me to eat something before we head over,” he stage-whispered to his wife.

Katy shook her head and shared an intimate smile with her husband. “That’s all you do is eat. You’d think you were the one eating for two.”

It took a moment for everyone to comprehend what she’d just revealed. Ty’s teasing smile faded, replaced by a look of stunned wonder. His hand reached out and reverently rubbed Katy’s still flat tummy, his face filled with awe. She smiled back, her own eyes moist and nodded. “I was waiting until Christmas to tell you, I wanted it to be a surprise.”

Ty laughed, elated, and tugged her close. They shared a long, intimate kiss until Jack broke it up with a glance at Tina’s rapt look. “Congrats, you two. I can’t imagine anyone who deserves a child more than you. Hopefully he or she torments my brother half as much as he plagued me as a kid.” He reached across the table and shook Ty’s hand.

That comment started a lively discussion on who was the better Garrett child and who got into the most trouble, which they all denied. Laurel sat back and let the conversation flow, simply glad to just be included in this boisterous, loving family in some small way.

The street outside the window was a rainbow of glittering lights. Carollers wandered from store to store spreading their joy of Christmas, and cars cheerfully honked as they drove past, everyone affected by the season.

Laurel hoped Tina would like the gift she’d picked out. Having never bought for a teenager before she’d been nervous of overstepping her bounds, but Jack’s Aunt Tess and Grace had assured her it was perfect. She’d gotten the locket engraved and placed a small picture of Tina and one of her dad inside. She’d also enlisted Ted Farley to help find the runaway kitten. He was holding it at his house until tomorrow, his gift to Tina.

Tess and Grace sat at a table across the way, satisfied smiles lighting their grandmotherly faces as they watched the different families. Laurel wondered how many couples they’d had a hand in bringing together and figured the number was high. Their friend, Susan, the cog that kept the restaurant’s wheels smoothly turning, joined them. A pair of battery operated Christmas tree earrings flashed in her ears, giving her skin an elfin cast. She set a bowl of soup in front of Grace and pointed. Grace grimaced, but pulled out her kit and took a reading before settling down to eat. Laurel remembered hearing she was recently diagnosed with Diabetes. She was touched by the care in the simple action. These people truly watched out for one another. Small towns were so different from the big cities she’d always lived in.

Suddenly the silence around the table penetrated her thoughts. Laurel swung her gaze around, curious about what she’d missed. Everyone was staring at her. Self-conscious, she looked down to make sure she hadn’t popped a button or something, and that’s when she saw the box.

It was blue velvet, small and luxurious, and surely at the wrong place setting. Stunned, Laurel looked up and met the solemn, dark-eyed gaze of the man of her dreams.

“Well, you going to open it?” he urged, his unsteady fingers betraying his emotion as he gave it a little nudge in her direction.

Half scared, Laurel reached out and opened the lid as though something might jump out at her. She gasped. Inside lay the most perfectly beautiful diamond solitaire she’d ever seen. Mesmerized, she watched as the stone caught the light from above and refracted into a thousand blue-white rays.

“Wow,” she heard someone mutter. Wow, indeed.

Jack’s hand under her chin turned her to meet his apprehensive gaze. “Say something.”

She would as soon as she found her voice again. He’d managed to stun her into silence, no mean feat.

“If you don’t like it, I can take it back,” he said, disappointment clouding his expression.

“No,” Laurel cried, her voice husky with emotion. “Is this what I think it is?” she whispered.

Now that she hadn’t turned him down flat, Jack’s face cleared. Eyes glowing, he picked the ring out of the box and slid it onto her trembling hand.

“Laurel Thomas, I’m asking you to be my wife,” he said, his tone strong and sure. “To take my hand and share my life. Love me, as I love you. With all my heart and soul. I will protect you to the end of my days on this earth, and beyond. Marry me, Laurel. I’ll make sure you never regret it.”

Laurel gazed into the eyes of the man who had changed her world and answered the only way she could, “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you. I promise to cherish you, and care for you, and always be by your side. I’d be proud to be your wife, Jack Garrett.”

And then she threw herself into his safe arms and burst into tears amid a crowd of cheers.