“I can’t hide from him forever. Sooner or later I will have to deal with him.”
He started to remind her they would be dealing with the drug lord together, but after almost losing her last night, an argument was the last thing he wanted.
“Why don’t we table this discussion for a day or two? The truck will be finished late this afternoon. I made a call, changed things around so one of my drivers will be bringing it back tonight. That means I won’t have to make another trip to Dallas.”
She started nodding. “That’s good. He can drive the Tex/Am pickup back to the city.”
“That’s right. That takes care of the immediate problem. Then unless you aren’t feeling up to it, tomorrow night we’ll attend that benefit the way we planned.”
She bit her lip, but didn’t say no, which he took as a good sign. Since they had only dozed a few minutes off and on in the shelter, as soon as the sheriff took their statements, he would insist they get some rest.
He knew exactly how to make her forget the events of the night, andafterward they could curl up spoon-fashion and both get some badly needed sleep.
Since he was getting hard just thinking about it, he forced his mind back to the benefit. “Sound okay?”
“I promised I’d go with you,” Carly said. “I won’t break my word.”
A faint smile touched his lips. “You know, there’s a chance you might even enjoy yourself.”
She relaxed and her expression softened. “You know what? I’m going to an exclusive black-tie ball with a gorgeous, amazingly sexy man. Maybe I just will.”
Linc smiled. He intended to see to it personally. Except for work, Carly had practically been a prisoner on the ranch. He’d made plans for tomorrow evening, big plans, and despite everything that had happened, he was really looking forward to giving her a special night.
Linc bent his head and very softly kissed her, felt her response, tentative at first, but then she melted against him. Desire pulsed through him. They were good together. Surely she could see that.
Reluctantly he pulled away. “We need to get going. The sheriff’s meeting us up at the big house.”
Carly sighed, which made him smile, and they headed for the door. Though the road was mired in mud, with four-wheel drive, they managed to make it up to the mansion. When they got there, the ambulance was waiting, and so was Emmett Howler.
Linc steeled himself for the inevitable confrontation he was sure the sheriff would enjoy.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
While the medics tended the groove Archer’s bullet had sliced across Linc’s ribs, Carly waited for the sheriff in Linc’s impressive study, one of the few places she felt comfortable in the huge stone mansion.
The room was clearly his, and she felt close to him there, while the house itself reminded her of his ex-wife, of the money he had spent to build it for her, of the enormous power he wielded. It reminded her of the Lincoln Cain he was when he wasn’t at the ranch.
And reinforced all the reasons she couldn’t afford to get more deeply involved with him.
The realization of just how close she was to falling in love with him had hit her in the lightning bolt moment she had heard Ray Archer’s gun go off, when she realized Linc had been shot.
In that instant, her fear had been so overwhelming that for several seconds, she had been nearly blinded by it. It was a glimpse of what it would feel like to lose him if she didn’t do something to protect herself.
She remembered losing her first love, Garth Hunter, the college quarterback who had sworn he loved her and asked her to marry him, only to dump her a month later for one of the cheerleaders.
Or even more painful, Carter Benson’s abrupt departure years later, a reality check that had taken her to disturbing lows from which she hadn’t been sure she would recover.
Or at least she had felt that way at the time.
Her feelings for Linc were already far deeper than any emotion she’d ever felt for Garth or Carter. If she allowed herself to believe she could be part of Linc’s future, if she let herself fall in love with him, when he left it would destroy her.
She had to pull back, find a way to be with him for as long as it lasted yet keep her heart intact.
The door swung open and Sheriff Howler walked in, Stetson in hand, belly hanging slightly over his leather belt. He could have been a character out ofSmoky and the Bandit.
“Hello there, litt—Ms. Carly. I hear you had yourself quite an excitin’ night. Got a dead man out there to prove it. You want to start from the beginnin’, tell me what happened?”
“Of course.” Very succinctly she told the sheriff about Ray Archer showing up after the guards had been forced to take shelter, breaking into the house during the worst of the storm, and threatening her with a gun.
