“You weren’t falsely arrested and you know it.”
All humor drained from his face and his hands dropped to his sides. “You’re right. I’m a bad, bad man . . . who you want in a bad, bad way.”
She drew back as if slapped and glanced up and down the street. “Would you lower your voice? Do you want the entire town gossiping about us?”
“I could care less about this town gossiping about me.”
“Of course you don’t care. You don’t care what anyone thinks about you. But I do care. And just for the record . . . I don’t want you.”
He smirked. “Really? You could have fooled me.”
She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “If you’re referring to the other night at Honky Tonk Heaven. You were the one who kissed me!”
He laughed. “If that’s what you call a kiss, you’ve been dating the wrong guys. A kiss is not just a brush of lips, Tully Gentry.” His gaze lowered to her mouth and a shiver ran through her entire body. “A good kiss is the perfect combination of heated slides, hot licks . . . and hungry bites. If done properly, it’s the best kind of foreplay.” He lifted his gaze, his eyes drilling straight into her soul. “A demonstration of how skilled a man is with his mouth. If I had kissed you—really kissed you—you wouldn’t have left that night unsatisfied.”
His low-spoken words poured over her like warm honey, leaving her nothing more than a trembling mass of skin and bones and pounding heart. She couldn’t have replied if she wanted to. All she could do was stare at him and try not to slip into a helpless heap at his boots.
Just like the other night, the twinkle in his eyes said he knew exactly what he’d done to her. Knew exactly the kind of lie she was telling him . . . and herself.
He tapped her nose. “See you around, Officer Gentry.” He turned to leave and then stopped short and looked back at her. “You really should take your grandma to a doctor and have her head looked at. I’ll be happy to pay for any medical expenses.” He headed to his truck that was parked in front of the bank.
Tully waited for him to drive away before she allowed her knees to give out and flopped down on the bench. She was still trying to get her equilibrium back when Birdie showed up with a liter-sized cup of Dr Pepper and an ice pack pressed to her forehead.
“How’s your head, Birdie?” she asked. “Why don’t you let me take you to Doc Romero so she can take a look at it?”
Birdie sat down next to Tully and took a long pull of soda from the straw before she spoke. “You and your daddy. He wouldn’t head back to the office until he’d thoroughly examined my forehead and used his flashlight to make sure my eyes were dilating properly.” She slipped the ice pack into the pocket on the bib of her overalls and swept back her bangs with her two-fingered hand, displaying the bump on her forehead.
It wasn’t as bad as Tully had feared.
Birdie released her bangs. “Now stop worrying. I have a head harder than a goat’s. No bad boy is gonna take this gal out.” She studied Tully and her eyes filled with concern. “So regardless of my warning, it looks like you still have the hots for that bad boy.”
Tully tried to act offended, but it was impossible when her bones still felt like overcooked spaghetti. The best she could do was deny it in a monotone voice.
“I do not have the hots for Jaxon.”
Birdie sent her an exasperated look. “If your eyes had been teeth, there would have been nothing left of that boy but a few crumbs.” Tully felt her cheeks heat, which made Birdie sigh. “That’s what I thought. While I don’t think it’s a good idea to get tangled up with any Hennessy, people have no control over who lights their pilot light.”
“No, but they do have control over their own actions. I want nothing to do with Jaxon Hennessy.”
“I think that’s smart, but just so you know, lust is a powerful thing. I thought I could control my lust for your granddaddy and all it took was two shots of tequila and a whirl around Honky Tonk Heaven’s dance floor to make me melt at that man’s feet.”
Obviously, Honky Tonk Heaven’s dance floor did cast spells. After her reaction today, Tully considered herself lucky to have kept from doing the same thing her grandmother had done.
Although Jaxon and her grandpa were two entirely different men.
“Granddaddy didn’t rob a gas station,” she said dryly
“I don’t think Jaxon did either.”
Tully couldn’t have felt more surprised if her grandma had cracked her in the head with a door. “What?”
Birdie took another slug of Dr Pepper before she spoke. “I don’t think Jaxon robbed Mickey’s Gas Station.”
“So you’re saying Daddy was wrong to arrest him?”
“I’m saying that sometimes we only see what’s black and white. We don’t see all the colors in between. I think your daddy did what he thought was right, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t have been wrong.”
“But Daddy saw Jaxon’s old pickup pulling out of the gas station and then discovered the back door open and the cash register empty—not to mention the pile of tires Jaxon set on fire.”
