Page 62 of A Texas Hero

Archer heard the sound before he felt the first sprays of rain. Wait. No, not rain. He opened one eye to the first rays of sunlight just as water hit him. Sitting up, he saw the problem. The garden sprinklers had gone off. They were probably on a timer, which was smart, and which he should have considered when setting up. Pretty soon, he imagined, everything out here would be wet.

He reached for his foot and boot inside the tent, when he heard Zoey squeal.

“Oh! It’s raining!” She sat up, looked up at the sky, then climbed out of her bag.

“Sprinklers,” Archer said. “My fault. We should have turned them off.”

The sprinklers really packed a punch but surely they’d be going off momentarily.

“In here.”

He crouched and helped Zoey climb into the tent. They could just run inside the house, only feet away, but this was the experience. They were only slightly damp and not totally drenched, and more importantly, both laughing hard at the idiocy of the moment. Such careful planning on his part, then forgetting something as silly as turning off the timed sprinkler system.

“You almost got your rain,” Archer said, throwing his arm around her in the tight space. “Wish hard enough for something and maybe it will happen.”

“If only that were true,” she said, curling into his chest. “I’m wishing for something else right now.”

“Zoey,” he said quietly, but it was too late.

She raised her lips to his, and they were kissing in a way that reminded him of other carnal pleasures in life. He’d been denying himself those, too, for what felt like far too long. One of the greatest pleasures in life: a beautiful woman who knew how to kiss. They kissed for so long that the sprinklers finally stopped their pulsing waves of water. And just like that, Archer woke out of his trance. He pulled away.

“We shouldn’t.”

“Look,” Zoey said. “I don’t care if it’s unprofessional. You know I won’t tell anyone. It’ll be our secret. You want me and I want you. What could be simpler?”

“It’s not that easy. I wish it were.”

He unzipped the tent and climbed out. Together they began to clean everything up. They worked together well, and after an hour, a person wouldn’t know they’d been camping last night. Archer stuck all the supplies he’d bought in Zoey’s pristine garage.

After showering, he changed into his uniform of white button-down with tie and black slacks. Zoey had also showered, and he found her in the kitchen chopping potatoes. As usual, she was making him breakfast. He’d told her a million times she didn’t have to include him, but she always did anyway.

Both the ring camera and doorbell sounded at once, and Archer stood.

“Expecting anyone?”

“Nope,” Zoey said, moving to the door. “But I’ll get it.”

He hoped it wasn’t Scott, trying again, or even worse, the other guy Zoey used to date coming around to try again. If that were the case, he’d have to do better at scaring him off for good. Glancing at the ring app on his phone, Archer saw three men. He moved behind Zoey.

She opened the door to a tall, muscular African American man flanked by two smartly dressed equally large men.

“Daddy! What are you doing here?”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Zoey stared at her father, surrounded on either side by his regular bodyguards. She recognized them both since she’d grown up with them.

“Hey, baby girl,” Daddy said, holding out his arms. “Decided to surprise you.”

His eyes narrowed. “Aren’t you going to let us in?”

“Sorry, of course. Please, come in. Hello, Harry. Alec.”

She waved her father and his small entourage inside. These two had been with her father for years and had known her mother, too.

She nodded at everyone. “We were just going to have breakfast.”

Archer came up right behind her and offered his hand. “Pleased to meet you. I am Archer Rossi, at your service.”