Last Chance Reunion

They’d been close once. At least he’d thought so. The best friend he’d had in high school. But right before graduation he had decided to make them more than friends—to take their relationship to another level. He’d kissed her—a lot. As he recalled, both of them had liked where their new status was headed.

But before he’d had a chance to suggest more, she’d disappeared. Up and left town without a word. He’d always wondered if it had been something he’d done—or not done.

Tonight’s dark and moonless sky made it difficult to see her expression. To judge her thoughts. But it was not so dark that he couldn’t see how her body had turned out after ten years. Even in the stiff long-sleeved uniform shirt and heavy khaki pants, it was clear she’d filled out nicely.

The womanly curves that had been only hinted at as a teenager were now vividly apparent. He had dreamed of her, what she might look like all grown up. So her curvy female form didn’t feel like much of a surprise. He’d known in his gut she would turn out to be a beautiful woman.

But that she stood there in a deputy’s uniform and holding a gun on him was another matter. The sight of her uniform, knowing she was working for her stepfather, triggered a cold shudder inside him. The questions he’d always had about her disappearance were suddenly magnified by brand-new questions.

He cleared his throat and straightened up. “I’ve been in Chance for about a month. Came home to heal.”

“I noticed the limp—when you were running the other direction. What happened to you?”

“It’s a long story. But the injuries have put my career on hold, so...I decided to find out what’s new in Chance, Texas.” He took a breath, giving himself a moment to get his head back in the game.

Lacie—in league with Sheriff McCord? That came as a bigger shock than discovering she’d become a deputy sheriff. His first impulse upon seeing her had been to skip all the questions and to jump ahead and ask for her help. But maybe that idea would need some revision.

The brisk late-winter winds whirled dust and dirt around them. “Could we take this reunion somewhere else?” He forced another half smile, trying to make her feel more at ease.

It seemed to work.

She holstered her gun. “Back to the office. We can talk there and you can convince me not to throw you in a cell for trespassing.”

* * *

Lacie tried to calm her hammering pulse as she escorted Colt across the empty fields to the parking lot. She shut off her car and gave him a light frisking backed up against it. Touching him had been hard...difficult. No, hard was the perfect word to describe coming into contact with his body during the pat down. She did everything in her power to do the job right. Though really, it never occurred to her that he might be lying about having a weapon.

Colt had been her dearest friend and her only regret once upon a time. He never lied about anything. But she needed to maintain her professionalism here. Being a good cop was all she had to fall back on.

She let him lead the way to the sheriff’s office across the deserted parking lot. The beam coming from the flashlight she carried winked up and down, catching weeds and then sky while she fought to stem her trembling hands.

Her shakes and breathless condition came from encountering the one person who’d meant the most to her in this small town. Her savior. Her hero. The boy who, at the age of ten, had taken the new girl in town under his wing and protected her from the bullies who’d been dying to get the best of the sheriff’s stepdaughter. Much later, Colt had even tried to take on her stepfather all by himself. Standing up to him and always getting in his face.

He’d taken the pressure off her at a time when she’d needed it the most. And she’d idolized him for it.

All these years later, she didn’t know how to remain steady and outwardly in control while in his presence.

Colt didn’t appear to take notice. Or if he did, he never said a word. He looked calm and collected. Not much different from the boy she’d left behind ten years ago. As a teen, he’d been sure of who he was and what he wanted. Then as now, he’d always seemed so cool.

And still the handsomest male she’d ever laid eyes on. Broad shoulders. Trim hips above a mighty fine, tight butt covered in denim. The nights of her senior year came to mind as she remembered how his lips had sent chills down her spine with her first real kiss. She’d never forgotten.

Stumbling slightly, she came to the conclusion that she’d better stop ogling the man before breaking her neck and embarrassing herself beyond hope.

She touched the radio control at her shoulder. “Louanna? I’m coming inside. Bringing a man with me. Buzz us in, please.”

“Sure thing, Lacie. Are you okay?” The dispatcher answered with many more questions brimming over in her voice.

Lacie wavered, wishing she had someplace else to question Colt. But it was well past midnight in a town that buttoned up at 10:00 p.m.

Luckily, Louanna knew the value of keeping her mouth shut and staying out of other people’s business. The middle-aged woman made a terrific night dispatcher because she only asked the questions she was paid to ask. Still, Lacie would have to come up with a good reason for bringing Colt into the station at this late hour.

The front and back doors were kept locked and alarmed after hours. As Louanna buzzed them inside the front, Lacie thought about seeing that light wink off inside the back room right before she spotted Colt. He did have some explaining to do.

Instead of introducing Colt to the dispatcher, Lacie said, “I spotted this man on foot outside and I thought we’d have us a chat. We’ll use the break room. Is there any coffee?”

“Just made some.” Louanna squinted up at Colt’s face. “Do you know him? He looks like one of the Chance family. You’re related to the Bar-C Chances, aren’t you, son?”

Before Lacie could stop him, Colt nodded and took off his Stetson.

“We won’t be too long, Louanna,” Lacie hurriedly mumbled. Grabbing Colt by the elbow, she dragged him down the hall, turning on lights as she went.

“You need me to notify the sheriff?” Louanna called after them.

“No need to wake anyone. But thanks. This is not a big deal.”

Once inside the break room with the door firmly shut behind them, Lacie took a deep breath and tilted her head toward the small table and chairs. “Sit down. Want coffee?”

“Nope.” Colt propped his hat on the back of a chair and tucked his tall lean frame into another one. “You always offer coffee to suspects?”

“You are not a suspect.” She poured herself a mug and sat across the plastic tabletop from him. “Well, on second thought, you do need to explain yourself. What were you doing hanging around outside the sheriff’s offices in the middle of the night?”

Under the harsh break room fluorescents, Colt’s features were razor-edged, more adult than the teenager she remembered. But his stormy blue eyes were still as clear and intense as when she’d left town. He studied her with a piercing gaze. It made her squirm, wondering what he was thinking.

Straightening her shoulders to give herself a lift, she tried to regain control. But soon she found herself thinking that the creases at the edges of his eyes and the darker stubble on his jaw made him much more interesting and appealing than he’d been as a kid.

Stop, she cautioned herself. She needed to stop noticing now.

He didn’t answer her directly, but linked his fingers together on the tabletop, stared down at them and asked his own questions without looking up. “How long have you been back in town, Lace? And what made you become a deputy?”

“You’re answering a question with more questions. That doesn’t bode well for this conversation.”

“Is that what we’re having? You sure this is a conversation and not an interrogation?”

Sighing, she rolled her eyes and prayed for patience. “All right. Fine. We’ll get reacquainted first.”

After gulping down a slug of hot coffee to give herself a jolt of backbone, she gave in and answered his questions. “I’ve been back in Chance for about six months. And being a deputy is something I’ve wanted for a long time. I spent a couple of years as a rookie on the force in Harris County and then came here when the sheriff advertised for help.”

“Houston. You came back to this half-baked town from the big city? Why?”

She held her tongue and stared at him. Oh, how she would love to tell him everything. To go back to being close, the way they used to be. But though he’d once taught her the meaning of justice, she hadn’t told him everything then, and she wasn’t about to spill her heart to him now. Not when she didn’t even know who he was anymore.

“I finally realized I liked living here,” she answered truthfully. “I spent most of my childhood in this town and missed it.”

“Seriously? You like Chance, Texas? Why?”

The complete truth was that she’d missed him. She’d been more than a little disappointed after arriving in Chance to find out he’d been gone from town almost as long as she had.

“It’s a nice place,” she finally answered. “Small enough that everybody knows everybody else. Puts me at ease. The town is laid-back and friendly.” Well, almost everyone was friendly, with the one big exception of her boss and stepfather. But she didn’t want to talk about him right now.

“You can have the whole damned place,” Colt said with a shake of his head. “I’ve always hated it here. I can talk on the phone and over the internet to my brothers anytime from anywhere. I never would’ve come back to this dump if it weren’t for my current condition.”

Without being completely aware of what she was doing, Lacie reached out and gently touched his folded hands. “Tell me what happened. How were you injured?”

* * *

Well, hell. Why not tell her? It wasn’t as if it was any big secret. Besides, Colt figured he wouldn’t get her talking if he didn’t also open up.

He needed her help. Without it, he would never get the information he needed. That had become abundantly clear when he couldn’t access the locked file drawers earlier. But he was worried about her shift in loyalties. When they’d been kids, she couldn’t stand the man that was her stepfather. She’d never talked much about him, but the hatred always seemed clear in her voice.

Colt hadn’t been prepared to see her again and everything about her shocked him. He also hadn’t been ready for the sizzle he’d been experiencing in her touch.

Carefully, he eased his hands back and let his gaze drift from her eyes to the base of her neck and the pulse beating overtime there. Before he could wonder why she seemed so out of breath, his glance slid down to her heaving chest and he got caught by the sight of her full rounded breasts. A shot of pure lust rode through him, leaving him breathless, too.

Tearing his eyes away, he opened his mouth and blurted the first thing that came out. “I screwed up. I’d spent months gathering evidence to present to a grand jury in order to indict a federal prosecutor. And instead of nailing down the bastard with the last bit of evidence needed, I ended up blowing the whole sting and getting myself shot up but good in the process.”

“What happened?”

Releasing a breath he hadn’t thought he’d been holding, he said, “Do you remember that our family lost a baby sister? That she was kidnapped as a four-year-old by our crazy, drug-addicted aunt?”

“Yes, of course. We talked about it back when...we knew each other. The FBI found your aunt dead of an overdose, as I remember. What does that have to do with...?”

He held up a palm and went on. “Well, my brothers and I will never give up looking for our sister. The trouble started when I thought I spotted a woman who looked just like Cami might’ve looked today.”

The rest was an embarrassing thing to have to admit, but he hoped it would give Lacie reason to trust him enough to open up. “I let my attention lapse for just long enough to get me shot in the back. And to ruin the whole frigging sting we’d set up. Worse yet, my loss of focus led to the death of another federal agent that I’d talked into helping with the sting.”

“Oh.” Her eyes drifted down to her coffee mug. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“Me, too. It’s been six months and I’m still working the physical-therapy exercises, trying to beat the doctors’ predictions and bring my body back to full strength.” But his guilt might never be conquered.

“Are you staying with one of your brothers?”

He was glad for the change in the conversation; her sympathetic expression suddenly gave him hope. He caught the first real hint that he was talking to the same girl he used to know—just all grown up.

“No. I’m living alone in my mother’s old office trailer on the Bar-C. Remember?”

She nodded and her eyes went all gooey, lost in a shared memory of their last kisses. But he still couldn’t accept that the same girl he’d been infatuated with was now working for the same man she’d hated only ten years ago.

This beating around the bush, being careful of every word he said until he felt completely sure of her loyalties, was not his style. “Why are you working for your stepfather?” His usual style tended to be blunter.

Her eyes widened and she scooted her chair back. “You still haven’t told me why you were sneaking around the sheriff’s offices late at night.”

Mexican standoff. Neither of them was willing to completely trust the other. At least not yet.

“It’s still late.” He softened his voice and tried to let his eyes telegraph his trustworthiness. “And getting later. Will you trust me enough to finish this interview tomorrow? I promise not to leave town.”

Lacie stood and paced to the door. “Maybe. Promise me you won’t sneak back here until we talk again?”

“Definitely.”

“I’ll drive out to your mother’s trailer right after daybreak. Will that do?”

Colt didn’t figure he would get much sleep anyhow. “That’ll be fine.” He stood and limped toward her.

When he got close enough, he took her hand in his. “I’m really glad to see you again, Lace. I’ve missed you.”

Her eyes went dreamy again and her upper body leaned toward his. “I...uh...”

He caught himself leaning, too, and drawing in the same scent of gardenias about her that he remembered so well from all those years ago. His mind went blank.

Lacie blinked once then pulled her hand away and straightened her spine. Lifting her chin to look up at him, she said, “Don’t say anything on the way out. Just keep your mouth closed. I don’t want Louanna wondering if anything is amiss.”

“Why?”

She bunched up her mouth and narrowed her eyes. “You’ve done nothing wrong so far. Don’t make me regret not throwing you in a cell and asking questions later.”

“No, ma’am.” But he thought that all in all, he’d been getting the right kind of vibes from her.

Tomorrow morning would tell the tale. And just maybe he would end up with a new partner in his investigations—and give them both a finish to old business he’d left half done all those years ago.

Chapter 3

Lacie drove along the caliche road that crossed the range on the Bar-C through a dusky pink sunrise. She hadn’t come this way in over ten years but still could’ve negotiated the route blindfolded.

She would never forget those days gone by, afternoons spent with the boy who’d held her heart in his hands. Back then he’d been both a dream and a brilliant reality all wrapped into one. More important than being a rich and sexy cowboy, every teenage girl’s wish come true, he was the very first person who’d ever cared about what she thought and who she was inside.

This morning, negotiating her beat-up hatchback over cattle guards, a dry wash and past horses grazing in their pasture, she let her mind drift back. Back to those terrible teen years when the world had seemed determined to make her life miserable and every day looked darker and bleaker than the one before. It seemed everyone and everything had been set against her then, save for one bright and shining star. One person who kept her sane and alive through it all.

Colt Chance.

Last night she thought she’d been seeing ghosts when he appeared out of the darkness. But as she’d touched him and felt that same old sizzle, it’d been clear she wasn’t dreaming. Her past came back with a resounding thud, reminding her of the many questions that still had no answers.

It seemed Colt had his share of unanswered questions, as well. Last night his eyes had filled with curiosity every time his gaze turned in her direction. And she had noticed that he’d asked a lot more questions than he’d answered.

When his mother’s old office mobile home came into view under a stand of winter-whipped cottonwoods, Lacie thought of what she’d learned after spending a couple of hours on the internet last night. The first thing she’d looked for was evidence of Colt having a wife—either current or past. Nothing came up except pictures of him attending society events with various debutantes. Never the same one twice.

She’d also discovered that Colt had become a big-shot lawyer working for the justice department. Not so much of a surprise, as she’d always known he was smart. A “boy wonder,” some news article from a DC paper had called him. No doubt that was why he’d considered himself entitled to ask all the questions. Asking questions had been what he’d done for a living before his department’s sting went so horribly wrong.

But being a sheriff’s deputy gave her the right to a few questions of her own. In fact, in Chance County, her questions took priority.

Streaks of reddish-gold shot above the horizon and across the prairie as she pulled up next to a pickup she recognized from last night as being Colt’s. Instead of just watching him walk away after they’d left the sheriff’s office, she’d volunteered to drive him the half mile down the highway to the truck he’d hidden behind a couple of dried-up mesquite trees and a boulder. Obviously he hadn’t wanted anyone to spot him coming and going. But she still didn’t know why.

He had a lot to answer for this morning.

After turning off her car, she hopped out and headed for his door. But as she put one foot on the first step of the front porch, a noise originating in the side yard caught her attention. Something—or someone—had to be back there.

Out this far from civilization it could be anything. A coyote. A giant coon. Or maybe Colt had a pet dog. But she wanted to double-check before she went inside. Just to be on the safe side.

Carefully rounding the corner with her hand resting on her weapon, Lacie felt her heart skip a beat when she discovered what was there. Before her stunned eyes stood Colt, naked to the waist, straddling a bench and working out with a barbell. Earplugs, probably connected to music, had kept Colt from hearing her or her car’s approach.

Thinking she’d be unobserved, she let her gaze roam freely down his sweat-glistened chest to the dark hair that arrowed past his waistband and disappeared beyond his jeans. Heat flooded through her veins, bringing dampness between her breasts and at the apex of her thighs.

She wasn’t a naive young girl. She’d seen plenty of men working out, with and without their shirts, and never thought a thing of it. But the sight of Colt using his chest and shoulder muscles, bunching and rolling, left her stupefied and panting like some preteen girl.

He looked up just then and his gaze arrowed straight to her face. His eyes met hers and darkened as though he’d known exactly what she’d been thinking. He set the weight down, pulled the earplugs free and lifted his chin.

Her pulse began to race. “I...uh...” She knew her face had gone beet-red, but she couldn’t put a coherent thought together.

“Morning. You’re very punctual.” He grabbed a sweatshirt off the bench. “Go on inside. Coffee’s hot. I’ll be there in a sec.”

She turned tail and hustled into his kitchen, grasping for both air and calm. What was her problem? An old boyfriend, accent on the old, should not shake her up this way.

By the time Colt arrived and pulled a bottle of water from the fridge, Lacie more or less had her nerves under control. She’d come here to find out what was going on with him and why he’d been sneaking around the sheriff’s office. Not to start up anything between them.

Colt probably wouldn’t be interested in a relationship with her anyway. He’d been living in the big cities, the way he’d always claimed he wanted, and, according to the papers, had plenty of sophisticated girlfriends. Women who knew all about how to please a man.

As he took a long swig from the water bottle, her eyes locked on his mouth and throat. The blast of heat inside her ignited again and branded her as an idiot for a second.

She tore her gaze away and coughed. “You look pretty healthy to me.” What? That wasn’t what she’d wanted to say. “I mean, it’s good you work out. You’ll get back to health sooner that way.”

Colt set aside the water and took a deep breath. “My upper body never was a problem.” He didn’t want to talk about this with her. “It’s the lower body that may never heal. There was a time when the doctors claimed I would never walk again. Now they say the limp might be the best I can hope to achieve.”

Well, hell, he shouldn’t have said that much. “I’ve come this far. I’m not ready to give up yet.” Something about her felt so comfortable. So right.

“Good.” She moistened her lips and swallowed hard, and his body hardened in response. “We need to talk about last night. You have to tell me what’s going on.”

Jumping into things without thinking them through was one of his bad habits, and a tough one to break. But this time, his gut told him everything would work out all right. She hadn’t changed that much. So, she was a deputy. She hadn’t told anyone about last night, had she?

He pulled out a chair and sat down. “My career, the one I screwed up, was as an investigator for the...”

“Justice department. Yes, I know.” She sat at the table across from him.

He let a big, sloppy grin cross his face. “Been checking up on me, Deputy?”

“It’s my job.”

Before she could say anything else, he plowed ahead. “The job made me the inquisitive type. Do you ever wonder about things from our childhood? Things that never seemed quite right back then?”

“Stop doing that.” She screwed up her mouth and narrowed her eyes on him. “This is my time to ask questions.”

God, she was beautiful. Not classically gorgeous or sophisticated in her uniform and with a gun on her hip. But he’d always thought she was the most alive and vibrant person he’d ever known. None of that had changed.

“No, really,” he said, ignoring her complaint and urging her to answer. “Anything still bothering you about the past?”

“I’m a little curious about a few things.” She frowned but added, “That’s at least partially the reason why I came back to Chance—to exorcise old ghosts.”

The way she said that last sentence made him wonder if he counted as one of her ghosts. “Yeah, me, too. The thing that bothers me the most is wondering about what really happened that day when my mother was murdered.” He tipped the water bottle to his lips again, but watched for her reaction over the top of the rim.

“I don’t remember much about the murder,” she murmured quietly. “You and I were only ten at the time. It really made a major difference in your life, though. I do remember that.”

“Yeah.” Colt stood but had to hang on to the back of the chair to keep his balance. “Losing Mom was hard enough. God, I thought the pain in my heart would never go away. But within days, we’d lost Dad, too, when your stepfather had him arrested for the crime. There were lots of times those first few weeks when I wished I’d died along with Mom.”

Shaking out his leg, he felt a familiar twinge. He gritted his teeth and began to pace like a caged animal, determined the pain would not slow him down. “You were the only one I could talk to. Do you remember that?”