“Well, if you suspect it’s the case, why the dickens haven’t you asked her? From what I’ve seen, both of you have a lot riding on the truth.”
“I’m not sure she’d tell me the truth,” Justin admitted. “I see how skittish she is around me whenever I’m wearing my uniform. Tate flat out terrifies her. If she’s going to open up, it might not be to one of us.”
What if she knew about the poster, guessed they’d seen it? he wondered. Would she run again? Was she that desperate to get away from her husband? He sighed. He couldn’t get into that with his grandfather. He’d probably told him more than he should as it was.
“I keep hoping she’ll explain on her own and let me help.”
His grandfather regarded him with sympathy. “I think I see the position you’re in. There’s your duty as a sworn lawman. And, then, there’s your duty to a woman you care about.”
“Which one’s more important?” Justin asked, aware that the question sounded a little plaintive. “I always thought for sure I knew. The law’s the law.”
“It’s a delicate balancing act, all right,” his grandfather said. “Maybe there’s a way for both to be the same.”
“How?”
“You won’t know until you know all the truth. Talk to her, son. Do it now, tonight, before your courage fails you and before the answers can cut too deep.”
“Too late for that,” Justin said. “I’m already in way over my head.”
“Then you’ll find a way to make things right,” his grandfather said with absolute confidence. “For both of you.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Well, of course I am,” his grandfather said with exaggerated indignation. “You don’t get to be my age without learning a thing or two. Now, go along. Talk to her. Unless I miss my guess, she’s as torn up inside as you are.”
Justin knew his grandfather was right. There was no way around it. This was one time he couldn’t afford to be endlessly patient. Lives and futures were at stake. Patsy’s and Billy’s, maybe. His own for sure.
He weaved through the crowd, his gaze locked on the woman who stood all alone on the fringes. She looked more fragile than ever in a pale blue slip dress that skimmed over her body in a silken caress. The dress was the epitome of costly simplicity. It practically had designer stamped all over it. The cop in him had wanted to check for a label and demand explanations once again for the inconsistencies in her life-style. The man simply wanted to slide it over her head and run callused hands over the woman beneath.
If he listened to the throbbing in his veins, that dress would be merely an inconvenience. If he listened to his head, he would escort her somewhere very public for the conversation that had been too long coming. By the time he reached her side, he still wasn’t sure which side had won the mental debate.
“Everything okay?” he asked, his tone cautious.
“Of course,” she said, a little too brightly.
“Where’d you run off to?”
“The ladies’ room.”
“I thought maybe you were running away?”
Alarm flared in her eyes, but she quickly hid it. “From what?”
“Me.”
“You don’t scare me.”
“I should.”
“Why?”
“Because I want you.”
She swallowed hard at the bold assertion. “I know.”
“Any objections?”
Her hesitation—combined with the pure desire written all over her face—was enough to tell him as much as he needed to know. She wanted him all right, but she was going to do the honorable thing—the wifely thing—and say yes. She was going to tell him to take a hike.
Before she could say anything, he said quietly, “Let’s go somewhere for coffee.”
She blinked in surprise. “Coffee?”
“Don’t argue. You don’t want the alternative.”
Her gaze locked with his. “I didn’t say that.”
His smile was forced. “You didn’t have to. Come on, darlin’, before I change my mind. Sharon Lynn and Kyle will be leaving any minute now, anyway.”
Before she could object, he clasped her hand and dragged her along behind him, nodding politely to everyone they passed. It was a neat trick to get away from White Pines without being subjected to a million and one questions, but he managed it.
As he headed for his car, Patsy began to voice her first objection. “My car—”
He refused to relinquish his grip on her. “I’ll have someone drive it into town in the morning.”
Only after they were in his car with the radio playing at top volume to drown out any need for conversation did she speak