Butterflies invaded Kelsey’s stomach while she drove down G Avenue, Douglas’s main street, to the Monroe Cafe. She parked the SUV in front of the row of buildings crammed side by side along the street. Gold letters announced the cafe’s name, along with the proclamation that it was the oldest restaurant in Douglas.
Wiping her sweaty palms on her jeans, Kelsey took a deep breath. It was only lunch with Kade, for goodness sake. Not a date.
Sheesh. She’d let the man give her an orgasm last night by sucking her nipples.
Then she saw him walking toward her on the sidewalk. His sexy smile. His walk, so fluid and powerful... No man should be allowed to be that gorgeous.
Lust. Pure and simple. She lusted after the man.
Another deep breath and then she grabbed her purse, got out of the SUV, and joined Kade where he waited in front of the cafe.
“Hello, darlin’.” Kade smiled down at her, his azure eyes caressing her with a glance. He didn’t even have to touch her, and she felt like she’d been kissed.
“Hi.” Her voice was breathless and she couldn’t think of anything else to say.
He opened the door to the cafe and motioned her in, his hand at her elbow. Delicious smells of barbeque and hot biscuits enveloped Kelsey as soon as she entered. It was a narrow room, one wall lined with floor-to-ceiling photos, posters, and playbills of Marilyn Monroe. The other wall was complete with a bar and glass-fronted display cases filled with pies and cakes.
They were silent as they waited for the host to seat them, but Kade’s nearness drove Kelsey wild. All she could think about was last night, his kisses, his body pressed against hers, the way his mouth felt on her, and his promise of fireworks. No doubt in her mind that he could give her that and more.
She was so deep in thought about him that she almost jumped out of her skin when the host spoke, asking where they would like to sit. Warmth crept up her neck as she realized Kade was watching her, and she wondered how obvious her expression had been.
When they were seated in a booth, they took a few moments to examine the menu. Kelsey chose grilled chicken, and Kade ordered barbequed spareribs.
“How was your interview with Dee?” Kade asked when the waiter left.
Kelsey turned away from the picture of Marilyn that she’d been studying. “Dee’s terrific.”
“I’ve known her since I was a kid. We saw each other off and on at events around the county. She was into barrel racing and I was into calf roping.”
“You were into rodeo?”
He smiled. “I owe a lot to the junior rodeo circuit for helping me get through my shyness when I was a boy.”
“You? Shy?” Kelsey raised her eyebrows. “Never.”
With a shrug, Kade said, “Let’s just say that I could hardly look a person in the eye, but that club helped me to gain some confidence and believe in myself.”
Kelsey rested her elbow on the table, her chin on her palm. “You surprise me.”
“I’m full of ‘em.” He folded his arms and leaned forward. “Just try me.”
The waiter arrived with their drinks, saving Kelsey from yet another blush. She squeezed lemon into her iced tea and added a packet of artificial sweetener.
“That stuff’ll—”
“Kill me. I know.” Kelsey smiled and met his gaze. “You told me the same thing on the plane about my diet soda.”
By the look in his eyes, she was sure he was thinking about that first night they’d kissed. She still couldn’t believe she’d kissed a man the same night she met him. But, well, it had been Kade. In her heart, she knew that dinner and kiss would never have happened with any other man.
Kelsey rested her chin on her hand again, studying Kade’s handsome face and his brilliant blue eyes. “What was your childhood like?”
He shrugged. “Not much to tell. I grew up around here and had a pretty good time. My biological father took off when I was younger than Trent, so there were some tough years.”
Kelsey’s soul twisted at the thought of Kade, young and fatherless. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Kade smiled and squeezed her free hand. “He wasn’t much of a father. Mom met Chuck a couple of years later, and when I saw how happy he made her, I was all right with it. As far as I’m concerned, Chuck is my dad.”
“Did you play sports in school, other than calf roping?” Kelsey asked.
“In high school I was a decent linebacker,” Kade said. “Also did pretty well in right field on our baseball team.”
“I bet you were more than pretty good.” Kelsey could just imagine him in those tight pants that football players wore. Nice. “After high school?”
“I headed off to the University of Arizona.” Kade shifted in his seat and leaned one forearm on the table. “I wanted to go into law enforcement, and while I was in college I decided to get on with the Border Patrol. I trained at FLETC after graduation, and later was stationed along the Texas border. That’s where I met Trent’s mother.”
“Your son is precious,” Kelsey said. “You’re fortunate to have such a great kid.”
He smiled. “Yeah, I am.”
Kelsey returned his smile. “And he’s lucky to have you as a father.”
The waiter served their lunch, and they ate while they talked. Kelsey told Kade what information she’d gathered so far on the problems with illegal immigration, and he ventured his opinion on a few issues.
As far as Kelsey was concerned, their lunch was over too soon and Kade had to get back to work. He walked her to the SUV, and as she opened the door he said, “Thanks for having lunch with me.”
“Thanks for asking.” Then, surprising even herself, Kelsey reached up and brushed her lips over his. “Later, cowboy.”
Before he could react, she turned away, climbed into the vehicle, and shut the door, her lips tingling from the brief caress. He just smiled and watched her drive away.
Late-afternoon sun peeked through the monsoon-darkened sky as Kade reached the offices of The Douglas Herald. The newsroom occupied the bottom floor of one of the town’s oldest buildings. Smells of ink, newspaper, and stale coffee overpowered the dingy lobby.
“Kade. Long time no see,” said Patti Duarte, the paper’s combination office manager/columnist. She stood up, her blond ponytail bobbing as she bounced toward the front counter. “Where ya been hiding out?”
He leaned against the counter. “Looks like you’ve been keeping this place above water. And looks like you’re about to pop. I didn’t even know you’re expecting. Congratulations.”
Patti, who had always reminded him of a pixie, patted her enormous belly. “Thanks. Twins, can ya believe it? I look like I’m about to explode, but we’ve got another two months.”
Her blue eyes sparkled, and her cheeks seemed full and shiny. That old saying about pregnant women was true. They did have a special glow to their faces. For one strange minute, he pictured Kelsey, her belly large with his child, her features as radiant as Patti’s.
He shook his head, pushing the vision to the back of his mind. “Twins. Bet Paul’s as proud as a rooster at the crack of dawn.”
Patti snorted. “He’s scared shitless.”
“Can’t say that I blame the guy.” With a laugh, Kade nodded to the back room. “That new reporter here? Gerald Spitz?”
“You mean you’re not here to see little of me? Hold on, let me get him.” Her ponytail bobbed as she disappeared through the doorway. Within a minute, she returned. “Come on back and meet God’s gift to the newspaper business.”
Kade raised his brows. “God’s gift, huh?”
Patti rolled her eyes. “Thinks he is. Every time AP picks up one of his stories you’d think he won the Pulitzer.”
“Miss working with Gerardo?” Kade asked.
“You betcha.” Patti led Kade into the back room, past an ancient printing press to a man sitting behind a computer at one of three metal desks. “Gerald, this is Border Patrol Agent Kade Owen. Kade, this is Gerald Spitz, editor-in-chief and reporter extraordinaire.”
Patti winked at Kade as she left the room, and he held back a grin.
“Pleased to meet you, Agent Owen.” Spitz didn’t offer his hand. Instead, he made a show of tossing his head, flipping his dark hair from his face.
“Uh, yeah. My pleasure.” Right off, Kade didn’t like the guy. Something about the arrogant look in Spitz’s brown eyes made him wary. Still, he had to get what he came for, so he stuck out his hand and forced a smile.
Spitz gave Kade a limp handshake. Soft and damp. No calluses, no weathering.
“Have a seat.” Spitz pointed to one of two vinyl chairs in front of his desk. “What can I do for you?”
“Thanks.” Kade settled into the chair. “Gerardo was a good friend of mine. Thought I’d come in and get acquainted with you.” Spitz gave Kade what amounted to a patient father-speaking-to-child smile. Only this father was about ten years younger than Kade. “But you have another reason for being here as well.”
Might as well lay it on the table.
“No wonder you’re such a good reporter, Spitz.” Kade let his expression go serious. “Let’s get to it. One of your sources gave you a big story on the life of an undocumented alien, and he mentioned a coyote named Gordo.”
Spitz tossed his hair back again and smirked. “I don’t reveal my sources, Agent Owen.”
Kade nodded, trying to maintain his cool. “I understand what you’re saying. Any source of yours that I might talk to would never be connected with you.”
“I don’t reveal my sources.”
“Hold that thought, partner.” Kade leaned forward in his chair. “While it’s real good of you to stand up for your journalistic ethics, I want you to sit back and think for a moment. Think about all those good people crossing the border and dying. Dying ‘cause some bastard coyote doesn’t give a damn about them. Some bastard that’s stealing from, beating, raping, and murdering these folks.”
Spitz shifted in his chair. “I have my professional integrity to consider.”
“It’ll remain intact.” Kade didn’t blink as he stared the man down. “Give me a name and no one’ll be the wiser.”
“Like I said, my integrity is on the line.” Spitz’s eyes shifted to the doorway and back to Kade.
Kade spread his hands on Spitz’s desk. “Consider this. How can a man look in the mirror and know he could’ve saved lives, but left them dangling for his own gain?”
Spitz’s eyes narrowed, and his lips thinned. “Why do you give a rat’s ass?”
Kade gave the reporter a level stare. “Tell you what, Spitz. I don’t give a damn what you think of me. What does concern me is day after day these coyotes get away with murder. But my conscience is clear, and I don’t lie awake at night, because I know I’m doing all I can to save lives. It’s not enough, but I’m trying.” Kade got to his feet. “How well do you sleep at night?”
Spitz didn’t move. “I sleep fine.”
“Uh-huh. The next time you get to write a story about some poor man, woman, or child, dead at the hands of a coyote, you think real hard if something you can tell me might have saved their lives. Or many lives. And ask yourself if you’re not just as bad as the man who killed them.”
Spitz’s lips thinned, but he said nothing.
Kade pulled his business card out of his wallet and tossed it on the reporter’s desk. “Call me if your conscience gets the better of you. I can find my way out.”