Jace drove back to the station in a daze. He wasn’t sorry he and Charlie had slept together—far from it—but it sure the hell did complicate things. Once wasn’t going to be enough for him, not even close. It had only been twenty minutes since she’d left the house for town, and he was already hankering for her again.
But he was raising two boys, and jumping in bed with their live-in babysitter every chance he got wasn’t exactly what he’d call being a good role model. Then there was Charlie, who still had her bags packed and her boots by the door. Once Ainsley was out of the picture, she’d leave, go back to San Francisco or Portland, and take up the life she left behind.
And where would that leave him?
History repeating itself, that’s where. He was already more than infatuated and so damned tired of the people he cared about walking in and out of his life. Letting Charlie in too deep was setting himself up for more heartache. He just didn’t have it in him to go through it again. Not with the tax bill due in April, a June primary on the horizon, and two boys who needed raising.
Nope, he had to keep her at arm’s length, which meant no more sleeping together. Yeah, right. Even he didn’t have that kind of willpower.
His phone went off, dragging him from his thoughts. When he saw it was Charlie his pulse picked up. Since the restraining order had been served, everyone was a little on edge.
He answered on Bluetooth. “You okay?”
“Travis isn’t in school. The school secretary says I called him in sick this morning.”
“We both know that isn’t true. He ditched.”
There was a long pause, then, “What if it’s Corbin?”
“It’s not Corbin.” Jace didn’t think Ainsley was stupid enough to kidnap a sheriff’s kid. It would destroy his strategy of discrediting Charlie and making her look like a depressed nutjob who’d run off with his unborn child. “I’m wagering a guess that a certain young lady was also absent today. Are you still at the high school?”
“Yes. Grady is here too. And we’re both sick with fear. He’s never done anything like this before. Jace…”
“Hang tight while I make a call. I just pulled in to the sheriff’s station and can be there in less than five minutes.”
As soon as he got off the phone with Charlie, he called the school. As he suspected, Tina’s “mother” had also called her daughter out sick. The question was where were they and why hadn’t Travis shown up in time to be picked up? While Travis was a far cry from a criminal mastermind, he was usually better at covering his tracks.
He pulled into the school’s circular driveway behind Charlie’s Honda. Both she and Grady were standing on the lawn. The moment they spotted him, they came running to his window.
“What did you find out?” Charlie had lost all trace of her postcoital color. Before she’d left to pick up the kids, her cheeks had been rosy, like a woman well sated. Now, she was pale, like she’d just witnessed a longhorn gore a dog.
“He’s playing hooky.” Jace pinned Grady with a look. “You know anything about this?”
“No, sir.”
Jace studied his son, searching for any guilty tells. “You sure?”
“Yes, sir.” The boy couldn’t lie to save his life and it was clear he was as worried about his brother as the rest of them were.
“Okay.” He got out of the SUV and squeezed Grady’s shoulder. “I’m guessing Travis lost track of the time.” And when Travis realized he’d missed pickup he was going to have an oh-shit moment. Jace only wished he could be there to witness it. “Why don’t the two of you go home. Travis can figure out his own ride.” Which ultimately meant he’d have to call Jace and grovel.
“Shouldn’t we look for him?” Charlie chewed her bottom lip.
“I’ve got some ideas.” Jace had been a horny high school student in this town once too. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Are you sure?”
He couldn’t help himself and pulled Charlie in for a hug and kissed her briefly on the lips. Either Grady was too consumed with Travis or was simply oblivious, because he didn’t react.
“I’ll find him,” he said. “Go on back to the ranch.”
Charlie reluctantly got in her car and Jace watched them drive off before getting in his sheriff’s SUV. He nosed out onto Main Street and went in the opposite direction of the police station. From Highway 49 he hung a left onto Sweet Bay. It wasn’t far from where he’d found Charlie seven weeks ago.
The two-lane road was flanked by forest on both sides and dead-ended at a trail that led to Dry Creek, where there was a sandy beach and a popular swimming hole. Jace parked in the lot at the trailhead. Besides an Outback with a ski rack and a Rav4 with Arizona plates, the lot was mostly empty. The state park attracted tourists and locals alike but was less traveled in the winter. Back in the day, though, it was where Jace and other kids went to make out, drink beer and party, year-round. It was a hike from the high school but definitely doable on foot if one was determined enough.
He took the trail for a half mile. A thick copse of redwoods blocked the sun and he wished he’d worn his jacket. But it sure smelled good. The wet bark, the crisp air, and the slight fishy odor of the creek reminded him of why he lived here. Why he never wanted to leave.
There was a rustling in the trees and he stopped to watch a doe and her two babies take off through the woods, then continued his trek to the swimming hole. A wooden sign with an arrow guided the way, but he didn’t need it. The well-worn trail was as familiar to him as Dry Creek Ranch.
At the end of the road, the forest opened to a clearing where the creek widened and an outcrop of rocks formed a natural pool. There was a sign posted that cautioned visitors to swim at their own risk. Jace couldn’t remember there ever being a drowning. The worst incident he could recall was a man who had suffered a heart attack and the paramedics couldn’t get to him in time.
The beach was empty, save for two people lying on a woolen blanket at the other end of the beach. From Jace’s vantage point he couldn’t make out whether one of those people was Travis. He circled around, noting that the pair didn’t move. As he got closer, he could tell it was a male and female but still had trouble identifying any of their features because their faces were turned toward each other and they were covered to their necks in jackets.
He did, however, recognize Travis’s backpack. A black JanSport with a compartment for a laptop and a Future Farmers of America sticker on the front. Next to it was a tote bag with an iron-on emblem of a barrel racer.
Bingo!
He walked right up to them and toed Travis with his boot. No movement.
Jace cued up “Reveille” on his cell phone and played it in Travis’s ear.
“What the . . ? Shit!” Travis knocked off his jacket in an attempt to fasten his pants. The dim bulb had clearly forgotten to completely dress before he drifted off to sleep.
Tina came awake and in both their foggy states hadn’t yet realized that Jace had caught them doing God knows what, though he had a fairly good idea.
“You’ve got ten minutes to get your asses to my SUV.” He turned his back on them so Tina could straighten her clothes, or put them on. Jeez, he didn’t want to know.
He could hear rustling in the background and started back to the trail. “Ten minutes,” he yelled.
Not eight minutes later, they climbed into his back seat without saying a word. Jace started the engine and drove to the highway.
“Mr. Dalton…Sheriff…are you going to tell my parents?”
“Yep.” He was keeping words to a minimum until he cooled down.
“They won’t let her ride in the semifinals if you do,” Travis said.
Jace presumed he was talking about a barrel racing competition. “Then you should’ve thought about that before one of you impersonated Charlie and Tina’s mom, skipped school, and scared the hell out of us.”
He gazed back at them through his rearview mirror. “Tina, do you still live on Honey Comb?”
“Yes,” she said and exchanged a glance with Travis.
Don’t look to Travis for help, Jace wanted to say. He’ll be doing hard time until he’s twenty.
He jumped onto the highway, passed a broken-down motorist, and called it in.
Tina’s house was a white stucco ranch with tile arches that reminded him of a Mexican fast-food drive-through. There were no cars in the driveway and Jace remembered both her parents worked. Her mother was a real estate agent in Grass Valley and her father was an electrician. He’d done some work at the ranch a few years ago and was a good guy, as Jace recalled. He’d have to phone them later, when they got home.
Tina bolted out of the back seat as soon as Jace cut the engine. Travis started to follow her but Jace told him to get back in the car. Jace got out and followed Tina, who searched her bag for her key.
Tina’s older brother, Donovan, opened the door before she found it. He stepped outside, took one look at his sister, and said, “Is there a problem, Sheriff?” then craned his neck around Jace and Tina, spotting Travis in the SUV. Jace could see him putting the pieces together.
Tina dropped her gaze to her boots.
“Are your folks home?”
Donovan moved aside to let Tina go inside the house. “They’re at work. You want me to have one of them call you?”
“That would be good. You’ll keep an eye on her until your mom or dad gets home?”
“Yep, I’m off shift.”
Jace had forgotten that Donovan was now a firefighter in Placer County. He still thought of the kid as the star running back at Dry Creek High.
“She’s okay, right?” Donovan looked back at Travis in the truck. “Nothing big, just kids’ stuff, I hope.”
Is that what they were calling it these days?
Hell, Jace didn’t know why he was being such a prude. He’d lost his virginity at fifteen with Barbie Russel underneath the Penn Valley rodeo stands. Last he heard, Barbie was married, had three kids, and taught science at a junior college in Southern California.
“They skipped school. Have your folks call me, okay?”
“Sure. Thanks for bringing her home.” Donovan glanced at his watch. “My mom does a carpool with the Wagstaffs. Or a lot of times, Tina’s got junior rodeo.”
Jace nodded. No one was blaming Donovan for not keeping track of his sister. “Take it easy, Donovan.”
Jace got back in the SUV. “Come up front, Travis.”
Travis got out and came around to the passenger seat with his head hung low.
“Put on your seat belt.” Jace backed out of the driveway. “I thought we talked about this. About you and Tina just being friends.”
“We are.”
Jace shot him a look. “That’s not what it looked like at the swimming hole.”
“Maybe not to you.”
Jace didn’t like the sharpness in Travis’s voice. “You want to watch that attitude?”
“Or what? You’re gonna ground me? You’re gonna ground me anyway.”
The kid had a point. He was definitely getting grounded.
“Look, Travis, I can’t stop you from making bad decisions in life. We all make them. But there are consequences when you do.” He slid his son a sideways glance.
Travis rolled his eyes. “Why do you have to make a capital case out of everything? If you tell her parents she’ll get in big trouble and they probably won’t let me see her anymore.”
“That’s okay, you’ll be plenty busy for the foreseeable future, mucking stalls, soaping tack, stacking hay, and washing my truck.”
Travis didn’t try to argue, which Jace gave him points for.
“In the meantime, do we need to have another conversation about safe sex?”
“Give me a break, Dad.”
Jace decided to spare him the talk. For now, anyway.
“Phone.” Jace held out his hand.
Once Travis gave it up, they rode the rest of the way to the ranch in silence.
When he came up the driveway, Charlie and Grady ran out of the house onto the porch. Charlie’s expression went from concern to relief the moment she spied Travis in the front seat.
Travis got out of the SUV, slammed the door, and made a beeline for the house.
“Where were you, Travis?” Grady trailed after him.
Charlie came down the porch stairs and looked at Jace questioningly.
“He was with Tina at the swimming hole, a spot in the state park where all the kids go. He’s fine but his phone privileges have been revoked.” Jace opened his door and held up Travis’s cell. “And he’s not to leave the house other than to do his chores.”
“Thank goodness you found him and he’s okay.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I was so worried. You must’ve been a wreck.”
“Come here.” He crooked his finger at her and pulled her into his arms. “Thank you for looking out for my kids.”
She tilted her face up so they were staring into each other’s eyes. That’s when he kissed her. It was rushed because if he lingered there was no telling what he’d do. Carry her off to the barn again.
“I’ve gotta get to work,” he said as he forced himself to pull away.
“Will you be home in time for dinner?”
“I’ll do my best.”
He watched her as she walked to the house, then hung a U-turn in the driveway and headed to town.
* * * *
Charlotte knocked on Travis’s bedroom door. “Can I come in?” When there was no answer, she pushed open the door just enough to stick her head in. “You’ve been in here all afternoon. Are you hungry?”
“No.” Travis was on his bed, his head propped up on a pile of pillows, staring at the ceiling.
She went in and sat on the edge of his mattress. “You want to talk about it?”
“You’re not my mother, so quit trying to act like you are. Just because my dad looks at you all the time doesn’t mean you’re anything more than the babysitter.”
She flinched. Where had this come from? While Travis could sometimes be surly, he’d always been polite.
“I thought we were friends,” she said.
“Why? You’re just going to leave as soon as my dad arrests your old boyfriend. Everyone knows it. Why do you think my dad’s being such a jerk?”
“Because he took your phone? Come on, Travis.”
Travis sat up. “Because he’s gonna tell Tina’s parents. They’re really strict, they’ll take away her horse, won’t let her barrel race anymore, and they’ll stop her from seeing me.”
“That’s on you and Tina, Travis, not your dad. You’re the ones who decided to lie to school administrators, disappear for a day, and scare us all to death. He’s simply doing what any good parent would do.”
“How would you know? You’re not a parent.”
“No”—she stood up—“I’m not. But your father is and he’s a good one. I think you know that and you’re disappointed in yourself for disappointing him.” Charlotte walked as far as the door. “When you get hungry come into the kitchen. I made beef stew.” Travis might not like her right now, but he loved her beef stew.
Grady was sniffing the slow cooker when she went to set the table. “When are we eating? I’m starved.”
“I was waiting for your dad.” She glanced at the clock. It was seven. “But it’s getting late. Come on, I’ll fix you a bowl.”
“What about Travis?”
“He said he wasn’t hungry.”
“He’s in big trouble, isn’t he?”
“That’s between him and your dad. Now come sit down.” Grady had a habit of taking a few bites, running around the kitchen, and returning for a few more bites. All that pent-up energy was exhausting, but she adored the boy.
“When’s Dad coming home?”
“I don’t know. Soon, I hope.”
Travis came in and got a drink of water, trying to pretend the stew hadn’t lured him to the kitchen. Charlotte went to the cupboard, got another bowl, and ladled him a serving.
“Bread’s on the way,” she said, and motioned for Travis to sit next to Grady.
He acted put out but dug into his stew.
She got the bread out of the oven. It was just a supermarket loaf but she’d brushed it with an egg wash. Warmed, the bread tasted as delicious as the ones she used to buy from the artisan bakeries in San Francisco. She cut off a good-sized piece and wrapped it in tin foil for Jace and sliced the rest for the table.
Grady shoved a hunk in his mouth and burned his tongue. Travis was still pretending not to be hungry, though he filched a slice of the bread when he thought she wasn’t looking.
“Did you get restriction?” Grady asked his brother.
“None of your business, loser.”
“Knock it off,” Charlotte warned. “I want a peaceful dinner.”
“You’re the loser,” Grady said. “I bet Dad won’t let you go fishing with us at the lake this weekend.”
“What did I say?” She passed Travis the butter and asked Grady, “How was school today?” She hoped he’d talk about something other than how Travis was “a loser.”
“Good. I got an A on my spelling test.” Grady’s chest puffed out.
“That’s great.” Charlotte beamed. “Was it the one we did flash cards for?”
“Yep,” he said in that laconic drawl that reminded her so much of his father. “Can I have more stew?”
“Of course you can.”
While he got up for seconds, Travis leaned across the table. “I’m sorry about what I said before. Are you going to tell my dad?”
“Are you sorry that you might’ve hurt my feelings or are you sorry because you don’t want your dad to know what you said to me?” She held up her hand. “Before you answer, you should know that my conversations with you are private, meaning I have no intention of telling him anything we talked about.”
Travis’s eyes dropped to his plate. He was deciding how to play this.
“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings…well, I guess I did,” he said. “You’re going to leave, aren’t you?”
“Do I look like I’m leaving?” She hadn’t really answered his question because she didn’t know what the future held. She loved Dry Creek Ranch and there was no question she was besotted with its owner. But under no circumstances would she shake up their lives if Corbin became a threat, no matter how much Jace protested. And right now, she couldn’t see a life without the specter of Corbin hanging over her.
She didn’t need to share those thoughts with a fourteen-year-old, but at the same time she didn’t want to lie to him either.
She suspected one of the reasons the boys had run off so many babysitters was to keep themselves from getting attached. Like Jace, they’d had a lot of loss in their lives.
Travis shrugged in response and went back to eating his stew. Grady carried his bowl to the table one-handed, sloshing sauce all over his placemat.
“I should’ve done that for you.” Charlotte grabbed a towel and blotted the mess up. “Only a week until the cast comes off. Are you excited?”
“First thing I’m gonna do is scratch it.” Grady held up his cast. It was covered in writing and stickers and was so soiled she wanted to scrub it with steel wool. “Then I’m gonna wash my arm.”
One corner of her mouth slid up. It had to be pretty bad if Grady was talking about bathing. The kid couldn’t sit still long enough to get in the tub and showers were too confining. He typically got more water on the bathroom floor than he did on himself.
The dogs started barking and the kids jumped up to see what was going on outside. A few minutes later, Jace’s sheriff’s vehicle came up the driveway.
“Dad’s home,” Grady hollered and bounced up and down at the window.
Travis quickly washed out his bowl, stuck it in the dishwasher, and took off to his room like the hounds of hell were chasing his heels. If Charlotte didn’t know how gentle Jace was with his sons, she’d think the boy feared for his life. Travis simply didn’t want to own up to his mistake.
Jace came in the door, looking exhausted, and Grady tackled him with a hug. For a house full of males—cowboys, no less—there was plenty of affection to go around. Grady was the most demonstrative, especially with his cousin Ellie and his Uncle Sawyer, who despite being a prominent writer was like a big kid.
“You guys eat already?” Jace got out of his jacket and hung his hat on the hook by the door.
“The boys did. I waited for you.”
He let his eyes wander over her and for a second it was like they were the only ones in the room. Then Jace switched into Dad gear. “You do your homework?”
“I still have math.”
“Then you better get to it, don’t you think?” He scanned the kitchen. “Where’s Travis?”
“He ate and went to his room,” Charlotte said.
“Is he grounded, Dad?”
“Why? Are you taking after Uncle Sawyer and writing a book?” Jace squeezed Grady’s head in the crook of his arm. “Go finish your homework.”
The second Jace’s study door clicked closed, he backed her against the center island, boxed her in, and kissed her. She returned the kiss with such fervor she even surprised herself. They’d only been apart six hours since Travis went temporarily missing, and she was starved for him. Her hands greedily slipped underneath his shirt and explored the hard planes of his muscles.
“Can I come to your room tonight?” he whispered in her ear.
Oh, she wanted that. Her body pulsed and she wasn’t sure if she could even wait that long. “What about Travis and Grady?”
“We’ll have to be discreet.” He pushed away from the counter. “I should look in on Travis.”
“He’s worried about Tina’s parents. Did you talk to them?”
“Oh yeah. Despite my pitch that kids will be kids, Tina’s mom isn’t taking it too well. I get the feeling they’re pretty strict.”
“That’s what Travis said. Oh boy.”
“They’re fourteen years old. Call me an old man, but that’s too young to be doing what they were doing.”
Charlotte’s mouth fell open. “I had no idea. Uh, I thought they were just having a ditch day.”
“A ditch day with benefits. I’m holding out hope they didn’t go all the way, but Travis doesn’t want to talk about it.”
“Go see if he’ll open up.” She gave him a little push and he grinned.
“Yes, ma’am.”