Chapter Two

Liddy was one of the friendliest people Chris had met in a long time, and before the woman found out what she did for a living. That was rare. Many times, the destinations she reviewed were fabulous right up to the point where people were involved. She was the first to admit she wasn’t the easiest person to get along with. A trait she figured she owed to her father. But what she and her mother had endured from him had made her stronger, made her learn to push her way through life like a bulldozer so no one could ever step on her again.

Then again, sometimes people were just plain rude, that is until they learned of her profession. That’s when they would pour it on, wanting a fabulous article to promote their hotel or whatever. She’d learned to tune them out over the years, but she never tuned out the real people. The ones like Liddy, who really did care about her comforts and needs while she stayed in her bed and breakfast. They were the ones she wished she could write about, instead of their vacation destinations.

She turned and pulled a few things from her bag where it sat on the bed. “Someday,” she muttered with a sigh. She’d get to stop traveling and write what was in her heart, what she saw in other people’s hearts. But until then she would make do with what paid the bills.

Her thoughts turned to her current location, as she placed her bag in a chair by the door. Iron Horse, Wyoming, was a quaint little spot in the middle of nowhere. She couldn’t even recall seeing it on the map, but the ‘B’ and ‘B’ was nice with its old furnishings, and subtle updates here and there. Her room was pleasant too with an at-home feeling and rather spacious.

She freshened up and made a call to cancel the tow until she got a report back from the sheriff. Then, after a feeble attempt at taking a nap, she decided to look around and maybe write a little piece on the place instead, all while taking side notes for that day when she could write the stories that floated in and out of her head.

As Chris stepped off the stairs, she heard Liddy fussing.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake. What does that mean?” Liddy asked, her troubled voice carrying from the office into the foyer where Chris stood.

She moved closer and knocked on the wall beside the open door. “Liddy, are you all right?”

The older woman lifted her grey head and smiled. “Oh, hey there, hon. Yes, I’m fine. Darn old thing,” she added under her breath as she rose. “I thought you said you were going to take a nap?”

“I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d take a look around.” She wasn’t about to admit that the minute her head hit the pillow the only thing she could think about was the sexy sheriff of Iron Horse. Work was a cure for just about anything.

Liddy smiled wide. “Well, there’s not a whole lot to see. Nothing of any real note. We do have a founder’s day festival every year in the spring, a few other seasonal celebrations, but not much else. We’re a sleepy little town.”

“And you love it here,” she said, knowing it was a fact.

“That I do. I wouldn’t live any place else. What about you? Where are you from?”

“I’m from Virginia, but I travel all around the country for my job. As a matter of fact, I thought I’d do a little work while I was here.”

“What kind of work?”

“I review vacation destinations for a travel magazine.”

“Oh, I just love reading those things. I’ve got a stack of them here.” She turned and rummaged through a pile. “Do you write for one of these?”

“Um, yes, this one,” she said, slipping the magazine from her selection.

“Really? Well, my goodness! I’ve read your work then. Do you write under your real name?”

“No, it’s best not to, that way I can get the real skinny on the location without the management knowing why I’m there. But in your case, it’s not an issue,” Chris said with a smile.

“My case?”

“You bet. I’m going to write about your ‘B’ and ‘B’, if that’s okay.”

“Oh, I’d love it! Folks don’t come here to stay much, but if they’re traveling it’s a nice place to jump off the road for a spell and rest up while they’re on the way to wherever they’re going.” She juggled the magazines and started to turn away. “And I tell you what, I won’t even charge you for the stay.”

“Oh, no. You most definitely will charge me, that is, the magazine,” Chris added.

Liddy paused and looked back at her with a crinkled brow. “But I’ve got to do something to thank you, honey. I can’t let you do all that for nothing.”

She laughed at the woman’s sincerity. There weren’t too many people like her left in the world. “It’s my job. And I’m happy to do it.”

“Well, I know, but it’s not right in my mind,” she said, as some of the magazines slid from the stack in her hands and landed on her computer keyboard. “Shoot, now that thing’s going all crazy again.”

“Here, let me help.” Chris scooped away the magazine that was causing the computer to beep incessantly and glanced at the screen. The resolution was horrendous, she could barely tell what was on the screen without a magnifying glass. “You, um, working on the books?”

Liddy put the magazines back in the large box by her desk on the floor. “Hardly. I can’t figure that darn thing out and was just about to turn it off and go back to my old ledger.”

“Well, maybe if you changed the font size it would be easier to read. I mean, unless you need it that small,” she said, not wanting to insult the woman. Maybe she could see it fine just as it was, but didn’t care for the program or maybe computers in general.

“Font size? You mean I can change the size of the letters?” she asked, her eyes wide behind her bright red-rimmed glasses.

“Sure, you can do all sorts of things to make it more comfortable for you. Would you like me to give you a hand? Before I was out in the field I did a lot of office work, and I’m familiar with the software you’re using.”

She clapped her hands together. “Oh, thank heavens! Someone who knows what to do with that thing. My nephew was determined to bring me up to date with it, but went back to college before he got a chance to show me more than the basics. So how about we trade your stay for some lessons?”

Chris shook her head with a laugh. “Okay, you win. A trade. When do you want to start?”

“Now?”

With a hearty laugh or two, they settled in to work and before long Liddy was up to speed. She was a surprisingly fast learner, but she did have some setup issues with her accounting program. So Chris took on the chore of adjusting the software while Liddy fixed them some dinner. Once she was done, Liddy would be able to manage almost everything for her little bed and breakfast without any problems.

The front door opened, but Chris didn’t pay much attention, she knew Liddy would see to whoever it was. She’d said that greeting guests was like opening a present, she never knew what she was going to get and thoroughly enjoyed the surprise. Thinking of her, Chris knew she needed to take a few extra personal notes. She was a character to remember and one worth writing about.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

She jerked her head up to find Sheriff Conrad looming over her. Before she could respond, he spun the chair around and planted his hands beside her on the armrests, imprisoning her between the corded muscles of his arms.

“Are you trying to steal Liddy’s personal information or every credit card number from guests she’s had stay here?”

“I was—”

“Tell it to me down at the station.” He grabbed her arm and hauled her out of the chair.

Still stunned by his over-reaction and caught off-guard by the strength of his tug, she fell against his chest and they both froze. With their faces mere inches apart and nothing but clothes separating their bodies, Chris lost the ability to breathe, but not before she’d caught his scent.

He smelled like a man—all man, and felt even better. Her hands, resting against his broad chest, prickled with the need to explore, while a surge of desire rushed through her veins. This was a new experience. Men were okay, just not the top of her gotta-have-in-her-life list. Oh, she was nobody’s fool. She knew her father had tainted her a bit about the opposite sex, so she dated from time to time, but she had never—ever had a reaction to a man like this. She wanted to slide her fingers into his dark hair and savor every inch of his mouth and then…she’d move south, taking her time exploring his powerful body. Her tongue slipped out in anticipation, wetting the edge of her lips. She was in very deep trouble.

Forcing her attention to his face, battling the unexpected war raging inside her, a small spurt of satisfaction rippled across the heat pooling in her belly. He was having a few problems with their close proximity as well.

Jake couldn’t move a muscle. His heart had ricocheted off the walls of his chest the minute her body fell against his. All he could do was stare at her soft pink lips parted in surprise, and wonder what she would taste like, cause he had a damn good idea of what she would feel like lying beneath him. And when her tongue peeked out, he just about lost what little control he had. She was lush in his most favorite places, and that heady scent of hers swirled around his brain making him envision all sorts of erotic things.

“Why Jake, I didn’t know you were here,” Liddy said, bustling into the room.

Snapped from the edge of insanity, he jerked back, disconnecting their bodies, but held tight to her arm. He looked at Liddy, determined to force his thoughts back in line.

“I got here just in time to find Miss Harper going through your records. After I lock her up, I’ll come back and we’ll see if we can figure out what damage she’s done.”

“I was helping her set up her accounting software, you idiot,” Chris said with a growl.

His head snapped from Liddy back to Chris, doing his best to block out the sound of that throaty noise. His brain was surely fried to be going off on such tangents where this woman was concerned.

“Oh, my, yes! Chris is helping me get the computer setup,” Liddy said. “Daniel only got the basics done and I was struggling with the rest.” She let out a nervous laugh. “I’m so sorry, Chris. I’m sure he didn’t mean to jump to conclusions.”

He stared into Miss Harper’s bright blue eyes, curious to find them warm instead of icy, but shook off the thought as he released her and ran his hand over his face.

“I need a vacation,” he muttered. He had to be overworked to keep having such heated thoughts about a complete stranger. Not to mention the wild conclusions he kept jumping to where she was concerned.

“Then you should ask Chris the best place to go,” Liddy said. “She’s a travel journalist. She’s been all over the country and has stayed in all sorts of places.” She took them both by the hands and pulled them out of the office and into the dining room. “Why don’t we talk about your plans over dinner? I’ll just run get another plate,” Liddy said, and disappeared into the kitchen leaving him standing beside Miss Harper in stunned silence.

He cleared the gravel from his constricted throat. “I’m, um, sorry.”

She let out a heavy breath, but he refused to let his gaze stray to her breasts as they rose and fell.

“I guess it did look a little suspicious, my being a stranger and all.”

Liddy bustled back into the room and urged them to sit. She rattled on for quite some time before Jake remembered why he’d come back.

“Oh, George said he can fix the RV, but he’s got to have it in the shop, and it may take a few days. If you can maybe call your tow back and see if you can schedule a time, we’ll get it over there.”

“I have to be there when they show up, or they won’t tow it and charge me for the trip, and he has to be approved by them.”

He nodded. “He said he was, so that’s not a problem. Just tell me when and I’ll get you there.”

“All right. I’ll call them after dinner.”

Jake nodded again, letting Liddy take over the conversation once more. He had nothing to say to Miss Harper, nothing he dare say. Watching her take dainty bites of her meal was about to kill him as it was. He certainly didn’t need to open his mouth and have something inappropriate slip out. He let it be known, however, that he wasn’t going anywhere for a vacation other than home, which was five blocks south of Liddy’s place. That left the conversation open, and Liddy had no problem filling the void. She loved company and she loved to chatter.

After dinner, Miss Harper made her call and they set up a time in the morning to haul in her RV. That taken care of, he thanked Liddy for dinner and quickly said goodnight before he found himself sitting on the porch next to her guest. He could see the older woman matchmaking, her other favorite pastime next to managing the bed and breakfast. She often boasted of pairing up half the couples in town, when in truth it was only about four. Still, when Liddy decided on a match, it was impossible to convince her otherwise. He figured he’d get an earful in the morning when he came to pick up Miss Harper anyway.