Chapter Nineteen

Gage held Calista close. Her sweet scent drifted around him while they lay entwined in her bed. Her breathing had deepened as he stroked her back. He didn’t think he would be able to fall asleep. As long as she was wrapped around him naked, he would want to make love to her. He had lost time to make up for. He didn’t care if he sounded like a teenager who couldn’t control his hormones.

She had offered herself up to him today. She was ready to move forward. At least he hoped that was the case because she’d given him the few minutes of peace he needed. With Calista, he could catch his breath.

He wanted her to love him again and to understand what Ajay did wasn’t his fault. In some ways, it had been. He should have been a better authority figure for his brother. He should have been able to give the right kind of advice. He hadn’t known how to handle Ajay. His mother was busy with the ranch, and he was the oldest. The responsibility had been his, and he’d failed at it miserably, which was why he kept the reins tight on Izzi. He couldn’t let anything happen to his daughter. He had no excuse this time. He wasn’t young. He wasn’t inexperienced.

With regret, he untangled himself from her beautiful body and shoved his legs into his boxer briefs. He found his phone in the bathroom and sent a text to Izzi. He lied about working, but he’d be home soon. He shot a second text to Jett and asked him to sleep at his place. He didn’t want Izzi to be alone all night, and there was no way he wanted to tell his mother he was at Calista’s house. He might be forty and the sheriff of the town, but he still couldn’t look his mother in the eye and admit he had sex.

“Gage?” Calista’s voice drifted toward him.

He padded back into the bedroom. “I’m right here.”

“I woke up and thought you left without saying goodbye.”

“Hey, I would never do that.” He climbed back into bed and gathered her to him. Her head rested against his shoulder. She snaked her arm around his waist.

“I was worried you regretted what happened.” Her voice was low, and her breath warm against his skin.

“This is the only place I want to be.” That was the truth, and hopefully not too much truth for her. They might have made love several times—he grinned—but they had not talked about what would happen between them. “I needed to check on Izzi.”

If she asked him to leave, he would, but if she wanted him to stay the night, she wouldn’t have to ask twice.

“Is she okay?” Her fingers skimmed his back. He leaned into the soft pressure of her touch with ease.

“I just didn’t want her to worry about where I was.”

“You’re a good father. She’s lucky to have you.”

“Thanks.” The compliment and the press of her breasts against his chest turned up the heat in his body several degrees. He started to grow hard again.

“Can you promise me something?” Her hands continued to entice him.

“Sure.” He tangled his fingers in the ends of her long hair.

“Can you promise not to run away if I start to freak out about what’s happening between us?”

“Are you sorry?” He stilled his hands and held his breath.

She gripped him tighter. “No. Never think that. I’m glad you’re here and we did what we did. It’s just when the sun comes up and we have to face the real world, I hope I don’t get scared.”

“Are you talking about your father not wanting us to be together or about your feelings for me?” He shifted up on an elbow to see her better.

He could handle Andy Hartman, who would be unhappy about this arrangement, but if she backpedaled and left him again because of the past, he might not recover from that.

“I never thought we’d be in this situation, but when I’m with you, I want to stop living in the past, and when I’m in Backwater, all I can do is relive it. Ava is everywhere in this house and around every corner. Your family fills in all the other crevices she isn’t. It’s hard to breathe sometimes.”

“Can I ask you to promise me something?” He wanted to make things easier for her, but until she was ready, the past would haunt her. He’d try, though. He didn’t want her hurting anymore because of his brother.

“Of course.”

“Tell me if you’re frightened. Don’t push me away this time. If you’re leaving me, I want it to be for something other than Ajay. If I’m not the man you want today, I can live with that. Please don’t judge me for the man I was before.” Because he’d been trying for sixteen years to be better.

She placed a warm hand on his cheek. “I’ll be honest with you. I promise.”

He brushed his lips against hers. His insides burned for more of her. He had years of missed chances to love her to make up for. She laced her fingers in his hair and returned the kiss.

He ran his hand down her back and cupped her bottom. She gripped his hand and eased away from the kiss.

“Did I do something wrong?” he said.

“The opposite, but I’m starving. You never took me to lunch or dinner.” Even with only the moonlight spilling through the curtains, he could see the sparkle in her eye.

Relief spread through his chest, and he laughed. “I can take care of your empty stomach. I can run into town and pick something up at the café.” He checked his phone. “I have about thirty minutes before they close. If I call, they’ll wait for me.”

“Or we could whip up something here.” She ran a finger down his chest and stopped right before the good part.

“I like that idea.” He kissed her nose.

His phone went off. He wanted to ignore it but stole a glance anyway. Barry Pearce was calling. He could let his deputy handle whatever was happening. Tonight was about Calista.

“You should get that. I don’t mind. It could be important.” She gathered the sheet around her.

On a long breath, he sat up and swiped at the screen. “Sheriff Ryker.”

“Sorry to disturb you, Sheriff, but we have another robbery. And this time someone’s been shot.”

****

Gage jumped from the truck and ran down Main Street. The ambulance and the tanker truck blocked the road. Bystanders, some in their pajamas, huddled on the sidewalk. His heart throbbed in his ears as his boots stampeded the ground. Someone blocked the entrance to the florist. He shoved them aside.

“Where is she?” He gulped in air.

Faces turned toward him. His deputy was there. Luke Patterson from the EMS squad knelt on the floor, packing up his bag. John Granger from the fire department spoke into his phone.

Barry took a step forward. The lines around his mouth deepened, and his cheeks had sunken. His eyes were bloodshot. Marty Boseman stared at him with glassy eyes, then averted his gaze back to the floor. He was handcuffed.

“I’m sorry, boss.”

He pushed Barry aside and went behind the tall display case of flower arrangements. Anger seared his blood. Nyx Blackwood knelt by the gurney and held the hand of the woman who acted like his other mother.

“Phyllis…” His voice stuck in his throat. He couldn’t lose someone else he cared about to a damn gunshot wound.

Nyx turned and blocked his path. “Gage, you should—”

“Get the hell out of the way, Nyx.” He stepped around her to get to Phyllis.

She was so small on the gurney. His heart ached. Her eyes were closed, but Nyx hadn’t removed the oxygen yet. A brace was secured around her neck. “Phyllis?”

Her eyelids fluttered open. Her lips moved into a small smile. “Sheriff, I was waiting for you.” Her voice was like tires over gravel. She closed her eyes, and he held his breath.

She opened them again, and the air left his lungs. He took her hand in both of his. “If you wanted a day off, you should have just asked.”

Her grip on his hand was weak. “Don’t smartmouth me. And don’t you worry about a thing. My office is a tightly run ship. You’ll find everything you need.” She squeezed her eyes shut and groaned. “This one hurts, Gage.”

He kept his gaze on Phyllis and said, “Nyx, what’s the assessment?”

“GSW to the abdominal area. We need to go, Gage. She insisted we wait for you, but she could be bleeding internally.”

Of course she had insisted, because that was Phyllis. He leaned closer to her ear and whispered, “Don’t die on me.”

“I love you too,” she whispered back.

He helped Nyx get Phyllis in the ambulance. He slammed the back doors, and they sped off with lights flashing and sirens blaring.

He waited until the sirens couldn’t be heard and turned on Marty Boseman. He grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up. “You stupid idiot. I warned you something like this would happen. If she dies, so help me, I will nail your ass to the wall.” He shook Boseman until drool ran down his face.

“Sheriff, stop.” Barry’s hands were on him, but he threw Barry off.

This was all his fault because he hadn’t solved the robberies. His town didn’t trust him. Another person he loved was slipping away from him, and he could have done something to stop it. How was he going to walk into his department and not find Phyllis standing there with her glasses on her head and bossing him around?

“Sheriff,” Barry yelled.

He wanted to shake Marty Boseman until his eyes fell out of his head. Until all the pain and hurt and anger could slink back under its rock and stay there forever.

“He’s an old man, Gage.” Kace’s voice cut through the confused noise in his head. He pulled Gage’s hands free from Boseman’s shirt, and Boseman slumped against the storefront.

He held his brother’s gaze. The same black eyes as his stared at him, but he didn’t see Kace at all.

“When did you get here?” He hadn’t seen or heard Kace arrive.

“I came as soon as I heard.”

As always, one of his brothers was there when he needed them, but he continued to let them down. First Ajay in the worst way possible. And today with Jett. Jett could lose the ranch because of him. The only thing Jett loved more than his family was his ranch. What about Kace? How many times had he let Kace down? Or Lock? They were residents of the town. Hadn’t he let the whole town down too?

“Barry, what happened?” He needed answers to feel in control of something.

Barry read from his notebook. “She was helping Marty with the night shift and making some flower arrangements. Someone banged on the front door. He went out front to see who it was. They argued. Marty had his gun pointed at one of the suspects. The kid ran, and Phyllis ran after him. Marty pulled the trigger. She was in the way.”

For once he’d taken good notes.

“Did you get a look at who came in your store, Marty?”

Marty looked up at him with a watery gaze. “Two Indian boys. Young. One of them looked like the boy that Howard hired to paint his fence. I’m sorry, Gage. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“Shut up. No one wants to hear you’re sorry.”

He marched away with Kace calling after him.