Taken by Surprise

Chapter 2

Jack Ward pulled his official county SUV into a parking space at the Fort Mavis Sheriff's Office and turned off the ignition. He sat for a moment in the vehicle, staring out at nothing and just enjoying it. He was glad he'd made the choice to leave Houston. As big as the city was, he didn't think it was large enough for both him and Jessie. He found himself looking for her every time he went to some place they'd been together. Like a lovesick i***t, he'd even driven to the restaurant where she worked, sap that he was, and sat outside waiting to get a glimpse of her.

It was so not like him and he was driving himself nuts. He had not been able to understand how she could just walk away from him the way she had. Away from what they had. He'd never felt like this about a woman before and he was pretty damn sure her feelings were the same. The more he thought abut it, the angrier he got. He forced himself to think of her as selfish and self-centered, because that made the break easier to bear.

Then the stakeout had come up, the one that turned sour and ended up with him getting shot in the leg. He took that as a sign from somewhere that he should get his ass out of the city, away from the mean streets and away from memories of Jessie. A fresh start, that's what he needed. He figured, at thirty-five, it was a good time to make the switch. And he had an itch to get back to what he thought of as the "real" Texas-small towns, big ranches, rodeos, the whole thing. Not too many people knew that he'd worked his way through college riding in small rodeos. He hadn't been on a horse in years but he figured if he had the chance, he could count on muscle memory.

The old saying that sometimes life makes choices for us was certainly true for him. The disastrous stakeout that had resulted in his injured leg he took as a sign from somewhere that he should get his ass out of Dodge. Or Houston, as it was in this case. Go someplace where he could forget about Miss High and Might Chef Jessie Coford. He hadn't grown up in the city, but in West Texas. While he'd advanced well in the Houston Police Department, he realized the place he wanted to be was home, or as close to it as he could get.

By accident he heard about the opening in the Fort Mavis sheriff's department. Before he could change his mind he'd gotten in his car and driven all the way there to meet with Dean Carlton. An hour later, he had the job, and he'd never looked back. It startled him to realize he did not miss the frantic pace of a metropolitan police department. The only thing he did miss was Jessie, and, damn, he missed her so much it was painful. But she'd made her situation perfectly clear.

He'd gone over it in his mind so many times that now it played like an old movie. He was mad at her yet at the same time he missed her. The satin smoothness of her skin when she cuddled next to him. The scent of flowers in her hair. The satiny smoothness of her mouth when he kissed her. The wet heat of her cunt when he buried himself deep inside her.

Damn it!

He'd never felt about a woman the way he felt about her. Maybe never would again. Why hadn't she even been willing to talk it out with him? Okay, so maybe he hadn't been so great about expressing his feelings for her. He should have handled things a lot differently. Way differently. Not let his pride get in the way. He wouldn't have been such an angry asshole, that was for sure. He might have tried to look at things from her point of view. Insisted they talk about it and try to find a way to work things out. He knew how important her goal was to her, but all he'd been able to think about was himself.

He'd thought about contacting her, telling her about his job change. Lifestyle change, actually. And do what? Beg her to come see him? Ask her to give up her fancy job in that fancy restaurant? Her dreams of the future? He couldn't do that. No, he'd just do his job here, build a new life, albeit a lonely one, and hope that one of these days he could find a way to bring them back together.

If she hadn't found someone else by that time.

Suck it up, Jack. No looking back.

He was a big boy. He'd just get over it. Eventually. He hoped putting this much distance between them would help him get past that.

Meanwhile he was in a good place here. Dean Carlton was an incredible man to work for. A solid member of the community, liked and respected by everyone. He'd gone out of his way to make Jack feel comfortable both in his job and in Fort Mavis. Even helped him find the small house to rent. And hadn't that taken some getting used to, for a man who'd been living in an apartment for the past ten years.

He was even seeing someone, the woman who managed the real estate office. Lynne Robbins. She wasn't Jessie by a long shot, but she was smart and sexy and they enjoyed each other's company. If the s*x wasn't spectacular, he at least made sure she was always satisfied. He knew she wanted to take their arrangement to the next level, but he wasn't ready for that. Not yet. Maybe never. But he was doing his best.

A rap on the window startled him. When he looked, he saw his boss standing there watching him. He pressed the button to lower the window.

Carlton grinned at him. "You do know you have a desk inside, right?"

Jack gave him an answering smile. "Yup. Just sitting here pondering the state of the universe."

"If you find any answers be sure to let me know." The sheriff rapped his knuckles on the roof. "Come on in. We need to pow wow about what's going on around here."

"Something new I don't know about?" Jack followed his boss inside.

"Not at the moment, but there will be." As Dean walked through the bullpen, he nodded to the dispatcher, passed his secretary who handed him a stack of message slips, and detoured to the break room where a fresh pot of coffee sat waiting. Jack filled his own mug and followed his boss to his office.

"So." Dean took a sip of his coffee and leaned back in his chair. "Six months here and you haven't died of boredom, right?"

Jack studied his boss, wondering if there was a right and a wrong answer.

"Uh, no." He grinned, figuring humor might be best. "Not yet, anyway."

"You know, I took a chance when I hired you because this is a one eighty from crime in the big city. Not everyone can make the transition from the accelerated pace of a metro area. I hoped the fact you hadn't always been a city cop might make a difference. As you've found out, we're mostly brawls and speeders and helping with the occasional search and rescue."

"I think," Jack told him, "that I was more than ready for a change." He studied Dean. "Have I given any indication that I don't like it?"

Dean shook his head. "On the contrary, you're about the best damn deputy we've got."

"Then what's this about?" Jack took another swallow of his coffee.

"I wanted to tell you first of all that you're doing a great job and it feels right having you here."

"Thanks." Jack grinned. "For a few minutes there I thought I was being called into the principal's office."

"Not at all." Dean took another swallow of coffee. "But there're a couple of things you need to be aware of. It's about to get a little more exciting around here."

"Okay." Jack nodded his head.

Dean picked up a flyer from his desk and handed it over.

Jack lifted an eyebrow. "Rodeo?"

"Uh huh." Dean nodded. "Randy Warren at the Flying W holds one every year. Raises money for the youth ranch on the west side of the county."

"I need to get over there and take a look at it one of these days."

"Yes, you do," Dean agreed. "The place has been a godsend for a number of kids who could have ended up on the wrong path. Because of that the rodeo draws a huge crowd. Really big."

Jack took another hit of his rapidly cooling coffee. "I'm guessing this means we'll all be pulling double duty to police the event?"

"We will. And we still have to cover the rest of the county."

Jack frowned. "Are you telling me we have trouble when the rodeo is on?"

Dean heaved a big sigh. "So far nothing more than nonsense, but there's beer for sale and other alcohol, people coming in from out of town to compete and watch. The potential is there for trouble and I like to be prepared."

"You can count on me for whatever you need," Jack told his boss.

"I knew I could. Next week we need to ride over to Randy's place together and meet with him. He can fill you in on all the details."

"Just tell me when."

Dean rose from his chair and extended his hand. "I'll say it again. I'm real glad you decided to come back to your roots."

"Thanks. Me, too."

But as he walked back to the break room to rinse his cup and leave it, he thought how much nicer it would be if Jessie was here with him.