Page 19 of The Cowboy Comes Home

“Thought I would,” Tucker drawled.

“Yay!” Jeremy stuffed that last sausage in his mouth, chewing it hastily, then pushed back from the table.

“Teeth,” Jackson said.

Jeremy nodded, grabbed his plate, slid off of his chair and carried it to the kitchen. Then he headed down the hall to brush his teeth.

“You ought to go a little early,” Nic suggested, looking at Tucker.

“He getting out early?”

“No, but Emily might be there.”

He could not deny the thought had occurred to him. What unsettled him was that Nic had apparently known where his mind had gone. Jackson had told him she had good instincts about people, but…he didn’t want to admit even to himself that she had sensed anything, let alone what he was feeling.

Hell, he didn’t even know what to call what he was feeling.

Crazy. You forget what happens to cops all too often?

No, he hadn’t forgotten. And he never would. He just needed it pounded back home now and then.

“Maybe she will be there. I’m sure Jeremy would like to see Lobo again,” he said, careful to keep his tone neutral.

“Uh-huh,” Nic said, and a glance at her told him she’d seen right through his façade.

“I’d appreciate it if you were there in case Lobo and his partner can’t be,” Jackson said, setting down the coffee mug he’d just drained. “In case those kids try harassing him again.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Tucker confirmed. “You can’t, because it would be such a freaking big deal.”

Jackson sighed. “Yeah.”

“I think you might be surprised,” Nic said. “Last Stand has accepted you as one of their own now. And as you may have noticed, we’re a little protective. Look at Kane Highwater. He’s not quite your level of famous, but he’s getting there. And nobody in Last Stand would let anyone mess with him.”

“Point taken,” Jackson said.

“But I still think Tucker needs to go get Jeremy,” Nic said. “Because, you know, Emily.”

Tucker finally broke. “Will you stop?”

Nic gave him an innocent look. “Whatever do you mean?” When Tucker rolled his eyes, she laughed. But then, quite seriously, she said quietly, “I’ve known Emily for years. We went to school together. And in all that time I’ve never seen her react to someone the way she has to you.”

He nearly gaped at her. “What?”

“Let’s just say I haven’t seen her blush since her high school boyfriend dumped her publicly. And on the job she’s cool, collected, and competent. But you so much as smile at her and she gets flustered.”

He blinked. Was she serious? If that was flustered, then she must be as cool as ice the rest of the time. Or maybe he just didn’t know her well enough to be able to tell.

But I’d like to…

Whoa. A cop? Someone who put their life on the line every day? And too often paid the highest price? No way.

Jackson gave Nic an oddly intent look, which she registered with a furrowed brow. “Enough,” he said quietly.

Tucker felt the old pain shoot through him. Jackson knew. He was one of the few who did. He appreciated that he’d stepped in, but hated that he’d felt he had to. He should be over it by now, after all these years. Two decades, in fact. But sometimes he still felt like that kid, whose life had been blown apart with the news that the police officer who was his father was never coming home again.

Tucker stood up suddenly. He needed out of here. “Why don’t I take him to school today too. That way you two can…do whatever you do when no one’s around.”

“Now that,” Jackson drawled, with a heated glance at Nic, “is an offer I’m happy to take you up on.”

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