Page 55 of Deputy Brand Gets Her Man
He was surprised when she put her arms and legs around him. He’d expected her to argue a little more. Then he forgot everything, including how to breathe. But he managed to straighten up and started back along the trail toward the house, carrying her on his back. “If you happen to come to the bunkhouse, don’t think badly of me for the fridge full of beer. It was for the bonfire, but?—”
“Whaddya mean was?”
“Well, obviously we didn’t hold the bonfire without you, and we’re sure as heck not having it on your second night home from the hospital.”
He felt her twisting around to reach behind her, and the next thing he knew she was holding her phone in front of his head with both hands, so she could text and hang on at the same time. “Bunkhouse bonfire is ON. Tonight. There’d better be pizza.”
She returned the phone to her back pocket and kicked his thighs. “Giddyap!”
He took off at a lopsided gallop, and she laughed like a little kid. And then when she stopped laughing, and he stopped galloping, out of breath, she said, “You can put me down now.”
“You sure?” He stopped moving and turned his head to look up at her. They were only a few yards from the front door of her cottage.
She bent lower and kissed him upside down. He raised his arms to thread his fingers into her hair, pulled her down a little closer, and kissed her back. It was long and slow, and she sucked at his lower lip and made his blood heat.
When the kiss ended, she slid to the ground.A throat cleared. Drew was standing in the driveway, just in front of the cottage.
Chapter Ten
“Hey Drew,” Willow said thrusting her thumbs into the waistband of her warmup pants and walking forward as if nothing untoward had happened.
“I’m done for the day,” she said. “And Mom doesn’t need me, so…I was gonna offer to take nursemaid duty and give Jeremiah a break. But uh, maybe you’d prefer I didn’t.” She wiggled her eyebrows toward Jeremiah.
He said, “Actually, I do have some things to tend to, if?—”
“What sorts of things?” Drew asked.
“Beans has a play date with Frankie. Where is he, anyway? Beans!”
The dog came running from the cottage. Drew had left the door open.
“Sure, go ahead. It’s fine,” Willow said. “Thanks for stayin’ with me. See you at the bonfire tonight.”
“Yeah, see you there,” he said. “C’mon, Beans. Let’s go for a ride.”
The pup cocked his head, then launched straight for the Jeep and stood beside it, barking. Willow was grinning at the dog when she met Jeremiah’s eyes.
He’d been smiling, too. He touched the brim of his hat. “Ladies.”
And then went to scoop up his dog, set him in the Jeep, and got in after him.
“Well, now,” said Drew.
“Thank goodness you got here when you did,” Willow said.
“Looked to me like the worst possible moment.”
Jeremiah pulled out, moving past them slow and easy, giving them a wave, but not meeting Willow’s eyes.
“He’s hidin’ somethin’,” she whispered. “And I’m fallin’ for him.”
“Holy– Well, okay then. Maybe I did arrive at the right time.” Drew’s big blue eyes spoke full volume.
Sighing, Willow paced up the sidewalk to the cottage. “It’s gotta be the bad boy thing, right? I mean, that must be it.” She went inside and Drew came in behind her. Willow closed the door, went past the sofa and turned back to offer Drew a coffee, but her gaze fell on Jeremiah’s big duffel bag on the floor, behind the sofa. Its zipper was wide open and its contents were strewn everywhere.
“Ohmygosh!” Drew moved further in. “The puppy—oh, this is on me. I left the door open.”
“Well, we have to pick it up,” Willow said. And then she knelt carefully, paused for her head to stop spinning, then began picking things up and putting them back into the duffel.
