Justice Inked (Cowboy Justice Association 7) Read online

  The silence stretched on and it played on her already frayed nerves. She couldn’t take it.

  “Why did you do that?”

  Instead of the strong confident woman she’d wanted to sound like, the words came out soft and tentative. They mirrored her current emotional state but that was the last thing she wanted Dare to know.

  “Because I couldn’t help myself. I apologize.” He paused for a long moment. “Do you want to slap me or something? I’ll stand still and let you.”

  She was tempted but her innate honesty wouldn’t allow her to blame him for something she’d enjoyed. A heck of a lot. The man was a veritable kissing maestro and she’d been the willing instrument in his hands.

  “I want to smack you all right, but not for kissing me. Is this how you court a woman? Accuse her of crappy stuff and then kiss her breathless?”

  His eyebrow quirked and by all that was holy, his lips actually turned up a little. It wasn’t a full smile but it was close.

  And it was glorious. He’d been handsome before but now he was downright sexy. Completely gorgeous. If he ever truly smiled at her she’d probably slide down the wall in a dead faint, overcome with the beauty that was Dare Turner.

  Well, crap.

  “Breathless, huh? I think I kind of like that.” He leaned forward, his lips next to her ear. “I was breathless too. For a little thing, you pack a wallop. You ought to come with a warning label or something.”

  “You’re smiling.”

  Rayne groaned inwardly, her brain still not firing on all cylinders since the kiss. She sounded like an idiot and he already didn’t have the best opinion of her.

  “You asked what made me smile,” he reminded her, his expression going back to its usual neutral position. “But this doesn’t solve our problem. I’m still pissed off, Rayne. I wish you hadn’t done it.”

  Dare’s hands were gentle so he wasn’t as angry as before. Now he seemed to be more disappointed than anything else, which did nothing to soothe all the emotions churning in her gut. She’d done nothing wrong.

  “I didn’t–”

  “I know,” he interrupted. “And I get it. Sophie’s eighteen and she has a legal right to get a tattoo. I just wish you hadn’t done it. My sister is still naive and rather impetuous. She doesn’t think about the long term consequences of her actions. She’s been rather sheltered most of her life and this Tim guy is her first real boyfriend. Ever since she started dating him she’s acted different. I think he’s a bad influence on her. I’ve tried to be a role model but obviously I’ve failed.”

  Rayne sighed as she placed her hands on his wide chest, his heart beating under her palm.

  “I have no idea what kind of role model you’ve been, but knowing how stiff and uptight you are I’m sure you’ve been a good one. But I need you to listen to me, Dare. Just for one minute. Can you do that? You keep interrupting me.”

  “I’m not uptight,” Dare muttered but nodded his head in agreement, staying silent. Rayne took it as a good sign.

  “Now listen to me very carefully.” She spoke slowly and clearly so there would be no misunderstanding. “I didn’t give Sophie a tat.”

  Dare took a step back and Rayne immediately missed the heat of his body under her fingers. “But she has a tattoo. Did she go somewhere else?”

  Dropping her arms to her side, Rayne sat back down on the couch. “She has a temporary tattoo. It should last a few weeks or so. I wanted her to get used to the idea before she did something permanent. So yes, she has a tattoo and I did it. No, it won’t last a lifetime.”

  “Shit, I just assumed…”

  She could imagine what he’d assumed. “The worst. Not sure what I did for you to think so little of me but thanks for that.”

  His cheeks were stained red but she didn’t feel a bit sorry for him. His highhanded behavior and ingrained stubbornness had brought all of this on. He wasn’t in charge of everything and everyone.

  He needed to get over himself.

  The kiss had been amazing but already she could see he regretted it. Their attraction to one another was tempered with mistrust and disrespect. There didn’t appear to be any future pursuing it unless they both wanted to do something about it.

  “I’m sorry. For everything. Are you sure you don’t want to punch me?”

  “I don’t think violence is the answer.” She heaved a sigh and stood, walking to the front door. She opened it wide and stepped back so he could exit. “I think it’s time you took your leave, Sheriff.”

  Dare shifted uncomfortably while staring at his boots. “I really am sorry, Rayne.”

  “I know you are and I’m not mad. I just think that you and I probably shouldn’t spend much time together. One of us is going to haul off and smack the other or we’re going to end up taking that kiss a whole lot further. I don’t think I’m ready for that. Are you?”

  “No, ma’am. I don’t think I am.” Dare looked up this time, looking quite abashed about all that had happened here tonight. “I’m trying to set a good example for Sophie and I really fucked up. I don’t normally press my attentions on an unwilling woman. I swear I’m a good man, Rayne.”

  Aw, hell. She couldn’t take his puppy dog eyes.

  “I know you’re a good man. Everyone in town knows it. And I wasn’t unwilling. What I am is someone who doesn’t go around kissing people casually. Unless this is a thing then I’d just assume we move along and forget it happened.”

  “A thing?”

  Some men needed an instruction booklet to romance and it looked like Dare was one of them.

  “A relationship. A couple. Or even a couple-to-be. Do you want to kiss me again?”

  He didn’t say a word so Rayne had her answer. Instead he shoved his hands in his pockets and moved to the door, stepping out onto her front porch. He kept his wall-like back to her staring out into the night.

  “Good night, Rayne.”

  She watched as Dare climbed into his truck and disappeared into the darkness, his red taillights becoming smaller with each passing second. Chilled by the cooler air, she closed the door and locked it, leaning back against it, her fingers brushing her still tingling lips. Sheriff Dare Turner was a good man.

  But he would never be her man, and that thought made her sad indeed.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Jesus, big brother, what the hell is your problem lately? You’re acting like a big old bear with a sore paw.”

  Sophie tossed her wadded up paper napkin across the dinner table, hitting Dare in the middle of his forehead. He’d normally be annoyed by his little sister’s behavior but he couldn’t argue with her sentiment. He’d been a gigantic pain in everyone’s rear end the last few days and he knew exactly why.

  The damn kiss.

  He hadn’t been able to get the kiss – and Rayne – out of his mind. The way her sweet lips has surrendered under his, the way her tongue had sensuously explored his mouth, and the way her full, round breasts pressed against his chest felt like sweet, sweet heaven. He’d been hard, horny, and frustrated ever since while she had probably forgotten all about it and had moved on effortlessly with her life.

  “I’ve had a lot on my mind. You could be more understanding.”

  Sophie blew him a raspberry as she picked up their dirty dishes and placed them on the kitchen counter. It was his night to do dinner clean up and normally he didn’t mind, but tonight he had a yearning to drink some whiskey and listen to classic rock music in the bed of his pickup truck. He could lie there and look at the stars thinking about anything but Rayne’s smooth skin or the curve of her jaw that begged to be kissed.

  Fuck. He had it bad.

  “I could, but then that wouldn’t really be us, would it?” Sophie smirked, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. “What’s got your knickers in a twist? Is it the murder case?”

  Dare grabbed onto the excuse with both hands, not ready to admit he was all strung out over a female. “It’s got me pretty wound up. I haven’t been able to make muc
h progress on the case at all.”

  “Have you updated Rayne about it? It seems like you should keep her in the loop or something. It was her shop. It had to have shook her up.”

  Dare had been exhausting himself trying to stay out of Rayne’s orbit. In a town this small that wasn’t an easy task. When he saw her in the diner he turned and left. When she was walking down the street, he crossed so he was on the other side. He’d ducked her calls about the murder until she’d finally stopped contacting him. He was a jerk and an asshole doing it but he wasn’t in the head space to do anything else.

  What had Dare’s daddy always said? The best way to get one woman out of your mind was to put another in it.

  Dare stood and grabbed his hat from the peg on the wall. “I’m heading out for awhile. Don’t wait up.”

  “Wait! It’s your night to do the dishes. You can’t leave this for me to do.”

  Sophie had that look on her face that said she might short sheet his bed or put pudding in his shoes.

  “Leave them. I’ll do them when I get home or in the morning. They aren’t going anywhere.”

  Climbing into his truck, he pointed it toward the local watering hole. Time to find a distraction. Preferably blonde.

  Rayne Dunn wasn’t his type and the sooner he remembered the better. He’d acted like a total asshole that night and she wasn’t likely to forget it.

  He certainly hadn’t.

  * * * *

  Rayne slid into the booth, her gaze darting around the bar. It wasn’t as loud as a weekend night but she wouldn’t describe it as mellow either. The jukebox played the latest Blake Shelton song while a few couples hung out on the dance floor. A few groups of guys were in the back area playing darts and pool while the bartender wiped down the bar.

  “Just one drink,” Rayne warned her sister Camy, who was desperate for a night out of the house sans husband and baby. She’d insisted Rayne accompany her and hadn’t let up until she’d won. “Then I’m going home. I have to work in the morning.”

  “Fine, but I think you need more than one. In fact, we should find you a man tonight. See anyone in here that you like?”

  Sighing, Rayne let her head fall back onto the vinyl seat. “I do not need a man.”

  “No one needs a man but they’re fun to have around. They can kill spiders and rub your feet.” Camy pointed to a dark-haired cowboy playing pool. “How about Emmett? He’s good looking and he’s got a nice butt. Do you have anything against a man who’s divorced with kids?”

  “Not if he’s the right one, but I don’t think Emmett is.” An image of Dare in his uniform flashed through her mind. He’d been there constantly since their kiss the other day. “Can we just have a drink and leave?”

  The waitress came and took their order of two white wines and an order of cheese fries. Camy continued scoping out the local talent while Rayne tried to slump down in the booth and not be seen. It was mortifying to have her sister ogling potential boyfriends like they were a piece of meat.

  “Will you stop that?” Rayne hissed, her cheeks warm. “People are starting to notice you staring. I don’t want a man, okay? Just let me live my life in peace.”

  Camy snorted into the white wine that was slid in front of her. “If your life was any more peaceful you’d be in a coma. You need something to shake you out of your workaholic mode.”

  Rayne couldn’t seem to stop the bitter words from tumbling out of her mouth. “Since when are you so worried about how peaceful my life is?”

  Her sister’s mouth turned down and she set her glass on the table. “Listen, I know I haven’t been the best sibling ever. I mean, I get really involved in my own life and sometimes I forget that other people have feelings too. But I do love you and I do want the best for you. I hope you believe that.”

  Rayne had never doubted her sister’s love. She had doubted that Camy saw much outside herself. “I love you too but I can’t help but wonder what brought this on.”

  Camy traced patterns on the wood surface of the table. “It’s something Mark said. He reminded me that guy who was shot could have been you. That really shocked me because I hadn’t thought of it that way and it scared the shit out of me. You came all the way here to Montana to be with me when I was pregnant and I haven’t been all that grateful. In fact, I’ve been pretty much a bitch.”

  “Did Mom say something to you?”

  Their mother was one of the few people who could put Camy in her place. She had a way of speaking only a few words but saying a whole hell of a lot.

  “She might have.” Camy played with the stem of her glass, her gaze on the floor. “Does it matter? I know that I haven’t been appreciative. You’ve done so much for me and Mark and I haven’t done near enough for you.”

  Rayne’s brow shot up. “So you want to find me a man? That’s seems extreme even for you.”

  “You deserve to be happy. Any man would be lucky to get you even with those streaks in your hair.”

  Some things never changed.

  “I like the streaks in my hair and any man that likes me will too.”

  “I’m sure you’re right. It’s not something I would do but there are probably tons of guys who would go for that sort of thing.”

  “That sort of thing?” Rayne groaned and took another gulp of her wine. “It’s hair dye, not animal sacrifice. I fail to see what the big deal is. This town has too many people that like to clutch their pearls and bemoan the fact that not everyone thinks the way they do. They have to be exhausted. It’s a wonder anything gets done.”

  “I know you’re used to San Francisco…”

  “You used to live there too. How can this not be a culture shock for you? Does this not make you a little crazy every now and then?”

  Camy fidgeted in her seat. “I’m not like you. I actually care what people think about me.”

  “Don’t let Mom and Dad hear you say that,” Rayne warned. “They didn’t raise us like that but I think you’re brave to admit it.”

  Camy laughed nervously as the waitress slapped their cheese fries in the middle of the table.

  “I’ll never tell and you better not either. You won’t, will you?”

  Rayne made a pretend “X” over her heart like when they were children. “Your secret is safe with me but these cheese fries aren’t. I’m going to demolish them and you’re going to help. Damn the diet, sis.”

  They munched away at the gooey cheese and fried goodness, chatting about the upcoming holidays. Rayne had gone home to San Francisco last year but she doubted she’d be able to get away again, as busy as the shop had been lately.

  She’d stuffed a huge mouthful of fries and cheese in her mouth when the front door of the bar swung open and Dare Turner strode through it, his usual surly expression in place. Despite his grouchy demeanor Rayne could see almost every single girl in the joint perk up, retouching their lipstick and smoothing their hair. He was a sexy devil but still a demon. She hadn’t been in the best of moods since he’d left the other night. Getting kissed within an inch of her life and then having the gentleman not want to do it again wasn’t what she called a terrific Saturday evening.

  Choking on her snack, Rayne held a napkin up to her lips as her gaze met Dare’s. He simply stood there for a long moment before turning toward the bar and ordering a drink.

  Camy’s eyes were wide as she took in the spectacle. “Um…that was interesting. Is there something you want to tell me?”

  Not a single, solitary thing. Camy would blow the entire situation – such as it was – out of all proportion and make it into something it wasn’t.

  “Not particularly. Dare’s been ducking my calls about the break-in and he probably feels guilty or something.”

  “Or something,” Camy echoed, her gaze on Dare as he joined the men in the back of the bar playing pool, his jeans stretched over his taut ass as he bent over to take a shot. “If I wasn’t a married woman, I’d go for him.”

  “He’s hot,” Rayne conceded. “But
he’s kind of unpleasant to be around. He’s always growling at people like every day is his worst on earth.”

  Camy shrugged and dug another fry from the cooling cheese. “He does have a tough job but I’ve seen him be nice.”

  Nice and happy were two different things. Rayne wasn’t sure she could be with a man that was as sad – or mad – as Dare was all the time.

  “Did he smile?”

  “Well…no. I don’t think I’ve actually seen him smile but I’m sure that he does. Maybe when he’s alone.”

  “That’s not a creepy thought at all, sis. Dare sitting by himself grinning like the Joker in Batman.”

  “All I’m saying is you could do worse. He seems like the kind of guy that wouldn’t cheat on you or hit you or anything.”

  Rayne knocked back the last of her wine. “I hope my standards for a man are a little higher than someone who won’t slap me around and screw my friends. That bar shouldn’t be that hard to clear, honestly.”

  “And yet, it is,” Camy sighed. “Remember Paul? I think he slept with every girl in my study group.”

  Of all Camy’s loser boyfriends, Paul had been particularly loathsome. He’d even made a pass at Rayne one night at a family party.

  Asshat.

  “Paul was a jerk, plain and simple. He seemed to revel in it too. He enjoyed cheating on women and being an asshole. There’s a whole lot of screwed up inside him, that’s all I’m saying. The fact is, I shouldn’t have to beg a guy not to be a horndog. Is that too much to ask?”

  Camy patted Rayne on the hand and gave her a sympathetic smile. “It shouldn’t be but it can be. Some guys just never grow up. Everything is a party. The real challenge is telling between the boys and the men. That’s the hard part.”

  Dare was one of the men, of that Rayne was sure of. But there was no way she was going to chase after him. He’d made his position clear on Saturday night.