mine. "It's been too long, Jolene."
Oh, yes, God, hadn't it. My little heart was thumping like a 15-year-old's on a first date. He had no idea how much I enjoyed being with him, had always. And I felt like such a fool for walking away from him before. I wasn't likely to be feeling any better this time around either, considering the circumstances. As much--and it was very much--as I wanted to fling myself at Jerry and have my way with him, I didn't like the possible repercussions. The headline "Sheriff Arrests Lover's Mother," or something to that effect, was not what I wanted to ever see. I reached up and ran my palm along his cheek, letting the stubble scratch against my fingers. "I'd like nothing better than to find a nice little room somewhere and pick up where we left off...."
"But?"
"But you have a job to do, and it may very well entail arresting my mother for one thing or another. She's trying awfully hard."
He sighed and leaned back. "Lucille is a character, but she's harmless. Still, you're right. Until this case is tied up, the most we'd better share is dinner."
Jumped on that one like a drowning rat, hadn't he? Not even a little argument for the possibilities. He was fresh from a divorce and I hadn't been in a steady relationship in years, which translates to no sex for either of us, at least me. And in my beer-stained mind, it seemed perfectly logical that we should just take care of both our problems and be done with it.
But it wasn't really what I wanted. Sex had a nasty way of literally screwing things up at times. And I was pretty sure that I'd rather have Jerry Don Parker as a lifetime friend than a onetime lover. Not certain, mind you, just pretty sure.
"Well, my friend," I said, emphasizing my resolve to myself and trying not to be bitter, spiteful or just plain sick over the whole deal, "I guess we'd better head home then."
"After this is over, Jolene, you owe me a real date."
"Then do us both a favor and get it over with quickly."
"I'll do what I can," he said, none too optimistically. "But we don't have the staff to handle something like this. We're getting some help from Redwater on the forensics but it looks like it's going to be a slow one."
Okay, fine, I was up for a change in topics. "You didn't find Mother's key, did you?"
"No."
"From what I've gathered, there weren't many people in the county who had a fondness for Mayor Bennett."
"Which is why I'll be spending the day in Kickapoo again tomorrow interviewing."
"Interviewing, you say." I grinned. "I could help you out. I didn't get that journalism degree for nothing." Actually, it had been for nothing, but hopefully Jerry didn't know that. Rather than get a job as a reporter or glamorous TV anchor like my mother wanted, I'd started a little card company with a friend and had lots of fun. Sales were only fair, but somehow or other one of the major companies found out about us and we wound up selling out for big bucks, relatively speaking.
Danny, my ex, was kind enough--or guilt-ridden enough--to leave me my own money in the divorce. And likewise, I was kind enough to leave him breathing so he could continue acting like a fool with his twenty-something-year-old. But that's another story.
"The media here isn't known for being overly zealous," Jerry said, turning into the drive. "But we don't get many murders, and certainly not ones that involve public officials and scandals."
I knew that one of those scandals was my mother, but I didn't take offense. Lucille Jackson was actually proud of her quasi-flagrant reputation. She'd succeeded in stirring up a sleepy little town with nothing more to gossip about than who dozed through Sunday services. "I take it that means I need to keep my nose out of things."
"Your mother's in the middle of this. I'm not sure you could be objective."
He was right, I probably couldn't, but that didn't mean I wasn't getting a really big desire to help. "Mother said something about a problem with the water being
Oh, yes, God, hadn't it. My little heart was thumping like a 15-year-old's on a first date. He had no idea how much I enjoyed being with him, had always. And I felt like such a fool for walking away from him before. I wasn't likely to be feeling any better this time around either, considering the circumstances. As much--and it was very much--as I wanted to fling myself at Jerry and have my way with him, I didn't like the possible repercussions. The headline "Sheriff Arrests Lover's Mother," or something to that effect, was not what I wanted to ever see. I reached up and ran my palm along his cheek, letting the stubble scratch against my fingers. "I'd like nothing better than to find a nice little room somewhere and pick up where we left off...."
"But?"
"But you have a job to do, and it may very well entail arresting my mother for one thing or another. She's trying awfully hard."
He sighed and leaned back. "Lucille is a character, but she's harmless. Still, you're right. Until this case is tied up, the most we'd better share is dinner."
Jumped on that one like a drowning rat, hadn't he? Not even a little argument for the possibilities. He was fresh from a divorce and I hadn't been in a steady relationship in years, which translates to no sex for either of us, at least me. And in my beer-stained mind, it seemed perfectly logical that we should just take care of both our problems and be done with it.
But it wasn't really what I wanted. Sex had a nasty way of literally screwing things up at times. And I was pretty sure that I'd rather have Jerry Don Parker as a lifetime friend than a onetime lover. Not certain, mind you, just pretty sure.
"Well, my friend," I said, emphasizing my resolve to myself and trying not to be bitter, spiteful or just plain sick over the whole deal, "I guess we'd better head home then."
"After this is over, Jolene, you owe me a real date."
"Then do us both a favor and get it over with quickly."
"I'll do what I can," he said, none too optimistically. "But we don't have the staff to handle something like this. We're getting some help from Redwater on the forensics but it looks like it's going to be a slow one."
Okay, fine, I was up for a change in topics. "You didn't find Mother's key, did you?"
"No."
"From what I've gathered, there weren't many people in the county who had a fondness for Mayor Bennett."
"Which is why I'll be spending the day in Kickapoo again tomorrow interviewing."
"Interviewing, you say." I grinned. "I could help you out. I didn't get that journalism degree for nothing." Actually, it had been for nothing, but hopefully Jerry didn't know that. Rather than get a job as a reporter or glamorous TV anchor like my mother wanted, I'd started a little card company with a friend and had lots of fun. Sales were only fair, but somehow or other one of the major companies found out about us and we wound up selling out for big bucks, relatively speaking.
Danny, my ex, was kind enough--or guilt-ridden enough--to leave me my own money in the divorce. And likewise, I was kind enough to leave him breathing so he could continue acting like a fool with his twenty-something-year-old. But that's another story.
"The media here isn't known for being overly zealous," Jerry said, turning into the drive. "But we don't get many murders, and certainly not ones that involve public officials and scandals."
I knew that one of those scandals was my mother, but I didn't take offense. Lucille Jackson was actually proud of her quasi-flagrant reputation. She'd succeeded in stirring up a sleepy little town with nothing more to gossip about than who dozed through Sunday services. "I take it that means I need to keep my nose out of things."
"Your mother's in the middle of this. I'm not sure you could be objective."
He was right, I probably couldn't, but that didn't mean I wasn't getting a really big desire to help. "Mother said something about a problem with the water being
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