Loving a Lawman by Amy Lillard

tapped one finger on the notebook he’d used last night when Jessie gave her statement.
    All the time she had been talking, Seth hadn’t been just writing, he’d been sketching too. Right smack dab in the middle of the page where the notes concerning her confession should have been was a perfect pencil drawing of Jessie’s sweet face.
    â€œBad, my friend,” Dusty said, before turning toward the door. “You got it bad.”

Chapter Three

    S eth slid into his favorite booth at the Chuck Wagon and tried to shake his bad mood. He had, in fact, been trying to shake his bad mood since . . . well, since yesterday. Specifically last night. Even more specifically, last night at Manny’s when Jessie had requested that he handcuff her and—damn it—it might be years before he got over that one.
    He was seven times a fool for coming in here. He had stuff to do. He needed to be at the station filing reports and the zillion other pieces of paper that marked the legal side of law enforcement. With Nancy on leave, the place had gone to pot. And on top of it all, he had been stuck drinking his own coffee—which was bad, but not nearly as bad as Dusty claimed it to be. And he needed to steer clear of Jessie.
    But even when Seth had been at the station steering clear of Jessie, he hadn’t been filing reports or the zillion other pieces of paper that marked the legal side of law enforcement. He had been brooding—plain and simple. Well, maybe not so plain and surely not so simple.
    Along with the brooding, he had been watching the clock over the door, waiting to see it display the time when Jessie left her job. When two o’clock hit and she was still inside the diner, he decided he’d go over anyway. A man had to eat sometime, didn’t he? Even if he was seven times a fool.
    He should have just grabbed a sandwich when he went home to let Sadie out and check on the kittens Chase had dumped off. But he hadn’t, because it was fried chicken day and—
    Movement caught his attention, and he looked up. Jessie approached, a forced smile smeared across her face. Purple smudges cast shadows under her clear gray eyes, and fatigue weighted her steps.
    Yet her chin was high and her back straight. And he couldn’t help wondering how her slim shoulders carried around all that pride, day in and day out.
    But one thing was certain, Seth had to be more careful where Jessie was concerned. It wouldn’t take long for the proverbial dust to clear. Holding a grudge would require too much effort on Chase’s part. He’d forgive Jessie in a day or two and things would go back to the way they’d always been: Seth loving Jessie, Jessie loving Chase, and Chase loving anything in Rocky Mountain jeans. Sure as the world, one day Chase would put an end to his wild streak and he would marry Jessie. Wouldn’t do for everyone in town to know that Seth had a thing for his brother’s
wife
.
    â€œYou here for the chicken, Sheriff?”
    Her tone was falsely bright and held no clue as to what she was really thinking.
    â€œI didn’t think you’d still be here.”
    â€œSheridan needed me to stay. She and Aaron had a meeting with someone at the college.”
    Seth nodded.
    â€œYou want some coffee too?”
    â€œNow, why is everybody harping on my coffee?”
    Jessie shrugged. “Truth hurts.”
    â€œJust bring me a glass of iced tea,” he said, “with—”
    â€œLots of lemon,” she finished for him, not even bothering to write his request in her order pad. Instead she plunked down his silverware and turned back toward the kitchen.
    â€œI got the estimates from the insurance adjuster.”
    That stopped her in her tracks.
    She turned to face him, her expression unreadable. “That was quick.”
    Seth shrugged. “He’s a friend of mine.”
    That was all there was in Cattle Creek: friends and enemies and