Chapter 11
LANDON
Taking Willa out to dinner and dancing didn”t happen as quickly as he hoped. It certainly wasn”t even as quickly as he”d planned.
Landon had made several reservations at local restaurants, but work was… well, work.
And he had gained a new admiration for Willa watching her work tirelessly with Gus and the others on the task force.
They’d already completed nearly three weeks of work and had affected arrests of nine men, all of whom had been suspected or convicted of predatory behavior in the past.
Tonight, they were waiting for a few members of the SWAT team to come by and discuss procedures for high-risk arrests, but they’d been called out to a domestic situation.
Rather than calling it a day, Willa had opted to wait and see if they were able to come by after the call.
Deputy Hayden Hatcher was at the house fishing around in a few online chat rooms waiting to see if there was anyone looking for an underaged girl.
A few users had started to chat but backed out when she mentioned how old Candy was.
Hayden sat back in her chair and rubbed her knuckles against her eyes. “Gross!”
Landon looked up at her from his seat at the other end of the long desk. “You okay?”
She turned her chair to face him, the wheels nearly silent on the hardwood floor. “I’ll need some mental bleach and I should be fine.”
Landon looked at Willa with her head pillowed on her folded arms. He gently combed his fingers through her hair and smiled when he turned back to Hayden. ”It”s crazy how much she”s had to deal with doing all of this.”
Hayden”s answering smile caught him off-guard.
”What?”
She crossed her legs and shook her head. ”I”ve never seen you like this.”
He used his hands to make a quick check of his clothes. His usual uniform fare. ”Like what?”
Hayden gestured at him. ”Tender. Gentle. I”ve never seen you look like this.”
He sat forward in his chair looking at the tops of his boots. ”I”ve never felt like this.”
Landon heard a soft sigh from Hayden, and he looked up to see her smiling at him.
”You”re a hard man to get to know, Landon.” She held up her hands in surrender when he frowned at her. ”Hey, I didn”t say you were a bad guy, just hard to get to know. I”ve known you for over five years and this is the first time that I”ve seen you like this.”
Landon couldn”t really argue with her. ”I don”t usually talk about my private life.”
She nodded. ”Until today, I didn”t even think you had one. You”re the kind of guy who was famous for working extra shifts. I think your name is still on a line of plaques at the station saying that you held the record for picking up extra shifts. That,” she nodded, ”and I”ve never known you to come to an after-shift event. You weren”t involved in any sports teams.”
”I joined law enforcement to do the job.”
She raised a brow at him. ”So did I, Landon. But we both know there”s more to life than that.”
He looked back at her and felt a smile creep across his lips. ”I do now.”
His phone shook on the desk and Landon reached out to grab it before it clattered off the edge.
He saw that his cousin was calling.
”I need to take this.” He gestured at Willa asleep on the desk and Hayden waved him off.
He knew she”d keep a watch over Willa as she slept.
He answered the phone call with a soft. ”Yes?”
”You in a church or something?”
He didn”t snap back at his cousin. Landon knew how difficult SWAT calls could be. Certainly, the calls that involved domestic issues. ”Willa”s taking a nap while we”re waiting.”
”Oh... You”re tiptoeing around her house to let her sleep?”
Landon heard the humor in his cousin”s voice and played along. ”And if I was?”
”I think I”m going to have to meet this woman.”
”Well, we”re waiting for you.”
The other end of the phone was silent for a moment.
Well, not completely silent.
Landon could hear voices on the other end of the phone.
He didn”t take it as something rude. Weston Cooper wasn”t just his cousin and a member of the San Antonio SWAT team Alpha. He was their leader. He was likely talking to his team as they left at the end of their shift.
When he heard Weston”s voice again, he was more than a little surprised to hear the words. ”We”re heading over now.”
”We?”
Weston ignored his question. ”I hope your girl doesn”t mind that we”re a little... gamey, but if we get into the shower right now, we might all fall asleep standing up.”
Landon knew that his cousin wouldn”t be an ass to Willa. None of the Coopers had been raised like that and their parents were all still around to kick their asses if word of that kind of behavior got back to that generation of Coopers.
”Okay. Just be careful coming down the road. This is an older neighborhood so there are seniors living on both sides.”
”Got it. We”ll watch out for folks on the street. You keep an eye on your girl, Landon. We won”t be long.”
The call ended then and Landon chuckled softly to himself before turning around.
Hayden was signing out of her computer access and set her pen to the side. ”I think I should write up my report and leave the information cache for Gus to mine in the morning. Do you want me to head out before your cousin shows up?”
Landon shrugged. ”It”s up to you. Do you know Weston?”
Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. ”I”m sure I”ve met him at a public event or two, but I doubt he”d remember me any more than I remember him.”
Landon nodded. ”We”re not as big of a city as New York or Chicago, but we have our share of law enforcement groups. You”re welcome to stay if you”d like. I know I”d be happy if I could steal you away from the Sheriff and have you join the Rangers.”
”I doubt Boone would like the uptick in hours,” she gave him a wink, ”which is to say that I wouldn”t like it either. Between the ranch and the bull breeding business, I”m lucky to sneak in a little time with Boone on my current schedule.”
She looked up at the clock up on the wall.
”So, I should go and get on the road. Will you let Willa know I said goodbye?”
Landon stepped closer and gave her a grateful smile. ”I will. And she”d want me to tell you thanks for your work today.”
Hayden looked a little hesitant to accept the thanks. ”I”m happy to help. I think I”m finally getting the hang of it. Later, when I get a chance, I’ll have to tell her how much I admire her work. What she does is amazing. There are so many pitfalls and mistakes that you can make talking to these…” she shuddered, “people. I need to say how awesome she is for doing this of her own accord.”
Her words shook Landon. Hayden was tough as nails and an incredible deputy who everyone admired and wanted to work with. He knew that Willa was amazing, but hearing the depth of Hayden’s respect and appreciation meant a lot.
She reached for her bag and her metal water bottle scraped along the table top.
”Hmm? What happened?”
They both looked over to see Willa pushing on the desktop to help herself sit up in her chair.
Landon edged closer in case she needed his help or someone to lean against. ”Hey. You had a good hour there.”
”An hour?” Willa sounded horrified. ”Oh, I”m sorry.” Her apology was directed toward Hayden. ”I was supposed to be beside you in case you needed help.”
Hayden moved closer to Willa and pulled her chair over, so Willa didn”t have to crane her neck to look up to her. ”I think I did good. You probably won”t need to babysit me much longer. I want to pull my weight around here.”
Landon watched concern cross Willa”s face and watched her reach out to Hayden.
”You do.” She smiled at Hayden and Hayden smiled back. ”I know it”s strange, all of the rules we have to follow so we don”t leave a door open for an entrapment defense, but you”re doing great! I hesitated when Landon said that there was a woman coming to help me. I tend to get blinders on,” she sighed, ”and I know I”ve got some control issues. I want more help but I”m so afraid of losing control and having things out of my hands.”
Willa looked down at her hands, both the fronts and backs before looking back up at Hayden.
”You”ve been so great at this. You”ve picked it up so much faster than Gus did.”
The two women grimaced a little at that and then giggled at the thought.
”I hope you know what I mean.”
Hayden nodded. ”And you”ve been a great coach on top of your workload. I just don”t want to slow things down.”
”I think,” Willa”s whole demeanor changed, softening, and strengthening at the same time, ”with the two of us making inroads like this. I”m considering opening this up further and having more people help.”
Hayden”s eyes widened. ”That”s wonderful. And I think I know just who you should talk to.”
Instead of pulling away from the offer of help, Willa leaned into it. ”Who?”
Hayden caught his gaze before she looked back at Willa.
”I think you should talk to Sloane and Hildie at Helping Hearts. They have funding for training and some of the women there might find this is right up their alley.”
Willa turned to look at him, real hope shining in her eyes. ”That would be wonderful.” Almost as soon as the light turned on in her eyes, it sputtered and nearly blinked out. ”But what if... I don”t want to stir up bad memories for them if they”ve been hurt by men just like these predators.”
Hayden looked horrified at the idea. ”I”m sorry. I wasn”t thinking about that.”
Before she could move away, Willa took gentle hold of her hand. ”Please, I wasn”t… Your idea really is wonderful. I”ll just have to think of a way to make sure I don”t dredge-up bad feelings for the women there.”
Willa likely didn”t know that she was tracing the scar from under her ear to down under her chin.
Landon knew that she did it when she was struggling or when her thoughts blended with memories of the past.
He gave Hayden a nod and a smile when she picked up her things and walked toward the door.
He was glad that Gus changed the electronic lock to lower the volume when the lock was set and turned off, so they didn”t disturb others that were working in the space.
Now, he had the time to pull his own chair over and sit beside Willa.
He took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb across her palm. ”It is a good idea.”
She nodded and then looked up to realize that Hayden was gone. ”Oh, I”ll need to apologize to her again.”
Landon shook his head. ”She doesn”t need one. She understands. And she respects what you do. We all do.”
Willa gave him a sideways glance. ”What you do on a daily basis,” she explained,” it”s like a hard science. There”s evidence that you”ve done your job. Me? I let horrible guys come on to me in a way that can”t be called entrapment and then hand over the information to someone else to finish it off.”
”We all play a part in this,” he put her hand on the palm of his other hand, gently sandwiching her between his hands. ”You”ve given us the piece that we”ve been missing in our own investigations. There”s nothing ”soft” about that.”
He looked down at her hands to avoid the shining glint of tears in her eyes.
He lightly traced a fingertip across her knuckles and smiled. ”Your skin,” he murmured softly, ”is to soft and delicate, but the determination behind what you do with your hands, the muscles and bone beneath this skin, that”s what makes these hands... extraordinary.”
He heard her breath catch in her throat and when he looked up to see what her eyes looked like then, he heard voices out on the porch.
He groaned and sighed. ”Sorry. That”ll be my cousin outside.”
”Oh!” She seemed shocked or maybe it was just surprise that pulled her away. ”I forgot he was coming by.”
”Hello?”
They both turned toward the front door and they could see men standing outside through the glass of her big living room windows.
”Goodness,” she breathed, ”it”s like a wall of muscle out there.”
Landon felt an odd stab of jealousy at her words, but to cover it, he stood and loosened his hold on her hand.
She was a second behind him, standing at his side, but instead of letting his hand go and walking on her own, she threaded their fingers together and gave him a smile.
”Do they expect me to sing the SWAT theme song from TV?”
A groan came through the window. ”That”s L.A.”
”This is San Antonio.” Another voice chuckled from the porch. “We don’t have a theme song, yet.”
”At least we know their hearing is good.” Landon accompanied her to the front door, and he punched in his code to unlock the door.
Like a team, Willa opened the door and gestured for the guys to come inside.
Landon tucked her into his side as he introduced the SWAT team on their way inside.
”Willa. This is my cousin, Weston Cooper.”
Weston held out his hand to shake hers and she let go of Landon”s hand to greet the team leader.
”I”m older than Landon by a couple of weeks.”
Willa looked up at Landon and then back to Weston. ”That”s a strange flex.”
”Ha!” The man behind Weston slapped a hand on his back. ”She”s not afraid to knock you down in size, West.” Then he reached out a hand and pressed Weston out of the way with his arm and elbow. ”I”m McCrae,” he gave her a wink, ”but the team calls me Duval.”
Weston elbowed the man right back. ”It”s not a football thing,” he began to explain, ”it”s-”
”Lonesome Dove, right?”
The noise in the room stopped for a moment as the SWAT guys looked at each other.
Duval looked back at Willa. ”How did you know?”
”Lucky guess?” Smiling at them as a group, she shrugged. ”I have a guy I work with. His name is Gus. His mom had a thing for Lonesome Dove.” Willa looked up at Landon. ”Gus McCrae in the miniseries with Tommy Lee Jones was played by Robert-”
”Duval.” The group finished together.
And Duval gave her a hearty handshake. ”You”re smart. We”re going to keep you around for a long, long time.”
”Long just because he”s going to hog all the time.”
The next man was someone that Landon didn”t know so well, but he seemed completely at ease with the team.
He reached in and gave her hand a quick shake. ”Myles Harrison, Miss.”
Duval chuckled and echoed the other man”s greeting. ”Miss.”
The fourth man through the door was a long-time member of the team. He likely had more seniority than Weston did. He shook his head and rolled his eyes before giving Willa her last handshake in greeting. ”We like Myles,” he explained, ”sometimes more than Duval. He can be an ass. And Myles is a much kinder person.”
”You don”t pay me for kind,” Duval groused. ”You pay me to kick in doors.”
”Sometimes, he even uses a battering ram instead of his head. I”m Kelly Fox,” he grinned. ”Thankfully the last of the group today.”
Standing beside him, Willa didn”t seem at all intimidated by what she”d called the wall of muscle that was now standing in her living room. ”I”m glad you could all come by. I think we have enough chairs for you.”
Myles shrugged. ”We”re used to standing, Miss. Sometimes SWAT involves a lot of standing around and waiting for the right moment.”
She seemed relieved. ”Still, I think we have enough chairs and there”s the sofa.”
”We”ll sit on the sofa.” Landon gave her a small smile. ”The guys can take the office chairs.”
Willa hesitated but Weston chimed in, setting a hand on the back of one of the chairs. ”These are great. Thanks.”
Kelly agreed. ”Ergonomic back support? We might never leave.”
Landon narrowed his eyes at his cousin. ”Don”t get too comfortable.”
Myles took another chair, but Duval sat down heavily on the hardwood floor.
”Don”t dent the floor.”
Duval looked up at Kelly and sighed. ”It”s my head that”s hard, not my ass.”
”Oh brother.” Myles shook his head.
Weston caught Willa”s gaze. ”It”s like having toddlers sometimes.”
She smiled at him. ”You all have a difficult job. I bet a sense of humor helps to deal with some of the situations you have to deal with on the job.”
”See?” Duval gestured at Willa with a knowing nod. ”She gets it.”
Landon saw Weston raise an eyebrow at the comment. ”And if you don”t quiet down, we might just leave you here.”
Willa leaned forward and raised her hand like she was in a classroom. ”Sorry.”
When the SWAT guys looked back at her, she gestured at Duval but looked at Weston. ”I don”t have the room to keep him here. There”s only one bedroom and it”s mine.”
They all just sat there watching her until Duval laughed and slapped the floor by his thigh. He pointed at Willa. ”You”re sharp and funny.” When he turned his head to look at Landon, Landon sat up in his seat on the couch just in time for Duval to give him a knowing nod. ”Don”t mess up with her, man. Or I”ll toss my hat into the ring.”
Willa cleared her throat, turning heads back to her. ”It”s got to be a ten-gallon hat for that ego, Duval.”
They all dissolved into laughter until Weston called their attention back to the topic they were there to discuss.
”All right, you guys. We need to talk about serving high risk warrants.”
Landon smiled when Willa settled against his side with her hand on his thigh. They were getting more comfortable with each other day after day and touching was becoming as natural as breathing.
He loved that.
And he was sure that he was falling in love with her, too.