Chapter Eleven
Micah sat in his recliner and stared at the TV but didn’t really see it. All he could see was Patsy walking out on him. She said she loved him but couldn’t stay, even after he told her he loved her. Shit! You just had to fall in love with her, didn’t you?
What was he going to do now? Damn it to hell, there was nothing he could do. It had been a week already since she left him and he still hurt. A hurt that had nothing to do with his shoulder. His heart hurt and he’d rather have the shoulder pain than the broken heart. He wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take. He loved her, of that he was sure. Damn pixie. He should have known it was going to happen. She was too beautiful and kept drawing his attention. It had been the one reason he’d stayed away from her. His heart seemed to skip a beat anytime he saw her. Sighing, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
Two weeks later, Micah pulled up to his dad’s house and parked his car. He stepped out, walked up the steps, and entered the house through the back door.
“Dad?” he called out .
Mitcham Turner entered the kitchen. “Micah? Son, what are you doing here?”
Micah frowned. His dad looked like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
“What’s up, Dad?”
Mitcham cleared his throat. “Nothing. I was just wondering—”
“Mitcham? Where are you?” a female voice called out from another room.
Micah raised his eyebrows. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had…company.”
He turned toward the door to leave.
“Hello, Micah.”
Micah spun back around and stared in shock at seeing his mother standing in the doorway in her robe.
“Uh, Mom…what? Never mind.” Micah ran his hand through his hair. “When did this happen?”
“Ever since your mother and I saw each other at the hospital when we were there for you—”
“Oh, Mitcham quit beating around the bush. Micah, we still love each other and since your father is now retired, we want to be together again.”
Micah shook his head as if to clear cobwebs as he tried to absorb what he was hearing. Then it was clear. “I think that’s great.”
He stepped forward and hugged his mother and then his father.
“Why are you here? Aren’t you still on leave?” his dad asked .
“Yes, but I’m feeling all right. I wanted to talk with you, but I can see you’re busy.”
Micah headed for the door again.
“No, son, come in here and sit down. I can tell something’s bothering you.”
“I’ll just go soak in the tub. You two talk,” his mom said then kissed each of them on their cheeks and left the room.
“Come on, son. Let’s talk in the living room.”
Micah followed his father to the living room and took a seat on the sofa while his dad sat in an overstuffed chair. His dad stared at him and waited for him to speak. Micah sat forward and rested his forearms on his thighs.
“Are you sure you’re feeling all right?”
“Yeah, Dad, it’s just that—” He took a deep breath and exhaled. “I’m…in love.”
“About damn time. It’s Pasty, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Was it that obvious?
“So what’s the problem?”
“Same problem you had. She hates the job. It scares her.”
“Which do you love more?”
“Her. No doubt about it.”
“Then quit.”
Micah sat back, stunned to hear his father’s suggestion. “I can’t believe you said that. You didn’t quit in order to keep Mom from leaving.”
“Yes, and I regret that more than anything. I lost a lot of years with your mother because of my stubbornness. If I could go back, I’d quit in a heartbeat if it meant keeping her in my life.”
“Patsy left me because she won’t ask me to quit.”
“Then she must love you a lot.”
“Mom asked you to quit—”
“No, she didn’t. If she would have, I would have quit. I know you think she asked me to and I never told you different because I didn’t want you getting angry with me over it, but she never once asked me to quit. She loved me too much to ask that of me.”
“So you think Patsy loves me too much to ask me to quit?”
“I do. She knows you love the job so she’s not going to ask you to give up something you love for her.”
“I would though.”
“Then tell her that, Micah. Don’t be miserable. I can see you are now. How long has she been gone?”
“Three weeks,” Micah muttered.
Mitcham laughed. “How the hell do you think you’ll feel in another two months? Go get her, son. Do whatever you have to do to get her back.”
“I have some cases to finish but what the hell will I do for a job?”
“I’d talk to Mont about that.”
“Mont? Are you suggesting I become a deputy?”
“Is that beneath you? ”
“No, not at all. I just never considered it before. Patsy lives in Dry River.” Micah stood. “You’re right…I should talk to Mont.”
He started toward the door and turned back to his dad. “Thanks, Dad. Tell mom I love her.”
“Sure thing, son,” his dad called out and then laughed.
Micah ran to his car and climbed in. He’d go home, pack a few things then head to Dry River to talk with Mont.
The next day, he drove into the town of Dry River and then to the Sheriff’s department. After parking in the lot and getting out of his Corvette, he entered the building and saw Nathan Walker, the sheriff, entering the lobby from what Micah assumed was his office. Nathan glanced up and grinned when he spotted Micah.
“Micah,” he said as he came toward him with his hand out.
Micah grinned and shook hands with Nathan. He genuinely liked this man.
“Hi Nathan. How are you?”
“Good. What are you doing here?” Nathan frowned at him probably thinking trouble had come to Dry River.
“I was looking for Mont. Is he working today?”
“No. He’s off today. You can probably find him at home though. Is everything all right? ”
“Yeah, everything’s fine. I’ll just head to Mont’s place. It was good seeing you again, Nathan.”
“You too, Micah.”
Micah left and headed to Mont’s place. He hoped Isabella wasn’t around because he was sure Patsy had told her about what happened between them, and Isabella would be pissed at him for hurting her best friend. Shit!
He pulled up to the Cape Cod style home and glanced around. They had a nice place. A barn sat across the yard. Horses grazed in the corrals. As he opened his car door, seven dogs ran to the car, and barked. He quickly closed his door again and looked toward the house to see Isabella standing on the porch with her hands on her hips, glaring at him. He put the window down.
“Call off your dogs, Isabella.”
“I don’t think so, Micah Turner.”
Micah tried not to grin. She was pissed at him. He knew she had one hell of a temper and the red hair proved it.
“Come on, Isabella. I need to talk to Mont. Hey, Mont. Tell your wife to call off her dogs,” Micah said when he saw Mont step onto the porch.
He saw his friend grin before he whispered something into his wife’s ear. Micah saw her take a deep breath and blow it out then she called the dogs to her. All seven ran to the porch. After throwing Micah a dirty look over her shoulder, she entered the house with the dogs following her. Relieved, he stepped from the car.
“You’ve definitely landed on her bad side, Micah,” Mont said laughing.
“Very funny, Bradford.” He leaned back against his car.
Mont walked down the steps to him and leaned against the fender of the car.
“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be wherever Patsy is?”
“I wanted to talk to you first. I know Isabella is mad at me for hurting Patsy, but…” Micah shook his head.
“But what?”
“I want to make it right. I just want to ask you if you’ve ever regretted giving up being an agent.”
“Not for one minute. Being a deputy for Nathan is great. The crime rate here is less than one percent.” Mont shrugged. “I love it and being with Bella and the kids is great. They’re my life. Why? Are you thinking of giving it up?”
“Yes, but please don’t tell Isabella. I don’t want her telling Patsy until I figure out what I’m going to do. I have cases I have to finish first. I’ve got a backlog due to being shot.” Micah glanced at him. “So you like being a deputy?”
“Yep. You could be one too. We just had a deputy quit to work in another county so…there is an opening.” Mont elbowed him. “If you think you can handle it. ”
Micah chuckled. “I don’t know if I can handle all the pressure.”
Mont laughed. “I’d love to work with you again. Seriously, talk with Nathan. Now, do you want to come in and have some coffee?”
“Oh, hell no! Isabella will sic those dogs on me or put poison in the coffee. You won’t tell her anything, will you?”
Mont ran his hand around the nape of his neck. “My wife will wonder why you’re here. I’ll just have to fib and tell her you wanted info on an old case, but you’d better do something fast because she knows me too well. She’ll know I’m lying and then she’ll be pissed at me and trust me, I never like it when she’s mad at me, so I do all I can to keep her happy.”
Micah grinned. “I won’t take long, I promise. I’ll go back to town now and talk to Nathan. It would be good to work with you again, Mont. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
He pushed away from the car, opened the door then looked at Mont. “How many dogs are you going to have by the time I get back?”
Mont shrugged and grinned. “As many as my wife wants.”
Micah chuckled, climbed into the car and fired it up, pulled out of the driveway, and headed back to town.
As he pulled back into the parking lot of the Sheriff’s Department, he glanced around the little town. He’d always liked Dry River and he was sure it would be a great place to live and work. He just had to make sure he could do both before heading back to Cheyenne to finish up and give his notice. He’d miss Coby for sure, and he’d even miss Carver—a little bit. Micah had been shocked when he’d found out that Carver had been the one to shoot Melbourne. He was even more surprised when Carver visited him in the hospital. To say he’d been shocked when Carver entered his room would be an understatement, but he’d apologized to Carver for being a prick to him. Carver had laughed and told Micah he knew what an ass he could be, so no hard feelings. Micah had put his hand out and they shook.
There were a lot of agents he’d miss but he could live without them. Patsy was a whole other matter. Being without her for just the past three weeks was hard enough. He couldn’t imagine trying to spend the rest of his life without her. He didn’t want to and he was going to do whatever he had to do to keep her in his life. She’d said she loved him. He grinned remembering her telling him, but she still walked out even after he’d said it to her. But now he knew it was because she wouldn’t ask him to give up a job she thought he loved more than he loved her. He’d thought he’d cared for Vanessa once but when she asked him to quit, there was no way he would—not for her. Now, Patsy hadn’t even asked and he was ready to give it up for her. He wanted to have children with her. Along with the dogs and horses she said she wanted. His one priority in life would be to give her whatever she asked for.
After parking the car, he shut off the engine, opened the door, and walked into the building again. Nathan came out of the back again and frowned at him.
“Micah? You lost?”
“Can we talk for a minute?”
“Of course. Come on into my office.”
Micah followed him and glanced around before they entered Nathan’s office.
“Where is everyone?”
“The men are out patrolling, and my dispatcher is on vacation. I hate it when she’s out. I can’t get shit done. Have a seat,” Nathan said as he walked behind his desk and sat down. “What can I do for you?”
Micah sat forward and looked at him then took a deep breath.
“I’m quitting the FBI and I want to move here. I’d like to know if you’d be interested in hiring me on as a deputy.” He almost burst out laughing at the look on Nathan’s face.
“You’re quitting the FBI? Why? Never mind. That’s none of my business, but are you sure you want to be a deputy? We don’t have a lot of crime here and it would be a big difference compared to what you’re used to.”
“I’m positive I want to be a deputy. For you. I’ve talked with Mont and he’s never regretted coming to work for you. I know I wouldn’t either. I’m quitting the FBI whether you hire me or not and I’m going to move here, so if you’re interested in hiring me, I’d love the job.”
Nathan stood, and Micah shot to his feet. When Nathan stuck his hand out, Micah grinned and took it.
“I’d love to have you as a deputy. I just lost one to another county. How soon could you start?”
“I’d need two weeks. I have cases to finish up and I have to give notice.”
“Great. I’ll see you in two weeks.” Nathan grinned at him and handed him a sheet of paper. “Put down what size shirt you wear, and I’ll order you some. You can provide your own jeans and boots. Cowboy hat is optional.”
“I have all I need. I was born and raised in Wyoming, so I even have the cowboy hat.”
They grinned at each other and after writing down his information he shook hands with Nathan again. He walked out of the Sheriff’s department and climbed into his car to drive home. As much as he wanted to find Patsy and tell her, he couldn’t yet. It would be too hard to tell her he was leaving to finish some cases. When he came back to her, he wanted it to be free and clear.
****
Two weeks later, Patsy sat in her office making notes in the computer about her last patient when she glanced up and saw Roni standing in the doorway.
“How are you doing?”
“I’m fine. It’s been over a month—”
“I know exactly how long it’s been, so I imagine you know it down to the seconds.”
Patsy sighed. “It doesn’t matter, Roni.”
“It does matter, Patsy. You love him. Take what you can get with him.”
“I can’t. I just keep seeing those bullets hitting him and him falling to the ground. I was so sure he was dead—”
“That should be enough to make you want to spend time with him. None of us know how long we have—”
“No!”
Roni stepped into the office and took a seat in the chair opposite the desk. “Patsy, we never know how much time we have with the person we love, no matter what their occupation. Anything could happen.”
“Yes, I know that, but Micah is in a very dangerous job and the odds of it happening to him are way higher. I can’t live in constant fear like that, and I would. I know I would.” Patsy shook her head.
“I’m sure nothing I say will convince you then, but to not have the man you love in your life when you can is something I can’t comprehend. I want you to be happy, Patsy, and you’re not going to be unless you’re with Micah.”
Roni stood and left the room .
Patsy quickly blinked her eyes. She was surprised she had any tears left.
An hour later, she left for home. She’d moved into Roni’s home behind the hospital when Roni married Lincoln. It had a fenced back yard and Runt loved it. She strolled up the walkway, her eyes on the ground but when she glanced up she came to a complete stop. Were her eyes playing tricks on her?
Micah was sitting on the porch swing. He stood when he saw her.
“Micah?” She slowly walked toward him.
“Hello, pixie.”
God, he looked so good and she was sure she looked like hell.
“What are you doing here?”
“Will you take a ride with me?” He smiled at her.
“A ride?” She knew she sounded like a bumbling fool.
“Yes. Will you?” He put his hand out to her.
After a slight hesitation, she put her hand in his and felt the usual jolt. He pulled her behind him to his Corvette, which sat just down the alley.
“You hid your car, didn’t you?”
Micah smiled at her. “Yes. I was sure if you saw it, you’d know I was here and not come home.”
“Why would I do that?”
He stopped and turned her to face him then cupped her face in his hands .
“Because you made it clear you were done with me when you…left me.”
“You know why I left, Micah.”
He stared down at her. “Come on.”
Micah led her to the car and helped her into the passenger side. She watched him walk around the front then climb into the driver’s seat and turn the key. The car roared to life. He pulled out of the alley and headed out of town.
“Where are you taking me?”
He glanced over to her and then looked back to the road.
“You’ll see.”
She stared out the window at the passing countryside. The old barns looked as if they were ready to topple with a gust of wind. The fields were brown with sticks of cut hay sticking out of the ground. She had no idea where he was taking her, but she was in misery. Loving him as she did and not being able to have him…and God, he smelled so good.
She sat up when he slowed and drove onto a blacktop road. She let out a gasp when she saw a gorgeous log home with a wraparound porch and across the yard, sat a big red barn.
“What is this place?”
Micah just grinned and pulled up to the back of the house.
“Come on.”
He opened the car door and climbed out .
Patsy threw her door open and climbed out of the car then stared at the beautiful home. Micah took her hand in his and led her to the steps. She pulled on his hand.
“We can’t go in there.”
“Sure we can. Come on. It’s unlocked.”
“How do you know?”
“I was here just a little while ago and I didn’t lock it. I want you to see it.”
“But why?”
“Patsy just come inside with me…please.”
Taking a deep breath, she nodded and followed him up the steps. They entered the kitchen and she slowly spun around to take in the gorgeous room. It boasted large dark oak planks for flooring with matching cupboards and beige marble countertops. White appliances sat nestled between them. She walked over to the huge stove. It was a reproduction of a vintage stove with tall legs. She loved it.
She looked at Micah to see him leaning against a doorjamb with his arms folded across his broad chest. It was then she noticed how he was dressed. He had on a black T-shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots.
“No suit, Agent Turner?”
One side of his sexy mouth lifted. “I’m not working.”
“Ah, I see. What is all this, Micah?”
“Come on. Let’s look around.”
She took a deep breath and exhaled, feeling frustrated. She followed him into a large room that was, in all probability, the dining room then she entered a room that simply took her breath away. It was the great room and it boasted high ceilings with wooden beams across them. The front of the room was nothing but windows allowing lots of light to shine in. The largest stone fireplace she’d ever seen was on the outside wall and long windows sat on each side.
“This is so beautiful,” she whispered.
“This way,” Micah said and disappeared down a hallway.
Patsy started to follow him but stopped and looked at the stairs going up to the second floor. She wondered how many bedrooms were up there. Large roughhewn logs made up the banisters. She quickly walked down the hallway and stopped beside Micah.
“Please tell me why we’re here. I’m sure whoever owns this place won’t appreciate us being here.”
“It’s fine. Look at this master bedroom.”
Micah pushed the door open and she couldn’t stop the gasp. It was a gorgeous room with a stone fireplace, a full glass wall leading to a deck with a hot tub, a door to a huge bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub, and a closet sat on another wall. She entered the room and was in awe of it then she walked into the bathroom and decided she would love nothing more than to sink into the tub. She remembered being in Micah’s Jacuzzi with him. She spun around to look at him.
“Micah— ”
“The house has four bedrooms, a large office, and upstairs is just a loft—more of a place to sit and look out the windows. The barn has ten stalls and there are five hundred acres.”
He strode to her, cupped her face in his hands, and stared into her eyes.
“I want to fill the bedrooms with our children and the barn with horses for all of us and of course, we’ll have dogs.”
She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
His eyebrows shot up as if surprised. “You don’t understand a marriage proposal?”
“I can’t marry you.”
“I quit the FBI,” he said quietly.
“You did?” She shook her head again. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
“If you remember, you didn’t. It took me a while to figure out I didn’t want to be without you. Once I did, it took me another two weeks to finish up some cases even after putting in my notice. I wanted to close out those cases first.” He shrugged. “And I did.”
“You love that job though.”
“I love you more. I put a deposit on this house for us, pixie.” Micah glanced around then back to her. “But if you don’t like it, we can look at another one.”
“I love it. I love you, Micah but I want you to be happy.”
“I’ll be more than happy if you tell me you’ll marry me. ”
“What about a job? What are you going to do?”
“We can live off what you make.” Micah laughed when she frowned at him. “I’m kidding. I have a job. I talked to Nathan and I’m going to be a deputy here in Dry River. I’ll be working with Mont again. It’s still law enforcement but there’s a less than one percent crime rate here.”
“A deputy? Are you sure you want to do that?”
“I will do whatever it takes to get you back.”
She glanced around her. The house was beautiful and living here with Micah, and raising a family would be a dream come true but she still wasn’t sure.
“Can we afford the payments on this place?” She nibbled on her bottom lip just thinking about the mortgage on such a place.
“I put a deposit down but if you prefer, I can pay cash for it. My great-grandfather left me a ton of money and since I’ve hardly touched any of it, it’s accrued a lot interest over the years. How do you think I bought my car? I wouldn’t have been able to afford payments on a car like that with my salary plus a mortgage for my home in Cheyenne which Coby is buying, by the way. Now answer me. Will you marry me?”
Patsy squealed and threw her arms around his neck. He picked her up and hugged her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pressed her lips to his, and kissed him. He took over and deepened the kiss.
“Is that a yes?” Micah smiled at her.
“Yes! Of course, yes.” She quickly kissed him then whispered in his ear. “I think we need to christen each room.”
Micah burst out laughing. “I’m all for that. I have missed you so much.”
“Me too, Agent Turner. I can’t believe you did all this.”
“I’ll do anything for you. So to be clear, you’ll marry me?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll have children.”
“Yes.”
“And horses.”
“Yes.”
“And dogs?”
Patsy grinned.
“Yes,” she shouted.
“And what I say goes.”
“No.” She laughed when he growled.
“Oh well, I tried. I know we’ll have arguments but there’s nothing I love more than making up with you. I about died the day you left me. I knew I had to do whatever it took to get you back to me.”
Tears rolled down her face as she continued to kiss him. The man of her dreams—her big bad FBI agent was going to be her husband.
“I love you, Agent Turner,” she said against his lips .
“I’ll even teach you how to drive a straight stick,” he said with a grin.
“Now I know you love me.” She laughed.
“Patsy?” Micah cupped her face and stared down into her eyes.
“Yes?”
“I surrender,” he whispered against her lips.
“Oh, Micah, I do too. I love you,” she said softly against his lips.
Patsy felt him grin.
“I love you too…damn pixie. ”