Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Tully hadn’t seen Jaxon since their late night dance.
He wore a western shirt today, the long sleeves cuffed high on his tattooed forearms. The entire time he’d been telling his side of the story, she couldn’t keep her gaze from wandering over the soft cotton and thinking about what lies beneath.
Miles of hard muscle and hot skin she’d rested against. Touched.
She would never be able to look at Jaxon again without thinking of that night and how it had felt to be waltzed around a sawdust floor in his arms. How secure she’d felt . . . how graceful. But it had all been a lie—an illusion conjured up by the spell Honky Tonk Heaven had cast.
She would never be graceful and Jaxon was as far from secure as a man could get. He’d run off and deserted his family without a backward glance and spent the following years working on whatever offshore oilrig that would hire him. He had no home. No plans for the future. And no desire to get them.
He certainly wasn’t going to stay in Promise Springs.
He was here for one reason and one reason only.
Money.
What happened the other night was only him toying with her.
Say it and I’ll give you what you want.
What you want. You being the keyword. He hadn’t wanted to kiss her. He’d just wanted to prove his theory. That all good girls wanted bad boys. That Tully wanted him.
That Sheriff Gentry’s daughter wanted him.
She knew Jaxon had to hate her father. The best way to get back at her daddy would be by messing with his daughter. That was the only reason Jaxon was giving her any kind of attention. He could have any woman in town. Why would he choose the clumsy deputy unless he had other motivation?
Getting back at the man who had put him in jail was a good motivation.
But she refused to be part of Jaxon Hennessy’s revenge. Just like she refused to acknowledge the way those gold eyes made her body feel like a dropped Popsicle on summer pavement.
As soon as her grandma and daddy disappeared down the street, she stood, keeping her gaze away from the broad shoulders and hard chest that refused to stay out of her dreams.
“An accident?”
He laughed, but there was no humor in it.
“You caught me, Deputy Gentry. I’ve been hiding out in the bank waiting for your grandma to walk by so I could hit her with a door.
” He held out his hands, wrists pressed together.
“Go ahead and cuff me and take me in. It won’t be the first time I’ve been falsely arrested by a Gentry. ”
“You weren’t falsely arrested and you know it.”
All humor drained from his face and his hands dropped to his sides. “You’re right. I’m a bad, bad man . . . who you want in a bad, bad way.”
She drew back as if slapped and glanced up and down the street. “Would you lower your voice? Do you want the entire town gossiping about us?”
“I could care less about this town gossiping about me.”
“Of course you don’t care. You don’t care what anyone thinks about you. But I do care. And just for the record . . . I don’t want you.”
He smirked. “Really? You could have fooled me.”
She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “If you’re referring to the other night at Honky Tonk Heaven. You were the one who kissed me!”
He laughed. “If that’s what you call a kiss, you’ve been dating the wrong guys.
A kiss is not just a brush of lips, Tully Gentry.
” His gaze lowered to her mouth and a shiver ran through her entire body.
“A good kiss is the perfect combination of heated slides, hot licks . . . and hungry bites. If done properly, it’s the best kind of foreplay.
” He lifted his gaze, his eyes drilling straight into her soul.
“A demonstration of how skilled a man is with his mouth. If I had kissed you—really kissed you—you wouldn’t have left that night unsatisfied. ”
His low-spoken words poured over her like warm honey, leaving her nothing more than a trembling mass of skin and bones and pounding heart. She couldn’t have replied if she wanted to. All she could do was stare at him and try not to slip into a helpless heap at his boots.
Just like the other night, the twinkle in his eyes said he knew exactly what he’d done to her. Knew exactly the kind of lie she was telling him . . . and herself.
He tapped her nose. “See you around, Officer Gentry.” He turned to leave and then stopped short and looked back at her.
“You really should take your grandma to a doctor and have her head looked at. I’ll be happy to pay for any medical expenses.
” He headed to his truck that was parked in front of the bank.
Tully waited for him to drive away before she allowed her knees to give out and flopped down on the bench. She was still trying to get her equilibrium back when Birdie showed up with a liter-sized cup of Dr Pepper and an ice pack pressed to her forehead.
“How’s your head, Birdie?” she asked. “Why don’t you let me take you to Doc Romero so she can take a look at it?”
Birdie sat down next to Tully and took a long pull of soda from the straw before she spoke.
“You and your daddy. He wouldn’t head back to the office until he’d thoroughly examined my forehead and used his flashlight to make sure my eyes were dilating properly.
” She slipped the ice pack into the pocket on the bib of her overalls and swept back her bangs with her two-fingered hand, displaying the bump on her forehead.
It wasn’t as bad as Tully had feared.
Birdie released her bangs. “Now stop worrying. I have a head harder than a goat’s. No bad boy is gonna take this gal out.” She studied Tully and her eyes filled with concern. “So regardless of my warning, it looks like you still have the hots for that bad boy.”
Tully tried to act offended, but it was impossible when her bones still felt like overcooked spaghetti. The best she could do was deny it in a monotone voice.
“I do not have the hots for Jaxon.”
Birdie sent her an exasperated look. “If your eyes had been teeth, there would have been nothing left of that boy but a few crumbs.” Tully felt her cheeks heat, which made Birdie sigh.
“That’s what I thought. While I don’t think it’s a good idea to get tangled up with any Hennessy, people have no control over who lights their pilot light. ”
“No, but they do have control over their own actions. I want nothing to do with Jaxon Hennessy.”
“I think that’s smart, but just so you know, lust is a powerful thing. I thought I could control my lust for your granddaddy and all it took was two shots of tequila and a whirl around Honky Tonk Heaven’s dance floor to make me melt at that man’s feet.”
Obviously, Honky Tonk Heaven’s dance floor did cast spells. After her reaction today, Tully considered herself lucky to have kept from doing the same thing her grandmother had done.
Although Jaxon and her grandpa were two entirely different men.
“Granddaddy didn’t rob a gas station,” she said dryly
“I don’t think Jaxon did either.”
Tully couldn’t have felt more surprised if her grandma had cracked her in the head with a door. “What?”
Birdie took another slug of Dr Pepper before she spoke. “I don’t think Jaxon robbed Mickey’s Gas Station.”
“So you’re saying Daddy was wrong to arrest him?”
“I’m saying that sometimes we only see what’s black and white. We don’t see all the colors in between. I think your daddy did what he thought was right, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t have been wrong.”
“But Daddy saw Jaxon’s old pickup pulling out of the gas station and then discovered the back door open and the cash register empty—not to mention the pile of tires Jaxon set on fire.”
“Your daddy didn’t see Jaxon setting those tires on fire. Nor did he see him coming out of Mickey’s. He saw his truck leaving the scene of the crime, but that doesn’t mean he’s guilty.”
She stared at Birdie. What was her grandmother talking about?
“Just because he got off because of lack of evidence, doesn’t mean Jaxon is innocent. You know how much trouble those Hennessys got into over the years. You know all the crimes they committed.”
“I wouldn’t call the naughty things the Hennessys did crimes. I’d call it unsupervised kids crying out for attention. And if you remember correctly, it wasn’t Jaxon doing most of those things—even though he always seemed to take the blame for them when your daddy came calling.”
“You’re saying it was another Hennessy who robbed the gas station and Jaxon just took the blame?”
“I don’t know for sure what happened that night.
” Birdie paused. “But I don’t think your daddy does either.
I think he saw Jaxon’s truck and just assumed it was him.
When he got to the house that night and Jaxon got belligerent, he arrested him .
. . without having enough evidence.” Birdie patted Tully’s leg.
“I’m not trying to tarnish your daddy’s halo.
I think he’s a good man and a darn fine sheriff.
But everyone makes mistakes, Tully. We’re all just human beings trying to do our best. Sometimes we fall short. ”
“Daddy didn’t fall short. Jaxon is guilty.”
Birdie nodded. “You’re entitled to your opinion. Just like I’m entitled to mine.” She paused. “But even if he is guilty, everyone deserves a second chance to prove themselves. Especially if their own mama refused to give them that chance.”
“What do mean?”
Birdie glanced back at the bank. “The reason Jaxon was here today was to get a loan to finish the renovations.”
“Why would he need to get a loan? I thought his mama left them the insurance money for renovations.”
“I guess it wasn’t enough.”
“So why don’t they use some of their inheritance?”
“From what I hear from Billy’s wife, they don’t get it until the bar is open for business.” Birdie shook her head. “I never did understand Rosie Hennessy. She had four beautiful kids and all she could think about was some silly bar.”
“It’s not just a silly bar, Birdie. It was the most famous bar in Texas.”