Justice Reborn (Cowboy Justice Association Book 8) (8 page)

The lump in her throat loosened slightly. It sounded like he was well out of the life. “Your friends must miss you, though.”

He shrugged and reached for another piece of chicken. “Some do but so many of them were really just acquaintances. Sometimes a job is all people have in common and when that’s gone… My true friends don’t care what I do for a living. I’m glad I’m out, honestly. My life is a hell of a lot more peaceful and quiet. I can actually hear myself think now, which might be good or bad depending on the outcome.”

“So no regrets?”

“None,” he answered promptly. “I’m not sorry I did it but that chapter is closed. I’m moving on to something else. What that is I don’t know, but I’m ready to make a change in my life.”

Evan didn’t care. Josie slowly exhaled all the tension she’d been holding in when he’d told her his past profession. He’d left it behind and wasn’t monitoring police scanners hoping to get back on the job. She could relax a little.

But not much.

Chapter Eight

E
van picked up a pizza at the end of their day before driving them back to his house. He’d take her back to the motel after dinner but he was glad he had another chance to talk with her. Having spent the last eight hours in her company he’d found it wasn’t nearly enough. He wanted to spend more time with her, asking her questions about every little thing, wanting to know what she hoped and dreamed about.

He was smitten and that was saying something. He didn’t remember the last time a woman had interested him as much as she did. Funny, smart, and gorgeous, she’d kept him laughing and smiling the entire day. It was the best date he’d been on in years. And it wasn’t even a real date.

He’d had relationships in the past, including a short friends with benefits thing with his former partner Marisa. They hadn’t had much in the way of tender feelings for one another if he was truthful. Mostly he had been convenient for her and she had been the same for him. They worked long hours and having any sort of romantic life was difficult, if not downright impossible. It helped that they both knew how the job worked.

Things had ended long before he’d been shot and without much fanfare. As if it had never happened, they went back to being partners and friends with barely a ripple on the surface of their relationship. But perhaps Marisa had been more involved than he had thought if she couldn’t give up on the idea of him returning to the Marshal Service. She was spending way too much of her time worrying about his stupid ass and that wasn’t good. He didn’t want to hurt her but he simply didn’t have any feelings for her…like that. She was a good friend and that was it.

“Are you going to be able to walk?” Evan asked when he pulled in front of his house. “Do you need some help getting out of the car?”

She’d already promised him that she would soak in a hot bath when she returned to her motel room. He reminded himself to pull a tube of muscle cream out of the medicine cabinet as well or she might not even be able to get out of bed tomorrow. If he thought she’d take it, he’d give her another day off but he knew she was desperate for the money. He’d just make sure that whatever he gave her to do tomorrow was relatively easy, like sorting through stacks of newspaper and magazines. She could do that sitting down.

Lisa’s lips pressed together and her green eyes sparkled in challenge. “Of course I can walk. I’m just sore. A bath and a few ibuprofen and I’ll be good as new.”

She was fibbing and putting on a brave show but he could tell she was highly uncomfortable. He wanted to sweep her off her feet and carry her into the house but he’d probably get a knee in the balls for his trouble. She was an independent cuss with a tart tongue and she didn’t like him fussing over her like when he reminded her to drink her water or take a break. Independent as hell.

He didn’t bother to argue with her, instead grabbing the pizza box from the back seat along with the six-pack of cold soda. It wasn’t easy to keep his mouth shut as he watched her take every excruciating step to the front door, especially when she tried to hide her wince at the porch steps, but he somehow managed to keep from remarking on her difficulty. He was skating on thin ice as it was by continuing to push the subject.

Closed up all day, the house was stifling but he opened a few windows and the slight cross breeze was quickly cooling down the living room. Every piece of furniture had stacks of crap on it and he realized they didn’t have anywhere to sit and eat.

He hadn’t thought this through at all.

“It’s such a nice night. Why don’t we eat on the front porch?” Lisa suggested, her gaze sweeping the room. Even if the couch had been cleared it clearly wasn’t clean enough to eat on.

But the front porch had an old metal table with two rickety chairs he was pretty sure would still hold their weight. It wasn’t fancy and it wasn’t hygienic but it would have to do.

“That’s a good idea.”

It had been Lisa’s idea to come back here. She had been persuasive, clearly still uneasy around the residents of Cypress Corner. Whenever anyone would stop by their table to chat Lisa would drop her gaze and study her shoes, only interacting if Evan forced her to. He respected that she liked to keep to herself though so he tried to let her have her way. He handed the pizza to Lisa while he retrieved supplies from the kitchen, juggling the sodas, paper plates, and napkins before placing them on the table.

The sun was beginning to sink into the horizon and already he could hear the symphony of crickets in the yard serenading their meal. Evan had always loved this part of the day. After some good hard work, there was nothing better than putting his feet up and relaxing while he listened to the sounds of nature. Whatever his next career in life turned out to be, he had to make sure he made time for this.

“Soda?” Evan held up a can and Lisa nodded, settling into the chair opposite. She opened the pizza box and the smell of tomatoes and garlic wafted around them, making his stomach growl. Lunch seemed far away. “So we talked about me today but we didn’t talk much about you. Tell me more about yourself.”

Lisa’s eyes widened slightly almost in panic, but if he’d alarmed her she quickly hid it. She was a private person and he didn’t want to pry but he was curious. He’d opened up to her today in an effort to show her she was safe with him. He wouldn’t discuss her life with anyone.

“There’s not much to tell.” She popped a piece of sausage into her mouth. “I had a pretty normal upbringing in Connecticut. My mom was a single parent and I was an only child so we were pretty close.”

“Were?”

The corners of her mouth drooped and she sighed heavily. “She passed away a few years ago. Breast cancer. It all seemed to happen so fast. She’d ignored the warning signs too long, I guess.”

“I’m sorry.” He truly was. It was obvious from the bright tears in Lisa’s eyes that she’d loved her mother a great deal. “Do you have any other family?”

“A few cousins but we’re not close. Not long after she passed away I was downsized from my job, probably because I took so much time off to care for her. It didn’t matter because I hated that job anyway and I was beginning to hate the city. So I packed up my belongings and moved out of my New York City apartment that I shared with three other girls. Headed down to the D.C. area where my best friend from college lived. She helped me get a job and an apartment. I started over really, and it was the best thing I could have done for myself.”

“Then you were laid off again,” Evan prompted, wanting her to continue. Not only was he learning about her life but he was also able to listen to her speak. Her voice was soft and strong all at the same time and although he wasn’t sure how that was possible, he was sure that he enjoyed it.

She finished the piece of crust she had been chewing before answering. “The economy is cruel.”

Evan wasn’t a genius but he wasn’t a stupid man, either. Lisa was carefully picking and choosing what she shared with him. The bare bones. No flowery details, no anecdotal stories. Just the facts and as few as possible. If he wanted to learn more he was going to have to ask.

“You never said what you did for a living.”

Lisa fiddled with her soda can as if deciding whether to answer. “I didn’t tell you the whole truth before when you asked because it’s hard to talk about it. I haven’t exactly set the world on fire with my genius, you see. I do have a degree in design. I worked as a low-level assistant for one of the big fashion houses in New York City. Let me repeat the low-level part. I was one rung above making coffee but that’s how you move up in those places. You have to pay your dues. In D.C., I was able to get a job as an assistant to a successful interior designer. I learned a lot and it was a great opportunity but she sold off her business to one of those big corporations. They came through and promptly fired everyone, which she had expressly said wouldn’t happen. But of course it did.”

Not wanting to spook her but wanting to offer some sort of comfort, Evan placed his own hand over hers, lacing the fingers together. “Life’s been tough on you. I admire your grit though. Now you’re taking time for yourself while you still can. Seems like a good plan.”

She looked up at him and shook her head, a smile playing on her full lips. “Tough? I don’t think I really know what that is. Hell, if people don’t like chintz sofas they don’t shoot at me. They bitch, whine, and complain but I don’t need a trip to the hospital afterward. Besides, my mother always told me that I needed to learn to take care of myself. No one was going to offer to do it and that I could only depend on myself.”

That was a lonely philosophy.

“I may have made things sound worse than they actually were. I didn’t have people shooting at me every single day. Only sometimes. Most of a cop’s life is paperwork.” He leaned forward so their lips were close together and he could smell the light floral fragrance from her hair. “Although I will admit that I hate chintz. I’m more of a leather sofa type.”

For a moment their gazes locked and he instinctually moved nearer, the attraction between them powerful, crackling hot. But at the last minute she jerked back into her chair, her chest rising and falling rapidly as if she’d finished a race.

“I–I have to go to the bathroom.”

The legs of her chair made a scraping sound as she shoved it backward and then bolted for the relative safety of the house. He heard her footsteps on the stairs and couldn’t suppress a smile of satisfaction. Little Miss Lisa might act all cool and unaffected but it was purely an act. The simmering heat was mutual. He wasn’t out there all alone feeling like a fool.

Evan hadn’t felt like this about a female in a damn long time and he wasn’t going to let this chance pass by. Wasn’t this what his new life was about? He was going to go for it.

He’d end up a winner or a fool.

Chapter Nine