Shifting Dreams (3 page)

 
The brunette came back after arguing with a surlier customer down the bar. That had lasted all of about two seconds before the giant bartender—the owner, if he was guessing—stepped in. The woman put a cup of steaming coffee in front of him. Despite the fact that it wasn’t beer, it did smell fantastic.

“Cream or sugar?”

“Just black, thanks. Who is he?” Caleb nodded at the big guy. “Owner?”

“Ollie? Yeah, his family’s had this place for years.”

“And who are you?”

She smiled and he blinked a little. Her smile was gorgeous. It made her eyes light up. Dark eyes. More than cute. When she smiled, she was beautiful. “I’m Jena.”

“I’m Caleb. So, is Ollie your boyfriend? He seems pretty protective.”

“Ollie?” She laughed. “No. No boyfriend. Ollie’s like a brother. A big, snarling one if I want him to be.”

“Is that right? No boyfriend, huh? That’s hard to imagine.”

“It wouldn’t be if you knew me.” She smiled again, and he let himself get his hopes up, just for a minute.

Caleb glanced at her ring finger. No ring, not even the shadow of one. She hadn’t slipped it off for work. Not that he’d blame her if she did. A pretty, single girl was bound to get more tips with a crowd like this. The music kept pounding and he saw her head bobbing along.

“You like the music?” he yelled.

She shook her head. “Yeah, but that’s not really what you want to ask me.”

He raised an eyebrow. “It’s not?”

“Nope.” She leaned a little closer over the bar.

“What did I want to ask you?”

“If I want to dance.” Her dark eyes were lit up with mischief.

He glanced at the owner, who was watching them—no,
him
—with suspicion. “I’d love to dance if your boss wouldn’t mind.”

“He won’t. I haven’t taken a break all night.”

“Then dance with me, Jena.”

“You didn’t ask, Caleb.”

Oh, he liked the way she said his name. Caleb stood and held out a hand. “Won’t you let me have this dance, Jena?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Jena untied her apron and stepped out from behind the bar, pointing to an imaginary watch on her wrist and mouthing “fifteen” at her boss while Caleb held out a hand.
 

The band had just switched to something more mellow. He pulled her toward the dance floor where several other couples were already swaying and took her in his arms, placing one hand at her waist. Just right. He liked the curve of her hip under his rough hand. It felt… nice. Comfortable and hot at the same time. She was tall for a woman, five nine at least, and he barely had to look down at her to meet her eyes, which was nice for someone over six feet.

“So, you’re from Indio?” she asked.

“No.” He wasn’t sure he wanted to talk, but then, she was quick, too. And that was even nicer than the feel of her hand in his. Caleb liked smart women. The flirting was so much more fun.

“Aren’t you the talkative one?”

He gave her a sly grin. “Sometimes.”

Jena shook her head. “I bet you barely have to talk to the girls with that smile, cowboy.”

“Why ‘cowboy?’”

“Boots and attitude. You can always tell a man by his boots. You’re not an office kind of guy. I can tell. I’d even bet you’ve got a hat hanging around somewhere.”

He nodded. “You could say that.”

“So, just passing through?”

“You could say that, too.” At least for tonight. “And I left my hat in the car. My mom would skin me alive if I wore it inside.” She’d skin him alive for a lot of things lately.

“Good. I’ve had a tempestuous relationship with hats today.”

“Now that’s a statement that begs a story.”

She shrugged and leaned a little closer. “Maybe, but it’s not one I feel like telling tonight.”

Caleb pulled her a little closer. “What do you feel like doing tonight?” No way in the world could he be that lucky.

A slow smile spread over Jena’s face. “Dancing.”

“We’re already doing that.”

“And maybe kissing a cute cowboy who’s passing through.”

Well, well. He wasn’t going to complain about that. Caleb looked around the bar. “Hold on. Let me see if I can find one for you.”

Jena laughed and pulled him away from the dance floor. The band had switched to something loud and pounding as the crowd rose to its feet. Caleb followed her as she pulled him down a corridor, teasing his hands along the sliver of skin at her waist as she pushed him past the restrooms and out the back door.
 

He was laughing. She was laughing. Then suddenly, she put her hands over her face and shook her head. “What am I doing?” she groaned. “I don’t do this kind of thing.”

But she was still smiling, so Caleb grabbed her hands away from her face and pulled her in front of him, leaning against the back wall of the bar as the half-moon shone down on them.

“Hey,” he said. “There’s no kind of thing. No pressure. You’re fun, Jena, and I don’t expect anything. Dancing with you was the highlight of the night. And the band was getting kind of loud. If we just hang out here and talk, that’s fine by me.” He really did want to kiss her, though. He’d bet a month of the meager police chief’s salary he’d agreed to that she was a great kisser.
 

She was shaking her head. “I’m being silly.”

“So keep being silly.” He drew her closer, looping a finger through the waistband of those ought-to-be-illegal jeans. He spread his legs and leaned back until they were almost eye-to-eye. “Kiss a lonely cowboy.”

Jena started to smile. “You don’t have a hat.”

“It’s all about the boots, remember?” He slowly drew her in. Her eyes weren’t telling him to stop. Neither were her hands, which had come to rest on his shoulders. “Boots and attitude?”

She nodded, tilting her face up to his. “You got it.”

“Yeah. I do.” He took one finger and lifted her chin, angling his lips down over hers.

Sweet and hot. He almost groaned at the taste. She’d been drinking a raspberry wheat beer, and the flavor still lingered on her lips. They were soft and met his eagerly. He heard a low purr in her throat and pulled her closer; then it was all her.

She curled into him, her hands moving from his shoulders, down his chest, then around his waist. She hugged him tight and Caleb forced his hands to rest on the small of her back. His fingers teased under the waistband of her jeans, but that was as far as he’d let himself go. It was enough.

Jena was on fire. Kissing and nipping at his lips as he dove deeper into one of the hottest kisses he’d had… ever. Her mouth opened to his and their tongues danced together to the harder rhythm that pounded out the walls of the old roadhouse.

When was the last time he’d let himself enjoy a kiss like this? Jena tugged at his hair and he stopped thinking, losing himself in the feel of her hands digging into his back, her thighs resting against his, and her lips doing incredible things to his mouth.

She pulled back and her teeth nipped at the stubble along his chin. Suddenly, he was glad he hadn’t shaved. She seemed to like the feel of the rough skin against hers. He felt her hand trail from his neck, along his collarbone, and up to his jaw, where she rubbed her fingers against his chin and made that damn purring sound again. If he had his phone out, he’d record it; it was so sexy.

“You’re just passing through, right?” she whispered in his ear.

Should he tell her? The responsible part of him said yes, but then she might stop kissing him.

Caleb murmured, “Something like that.” Then he dove back in.

Matt Marquez was exactly what Caleb had expected from a small town mayor. He was friendly in an “aw-shucks” kind of way. He had a starched polo shirt and a pair of khakis from JC Penney. His secretary was old enough to be his mother and he had a picture of a beautiful blonde with three small girls displayed prominently on his desk.

Mayor Matt saw Caleb examining the photograph with bleary eyes. “My wife, Missy. And our three girls. We’re having a boy next month.”

Matt and Missy? Caleb cleared his throat. “Congratulations.”

 
“Are you? Married, I mean. You didn’t mention…”

Caleb shook his head, pushing down the instinctive bitterness. “Divorced. No kids.” And hadn’t that been the sticking point? “It was years ago. We were young.”

Matt nodded. “Missy and I were high school sweethearts. It’s a small town.”

Well, that much had been obvious on the drive in. After a late morning filled with very distracting dreams about a certain brunette, he’d driven up from Indio for his meeting with the mayor of Cambio Springs. After the meeting, he was being introduced at some kind of town hall meeting that night. It seemed unusual to him, but then, he had little experience with small-town police procedures. He wasn’t even sure where he was going to be working. Caleb had yet to see a police station anywhere near Main Street.

“I’d just like to thank you again for taking this job.” Matt was smiling nervously. “Honestly, someone with your credentials—”

“It’s nothing. Really. I was looking for a change.”

“Still…” Matt laughed. “I mean, state police commendations. Special task force experience…” Matt frowned. “Can I ask why you wanted to leave Albuquerque for a small town in the middle of the desert?”

Caleb let the stony expression he’d perfected over twelve years of police work slide over his face. “I told you. I was looking for a change.”

Matt, seeing that the subject was off limits, quickly backtracked. “Well, we’re lucky to have you! The most likely crimes you’ll see around here are the occasional vandalism charge and drunk driving.”

“And domestics, of course. In my experience, those are everywhere.”

That brought Matt up short. “Well… there’s some of that, of course, but it’s pretty rare. We’re a small town and most people look out for each other. Pretty close families.”

“That’s good.” Caleb narrowed his eyes at the squirming man. “Mayor Marquez—”

“Please, call me Matt. Everyone does.” The young mayor was a little disappointed by that, if Caleb had to guess.

“Matt, why did the city council decide to hire a police chief? Honestly, it sounds like the sheriff’s department was doing a good job taking care of the stuff you needed done.”

“Well”—Matt nodded nervously—“the sheriff’s department is excellent, of course. But I believe some changes are coming to the community that will make it beneficial to have our own
independent
police force.”

“Changes, huh?”

“Not anything I can talk about right now. And you’ll meet the council tonight when I announce your hiring.”

Caleb blinked. “Wait. The city council doesn’t even know you hired me?” He leaned forward. “What do you mean? Who approved the funds for my salary?”

“I did.” Matt smiled. “I have… discretionary funds in the budget to cover it. Please don’t worry about being paid, Chief Gilbert.”

He wasn’t worried about the money. He really didn’t need it, but the idea of being thrown into the deep end of unfamiliar small-town politics irked him. “I don’t want to be seen as an intruder here.”

“You will be.” Matt shrugged helplessly. “There’s no avoiding that, I’m afraid. Like I said, this is a very small town. An old town with old families and there’s no one we could have brought in that wouldn’t feel like an outsider, at least for a while.”

“Why not hire from within, then? Surely there were people who might have some connection—”

“I didn’t want a connection,” Matt said firmly. “The town needs fresh blood. We need new perspective. People need to be more accepting of change and part of the change is you, Chief. I hope it doesn’t scare you off, but eventually, everyone will adapt.” Another campaign-worthy grin crossed the young man’s face. “It’s a very friendly place, once everyone gets to know you. I promise.”

“Right.” Somehow, Caleb had a feeling this was going to be far harder than the mayor hoped. “Right.”

After an abbreviated tour of Cambio Springs’ small downtown and a trip out to the “station house,” which was really an abandoned building between the town and The Cave, Caleb and Mayor Matt pulled into the parking lot of a small building with a cross on top.

“A church?” he asked. “You have your town meetings at a church?”

“Non-denominational,” Matt explained. “More of a chapel, really. We’re not big enough to have many houses of worship, so it kind of rotates. The Catholics have a week, then the Baptists. We just take turns.”

Caleb nodded. It was unusual, but admirable, in a way. “Well, good for you. And everyone will be here?”

“I’m sure they will. Town meetings tend to be very well attended.”

There sure were plenty of cars in the parking lot, more than one he recognized from The Cave the night before. Was one of them Jena’s? He’d finally left the bar after another ten minutes of making out and still another hour chatting at the bar and wanting to get her alone again. She was fantastic. Caleb had been looking for signs of her everywhere they went that day, but so far, no luck.