The Deputies: 3 Novella Box Set (25 page)

Tabby flipped open the top of her computer while Serena ordered them dinner. For the first time in days, Tabby was feeling like this might actually all work out. She wanted to be with Sam and there had to be a way.

If they could put a man on the moon, surely they could put Tabby in a small Montana town with the world’s sexiest deputy sheriff? She wouldn’t rest until she found a solution.

Look out Sam Taylor, Tabitha Bartlett is heading your way.

Chapter Eleven

T
he next morning, Tabby was all packed. She and Serena had brainstormed last night and then called their parents to share some ideas. By the time her cell phone battery had died, they had a pretty good plan for the show, and even better, for Tabby. It wasn’t a perfect solution but few things were.

It was head and shoulders better than sitting around feeling sorry for herself and missing Sam so much she wanted to curl up in a corner and cry. The connecting door between Tabby and Serena’s rooms was open and Tabby stuck her head into the other room.

“I’m going downstairs to get some coffee. Do you want to go too?”

The hotel had a nice little coffee shop on the east side of the lobby. After the night she’d had, Tabby needed the caffeine. She’d been too excited to sleep much.

“I’m not ready yet. Can you bring me one?” her sister called from behind the bathroom door.

“Will do.” Tabby shoved her keycard in the pocket of her jeans and headed downstairs. She needed to call Sam today but he had sent her a very brief email last night saying he was going to take a few days off. She didn’t want to wake him this early if he wasn’t on duty.

She exited the elevator and turned left to the coffee shop. The tables were full at this time of the morning but the line at the counter wasn’t too bad. Tabby didn’t have to wait long to place her order and the two drinks were made quickly. She turned to head back to the room, her thoughts far away from Seattle.

“Would you like to share my table?”

She stumbled slightly, her heart accelerating in her chest. She knew that warm, deep voice so well and it never ceased to excite her. She closed her eyes and sent up a silent prayer that she wasn’t imagining things. Slowly opening them, she turned toward the person speaking.

Sam.

He was sitting at the table closest to the entrance overlooking the lobby. His dark hair was a little ruffled from the wind and his jaw needed a shave but she’d never seen him look better. Her heart hurt with the flood of love that ran through her and a sob caught in her throat.

Somehow she managed to walk the two steps to his table but he’d already stood and put his arm around her.

“What are you doing here?” She was surprised her voice worked.

“Waiting for you. You’d told me where you were staying but they wouldn’t give me your room number at the front desk. I came here straight from the airport and parked myself in the lobby waiting for you to come down.”

“You did that for me?”

“I’d do anything for you. Let’s go to your room. I’ll explain everything there.”

Her body quivering with excitement, she let him lead her to the bank of elevators, pressing the call button.

“Are you really here?” she asked. She still couldn’t quite believe he was really standing here with her. Perhaps she’d finally snapped and he was a figment of her overactive imagination.

Sam smiled and brushed a strand of hair from her face, brushing her cheek with his calloused fingers. The sheer joy of being touched by the man she loved filled her and she didn’t care if it was real or not. She was happy for the first time in days.

“I’ll tell you everything when we have some privacy.”

It only took them a few minutes to get to her room and she quickly closed the connecting door and locked it behind her. Tabby would want Sam and Serena to meet eventually but right now she wanted him for herself. Placing both coffees on the dresser, she threw herself into his waiting arms, a few tears trailing down her face.

They kissed as if it had been years since they’d seen each other, their hands roaming over any bare skin they could find. Somehow they ended up on the bed and finally Sam rolled away. His dark eyes were full of love or at least something close to it.

“We need to talk, honey. I came here to tell you something.”

“I want to tell you something too,” she said eagerly. “I love you, Sam.”

“I was kind of hoping that. I love you too, Tabby.” He gave her a crooked grin and stroked her hair. “I’m sorry I didn’t say it before you left.”

Tabby sat up, resting on her elbow and placing her other hand on his chest so she could feel the solid thump of his heart. “I’ve been doing some thinking.”

“Me too. But that’s probably obvious since I’m here. I’ve come to stay, Tabby. If you’ll have me. I want to give this – us – a chance.”

“Stay?” Tabby blinked. She couldn’t have heard him right. “You mean you’ve left Springwood? What about your job?”

“I talked to Tanner and I’ve taken a leave of absence. I was thinking I could travel around with you.” His tone was hopeful and she was almost breathless at the turn of events. Sam really loved her. Not just a lustful, selfish love. But the kind that made sacrifices. It made her feel humble and lucky. Very lucky.

“I won’t be traveling around much.” She couldn’t stop the smile that bloomed on her face. “I talked to my sister and my mom and dad. I’m retiring from location scouting at the end of this season. I’m going to take over the book department of the family business. The television show is going to be overhauled anyway. They’re going to concentrate on telling about locations with historical ghost stories instead of actually investigating to find the ghosts.”

“You’re quitting? You’re going to write a book?” Sam looked dumbfounded. He’d come all this way to see her and she’d apparently stole his thunder. She’d never forget what he’d been willing to give up for her though.

“We have a line of paranormal fiction books that have been ignored due to lack of time and interest. I’m planning to revive the imprint. Write a few of my own and maybe recruit a few other authors. Finally put my English degree to use.” Tabby leaned forward and pressed her lips to his briefly. “And I can do that from anywhere. I’d only have to travel if I needed to do some research that couldn’t be done any other way.”

Sam cupped her face with his large hands and a shiver went up her spine. “By anywhere do you happen to mean Springwood?”

He actually looked nervous about her answer. She nodded, more tears welling up in her eyes and her throat growing tight. He seemed as emotional as she was and he pulled her close, not speaking for the longest time.

“I want you to come back to Springwood with me, Tabby. I love you and I want to make a life with you. I know we haven’t known each other very long but I’ve never felt anything like this before. I know that I can’t turn my back on it. On you.”

She could feel his words as well as hear them, the urgency of his tone strong. “I know there aren’t any guarantees. We could crash and burn but I can’t stop thinking about you. I love you and I need to be with you.”

He tipped her chin up and their gazes locked. “You don’t have to do this. Change your life, I mean. I’d never ask you to make all the compromises, Tabby.”

That’s what made Sam different than any other man she’d ever known.

“I know and thank you for that. But I was ready to make a change. The show was ready for a change. It’s worked out better for everyone, really. I promise you this is what I want.”

“You’re what I want.” His arms tightened around her. “Anything else is negotiable.”

Tabby gave him a mischievous smile. “I want you too, Deputy Sam Taylor.” She popped open the first button on his shirt. “Check out time isn’t until noon. Got any ideas of how to pass the time?”

Grinning wickedly, Sam rolled her onto her back, his hot, hard body pressing her into the mattress and making her think of wicked, naughty things they could do on this bed.

“I’ve got several ideas actually. Been thinking about them all week.”

Sam spent the next few hours showing her how much he’d missed her and how good it was going to be together. Lost in the magic of their brand new love, they didn’t hear Serena banging on the connecting door asking about her coffee. Tabby would find out about that later when she introduced her sister to Sam.

At this moment, they were the only two people in the world.

The End

<<<<>>>>

Deputy Drake James – Corville, Montana

Chapter One

N
ervous as hell and praying it didn’t show, Victoria Saunders rubbed her sweaty palms on the denim of her best pair of jeans. She looked out the big front picture window of the local diner for the thousandth time and tried to stay calm. It had been two years since she’d laid eyes on Deputy Drake James and that streak was about to be broken. Tori and her best friend, Kasi Martin, were eating lunch and Drake was due any moment to join Sheriff Logan Wright, just two tables away.

Finally home to stay after finishing her degree in culinary arts in New York and working in a prestigious five star hotel under a famous pastry chef, Tori planned to open a bakery here in Corville and settle down. The Big Apple had been fun and yes, exciting, but it wasn’t what she wanted long term. She was a country girl at heart.

Not that she owned her own heart. It had belonged to Drake since Kasi’s thirteenth birthday party. That sunny afternoon amid the pink and white birthday cake and Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Victoria and Drake had been shut into Kasi’s parents’ walk-in closet for a game of “Seven Minutes in Heaven.”

It certainly had been. Tori would never forget the feel of Drake’s lips on hers that first time or the way his hands had roamed over her budding curves. At that moment she’d known she loved Drake with all her heart.

Drake, however, hadn’t received the memo. After awakening the woman inside the adolescent, he’d proceeded to ignore her and date Lisa Webber for the next two years. After that there had been a long line of blondes each with varying levels of intelligence. Drake liked them big bosomed and not too bright.

“He’ll be here,” Kasi assured her. “Just relax. You look like you’re waiting to see him. You don’t want him to know that. We’re just having lunch, remember? A casual, friendly lunch to welcome you back to town.”