The Cop. Jan Hudson

      “Not many men can handle the demands of a doctor’s life—except maybe another doctor.”

      “Or a cop,” Carrie said.

      “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation,” Kelly replied. “Trust me, there is absolutely no chance of a relationship between Cole and me. None. Zip. Nada.”

      Carrie grinned. “But you have to admit he’s a hunk.”

      “Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

      “Li-ar,” Carrie singsonged.

      Kelly only smiled, and they parted company.

      Oh, she’d noticed that Cole Younger Outlaw was a hunk. Every female hormone in her body was on red alert. She glanced toward him and found him watching her.

      He winked.

      Good Lord, could he read her mind?

      Dear Reader,

      This is the last of three stories about the Outlaw brothers, The Sheriff, The Judge and now The Cop, all from a family traditionally named for famous outlaws and all in law enforcement and public service. When I was creating Cole Younger Outlaw’s story, I first considered setting it in Houston—logical, since the oldest son had been in HPD homicide for many years—but the colorful characters in the small town of Naconiche (NAK-uh-KNEE-chee) had grown on me. To prove that good things can come of terrible incidents, I brought Cole back to his hometown to recuperate from his serious injury…and to find a whole new life in the place of his roots.

      Now, there’s no real town named Naconiche—and, no, it’s not patterned after Nacogdoches, the historical small town where I lived for many years—but there is a Naconiche Creek in East Texas, and I liked the sound of the Indian word. The Outlaws’ hometown is a composite of many places in the heart of the Piney Woods where my ancestors lived when Texas was still a republic.

      Naconiche and the Twilight Inn seem to be magical places, and with one gorgeous redhead thrown into the mix, the cynical and battle-scarred cop is about to be turned every which way but loose. I had fun writing about the sassy Dr. Kelly Martin and the tough Cole Outlaw, and I can promise that you’re in for lots of love and laughter! Join me and see if I’m not right.

      Visit me at www.eclectics.com/JanHudson.

      Jan Hudson

      The Cop

      Jan Hudson

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      For Karen Solem, Agent Extraordinaire

      And with special thanks to Sherry Wallace,

      Hospice of Deep East Texas and Greg Sowell, Nacogdoches Police Department

      Contents

       Chapter One

       Chapter Two

       Chapter Three

       Chapter Four

       Chapter Five

       Chapter Six

       Chapter Seven

       Chapter Eight

       Chapter Nine

       Chapter Ten

       Chapter Eleven

       Chapter Twelve

       Chapter Thirteen

       Chapter Fourteen

       Chapter Fifteen

       Chapter Sixteen

       Chapter Seventeen

       Chapter Eighteen

       Chapter Nineteen

       Chapter Twenty

       Epilogue

      Chapter One

      “Pull off your pants and lie down,” she repeated.

      Cole Younger Outlaw turned from the bedroom window, and his eyes swept her with a slow, clothes-stripping scrutiny that sucked the air from her lungs. One corner of his mouth twitched upward. “Tell you what, Red,” he said in a low rumble that sent an acre of goose bumps racing over her skin. “I’ll pull off my pants if you’ll pull off yours.”

      For a nanosecond she actually considered taking him up on the offer. He was without a doubt the most…phenomenal man she’d ever encountered. Even in ragged sweats and with several days’ growth of dark beard, sex appeal oozed from his pores and wafted across the room like nitrous oxide. Hard. Dangerous. Survival instincts would have sent a lesser woman screaming from the room, which, she was sure, was what he intended.

      She was made of sterner stuff.

      “That’s not an option, Mr. Outlaw. And please don’t call me Red. My name is Kelly Martin. Dr. Kelly Martin.”

      His dark brows lifted a tad, and he gave her another slow perusal. “You sure don’t look like any doctor I’ve seen lately.” He flashed a full-fledged grin, and her knees almost buckled. “The offer still holds.”

      “Look, Mr. Outlaw—”

      “Call me Cole, darlin’.”

      She ignored the “darlin”’ part. “Look, Cole, I have an office full of patients waiting, and I don’t have time for games. Dr. Ware is in surgery all day, and I’m here as a favor to your mother. She and your dad are worried sick about you, and so are your brothers. You’ve holed up in this room and refused to go to physical therapy. You won’t cooperate with anybody who’s trying to help you. You haven’t—”

      “Put a sock in it, Red.” He scowled and turned back to the window which was festooned with a bright holiday swag.

      Kelly was torn between clobbering him with her medical bag and stalking from the room. Instead she tossed the bag and her jacket on the bed and walked closer to him. “Exactly what is your problem?”

      “My problem?” He glared at her with storm-cloud gray eyes. “Besides losing a chunk of lung, getting my hip and leg shot all to hell and being a cripple the rest of my life, you mean?”

      She waited only two beats before she shot him a cheeky grin. “Yeah, besides that, flatfoot.”

      He ducked his head, but not before Kelly saw a