The Texas Lawman's Woman. Cathy Thacker Gillen

and knew it was time for him to set the record straight. “I should have called you that night to let you know what was going on.”

      Her expression gentled. “In your defense, you were a little busy helping to comfort a lost puppy who’d gotten his leg stuck between a rock and a fallen tree. A puppy who likely would have died had you not spotted him and stopped to help.”

      Colt reached over and patted Buddy’s head, taking comfort in the way his pet leaned into him affectionately. “Once the fire and rescue team arrived, I should have taken the time to call and tell you what was going on.”

      Looking as if she appreciated his honesty, she asked in return, “Why didn’t you?”

      “I told myself it was because this guy needed me with him in order to stay calm while the firefighters sawed that tree.”

      Their gazes met. “And in reality?” she asked even more softly.

      And here was the hell of it. “I think you’re right. I didn’t want to go to prom.”

      “Because you hated dancing,” she guessed.

      Because I didn’t want to fall any harder for you than I already had. “Because I knew if we followed through on the plans that we had for that night—” and we slept together for the first time “—it would kill me when you broke up with me.”

      “If we had followed through on our plans, I wouldn’t have broken up with you.”

      Colt wanted to believe that. Life had taught him otherwise. “Come on, Shelley. At least be honest about this. We didn’t want the same things for our futures. You were headed to Dallas to study dance at SMU. I was going to San Angelo State to get a degree in law enforcement.”

      “That was then.”

      “And now?” he prompted.

      “I find myself wanting a quiet life, filled with the familiar, too.”

      Colt knew she had convinced herself she would be happy in Laramie. He also knew you couldn’t really go back again. That sometimes the past was meant to be just that. Which was why he shouldn’t be entertaining the notion of becoming anything other than the most casual of friends with her.

      Still, he was curious. “What about marriage?” Was she looking for husband number two?

      Shelley made a face, shook her head. “Been there, done that.”

      “Well, see, that’s where we’re different.” He rubbed a hand across his jaw. “I do want to get married again someday. If I can find the right woman...”

      “Then I hope you get that.”

      They were quiet as they watched the little boy play.

      Austin pushed his wooden box away and walked toward Colt.

      Shelley tensed, ready to leap into action. “Is it okay?” she asked nervously, eyeing Colt’s large companion.

      Colt nodded, as relaxed as Shelley was wary. “Buddy’s been trained as a therapy dog. He’s great with kids.”

      Seeming to know he was safe with the big animal, Austin bent down to look Buddy in the face. The Bernese mountain dog lay with his head flat on the ground, the only sign he knew of the child’s interest was the shifting of eyebrows on his face.

      “Do you want to pet the doggie?” Colt asked Austin, hunkering down beside the two. “You can do it like this.” He demonstrated.

      Austin gently patted Buddy on the top of his head. Buddy remained perfectly still except for his tail, which thumped gently on the wooden porch floor.

      “Doggie!” the little boy said.

      “Doggie,” Colt repeated, petting Buddy, too.

      The get-to-know-each-other session continued for several more minutes. Finally, Austin straightened and toddled back to the wicker toy basket. He picked up his little red truck and took it to Buddy. Instead of handing it over to his new friend, he held it just out of reach. “Mine,” he announced, clutching it tight in his hand. “My toy.”

      “It’s okay,” Colt soothed. “Buddy isn’t going to take it from you.”

      Austin held tight to his belonging, and then moved away. All the while Buddy remained calm and content.

      Watching, Shelley smiled. “I’m glad you kept him,” she said finally, looking Colt in the eye. “The two of you belong together.”

      No, he thought, the two of us belong together. Always did, always would. If only we didn’t have such different outlooks on damn near everything. Pushing that unwanted thought away, he rose. “Well, apologies made, Buddy and I better be on our way.”

      Shelley rose, too. “I’m sorry about all the bad feelings, all these years.”

      Relief sifted through him. “Me, too.”

      She lifted a palm. “Friends?”

      Colt returned the amiable high five, glad the two of them were finally beginning to put the past behind them. “Friends,” he said.

      Nothing more. Nothing less.

      Chapter Two

      “Yeah, well, I don’t believe it,” Rio Vasquez said in the locker room as he changed into his tan uniform. “No woman ever forgives a man for standing her up on one of the most important nights of her life.”

      Colt fastened his holster around his waist. “We’re adults now. We were kids when all that went down.”

      “Doesn’t matter.” Rio sat down to put on his boots. “The heart is still the heart.”

      “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Colt checked his flashlight and his gun. “You hot-blooded Latinos think you know everything there is to know about passion.”

      “We do.” Rio stood and slapped his pal amicably on the shoulder. “And what my romantic radar says is that no grudge held that long is ever going to be set aside that easily.”

      “Meaning what?” Colt joked back, studying Rio’s circumspect expression. “You think Shelley’s just pretending to forgive me?”

      His friend shrugged. “I’m sure in her rational mind she thinks she ought to let the past be just that. Whether or not she can ever really trust you not to hurt her again is another matter entirely.”

      Rio had a point, Colt conceded, as he walked out to his squad car to begin his nightly patrol. His truce with Shelley had come about a lot more quickly than he ever would have guessed possible. Partly because they both had a lot more life experience and hence were now able to sort out what was important and what wasn’t. Another factor was the pressure of the wedding, and their mutual desire to do right by their friends. But there were lingering feelings, of that he was sure.

      He’d have liked to stay longer on her porch. Get caught up on more than just the basics. Forge new bonds.

      But it had been clear, despite her deeply ingrained Texas charm and hospitality, that as soon as the olive branch was extended, she’d wanted him and Buddy out and on their way.

      And that had to mean something. He just wasn’t sure what.

      * * *

      AT BEDTIME, SHELLEY OPENED UP the drawer in Austin’s changing table and got her second big surprise of the day. “Oh, no. Tell me we’re not out of diapers!” She rushed to the closet, then the diaper bag, Austin toddling along right behind her. Nothing. Which meant she was going to have to put Austin in the car and run out to get another box of disposables.

      Not that Austin, who’d had an unusually long and late nap, seemed to mind being carried out to her Prius shortly after 9:00 p.m. “We go bye-bye,” he announced cheerfully.

      “One of these days we’ll be completely unpacked and then it will be