I Shocked The Sheriff
When Roxy Adams shows up in her bright yellow Porsche, Sheriff Luke Hermann knows he and his small Texas town will never be the same. Within twenty-four hours he's pulled her out of a catfight, almost hauled her off to jail and spent the most incredible moments of his life in her bed.But Luke knows she'll love him and leave him soon enough. Still, before she does, he intends to make sure she'll miss being held in the long arms of a lawman….Roxy figures the scrumptious sheriff thinks she's some spoiled city girl looking for attention. But in truth, she left Dallas to stay out of trouble. She's staying in town just until she's strong enough to move on. In the meantime, though, she's sure enjoying the scenery.… Only, the closer she gets to Luke, the more she can't bear to leave. Little does she guess her past is about to catch up with her….
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âI canât think when youâre lying there naked.â
Despite the sheet covering her, apparently Luke could tell she wore no nightgown. Well, if the lawman had a problem with that, Roxy had the solution. âSo take off your clothes and join me. You can show me your gun.â She giggled.
âI donât think thatâs a good idea.â He shifted on his feet where he stood near the motel-room door.
She stretched on the bed provocatively, sticking her legs out from under the sheet.
He put his hand up to his forehead. âYouâre a dangerous woman.â
âSo come and give me a ticket.â
âFor what?â he said, his voice tight.
She lowered the sheet from her shoulders toward her breasts. His eyes followed. It was as if with those deep brown eyes he touched each inch she revealed. âIndecent exposure.â
He swallowed. âActually, I think Iâm going to have to take you into protective custody.â
âWho will you be protecting me from?â
âMe.â
Dear Reader,
Iâm so excited to introduce my first book. For me itâs both a happy ending and an exciting beginning. When I was writing Roxyâs story I knew a flawed yet feisty heroine might be a difficult sell. Fortunately, my editor saw the appeal of a character with a past. Roxy may be a bad girl, but sheâs got a vulnerable heart.
Roxy comes from Dallas and sheâs got it allâa trust fund with all the trappings. Raised by a staff of servants trying to mold a little redheaded girl into a debutante, she discovered that every act of rebellion got her the attention she craved. As a result, Roxy doesnât hesitate to do anything that occurs to her and damn the consequences. Sheâs been down, but sheâs never been out. And sheâs never been in love.
Sheriff Luke Hermann loves his west Texas town. These are his people, and heâs always been able to anticipate troubleâuntil a long-legged gal drives her screaming yellow Porsche right into his heartâ¦.
I hope you enjoy this view of my home state of Texas. It would be so exciting to hear from you! You can write to me c/o Harlequin Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9, Canada.
Hereâs to your own happy ending,
Mara Fox
I dedicate this book to my own hero, Mark Horstman, who, once upon a time in Hawaii, sold his surfboards to buy a diamond ringâ¦.
Contents
1
ROXANNE ADAMS RAN her dry tongue over parched lips. âDamn. Iâve done it again.â
âOhh,â she said as she raised her head and then rotated her neck. She grabbed the steering wheel in a punishing grip. The smell of vanilla car freshener filled her senses.
This time Iâm safe in the Porsche.
Wearily she rested her head on the top edge of the steering wheel. She didnât want to replay the episode from so long ago, but the nightmare scene from her last binge boiled over. The drunken man had lifted his head to tell her what a pretty girl she was. Naked, sheâd looked up into his filthy face and had seen a mirror of what sheâd become.
That vision kept her sober. That vision, the twelve steps, and all her friends from AA. Itâd been over two years.
I can handle this. I can. I have to.
Tears moistened her gritty eyes. Sure, cry, you ninny, she told herself as she rubbed them. But Joeyâs hanging on. He might have tried to kill himself, but heâs gonna get a second chance whether he wants to or not and this time heâll make it.
Roxy groaned, then lifted her head from the steering wheel. She knew if she looked in the mirror thereâd be a funny circle imprint on her forehead. It had happened before, more times than she cared to count. Sometimes sheâd still been drunk and it had seemed funny, but not today.
Today, she was sober. She felt a cautious sense of elation.
Knocking on the window got her attention. She looked over into the condemning eyes of a man in a familiar uniform. That must have been what had awakened her. Why, oh why, had she driven out here?
But she knew. Driving out here had saved her.
âOpen your door, please. I wonât ask you again.â
What was he going to do about it? Shoot out the windows? Drag her out of the car by her hair? The Porsche was legally registered in her name, a gift of love from her father for staying sober for a whole year. Sheâd tell this big, bad cop a thing or twoâ¦respectfully, of course.
No sense in ending up in a hick holding tank for sassing the local law. No matter how desperate her high school was for teachers, theyâd fire her in a heartbeat if they found out sheâd spent her summer vacation in a West Texas jail.
Funny, how the youngest person in her AA group had inspired her to use her degree to teach and mentor at the high school. Finding a purpose had helped her to stay sober, and watching over kids who had it rougher made her appreciate her life.
She grinned at the irony, relishing even this nowhere place and this nobody cop whoâd come to rescue her. Wallowing in the sheer relief of being sober.
