He glanced over at her just as she looked at him.
Jodie wore her hair loose today, and it flowed over her narrow shoulders like melted chocolate. She gave him a wry smile, and for a moment he saw Keith McCauley looking back at him.
âYou look just like your father,â he said.
Youâre up on a mountain with a girl youâre growing attracted to and thatâs what you come up with?
He gave himself a mental forehead smack.
âThanks. I think,â she said, pushing her hair away from her face.
Unbidden came the memory of the moment in the corral the other day. Part of him wanted to give in to the attraction he knew was growing between them, but that would be foolish. She was leaving, and in spite of that, she wasnât the right person for him.
Or so you keep saying.
He tried to banish the voice. Tried to be the practical guy he had always strived to be. He didnât want to end up on the wrong side of a broken heart again.
To Linda Ford, who helped me
every step of the way with this book. Could not have done it without you, girlfriend! And to Melissa, my editor, who helped give this story shape and substance.
Both of you are proof that books
are never written in solitude and that good partnerships make for good stories.
Chapter One
Seriously? Two speeders in half an hour? Was there some unknown crisis people were outrunning?
Deputy Finn Hicks was not in the mood to deal with this. In two hours he was supposed to be delivering the eulogy at his old friend and mentorâs funeral. He had one more call, then he hoped to head home, shower and get to the church on time.
But he couldnât let this go. The little blue car blew past him at least twenty miles per hour faster than the posted speed.
Finn pulled in a deep sigh, flicked on the flashers of his cruiser, spun it around and stepped on the gas to catch up with the vehicle speeding toward town. This shouldnât take long if the driver cooperated.
Out-of-state license plates. Broken rear taillight, and it wasnât stopping.
He beeped the siren to get the driverâs attention and then, finally, the car slowed and pulled over onto the shoulder.
Finn did a rapid run-through of the plates and his heart turned over in his chest.
Registered to one Jodie McCauley, twenty-seven years old. Female. Resident of Kansas. Onetime girlfriend of one Finn Hicks. If you could call one summer of romance being a girlfriend.
Jodie had no doubt returned to Saddlebank, Montana, for her fatherâs funeral. The same funeral he hoped to attend once his shift was done.
All he had heard lately of Jodieâs life had come from his friend Keith. Finn knew Jodie worked as a waitress during the day and played piano in bars at night.
Such a waste of her talent, he had often thought. Jodie had been set to audition for a prestigious music school in Maryland the summer they had dated, ten years ago.
She was also supposed to have gone on another date with him. A date he thought would move things from casual to serious.
She had ditched both appointments and never told him why. The rest of the summer sheâd avoided him and hung out with a bad crowd. After that heâd never seen her again.
Until now.
The window rolled down as he came near. Jodie looked up at him through large, dark sunglasses, her mouth pert as always. Thick brown hair flowed over her shoulders, and in her bright red dress and gauzy purple scarf, she looked more as though she was on her way to a party than a funeral.
âDriverâs license, insurance and registration, please,â he stated, sounding more brusque than he liked.