Chapter 208
739 Words
“Oh, it is,” Ferguson said warmly. “We’d welcome you.”
“Thank you,” Sadie Crawford said. “That’s so kind.”
“Well, I need to get to work, unfortunately,” Ferguson told them. “Enjoy your time here, and I hope to see you both again.”
“Yes, you too,” she told him. “Have a good day.”
He tipped his hat again, the perfect gentleman, and headed over to Laura to get his coffee. The woman was as dumb as a box of rocks, but she had nice thighs and knew better than to b***h when he got rough with her. Hunter and Cordelia watched him greet her with a smile, then walk over to the police station and disappear through the door.
Without a word about it, they finished up their breakfast at a leisurely pace, then left. Hand-in-hand, they wandered up the street, window-shopping and chatting, the very picture of a happy couple. They went back to their hotel, entered their room. That was when Cordelia finally said what was on her mind.
“He hates women.”
Startled, Hunter stared at her. “He what now?”
“Hates women. And he hated me for being black.”
Rage was rising in him. “How do you know?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know how I know… I just do. The way he looked at me, the way that he was talking to that woman behind the counter in the café? Pure contempt.”
“Yeah?” Hunter blinked at just how much he seemed to have missed.
“Oh, yeah.” She shook her head, angry. “I bet if we followed this guy around, we’d find that Kat isn’t the only woman in this town that he’s hurt. And I’d also bet that each woman thinks she’s the only one, and that she can’t take on the almighty sheriff.”
Hunter leaned back. “You may be right.”
“I’d lay money on it.” She looked at him, her face fierce and beautiful. “You think we can find some way to use that against him?”
“I was just thinking that,” he said slowly. “Maybe. Or…”
“What?”
“Well, guys like this, they tend to think they’re above the law. You know? In my experience, they’re usually up to more than one thing.”
She studied him. “OK.”
“I think we should take some time to see what he gets up to after work.” Hunter narrowed his eyes. “We’re known and welcomed around town now, mostly because of your sparkling personality, so let’s start to take advantage of it, alright?”
“How?”
“I’m not totally sure yet,” Hunter said. “But let’s follow Ferguson after he leaves work tonight. Maybe an opportunity will present itself. And I think that we should talk to Ellen and Nate soon. Tomorrow.”
“OK.” Cordelia sighed. “So… what do we do today?”
“Married couple stuff.”
She looked over at him and actually blushed. For her, ‘married couple stuff’ included spending all day in bed, and God help her, she’d love to do exactly that. Hunter was on the sofa, of course, while she was in the bed, but she was achingly aware of him, no matter where he was. Being this close to that amazing, muscular body for so many days and nights in a row was doing her head in.
“OK,” she said, trying to focus. “Want to wander the town a bit more?”
“Sure.” He smiled at her, loving the suggestion. When they were out and about, he had total freedom to touch her, as an adoring husband would. He could put his arms around that gorgeous body, touch those curved cheekbones, brush his lips over hers. It was – he had discovered to his utter dismay – his favorite part of this job. He liked being close to her, even though it meant that he was relieving the pent-up s****l tension in the shower every night and every morning.
Oh, Christ, man. You’ve got it bad. Let’s get something on this guy, then get the hell back to Denver. I won’t be able to take being around her like this for much longer.
- Writer
