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A chuckle rumbled from his chest as he kissed the top of her head. That was the answer he wanted to hear, and his heart skipped lightly in response. “No way. I’m going to try like hell to keep you right here.” He pulled her closer to his side.
“You might be up to the challenge.” Mischief flashed in her eyes.
“Damn right.” He tipped his head and landed a kiss on the tip of her nose, then moved to her lips as he placed his other arm around her and molded her to his chest. A few seconds later, he heard childish giggles, and little Bridgett groaned.
Sally pulled away, mirth reflected in the blue of her eyes. “No private moments when there are kids around.”
Luke sighed. “Damn, I hope that’s not true.”
Sally just grinned as she sat next to him again.
A few feet away, Jen laid her line across the water in a perfect cast. Luke stole a glance at Sally. “Do you have any enemies we should check out? Anyone who might hold a grudge?”
Her forehead scrunched as though concentrating. “No one I can think of.”
Luke took a deep breath. If he couldn’t get her to volunteer the information, he’d have to pry. “What about Jen’s father?”
Sally tensed instantly and tried to pull away, but Luke rolled to a sitting position and tightened his hold on her waist. “Wait. Tell me it’s none of my business if that’s the way you feel, but please don’t run away from me.”
Anger flashed in her eyes and, for a moment, it seemed as though she would repeat his words back to him, effectively shutting down his line of questioning. He quirked an eyebrow as she stared at him. Finally, she dropped her head away from his gaze and her face turned red, whether from anger or embarrassment remaining unclear.
Luke hooked one finger beneath her chin and repositioned her face so he could see her eyes. “Trust me, babe.” Pulling her toward him, he crushed his lips over hers possessively.
What in the hell was he doing? He couldn’t force her to reveal details about a man and a time in her life she’d just as soon forget. Except for the sake of determining whether the man held a grudge bad enough to do her harm, Luke wouldn’t have brought it up. He didn’t want to put her through the pain of remembering but, damn it, her safety was at stake.
She closed her eyes for a long heartbeat, and when she opened them, she nodded determinedly. “If you ever tell Jen any of this, I’ll…well, I’ll pretend I’m going to have sex with you in a public place and then take all your clothes and leave you there naked.” The lack of a smile at the end of her statement spoke to how angry she would be.
Luke winced. “Yeah? I think I saw that in a television sitcom a few years ago. Not something I’d be looking forward to.”
She raised her chin. “If we’re in agreement, ask me what you want to know.”
“Does the man live around Huntington?” Luke rubbed his hand up and down her back.
“He lives in Grizzly Gulch, near the lodge.”
“He doesn’t have any contact with you or Jen?”
“I’d see him now and then when I used to visit Rachel. He’s a pig, so I didn’t waste time being cordial. He never knew about Jen…until a few months ago. Came snooping around, asking questions. Wanted to know who Jen’s father was. I lied and told him it was Jonathan, but he didn’t believe me. He said Jen didn’t look anything like Jonathan.” Sally’s gaze wandered to the girls on the riverbank.
“What was he after? Visitation? Did he want you back?” Luke nearly choked on the words.
She shook her head. “He holds a notable public position in the county and he’s afraid if anyone else makes the connection between him and Jen, I might be able to cause trouble for him. He doesn’t want anything to do with me or his child. He suggested strongly that I take Jen and leave Idaho.”
“Did he threaten you?” Luke tamped down the rage building inside him.
“Not in so many words, but it was there in the way he sneered and the way he talked to me—like he couldn’t use big words because I wouldn’t understand them.”
Luke was on the verge of seeing her face through a red haze. He had to throttle back his fury. There was a chance Jen’s father was the one who’d blown up Sally’s house and tried to run them off the road. On the other hand, would someone so concerned with his public image take that kind of risk? He seemed more at home using innuendos and threats than getting his hands dirty. What was he hiding that would make the risk worthwhile?
Luke moved closer, bringing Sally between his legs so she could lean back against his chest. He joined his hands around her and hugged her tightly. “What did you mean when you said you might be able to cause trouble for him? What do you have on the guy?”
Sally went quiet. Didn’t move. Didn’t speak. A hitch in her breathing was an obvious indication of her distress. Luke gave her what time she needed, counting the minutes as he watched the sun disappear behind the mountains to the west. Damned if she didn’t start to tremble, and he wrapped himself around her to offer what warmth he could.
“If I’m going to tell you the rest, you have to promise you won’t do anything that will make it worse for Jen.”
Luke got the uncomfortable feeling he was being torn apart. Instinctively, he sensed something bad was coming—something he’d feel duty-bound to avenge—but she had him with her request to protect Jen. “I’d never hurt her, Sally.”
Again, she let some time pass. “I met him at the Cougar Ridge Watering Hole one night when Rachel was working behind the bar. I’d had a couple of drinks without eating and they hit me pretty hard. Rachel cut me off and said I’d be staying the night with her at the lodge, but he offered to take me home. I’d have never accepted…but he was the sheriff. You should be able to trust a sheriff.” Sally covered her face and burrowed against his arm.
