Page 44 of Cowboy Stolen Kiss for Christmas

Ames reached up to run a hand through his hair. “Honestly? No.”

“You mentioned Miss Lee went through a breakup. Is there any bad blood between you and her ex?”

Ames gave a dry chuckle. “I doubt I’m his favorite person, but I barely know him.”

“So you haven’t argued with him?” the detective pressed.

Ames shrugged. “We’ve traded a few mild insults. Nothing major.”

“We’d like to determine that for ourselves. Would you mind giving me his name?”

“Brex Morrison.”

The detective recorded the name on his notepad. “Spelled like T-Rex, but with a B?”

“Never thought of it like that, but yes.”

“Is Brex short for anything else?”

“I have no idea.” Ames glanced around to seek out Laura and found her still sitting in the back of the ambulance. “Laura can answer that better than me.”

“Is she your girlfriend, Mr. Carson?”

“I want her to be.” They’d certainly done their share of kissing before the fuel tank had started leaking like a spaghetti strainer.

“Pardon the personal line of questioning, but did Miss Lee turn down the offer to date you, sir? Even seemingly unimportant details might matter in a case like this.”

“I haven’t asked her yet.” Ames was feeling reckless enough to do exactly that right now. “But if you want to stick around...”

The officer’s lips twitched. “After the way you landed that plane back there, I’m liking your chances, sir. I’ll return you to Miss Lee now.”

They rejoined Laura and the second detective. He hopped down from the back of the ambulance as they approached.

“Laura, darling,” Ames called to her, grinning like an idiot. “The detective wants to know if you’re gonna turn down the opportunity to become my girlfriend.”

She blushed. “Are you sure you’re ready to be more than friends?”

“I am.” He took a running leap and hopped into the back of the ambulance to slide onto the bench beside her. Though he knew she was teasing, he was anxious to hear her answer. “So, will you?”

“Will I what?” Though her eyes misted with happy tears, she clearly wasn’t going to make this easy on him.

“Will you be my girl?” He gazed at her with his heart in his eyes.

“You know I will.” She launched herself into his arms.

As he drew her close, he shot a triumphant look at the officers. “I reckon that’s one question you can cross of your list.”

The two men chuckled through the remaining part of taking their statements and quickly ended the interview.

Laura gazed around them curiously. “I know this may be a dumb question, but where are we?”

“Tucson,” he supplied. “A little over a hundred miles from Pinetop.”

“Oh, wow!” She flicked a glance at her cell phone. “And it’s not even midnight yet.”

Which begged the question of what they were going to do next. “We can either crash in a hotel for the night or have one of my brothers come pick us up. Your choice.”

She pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Don’t you want to stick around and deal with the repairs on your plane?”

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