Page 11 of Seized by the Lawman

Chapter 3

ONCE OUTSIDE OF the building, Melly couldn’t contain herself any longer. She turned and faced Nix. “What. Is. Your. Game?” She pressed her finger in the center of his chest with each word.

He blinked. “What are you talking about?”

“What do you think I’m talking about? You’re in cahoots with my father. Everything, and I do mean everything, was a setup, wasn’t it?” When he didn’t answer, she went on. “Is he paying you to come to the ranch? How much did it cost for you to sleep with me?” She threw up her hands. “Another way to prove that I’m irresponsible to sleep with a stranger. I should have known better than to think you were real.” He laughed and it triggered something in her. She narrowed her eyes. “Think this is funny, do you?”

“Kind of, yes. I am a true-life, flesh and blood man, sweetheart. You should know that considering you had an up close and personal view.”

His smug smile ripped through her. Why was she so out of control? She’d blame pregnancy hormones, but she couldn’t overlook the possibility that he did something to her that she couldn’t quite shake. “Don’t get too smug. I was a little tipsy.”

His brows snapped together. “Are you saying I was a beer-goggle-one-night-stand?”

Oh, how she wanted to make him think she wasn’t in her right mind when they slept together, but she couldn’t get her lips wrapped around a lie. “No, I was sober,” she said as she rolled her eyes, “but I can’t believe my father would sink this low…that you would sink so low as to sleep with me under false pretenses.”

“Slow down.” Several expressions flickered over his features. “I didn’t know who you were when I met you at Lori’s. I assure you I’d never sink as low as to sleep with a woman under no man’s pressure. I had no idea he planned to ask me to help until today, right before you walked in actually. Trust me, my jaw hit the floor when I realized who you were.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “What we shared was not planned and one-night stand or not, it can’t be changed. Just don’t accuse me of setting you up to look like you screwed up by sleeping with me. I could have told your father, but I didn’t, and he has no clue.”

“Maybe you should have told him. He wouldn’t have asked you to do this if you had. You can’t possibly want to do this anyway. Isn’t this below your credentials, lawman?”

“No, there are at least a hundred other things I’d rather be doing.” He looked away for a good three seconds, then hooked his thumbs into his front pockets. The hard line of his jaw tightened more. “Would you like me to march back in there and tell him the truth? If that’d make this situation bearable then that’s what I’ll do.”

She crossed her arms and tilted her chin. She’d call his bluff. “Yes. Go back and tell him that we slept together.”

He shifted from one dusty boot to the other. His jaw twitched and wrinkles appeared in his forehead. “I don’t mind helping out at the ranch.” He shrugged.

“What happened to the other “hundred” things on your list?” she teased.

“A man can change his priorities. Anyway, I like getting my hands dirty.” His eyes sparkled.

Melly refused to pay any attention to the tingling in her limbs. “Are you afraid of my father?”

“Hell, no. Okay, maybe a bit. He’s a hard man to say no to. I know someone else just like that.” He journeyed his gaze slowly down her body and her bra suddenly felt two sizes too small.

She had a feeling Nix liked to play head games. Well, she could handle it as long as she could manage to resist his charm. “You’re full of yourself, aren’t you? I bet you’re one of those guys that stands in front of the mirror and poses because you just can’t get enough.”

He blinked. “Does this look like a mug that’s seen a mirror in the past forty-eight hours?” He lifted a thick brow. “Or a razor? I haven’t even been to bed in more hours than I can count.”

“You do have a point.” And yet he was still the sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes upon. “Is he setting me up to fail?”

“No. I think he’s being truthful. He cares and he wants you to succeed. Sometimes a person can think they’re ready to fly from the nest, but they crash and burn.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Oh, did you want me to tell you what you wanted to hear? I’m afraid my boost-wounded-ego tank is a bit low today.”

“Smartass,” she whispered. “None of this makes sense. What did he tell you?” She challenged him.

“Exactly what he said to you. I know you’re angry but take a step back and look at this logically. He’s asking for one month. Thirty measly days. Do it, prove yourself, and you’ll have what you want. Hell, I’d live on mill worms and sleep on an iceberg for that long if it meant I’d get what means most to me.”

“That’s easy for you to say.” Would he be that dedicated when it came to his child? Maybe she needed to rethink this entire situation. Each time she was close to him she wanted to jump his bones, probably most women did, but she could at least get to know him better, figure out what kind of a father he’d be. However, she needed to keep her heart out of it. She swiveled on her heels and started walking across the parking lot, but he caught up to her in two strides. Her entire body was in man withdrawal. When she’d walked into her father’s office and saw Nix she’d almost fallen over in shock. Just as the first time she saw him, she was awestruck by his looks and his charm. He was tall, she’d guess at least six-three. With a head full of short, silver black hair and a layer of beard that screamed bad-ass. His body was broad, powerful, strong, muscular...she could think of a dozen more descriptions. None of these characteristics meant he’d be a decent father though.

“Sure, it’s easy for me to say, but I’ll help,” he said those words with such conviction that it reached in and tickled all the feminine parts of her. Would he make the same promise to her if he knew about the baby?

Oh Lord, the baby.

This fact truly changed everything. If she told him, would he run and tell her father? This would ruin her chances of ever owning the ranch. She couldn’t trust Nix because he was in her father’s corner.

“You can’t possibly think I really need your help?” Her pride formed a wall.

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