Page 14 of The Rancher's Fake Fiancée

Cole slid a side glance on her for a moment. She felt it but did not acknowledge it. The man could be too perceptive.

“His place is just above Destiny’s River, the town, correct?” She sought to move the others’ thoughts along and distance her last words.

“Yes, but we’ll not take the usual shortcut that allows us to bypass the town. I need to make a quick stop at the courthouse and pick up some deed copies they have ready for Joe. Since we were headed over this way anyway, I told him I’d make a quick stop.”

Jessie kept her gaze out the window, her interest in the scenery growing. Actually, it was to cover the fact that she knew the town by heart, and the scenery, while beautiful, was not new to her. She hoped that no one would notice her waiting in the truck for the few minutes they might be there. That means either of her siblings who were residents of Destiny’s River.

The town appeared a few minutes later. It was a weekday and the main street around the courthouse square was busy. Cole made a pass along one side and then turned into an open space which faced one of the side entrances. Jessie was pleased as most people used the main one and there should be less foot traffic on the sidewalk in front of the parking space.

“I’ll just be a few minutes. They should have the documents waiting. Would you like to come in or wait out here?” Cole was asking the question.

She shook her head with a smile. “I enjoy people watching. I’m happy right here.” He nodded and pushed the button to lower her window. They were shaded by the branches of a huge old pecan tree, one of many, dotting the lawns around the four-story ornate limestone building. There was a breeze, and he was being thoughtful of her.

“Can I come, Dad?” Emmie piped up from the back.

“Sure, if you don’t want to stay and keep Jessie company?”

“I’ll stay then.”

Jessie shook her head at the girl in the back seat “No, I’ll be fine. Go and enjoy.”

“Okay, if you’re sure?” Emmie offered.

“I am sure. I’ll just enjoy the view of this nice town.”

Emmie joined her dad on the sidewalk and Jessie watched the pair head towards the building and then disappear inside. She turned her attention to the people on the sidewalks in front of the stores lining the streets. Searching the faces, some were vaguely familiar, some not at all. The last time she had come back to Destiny’s River had been for the birth of her first little nephew, eighteen months before. Her older sister, also who happened to be mayor of Destiny’s River, had married the love of her life a couple of years before. She always filled her calls and letters with the same question, ‘when are you going to come home and settle down here in Destiny’s River with your special fellow?’ That had been their daydreams when they were growing up, in a stranger’s home, as foster children. Two girls and two boys who had made a vow to find a forever home and be together again.

Tori had found hers and she said it was waiting for her and their brother Thomas to get there, too. Well, her oldest brother, Matthew, had heeded the question and settled there not long after Tori had found a place there for them. Now he stepped right out of her thoughts and appeared with a startling voice to bring her back to reality.

“It’s about time you showed up,” the male voice said beside her at the open window. “Do we know each other or not?”

That was his way of asking if she were on assignment or not. “I have no idea who you are except a nosy local sheriff.” She couldn’t keep the amusement from her voice.

“Well, you aren’t breaking the law, so guess I won’t be hauling you off to jail,” he drawled in his best Texas lawman’s voice.

“I’m waiting for a couple of people to come back from the clerk’s office with some paperwork they had to pick up.”

“I guess I just wanted to be the welcome wagon then to a pretty newcomer in our little town. You plan to stay long in these parts?”

“Long enough,” she said, her gaze staying for the most part on the doorway where Cole and Emmie would appear, but her smile was tinged with a warmth she couldn’t help impart to seeing her brother again. “It’s more of a protection detail right now. But who knows? How is the rest of the family?”

“Missing you. Jilliebean loves the birthday present you sent. She would rather have had you there for the party.” He couldn’t help reminding her of what she had missed out on along the way in doing her job.

“But she understands. She does have a father in much the same profession as I recall.” She tossed that used ball back in his court. At least he could still give her that sheepish look when she gave him some of his own medicine.

*

“There’s a mantalking to Jessie at her window,” Emmie reported the news to her father who was signing a logbook behind her at the waist-high counter. She had moved to stand by the large window that allowed her to look down on the side of the building where their truck was parked. She was giving a report on what she saw. “He’s kinda good-looking, too.”

Cole had been half listening to his daughter and to the clerk at the same time. But he stopped writing, and his attention was on Emmie. “What did you say about a man and Jessie?”

“Thought that would get your attention, Dad.”

“Emmie what are you talking about?” He moved a couple of steps to look over her shoulder. And there was a man, in uniform, standing with an elbow propped on the base of the open window like he had all the time in the world and intended to use it talking to the woman inside. And from what he could see of the bottom of her face given the sun visor in front of her was in his way, was curved in an interested smile.

“You look mad, Pops,” came the comment. Emmie was watching him with a smirk of a smile on her face. “Guess you might be jealous? You know, Jessie is really pretty. Guess other guys think so, too.”

There was a soft giggle behind them from the woman leaning forward over the counter and seeing the view with them. “Well, that other guy happens to be our very eligible bachelor of a sheriff. Lots of ladies have tried to capture his attention. Looks like he might be caught.”

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