Page 8 of Seaside Cowboy's Fairy Tale

Rachel pulled onto the freeway, red dots of taillights lighting up the morning dusk, leading her onward. She grimaced. She was supposed to wait for the police. She tightened her fingers around the smooth steering wheel as she passed one car, then another. “I feel I failed though, and I can’t believe I left without giving my statement.”

“Seriously, calm down. From what you told me, the necklace was insured. It’s not like the victim seemed extremely upset.”

Huh. The reassurance didn’t do much to placate her conscience. “Thanks, Ms. Mueller. I’ll email you my full report from the event. And, for the record, I didn’t just need to get out without revealing my identity. I had an emergency call from a friend.”

Flooring her gas pedal, Rachel passed another car, tension building.

Ms. Mueller gave a nervous laugh. “I imagine in your line of work you must be used to emergency calls.”

“Indeed.” Rachel flexed her grip on the steering wheel, her palms sweaty. She was used toworkemergencies.

All that excitement was part of why she enjoyed her job, and her response to such chaos helped earn her superiors’ admiration because few employees eagerly rushed somewhere in the middle of the night. Yes, professional emergencies were plentiful, but she had precious few friends and wouldn’t trade them for a thousand diamond necklaces. She let out a low breath. Kennedy sounded frightened on the phone.

“That’s fine, Rachel. With your police connections, you can provide information about what you saw through them.”

“That doesn’t make leaving as a witness right, but it should give me some leeway with it.” Hopefully. Yet much more tugged at Rachel now.

Her fingers tapped against the steering wheel as she exited the freeway and soon settled on the road to the small coastal town. Yes, a large part of her regretted leaving abruptly and incognito, but it wasn’t just because she’d needed to be an upstanding citizen. She had a much more selfish reason. She didn’t want to leave Tex. Didn’t want this to be their only encounter. Her heart, dormant for many years, woke up and didn’t want to be silenced again.

But she wasn’t looking for romance, right? And he’d said he wasn’t either, giving her a bitter taste of disappointment. Besides, he was the subject of her investigation, and if they ever met again purely for investigative purposes, she’d have to keep her suddenly awakened heart locked up in a safe.

Unlike the safe she was about to see, it would have to be one impossible to break into. The lavender scent of the air freshener reminded her of the fancy dress now safely packed away, ready to be returned. “Um, I have to warn you—that dress I borrowed? Its condition with grass stains probably leaves a lot to be desired. And I lost one shoe. I’m sorry.”

“Huh. Those shoes were expensive. I’ll have to deduct it from your fee. But I’ll let it slide about the dress. I have an excellent dry cleaner, but if it can’t be fixed, it can be replaced.” Ms. Mueller’s voice dipped so low the speaker barely caught the rest. “Unlike some things.”

Right. Here, Rachel was not focusing on the job she was paid to do. And she did create a mess out of her assignment after years of exemplary work. “I’d better let you go now. I’m not sure if I’ll lose cell service out here soon.”

“All right. Sounds like you’re planning a long drive. I’ll look for your email in the morning. Have a good night.”

After cruising along on the country road leading to a ranch, coincidentally belonging to Tex’s family, Rachel drove over the stock gap. The rising sun cast a cheerful glow on greenery dotted with grazing horses and cattle. What a welcome change from the indifferent gray of asphalt and concrete and glass buildings in her far-from-cheerful part of Charleston. Cows mooed as she passed them, maybe expressing their disapproval over her eating a hamburger last night.

Time seemed to slow down here. The sky was clear when she arrived, unlike her mind that kept returning to Tex. Every second spent with him was magical, making her long for more. Yet she couldn’t even tell him her name, couldn’t allow hope that they’d ever meet again.

“We always want what we can’t have, right?” she muttered under her breath.

She had much more compassion for Cinderella now. How heartbreaking must it have been falling in love with Prince Charming, knowing she’d have to disappear and leave him behind? That every moment of dancing in his arms was forbidden? That after midnight she was about to lose not just the carriage and beautiful dress but also the man who’d become dear to her. Rachel had never thought about that part of the beloved fairy tale, too busy trying to work out the logistics of why the crystal shoe in the prince’s hand didn’t transform back into Cinderella’s pathetic wooden clog.

The expensive lavender shoe Rachel left behind bugged her, and not only because of the reduced fee. But it wasn’t like she could return, search for it, and retrieve it.

Her heart shifted as she glided the rattling car along the gravel road. It wasn’t just about Tex being so suave or carrying her in his arms, his impressive muscles bulging in that tailored tuxedo. She felt a pull toward him, toward those attentive blue eyes, that she couldn’t explain, one she should stifle fast.

She drove up to a simple, one-story, terracotta-toned ranch house. Huh. Such a difference from the gigantic futuristic beach house where her new friend Kennedy used to live.

A barking duet sounded inside the house.

When Kennedy opened the massive oak front door, two dogs—a beagle and a golden retriever puppy—rolled out onto the porch, barking in earnest. They jumped and hung on Rachel’s legs, one on each.

“Well, hello, my darlings.” She leaned to them and petted first the puppy, just edging out of cute clumsiness on her way to becoming a gangly teenager, then the beagle, enjoying the smooth fur against her palm and the enthusiasm lapping her fingertips.

Their short tails wagged like propellers, and the beagle licked her face, his pink tongue slightly rough against her skin. Meanwhile, the puppy climbed down two steps from the porch, ready to explore any changes in the yard.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Kennedy hurried outside and scooped up the squealing puppy who wiggled before settling in her arms.

It was hard to believe this relaxed, calm woman was the guarded and seemingly standoffish heiress Rachel met when Kennedy hired Rachel and her team to provide security. Rachel hadn’t seen Kennedy even once when she wasn’t dressed up and well put together. Now, she stood barefooted in a white T-shirt and soft-looking sand-hued pants, her face makeup-free. A certain glow showed an inner happiness that a tumultuous night like this couldn’t overshadow.

Kennedy smiled, and some pressure eased up on Rachel’s chest. “Rachel!” Kennedy waved her inside. “Come on in. Thank you so much for getting here so quickly.”

The beagle dashed inside first, slipped on the hardwood floor, then got up.

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