Adonis in Texas (Rugged and Risque 2)

Ginger groaned. “They stole all the cash I had in the store Friday night. Damn it.” She stomped her heel on the sidewalk.

Ryan suddenly appeared and Ginger had to tell him the criminals had struck again.

He said, “You two go speak with the sheriff. I’ll square up with Ruby and then meet you there.”

“Come on,” Ginger said to Reese. “Lydia will have a field day with this, but I’ve got to give my side of the story too.”

They rushed down the street and into the sheriff’s office. His head snapped up at the after-hours intrusion. He sat behind a large desk in a glass-enclosed office. His deputies had apparently left for the evening or were on patrol.

Pushing his chair back, he stood and came out of his office, eyeing both Ginger and Reese with concern in his warm brown eyes.

“Ladies, what can I do for you this evening?”

Reese said, “I was just mugged.”

“And I was the one robbed on Friday night.” Her spirits dipped at the admission. “I begged Ryan Bain not to tell you it was me.”

Both women recapped their incidences. Ryan came through the door with Ginger’s belongings and two Styrofoam containers holding their dinner as Reese was answering questions Sheriff Johnson posed.

After writing up his reports, the sheriff said, “I’m concerned about you returning to the B&B tonight, Reese. The thieves have your purse with your driver’s license that has your address on it and your keys.” Another thought seemed to occur to him and he asked, “Do you have any guests?”

“Just me,” Ryan said, which Reese confirmed with a nod. “I took the room with the private entrance, so I’ve got an extra key to the B&B, but you’ll still want to have all the locks changed as soon as possible, Reese.”

The sheriff asked her, “Is there somewhere you can stay tonight? I don’t want you alone there and I think Ryan ought to look after Ginger.”

Reese said, “Liza will be gracious enough to put me up. And it’d be good for her to have someone else in the cottage, since she hasn’t moved in with Jack yet and he’s at the saloon late into the night.”

“Good thinking.” Sheriff Johnson’s attention shifted to Ginger. “You live out on the lake where we don’t patrol on a regular basis. It’s rural and your house is set way back. I’m worried about our response time if they happened to have followed you home at some point. They might come after you again.”

Her gut coiled tight as he continued. “I don’t mean to offend you, but given your size, you’re basically easy pickings, Ginger.”

She spared a glance at Ryan, but he smiled confidently and said, “You’ll be fine, sweetheart. I’ll make sure of it.”

“All right, then,” the sheriff said. “We’ll get cracking on this.”

Reese borrowed the phone on Deputy Baker’s desk, placing a call to Liza.

Ginger’s tension ebbed, but quickly returned when the sheriff said to Ryan, “I’ll get your gun from the safe.”

Panic shot through her. “No gun,” she said as she held up her hand. “Absolutely no guns in my house.” She said this to Ryan, giving him a pointed look.

“Ginger—” the sheriff started to say, but Ryan jumped in.

“It’s okay. From what we’ve learned so far, those men aren’t armed. If that’s truly the case, I can handle them. I’m a black belt.”

Taken aback, she asked, “Seriously, do you excel at everything you do?” Because he certainly had romance, rescuing damsels in distress and following his convictions down pat.

He chuckled. Under his breath, he said, “That remains to be seen.” In his normal tone, he told the sheriff, “I’m okay without the gun.”

Sheriff Johnson mentally debated this a moment, then nodded. He said, “I’m going to take a look around this evening and check in with others to find out if they’ve seen these guys. We’ll regroup in the afternoon when you get back from Austin.”

Ginger’s brow furrowed. Obviously Ryan was involved in the investigation to an extent, but to be working so closely with the sheriff on it? And what business did he have in Austin? For that matter… “Why is your gun in the safe here? And more importantly, why do you even own a gun?”

“We can talk about that later, sweetheart.” Reese was off the phone and he said to her, “How about we escort you to your car and we’ll all head over to the B&B so you can pack a bag and I can get my things and stow them in my truck.”

“Absolutely,” she agreed. “I’d feel much better if you were there while I throw a suitcase together.”

They departed the office and the sheriff headed off to make his rounds.