Sitting in a jail cell wasn’t the worst thing. Sitting in a jail cell and knowing Samantha was hurt and alone was insufferable. Having Dave Belton in the cell next to him was like throwing salt on an open wound.

“She’ll be gone by the time you get out of here. That’s her MO. She grew up running from trouble,” Dave taunted Dalton from his cell.

It was a good thing he couldn’t see him or get to him. All he wanted right now was to shut the asshole up. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Ten years. I’ve had her for ten years. She’s almost like a daughter.”

Dalton sat on the cement bench and leaned against the wall. “That’s irony for you. Her father was an abusive asshole too. If she wasn’t contractually bound, you’d already be in her rearview mirror.”

“Unlike you, she’ll never leave me. I hold all the cards. You may have your dick inside of her, but my influence is wrapped around her so tightly, she can’t breathe unless I say so. She’s weak and scared. Always has been. Always will be.”

“How’s that nose?” Dalton hated that Samantha hurt her hand, but loved that she stood her ground and defended herself. “Scratch that. How does it feel to know someone you consider weak and scared kicked your ass?”

“Probably better than knowing you’re going back to jail because they think you did it.”

Dalton laughed. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with. If I had been the one to hit you, you wouldn’t have gotten up. They don’t call my right hand the fist of death for nothing.” It wasn’t something he liked to brag about, but Dave Belton needed to know he got off easy. If Dalton had made it to Samantha before she threw that punch, Dave would be in the hospital or the morgue instead of jail.

“I’d gladly do time for Samantha. I can understand your need to lie. I mean, she’s a hundred pounds soaking wet. Not sure my ego could take that beating either. I get why you have to invent a story. Tall tales compensate for your little wiener.”

“You’re lucky there’s a wall separating us.”

“Trembling over here.” Dalton shook with a silent chuckle. The problem with guys like Dave was they were all talk and no action. They hid behind words and women. “Too bad I can still hear you. Makes me want to give you that smack down you’re telling everyone about. Do you need a doctor? There’s one across the street. He’ll even give you a Life Saver if you don’t cry.”

“You two done?” Sheriff Cooper walked around the corner with keys jingling in his hands.

Dalton heard Dave shuffle and walk to the bars. “It’s about time you came to let me out.”

“About that.” Sheriff Cooper stood between the two cells so both men could see him. “Seems to be a discrepancy with your story.”

“Is this some small town, favoritism bullshit going on?” Dalton couldn’t see Dave’s face, but he could hear the rage in his voice. “I’ll sue the hell out of you and this town if you don’t let me go right now.”

“There’s a problem. I thought maybe you’d like to tell me what happened one more time.”

Sheriff Cooper looked at Dalton. He wasn’t exactly wearing a smile on his face, more of a pay-attention expression that Dalton found interesting.

“I told you already. I was talking to Indigo … I mean Samantha, and out of nowhere Dalton Black attacked me.”

“From which direction did he approach?” Sheriff Cooper jotted some things in his notepad as Dave recited his lie.

“He’s so big, he was everywhere at once.”

“Did you try to defend yourself?”

“I didn’t have time. He punched me, and I fell down the stairs.”

“Hmm.” The sheriff walked towards Dalton’s cell and unlocked the door. “You’re free to go.”

He exited and stood in front of Dave’s cell. The man had his red face pressed to the bars. “You’ve got to be kidding me? He’s a felon.”

Sheriff shook his head. “Ex-felon. He did his time.”

“He hit me.”

“Deputy Bancroft? Please bring the evidence back here.”

Seconds later, Mark Bancroft walked back, carrying an expensive looking camera. “Hold this button.” The sheriff called Dalton over, and they stood in front of Dave’s cell. He was far enough away that Dave couldn’t touch anything or anyone, but he had a great view of the entire event captured pixel by pixel. The sheriff held the button down and displayed the pictures in rapid succession like a video.

“Seems to me that you assaulted Ms. White and she defended herself. She’s across the street getting a cast put on, and may press charges. You have the right to do likewise, but the evidence is pretty damning. Would you like to call your lawyer?”

Dalton didn’t wait to hear Dave’s answer. He bolted from the back room and raced across the street to Doc Parker’s clinic.

Doc was putting the last layer of plaster in place when he walked inside. As he did for every patient, he unwrapped a cherry Life Saver and popped it into Samantha’s mouth when she opened it to say something.

“Mmm,” she moaned. “That’s almost worth breaking my hand.”

Doc turned to Dalton. “Might as well look at you while you’re here. Take off your pants.”

Dalton stared at the Doc and then at Samantha. “Now?”

“Don’t be shy. I’m sure she’s seen it all already.”

Samantha laughed and waggled her perfectly plucked brows. “Yeah, Dalton, take off your pants.”

“In a second.” He walked to her and cradled her newly cast hand in his. “Does it hurt?”

She shook her head. “Less now than it did when it was pressed against Dave’s nose.”

Doc walked to the door. “I'll get her some pain meds. When I get back, only one of you better be naked.”

He shut the door behind him, giving them some privacy.

“Answer me truthfully. Are you in pain?”

She lifted the black cast. Her choice of color wasn’t lost on him. “It’s not that bad. Doc says it’s a hairline fracture. Should heal fine.”

He cupped her face. “You were a badass.”

She smiled and sat taller. “I kind of was. I feel good about it all.” She lifted her good hand and pulled him down for a kiss. “I’m glad Jake got those pictures.”

“You know him?”

“Yes, he’s around a lot. I told him I’d give him an exclusive interview a few days ago. I guess that went a long way in his book. He chased me down here and showed me the footage he recorded. I sent him straight to the sheriff’s office.”

“Dave is furious.”

Her smile lit up the room. “Dave is fired. I put in a call to my agent, and he’s agreed to end the contract. I was so stupid to sign such a long deal with both of them. Talk about young and dumb. I didn’t know any better.”

“That’s the thing: When you know better, you do better.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Oprah said that a long time ago.”

He’d never admit his love for Oprah to anyone but her. “Her show was my guilty pleasure for six years. It was all reruns because she went off the air in 2011, but I watched and learned.”

She pressed her lips to his. “You are always a surprise to me.”

“One of you better be undressed, and it better be Dalton,” Doc’s voice sounded from the end of the hallway.

“That’s my cue.” He unbuttoned his jeans and let them fall to the floor.

She hopped off the table to get a good look at his leg. “It still looks so painful.”

“You have the most amazing way of making me forget the discomfort.”

Samantha hummed, which made it near impossible for Dalton to not get hard. Her voice did things to his heart, but when she hummed in that low throaty way, it vibrated through his body and settled between his legs.

“You ready?”

Dalton hopped onto the cold table and eyed Samantha. “Behave yourself.”

“What? I’m working on a melody.” She went back to humming the low tones that made him stiff. He kept his eyes on Doc’s bulbous nose and overgrown eyebrows. That worked well to kill his desire.

Doc gave him a quick once-over and applied some antibiotic ointment to the deepest wounds. “You’ll live.” He walked to the door. “I don’t normally tell my patients to spend more time inside, but I’m thinking you two are dangerous when left in the wild. Go home and climb into bed.”

Dalton’s eyes grew wide. “You heard him, he said we have to get into bed.”

Samantha tossed him his jeans. “I heard him. Hurry up.”

Dalton caught Doc before he walked out the door. “No Life Saver for me?”

Doc nodded toward Samantha. “She got the last one. You’ll have to see if she’ll share.”

Samantha bolted past Doc toward the pharmacy. “Not sharing. You’ll have to get your own.”

“Kids,” Doc grumbled.

Because they’d both been driven to town, they walked back home. Dalton wrapped his arm around Samantha’s shoulders. He couldn’t help hearing Dave’s words in his head. “She’ll be gone by the time you get out of here.”

“I know your instinct to leave is strong … but don’t.”

She slowed her walk to a crawl. “Tell me something good that’s happened since my arrival?”

It twisted his gut that she didn’t see them as being something good. “We’re good. Don’t forget, we’re stronger together.”

She held up her cast. “I don’t know. I’m pretty strong on my own.” She threaded her left arm through his right and leaned against him. “I’m pretty sure Aspen Cove will breathe a sigh of relief when I’m gone.”

“If you leave, I may never breathe again.” Dalton hated that he’d let her get so deeply imbedded inside his heart. Weeks ago, he teased his friends about catching a love virus. Apparently, he had been exposed and had no immunity to Samantha White. He was head-over-heels in love with her, and that scared him more than anything.