Rye Harper sighed as he looked at the clock. It had seriously been the longest day of his life. He’d been happy to see the state police come pick up his asshole, should-have-made-it-to-the-toilet prisoner so he had some peace.

Was Max doing what he’d told him to do? He’d been explicit. Max needed to buy two dozen red roses from the Trading Post and a bottle of nice champagne, but he shouldn’t forget two glasses because all Gene had out at the Movie Motel was coffee mugs. Coffee mugs weren’t romantic.

He was supposed to take three of the roses and pluck the petals and spread them over the bed. Another rose would be used to make a path from the door to the bed where Max would place the champagne and glasses in a nice bucket of ice and be waiting for her when she came back. Then he would kiss her and explain to her that he had the whole evening planned out complete with dinner being delivered. That was where Rye came in. He would pick up two lovely steak dinners from the Lodge. He would knock on the door, shove the food at Max, and then run back to the first place that had a decent bottle of Scotch.

Awful fucking day.

The phone rang out at his secretary’s desk.

“Callie! Phone!” Rye yelled from the comfort of his office. Yes, he could get it himself, but he was feeling selfish and Callie had taken an extra-long lunch. He was going to sit in here and brood. He needed brooding time.

A short figure with dark hair flew past the open door in her attempt to get to the phone. She was pushing her smart glasses further up on her nose.

“Got it!” she screamed before she answered the phone. “Bliss County Sheriff’s Department.” Her voice was now brisk and professional.

Rye listened for a second while drumming his fingers along the desktop. Yep, he would drown himself in Scotch and then he wouldn’t have to think about Max in bed with Rachel.

“No, Mel, I’m sorry. I don’t have any CIA connections,” Callie was saying in a soothing voice. It could only mean one thing.

Rye let his head fall to the desk. No time for brooding. He would have to go out to Mel’s and pretend to check for bugs again. If he didn’t, the old fellow would sit in Stella’s diner for hours telling anyone and everyone who came in that Bliss was a focal point for the coming invasion. The locals might ignore him, but he tended to freak out the tourists, and it was tourist season. The last thing he needed was to get called into another meeting of the Bliss County Chamber of Commerce, where he regularly got raked over the coals.

“Hey, boss.” Callie interrupted his thoughts, and he lifted his head off the desk.

Rye tried to look like he wasn’t moping. “Yeah, I know. I gotta get my ass out to Mel’s and look for alien technology. Get the Detector 3000.”

Callie snorted. “I’ll make sure to get that for you. I’ll also tell Stefan that we’ll need to move up to the 4000 model soon. Mel is worried because alien technology apparently changes often.”

Stefan Talbot was an artist who worked with everything from oils on canvas to metals. He was also a childhood friend of Rye’s. And Max and Callie’s. The four of them had been the closest kids in age in the small town while growing up. They’d come to rely on one another for everything, including the problem of how to deal with Melvin Hughes. Stef had been the one to come up with the idea of the Detector 3000. It was a Wii controller with some modifications to make it seem much more impressive. Stef had added lights and it now made some high-tech sounds. Mel had been impressed, but after six months had wondered if there wasn’t an even more sophisticated device.

Aliens, after all, were tricky bastards.

“I’ll let him know.” Rye reached out for his hat. “Anything else? Did Logan go out and talk to the nudists?”

Max had pitched a small fit about his nudist encounter a couple of days before, and Rye had made a note to send his deputy out to handle it. Rye attributed the fact that the fit was such a small thing to his brother’s state of sexual satisfaction. He wondered briefly how he was going to handle it if Rachel started staying the night at their house. How was he going to stand sleeping alone when Rachel was right next door?

“Yes, and they prefer to be called naturists.” Callie’s mother had run the naturist community for years. It was Callie who always reminded him to be tolerant toward the clothing-challenged. “Logan went out this morning, and it’s a good thing, too. We’ve had four reports of 503’s since yesterday afternoon.”

Rye groaned. A 503 was Bliss County’s code for a naked penis sighting. A 504 referred to naked females, but strangely, almost no one ever called that in. “Yeah, they’re all about the nature walk right now. It’s wildflower time. I hope they don’t go too high into the mountains. I would hate for the damn bears to try to mate with one of them.”

Callie laughed. “I was talking to Bill, and he was excited about all the activities they have planned for the summer. You should know that the men are planning a warrior-in-the-buff outing. There’ll be lots of chanting and drumming.”

The sheriff sighed. Bill Hartman owned the land the commune was on. Rye was about to give him a call when he noticed how enthused Callie looked. Callie loved that commune and all the people who lived there. They had made sure her mother had been comfortable while she lost her long-term battle with cancer. Callie was perfectly comfortable spending a lot of her free time with the naturists. Rye shook his head as he looked at the woman who was as close to him as a sister. He always made sure he called before he showed up at her cabin to avoid getting a show.

“Put it on the calendar, please. And remind me to buy some industrial-strength earplugs. If they keep Max awake, he’ll make the bears look soft and cuddly.” If he even noticed over all the noise Rye was sure Rachel made. She looked like a screamer. The quiet ones were always tigers in bed.

“I heard Max has a new girl.” Callie’s tone was soft, and Rye heard sympathy creeping into her voice. “You okay with that?”

Callie had been his assistant for five years. She’d taken the job when he became the sheriff. Rye knew not much got by Callie Sheppard.

“Sure,” Rye lied, plastering a smile on his face. “I think it’s great that Max is happy.”

He felt her eyes on him. It was the look of a too perceptive little sister figuring out exactly what her big brother didn’t want her to discover. Callie shook her head. “Do you honestly think this whole ‘dating apart’ thing will work out? Don’t you think you’re fighting your nature a bit?”

“Tell Max that,” Rye said morosely. He didn’t even try to keep things like that from Callie. She tended to see through him. “He’s the one who wanted to stop trying. His reason? He doesn’t think I’ll ever find what I want as long as he’s around. Then he goes out and finds Rachel.”

“And you like her, too.” Callie’s brown eyes watched him, studying his responses. At times like this, she reminded him of a cute little owl.

Rye shrugged. “She’s okay, I guess.”

“Right,” she said, seemingly unconvinced.

Callie started to play with her shoulder-length brown hair. Rye recognized that look. Callie knew something and wasn’t sure she should tell. Callie was the worst gossip in the county, and it looked like Rachel was already on her radar.

“Spit it out.”

Callie bit her bottom lip, and her eyes slid away from his face. “I don’t know if I should.”

Rye was unwilling to play games. He wanted to know what was up with Rachel. It was obvious she was in trouble, and he needed to be ready for it. She belonged to Max, and Max’s happiness was important to Rye. “Tell me or you’re fired.”

Callie rolled her eyes. “I’m terrified of that threat. Fine. It isn’t anything bad. Rachel seems like a real sweet girl. I simply think she’s lying about a few things. She told Stella she was staying at the motel on the outskirts of town.”

Rye shrugged and released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “That’s not bad. It’s clean, at least.”

“That’s just it, Rye,” Callie continued. “I talked to Gene yesterday. He says she’s never been in. That motel is his baby. Even if he hadn’t checked her in himself, do you honestly believe he wouldn’t remember her name?”

No, he didn’t believe that for a second. Why would Rachel lie about where she was staying? He thought about the trace he’d put on her earlier this morning. He’d put her name into the system along with her plate number. He hadn’t turned up anything yet, and that was slightly disconcerting. Her Texas driver’s license had come up clean, but he’d gotten nothing else. She didn’t have so much as a traffic ticket. The license listed her address as an apartment in Houston, Texas. Rye was going to call the police there and ask a couple of questions, but first he needed to figure out where she was staying here.

The phone rang again, and Callie went to answer it.

Rye walked to the closet and took out his soon-to-be obsolete Detector 3000. He made sure all the bells and whistles were working. He sighed while he straightened his tie. It was important to present a professional image when dealing with the crazies of the county. The key was to look like he took them seriously.

Callie was slightly breathless. She hung up the phone as Rye walked into the main office. “You might want to hold off heading to Mel’s.”

“Why?”

She winced. “It appears that Max showed up at the motel with a bunch of roses and was promptly told that Rachel didn’t live there. He’s been yelling ever since.”

“Shit. I sent him there. He’ll take it to the worst possible place. What’s his ETD?” It was Rye’s own code. It referred to Max’s estimated time of destruction.

“I’d give it about two minutes.”

But it was less than that. As the words left Callie’s mouth, Max walked by the windows of the sheriff’s office. He held a bunch of red roses in one hand, but they’d been through some trauma. Rye whistled as he caught sight of his brother. Big Brother looked like a bull stomping down the street. He plowed through a group of tourists ambling down Main Street.

Rye handed the Detector 3000 to Callie. “Send Logan out when he gets back from dealing with the nudists, naturists, whatever. I’ve got to go save my brother from himself.”

Rye jogged out of the office and ran to catch up.

“Hey, buddy, let’s talk about this.” He would try to reason with Max first.

Max stopped in the middle of the street. Rye took a quick step back, not entirely sure his brother couldn’t breathe fire. He looked perfectly capable of it. “There’s not a damn thing to talk about. She lied to me.”

“She’s not staying at the motel. That doesn’t mean she’s shacked up with someone.” He knew exactly what his brother was thinking. Max wouldn’t ever consider more innocent options. He was a worst-case scenario kind of guy.

“Then why would she lie?” Max’s mouth was a stubborn line. He shook his head, clutched his sad-looking bouquet, and started walking toward the diner. His boots thudded along the concrete.

Rye fell into step alongside him. This was a familiar place for Rye. He’d spent a good portion of his life being the voice of reason for Max. Of course, Max played his part, too. Whenever Rye got really mad, Max was the one who watched his back. “You need to calm down. Do you want her to see this side of you? I thought we were trying to avoid that.”

“If she didn’t want to see it, she shouldn’t have lied.” Max’s face was set in a mulish stare.

“You’re just going to let your freak flag fly, aren’t you, bro?” Rye asked more to himself than Max.

Max marched to the diner doors and blew through them like the hurricane he was. Rye sighed. He had to hope Rachel could handle his brother. Rye didn’t bother to follow Max inside. There was nothing he could do now except get in the way.

The sight of her beat-up Jeep caught Rye’s eye. There was an awful lot of stuff in the back of that Jeep. He had a suspicion and walked over to confirm it.

A few minutes later, he knew his brother was going to feel bad about yelling at his honey. She was living out of her car. That’s why she was lying about the motel. She didn’t need Max walking in and announcing her lie to the whole town. She was ashamed.

Sure enough, the doors to the diner opened, and Max stumbled out backward. His eyes were wide and his face registered no small amount of shock as he tripped and landed on his ass. Rachel strode out a second later, roses in one hand. She held them over his head and started to beat the hell out of his brother with them.

Rye fell in love right then and there, and knew there was no going back.

 

* * * *

 

Rachel had been thinking about Max all day. Of course, knowing how they would end the day was what really had her brain filled with Max.

After that day by the pond, she’d forced them to slow down, but that didn’t mean she didn’t think about what they’d done. She couldn’t get it out of her mind.

He’d been everything she could want in a lover.

After they’d gotten out of the pond and dried off, Max had taken a blanket she kept in the back and laid it out under a big cluster of aspen trees. He’d laid her down and spread her legs. Rachel could still feel his mouth on her. He’d parted her labia and gently licked every inch of her slick pussy. Rachel loved the rough feel of his beard on the soft skin of her inner thighs. Her whole body flushed remembering the way he’d fucked her with his tongue.

That night she’d dreamed of Max. And his brother had shown up. His brother had caught them by the pond and there had been only one way to keep the sheriff from hauling them in.

Yep, she’d had a porn dream. A kinky as hell porn dream. That was when she knew she had to slow down.

She felt a slow smile come across her face. Her man might not know it, but she intended to pay him back tonight. She was going to get that big cock of his in her mouth, and she wasn’t letting go until she’d blown his mind. Rachel checked the clock. It was almost two. Her shift ended at four, and then she had a couple of hours to get to the motel and check in. She winced at the thought of spending $24.99, but it was only the once. She wanted a night in a real bed with Max. She would get to sleep pressed up against his warm body.

The only thing that might be better would be sleeping with Max on one side and Rye on the other.

Rachel shook her head. That wasn’t happening. Over the course of their dates, Max had spent a good portion of their time talking about his brother. It was obvious they were close. Max had painted a picture of a funny, charming, caring guy who would make someone a good husband. The kind of guy who overtipped a down-on-her-luck waitress even though she’d been cold to him.

It didn’t matter how nice Ryan Harper was, he was a cop, and she didn’t want to have anything to do with him. There was too much at stake. Besides, she wasn’t that girl. She was a perfectly normal girl on the run from a murderous stalker, and perfectly normal girls didn’t get involved with alternative lifestyles. It was important that she fit in, not stand out.

“I’m telling you, he’s up to something,” Hank Welch said with a suspicious look in his eyes.

Hank was the feed store owner. She’d been studying up on the town, trying to remember the regular’s names and what they did. He ran the Bliss County Feed Store Church. He was also a pastor. The feed store portion of his business was closed on Sundays when he held services. He sat across from Teeny Green, who ran the trading post with her life partner, Marie. Teeny was a little bird of a woman with big brown eyes and a tiny frame. Hank was a small man, but Teeny made him look almost normal.

“I made a mistake and shorted him on his feed. When I offered to fix it, do you know what he said?”

“Probably something you shouldn’t repeat.” Teeny’s eyes were wide as she waited.

Hank took a long drink of his iced tea. “He told me not to worry about it. He said he had plenty for the horses he has right now. He told me I could make up for it with next week’s delivery. He’s going to kill me, Teeny. I always knew he’d go psycho killer on us one of these days.”

“He is not a psycho killer.” Rachel was unable to remain silent. She knew exactly who they were talking about. Despite Bliss’s odd population, there was only one citizen who everyone believed might go crazy one day. “Max Harper is a reasonable man. He knows you’ll make up for the mistake and that there’s no reason to get angry.”

Teeny leaned over and whispered something in Hank’s ear. The feed store owner smiled broadly. “Are you serious? Two dozen?”

She nodded. “He made Marie take all the thorns out because he couldn’t stand the thought that she might cut herself. He walked into the courthouse today and paid his tickets. He didn’t even argue and was polite to Maybelle. Now I heard he choked a little, but he managed a thank you at the end.”

“Are you serious?” Hank stood up and slapped a twenty down. “Well, that puts a different spin on things.”

Rachel picked up the twenty. “I’ll get your change.”

He shook his head. “None needed, Miss Rachel. You keep Max happy, and there’s more where that came from. You’ll have a whole town worshipping the ground you walk on if Max Harper is even twenty percent less of an asshole.”

He strode out before Rachel could protest.

Stella walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Rachel stared down at the twenty. His bill had been $4.98. She turned to Stella, her mouth hanging slightly open.

“Did I just…?” She couldn’t quite bring herself to say it.

Stella didn’t have the same problem. “I think you just got paid for sleeping with Max. Next time, hold out for more, hon. This town will likely pay through the nose to keep Max from exploding.”

Rachel shook her head and stalked over to the cash register. She could feel herself blushing furiously. “How do people know about that? We’ve been dating and all but we’ve only…you know…just the once.”

Stella laughed loud and long. “This is a small town, Rachel. Get used to it. Everybody is up in everybody else’s business.”

Teeny grinned. “Besides, Max walked into the store about an hour ago and took all of the roses we got in yesterday. He told Marie we should order in some lilies. He said lilies are your favorite flower.”

Rachel flushed. He’d asked her about flowers that day at the pond. He’d been running a wildflower over her naked breasts at the time, the petals tickling against her skin. She’d felt more alive in that hour she’d spent with him than in all the years before. Alive and connected. “I do like lilies.”

The door to the diner flew open, and Rachel looked up, startled at the sound. Max stood in the doorway, and the expression on his face seemed to mean something to everyone else. He wore jeans and a Western shirt with pearl snaps. His boots had been polished to a shine. His Stetson was shoved on his head, and he didn’t bother to take it off. All around her, customers started whispering, and a couple of people dove for cover.

Stella sighed, her eyes rolling. “I’ll try to protect the tourists. Hon, now would be a good time for you to run.”

Rachel stared at Max, who was glaring right back at her. He targeted her and didn’t pay any attention to the rest of the diner. His gorgeous face was locked in an unholy grimace, but she didn’t feel a need to run. Rachel had met a truly evil man, and Max didn’t fit the bill. He could growl all he liked. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her physically. He, on the other hand, might not be able to say the same. If she was about to meet the Mr. Hyde part of Max, he’d better get ready to deal with her inner bitch.

“You got a problem with something, Max?” She put one hand on her hip. She didn’t know what had happened. She only knew she wasn’t backing down. No man looked at her like that, came at her like that, without a damn fine explanation.

Her mind suddenly went to Rye and how he’d handled her earlier that day. Most men would have turned on her, but Rye Harper had softened in the face of her coldness. He’d backed off as though he knew she was aching and couldn’t stand to hurt her more.

Somehow she doubted Rye Harper would be standing here looking at her like that.

“You better believe I got a problem, baby,” he drawled, but didn’t come any closer.

She could see she’d thrown him off by standing her ground. Obviously Max was used to intimidating people. Her heart did a flip-flop as she wondered if this wasn’t Max’s way of getting out of the relationship. She’d made it plain that tonight was more serious. Tonight they turned a corner. He’d been attentive and kind to her even when they weren’t making love. A part of her had started to believe his whole “I’m crazy about you” routine. Maybe it was all a part of Max’s game. He’d realized he didn’t want anything serious. She took a deep breath.

She wished they didn’t have an audience. She leaned in to try to keep the conversation between them. “You don’t need to make a scene, Max. I get it. It was fun while it lasted. I won’t bother you. I’m not some clinging vine. I thought I made it clear to you. Just make sure you sit in Stella’s or Jen’s section the next time you come in for lunch.”

She pointedly pulled out her order form and made her way to table ten. She ignored the angry bull in the room and smiled pleasantly at the couple watching the scene with anxious eyes.

“Is everything all right, ma’am?” The man’s eyes kept darting between her and Max.

She waved her hand. “He’s a drama queen. Have you decided on lunch?”

“Drama queen?” Max’s shout rang through the diner.

She sighed. He obviously wanted a big scene for some reason. Maybe he got off on it. Maybe he wanted everyone in town to know that he could take a woman or leave her. “I’m going to give you another minute to decide. If I were you, I’d stay away from the special. Hal isn’t exactly what I’d call a French cook. He just watches a lot of Food Network and then thinks he can replicate the recipes using what he has at hand. I tried to explain that Miracle Whip isn’t a good substitute for truffle oil, but he keeps trying.” She turned back to Max. She didn’t bother to hide her annoyance. “Is there something I can do for you, Max? Like I said, this scene is unnecessary. All you have to do is tell me you’re done. If you have something else to say, make it quick. I have a job to do, and I would prefer to not be fired because my one-night stand turned out to be a big idiot.”

His blue eyes were dark. She watched as he clenched his jaw tightly. His words were ground out. “Well, darlin’, mine turned out to be a liar.”

What? She quickly went over a whole week’s worth of conversation. They’d had sex that first day and she’d mentioned how much she liked his cock. No lies there. The rest of the time they’d talked a lot about him and his life here in Bliss. They’d had a couple of heavy make-out sessions. She’d pointedly avoided any talk of her past. She couldn’t come up with a single lie she’d told. “What are you talking about?”

“I just got back from your place, Rach.” Max pointed at her like a lawyer in a courtroom drama. “I thought I’d convince Gene to let me into your room and set up a surprise. Flowers, champagne, the whole romantic treatment. Only no one there’s ever heard your name.”

She winced inwardly. That explained a lot. She leaned in and lowered her voice. Max might not care about the whole town knowing they were having an affair, but she did. “You went by too early. I was getting a room this afternoon.”

His jaw was a stubborn line as he spoke between clenched teeth. “You lied to me.”

“About what? No, I’m not staying at the motel right now, but I was going to tonight. I fully intend to be there, Max.” She tried to soothe him. She put a hand on his bicep and stroked him. She was pretty sure now that he wasn’t trying to break it off with her. “I wasn’t trying to trick you.”

“I want to know what his name is.”

Rachel went cold and dropped her hand from his arm. She took a step back. If there was one thing she recognized, it was jealousy. Unwarranted jealousy. Who is he, Liz? I want to know. How the hell was this happening to her again? “Who are you talking about, Max?”

“Whoever it is you’re living with,” he said darkly. “Are you married?”

“No.” There was an ember of rage that was always in her belly. Most of the time fear drowned out the rage, but Max stoked that fire, and she felt her hands start to tremble. She’d been honest with him about her feelings and her status as a single person. The minute he had a spark of a doubt, he accused her of cheating. And now they were done. “I don’t have a boyfriend, either. I thought I might have one, but he turned out to be one more asshole in a very long line of them.” She stepped forward and pulled the bouquet of roses out of his hand. His face registered shock as she pushed him back. “You’re the only man I’ve slept with in years. I told you that, but somewhere along the way, I completely forgot you were a man. Men don’t believe women. We’re all whores, right?”

“Now, Rachel, I did not say that and I did not use that word,” Max started with obvious trepidation in his voice. He looked like a man whose whole world had flipped on a dime. He backed up, and she continued to push him. His back hit the diner doors and they came open, sunlight spilling inside.

“I won’t put up with it, Max!” Rachel no longer cared that they had an audience. “I won’t put up with some possessive asshole who accuses me of cheating every time I’m out of his line of sight.”

“I didn’t exactly accuse you of cheating.” Max muttered something about being wrong right before he tripped and found himself on his ass. His hat came off his head and fell to the side.

It gave Rachel the perfect opportunity to make a few things clear to him. She hit him as hard as she could with the bunch of roses. “You will treat me like a lady, Maxwell Harper. You will politely ask me questions, and you will not accuse me of anything again unless you’re damn sure I’ve done something to deserve it. You will not walk into my place of business and tell the town I’m some sort of harlot. Is that understood?”

Max looked up at her. There were rose petals and greenery in his hair. He looked like he wanted to argue, but he swallowed twice and replied simply, “Yes, baby.”

There was a surprised burst of laughter, and Rachel turned to see the sheriff standing there. He quickly stopped laughing when she turned on him.

“Do you want some of this, too?” She held the sad flowers out threateningly.

“No, ma’am,” he said, his face going somber.

She glared at him. She’d whacked the hell out of his brother. He might not take kindly to that sort of behavior. “Are you planning to arrest me?”

“No!” Max shouted.

Rye tipped his hat in a gallant gesture. “Ma’am, anyone can see that your assault of my brother’s person was entirely provoked.”

“Good.” She suddenly felt the weight of the entire diner looking at her. She turned and, sure enough, there were a whole bunch of faces pressed against the glass. It was past time to retreat. She smoothed her apron down and tossed the bouquet on Max’s lap. “I’m going back to work now. You’ll understand if I choose not to see you this evening. I’ve had my fill of men thinking they own me.”

“Rachel—” Max got to his feet.

“Good-bye, Max,” she said.

He looked so sad standing there that she wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around him and tell him she forgave him. It was a mistake she couldn’t afford to make. She forced herself to turn and walk back into the diner. She could cry over him later. Instead of making love with him tonight, she would find a place to park and think about leaving.

There was a loud cheer as she walked through the doors and got back to work.