The town hall was full to overflowing by the time Nate gently pushed his way through the crowd. He hadn’t been sure what to expect when Callie had told him she’d called a town meeting, but it wasn’t this crowd. He was used to citizens being fairly apathetic about what went on around them. He should have known this town would be different. It looked like everyone in Bliss had shown up. There was a loud hum of conversation going on around him as he settled Callie into a seat close to the front.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of her.” Zane slid into the open seat next to Callie like he belonged there.

He did. Zane belonged next to her more than he himself did. Zane was staying with her. Zane was committing to her. Damn it. The thought made him ache inside. He nodded shortly and turned away from the sight of her scooting closer to Zane. If he was half as smart as he claimed to be, he would be sitting on the other side of Callie, vying for attention.

“Sheriff!”

The loud calls of the people around him reminded Nate that even if he was willing to commit his life to being the sheriff of Bliss, he wouldn’t be sitting with Zane and Callie. Not tonight at least. There was a small raised stage at the front of the room with a long conference table and a place setting with his name on it. He had a meeting to run.

A frail figure stood in between the imposing bodies of Worthington and Leander. The agents looked ridiculously out of place among the locals. They were in perfectly pressed suits with hair that had been cut into the current style and wouldn’t dare to look windblown. He snickered inwardly. They would shit their pants if they had his job. Just the other day he’d had to help the park rangers deal with a huge grizzly who decided to invite himself into the Farley family’s cabin for supper. Then he had to talk to the boys, who had been luring the damn bear in for a science experiment. Yup, Worthington and Leander would have no idea how to handle a bear, much less the evil genius that was the Farley brothers.

When had he started thinking that way? Hell, he used to dress like the agents when he wasn’t on the job. He had the best clothes, the latest haircut, thousand-dollar shoes. When did all of that become something he snickered at? Clothes made the man, his father would say. Bullshit, his increasingly loud inner voice chimed in. What a man did, what he loved and protected, that made a man.

And now that he thought about it, his uniform was pretty comfy. It didn’t wrinkle so it was easy to take care of. He didn’t hate putting it on. He’d hated what it represented, but he was kind of coming to terms with it. When he went back to the DEA, he would dress in suits when they had meetings, put on ties that threatened to strangle him, and he would have to give up his well-worn boots because they weren’t snazzy enough.

He didn’t like that thought.

“Sheriff Wright.” The elderly man leaning on his walker looked relieved to see him walking up. Hiram Jones was the mayor of Bliss and had been for the last twenty years. He wore the town’s version of formal, a clean western shirt, bolo tie with a shiny silver clasp, and pressed blue jeans. A Stetson sat on his head, and Nate realized that Hiram must have taken this meeting seriously. After all, he’d put in his teeth. Hiram usually didn’t bother. Hiram scooted his walker with tennis balls covering the feet over closer to Nate. “I’m glad you’re here. I don’t think I like these two. Are you sure we need them around? Bliss can handle its own, if you know what I mean.”

Nate nodded politely and gave the elderly man a hand. He started maneuvering Hiram toward a seat at the front of the audience. He saw a place open next to Stella who, for some reason, had decided to dress like Annie Oakley. All she was missing was a shotgun strapped to her back, though Nate had no illusions that she could have one in her hands before he could blink. For all her crazy dress, she was solid. Stella was dependable, and she would take care of the mayor.

They all took care of each other here. He wouldn’t get that in DC.

“The special agents are merely here as backup, Mayor Jones,” Nate explained. “I assure you, I’m still in charge.”

Stella smiled up at the mayor and immediately began fussing over him. “You come on and sit down with me, Hi. Sheriff Wright will take care of those boys. Special agents? I don’t see anything special about them.”

Nate was satisfied the mayor was settled and walked back over to his former colleagues. He could hear them talking as they looked around the room. Now he wished this meeting was taking place in the town square in full daylight where their disdainful stares would be hidden behind their expensive sunglasses.

“This place is a complete joke,” Leander said, not bothering to keep his voice down. “Not a one of these people know their head from their ass.”

“Yeah, Wright, you gotta dump this place and come back to the real world.” Worthington was shaking his head. “Seriously, how can you stand it here? No one in this piddly town has ever had to face anything. I can’t stand all the syrupy sweetness. It’s like fucking Mayberry in here.”

“It’s not so bad.” Nate kept his tone moderate but had the sudden urge to wipe the snarky smile off Marcus Worthington’s face. And what was actually wrong with Mayberry? It had always seemed like a nice place to him.

Leander sighed. “It’s just a pity, a truly gifted agent like you getting stuck in this pathetic place because of misplaced loyalty. Look, Wright, I know he’s your partner and you’ve been friends for a long time, but Hollister is dragging you down. Marc and I have a proposal for you. There’s a lot of money to be made in our positions.”

Doing what? The real money was at the top. Nate couldn’t imagine Worthington and Leander made that much more than he had. Of course, they made more than his Bliss salary, but they also spent more. He didn’t need a ton of cash here in Bliss. No one judged him on the make of his car or how expensive his shoes were. They didn’t care. He didn’t want to hear the lecture on coming back to the agency right now. He had too much on his mind already. “We should get the meeting started.”

Nate rushed on stage. He sank into his chair and touched the microphone to ensure it was on. “Settle down people. We’re ready to start.”

After a moment, Worthington and Leander took their seats at the podium, and Nate introduced them. He gave the town a brief rundown of what was happening and what to look for. The special agents interjected here and there, giving advice as though they were talking to two-year-olds rather than an entire town of people whose percentage of gun owners dwarfed the national average. They were patronizing. They were obnoxious. They were probably what Nate himself had sounded like just a few days ago. As Worthington went on and on, Nate sat, really thinking about his predicament.

What did he want? It was a question he thought he’d answered a long time ago. He wanted everything. He wanted to be a success. Success in his world was measured in money and power. So why hadn’t he taken up his father on his offer when he finished college? His father had offered him a vice presidency in the family company. It was a straight shot to CEO. As CEO he would have had the world at his feet. Why had he joined the DEA? Because deep down he wanted to protect people. Because deep in his heart, he wanted to matter, and not because he had money.

His ambition had burned, certainly. He’d seen himself running a Bureau office in record time. He’d marry the right woman and be on a fast track. He would show his father that he could make his own way to the top.

Oh, god, Zane was right. He was thirty-one years old and still trying to prove to his father that he was worthy of his respect. And why? It wasn’t like he respected his father. His father had gutted his trust fund in a vain attempt to keep up appearances as the ground was burning around him. Nate had trusted him to watch out for his interests while he was in deep cover, and his father’s only explanation for why he’d burned through ten million dollars was that he’d needed it. Nate would be okay, he’d explained, but they couldn’t be poor.

His whole world had been destroyed in one single afternoon. Zane had been close to death, and Nate had sat alone in a hospital room when he’d learned his future was gone. He’d spent every second trying to get back to that place where he had everything to look forward to.

Was he spending so much time mourning the past that he was missing out on his future? Sometimes things happened for a reason.

He was well aware that he was zoning out at the worst possible time. He tried not to stare at Zane and Callie sitting next to the Harpers and Stefan. No one gave Zane’s scarred face a second glance as people leaned in to ask him questions. Zane looked cool and comfortable as he quietly replied to a woman leaning forward from the row behind him.

“Perhaps it would be better if you directed your questions to the agents in charge, ma’am,” Leander stated in that gratingly pretentious tone of his.

The blonde stood up, and Nate noted Leander’s interests rise. Laura Niles worked at the convenience store. She was also stacked and lovely. She had a small-town charm that belied what Nate knew were years of big-city living. She marched herself up to the microphone set up at the front of the audience. She was wearing jeans and an incongruous pair of red stilettos. Nate smiled a little. Laura would wear four-inch heels to shovel her driveway.

Leander placed a hand over his microphone and leaned toward his partner. “There’s my date for the night. What do you bet I can get that naïve piece of ass in bed after this meeting is over?”

His blood pressure ticked up. Laura was a nice lady, not some piece of ass. She stood in front of the microphone, and he was aware of a certain protective feeling for her. Not because she was a lovely woman. She had nothing on his Callie. He felt protective because she belonged to Bliss.

“Please feel free to share your thoughts with the rest of us, sweetheart.” There was an unmistakable leer on Leander’s face. Worthington leaned forward, obviously sizing her up.

“Of course,” Laura started with a deep breath. “My name is Laura Niles. I left the FBI five years ago when a serial killer nearly tortured me to death after my profile of him led me right to his doorstep. I’m not in Bliss because I’m some fruitcake, as you said to your partner. I’m in Bliss because I like it here. As for sharing my thoughts with the room, well, I was just telling Zane there that the two of you are assholes who probably don’t know a Sig from a Ruger because you’re too busy fixing your hair. I totally remember your type from the Bureau. You made us all look bad.” She grinned brightly. “Thanks. I do feel better having shared that with the room.”

There was a nice round of applause.

She sauntered off, leaving two frowning special agents in her wake. Before Worthington could speak, Marie had taken her place at the microphone. “My name is Marie Warner. I run the Trading Post with my wife, Teeny, who I rescued from her abusive ex-husband. I shot his balls off when he tried to kidnap our son and kill my woman.”

Nate hid a smile behind his hand. Apparently word had gotten out that Leander and Worthington thought they were lightweights who had never faced danger in their pitiful, small-town lives. He frowned as he realized he’d said something close to that not too long ago.

Marie pointed a finger at the stage. “My boy is a deputy. I’ll shoot your balls off if you get him killed.”

“Damn it, Momma! You have got to stop that. I am an adult man and I can shoot balls off all on my own.” Logan stood up at the back of the room where he’d been making out with some brunette he’d been seeing.

“Why don’t we keep it to the topic at hand, which is how we’re going to protect you until we can resolve these very important issues.”

Nate had to hand it to Worthington. He sounded professional.

Rachel Harper stepped up to the microphone. She introduced herself and quickly got to the point. “I shot and killed my crazy stalker a couple of months back. I think you should post some pictures of the men we need to take care of. As Marie and I are the only ones here who’ve recently killed a son of a bitch, I think we should lead the hunt.”

“And where the hell are you going to stash your gun, Rach?” Max Harper didn’t need a microphone. Rye was on his feet next to his brother, looking every bit as outraged. “Do your maternity pants even have pockets?”

“I would like to interject something.” A light, frothy voice broke through the discussions that were rapidly multiplying. Nate looked up and saw that Nell had brought her own microphone. “I’m Nell Flanders, and while I am a pacifist, I am also a feminist. I believe that if Rachel wants to ‘kill a son of a bitch,’ she should be allowed to. Her state of gestation shouldn’t come into it.”

Her husband, Henry, leaned in. “Have we put any thought into passive resistance? It worked for Gandhi.”

And then they were off. A delightful chaos reigned as Max and Rye argued with Rachel over whether or not she would lead an armed posse. Henry got into a heated argument with Stella over whether protests would, perhaps, change the hearts and minds of an outlaw biker club. Logan tried to explain to his moms that he was an adult and a man and shouldn’t hide behind his momma.

“What the hell kind of town is this?” Leander asked, obviously disgusted with the whole event.

What kind of town was Bliss?

Nate looked at Zane and Callie. Callie was animatedly discussing something with Mel. Zane sat in the middle of it all with a huge grin on his face. His eyes lit up as he watched the clamor around him.

What kind of town was Bliss?

It was the kind of town where a person got a second chance. These people weren’t naïve. They had all known pain. They knew what the real world was like and chose a different path. Nate was shocked at the way his eyes watered. What had these people done when their personal worlds had fallen apart? Had they spent their lives trying to get back something that was gone forever? Hell, no. When the world threw them out, they built a new one, a better one.

A new ambition started to burn through Nathan Wright. Why should he hold onto dreams that no longer meant anything? Callie mattered. Zane mattered. Bliss mattered.

What kind of town was Bliss?

It was his town.

Nate pulled his mike from its stand and got to his feet. His heart pounded with the weight of what he was about to do. “My name is Nathan Wright.”

The crowd got quiet and turned to him. He noted vaguely that Leander and Worthington looked relieved that he was taking control. He figured they wouldn’t be so relieved in a moment or two.

“I used to work for the Drug Enforcement Agency, but now I’m the sheriff of Bliss, and, damn it, I don’t want to wear a condom, either.”

There were a whole bunch of wide eyes looking up at him. Nell Flanders brought her microphone up. Nate cut her off. “Don’t you talk to me about population control right now, Nell. Zane doesn’t have to wear a condom, and I don’t think it’s fair that I have to.”

Callie stood, her hands on her hips. “Zane doesn’t have to wear a condom because he’s willing to stay in Bliss and raise babies with me.”

Zane had the widest grin on his face. It was a look of complete approval, and Nate felt it in his bones. His partner knew exactly what he was about to do. “Well, as to that, I’m staying, too. I’m staying in Bliss, and if this town decides to run a rubber duck against me in the next election, then you tell that damn duck to be prepared because I’m going to win. I am the sheriff of this town, and no damn inanimate object is going to do a better job than me. I promise to protect this town and all of her people. I promise to ruthlessly beat back the real world every time it encroaches. I promise to find the best alien-detecting technology that money can buy. I swear on my life that I’ll do everything I can to keep my deputy alive and whole so his momma doesn’t shoot my balls off.” There was loud applause, hoots, and hollers as Nate made his first campaign speech. But there was more he had to promise than simply that he would do his job. He moved to the center of the stage and jumped off. He looked at Callie. “I promise to be the best husband and father I can be. I’ll be the best friend and partner to you, Zane. And we’ll be the best freaky threesome this town has ever seen.”

“Hey,” Max interrupted, only to have his wife’s hand clasped over his mouth.

“I love you, Callie Sheppard. You agreed to marry Zane. Will you marry me, too?”

A smile curled her mouth up. “I never agreed to marry Zane. The truth is I don’t necessarily believe in marriage as an institution.”

“You do now!” Zane’s outraged shout exactly matched Nate’s own.

Callie looked between them. “Wow, way to double-team a girl.”

“Have no doubt, you will marry us,” he said with a light feeling invading his very cells. This was his future. These crazy, amazing people were his family.

“Hell, yes, she’ll marry you,” Stefan said with lazy menace. “I never thought I’d have to have a shotgun wedding in Bliss, but I will if you’re stubborn, little sister.”

“Fine, I guess I can compromise, but just this once.” Then she was running toward him, her face open and filled with love. For him. Nate dropped the microphone and braced himself for impact. When his arms were filled with soft, sweet woman, he sighed and clutched her close, not giving a damn that the entire town had watched him proclaim his love. Zane was suddenly at Callie’s back, the two of them crowding her the way they would for the next forty or fifty years.

“All of this is touching.” Leander’s sarcastic voice cut through Nate’s joy, reminding him he had one thing left to do. “But none of it solves the problem that this town is woefully unprepared to handle the threat.”

Nate turned and faced his former coworkers. It had been a mistake to bring them in, but one he could rectify. “Don’t worry about us. We can take care of ourselves. You two should feel free to hightail it back to El Paso.”

Worthington leaned forward. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Nate didn’t want to hear it. “I said get the hell out of my town!”

The cheers erupted again, and Nate got lost in the crowd of people wishing him well.

 

* * * *

 

Callie felt like the whole world had a warm glow around it. All through the reception hall people she knew and had grown up with were talking about her, Nate, and Zane. She’d lost count of the people who had hugged her in congratulations.

Stella winked at her as she walked into the small kitchen. “You’re the talk of the town, hon.”

She felt her face flush. “I don’t know about that. I think Nate and Zane are the ones people are talking about.”

Stella shook her head. “We might be talking about them, but we love you. We’re all happy that our favorite girl is going to be well taken care of. And don’t you doubt that. Max, Rye, and Stef already had serious talks with both of those boys about how poorly things could go for them if they step out of line. I heard Hiram mention that he still knew how to use a shotgun to the sheriff. And me and Hal certainly can take care of business if either one of them hurts you.”

Callie swung around quickly to try to see if Nate or Zane were running. They stood in the crowd, seemingly at ease, talking to the people around them. Zane laughed at something Jen said. Nate was surrounded by a small group of the county’s ranchers, explaining something. Neither looked like they had been scared off by her friends and neighbors. Still. “Stella, you have to tell everyone to leave Nate and Zane alone. Couldn’t we let them settle in before we show them how crazy we are?”

Stella held a tureen of coffee in her hands. Callie helped her pour it out into the sink. “Not a chance. And don’t you worry. Those boys belong here. The big one knew it the minute he stuck his head outside of that cabin of theirs. And the sheriff is coming along nicely. It’s going to be okay, hon. They love you. They aren’t going to be run off so easily.” She shook her head. “We’re out of coffee in here. Can you go to the storeroom for me? It doesn’t look like we’re breaking up any time soon.”

It was true. There was a vibrant energy in the room that couldn’t be denied. The citizens of Bliss were talking and planning, enjoying each other’s company. They needed coffee to fuel the discussions of how to protect the town. There was always something magical when they all came together like this.

And she didn’t have to leave. She could stay in the place she loved, with the men she loved.

She walked out of the reception hall toward the small storage closet at the back of the building. The noise faded as she moved away from the crowd. She breathed a sigh of relief. It was great to be surrounded by friends, but she was looking forward to the time when she could climb into the Bronco with Nate and Zane and head back to “Fort Naked,” as Zane had started calling the naturist community. Tomorrow morning they were all going to the airport. They were going to the field office in El Paso, and once all the reports were filed, Nate had assured her that Zane would be safe. She felt her heart clench and a smile cross her face. Nate would be coming home with them. Happy tears pricked her eyes. The three of them would come home to Bliss.

“Why wait? Why don’t we do this thing now?”

Callie stopped in her tracks. She could hear voices down the hall. There was only one strip of lighting on in this hallway at night to conserve energy. It made the entire place seem gloomy. She’d been in this building a hundred times before, but a chill went through her. She went still, listening. There was nothing to be afraid of here. Her friends were close by. No one would hurt her here.

“You have to be patient,” a deep voice said. “Wright is taking Hollister in tomorrow. That idiot will file a report with everything we need on it. The director has his head up his ass when it comes to stuff like this. The team might have the numbers, but they have no idea where the account is. It will take them weeks to figure out what bank Ellis used and to get a judge to sign off on taking the money into custody. We don’t have the same problem. We simply get a copy of the report and disappear. No one will ever even know what happened.”

Callie clasped a hand over her mouth to stop the gasp that almost came out. Worthington and Leander were dirty. She had to get to Nate and Zane. They needed to know. Had those two been the reason Zane’s cover had been blown? How much had they cost her men? She started to back down the hall. Her sneakers screeched against the slick floor, the sound resonating through the quiet hall. She winced and held herself still, hoping the agents wouldn’t notice. Please, please don’t let them come around the corner.

But suddenly metal flashed as Worthington rounded the corner, gun in hand. “Scream and I’ll shoot.”

She turned to run anyway, but Leander was on her.

He turned to his partner as he shoved his gun in the small of her back. “Shit. What do we do now?”

“Change of plans,” Worthington said as he pointed toward the door to the back parking lot.

Yep, it changed all of Callie’s plans.

 

* * * *

 

Nate enjoyed a cup of coffee while he talked to a couple of the area ranchers. He looked up to see Zane in a discussion with Callie’s friend, Jennifer. He was shaking his head no, and Jen didn’t look like she was having it.

He nodded to James Glen and eased himself out of the conversation. He started to make his way across the room, intending to save Zane from Jen’s pleas. She’d been begging him to sit for her. Apparently sitting meant allowing her to paint him. She’d explained it as capturing Zane’s essence on canvas. Zane liked his essence just fine where it was. He was never going to be comfortable as an artist’s model. Unfortunately, he was also not comfortable saying no to a woman. Even from across the room, Nate could see Zane’s eyes darting around, looking for someone to come and save him.

Rachel Harper stepped in front of him. “Sheriff, have you seen Callie? I need to talk to her about the Winter Festival. It’s coming up soon and we got volunteered by Marie to be on the committee. Considering her earlier speech, I’m not going to argue with her. Callie and I need to talk about setting up a meeting.”

Nate looked around, his height providing him a view of the room. “I don’t see her.”

Rachel frowned. “I saw her walking out to the parking lot with those asshole agents you brought in. Has she not gotten back yet? I hope she was giving them directions on how to get out of town. Next time, Sheriff, trust us to handle our own business. The last thing we need is a bunch of outsiders coming in here and telling us how to live.”

A chill went through him, heightening his senses. Leander and Worthington had left, and quickly, after the debacle of a town hall had happened. He hadn’t thought they would come back. Why would Callie be with them? The safety meeting had turned into a party, and Nate doubted that his former friends would have stayed for coffee and lemon pound cake. But then he also knew how they felt about Callie, and any interaction with her likely wouldn’t be pleasant.

“Zane!” Nate yelled across the room. He didn’t care that every head turned. “You seen Callie?”

Zane’s face went a little white as he looked around.

“Has anyone seen Callie?” God, Nate hoped the answer to that question was yes. He was getting a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. A whole bunch of things were suddenly making sense. He thought back to Leander’s earlier words. He’d said there was a lot of money to be made by men in their position. They were government employees, and at this level, there wasn’t a big honking paycheck attached to the job. How did a law enforcement drone make real money? He sold out his fellow agents. He sold their covers for cold, hard cash.

He’d always wondered how Ellis had found out about Zane. It hadn’t made sense. They’d been undercover for years, and never once had Zane said or done anything that could have exposed them. The only way Ellis could have found out was if someone on the inside was working with him.

His old “friends” had sold out Zane. Anger warred with fear in his gut. They had Callie and he was going to do anything he had to to get her back.