I fisted my hand, holding on to my temper by a thread. What I wanted to do was knock the asshole into next week, but unless she asked me to step in, this was Jenny’s battle.

“You’re such a jerk, Chad.” She stomped off to her car. “Coming, Dylan?”

I glanced over at her. “You bet.” But first I had something to say to Mr. Perrine. “You come around her one more time, you’re going to find yourself a guest in my jail. It comes to that, you’re going to be real impressed by all the things I’ll be able to think of to charge you with. Capisce?”

His eyes glittered with hatred, and I wondered if he was going to turn into one of those stalkers that can’t stand not having the woman he’s fixated on. He walked away without answering, and I hoped he believed I wouldn’t hesitate to make his life miserable if he didn’t leave Jenny alone. The idiot spun his tires, throwing up gravel, as he left the parking lot, and I shook my head. “How old are you anyway, dumbass?”

I walked over to Jenny. “You okay?”

“No, I’m furious.” She glanced up at the sky. “If I go home now, all I’ll do is stomp around my apartment half the night, calling Chad every bad name I can think of.” She paused again, looking out on the road thoughtfully. “There’s someplace I go when I need to think. Would you come with me?”

“I’m all yours.” It was definitely an honor to be invited to her special place. I followed her to her car, sliding onto the passenger seat. She rolled down her window, so I did the same. The night wind felt good. Although I was curious where she was taking me, I didn’t ask. She had the radio on an oldies station—something on satellite since apparently it was impossible to pick up the Asheville stations where we were. As we drove away from town, the radio blaring and the mountain air blowing in, it almost felt like I was back in high school and on a date. Except the girl was driving. Surprisingly, I liked it.

“Where’s a good place to get doughnuts around here?” I asked.

She glanced over at me, then burst into laughter.

“What?” I gave her innocent, wide eyes, but I was pretty sure I could guess the reason for her amusement.

“Cops and doughnuts.”

Yep, I’d called it. I couldn’t stop a grin. “Hey, it’s a thing.” It had been a long time since I’d been this relaxed and happy. It felt good.

“Mary’s Bread Company has doughnuts every morning except Sundays until eleven. They’re amazing.”

“I’ve seen the place.” It was a nondescript building about the size of my living room, easy to miss if you weren’t looking.

“Mary makes great coffee, too. What’s your favorite doughnut flavor?”

“There’s only one kind of doughnut worth eating. Glazed.” Sprinkles and icing were just wrong.

“Then be there any time between seven and eight if you like them hot.”

“Seriously? She has hot glazed?” At Jenny’s nod, I moaned. “I might have to marry Mary.” That set off another round of laughter. “Now what?”

She shook her head. “You’ll see.”

I was intrigued, and the first chance I got, I’d be showing up for my hot doughnuts and a look at Mary. We turned onto a dirt road that curved its way up. Not used to mountain roads, I gripped the window ledge. I also considered praying we didn’t go over the side, but I was going to trust that Jenny knew what she was doing.

“Thank you for not going all macho and knocking out a few of Chad’s teeth, by the way.”

“I figured you’d ask if you wanted me to butt in.” But I’d sure as hell wanted to.

“Definitely. After tonight I don’t think he’ll bother me again, but I’ll get a restraining order just to be safe.”

Finally. “That would be wise.”

“Here we are.” Jenny slowed the car and cut the engine.

The headlights were still on, illuminating the flat surface where we were parked. Off to the left were waist-high boulders, and to the right, the land disappeared.

Jenny opened her door. “Come on. You’re going to love this.”

I wasn’t so sure about that, but I followed her to the back of her car. She opened her trunk, grabbing a blanket and flashlight. Being a city boy, communing with nature wasn’t high on my bucket list.

“Are we going hiking in the middle of the night? Like through the woods? Aren’t there bears?” I had my gun on me, but maybe I should have studied up on bears. “How many bullets will I need to take down a pissed-off bear?”

She laughed. “You’re hilarious.”

“Wasn’t trying to be funny, Red.” I trailed behind her to a boulder near the edge. “What are you doing now?” I asked when she turned on the flashlight, illuminating the rock.

“Making sure there aren’t any snakes.”

Oh, hell no. I backed up a few steps. Give me a shoot-out with a bad guy any day, but snakes? Nope. Not happening. “Tell me again why we’re here.”

“You’ll see.”

She spread the blanket over a rock that might or might not have snakes hiding in it just waiting for a couple of dumbasses they could bite. She patted the space next to her. I took a moment to debate the merits of being a wuss versus manning up and climbing onto a possibly snake-infested boulder. It was probably a lot easier to shoot a bear than a snake, and I made a mental note to find a shooting range that had small, slithering targets I could practice on. But I was a lawman, and it was my duty to protect citizens and pretty girls, so I pushed myself onto the rock.

“Shouldn’t we leave that on?” I said when Jenny turned off the flashlight.

“No, we can’t see the stars when it’s on.”

But we could see the damn snakes. “Is that what we’re doing, stargazing?” I didn’t think I’d ever done that before, not that I could remember. The lights were never off in Chicago, so we never bothered looking up at night.

She lowered onto her back. “Come look.”

On my back beside her, I lifted my eyes to the night sky. “Wow,” I whispered.

“Amazing, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” We fell silent, both of us entranced by the glittering diamonds on black velvet. It helped that the moon was a mere sliver in the sky, allowing the stars center stage. I slipped my hand over Jenny’s, and she laced her fingers around mine.

“Someday I’ll stand under the stars in Greece or Ireland or China.”

I lifted onto my elbow and peered down at her. “You’re serious about this world travel thing?”

“Definitely.”

It was too dark to see her well, but I could see the gleam of her teeth as she smiled, and the outline of her hair spread out over the blanket, and I could smell her scent. Something earthy, like a combination of cinnamon and vanilla beans and rain. Made my mouth water. She lifted her hand and pressed her palm against my cheek. I took that as permission and lowered my mouth to hers.

Her lips were soft and warm, and when she parted them, I slid my tongue over hers. My body hummed with longing for this woman. I put my hand on her hip, pulling her closer. Her breath hitched, and she grabbed the front of my shirt, fisting her fingers in the material.

Oh yeah. I sucked her bottom lip into my mouth, then let go, chuckling when she made a little growling noise. She paid me back by clamping her teeth lightly down on my lip, giving a little tug.

I gathered a lock of her hair, wrapping it around my hand and tugging her head back. “Still think my kiss is just nice?”

She grinned. “Jury’s still out.”

We’d see about that. “You better take a deep breath, Red, because you’re not coming up for air until I get my fill of you.”

“Is that so?”

“I don’t say things I don’t mean.” And I proved it to her. We made out like teenagers for a good thirty minutes, and by the time I pulled away, breathless, I was so hard I could hammer a nail with my dick. The last thing I wanted to do was stop, but if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to.

Although she’d been just as into our kissing as me, her hands had never strayed below my chest, which told me she wasn’t ready. She’d asked me not to push her, and never mind that I’d never be able to walk straight again, I would honor her request.

Even though I wasn’t going to get what I wanted tonight, I still considered it a victory. There had been times when I’d doubted that I’d ever want another woman. That was how bad my wife had fucked up my head. It was a relief to know my manly parts were still alive and operative.

“Does the jury have a verdict yet?”

Jenny sat up, then leaned down and brushed her lips over mine. “The defendant wins the case. He’s a damn great kisser.”

I kept my hands at my sides when she circled my mouth with the tip of her tongue, otherwise I’d start stripping off her clothes. My control was hanging on by a thread—a very fragile one. She slid off the rock and walked to the edge, and I followed her. And yes, it was impossible to walk normally.

“That’s our little town down there,” she said.

Below us was a scattering of lights on the valley floor. “If that was Chicago, the entire valley would be lit up like it was daylight.”

“Do you miss Chicago?”

I put my arm around her shoulders and tucked her into my side. “Some things, but I’m glad I’m here.” Especially since meeting a red-haired bartender who longed to travel the world. I was going to miss her when she left.