Texas Lightning. Gerry Bartlett
hit him in the face. He saw Anna stop and take a breath.
“Look, it’s hot. Even in that new shirt you’re going to feel it. Where’s the nearest bus stop?” He looked around. There was no way a city bus would be allowed anywhere near the building. Security was tight.
“Three blocks away.” She said it quietly, as if gathering her nerve. Her shoulders drooped but she started walking. “I’ll be all right. This shirt makes it easier. Thanks again, Mr. Sanders.”
“King. Seriously, I swear I’m not a serial killer, or desperate to abduct you for nefarious purposes. I’d just like to make your life easier. A ride. Lunch. Whatever you’re willing to agree to.” He waved over a nearby policeman who’d been stationed next to the circular drive. “Mike, can you vouch for me to this pretty lady?” And she was pretty—wild black hair, white skin that probably never saw the sun, and blue eyes the color of the sky. He’d be damned if he was going to let her get away without a fight.
“Well, I don’t know, King. What do you want me to say? I wouldn’t call you harmless, pal. You do like the ladies.” The guard grinned when King gave him a look that said “Knock it off.” “Ma’am, King’s well-known here. The lawmakers run when they see him coming because he usually wants something for that ranch of his out west and the people of the town near there. Gets it too, because he’s damned persistent. And I know for a fact that he raised a bit of hell at the University of Texas when he was there. Of course, that was a few years back. Rumor has it he’s settled down some since then.”
King laughed, then elbowed the cop with a bit of force. “Thanks a heap, Mike. You were one of the guys who raised hell with me, if I remember right.”
“Those were the days. My wife broke me of that.” Mike grinned. “Truthfully? He’s okay. I’d trust my daughter with him. Of course, she’s only five.”
Anna examined King like he was a rattlesnake who’d crawled out from under a rock. Then she smiled and he knew he’d made some progress. “I, uh, don’t know what to say about that. I wasted my college years studying instead of raising hell.” She shook her head and aimed her smile at his friend in uniform. “You’d really trust your child with him?”
“Sure would. He’s a good guy. He gives you a problem, let me know. Give me your phone.” Mike held out his hand. When Anna dug hers out of her backpack and unlocked it, he punched in his number. “There you go. Backup. I’m a Texas Ranger, a member of the Texas Department of Public Safety, at your service.” He tipped his cowboy hat as he gave her back the phone.
“Well, thanks.” Anna’s smile turned into a grin. “I guess I’ll take you up on the ride then, King. You can’t know how much I dreaded getting back on the bus. I had to change three times. It would take forever to get back to my apartment.”
“Nice to know I beat out that torture.” King laughed when Anna flushed. “Hey, I’ll take it.” He knocked fists with his buddy. “I owe you, Mike.”
“You bet you do. You two taking off now?” Mike nodded toward the truck parked at the curb. “Because if you don’t, King, I’m going to have your vehicle towed.”
“Fixin’ to move it now, Mike. Sorry it took longer than I expected. Thanks for watching it for me.” King slapped him on the back. “Come fall, you’ve got tickets to the Longhorn game of your choice. Text me.”
“I will. Never doubt it.” He waved them off and turned to talk to a man in a business suit.
“Here we go.” King eased Anna toward his truck illegally parked at the curb. It paid to have old friends in convenient places. He was lucky that way, always had been. “I was just running inside to pick up a man for lunch. That got canceled, so I’m free to take you home or to lunch then home. How about it, sugar? Will you have lunch with me?” He held his hat over his heart.
She appeared to think it over for a beat, then nodded. “Why not? I told you how bad the ride here was. Obviously I got so overheated I couldn’t even enjoy my sightseeing once I got here. And I am hungry.” Anna looked over his truck. “This is a fancy one.” Then she looked him over. “Nice suit too. So I suspect you can afford to buy me lunch.”
“I do all right.” He opened the passenger door and put out his hand, waiting while she took off that pack she guarded so carefully. “Let me help you up and in. It’s a pretty high step.”
“I can manage.” She grabbed the bar to pull herself up into the cab, obviously determined to prove something.
It was a tall order for a little woman. Not that Anna was so short, about five feet five if he was any judge. But his truck was high enough to make it tough. He got a nice view of her rounded bottom while she climbed in. He could give her a boost but figured she wouldn’t appreciate it.
He took off his suit coat and tie and tossed them, along with his hat, into the back seat before he settled behind the wheel. “If you haven’t explored Austin much, let me treat you to one of our famous downtown restaurants. Nothing fancy, just good eating.” He started the engine and hit the AC so it would blast cold air on both of them.
“What’s a Texan’s idea of good eating? In Boston it’s clam chowder or a lobster roll.” Anna still held on to that pack, clutching it to her chest. “Maybe you should just take me home.”
“Now, that wouldn’t be right. I heard your stomach growling. You admitted you’re hungry.” He grinned. He couldn’t hear it over the roar of the air conditioner but he just bet it did it again because her pale cheeks really lit up. He bet she never got out in the sun. His own skin was dark to begin with, thanks to his Mexican mama, and he was in the sun almost every day. Anna would probably burn if she spent any time next to his pool. He pictured her in a bikini and had to clear his throat.
“Not going to chicken out on me, are you? We don’t eat weird things. That’s not part of the ‘Keep Austin Weird’ slogan.”
“Okay, okay. I’m starving and sick to death of eating what I can get close to my place or delivered. So why not? I’d love to see more of Austin. What is down-home cooking here?” She finally set her pack on the floor and fastened her seat belt.
“Chicken fried steak.” King hit the gas. “Thanks for trusting me, Anna. You won’t be sorry.”
* * * *
Anna was sorry. Not that the lunch hadn’t been delicious. It had. King Sanders had clearly been determined to charm the pants off her. Unfortunately, it was working. The sad truth was that Anna had been lonely in Austin. This man, with his tall good looks and easy smile, made her want to do something foolish, like invite him upstairs when he drove into her apartment complex.
But she didn’t know him. Yes, he’d told her about his ranch and his family, even his twin sister. He’d shown a real interest in getting to know her as well. So she’d laid it on a little thick about her big brothers, all in law enforcement back home. Yes, she had a local lawman on speed dial now, but he wasn’t the only one she could call if King Sanders tried any funny business. Her brother Chance was FBI. What did King think about that? Actually, he seemed to want to know more. Like she was fascinating. Which she wasn’t, sitting at a computer all day. Crap. A handsome man totally focused on her? She was finding it downright seductive. Oh, this was trouble.
No, no, no. She wasn’t that easy. Was she? Anna gave him the gate code, then directions to her building. It was a big contemporary complex and impersonal, as different from her old apartment in an aging brownstone in Boston as it could be. The only reason she’d rented here was because it was literally across the street from her office. She’d never learned to drive, thanks to the great public transportation system back home, and she wasn’t eager to learn now. A bike was perfect for her. She kept it chained on her balcony.
He slowed the truck. “Building C? This it?”
Anna dragged her gaze from the way his hands rested on the leather-covered steering wheel. Strong, competent hands with neatly trimmed nails. Tanned, masculine. She could imagine…