"Oh my," Sydney whispered, stunned by his brazen declaration.

"Oh my, indeed." He took a sip of the coffee she handed him to cool the flames that had erupted between them. "You look beautiful."

The sincerity in his voice made her heart flutter. "Thanks. We were just goofing around."

"I've missed you." They were the words Sydney had been holding out hope to hear and she couldn't stop the wide smile that spread across her face.

"I missed you, too," she said shyly. She went over to the window and put his order in, ignoring the big grin on Pete's face and the way Cara was fanning herself beside him.

"You two are terrible," Sydney whispered with a laugh.

Cara stuck her head out the window and waved to Wade. "That's why you love us, Syd."

Funny thing was, she was right. From the crazy couple in the kitchen to the loony waitress trying to strong arm a deputy into dating her to the dear friend on a European adventure to the primal male who threatened to drag her to bed if she wasn't careful, she loved all of them, and more than anything, she wanted to stay in Elton and make a life for herself and Faith.

Wade's phone rang, and she could tell by the tone of his voice it was work. She took care of her other tables while he took the call, not wanting to intrude. When she came back to the counter and handed him his food, he was tucking his phone back into his pocket.

"Any chance I can get that sandwich to go?"

She did her best not to show her disappointment as she took his barely touched plate off the counter. "Sure, let me go box it up." She was digging in the closet for a Styrofoam box when she felt someone standing behind her. Her senses on high alert, she took a deep breath and spun around ready to strike. Fortunately she stopped herself when she saw it was Wade.

"You scared me to death."

"Sorry," he said coming closer, trapping her against the storage rack. It was amazing how he always seemed to fill the s.p.a.ce around her. "What are you doing after work?"

"I-I was going to head home and see Faith. She's been with Agnes all day."

"Any chance she could stay a little longer? I want to take you out, for a drink, maybe? Things have been crazy lately, and I need one night of normal."

"Wade Jenkins, are you asking me out on a date?"

He flashed his teeth at her. "I think I am."

"It's the hair, isn't it? Hailey will never let me live it down."

"It's all you, Sydney. The hair and the makeup are just the icing on the cake."

She bit her lip, suddenly feeling nervous and shy. "I get off at seven. Will you be done by then?"

"I'll pick you up here at seven. If Agnes can't watch Faith, call me. We can hang out at your place instead." He brushed his fingers across her cheek. "I just want to be with you tonight."

"I'd like that."

He gave her no warning, but in the blink of an eye he was on her, his tongue sweeping past her lips and brushing against hers. He was taking complete control, and all Sydney could do was hold onto his shoulders for dear life and enjoy the moment. It was what she'd wanted, what she'd been thinking about the last few days. There was nothing like being kissed by Wade. Fire raced through her veins with each slide of his tongue. The feel of his rock hard body pressed against hers was heaven. His hand knotted in her hair, pulling back, giving him better access to her pliant body. When she thought she might pa.s.s out from lack of oxygen, she finally broke the kiss, both their chests heaving from the pa.s.sion that blossomed between them.

"Later, Sydney."

"Oh my," Sydney said again with a smile.

"Definitely," he said with a quick peck on the lips. He grabbed the Styrofoam box with a wink and disappeared out the door, leaving her stunned in a supply closet. Sydney took a second to try and fix her tousled hair and twisted shirt before she walked back into the kitchen where, of course, Cara and Pete were waiting.

"Your lipstick looks a little smudged there, Sydney," Cara pointed out as Sydney walked past.

"Wade certainly was in a good mood when he left," Pete yelled after her, but Sydney just kept walking back to the dining room.

With a big goofy smile on her face.

"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS." Hailey stood behind Sydney glaring at her reflection in the mirror. Wade was going to be at Pete's in fifteen minutes to pick her up and she was checking her hair to make sure there wasn't a French fry, crusted over mustard, or some other weird condiment in it for their date.

"What's wrong now?"

"You're not wearing that!" Hailey said, tugging at the bright yellow Pete's T-shirt. "He's taking you out. You want him to look at you and think 'd.a.m.n, she's hot,' not 'I wonder what the phone number for Pete's Place is?'"

Sydney put her hands up in frustration. "I don't have time to run home, Hailey. This will just have to do. He liked it enough when he was in here earlier." That was an understatement. The way he'd kissed her and the obvious arousal she felt pressed against her in that supply closet, he thought she was hot, ugly T-shirt and all.

"I don't get old people," Hailey said, dropping a black shirt into Sydney's hands.

"You're crazy! I'm only five years older than you."

"Then why are you dressing like my mom when you have a date with the hottest guy in town? Next to Sam, of course." Her lips turned up in a wry grin because she knew she had her.

There was no reasoning with Hailey, and she was right, a Pete's T-shirt wasn't s.e.xy. "Get out of here so I can put this on. Will it even fit me?"

"I said you're old, not fat. Yes, it will fit. And you won't smell like a burger in it. Trust me, he'll love that top." She waggled her eyebrows at Sydney's reflection. "It shows plenty of cleavage."

As much as she hated to admit it, the shirt did look great. It was a black wrap that clung to her like a second skin. The plunging neckline did give a tantalizing view of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s just like Hailey said it would. It was amazing how much a simple thing like changing her shirt could boost her confidence and settle her nerves. Gone was the anxious flutter in her stomach, and in its place was the slow burn of desire and excitement for what was to come. As she gave herself a final once over, her phone rang.

"Mommy!" Faith's excited voice always made her smile.

"Hi, baby. How are you?"

"I'm good. Mrs. Whittman and I are going to have a sleepover!"

"A sleepover? No honey, you're just staying a little longer than usual. I'm going out for a little bit after work, but I'll be home later."

She could hear Faith's curls brushing against the receiver as she shook her head. "Nope, Mrs. Whittman said sleepover. She said Wade is taking you on something called a hot date. It sounds like fun! Here, you talk to her."

A deeper, more mature voice came over the phone. "Sydney."

"Agnes, I won't be out late."

"That's not what I heard from Cara."

"When did you talk to Cara?"

"Doesn't matter. She filled me in on what went down this afternoon. Said the temperature shot up about a hundred degrees when a certain sheriff walked into the diner. Lots of fireworks, from what I understand." In the background Sydney could hear Faith complaining that she missed the fireworks.

If only she knew.

Sydney walked through the kitchen and gave Cara the stink-eye for her gossiping ways. She just smiled and blew Sydney a kiss, then went back to loading a rack of gla.s.ses.

"Listen, Agnes, I appreciate you offering to keep Faith, but I will be home tonight."

"Mhmm," the woman sighed into the phone not trying to hide her disbelief. "Tell me this, how long has it been since you went on a date? And don't lie, I asked Faith."

"Agnes!"

"Answer the question, Sydney."

There was no point in lying. She'd had no life since the day she told her loser boyfriend she was pregnant. That had been over six years. "A ridiculously long time. Years. Honestly, a lifetime ago."

"And the last guy you dated, was he as good looking as Wade?"

She couldn't contain the snort that escaped when she imagined the scrawny Bobby beside the chiseled muscle of Wade's body. "No."

"Yeah, then like I said, Faith and I are having a sleepover. Just in case."

"You're crazy."

"Not the first time I've heard that, and I know it won't be the last. Listen, I'll keep her safe, no worries about that. The alarms are on, the cameras are working, and my .45 is loaded. Diablo will be with us all night. We're tucked in snug as a bug in a rug here."

There was a rustling on her end of the phone, then Faith came back on. "Have fun with Sheriff Wade. I like him. He's really nice."

"He is nice, isn't he?" Sydney leaned back against the counter, smiling. It warmed her heart that Wade had made an impression on Faith too.

"And he tells really good bedtime stories." Wade was a good man, the real deal. She only hoped he could help her out of the trouble she was in so they could stay in Elton and make a life for themselves.

With him.

"I have to go, baby, he'll be here any minute."

"Have fun, Mommy!"

The phone pa.s.sed to Mrs. Whittman, and before the line went dead, she spouted one parting bit of Agnes wisdom. "And remember, Syd, no glove, no love."

Sydney just blushed and stared at her phone when the line went dead, lost somewhere between wanting to laugh and die of embarra.s.sment.

"Have a nice chat with Agnes?" Cara asked with a cackle as she poked her head out from behind the window.

"You two are a dangerous combination." Sydney finally laughed as she folded her ap.r.o.n and tucked it under the counter.

Cara gave her a playful pat on the cheek. "And don't you forget it." The door of the diner opened, turning both their heads. "Well, well, well," Cara said with a cluck of her tongue. "Someone else cleans up nicely, now, doesn't he?"

Wade walked through the door with the same air of confidence he always did. Nothing intimidated him, and that was something Sydney found extremely attractive. If that wasn't enough, he looked like a dream. In place of his uniform he wore a pair of well-worn jeans that were tight in all the right places. The tight black T-shirt hugged his chest and showed every delicious ripple of muscle underneath. A black leather jacket and a pair of black boots completed the look. She looked cute, but he looked downright edible. And dangerous.

"You ready?" Sydney didn't trust her voice to come out as more than a squeak with him looking so good, so she opted for a quick nod of her head. " 'Night Cara."

"Bye, Wade!" She gave Sydney a shove, sending her stumbling out from behind the counter. "Take good care of Sydney. You two kids have fun."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Hailey called from across the restaurant.Pete's head popped out from the window.

"Just behave, and treat her right."

Wade took all the teasing in stride, and offered her his hand. She loved the calloused feel of his fingers as they twisted with hers. The heat and the strength surrounded her hand and traveled up her arm. "Let's go."

Grabbing her purse, Sydney followed him out the door and cast one last look over her shoulder to Cara and Hailey who were both grinning from ear to ear. Sydney motioned to Wade's back with her free hand. "Oh my G.o.d," she mouth to them, sending them into a laughing fit as the door closed behind her.

"What a beautiful night," Sydney whispered as Wade led her to his truck. It was cool, but not frigid yet. Her long sleeve shirt was okay for now, but later, she'd be wishing she grabbed a coat.

He stopped her at the side of his truck. "If you'd rather, we can go back to your place and hang out with Faith. I know you haven't seen her much today." It was the way he said it that melted her heart. She had no doubt he would drive her home and spend the evening with a rambunctious five-year-old, all for her. He'd listen to her ramble on and on about her birthday party that was coming up in a few days, and smile through every ruffled detail she shared. He wouldn't mind, wouldn't do it grudgingly, he'd do it, for her. And knowing that made her want this night out with him all the more.

She placed her hand on his cheek and smiled. "I squeezed myself into this top of Hailey's and let her play beauty salon with my head. You're taking me out for a drink. Agnes is probably teaching Faith Morse code or something useful like that. She's fine." She pressed a gentle kiss to his lips because she couldn't stop herself. "But thank you for offering."

MURRAY'S WAS ON THE edge of town, so the drive out there gave them plenty of time to talk. It was comfortable and they were never at a loss for things to discuss. From Faith, to the diner, to the crazy things that had happened in his day, nothing was off limits. He was open and honest, voicing his frustrations with work and the federal agents who had overrun the town. The conversation was easy, like they had known each other for years.

In addition to the talking, there was plenty of touching. Wade held her hand as he drove, his thumb feathering back and forth, leaving a trail of fire in its path. The tingle that started in her fingers traveled the length of her arm and soon her entire body was hyper-aware of Wade and the way he was touching her. As innocent as the contact was, there was a definite air of seduction about it. He knew exactly what he was doing to her body. She couldn't stop her mind from wandering to him touching her other places, and she thanked G.o.d it was dark in the cab of the truck or he would have caught her blushing like a schoolgirl.

At Murray's, he turned off the truck and leaned across the cab. "You any good at darts?"

"We'll find out," she said with a cheeky grin as she jumped out of the truck and met him on the sidewalk. Hand in hand, they walked into the bar for the entire town to see.

"Sydney!" a number of people shouted her name, definitely surprised to see her there. Apparently, after Pete's closed up for the night, many of her regulars headed over to Murray's for a drink and some pool. "What are you doing with the likes of Wade?" one of them yelled in good natured fun.

"I bet she lost a bet," Mr. Forte yelled from the bar as he held up his beer with a smile. Sydney pulled Wade with her to the bar and gave the aging man a kiss on the cheek.

"More like I won." She winked at Wade then leaned in and said conspiratorially to Mr. Forte, "You have any hints about how to win at darts?"

The man let out a big belly laugh. "Yeah, don't play Wade!"

SYDNEY HELD HER OWN during their game. Mainly because she insisted Wade play left handed. Unfortunately for her, enough people had used that strategy with him in the hopes of getting a win that he was getting pretty good at it, and she still lost.

"Best eleven out of thirteen?" she asked, half joking but her compet.i.tive streak had come out, and she wanted to win at least once before they left.

"Sure." He leaned down and kissed her gently. "You set it up and I'll go get you another beer."

"I think you're trying to keep me from winning."

He caged her in his ma.s.sive arms and dipped his head to her ear where he whispered, "Maybe I'm getting you drunk so you can win...later."

She sighed as his hot breath fanned over her neck, then took advantage of his proximity to rub against him and send him a little message of her own. "I'm up for anything you might want to play, later." His eyes flared and when it looked like he was going to pick her up and carry her out of the place, he stepped away and gave her a slow, s.e.xy smile.

"I'll go get those beers now. I'm suddenly very thirsty."

Sparks were flying between them and Sydney didn't know how much longer she could keep her hands to herself. She was pulling the last dart from the board when someone crashed into her shoulder and she felt something wet splash down the front of her shirt.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry," a cute brunette in a black hat said as she set her drink down on a nearby table. She shook the excess liquid that had spilled on her hand onto the floor. "Let me get you a towel."

"It's fine," Sydney said, tugging the material from her body. "I'll go wash up in the sink." She looked around the room. "Do you know where the bathroom is?"