Ryker’s Justice Read online

Laughter erupted from Nicole. Her features softened as she grinned. Jude wanted to make her smile and he had. “No,” she told him. “Or a husband or a dog.”

  The last thing he needed to do was get involved in a relationship but he wanted it, more than he’d wanted anything in a long while. “Good,” Jude told her. “I’m glad.”

  Color pinked her face. Her blushing reaction confirmed his notion that Nicole found him as intriguing as he found her. His flirting skills were more than a little rusty. Hell, if he was honest, he had never quite perfected them. Women liked him and often pursued him. He had let more than one catch him but he could count the ones he’d chased on the fingers of one hand. And he had lost them, one at a time due to the demands of the Navy, then his job. Jude had learned to fly solo and he’d thought he could be content with it--until now.

  “Then we’re on the same page,” Nicole told him.

  Asking her out on a date would be the next step so he tried to think of somewhere he could take Nicole, someplace that wouldn’t be cheesy or lame. Before he could, Rick came out of the dining room, wiping his hands on a towel. “There you are, Jude,” he said. “I guess you’re finished. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you coming so quickly.”

  “No problem,” Jude replied.

  “I can go ahead and pay you now, unless you just want to wait until next week,” Rick said.

  Jude shrugged. “Now or later, either is fine. You hired me with a monthly fee so I can wait. It’s not a problem.” He often forgot that here he had little social standing. Rick, bless his heart, probably thought he needed the cash. As far as anyone knew, he spent some time in the service, nothing more.

  “Well, if you don’t mind, next week it is,” Rick said as he slapped Jude on the back. “I’ll have more guests over the weekend and have a little more jingle in my own pockets. Do me a favor, though, and stay for supper.”

  He glanced at Nicole, who smiled. “Sure,” Jude said. “I’d like that.”

  “We’ll start serving around six,” Rick said. “Make yourself at home.”

  “Thanks. I will, as soon as I put my tools in the truck.”

  When Jude lifted his toolbox, Nicole stood up. “I think I’ll go out to the porch,” she told him. “It’s lovely this time of evening.”

  It sounded like an invitation. “I’ll join you, if you don’t mind.”

  A small smile lit her face. “I’d like that.”

  Once he’d tossed his box into the truck bed, Jude settled into the old porch swing beside Nicole. He kicked with one foot and set it in motion. They swung in a slow, easy rhythm and to his surprise, Jude relaxed. Spending years aboard ships and submarines hadn’t enhanced his social skills in the wider world and his reticence was often mistaken for being aloof or superior. In reality, neither word described the Jude within.

  “So, what were you doing in the woods?” Nicole’s voice interrupted reverie.

  Clueless as to why she’d decided to get acquainted, he decided to tell the truth from the start. Should anything develop between them, it would make things smoother in the long run.

  “I was squirrel hunting,” he told her, then waited to see how she reacted. He half-expected her to turn up her pretty little nose with distaste but Nicole surprised him.

  “Do you prefer it fried, stewed, or with dumplings?” she asked.

  Jude grinned. “All of the above,” he said. “But since I’m cooking for myself, it’s gonna’ be fried. I love squirrel and dumplings, but I wouldn’t have the first idea how to make dumplings.”

  “Cooking’s one thing I can do,” Nicole told him. “Dumplings are pretty simple. Of course it depends on whether you want fluffy dumplings or cut ones.”

  For a moment, he had no clue what she meant but Jude thought it over. He remembered the biscuit-like dumplings his mama once made and compared them to the thick, noodle-type dumplings Grandma Ryker fixed. “I’m not picky,” he said. “Either will do. Were you going to make me some?”

  Once he said that, he thought maybe he’d gone too far too fast, but Nicole nodded. “Sure, if you want. I’m guessing you bagged some squirrels today and since you’re eating here tonight, I could cook them tomorrow.”

  Maybe he should pinch his arm because their conversation had a surreal dream quality. “Tomorrow’s fine with me,” he answered. “I live out in the boondocks, though.”

  “Not a problem.”

  He laughed. “And here I thought I had you pegged as a city woman, but you seem to have at least a little country raising.”

  She responded with a full smile. “My grandparents gave me some but it’s been a long time…”

  So they shared some common ground. “I know the feeling well.”

  “I suppose you do,” she said. “So, you’re a native around here?”

  “Born, bred, and gone as soon as I got old enough to make tracks,” Jude told her. It’d been his standard answer since he turned eighteen. “No matter how far I’ve traveled, though, these hills will always be home to me. What about you?”

  “I’m from Memphis,” she said. That confirmed his notion she had an urban background. “But I spent a lot of time with my grandparents down near Greenville, Mississippi. They go squirrel hunting there, too. I learned to fry chicken like a Southern belle from my Granny, and to bake the best chocolate cake you ever tasted. Pop taught me to shoot, too, and although I haven’t been around a gun in years, I used to be a fair enough shot.”

  Jude’s first impressions had been positive but the more Nicole talked, the more he admired the woman. He noticed the lingering marks where she’d worn a ring on her left hand, for a long time judging by the way it cut into her skin. Curious, he asked, “You’re a long way from home, honey. What brought you from the Delta to the Ozarks?”

  When the sparkle in her eyes diminished and her faint smile faded, he wished he hadn’t asked. I don’t know what’s in her past but you just put your foot in your mouth, Ryker.

  Nicole released a heavy sigh and although she didn’t move away from him, her shoulders hunched tighter. “It’s a long story and not a very happy one,” she said after a pause.

  Afraid he might have pissed on any chance that they might get together, Jude tried to salvage the conversation. “Hey, if you don’t want to tell me, it’s cool. It isn’t any of my business and I shouldn’t have asked. So forget about it. Now if you look across the road, past the cedars, there’s three deer. Do you see them?”

  She squinted. “Yeah, I think so. They’re beautiful.”

  “Yeah, they are.” And so, he thought, are you, but he didn’t dare say it, not now.

  They rocked in silence--but an uncomfortable one. He wished she would speak because he didn’t, afraid he would say the wrong thing again. After a lengthy pause, Nicole turned toward him. “Jude?”

  Here’s where she tells me to get lost or that she’s got a migraine or some other shit. “Yeah?”

  Nicole twisted her hands together and rubbed her bare ring finger. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes and one of them was my marriage. I know it’ll sound cliché but I was trapped in hell for too long. I came here because I had to get away. My divorce was final the end of last week and I can breathe again.”

  Her words slammed into him with the force of a hammer. Her sad eyes, furtive manner, and bashful ways until now made sense. But a ricochet romance wasn’t something Jude sought and his heart skipped a beat. “I’m glad, honey,” he told her. “But now I need to ask you something.”

  She cocked her head and met his gaze. “What?”

  “Are you ready for this?”

  Her cheeks blushed pink. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  Jude damn well knew she did. “We’re sitting out here on the porch together. You’re coming over to my house to make squirrel and dumplings tomorrow. I’m staying for supper at the inn, mostly so I can spend more time with you. I don’t do any of this unless I’m hoping for something more than friendship. You’ve been here, what, six weeks, or is it eigh
t? And now it’s October and your divorce was finished a week ago. Are you emotionally ready, or are you toting around a lot of bullshit baggage?”

  From the stunned look on Nicole’s face, he guessed he’d been about as subtle as a baseball bat and opened his mouth to apologize, but she smiled. Everything shifted in that moment. Emotion, tempered with desire, flared between them, potent as an advancing thunderstorm.

  “I left all my baggage back in Memphis,” she said. “If I wasn’t ready, Jude, I wouldn’t have hollered at you from the window or be sitting here beside you. The ink on the divorce may not be quite dry but believe me, I was done with my old man a long time ago. I haven’t lived with him for two years, a good part of which he spent in jail. So I’m ready—if you’re willing.”

  Someone who hadn’t been raised on classic country music and rockabilly tunes might not have caught the reference to one of Johnny Horton’s songs but Jude did. One of the few things shared with his often silent father had been music and the upbeat tunes of another era provided Jude with many happy moments. He could remember singing into a wooden spoon in front of the mirror, pretending to be a famous singer. “I like the way you smile,” he sang. “Would you like to spoon awhile?”

  Nicole’s shy smile turned on full wattage until she glowed. “I just might,” she said.

  The old-fashioned screen door twanged as it opened and Mary stepped onto the porch. “There you are, Jude,” she said. “Supper’s ready and Rick said you’re staying.”

  He stood. “I am, as long as you don’t mind.”

  Mary slapped his arm playfully. “Of course I don’t. I’m glad you’ll join us. It’s been awhile since you have.”

  Jude snorted. “I’ve only been home since May, Mary. And I’ve shared your table at least four times in six months.”

  She beamed at him. “You could join us anytime you wanted.”

  “I know.” And he did. Jude extended his hand to Nicole and without any hesitation she took it, her skin smooth against his calloused palm. Mary’s eyes focused on their joined hands but she said nothing.

  Hand in hand, Jude and Nicole headed for the dining room in Mary’s wake.

  Chapter Three

  Jude had imagined a cozy table for two near the windows overlooking the river, but instead he and Nicole joined both Cockrells at a six-seat round table. No other guests were staying at the inn so he figured they couldn’t refuse without offense. They dined family style, passing dishes and filling plates with light, comfortable conversation. The pot roast turned out to be the most tender he’d ever eaten and the rest of the meal matched in quality.

  “So what do you think of the high school football team this year?” Rick said after they’d shared a brief grace. “Last year they made it to districts but a lot of the best players graduated, or so I hear.”

  “I haven’t really been following them,” Jude said. His mind had been on other matters. “Maybe I should go to a game. After all, I used to play for the Hawks.”

  Rick leaned forward, fork in hand. “I’d heard that. Fullback, weren’t you?”

  “Yeah, most of the time, but I played kicker and wide receiver positions too.”

  “Went to State your senior year, I hear, and took the championship.”

  They had, and it’d been a rough game, battled in drizzling rain. Jude had suffered multiple bruises, a cracked rib, and ended up with pneumonia a week later, but it’d been a glorious victory. “Oh yeah, we did,” he said.

  “They still talk about the victory down at the feed mill and convenience store,” Rick said with a gleam in his eyes. “Didn’t you get hurt?”

  “Sick, too,” Jude replied. “But the pain was worth the gain.”

  Both men laughed but the women frowned. “I remember,” Mary said. “How long ago was it, anyway? Eight, ten years ago?”

  He had no need to count, he knew. “Seventeen years ago,” Jude said. He’d been a senior, then tried college for two years before he abandoned the effort for the Navy. “It’s been a long time. I’ve been around the world and back since then.”

  Nicole broke her silence of several minutes. “Weren’t you in the service, Jude?”

  “Yes, I was--in the Navy,” he said. “How’d you know?”

  Mary answered before Nicole could open her mouth. “Word gets around. You’re kinda famous around here. People never forgot you, and when you came home they talked about it.”

  “I don’t know why they would,” he said. Mary’s comments made him self-conscious, the way he’d been when he went to school with holes in the soles of his shoes or a torn shirt. “It’s not that big of a deal, not really. I decided to come home for a while.”

  Rick reached for a hot roll and buttered it. “I hope you’re planning to stay, Jude. You’re a right fair handyman and Mary likes you.”

  The roast, potatoes, gravy, lima beans, and hot rolls became a heavy lump in his stomach. If he’d come home for kicks or to settle down, he probably wouldn’t mind but since he came with an agenda, Jude preferred not to talk about his plans. His execution of duty hinged on keeping a low profile so if anyone decided he returned with a purpose, it could turn bad with speed. He enjoyed being back but he figured after he’d finished the investigation, he would return to the wider world, far afield. Jude hadn’t thought about it much, but for the first time he realized he liked it here, more than he had guessed. On some deep level he ached to stay. As he sought something to say to shift the topic, Nicole spoke up.

  “I like you, too.” Her husky voice sent shivers down his spine--because he believed she meant it. After their earlier conversation, he wanted her. His cock hardened beneath the table and he imagined, for a brief moment, taking Nicole on top of it. “I’m delighted you returned or I wouldn’t have met you. I like the Ozarks, especially this small corner of it.”

  Their eyes met, charged as lightning. “I like it myself,” Jude said. Relief eased his tight gut and he reached for another slice of meat. “River’s beautiful. Have you been on a float trip yet?”

  “No, but I’d like to experience one. I’ve watched them pass by from my window.”

  Images of a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson popped into his head from a literature class. “The lady of something”, Jude thought as he recalled bits and pieces of the poem. It’d been something about a reclusive woman living in a tower, watching the world go past on the river below. “Watching’s okay but doing is much better,” he told her. As soon as he spoke, he realized his words could hold a double meaning. From the way her eyes sparkled and her lips pursed into a smile, he knew she realized it, too.

  “I’d like to do it,” Nicole said.

  “Sure, if we can work it in while you’re here. How long are you staying?”

  “At least until Thanksgiving,” Nicole replied. In unison, the Cockrells turned toward her, mouths drooping, eyes wide. Apparently they hadn’t expected her answer. She added, “If, of course, there are rooms available.”

  Mary responded with enthusiasm. “Oh, honey, sure there are! From Thanksgiving on, we’re almost fully booked because we’ve got people who always come during the holidays. We put up a huge tree in the lobby and decorate the place. We sing carols in the parlor every night and Rick has a lot of traditional recipes. Remind me after we finish and I’ll go to the desk to book you, if that’s really what you want.”

  “Yes, thanks.”

  Jude suspected her decision related to him and their mutual interest. If so, he liked the idea but he wondered what happened after he tracked down the moonshiners. His original plan had been to return to his life far away but he enjoyed being back in his native country, and he liked Nicole. Anything could happen, though, and he didn’t want her basing decisions on what might or might not happen between them. I’ll give it a chance, see what happens, and deal with whatever comes.

  Mary distracted him with an unexpected comment. “Your mama sure loved the holidays, Jude.”

  Had she? He barely remembered but vague memories stirred. For a
few seconds, he swore he could smell evergreen and thought he recalled watching his mother roll out cookie dough. “I suppose she did.”

  “Oh, yes. I always forget you’re the last one and don’t always remember everything,” the older woman said with kindness. “But we grew up together, your mama and me. We were good friends. It sure was a shame about her passing away so young.”

  “Yeah,” Jude said. He might not remember the holidays with clarity, but he did recall every detail of the day his mother died. Jude also realized, with more than a little dismay, that his mom had been younger than he was now. Memory hit him with force and he shut his eyes for a moment as the past stretched out in his mind, stinging him with pain as he recalled the details of that fateful afternoon.

  It had been summer, a hot day with relentless sunshine baking down over the old house despite the shade trees around it. His mom had been canning tomatoes so the kitchen rivaled hell for heat. His older brothers had been gone haying, Jude thought, and his sisters had spread a blanket on the front porch. From his perch in the tree house, he had watched as they played with their dolls and pretended to be mommies, not little girls. Then Jude recalled how he’d stretched out on his back to watch a few clouds drift through the otherwise clear blue sky. He had decided each one must be an animal or object in disguise, a game Adam had taught him, and watched the parade of elephants, pirate ships in full sail, and bears cross the sky.

  Everything had been normal until Esther stood up and announced she was going in to get some lemonade. Jude remembered the sharp twang the old screen door made as it swung outward, and how moments later his sister shrieked. Esther and Abigail both had been prone to screaming and yelling worse than banshees, but this time there had been something different in the sound, more alarm or something. His belly twisted into a knot and by the time Esther burst through the door to fetch Abigail, he’d known something was really wrong.

  Mama, their lovely mother, lay in the kitchen floor, a paring knife still clutched in one hand. On the stove, a pan of peaches had begun to burn, and the smell soured him on the fruit forever. They tried calling her, bathed her face with cold water, chafed her hands, but Mama didn’t respond. By the time Daddy got home, his brothers in two, it was over.