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  "Some women don't want kids, I guess," the other one said sadly. "Her looks must

  mean a lot to her..." The remark was interrupted because she was suddenly looking right into Tippy Moore's furious green eyes.

  "I lost my baby because a director lied that the stunt was safe and I couldn't afford to lose my job. I don't make a lot of money these days. Can you guess why?" And she pulled off the scarf and used it to remove some of the makeup covering her scars. "What's wrong?" she asked caustically. "Don't I look like a movie star to you?"

  Both women had gone red in the face. "Miss.. .Miss Moore, I'm sorry," the older one said at once.

  "I wanted my baby," she choked out, tears threatening. "I've never wanted anything more! My mother's boyfriend kidnapped my brother, and I traded places with him, to save his life. That's how I got these!" she pointed to the scars. "That tabloid is the best expression of poisonous gossip that exists in the world. And if you believe it, you're no better than the people who write such lies!"

  With that, she turned, paid for her purchases and stalked out of the store, leaving

  several women and at least one man speechless.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  TIPPY WAS GLAD that Mrs. Jewell was away for the day, so that she wouldn't be seen crying her eyes out. She put the meat in the refrigerator and sat down in the living room until the tears abated.

  She'd just made herself a cup of coffee when Cash drove up in the yard. At the same moment, two women knocked at the back door.

  Tippy went to answer it, wishing her eyes weren't red.

  The two women in the grocery store were standing there, looking miserable. One had a basket of cheese and crackers tied with a bow, the other had a small bud vase with a yellow rose in it.

  Tippy's mouth fell open.

  "We wanted to say how sorry we were, for the things we said," the elder of the two said quietly. "You were right. We do believe things when we see them in print, even when they're not true. But we don't believe those lies anymore, and we're making it our business to see that nobody else in Jacobsville believes them, either. Here." She pushed the basket awkwardly into Tippy's hands.

  'This, too," the younger woman said with a wan smile. "We won't keep you. We just wanted to apologize."

  "Thank you," Tippy said, and she smiled back. "It means more than you know."

  The women glanced over her shoulder at Cash. "We're pretty proud of you, too, Mr. Grier," the elder said. "We hope you won't let that scalawag Ben Brady take away your job, or those policemen's jobs, either."

  "I won't," he promised.

  They smiled shyly and left quickly.

  When they were in the kitchen with the door closed, Cash looked at the gifts in Tippy's hands and her red, swollen eyes. "What happened?" "I went to the store," she confessed. "They made some comments about the front page of the latest tabloid." "I saw it. That's why I came home." He took her by both shoulders and looked down at her. "I've already taken measures to stop it."

  "You have? What?" she asked worriedly.

  "Something public. You do realize that our best bet is to draw that third kidnapper down here and deal with him on our own ground?" he added quietly. She sighed. "Yes." She hesitated, though, because it would mean that Cash could get hurt defending her. He tilted her face up to his. He bent and kissed her with breathless tenderness.

  "Everything's going to be all right. Don't cry anymore."

  She managed a smile. "Okay."

  "Want to go to a political rally with me tonight?" he added

  with a smile. "It's for Calhoun Ballenger. You can meet some

  of the local aristocracy." "I don't look good enough to go out." "Nonsense. You're a

  heroine. You'll look great." She was thrilled that he wanted people to know she was

  with

  him. "Okay, then. I'm making you lasagna for supper," she added. He grinned. "My

  favorite." "I noticed. Be careful out there." "You know it." He winked and left her

  alone with her thoughts.

  CALHOUN BALLENGER'S political rally was held at Shea's out on the Victoria Road. It was a roadhouse and bar, but always well policed and it had been quiet since the recent trouble with the notorious Clark brothers. John Clark was killed in a shootout with Judd Dunn and a bank security guard up in Victoria, while attempting to rob a bank.

  His brother Jack tried to gun down Judd Dunn in revenge, hit Christabel Gaines instead, and ended up in prison for life for the attempted murder of Christabel as well as the revenge murder of a young woman in Victoria who'd had him sent to prison for rape.

  Cash introduced Tippy to the other guests, his pride in her very obvious. She smiled and shook hands and entranced every man under fifty. But, as always, she had eyes only for Cash, and it showed.

  When they got out on the dance floor, she melted into his arms. It hadn't been a long time since Cash had fascinated the populace doing Latin dances with Crissy Dunn. But that was before she married Judd and gave birth to twins. He knew Tippy wasn't up to fast dancing, so he kept a gentle pace on the floor.

  She lifted her green eyes to his dark ones and looked as if she couldn't bear to look away. He smiled at her. The gossips got busy. Where there was smoke, they assured each other, there was fire.

  Cash was still worried about the third kidnapper, who might come after Tippy. He beefed up patrols around his house and cautioned Tippy about locking doors when he wasn't home. He couldn't bear to think of anything happening to her.

  The week before the hearing of his officers at city hall, Cash came home from work to have lunch one day and found Tippy in the kitchen preparing food. She was barefoot, wearing a long full circle denim skirt and a simple blue checked button-up blouse. Her long glorious hair was in a ponytail secured by a rubber band, and she wasn't wearing makeup. She looked as fresh as morning itself, and Cash paused in the doorway, just filling his eyes with her as she put a jar back in the refrigerator.

  She glanced over her shoulder at him, and her green eyes danced with delight. "You're early," she exclaimed. "I'm making a spice bread loaf to go with a tuna salad.. .it's almost done."

  "I've got time," he said easily, slipping off his duty belt and looping it over the back

  of his chair. He stretched largely, displaying formidable muscles in his arms. "I can

  have an hour for lunch, if I like. I'm the chief," he added with a grin.

  It made her heart lift when he smiled at her like that. She felt young and carefree.

  Her eyes couldn't stop looking at him. He was handsome, vital, physically

  devastating.

  He noted the expressive glance and his chest swelled. "Drooling over me again,

  huh?" he teased softly. "Why don't you come over here and do something about it?"

  She lifted both eyebrows and grinned back. "Wouldn't you just faint if I did?"

  "Let's see," he taunted.

  She pursed her lips, put down the dishcloth she was holding,

  and went right up to him, putting both hands flat on his muscular chest. "Okay, buster," she teased, "let's see what you can do with a real woman," she added in her best vampy tone, batting her long eyelashes at him.

  His willpower slipped suddenly. She smelled of flour and spices, and close up, it was obvious why she'd been chosen to grace magazine covers. Her bone structure was perfect. Her eyelashes were reddish-gold and very long. Her eyes were wide, a clear green with darker green on the outside rim. Her nose was straight, her mouth a beautiful soft curve that made a man's lips hungry for it. Her skin was exquisite. He had a hard time when he remembered the silky warm feel of it in the darkness. His heart raced madly.

  She noticed the barely visible signs of his excitement with wonder. He always seemed impervious to disturbances, but he was just good at hiding what he felt. Close up, he couldn't quite hide everything.

  Feeling rapt with power, she stepped against him deliberately and felt delight at the immediate reaction of his body.

>   "Careful," he said in a deep, husky tone. "Mrs. Jewell's hanging out linen in the backyard." He nodded toward the open window, through the screen of which she was visible.

  "Mrs. Jewell sings to herself," she said, unperturbed. "We'll hear her coming."

  He swallowed hard. He wouldn't hear her. His ears were full of his own furious

  heartbeat.

  She reached up with her hands and tugged his head down. "Live dangerously,"

  she whispered.

  His big hands went to her waist. She flinched, and they moved to her hips instead,

  avoiding her rib cage. "Sorry," he murmured. "I forgot the ribs."

  "Me, too," she whispered back, smiling. "Come on, come on, give it all you've

  got..."

  "Pest," he groaned, bending.

  She smiled under the sudden hard, sweet crush of his mouth over her lips. She

  wasn't the least intimidated by him these days. The memory of their past encounters

  only made her hungry for

  more of them.

  The feel and smell of her weakened him as much as her headlong ardor. In the end,

  he backed her gently into the kitchen wall and lowered himself fully over her in a

  furious escape of passion that he couldn't control.

  She laughed softly, wickedly, at his hunger for her. She reached up, winced as the

  movement hurt her ribs, and then forgot even the pain when his mouth opened and his

  tongue penetrated the line of her lips with forceful intent. "That's the spirit," she

  murmured.

  He kissed her more intensely, feeling his body go rigid with pent-up desire. "It's

  suicide," he bit off. His hands riveted her hips to his as he nudged her legs apart

  under the skirt. "I don't even have anything to use...!"

  "Mrs. Jewell was in on a robbery bust Monday," she noted breathlessly. "It

  included two boxes of prophylactics. I'll bet she's got one or two tucked away.

  Let's ask her...!" He burst out laughing. "Tippy, for God's sake, I only get an

  hour for lunch!" She drew back with dancing eyes in a flushed face. "We still have forty-eight minutes...!" He pushed away from her, struggling to get his breath back. "I can't do justice to you in forty-eight minutes!" he said huskily. She gave him an exasperated look. "Here I am offering you everything I've got..." He smiled slowly. "Wonderful things happen when you least expect them. Wait until next week," he added. "What's happening next week?" she asked at once. "Some surprising things," he promised. "I won't tell you. You have to wait and see. But you'll like at least one of them. I promise." She laughed softly. "Okay. If you say so. Sit down and I'll feed you." "How did you know I liked tuna casserole?" he wondered aloud as he sat down at the kitchen table. "Mrs. Jewell told me," she replied. "She's an encyclopedia of information about you. Did you know she was a deputy sheriff? And that she can shoot a gun?" "Yes." He gave her a curious look. She grinned at him. "She didn't sell you out. I saw the gun in the bathroom and asked her about it. She said you didn't want me to know about her background. She's going to protect me in case one of Sam's guys comes looking for me, right?" she added matter-of-factly. "That's about it," he confessed. "It's nice that you worry about me," she said, putting food on the table and pouring coffee into his cup. "Thanks," she added huskily. He drew her mouth down to his and kissed her gently. "While you're here, I'm responsible for you," he told her. "I know you can look out for yourself most of the time, you're a grown woman. But this threat is more than you can handle alone. I'm not going to let anything or anyone hurt you." She felt warm all over. She felt a jolt in her heart, and she smiled helplessly at the tenderness in his dark eyes. He saw that and started getting cold feet. He started easing her away from him, gently but firmly. "Don't start talking about engagement rings just because I worry about you," he cautioned when she opened her mouth to speak. She sighed. "Spoilsport. You're the one who mentioned surprises." He grinned. "Yes. And you won't read these in my mind," he told her.

  She only smiled. She had some inkling of what was happening at city hall, because Mrs. Jewell told her things. There was a lot of talk about Senator Merrill's daughter being in big trouble, and even more about the danger two city councilmen and the acting mayor were in. There was more talk about the upcoming state elections and the city's special election for mayor.

  "I hope Mr. Ballenger wins that state senate seat," she said out of the blue.

  "I think he will. You're coming with me to the disciplinary hearing Monday night, aren't you?" he asked involuntarily, because he really wanted her emotional support. He wasn't goingtoadmitthat.

  "Of course I am," she replied without thinking. "I wish Rory could be here, too."

  He didn't say another word, and he did his best to hide a secretive smile from her.

  But she saw it anyway, and she wondered what he was up to.

  THE COMMUNITY WAS SHOCKED a day or two later with the news that incumbent Senator Merrill's daughter Julie Merrill was lodged in the county jail for attempted arson. She was Calhoun Ballenger's most outspoken critic on her father's behalf, and she was already in trouble for slandering him in television ads. Now she'd sent one of her family's hired men to burn down the house of Jordan Powell's girlfriend, Libby Collins. Her bail hearing

  was set for the following Monday morning, the same day of the city council meeting and

  the disciplinary hearing for Cash's officers. The would-be arsonist was singing like a

  canary and other charges were pending against Miss Merrill, people said.

  Cash had hinted at some political derring-do at the affair. Tippy had been very curious,

  and he'd been secretive. But Sunday afternoon, he left the house for an hour and came

  back with Rory.

  "I can't believe it!" Tippy exclaimed, holding her young brother close. "Oh, what

  a surprise!"

  "I can't believe it, either. Cash said you were sad and needed cheering up, so he

  talked the commandant into letting me take my exams early. I'm here for as long as I

  can stay," he added, wiggling his eyebrows at Cash.

  Cash chuckled. "You can stay as long as Tippy does," he promised, without adding

  that he had something in the works on that subject, too.

  Tippy, though, took the words at face value. She was healing nicely. Soon, she'd be able to go back to work, when she heard from Joel. But she hadn't yet. She wondered if Cash was getting tired of having her around.

  TIPPY AND RORY HAD A GOOD TIME riding around the county with Cash that Sunday afternoon, looking at the scenery. The trees were just putting out green leaves and some wildflowers were already blooming. On a whim, Cash drove by the Dunn ranch so that Tippy could see Christabel and the babies. Judd was out running errands for Christabel, but Christabel and the babies were home. Tippy felt ill at ease at first, in the house that held so many memories for her during the time she was filming a movie there. It had been an emotional and shameful episode in her life. She hadn't been good company, and she'd been cruel to Christabel

  over Judd. But everything had changed in the past few months. She glanced up at Cash with quick, possessive eyes, taking care that he didn't see the look. But Christabel did, and she grinned at her.

  Tippy's face flushed. Cash saw that, chuckled, and bent to kiss Christabel briefly on the cheek. Tippy had to hide her quick jealousy. Cash didn't belong to her. She had to try to remember that. Was he telling her so, with that deliberate little kiss on Christabel's pretty cheek? All her insecurities rose to the surface. She crossed her arms over her chest and tried to pretend to be cheerful.

  Rory was excited about the babies. "They're so little!" he exclaimed, letting Jared curl a small hand around his finger. He grinned. "They're so cute!"

  Tippy and Cash laughed at his enthusiasm.

  "They're growing like weeds," Crissy told them all. But she was smiling at Tippy now with the same warmth s
he showed to Cash.

  Cash had Jessamina up in his strong arms, and he was cooing to her, with his heart in his eyes. It hurt Tippy to see him like that, to have a glimpse of how he would have been with their own children. It was immensely painful.

  'They're beautiful children," she told Crissy, smiling to hide the pain.

  Crissy held out Jared to her. "Would you like to hold him?" she asked gently.

  Tippy's eyes answered the question, filled with hunger and affection. Involuntarily, Tippy took the little boy in her arms and smiled at him. He smiled back. She gasped, her whole face becoming radiant. "Look at that!" she exclaimed. "They both smile all the time," Crissy said proudly. "They're just six months old now." "Jared is just precious," Tippy mused, looking down at the little boy with an expression that hit Cash right in the heart.