Blue Jeans and a Badge Read Online Free PDF

her.
    â€œSo, tell me about the bounty hunting,” he said, as though he hadn’t just exposed her for a complete fraud.
    She fought back the spiraling feeling of panic in her stomach and waited for the tell-tale heat in her face to diminish. Then, because it was either that or do something really crazy like ask him to kiss her, she told him the long, detailed history of how she’d become a bounty hunter. About gun safety classes and target shooting with her dad from the time she could walk; about seeing a wanted poster at the post office her senior year and out of the blue spotting the guy the next week at a department store and contacting security to report it; about getting a substantial reward along with job offers from six different bail bond outfits the day after graduation.She even touched briefly on the unrelenting restlessness in her soul that the ever-moving, ever-exciting job kept in check.
    Anything to avoid talking about the loaded shotgun that was hovering there, big as life between them.
    A shotgun called desire.
    Â 
    Things were not going well.
    After jostling up and down the third unmarked dirt track with no success, Philip pulled off the highway and banged his fist onto the steering wheel in frustration. Frustration over not being able to concentrate on finding the right road because all he could think about was the woman sitting next to him.
    A swearword escaped his lips. “They all look alike.”
    Luce chuckled. “Maybe you should have given the old guy more quills.” He scowled over at her. “Relax,” she said. “We’ll find it.”
    â€œSometime this century, I hope,” he muttered, wiping beads of sweat from his forehead. Over the past four hours the temperature must have climbed thirty-five degrees.
    And that wasn’t even counting the extra twenty or so jacked up by the chemistry sparking between him and Luce.
    She started to laugh.
    Philip stared at her, his irritation increasing exponentially with the duration of her laughter. She just laughed even harder.
    â€œOh, lighten up, O’Donnaugh! Look around you!” She popped off her seat belt and jumped out of the Jeep, twirling around with her arms in the air. “The view’s gorgeous and the weather’s perfect!”
    Philip leaned back in his seat, tipped his hat up and watched her as she shaded her eyes and took in the scenery with a spellbound look on her face. Slowly his annoyance evaporated.
    He had to admit, the view was gorgeous. Luce’s turquoise turtleneck fit her upper body like a glove, showing off hergenerous curves and highlighting her golden hair to perfection. He couldn’t see much of her jeans below the hood of the Jeep, but what he could see made his mouth water.
    She sure was pretty. Maybe not a beauty queen, but to him her face was all the more appealing for being natural and bright, glowing with confidence, eyes twinkling with mischief.
    Damn shame she didn’t care to explore their potent attraction. He felt instinctively it could be something real special.
    On the other hand, he wasn’t looking for special. Certainly not with a woman only in town temporarily. He was just getting back on his feet after the fiasco in California, and definitely didn’t need another woman turning his life upside down. Been there, done that.
    No, thanks.
    He climbed out of the Jeep and pulled his uniform shirt over his head. After wiping the sweat from his face and the back of his neck with it, he threw it on the back bench seat. Fortunately he’d worn a PLPD T-shirt under it, black cotton with a gold embroidered badge on the chest. It was a lot cooler, and maybe the casual image it projected would make people open up more when he and Luce actually found the damned place.
    â€œHey, no fair.”
    He glanced up to see her giving his chest the once-over. She seemed to be enjoying the view, too.
    Hmm. How upside down could things get in only a few days? He