Irresistible Force Read Online Free PDF Page B

knew he’d be a long time forgetting the righteous fury in her oh-so-expressive gaze.
    “You’re right, Ms. Appleton. I owe you my thanks. You saved Bogart’s life.”
    “You’re damn right I did.” Shay blinked back the very idea of tears, horrified that he might notice the telltale gleam. “And his name is Prince.”
    Deputy Ward laid a hand on her shoulder. “The fact is, this man can prove the dog’s his. I’m sorry but that’s the way it is.”
    James watched Shay chew the inside of her lip. He knew she was trying hard not to defend her position again. Despite the fact that he was sympathetic to her point of view, it wouldn’t alter the outcome. Bogart was his partner. They belonged together.
    Still, that chewing got to him, on several levels, not the least of which was the feeling stirring in his pants. Standing there with her skewed ponytail and tousled bangs, she looked like an abandoned creature herself.
    James turned away from the raw emotion in her face, as much to protect his peace of mind as her feelings.
    Shay backed up against the wall as the lawman from Charlotte took her Prince by the collar and snapped on a leash he had produced from his pocket. She crossed her arms to rub the goose bumps that had arisen. She was an adult. She’d learned much too early how very unfair the world could be. She’d learned to expect less than most people from life. Yet …
    Until this moment, somewhere deep inside her had lived the ridiculous hope that Prince really belonged to her, that it was all a misunderstanding and that, at the end of the day, he would be curled up against her as she slept. Now she could no longer deny it. Prince belonged to someone else.
    The unfairness of it all overwhelmed her good sense, rising as a stinging heat up through her legs and thighs into her stomach and then up into her chest and neck and face. She couldn’t breathe. The only action inside her was the hard hammering of her heart. As the sensation ebbed away, taking her hope and leaving behind a great sense of loss and impotence, fury once again flared up within her.
    “I want to press charges against this man, for trespassing.”

 
    CHAPTER FOUR
    Shay swung around on the deputy. “I want him arrested! I can demand that.”
    Deputy Ward sighed the sigh of a man who sometimes hated his job. “You can. But I wouldn’t advise it.”
    “Why? Because he’s a police officer?”
    Deputy Ward tucked in his chin. “That’s not the issue.”
    “He admitted to you he broke in. You’re my witness.”
    The deputy looked even more uncomfortable. “Can I speak with you a moment? In private.”
    James looked around. “Do I smell coffee?” Without being invited, he headed toward a doorway through which a range top could be seen. Bogart followed obediently on the leash.
    The deputy hitched up his pants before he began speaking in a low voice. “I know you’re fond of the dog but you don’t want to do this, Ms. Appleton.”
    Shay breathed through her nose before replying. “All I want is my dog. I’ll drop the charges if I can keep Prince.”
    “ Uh-huh . But that’s not how it’s going to go down. And I got to warn you that attempting to take a law enforcement officer to court will be a sorry business. You’ve got a history of … let’s just call it unreliable behavior.”
    “You mean because of what happened when I was a child?”
    The deputy shifted from one foot to the other but there was sympathy in his gaze. “We’ve known you a long time, Shay. The sheriff and your mama were close friends. Did all he could for you two.” His gaze strayed away. “But we haven’t seen you in, what, three years? And last time you were here you reported seeing individuals on your property. That all turned out to be nothing.”
    The heat of indignation flared so hotly Shay could scarcely draw breath. “So you think I’m either a liar or a nutcase?”
    His gaze came back to her, his expression apologetic. “What I’m saying,