Still Mine Read Online Free PDF Page A

as much as any one of them. Getting that fact straight was essential. The door to the room swung open and Locke stepped inside. He took in the scene in a quick yet efficient glance. He cast a frown in Jo’s direction.
    “I see you’ve all met.” Locke extended her gun and badge to her. “Now, Jo, be a good girl and don’t shoot any of these fine boys. I’d hate to see their mothers wearing black in this nice spring weather.”
    “I’ll try to keep that in mind, boss.”
    Tucking her holster into her waistband, Jo lingered over the task of placing her badge into the front pocket of her shirt. She was wearing the garment like a jacket over a tank top so that the ends of it draped to her mid-thighs to cover her sidearm. Jo locked gazes with the lead deputy. The look she received in return was grudging. Most men in this field didn’t accept female deputies well. Fewer still actually respected them. His arms bulged with muscle as he propped his hands onto his hips and considered her gun.
    “Fine by me.” The deputy shrugged before pointing to the members of his team.
    “Lee, Wilson, Moline and I’m Kent.” He didn’t bother to list more than their last names. He extended a hand towards the door in clear invitation.
    Pushing herself away from the bed that she’d been leaning on, Jo stepped through the door. The group fell into place like a well-choreographed dance. Every man knew his spot and responsibilities to the team. What grated on Jolene’s nerves was the fact that she knew her spot too well. Becoming the goal of the team didn’t mean she had to also transform into the weak link. Jo cast a last glance at Locke before she and her escort turned the corner. The look on her boss’s face held an ironclad promise. It was hard to swallow just how much she needed that reassurance. Sure, standing on her own sounded good, maybe noble, but everyone needed to know they had a place to call their home.
    Being separated from it now made her hindsight kick in, allowing her to see how much she enjoyed the everyday grind. In her case, her job was all she had. It defined her in too many ways to just let it slip away without a struggle. Being dumped back into that pit of not knowing where to go made her shiver. She shrugged off her melancholy thoughts as Deputy Kent opened the door of a nondescript sedan for her. The badge in her pocket was a nice hunk of reassurance because she had earned it. It was more than a job—it was a reflection of herself. All the money in the world couldn’t buy it. Her position on Locke’s team was another shining example of her worth.
    Senior Deputy Ross Locke always kept his promises. So that meant she could forgo the pity party. She’d be back. No one and nothing was going to keep Jolene Benate away from her chosen path. This wasn’t the first time her life had caved in. She’d survive, that was something she was good at. Maybe it was the wake-up call she needed. That swift kick in the pants that would see an end to her clinging to Paul’s memory. She caught a brief glimpse of Tait as he watched her car pull away from the curb. Fury drew his features taut. The emotion touched her. Inside him was a man that cared. He didn’t just want to bang her on his way through countless other girls.
    She was going to believe that, no matter how much logic tried to remind her that adults were attracted to each other and love didn’t always follow in passion’s footsteps.
    Paul was dead.
    So, she was going to think about just how much she missed Richard Tait.
    It was possible she just might learn to believe it.
     
    ***
     
    “This issue was closed six years ago.”
    “The facts have changed. It is time to reevaluate. Unless you want to stand behind the fact that a marshal office deputy is a weak link.”
    General Valda considered that argument. The doctor was correct. It was quite frankly amazing how much the facts had changed. It was also difficult to understand exactly why the doctor was so set