I Know You Love Me Read online

  Laughing, she shook her head at his roguish grin. She normally avoided men like Jimmy—they caused her nothing but trouble—but his honest smile and clear blue eyes told her she could trust him.

  "Let me guess, it's a nice change from gorgeous and handsome?"

  "Very nice...so where's Drew? I can't believe that he let you come out here during the audit just to talk to me."

  The reminder of the Sheriff had her off the desk in seconds. That was one man she never wanted to be left alone with for a long period of time if she could help it.

  "The audit is pretty much over; I took care of most of the paperwork stuff while he was out on that call. All I have left are questions and fact checking.” She could tell that Jimmy was suspicious of her explanation, and she had a sick feeling that she was about to lose her date tonight.

  "I'll ask again. Where is Drew?"

  The raised eyebrow and hidden smile pulled a returning smile from her lips against her will. Damn him and his adorable dimples. Time to test her theory.

  "Getting me some files."

  "Files? From the file room?"

  Disappointment filled her. She hated being right about these things Jimmy knew about Bonnie and had never told his friend.

  "Yes, why?"

  "You sent him in there on purpose, didn't you?"

  "Now, why would I do that?"

  "Allison! You know he's seeing Bonnie."

  She couldn't take it anymore. Jimmy knew the truth and had kept it a secret. “You knew! You knew all about Bonnie's extracurricular activities, and you let me go in there!"

  "Everyone in the station knows, and I had no idea they would do that with you here. Honest, Allison. I never would have let you go in there if I'd known."

  That excuse annoyed her; maybe Jimmy wasn't different after all. “You mean everyone knows but the Sheriff? Why is it he doesn't know?"

  Jimmy shrugged. “Well, he's a little possessive of the women he's seeing."

  That confirmed her suspicions about the Sheriff and why the clerk still worked there despite her incompetence.

  "Are you one of her many...extracurricular activities?” As much as she liked the guy, she couldn't date someone with tastes that led them to women like Bonnie. She wasn't that desperate for a man.

  "As you well know, Bonnie, my darling woman, isn't my type."

  Relieved by his answer, she grinned when he got up and approached her.

  "Just checking, so how long until diner? I'm starved."

  * * * *

  * * * *

  After walking in on the woman he'd spent the evening with and his lowest-ranking officer in the file room, Drew was angry; his pride had been bruised. He'd thought for sure that Bonnie had been satisfied when she'd left his bed. Knowing he'd been wrong stung.

  To walk out of the filing room after dealing with that indiscretion and see Allison flirting with Jimmy pushed him over the edge into jealousy. That reaction stopped his feet in surprise. Why should he care if she flirted with Jimmy? He wasn't even attracted to the woman...much.

  Watching Jimmy say something amusing and Allison respond by placing her hand and head against his chest was more than he could take. He fought against the irrational jealousy and failed miserably when Jimmy slipped his arm around her waist to give her a quick hug.

  "Ms. McKay, can we please finish this audit. I don't have all night."

  Allison sighed. “Guess it didn't go well, after all. See you in two hours, cutie."

  "How...?"

  The grin she flashed his friend made his bad mood worse. Damned woman! “Ms. McKay!"

  "Coming, Sheriff.” Pushing away from the desk, she stopped one last time to look at Jimmy. “Think I should let him have his chair back?"

  Drew gritted his teeth and walked into his office. She'd meant for him to hear that, and Jimmy was loving every minute of his humiliation today. It was almost as if Allison didn't want to be alone in Drew's office with him. Now he definitely wasn't letting Jimmy go on that date alone.

  He passed her the files as she walked into the office. “Here are your files, Ms. McKay, let's finish this so I can go home."

  * * * *

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  Chapter Two

  "I hope you like this place, Allison."

  Allison smiled, slipped her arm through Jimmy's, and drank in the atmosphere. “I'm sure I... Please, God, no!"

  Jimmy looked up, immediately on alert. “What is...I swear, Allison, I had no idea."

  Taking his arm, she started to turn away and make her escape. “Maybe we can escape before..."

  "Allison? Sweetheart, I thought that was you. Who's your friend?"

  Biting back a groan, she plastered a smile to her lips and turned toward the man who had addressed her. “Uncle George, this is Deputy Jimmy O'Toole. What are you guys doing here?"

  "Your mother told us you'd be working up here, and we thought we'd surprise you. It's been too long since you sang with us."

  Allison shook her head and started backing away from him. “No way. Forget it. It took me years to get out of the band. I'm not going back. I have a new job and a new life now. I'm here as the county auditor. Who in their right mind would take me seriously if I start singing with the bar band?” Jimmy slipped his arms around her waist in a show of support, and she appreciated the gesture until he opened his mouth.

  "I will—I love to hear you sing. The only other person you need to worry about is the Sheriff, and he rarely comes to the Honky Tonk,” Jimmy pointed out, receiving a conspiratorial grin from her uncle.

  Laughing sarcastically, she leaned into the security Jimmy offered her. “Great. Just what I need—for the sheriff to take me even less seriously than he does now. My only salvation in this is that he has no clue who I really am."

  Jimmy gave her a quick hug, but Allison didn't care. She wasn't jeopardizing her job for anyone. “No I'm not doing it. I know you guys will be great, but I'm on a date, and I intend to enjoy it...alone.” Leaning up on her toes, Allison quickly kissed her uncles cheek then turned back to Jimmy. “Let's go grab a table, cutie—preferably something in the back, as far away from the stage as possible. God willing, if they can't see me, they'll forget about me.” She knew it was a lost cause, but it felt good to stand up to her uncle for once.

  Jimmy grinned and led her toward the back of the room, straight toward a secluded little alcove. “Admit it, sweetheart—you just want to get me alone in the dark."

  * * * *

  * * * *

  Walking into the bar, Drew went straight toward the one person he knew would give him answers.

  "Hey Crystal, have you seen Jimmy tonight?"

  The bartender nodded, sad-eyed, toward the back booth. “Yeah, he's sitting in the back. Can you believe he's on a date with a member of Ten Deep? I don't stand a chance with him now."

  Drew turned toward the alcove; his concern was for Allison, not Crystal. “Wait a second. What are you talking about? He's supposed to be on a date with Allison McKay, from the county's office. If that bonehead fucks up our audit, I'll..."

  Crystal waved him silent and pointed toward the stage. “Sheriff, Allison is a member of Ten Deep."

  Drew turned toward the stage, his jaw hitting the floor in surprise. That annoyingly, difficult woman was standing on stage looking as mad as a hellcat, and yet, she was more attractive than ever. Before she'd showed up in his office, he'd never met a woman who could both annoy and attract him at the same time. Drew came to the only conclusion he could under the circumstances: he wanted her for himself.

  Unfortunately, she was with Jimmy. Drew certainly wasn't about to jeopardize his arrangement with his best friend by trying to seduce the woman he'd been in love with since they were kids, even if he was sorely tempted to tumble her into bed.

  He could wait; Jimmy's attention span where women were concerned wasn't any better than his. Still, looking over at his friend, Drew was starting to wonder if this was more than a mere crush after all. May
be Allison was the exception to the rule, and if that were the case, Jimmy would never get her out of his system.

  The moment Allison started singing, memories of Jimmy playing her songs over and over in high school flashed through his mind. She'd gotten better with age. His eyes never left her form once as he made his way back toward Jimmy's table.

  "Evening Jimmy."

  "Drew, what the hell are you doing here? And why are you alone?"

  Drew shrugged, pulled a chair over, and sat. “I had a craving for some Honky Tonk after I heard your little conversation in my office. I just never imagined that I'd be entertained by Ms. McKay. Who knew she had hidden talents? Now I understand the excitement."

  "Yeah, well, make sure that entertainment is done at arm's-length. I like her, Drew. I mean, I really like her. She's even more incredible than I imagined."

  Damn. He hated it when he was right about things like this. “You already knew who she was when you hit on her, didn't you?"

  Jimmy shrugged, his eyes never leaving Allison on the stage. “I grew up listening to Ten Deep. Of course I knew who she was, not to mention that Jeremy simply adores her, so it's not like I could miss recognizing her, especially when she falls right into my lap."

  "Well, don't look now, but she's getting awfully cozy with that guy on stage.” Drew couldn't help the perverse pleasure he felt at seeing Jimmy uneasy. Best friend or not, he was Drew's biggest competition in town.

  Jimmy shrugged, not at all worried. “That's Andrew McHenry. He's her ex-fiance. This is the first time in a decade they've been in the same room, and not because he's been avoiding her, if you catch my drift."

  "I don't see any disagreements between them now. Maybe she's forgiven him.” Jimmy's frown told Drew he saw the attraction between the two as clearly as he did.

  "Drew, why don't you just leave. We have an agreement. It's unvoiced, but there all the same. Let me...give me a chance...some time to see if there's an attraction...before you decide to move in."

  "I saw the attraction, Jim; hell, a blind man couldn't miss it."

  Jimmy shook his head sadly. “That was friendship, not passion, and I want passion with her. I won't settle for anything else. I want her acting as nervous around me as she does around you."

  It shouldn't have, but that bold statement pushed Drew right over the edge of anger and back into irrational jealousy. “Meaning?"

  "Please, Drew, you aren't six. You know exactly what that means. I plan on bedding that woman if she's interested. Think she's interested?"

  Drew couldn't believe his ears. Sure, confident Jimmy was unsure about this one tiny woman. He couldn't help asking the one question he knew was on both their minds.

  "What if she's not?"

  "I didn't think she was, either, but damn if that woman doesn't get all my protective and possessive instincts up."

  Jimmy's sex life, especially where Allison McKay was concerned, was the last thing Drew wanted to discuss, but here they were. “You haven't answered me, Jim. What if she's not?"

  "She's not your type, buddy, Allison not only has a brain, the lady knows how to use it."

  He's avoiding the question, again. Drew turned a disgusted gaze on his friend. “You're being funny."

  "I try."

  Drew decided to let his question slide this once; Jimmy was obviously distracted tonight. “Just shut up and listen to the lady sing."

  Jimmy choked and coughed. “Lady?"

  "She is a lady, isn't she?” He hated when Jimmy put him on the defensive. The damned woman had only been there two days, and she'd already gotten under his skin.

  "Of course, but I'm surprised you noticed. I've never see you like this before. This must be one serious itch...Hell, Drew, if there's no spark between myself and Allison, and the lady is interested, I won't stand in your way. But I'm warning you now—I'll be doing everything in my power to make this work. I've been in love with her since I was sixteen years old."

  God, I hope there's no spark between them. Looking back toward the stage, Drew wondered what had come over him. He'd heard her sing before, and it had never affected him, like this. What the hell am I thinking? Jimmy's right; she's not my...

  That thought died while watching her thread her way through the audience toward their table. Allison knew how to draw the audience into her performance, but it was more than that. He wanted her—her innocence, her strength, and her beauty. It wasn't every day he met a woman who wasn't afraid to stand up to him without killing his desire for her.

  "Let me guess—you two are best friends, right?"

  Jimmy flashed her his most seductive grin, creating a knot of jealousy in the pit of Drew's stomach.

  Hell. I thought I'd controlled that pesky emotion.

  "Yeah, how did you know?” Jimmy answered, his grin widening.

  "He may be your boss, and probably your competition more often than not, but you two have a lot in common from what I've seen so far...and you, cutie, keep defending his actions."

  "How...?"

  Allison grinned at the surprise in Jimmy's voice. “You were worried that I had sent him to fetch my files."

  He was? I think I'm touched. Well crap, now I feel guilty about wanting her for myself. Drew watched as Jimmy narrowed his eyes at her with a grin.

  "Okay, Allison, you've made your point. You can stop now."

  "Sorry, cutie. I'll behave now. Listen, I know we haven't eaten yet, but..."

  Jimmy actually looked crestfallen at those words. “You want to cut our date short."

  Interest peaked in Drew, making him all ears. Could she be tired of Jimmy already? Or maybe he'd been right about her ex.

  "Lord, no, but I do want to get out of here please, before..."

  Relief spread over his friend's face. “Before your uncle decides to rope you into joining the group for the rest of their time in town?"

  Annoyance filled Drew that Jimmy kept finishing her sentences.

  Allison frowned. “Too late for that."

  "He didn't!"

  Even Drew could see that Jimmy was trying not to laugh.

  Allison deflated at the reminder, and sat down on Drew's knee without thinking. Drew sat still, not wanting her to get up just yet. He enjoyed the feeling of her weight on his lap, her body near his.

  "Yes, he did; he played his ace and I couldn't say no."

  Jimmy's grin returned full-force. “You need to be cheered up. How about I take you home and..."

  The second Jimmy mentioned taking her home, Drew's arms came up to possessively surround her waist, making her gasp in surprise and jump off his lap like she was on fire.

  "I'm so sorry, Sheriff. I didn't realize...you should have said something. I hope I didn't hurt you?"

  Hurt me? What...

  "And you should have said something, Jimmy O'Toole!"

  The speed with which she turned on Jimmy amazed him.

  "Sorry, Allison. I..."

  Snorting in disgust, Allison turned away from Jimmy before he could finish his apology. “Men. You're all the same. Again, Sheriff, I'm extremely sorry. I just wasn't thinking."

  "My lap will never be the same again,” he teased. Watching her cheeks redden darker, Drew stood and placed his fingers under her chin. Lifting it so that he could look into her eyes, he smiled. “That isn't necessarily a bad thing Ms. McKay."

  "Allison...Allison...Allison...Allison..."

  The startled look on her face when the crowd started chanting her name filled in most of the puzzle that was Allison McKay. Her face paled, and her body started trembling at the sound of the chanting behind her. When her uncle called out for her, she actually flinched.

  "Come back up here, my dear; they want an encore. Don't even think of leaving before you give them one,” George McKay called out from the audience.

  True to his nature, Drew made a suggestion designed to put her at ease and get himself out of the doghouse. “Since you need to go up anyway, why not sing something you enjoy?"

  "Make a s
uggestion, Sheriff; I'm too tired to pick one for myself.” Allison replied tiredly.

  Drew grinned. “In that case...” He knew there was only one song that would make up for his actions tonight. The only song he'd ever enjoyed listening to when Jimmy got into one of his Ten Deep binges.

  Getting up, he walked over to Allison and whispered into her ear. “Sing ‘My Only Love.’ It's Jimmy's favorite song."

  Mine, too

  Turning, he walked out to leave them alone to finish their date in peace before he gave in to his desires and kissed her.

  * * * *

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  Chapter Three

  "You look like hell."

  Allison yawned and plopped down into the chair across from his. Drew had gotten to work early just so he could reclaim his chair and regain the upper hand. That action amused her. “Good morning to you, too, Sheriff."

  "Didn't you get any sleep last night?"

  Allison's eyebrows went up into her hairline in shock. “Actually, no—none. That man kept me up all night playing..."

  "Hey, Allison, seeing as your hotel had that electrical incident that has workers pounding, I thought you could use a place to nap after last night's activities. So here—take the keys to my house, and you can go lie down during lunch, if you want."

  Drew wasn't sure whether or not he felt grateful for Jimmy's bad timing.

  "Thanks. After last night, I believe I will. You are so sweet."

  Watching them flaunt their relationship pushed Drew past patience. “Ms. McKay, can we please finish my audit?"

  "Seriously, Sheriff, your attitude is getting tiresome. I can't move forward without you, and I believe Gertrude said something about you having an appointment between ten-thirty and two pm. So there shouldn't be a conflict if I go take a nap during lunch."

  Her annoyed tone almost broke through his defenses. He needed to get her out of town, and fast. “How much longer are you staying in town, Ms. McKay?” Because I can't stand to watch you and Jimmy coo at each other much longer.

  "Another forty-eight hours, Sheriff; familial obligations, I'm afraid, but then you'll be rid of me forever. The audit should be done by the morning."