Saving the Sheriff: A Three River Ranch Novella (Entangled Bliss) by Roxanne Snopek

that had him feeling off balance, Red told himself the next morning as he eased Conrad’s truck onto the main road. Or was it the shock of rejoining the world after a week of isolation?
    It couldn’t be the shock of being intimate with someone after so long.
    The thought disturbed and excited him in equal amounts.
    Carefully he entered the freeway, grateful for the traction of salted-and-sanded asphalt beneath the wheels. And that Frankie hadn’t insisted on driving the rig back alone.
    Grateful too that this meant she’d have to drive him back to the ranch, which in turn meant that she’d have to stay another night.
    “I’ve never seen such empty roads,” said Frankie.
    “Traffic advisory is still in effect,” said Red. “No driving unless absolutely necessary.”
    “Which this is,” she said. She angled her head, sending him a sweet, apologetic smile. “Thank you for coming with me, Red. Hopefully we’ll be able to make good time.”
    The thought sat like a lump of coal in his belly. The faster they returned Conrad Toole’s property, the faster she reclaimed her car, the faster she’d disappear from his life.
    “Yeah,” he said, hearing the hollowness. “But it’ll still be close to midnight when we get back.”
    One more night with her, that’s all he’d have. But after the passion that had exploded between them, one night couldn’t possibly be enough.
    He tried to force his mind to stay on the road, but it didn’t work. All he could think of was the sound of her soft breath against his skin, her hands, gentle yet insistent, determined. Seeing her shake and cry out, then later, sigh contentedly in her sleep, when he settled a freshly warmed blanket over her small frame.
    What was this between them? What would happen now?
    Maybe he was over-thinking it.
    They’d dug their way out of the snow. They’d almost dug their way out of the mess created by her reindeer-rescue project. One more night, he could count on nothing more. What could he do, ask her to stay here so they could start…dating? She had a job, a home, a life.
    He had a job.
    So what, they’d begin a long-distance relationship?
    Imagining broaching the subject with her had his insides twisting. What if she said no, what if she looked at him with pity, what if—God save him—she laughed at him?
    “Thanks, Red,” she said, startling him out of his reverie.
    “For driving?”
    “For everything.” Her voice was husky. “Last night was…amazing.”
    Male pride rushed through him. “It was, wasn’t it?”
    “And you don’t have to worry.” Frankie looked out the window. “I don’t have expectations. We’ve both got lives to get back to.”
    “Of course.” Pride fizzled into disappointment. That answered that question. “Good. That’s good.”
    “Have you heard from Zach about the caribou?”
    “He said Carson knows a guy at a wildlife conservation agency. He figures it’ll all be sorted out in a day or two.”
    “Good. I won’t leave until I know they’re safe.”
    He glanced at her, sitting quietly, her hands in her lap. That was Frankie. Always trying to do the right thing for everyone else.
    “Damn right you won’t.”
    She rewarded him with a small smile and the air warmed between them. “I do, however, have expectations for tonight.”
    He gripped the steering wheel. “You do, do you?”
    She ran a finger lightly down his jaw, sending charges all the way through his body.
    “Do you object?”
    Laughing, he knocked away her hand. “Let’s get there and back in one piece and then I’ll show you exactly how much I don’t object.”
    “Yippee!” Frankie started singing. “ I slept with Sheriff Red LeClair, On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.”
    “Technically,” he interrupted, “it was Boxing Day.”
    She punched him.
    “His back is freckled and I don’t care, On Christmas Day in the morning.”
    And suddenly Red couldn’t resist joining in.
    “I saw Francesca’s toes today, On Boxing Day, on