Free Stand By Your Man by Susan Fox Page B

gotten his life under control—to have the occasional beer.
    His fingers itched to reach across the table and curl around that sweating glass of golden brew. Under control? Hah! He was an addict. That meant no more drinking. Ever. He wouldn’t give in to weakness, wouldn’t fuck up again.
    Karen was way too good for him. She thought he was a better man than he was, and damn it, he was going to be that man. No need to tell her about the loser he used to be. This was a fresh start.
    She raised another spoonful of soup to her lips. “Mmm. Delicious. Thank you so much.”
    â€œPerks of the big city.”
    A nod, then she leveled him with a steady gaze from those tawny eyes. “We’ve got a long-distance problem in this relationship. If we got serious . . .”
    â€œCommuting between Vancouver and Caribou Crossing would get old pretty quick,” he agreed.
    â€œYou really plan to give up undercover work?”
    â€œI do.” A pang of loss, of regret made him pause and reflect. But he knew the decision was right. “On this last assignment, I was thinking there are things I’d rather be doing.”
    Her lips curved. “Basketball hoop?”
    He nodded. “Eating Thai food with you.” A grin snuck up on him. “Or doing what we were doing before this.”
    â€œMaking love with me was more fun than stalking drug gangs? Gosh, I’m flattered.”
    They both chuckled.
    Karen cleared the empty soup bowls and put the rest of the food in the microwave. Turning to face him, leaning back against the counter, she asked, “D’you hate small towns? All the country stuff?”
    He’d put some thought into that, knowing how fond she was of this place. “Don’t have enough experience to say for sure. But you know that if we got together, we probably couldn’t both work in the Caribou Crossing detachment. It’d be different if it was bigger, but—”
    â€œI know. If you took Miller’s place, you’d be my boss. A member can’t date her supervisor.”
    â€œOr even work the same shift as someone she’s dating. With only a handful of members here, it’d make for a logistical nightmare.”
    â€œWilliams Lake is a bigger detachment.” Again with that steady gaze. “The staff sergeant there is retiring in a couple of months.”
    â€œHuh. It’s an hour and a half drive. Nice scenery along the way, but it’s a long commute,” he mused.
    â€œThere are nice places to live between here and Williams Lake. If we wanted to split the difference.” She gave a soft laugh. “And we’re getting way ahead of ourselves.”
    Funny how it didn’t scare him. At least not much. “Well, this weekend we’re both here. How about you show me Caribou Crossing, Karen?”
    A grin flickered. “Sell you on it, you mean?”
    â€œHadn’t thought of it that way, but . . .”
    She flicked her head. That multicolored dark brown hair slipped and slid over her bare shoulders, making him want to plunge his fingers through it and caress the skin below. Then her chin went up and her eyes sparkled. “I’ll accept that challenge, Sergeant Estevez. I bet I can make you love Caribou Crossing.”
    Right then, looking at tall, toned, curvy Karen in that little green dress, Jamal figured she could make him love pretty much anything. Including her.
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    He should’ve known there’d be horses.
    It was Saturday afternoon and Jamal was in the passenger seat of Karen’s truck, on his way to go riding for the first time in his life. A female voice on the radio sang that she knew some guy was trouble from the moment he walked in. Outside the window, the sun shone in a clear blue sky and the scenery unfolded. They’d passed some craggy hills and a low-key tourist attraction called Gold Rush Days Park. Karen told him that the town had its origins in the 1860s gold