Free Ball and Chain by J. R. Roberts

mother?” he asked.
    Ellie nodded. “She’s been gone a long while, but Pa never got past it. I don’t want to push him. I don’t think I could push him even if I wanted to.”
    Clint reached out to touch Ellie’s arm. “It’s good of you to stay with him. From what I’ve seen, you must have a bit of a saint in you to put up with him day in and day out.”
    â€œIt’s not too bad.” Giggling under her breath, she added, “Maybe it is sometimes.”
    â€œWell, you’ll have those pretty flowers to hang up soon enough,” Clint told her as he dried off the platter and set it on the table with the other clean plates. “That should brighten things up.”
    Ellie dried her hands on the apron tied around her waist. Although she seemed meek with her head lowered, there was something else entirely when she raised it again. The little girl that was brought out by her father’s presence was gone. Now, she looked to be every bit the young woman that she was. When Ellie looked at Clint, she had all the hunger in her eyes that any woman in her twenties might feel.
    She stepped forward and placed her hands upon Clint’s face, opening her mouth a bit as she lifted her lips to his. Clint reacted out of instinct. His hands went to her waist and he accepted the kiss she was giving him. Now that her body was pressed against him, she didn’t remind him of a little girl at all. She was a woman through and through.
    The moment she felt Clint’s lips upon her own, Ellie sifted her fingers through his hair and pulled him closer. Letting out a soft, contented moan, she parted her lips and slipped her tongue into Clint’s mouth just far enough for him to get a taste of her.
    Clint was taken by surprise, mostly because he’d pegged Ellie wrong. He wasn’t exactly disappointed or shocked, just surprised at how this quiet young lady could be so hungry for him.
    Suddenly, she pulled back. Although the kiss was cut short, she was still close enough for him to feel the warmth of her breath as she said, “Oh, Lord. I . . . guess I got carried away. Was that too forward of me?”
    â€œForward?” Clint gulped. “Actually, it was the best dessert I could have asked for.”
    â€œYou didn’t exactly ask.” Just then, Ellie’s cheeks flushed as she felt Clint’s erection through his jeans pushing against her body. Despite the fact that she was blushing, she didn’t move away from him. Before she could say anything else, Clint moved in even closer.
    This time, Clint wrapped one arm around her so he could encircle her waist. He kept the other on her hip simply because he liked the feel of her beneath her apron and simple dress. When he kissed her again, Clint could hear and even feel the contented purr that came from the back of her throat.
    The kiss enveloped both of them so much that neither of them heard the gunshot right away.
    A second later, Clint pulled back and looked around. “Did you hear that?”
    Before Ellie could answer, another gunshot was fired. This one was followed by the booming sound of Hank’s voice.

SEVENTEEN
    â€œWho in the hell are you?” Hank shouted.
    Acklund stepped forward. The .38 Smith and Wesson in his hand was still smoking. “You hiding a killer in there?”
    To his credit, Hank didn’t seem rattled in the least by the fact that a gun had been fired so recently. “Just stay put,” he snarled. “When I come back out with my shotgun, I’m gonna blow your stinkin’ head off!”
    Hank made it halfway to his front door before Acklund fired again. This bullet whipped through the air to shatter the window to Hank’s right. The older man paused with his hand outstretched. His head slowly turned toward the broken window and his voice rumbled from him like boiling water from a geyser. “You’re payin’ for that!”
    â€œJust like