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The man was something to see. He was just as tall as Connor, but not as wide through the shoulders. The man was built, though. The short sleeves of his blue police uniform strained around his biceps, and Olivia could tell he took his job seriously. His uniform was clean and pressed, and his dark brown hair was military short. He wore the ubiquitous wraparound shades cops seemed to prefer, but he pushed them up on his head when he entered the tent, revealing brilliant, amber-colored eyes.

Courtney was all but swooning toward the poor man.

“Connor. You need some help?”

“Hey, Drake. Yeah, maybe you have someone who can hang out with Ms. Michaels for a while. She’s under a lot of stress right now, and it looks like someone has ransacked her office.” He motioned toward the mess in the corner. Then he leaned over to whisper in Drakes ear, “she’s got the prize money in her purse.”

Drake’s eyes widened, and he nodded once. Then he grinned down at Courtney. “Ms. Michaels, any chance you’ve been drinking this morning?”

She flipped a hand. “Oh, I’ve had a few mimosas, but champagne has little effect on me.”

Olivia snorted as Drake walked her away.

“He’ll make sure she sobers up and he’ll make sure her money is in a secure place.”

“What was she thinking?”

Connor shook his head, frowning. “I don’t know, but we need to locate her backup. Because whoever it is, they are now in charge of the festival.”

Luckily, they found the head judge, Martin Fishe, and he was more than happy to take over Courtney’s job. “That woman has no business running a barbeque competition like this. Just because she has the money, and the family connections, it doesn’t mean she can just buy her way in. I’ll take care of the rest of the judging, and we’ll be on time. The finals will be at four pm, and the winner will be announced at the beginning of the rodeo at seven.”

Connor nodded his head. “If you need anything from me, you have my number.”

They headed back through the smoker midway. On the other end of the park the rides and games were quiet. They wouldn’t start until after noon. Horse trailers were beginning to pull into the rodeo area, though, and tractors were circling inside the ring, getting the surface ready. Within a couple of hours, horses would be in there warming up and cattle would be lowing in the pens.

They returned to the pavilion and waited for calls. Manu’s anxiety had spiked. His brisket competition was in an hour, and he kept touching the foil wrapped meat. He’d taken it off the heat, and it was resting in a pan. On one of the tables, he was dressing a plate, getting it ready.

“You’re going to do fine, man,” one of the guys called out. She thought his name was Franklin. Just a younger guy, dark-haired and dark-eyed. “Your meat is the best in town,” he said, snorting, and the rest of the group broke into laughter. Manu shook his head at their bawdy talk, but she had a feeling he’d heard it all before.

At a little after one, her cell phone rang. It was the insurance agent. Olivia pushed up from the chair and walked away to give herself some privacy.

“Ms. Grant, I’m so sorry it’s taken so long, but we have a rental car available. If you can let me know where you’re staying…”

It took Olivia a moment to realize that her chance to leave was being presented to her. “Well, I’m at the festival right now. If you want to drop it at Lockhart’s fire department, that would be fine. Leave the keys in the lobby. Someone will probably be there to get them.”

She hoped Lang would be there. She’d have to check with Connor on that.

“We can do that! I hope you have a fabulous weekend!”

“You too,” she said faintly.

When she returned to her chair, she related the conversation. Connor’s gaze darkened, and his mouth went tight. “Yes, Lang will be there. I’ll let him know to watch for them.”

He typed off a text and nodded to her, then reached out to hold her hand. Olivia shuffled her chair closer, feeling a little adrift. She had to go to Corpus Christi. There was no getting out of the contract, unless they let her out of it, but she knew the clinic was short-staffed.

She glanced at Connor’s profile, but he was looking at her, his bright eyes narrowed. The chatter of the men around them fell away, and she wondered if it would be uncouth to climb into his truck and drive away. Yes, he was supposed to be on duty, but did he have to be right here?

Then she castigated herself. This was just a little side adventure in the middle of Texas. It meant nothing.

Right?

Her heart was telling her otherwise. She’d felt at home here, which was saying a lot. And she knew it was the people as much as the place. The men of Station 9were good guys, and Connor was… amazing. She looked down at their clasped hands, wondering if it was too much to hope that he felt the same way. How did she feel, exactly? He made her heart race, and her palms go damp. Like a girl in love. She wasn’t a girl anymore, though.

Some of her confusion must have shone in her eyes, because he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “It’s okay, babe. We’ll figure it out.”

CHAPTER 10

Connor felt like he was in trouble with his brothers again, years ago, sitting outside the sheriff’s office while he talked to their parents about what bad kids they were.