Brokenhearted Beauty(Divine Creek Ranch 19)(6)

His eyes sparkled and she could see the emotion behind his smile. “I’m about as proud as I can be. And did you hear how loud he is?”

“My ears are still ringing.”

“I better get down there. See you later, sweetie!”

Pain twisted viciously in her heart. Maybe if she hadn’t avoided getting together with Patterson, James, and Vincent for the last several years, it might be one of them coming down the hall toting an armful for her and their baby. Imagining herself in a position like that, or what would’ve been necessary to get herself in such a position, made her cheeks hot.

Over the years, several women, including her old boss, Juliana Peterson, and her friend, Teresa Martinez, had gently questioned why she’d never gone for it with the three Elder brothers, telling her it was so obvious they were smitten with her.

She’d come up with numerous reasons. Shyness. Awkwardness. An inferiority complex. Fear of public condemnation. The troublingly high failure rate of relationships with cops…times three. Or most notably, an inability to comprehend how she could ever hope to keep up with three such spectacularly sexy men. They were mostly just pathetic excuses, in the face of the ultimate loss of one of them. She had no excuses good enough to cover that loss, making the heartache she felt for denying the Elders all the worse.

The fierce ache in her chest stayed with her all the way out to the parking lot, until she saw the flashing lights on the street out by the entrance. Her eyes went immediately to the fender of the police car and recognized Vincent’s number, and then saw him as he stood up from his driver’s seat, with paperwork in his hands for the driver he’d pulled over.

As if drawn to her, his gaze found her all the way across the parking lot. Normally, she was as graceful as the next person, ambulating about on two legs with no problem. Those riveting green eyes captured her, and just her luck, she stumbled on her suddenly awkward feet and fell down.

Damned high heels should be outlawed! What was I thinking when I put these on?

Instead of getting right up, she stayed there, looking down at her pale hands on the hot asphalt. Her hands and knees began to sting. But still she stayed there.

Get up, idiot. A car could come. She groaned as she realized her purse had dumped out on the ground, too. She ignored the sting on her bare knees as she crawled around gathering her belongings, sneering at the lipstick that she’d never used anyway as it slowly rolled across the surface until it finally tipped into a sewer drain.

“Ten bucks down the drain.” She started to laugh and the sound verged on hysteria.

“Doll! Doll! Are you okay?” Vincent rounded the vehicle next to her at a run and crouched down beside her. She kept laughing even as she looked down at her hands and noticed that blood was starting to seep from the scrapes on them. Her knees felt even worse.

His work-roughened hands were gentle as he helped her to her feet. “Here, let me help you. Look at your poor hands. You okay? What’s so funny?”

She finally met his green gaze under his pale straw cowboy hat and the laughter died in her throat. “Nothing. I should’ve been watching where I was going. I thought you were busy with a speeder.”

“Nah,” he replied softly as he helped her over to her car. It shamed her that she was suddenly so shaky and actually needed the help. “It was just a warning for a non-functioning taillight.”

He towered over her and his arm felt like steel around her back as he opened the car door and helped her sit. He made a soft sound of dismay as he squatted down in front of her. “You scraped your knees up pretty good.”

“I have first aid supplies in my office,” she said as she looked down at her raw knees. A shiver raced through her body as he blew gently on one and then the other. The tender gesture from such a big, tough man made her heart flutter.

“You headed to the store now?” he asked as he looked at her with those green eyes and a slight frown. His eyes had a sleepy, alluring quality to them that her mother would’ve referred to as bedroom eyes. She hadn’t known what her mom had meant back then but she sure did now. He wore his facial hair trimmed short and exceedingly neat, just the same as James and Patterson—

“Yeah. I’m headed there now. I’m running just a little late.” As if on cue, her cell phone went off with another text message from Evelyn.

“Your dad is here and he wants to know how long you’ll be. He needs to talk to you.”

She held up her phone. “Dad is at the store asking for me.”

Vincent nodded understandingly and stood up as she pulled her legs into the car.

“Don’t forget to doctor those scrapes, doll. Make sure and clean them good first. Wouldn’t want you to get an infection.” After closing the door for her, he bent down and leaned his forearm on the opened window. His gaze pleaded with her. “It’s good to see you. Your hair has gotten long.”