Ruby Creek, Texas 

     Funny how life never seemed to change.

     Sheriff Tanner Montgomery ran a hand back through his dark hair with a frustrated sigh.  Ten years after leaving Ruby Creek, Bethany Warner was coming back to Texas and his mother was up to her old tricks again - playing matchmaker. 

     Just what he didn’t need, his mother pushing another woman at him.  Why couldn’t she get it through her head that he wasn’t looking for a wife?  His life was fine just the way it was.  No emotional entanglements.  No wife or child to worry about leaving behind if something should happen to him in the line of duty.  Having lost his father that way when he was just a boy, Tanner knew firsthand what it could do to a family.    

     He glanced down at his watch and cursed under his breath.  Sure enough, he was late for the welcome home party his mother was throwing for Bethany.  Truth was, he’d seriously considered not showing up at all.  He had never been one for large crowds and this occasion guaranteed at least half the town would be there.

     Even worse, Bethany’s return had rekindled his mother’s dream to get he and Beth together.  Thankfully Bethany’s visit was just that – a visit.

     It wasn’t that he didn’t look forward to seeing her again.  She might have driven him crazy tagging along after him everywhere he went when they were kids, but most of that was his mother’s doing.  She had been pushing them together from day one.  For the most part, the Bethany he remembered was a sweet kid.  He just had to be careful not to set his mother’s mental wheels to turning anymore than they already were. 

     Tanner gathered up the last of the paperwork he’d been working on and shoved the stack back into the bottom drawer of his desk.  Then he closed the drawer and stood, grabbing his hat from the corner of the desk as he did so.  He had stalled long enough.

     Slapping his hat onto his head, he headed out to his patrol car which was parked in front of the jail along the street.  He dug in his pants pockets for his keys.  Nothing.  He’d left them lying in the top drawer of his desk.

     “Son of a—” he muttered as he whipped around, only to have his words cut off by a mouthful of leaves as he collided head-on with a large flowering plant.

     The plant gave a very loud, decidedly feminine squeal and wavered unsteadily.  Tanner immediately reached out to keep it from falling.

     “Ooh!” the woman gasped from behind the shiny, green leaves and fragrant pink blossoms.  “I’m so sorry.”

     Tanner’s gaze moved instinctively downward.  This plant had the nicest set of legs he’d seen in a long time.  Maybe longer.  “No, it was my fault,” was all he could manage with the sudden shortage of blood to his brain.  The majority of it had traveled south.

     The woman lowered the terra cotta pot just enough to peer over top the tropical looking bush.  “No, really, it’s all my fault.  I should have been paying better attention.  I was in a hurry.”

     Incredible eyes.  Cobalt blue, surrounded by thick, black lashes.  Tanner’s mouth went dry.  Before he could reply, she hurried past him, her long blonde curls fluttering in the afternoon breeze.

     He stood transfixed, watching as she darted across the street to her car.  Illegally, he might add.  Not so much the jaywalking, but the sensual sway of her hips as she moved.

     His gaze remained fixed on the departing form.  The woman opened her car door and bent to place the plant in the backseat of her car, her short skirt riding up the back of her legs.  Long, shapely legs. 

     Dragging in a deep breath, Tanner ran a splayed hand down his face and counted to ten.  By the time he looked again, she was gone.

     At least physically.  The memory of her remained, taunting him.  Why hadn’t he offered to carry the heavy plant to her car for her?  Maybe because he was too busy standing there gawking at the woman’s backside like some tongue-tied idiot.  Shaking his head, Tanner returned to his office to get his keys. 

                                                                                                  *    *    * 

     As he drove to his mother’s where the welcome home party for Bethany was being held, Tanner’s thoughts were centered on the most incredible blue eyes he’d ever seen, a barely legal skirt and the killer legs that went with it.

Why hadn’t he thought to ask her name?  Not that it would have made any difference.  He wasn’t looking for a relationship.  But it might have helped ease his distraction with this nameless woman.

     The chirp of his cell phone interrupted Tanner’s troubled thoughts.  He reached for it and flipped it open, bringing it to his ear.  “Sheriff Montgomery.”

     “Tanner, where are you?”

     Smiling, he switched the phone to his other ear.  “On my way, Momma.  Relax.”

     “Relax?  How can I?  Bethany’s going to be arriving any minute and you’re not here to greet her.  She’ll be so disappointed.”

     “Momma, you promised.  No more trying to trying to throw Beth and me together.  She’s not my type.”  Not that he even had any idea what she looked liked anymore.  As an insecure girl growing up, Bethany had never been one to have her picture taken.  It appeared those same insecurities had carried on into adulthood because she hadn’t sent his mother one single picture of herself since leaving Ruby Creek.  Only letters.

     “And what, exactly, is your type?” his mother demanded from the other end of the line.  “I’m not getting any younger you know.  I want grandchildren.”

     “Then you should go bug Brandon for a few.”  Let his little brother deal with it for a change.  Brandon had the good fortune to be born after Bethany, so he’d never had to deal with his mother’s matchmaking schemes.

     “Honey, Brandon’s still in law school.  Besides, he’s too young to settle down.”

    “And I wasn’t at four years old when Beth was born and you and her momma decided to marry us off?” 

     “Tanner Montgomery, don’t get smart with me.  A mother knows what’s best for her children.”

     But he wasn’t a child any longer.  Far from.  Not that he was going to get into that conversation again with his mother.  She was so excited over Bethany’s coming home he wasn’t about to take that away from her. 

     “Bethany’s a beautiful girl,” his mother continued. 

     The Bethany he remembered could hardly be called a beauty.  She was a tall, lanky girl with hair like spiral pasta.  And she whistled when she talked thanks to a generous gap centered right between her two front teeth.

     Tanner shook his head.  He wasn’t going to go there.  “Woman, Momma.  Bethany’s twenty-eight now, remember?”

     “All the better,” his mother replied.  “She’ll be ready to settle down.”

     Okay, so pointing out her age hadn’t been the smartest thing to do.  While his mother went on to list Bethany Warner’s fine qualities, his thoughts drifted back to the woman he’d nearly bulldozed over in town.  Who was she?  Had she just been passing through or was she new to Ruby Creek?

     “Tanner, have you heard a single word I’ve said?” his mother demanded with a hint of frustration.

     He grabbed his sunglasses from the visor and slipped them on.  “Every word, Momma.”

     “Well, hurry home.  It’s bad enough your brother couldn’t make it home for this.”

     “I’ll be home in five.”  Before she could say another word, he clicked the phone shut and returned it to the holder attached to his belt. 

     Thirty-two years old and his mother was still trying to run his love life.  Tanner chuckled.  It was plain to see where he’d gotten his stubbornness from.  The more his mother pushed the more he pulled.  It was amazing he’d ended up working for the law instead of running from it.  Though his rebellious streak had landed him in a fair amount of trouble during his teen years.

     Tanner caught a whiff of something sweet and floral-like.  Himself.  He screwed up his face in disgust.  He smelled like a woman thanks to his run-in with that flowering plant, the one with the long, sexy legs. 

     Men were not supposed to smell like flowers.  Muttering a curse, Tanner lowered the windows in his car, hoping the fresh country air would take care of the problem.

     By the time he arrived at his mother’s place, the smell was just a memory.  Tanner looked around, not at all surprised to see so many cars and pickups lining the road in front.  No sign of a taxi or rental car though.  Bethany’s flight must have been delayed.  Knowing his mother, she would be in a complete frenzy over it. 

     Tanner pulled into one of the few remaining spots and cut the engine.  In no hurry to join the crowd, he sat listening to the twang of country music and laughter that drifted in through the open windows of his patrol car.

The welcome home party was already in full swing, even without its guest of honor.  He had time.  No rush.  His palms grew moist as they clutched the steering wheel.  Lord, he hated crowds. 

It didn’t matter that he’d know everyone there.  Just the thought of a horde of people surrounding him brought back that same suffocating feeling he’d first experienced as a young boy when his father was killed and people poured into the house to pay their condolences.  Why had it come back now?  

     “It’s just a picnic,” he told himself as his heart pounded beneath his badge.  “You’ll be outside, not crammed into a small room.”

     Unfortunately, his little pep talk didn’t ease his anxiety one bit.  Tanner laid his head back against the seat and closed his eyes.  Then he used the breathing techniques he’d been shown years before by the therapist he’d been sent to after his father was shot.

Tanner dragged in a deep breath and then blew out long and slow.  He could do this.  All he had to do was make an appearance and then slip quietly away.

     Opening his eyes, Tanner released his death-grip on the steering wheel and stepped out of the car.  He looked around, admittedly surprised as well as relieved that his mother hadn’t

come running out to drag him around back to the party.  

     Depositing his key ring into the front pocket of his uniform pants, Tanner made his way around the old two-story house to the backyard, grateful his mother had chosen to have the party outside.

     What looked to be at least half the population of Ruby Creek stood beneath the cooling shade of Texas Ash trees and sprawling Bur oaks.  Red and white streamers hung from the lower branches while matching balloons dangled from the corners of the borrowed picnic tables.

     Tanner shook his head.  His mother had gone all out this time.  He looked around for her, but she was nowhere to be seen.  Probably in the kitchen whipping up more food. 

Feeling calmer, he waved to a few of the guests on his way to the back door.  He moved quickly, hoping no one would stop him and drag him into a lengthy conversation.  He’d made an appearance, shown his face, and now as far as he was concerned his duty was done.  He’d simply slip into the house and watch TV until Bethany arrived. 

     He stepped up onto the back porch and reached for the weathered handle of the screen door, making a mental note to replace it on his next day off.

     “There you are!”

     Tanner froze and then turned to face his mother with a guilty smile.  “Hello, Momma.  I was just—”

     “I know what you were doing,” she said, cutting him off.  Planting her hands on her still slender hips, she continued, “You should be ashamed of yourself, Tanner Benjamin Montgomery, slinking away from my party that way.  Just like you used to do when you were a little boy.”

     The screen door creaked shut beside him as he released his hold on it.  “Momma, you know I’ve never been one for big gatherings.”

     “Oh, hogwash,” she replied, jabbing a slender finger into the front of his shirt.  “I know what you were up to.  You were hiding from Bethany.”

     Laughter rumbled in his chest.  “Hiding from Beth?  Have you been drinking some of old man Crandall’s home brew?”

     She dropped her hand away and smiled, her dark brown eyes still displaying a youthful sparkle.  “Maybe a sip or two.  You want some?”

     He shook his head.  “Can’t.  I’m on duty.”

     “You’re always on duty,” she didn’t hesitate to point out.

     “It comes with the job.”

     “I know.”  His mother leaned forward to place a quick kiss on his cheek.  “I’m so glad you could make it.”

     “I told you I’d be here.”  Whether he wanted to be or not, he had no intention of letting his mother down.  She was so excited about Bethany coming home.

     A familiar scent drifted past him in the breeze, shifting Tanner’s thoughts to a pair of long, shapely legs and a sweet, sultry voice that made his blood stir.  He looked down, his gaze sweeping the garden beside the porch.  Sure enough, just a few feet away, seated among an array of red and yellow blooms, was a potted plant identical to the one that had accosted him earlier.  The one with the fantastic legs. 

     “Where’d you get that?”

     His mother followed his gaze to the garden.  “Get what?”

     “That plant,” Tanner insisted, pointing at the flowering bush.  “Where did it come from?”

     His mother frowned.  “Honey, are you feeling all right?”  She reached out, placing a hand on his brow.  “You aren’t fevered, are you?”