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W hen the sudden sound of a police siren split the air, Az almost collapsed in relief. A loud voice, obviously coming through a megaphone, rang out in the darkness. “This is the police! We have you surrounded! Put down your weapons and lie on the ground with your hands behind your head.”

“It’s Sheriff Dorney,” Mandy cried joyfully. Tears of relief ran down her face, and she hugged Az around the neck, clinging shamelessly to his strong body.

“I do believe it is,” Az replied with a chuckle, enjoying the feel of her body close to his. In the next moment, the door was yanked open, and moonlight streamed in, temporarily blinding him as his eyes adjusted to the light. Mandy buried her face against his neck.

“Dang, boy,” the sheriff chuckled. “The way Mandy is holding onto you, maybe I should just close this door for a while.”

“We’re pretty glad to see you, Sheriff,” Az admitted, sticking his hand out to shake with his friend. “We weren’t quite sure where we were going to end up.”

“Well, I have to admit that we had you covered all along. I tried to get you at home after Randy Berenger called and said another cow had been shanghaied. He saw the truck this time, so we knew it happened tonight. Deputy Crane and I decided to stake out Possum Lake Road and watch for whoever was dumping. It seemed to go hand in hand after what Skeeter Davis told us.”

“The dumper has already been up here once tonight,” Az replied. “It was around 11:00 p.m. when I spotted him dumping. His name is Murphy, and he used to work for Genetico. He wanted revenge on Genetico for firing him.”

“Now, that I didn’t know,” the sheriff replied. “We got the call from Randy about thirty minutes ago and jumped right on it. I was surprised to see you and Mandy’s trucks up here, but when we moved in on foot, we saw you with those two fellas and decided to wait and see what came down. Then the other truck came too, so we followed you all over here with no lights. That old logging road is rough, but we made it. We had to wait for the chainsaw to stop before we could announce ourselves.”

“We’re glad you did,” Az replied.

The sheriff pushed his hat back on his head. “It looks as if our butcher has been mighty busy.”

“Murphy was in the truck, and the other two men are here to collect the meat,” Az added. “They thought we were, too, until Murphy arrived and denied knowing us. That’s when they decided we knew too much. I’m not sure how far Murphy would have gone if you hadn’t shown up.” He could feel Mandy shiver beneath his arm.

“I don’t know what you were thinking, boy, bringing Mandy up here with all this going on,” the sheriff scolded. “You shouldn’t have been up here yourself without back-up.”

“It’s my fault,” Mandy admitted. “I came up here looking for Az. If I hadn’t been here, I’m sure he would have been just fine.”

“Maybe,” the sheriff grunted, his eyes narrowing at them both. “I’m not even going to ask the whys and wherefores regarding that statement. I’ll just say that neither one of you should have been here and leave it at that.” He jammed his hat on his head and turned back to the cleanup.

Az looked down at Mandy. He couldn’t disagree with Evan’s analysis. He should have just hauled her out of Beverly’s house and tended to his own business, then he wouldn’t have been at the lake and been forced into a compromising situation. “He’s right, you know,” he said quietly. “We’re lucky the sheriff was doing his job.”

“I know,” she whispered back. “But we won’t tell him that,” she added gamely.

Az grinned.

***

B ACK AT THE BEACHHEAD , Mandy was thrilled to see Mags come out from under her truck when the sheriff dropped her and Az off. “Mags, I’m so glad you are alright,” she cried, dropping to her knees as Mags ran towards her. She hugged the dog around the neck, a few tears dropping onto her soft fur.

Mags just woofed and licked her face, her entire body wiggling with joy.

“She’s a smart dog. She knew you’d eventually come back to your truck, so when she couldn’t follow you, that’s where she stayed.”

“You’re such a good dog, Mags,” Mandy whispered in her ear.

Az stretched his hand towards her. “Come with me, Mandy.”

Mandy took his hand and stood up, but when Az started towards the beach, she pulled back. As she remembered, this was the part where she had been in the process of getting her butt royally blistered. She had no desire to pick up where they left off, she was already sore enough that sitting was uncomfortable.

Az chuckled and tucked her under his arm. “Come on,” he said softly. “I’m not going to spank you; I just want to talk to you.”

Mandy was silent, but she allowed him to lead her back to the bench they had been sitting on earlier. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap. For a while, they just sat there, and she savored the feeling of being close to him and the knowledge that they were safe.

“So, you were looking for me to apologize, huh?” he finally asked.

Mandy lifted her head and studied his face. It was so familiar, and yet so different. She pondered the changes as she reached up to tentatively run her palm down the side of his cheek to his sculpted chin. It was a little bristly, but warm, and it sent a surge of something undefinable through her.

“I’m confused, Az. You are the boy I’ve always known, and yet—you’ve changed.”

“Like you, I grew up,” Az said gruffly, his hand reaching out to cup hers.

She looked away then, trying to formulate her thoughts before speaking. The lake was beautiful in the moonlight, but the water was also deadly. Shivering, she forced her thoughts away from the barrels lying in its depths, and thankful they weren’t a part of them.

Az’s arms tightened around her. “Don’t think about what could have happened—it didn’t. Just tell me why you were up here in the first place,” he said gently, using his fingers to turn her chin back towards him.

Mandy swallowed and nodded. “I...I was so angry with you for your highhandedness that I went to Beverly’s to get away from you. But then, when you didn’t come for me, I felt...” She shrugged her slender shoulders, not sure where to go from there.

“Felt what, Mandy?”

“I felt so alone,” she whispered. “And I felt terrible that I had been so childish and maybe hurt you.” She dropped her head, ashamed to face him. “And...” She trailed off.

“And what?” he asked gently, lifting her chin between his thumb and forefinger.

She licked her lips, screwing up the nerve to continue. “And I thought I might have driven you away for good—just when I finally realized that I wanted you.”

“Wanted me?” he growled, seeming uncertain of himself. “You mean to lose your virginity with?”

The question sounded bitter, and Mandy smiled. “I never really planned on doing that.” Well...mostly never. “I was just mad at you,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “You tend to bring out the worst in me with your bossy attitude.”

“I’m not bossy,” he protested, then flashed her a sheepish grin. “Okay, so I’m a little bossy, but it’s only for your own good.”

“According to you,” she sassed. “Maybe I know what’s best for me and I don’t need a bossy, demanding man in my life to tell me what to do.”

Az’s expression softened. “Well, I’ve realized that I need a bratty little scamp that I’ve been in love with all my life in mine.”

“You love me?” Mandy’s heart flipped with instant joy.

He trailed his finger down the side of her soft cheek and under her hairline until his hand was cupping the back of her head. “Yes, I love you, Mandy. I think I’ve always loved you; I just wasn’t prepared to do anything about it. We both had our educations to get out of the way, and I haven’t even fully decided what I want to do with my life. Ranching or policework...or maybe both, I don’t know.”

“I think I’ve always loved you, too,” Mandy confessed. “It’s why I was so angry with you when I was fourteen and thought I was ready for love. You destroyed me with your rejection. That, and the fact that you spanked me like a five-year-old, made me hate you.”

“You wanted to experiment, little girl. I didn’t want you experimenting with me,” he growled. “And then I didn’t want you experimenting with anyone else either. I guess I was jealous and possessive, and wanted to keep you for myself. Like a package I couldn’t open yet,” he added with a rueful chuckle.

Mandy stared indignantly. “Well, you certainly took long enough to make up your mind,” she declared. “When you kissed me in the stockroom at the market, I couldn’t believe how it changed everything for me. I had Sam Pickering in my sights, and you ruined it,” she huffed.

His eyebrows shot up. “I intended to ruin that,” he replied, his grin unrepentant. “He was trying his luck with my girl. He was right about what he said, though. You deserved to be spanked for playing games.”

Mandy’s gaze softened. “It wasn’t a game to me, though. I...I’ve been looking for someone to fall in love with, to spend my life with, but I couldn’t seem to find the right person. I just didn’t realize you were my standard of measurement until you kissed me.”

“You’re going to spend the rest of your life with me,” he growled possessively. He slid her off his lap and dropped to one knee in the sand. “Will you marry me, Mandy?”

Mandy’s mouth dropped open. “Are you for real? Being a bossy butt by telling me what’s going to happen and then proposing in the next breath? A girl could get whiplash trying to keep up with you, Az Newcomb.”

His eyes softened in the moonlight, the sparkling turquoise gleaming like polished stones. “I think you can keep up, sweetheart,” he assured her with a chuckle.

Mandy melted. Leave it to Az to be completely unpredictable. “Did you hear that, Mags? He wants to marry me,” she said softly, glancing over at her canine companion, who was curled near their feet once more.

Mags opened one eye and elicited a tiny woof, and then yawned a doggy yawn. The antics of her master and the others had worn her out for the night. Her duty done, her master answered, she could now go back to sleep.

Mandy laughed in delight, and her gaze swiveled back to Az’s handsome face. “You’ve loved me all along? Really?”

“Really,” he returned with a smile, his thumbs rubbing the back of her hands. “But it took tonight to make me realize how quickly I could lose you. Walking across that catwalk and thinking about what could have happened to you if I hadn’t been here turned my blood cold. Don’t you ever do anything like this again, little girl,” he ordered.

“You didn’t look very loving; you scared me to death.”

A satisfied grin appeared on his chiseled mouth. “Good. I wanted you to be scared. You deserved every spank you got and more. He shifted his knee in the sand. “How long are you going to keep me on my knees, little brat?”

“I kind of like you there,” she replied with a giggle.

“Mandy...”

She pulled her hands away from his and threw them around his neck. Of course, I’ll marry you, Az. I don’t think I ever fell out of love with you. I just held a grudge all this time.”

He swiftly stood up and pulled her up with him. It’s about time.” He reached around and slapped her bottom. “That’s for making me wait. And a warning to stop holding grudges in the future.”

“Ouch! I just knew you were going to be trouble, Aztecuani Newcomb,” she complained, rubbing her sore posterior. “From the minute you returned to Whippoorwill County and kissed me in the storeroom, I knew you were going to be my biggest problem.”

“Ha! Look who’s talking. I wasn’t ready to get tied up to a little bundle of trouble yet, but you’re mine now. Trouble or not, I’m never letting you go.”

Mandy shivered in delight as her fierce warrior swooped down to claim her mouth. “And I’m never letting you go,” she whispered against his firm lips. “I love you, Az.”

“And I love you...Trouble,” he responded with a chuckle.

The End

***