Come a Little Closer Read online

  Come a Little Closer

  A Jenny & Teague Novella

  Nancy Naigle

  Kelsey Browning

  Kicksass Creations and Crossroads Publishing House

  Contents

  Come a Little Closer

  Letter from the Authors

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 7 - Sweet

  Chapter 7 - Heat

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Books in the Series

  Also by Kelsey Browning

  Also by Nancy Naigle

  About Kelsey Browning

  About Nancy Naigle

  Acknowledgments

  Copyright

  Come a Little Closer

  Take nothing for granted…

  Serve and protect. That’s what Sheriff Teague Castro promised the good people of Bartell County, Georgia. But when he reunites with his first love, his supporters suddenly wonder if he’s too distracted to uphold his sworn commitment.

  When Jenny buys an expensive house Teague could never afford on a sheriff’s salary, small-town gossip runs wild. If he can’t take care of his own family, is he fit to protect a whole county? Until his job is secure, Teague presses pause on his love life.

  But when a crisis calls him to the front line, it triggers memories from a tragic case still haunting him. Only this time, Jenny’s life is on the line, and the confrontation could quickly turn Teague’s forever into never.

  We dedicate Come A Little Closer to all our romance-reading friends—some who like it sweet and some who like it sexy—who inspired us to come up with this fun Pick Your Passion format.

  Because you pick the passion of Teague and Jenny’s love story.

  Letter from the Authors

  Dear Reader,

  Welcome to the second PICK YOUR PASSION™ story.

  What the heck is a PICK YOUR PASSION™ story? Well, as you know, we write the G Team Series together. Those capers are such a hoot to write and we love bringing those books to you, but we also write some great romances. And readers have told us y’all would like to hear more about Sheriff Teague Castro’s relationship with Jenny Cady. And we do love to give our readers what they want.

  The only problem is, Nancy’s romances are sweet and Kelsey’s bring the heat, so when we decided to share Teague’s romance novellas with you we had to decide which way to write them.

  Wanting to satisfy both sets of readers, we came up with the PICK YOUR PASSION™ concept. As you read this story, you’ll come to crossroads where you can pick SWEET or HEAT, choosing which passion level you’d like read.

  PICK YOUR PASSION™

  You’ll pick your path by following the page jumps for SWEET or HEAT.

  All the HEAT scenes are prefaced with this flaming hot heart logo.

  The SWEET scenes carry this logo with the little white bow.

  We hope you enjoy the second of two novellas that will take you along Jenny and Teague’s romantic journey.

  Be sure to sign up for G Team Series updates so you never miss a release, sale or special offer!

  Big Pick Your Passion Hugs!

  Nancy and Kelsey

  Chapter 1

  Walking down Main Street, Sheriff Teague Castro truly understood what the phrase on top of the world meant. The Georgia sky was a clear blue, and in late September there was a hint of cool in the air, just enough to make him think of picking apples and sharing hayrides pulled by Mr. Caldwell’s team of donkeys.

  And since the love of his life had recently moved here from Boston, he was eager for the weather to cool off. That would allow him to sit on his porch wrapped in a blanket with her, and if Jenny didn’t happen to have all her clothes on at the time, all the better.

  It was only a short stroll from the sheriff’s office to the town square. He opened Icing On The Cake’s front door, and the customers sitting at small tables were almost overshadowed by the bakery’s bright yellow-and-pink-striped walls. But his momentary grand mal seizure was quickly soothed as the scent of vanilla and sugar rolled over him.

  “Hey there, Sheriff.” The bakery’s owner, Desi Fanning, looked up from stocking her counters with brownies the size of Teague’s palm. “You sure look happy today. Want to let the rest of us in on your source of sunshine?”

  “Fall-like weather and not a single arrest all week. I’d say that’s enough to make a man smile.”

  Her eyes danced with mischief as she leaned on the counter and pushed her glossy red braid behind one shoulder. He admired a woman like her, one who’d had a tough time but was strong enough to start over. From the rumors, her ex-husband was one of those possessive guys, the kind whose actions could have easily tipped over into abuse territory. So it was great to see Desi so happy and relaxed. “Oh, and it has nothing to do with you being in loooove?”

  He laughed. Since Desi and Jenny were both relatively new to town and had kids around the same age, it hadn’t taken them long to become fast friends. “Jenny’s always good for my mood.”

  Although he was grateful Jenny’s divorce had given them the opportunity to start over, he was also impatient to start living the life they should’ve built together years ago.

  Down, Castro. No one’s going to take her away from you again.

  After all, he’d been the one to ruin things years ago. And in all that time, no other woman had been able to get to him the way Jenny did. When she married some country-club type up north, he thought he’d never get another chance to let her know how much she meant to him.

  Now, he would prove every day to Jenny and her nine-year-old son, Grayson, that they meant more to him than anything in this world.

  “As well she should be. What can I get you today?” She tapped her cheek with a finger then pointed at him. “Wait a minute. Bet I can guess. Eclairs?”

  In a town of fewer than ten thousand people, it was hard for a man to have secrets. Still, he had to try to maintain a little mystery. “Maybe I want some of those Ranger cookies over there.”

  “Really?”

  “No. Two eclairs, please.”

  “Thought so.” She was already reaching for a box and opening the case piled with cream puffs, little pies, and eclairs. “Sure you don’t want a half dozen?”

  “Just two.” Last time he’d taken treats out to Summer Haven, Jenny had scolded him, telling him if he didn’t stop feeding her, she wouldn’t be able to fit into her jeans. Didn’t keep her from eating the eclairs though. She might be addicted to the pastries, but he was addicted to the sweet taste of cream filling and chocolate from her kisses.

  And if you asked him, her jeans looked excellent when they were a little tight.

  But the clothes he really wanted to see her in soon were a veil and wedding dress.

  “No, sir.” Desi waved away his request. “I’ll box you up six. You head out to Summer Haven without enough for everyone, and those old gals out there’ll have you strung up by your toes. And I’ll toss in two peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for Grayson.”

  “Fine,” he said. “Bag up whatever you want.”

  “Now that’s the kind of customer I like,” Desi said. “And I’m starting a new promotion. Ten percent discount to anyone in uniform.”

  That was good, since she always seemed to double the size of the order he had in mind when he came in here. He was pulling out his wallet when he heard the words “sheriff” and “too busy” drifting over from somewhere behind him.

  Teague whipped around and spotted a couple sitting at small
table in the corner. Of course, when he did, everything in the whole joint went radio silent.

  And didn’t his lack of awareness at who was behind him tell him something? He’d been so busy mooning over Jenny when he walked in that he hadn’t even taken stock of who was sitting inside the bakery. And as sheriff, that kind of behavior was stupid.

  Not to mention dangerous.

  He didn’t immediately recognize the forty-something couple who’d been discussing him. And that aggravated him all over again. Damn it, he knew the people who’d elected him. At least he’d thought he did.

  He strode to the table and held his hand out to the man, a clean-cut guy wearing khakis and a red polo shirt. “Howdy, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Sheriff Teague Castro.”

  The man was polite, standing to meet Teague’s handshake. “Jerry Cannon, and this is my wife, Linda.”

  “Pleased to meet you both.” Teague nodded at Jerry’s wife. “I know most everyone here in Summer Shoals. Not sure we’ve met though.”

  “We moved into the area from Atlanta a few months ago,” Jerry said. “Takes a while to get settled in.”

  “I apologize for eavesdropping, but it’s an occupational hazard. I happened to hear you mention me being too busy for something.”

  Jerry raised an eyebrow at his wife, and her flushed gaze flickered to Teague, up to the ceiling, back to her husband, and finally to the almost-empty coffee cup in front of her. She fiddled with her napkin. “Jerry and I have always been politically active, and since the local election signs are popping up in yards all over the county, we’ve been trying to get a feel for the local political climate.”

  The day that had been so crisp and beautiful minutes ago seemed to darken in front of Teague’s eyes. Granted, in the past year or so, Summer Shoals had encountered a few criminal mishaps, but nothing like he’d faced in his time on the Houston police force before moving to this small town. The things he’d seen there…some would say it was a miracle he still had the stomach to be in law enforcement. He smoothed his fingers along the brim of his uniform’s cowboy hat, reminding himself that crime in Summer Shoals tended toward dating scams and small-time fraud, nothing he couldn’t handle. “Are you insinuating that my county doesn’t think the job I’m doing is up to par?”

  “We’ve run into a few people who described you as…distracted.”

  Teague wanted to lash out, defend himself to these newcomers, but that would only make him look like a jerk. He pulled in a steadying breath and pasted a smile on his face.

  “And one of the reasons we left the city was to move to a town where we didn’t always have to worry about safety.” Jerry settled back into his chair and put his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “Linda had a little scare at one of the big malls, with a guy trying to carjack her. We moved to Summer Shoals when she began to have a hard time running errands by herself. So you can see why we’re interested in local law enforcement.”

  Made perfect sense, but it sure as hell didn’t make him feel better about what they’d heard about him. “Welcome to Summer Shoals. I think you’ve made a wise choice. It’s a good place to live. Sounds like you may not have gotten the best impression of me and my team though.”

  “We’re nothing if not fair-minded,” Jerry said. “You can be sure we’ll study all the sheriff candidates before casting our votes.”

  “All the candidates?” Teague had run in the last election unopposed. It seemed pretty damn arrogant now, but he’d never even questioned his standing in this community.

  “Well, all may be overstating it. But with Angus Hillen on the ballot too, we’ll have to do our due diligence.”

  “Fair enough,” he said, all the while scanning his brain for some reference of the name Hillen. Who was this guy? “But if you have any concerns about my office, I sure hope you’ll bring them to my attention. One thing I can assure you, the protection and safety of the people in this county is my number one priority.”

  “I’m sure it is, Sheriff,” Linda said, but her polite smile was slightly artificial around the edges.

  Teague touched the brim of his hat. “Again, pleased to meet you both.”

  When he walked back up to Desi’s counter, he wasn’t smiling any longer.

  “Everything okay?” she asked.

  “Yep,” he said, because it wasn’t as if he was about to air his dirty laundry right here in the bakery, no matter how nice Desi was. He passed her some cash. “Keep the change.”

  “Oh, but Teague, you gave me two twenties, and your bill’s only—”

  He picked up the white box printed with the bakery’s logo in shimmery frosted loops atop a cake stand, gave a wave, and headed for the door.

  Outside, his hands tightened reflexively around the pretty box, and he barely restrained the need to crush it and watch the pastries ooze out. He wanted to toss the whole damn thing into the nearest trash can. But he hadn’t made a successful ten-year career in law enforcement because he lost his cool on a regular basis, so he tucked the box under his arm and headed directly back to his office.

  When he pushed open the front door, his dispatcher, Gloria, was on her cell phone. “Oh, Lordy goodness,” she said, “did you hear Angus Hillen is back in town?”

  There was that name again. Was he the only one who didn’t know who Hillen was?

  Gloria was so busy yapping on the phone she hadn’t even noticed him walk in. “He’s a handsome devil if I’ve ever seen one,” she cooed. “Can’t believe his wife let him get away. Some women, they just don’t appreciate what they’ve got.”

  Damn it. He’d had enough behind-the-back talk this morning. “Gloria!” he barked.

  The dispatcher jumped, knocking over a stack of papers on her desk. They swooped to the floor, and one of them edged its way under the toe of Teague’s cowboy boot.

  “Charlene, I’ve…uh…gotta go…talk with you later.” She shoved the phone into her desk drawer.

  “What was that all about?” When he became sheriff, he inherited Gloria as dispatcher. Having been a fixture here since the building opened, the older woman was a little too comfortable in her role. But he wasn’t about to let her go because sometimes the things she knew were the ace in the hole he needed. She always had a pulse on the rumors and little indiscretions around town, with some folks saying she even knew where all the bodies were buried.

  Gloria adjusted the collar on her shirt and fluttered a hand under her chin. “Oh, you know, just a little chitchat between girlfriends. Not much going on today.”

  “Do I need to remind you that you’re paid by the taxpayers of this county? It’s not appropriate for you to gossip about the people who sign your paycheck.”

  “Oh, Teague, you know I didn’t mean any harm.” She turned her attention toward another of her desk drawers, rooted around in there until she came out with a handful of peppermints. Her remedy for heartburn. “But Charlene likes to know—”

  “Honestly, I don’t care what Charlene does or doesn’t like. If I hear you talking about our constituents like that again, you’ll be looking for another job. Do I make myself clear?”

  Her mouth turned down, as if she was perilously close to crying. Whether it was real or fake, Teague didn’t really care. He couldn’t afford this kind of behavior in his department. Not ever, but especially not right now.

  Before Gloria could break out and bawl, the phone rang, and she snatched it up and put her attention to the matter. “Bartell County Sheriff’s office.” She glanced up at him, both embarrassment and an apology in her gaze, softening his frustration a little. She might be a hopeless gossip, but she did a good job most of the time. Even more important, she cared about people. When she put down the phone, she said, “We’ve got vandals out on the south side of town.”

  And just like that, it was back to business.

  Chapter 2

  Teague navigated the tight S-curve toward Dakota Bend Road. The leaves were beginning to lose their bright luster, the colors muting as summer gave
way to fall. But his enjoyment of the changing season was dampened by this vandalism thing.

  His office didn’t get vandalism calls often, at least not anymore. Not since his first year as sheriff when he gave the whole baseball team community service for tagging their names on the abandoned gas station at the edge of town. It had worked in his favor that those kids had to pay penance on the hottest day of the year, too. Word had quickly made the rounds around town: the deed wasn’t worth the punishment.

  At least until today, which was turning out to be one disappointment after another.

  He didn’t get to this side of town often. Not much here except for cropland. Good land though. He rolled down his window and inhaled a lungful of the fresh, sweet scent of recently cut hay. That smell reminded him of nights cruising down dark farm roads with Jenny. They would drive out in the country, the truck windows down, her hair whipping around in the moonlight, and the fresh air mingling with her perfume.

  At the thought of Jenny, the gnawing in his gut eased a little.

  Mailboxes were scattered far apart down this quiet stretch of road. He slowed at the next one, a bright blue rural box that matched the house’s front doors and the address on the complaint. Even though he hadn’t seen a car since he left the Summer Shoals’ city limits, he flipped on his blinker out of habit then pulled into a gravel driveway that appeared to wind all the way behind the building.

  He stopped the car in front, stepped out, and looked around. The day was quiet except for a mockingbird practicing a melody of mismatched calls, and although there didn’t seem to be anyone around, his muscles were tense with caution.