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“His agent told the limo service I was to pick up Mr. Hunter at this address and take him to the airport.” He dug a piece of paper out of his pocket and glanced at it, then at the numbers on her house. “This is the right address.”

  Jeremy Hunter and Trey Jones were one in the same. He’d used her, got whatever thrill he’d been looking for, then dumped her.

  “Is he here?”

  She took a deep breath, barely controlling her murderous thoughts. What little dignity she had left, she pulled around her like a cloak. “He’s already left.”

  His forehead puckered. “Oh. I guess I should call the agent and let him know.”

  “Yes, you do that. Good-bye.”

  She closed the door, surprising herself that she didn’t slam it—then slam it again…and again…and again! It wasn’t the young man’s fault that Jeremy Hunter had gone slumming.

  Bailey made it as far as the sofa and sat down with a hard thud. Oh God, he must’ve laughed his ass off at her seduction attempts. Him, the playboy, the big Hollywood star. Her face burned when she remembered thinking he might even be a virgin.

  A virgin! She just wanted to die. Or better yet, she wanted him to die!

  The phone rang. She stomped over to it and nearly jerked it off the wall. “What?” she demanded.

  “What’s the matter?” Wade asked.

  She sniffed. Her anger dissolved into a puddle at her feet. Wade would know what to do. But he couldn’t make it better. No one could make it better.

  “Bailey, you’re scaring me.”

  “He hurt me,” she wailed.

  “I’ll be right there.”

  She dropped the phone back in its cradle and went to the sofa, falling across it and was still there, crying, when Wade and Fallon rushed in.

  “Where is he? I’ll haul his ass to jail.”

  “Can’t.” She hiccupped as she sat up, shoving her hair out of her face. “He’s gone. Didn’t even say good-bye.”

  Wade relaxed. “Well, good riddance. You don’t want someone like that in your life.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  Fallon hadn’t said a word, just watched. “You had sex with him.”

  Bailey fell against the pillows on the sofa and cried harder.

  Wade balled his hands into fists. “He touched you? He’s a preacher. I’ll have him excommunicated or whatever the hell you do to preachers.”

  “Trey wasn’t Trey.” Oh, the shame!

  Fallon sat on the sofa, pulling Bailey into her arms. “What do you mean Trey wasn’t Trey?”

  “He was really Jeremy Hunter, the actor. He used us all.”

  “Then why the hell did he say he was a preacher?” Wade’s countenance was growing darker by the second.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. He left before I woke up. He didn’t even leave a note to explain.” She waved her arm in the air. “Pfttt and he was gone.”

  “He won’t get away with it,” Fallon told her.

  “There’s nothing we can do,” Bailey said.

  “Nothing we can do?” Fallon’s eyebrows rose. “Oh honey, you haven’t seen exactly what I can do and no one makes my favorite sister-in-law cry.”

  “I’m your only sister-in-law.”

  “That’s beside the point. Trey or Jeremy—whatever he’s calling himself this week will certainly face the music. I’m not ex-CIA for nothing.” She tapped her fingernail against her chin. “And you forget my sister is a cop.” She frowned. “Except Jody is pregnant. Okay, she’s out but we know two bounty hunters who don’t play by the rules. Josh and Cody will be glad to help.”

  Wade looked at his wife. “Heaven help him.”

  “Sweetheart, he’ll need a lot more than God’s help.” Her smile was wicked.

  Bailey stood. “No, I don’t want you to do anything. He’s not worth it. He lied not only to me but to the whole town. Just forget whatever plan you might be cooking up.”

  Fallon looked at Wade. He shrugged as if to tell her if that’s what little sis wanted…

  And it was what she wanted. It was. No matter how much it hurt.

  “Okay, if you’re sure,” Fallon said.

  “I am.” But she didn’t think she was as positive as she sounded. She didn’t want to be one of those women who would try to get revenge, but she was tempted to make him suffer!

  “What happened in Texas?” Monty asked. “You were supposed to become the character, Trey Jones. Don’t tell me you let the preacher persona get to you.”

  He met his agents probing gaze. “I’m still the same man as when I left.”

  “No, you’ve changed. No more wild parties, no more women, and you haven’t even been in the tabloids.”

  “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

  Monty shook his head. “Not to the extent that you would be dead inside.”

  “I’m playing the part, aren’t I?”

  “Oh, yeah, the studio execs are thrilled with your performance. Oscar material and all that. But you’re not the same.”

  He stood. “I’m tired. It’s been a long week, then we started filming.”

  Monty sighed as he came to his feet. “If you need anything…”

  “I don’t,” he interrupted. He’d heard it all for the last week and a half.

  “Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and you don’t go back to work until the new year. Are you sure you won’t come over to the house? The wife would love to see you.”

  He shook his head. “I’m going to the cabin. I’ll be back next week.”

  Monty opened his mouth, then must have thought better because he didn’t say anything. Jeremy saw him to the door. He didn’t relax until he closed and locked it behind him. He didn’t want to talk, to explain about Bailey.

  His gut twisted just thinking about her. God, she probably hated his guts. He should’ve left a note or something. He’d just thought it would be better to make a clean break. He didn’t realize it would hurt this much.

  What would happen if he called her? Hell, he already knew the answer. He could return to Two Creeks and grovel. The thought of seeing her again sent his pulse racing. That’s exactly what he would do. What else did he have to lose?

  He’d run away from Bailey but she’d kept something that belonged to him—his heart.

  He turned and walked back to the living room of his apartment. When he saw the man dressed all in black, he froze. A noise alerted him to the one behind him and there was another one off to his left. Ski masks covered their faces.

  Fear coursed through him but he tried to stay calm. “My wallet’s on the bedside table. It’s all the money I have in the house.

  “We don’t want your money,” a feminine voice said just before he was clipped on the back of the head. The room went black as he felt himself falling. Someone caught him, eased him to the floor. That was the last he knew.

  Fallon tugged the hot mask off and looked down at Trey—no, not Trey. He was Jeremy Hunter. Damned hard to make the transition from preacher to playboy. Well, not too difficult. He was sexy as hell.

  Cody tugged her mask off.

  “Bailey is going to be pissed you knocked him out,” Fallon told her.

  Cody squatted beside Jeremy’s still form. “Hell, I didn’t kill him.”

  “Sheesh, bounty hunters,” Fallon complained. “You have no boundaries.”

  “Like undercover CIA does? Yeah, right.”

  “Are you two going to argue all night or are we going to take him back to Two Creeks and Bailey?” Josh drawled, tugging his mask off.

  Fallon noticed the way his eyes strayed to Cody. They exchanged heated looks. Fallon rolled her eyes. All they thought about was sex. Actually, she couldn’t blame them. She really missed Wade.

  “I guess you two expect me to carry him downstairs,” Josh said. When neither one of them said anything, he muttered a curse. “At least get the door. I’m not lowering him over the side of the wall. It was bad enough climbing up it.”

  He rolled Jeremy to his side, pushed his feet against th
e unconscious man’s feet for leverage, and pulled him up and over his shoulder in one motion. He grunted when he took Jeremy’s full weight.

  “I don’t know why Wade couldn’t be involved, too. It’s just not right that I have to do all the work.”

  “Because Wade couldn’t get away,” Fallon explained—again.

  “Bailey damn sure better appreciate what we’re doing,” he said.

  “I’m sure she will.” Fallon didn’t add—in time. Bailey would probably feel more like killing them. Yeah, she was pretty sure that would be her reaction when they strolled in with Jeremy Hunter all trussed up like a calf ready to be spitted over an open flame and cooked.

  Eleven

  Bailey peeled oranges for the fruit salad she was going to take over to the community dinner. Her job was to do the fruit salad. She had a feeling it was because everyone knew it was safe—no cooking. Just cut up the fruit, add whipped cream, chopped nuts, and marshmallows. Even she couldn’t screw that up.

  But her heart wasn’t in it.

  She glanced at the clock. It was late. She should go to bed. She should do a lot of things. She should be happy—tomorrow was the play, too. She had the lead.

  A sob caught in her throat. He’d said she couldn’t act. He would know. She put the fruit salad in the refrigerator and covered it.

  But when she crawled between the cold sheets on her bed, sleep eluded her. She finally snuggled the extra pillow close to her. It was a poor substitute for the warmth he’d given her. She missed the heat that he’d started inside her and that had never really gone away.

  You’re a fool. He’s so not worth your tears.

  She knew he wasn’t worth crying over but it didn’t stop the tears that fell.

  Not only had he left her but now she had to face everyone tomorrow. The whole town knew he’d shamed her. Shamed all of them.

  Jeremy glared at Fallon. His gaze moved to the other woman, Cody. She was a looker: long black hair and even longer legs. But a bounty hunter? It was kind of hard to believe—except she’d been the one to clip him and had offered only a lame apology. He had a feeling she’d enjoyed taking him down.

  And her partner was cool as a cucumber. Nothing seemed to faze him. At one point, Jeremy had tried to reason with Josh. The man had only smiled and told him that he had to face the music.

  Face the music? Just thinking about seeing Bailey again sent a flash of heat through his body. Just as quickly, it turned cold.

  She hated him. Fallon had already told him as much. Man, was she going to kill him, and who the hell would convict her? Small Texas towns—they got away with murder all the time. And with Wade as the sheriff, it wouldn’t be hard to do. He only hoped it was a quick death.

  Ah, damn, he knew Bailey needed closure. That was the only reason they’d kidnapped him. As soon as Bailey finished telling him off, they’d put him on a bus that would take him home.

  They pulled into town. His hands began to sweat.

  “Where do you want me to take him?” Josh asked.

  A slow smile curved Fallon’s lips. “Take him to the theater. He owes the whole town an apology.”

  He sank farther down in the seat. Ah, man, this wasn’t good. Not good at all. The town would crucify him.

  Josh pulled into the alley and after they got out, all three ushered him into one of the dressing rooms. Fallon looked at her watch.

  “At least you won’t have to wait long.”

  Bailey squirmed in her seat. The reverend had just finished his sermon. All the preachers had taken ten minutes to talk about forgiveness and loving one another in keeping with the Christmas spirit.

  Ho, ho, ho.

  She didn’t feel much like celebrating. At least the night was almost over. She could go home and wallow in her misery before she had to go to her parents’ home tomorrow and pretend to celebrate Christmas.

  The crowd in the theater began to murmur in hushed whispers. She looked toward the stage and saw Jeremy Hunter walking across it. He stopped at the podium and looked out over the crowd.

  “I was invited to speak here tonight by the town’s clergy, but that was when they thought I was one of them. I lied when I said I was a preacher.”

  There was some grumbling but Fallon shushed them.

  Damn, she’d told Fallon not to interfere. And was that Cody and Josh peeking from behind the curtain? Oh, Lord.

  “I don’t regret coming here,” Jeremy said. “But I do regret the lie and I owe everyone an apology. It’s with sincerity that I offer my deepest regret for any problems I might have caused. I hope in time you’ll be able to forgive me.” He started to turn away.

  Bailey jumped to her feet. “Is that what I was, Jeremy Hunter. A problem?”

  He hesitated, then cleared his throat. “No, you weren’t a problem.”

  “You just thought you could have your fun and then run away. I mean, I’m just a small town girl—a country hick.”

  “That’s not what I thought and you know it.”

  “And how the hell…” She glanced at the pastors. “Uh, sorry.” Then faced Jeremy again. “How was I supposed to know what you were thinking when everything you told me was a lie? You probably weren’t raised in an orphanage, either.”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Jeremy Hunter you can go to…to hell!”

  She left her seat and made her way up the aisle.

  “I’m already there,” he said. “I’ve been there ever since I left.”

  She stumbled to a stop.

  “Let him beg a bit more, sweetie, before you take him back,” Audrey whispered in her southern drawl.

  “I don’t want him back,” she said.

  “I’ll take him,” Callie murmured with a deep sigh.

  “For the first time in my life,” Jeremy began haltingly, “I’ve felt a sense of belonging.”

  She turned around. “Then why did you leave?”

  “Because I was scared. I was a fool.” He left the stage and began to walk toward her. “You turned my world upside down. Made me believe in people again. You made me see what was missing in my life. Before I met you I was cold and lonely and didn’t even know it.” He stopped in front of her. “Please don’t send me away. I love you.”

  “Do you even know what the word means?”

  “I didn’t until I met you.”

  She didn’t know what he’d lived through in his lifetime, but there was a wealth of pain reflected in his eyes. It broke her heart.

  “Don’t leave me again,” she warned.

  “Never. I promise.”

  “If it was me, I’d kiss her,” Dr. Canton said. “Young people take up too much time talkin’.”

  Jeremy wasn’t about to tell Dr. Canton he was wrong.

  He pulled Bailey into his arms and lowered his mouth. She tasted so damn sweet. And as the whole town cheered, he knew life really could be wonderful.

  Epilogue

  The winner for best actor in a motion picture is Jeremy Hunter for his portrayal of Trey Jones in A Time For Mercy.

  Jeremy stood, the applause was deafening. Bailey squeezed his hand and smiled. He dropped a quick kiss on her lips, felt the heat, the essence of her as he hurried on stage.

  “I have a very special person to thank tonight,” he said when he got to the microphone. “My beautiful wife. She showed me what it meant to live. I thank God every day she granted me the mercy of forgiveness.”

  He paused.

  “And to the town of Two Creeks, Texas. Where everyone knows each others business but they forgive you anyway.”

  Bailey smiled. This had been a long time coming and Jeremy deserved to win the Oscar. God, she loved this man so much. Her heart swelled with pride.

  “And to my sister-in-law Fallon,” he continued. “For breaking into my apartment with her friends, kidnapping me, and making me realize just how much I’d be giving up if I didn’t confess my sins and tell Bailey I loved her. And now sweet wife, we have no secrets between us.”

&n
bsp; Fallon, who was sitting right beside her groaned and sank farther down in her seat.

  “You kidnapped him!” The room had grown quiet so her words echoed throughout the cavernous room.

  “Well, it worked didn’t it.”

  “Just wait until we get back to Two Creeks.”

  She looked at Jeremy, knowing he’d told her in front of the crowded room so he wouldn’t get into too much trouble.

  “Don’t think you’re off the hook, either. And since we’re going public with our secrets, then congratulations.” She smiled sweetly. “You’re going to be a father.”

  “What?” he croaked, right before he passed out on stage.

  “Oops.”

  “You could’ve chosen a better time,” Wade whispered.

  Bailey stood, but before she hurried on stage, she looked at her brother. “Well, at least I didn’t tell him we were having twins.”

  Home For Christmas

  Dianne Castell

  One

  LuLu Cahill looked out from the gazebo to the falling snow, Christmas lights and carolers on the corner, and knew with absolute certainty that she wanted to be anywhere but home for Christmas! Too many couples, smiling faces, families and total happiness, when all she felt was totally pissed off. She grabbed the railing and growled like a poked dog.

  “Not exactly the joyous sounds of the season,” said a guy who walked up next to her. “Anything I can do to help?” He handed her a travel mug. “I’ll share my apple cider.”

  “You can help wring my cheating ex-boyfriend’s neck who maxed my credit cards then left me.” She took a sip then handed back the mug. “And you’re here alone because you’re a stranger in town?”

  “That, and I was dumped at the altar, have guests without a Christmas Eve wedding to attend and had to get out of the house and away from their pity party. If your ex shows up I’d be glad to help with the wringing idea. Course then we’d be sharing a jail cell instead of cider.”

  He was tall with buzzed dark hair, clean shaven, a little lonely, and a whole lot handsome. “Can’t believe a good-looking guy like you got dumped.”