Leaving Liberty, a Western Romance (Book 5) (Texas Hearts) Read Online Free Page A

any other questions, I’ll get back to you. This investigation isn’t over until the report is filed.”
    “It is as far as I’m concerned,” Libby shot back at him.
    “Well that’s too bad.”
    “Why?”
    “Because you’re going to be seeing a lot more of me while I’m in town.”
    # # #
     

Chapter Three

    Jackson rolled his pen between his index finger and thumb as he stared down at the paperwork in his hands. It wasn’t his office. It was a strange desk in a town he’d never been to before. But that was nothing new. He was used to traveling to different towns in Texas to investigate crime that fell under his jurisdiction.
    But it wasn’t just his job that weighed heavy on his mind. It was the woman who’d been consuming his thoughts for days now.
    Libby was right about one thing. This case should have been wrapped up and tied with a big ribbon weeks ago. If it were any other case, he’d have filed his report and moved on to the next town. That’s how he lived his life. He’d hid from troubles that had fractured his family over the years, starting with his father’s rages as he reared four active boys, and ending with the death of his mother, something that had shattered them all. He hadn’t always been away, he’d been hiding in his work. But every so often he met someone who showed him through action exactly what he’d been doing.
    Almost from the first, Jackson had seen something in Liberty Calvert that he recognized in himself. She was a survivor. He was, too. He just never realized what he’d been driven to survive. Libby wore her pride and her heart on her sleeve. She was ready to do battle to defend anyone who dared take what was precious away from her. That much was evident when she’d charged down to the police station ready to save Cole Rivers, a man Jackson was sure didn’t need anyone saving him. He had to admit to feeling more than a twinge of envy at the way Libby had stood up for Cole.
    When his family had fallen apart, Jackson and each of his three brothers had dealt with it differently. Beau had left home and worked his way up to being a championship bronc rodeo rider. Cody had thrown himself into the family ranch and trained cutting horses, making a name for himself with the National Cutting Horse Association. The youngest of the Gentry boys, Brock, had his music to help him heal and was now touring and promoting a new country hit.
    Jackson was good at his job. He prided himself on being thorough for every crime he investigated. Buck Calvert’s death hadn’t started out as a crime, and he wasn’t sure it would end up that way. But he wasn’t going to use a rubber stamp to close the case until he knew Libby’s father’s death was truly an accident.
    There was nothing about Cole’s story that should have given him pause, except math. Things still didn’t add up. Not in Jackson’s mind. The fact that Libby came down to the police station with bail money in hand when all he was doing was questioning Cole was another red flag. She wouldn’t have thought Cole would be arrested unless she believed he’d done something wrong.
    Yeah, that part nagged at him the most and was enough for him to warrant a deeper investigation into their lives. He couldn’t deny the attraction to seeing Libby again. He just hated the reason.
    Scratching the back of his neck, he tossed the pen on top of the papers in front of him and leaned back in his chair. The bed he slept in at the hotel was lumpy, and now his back ached. But who was he kidding? His fatigue had more to do with how long he’d laid awake in the dark thinking about Libby Calvert.
    Jackson shook his head to help rid himself of the feelings that had taken hold of him. For heaven’s sake, the woman had just lost her father, and all he could think about was how warm and smooth her skin would be against his naked body. What kind of man did that make him?
    “You hungry?”
    Jackson glanced up to find Dane standing in front of