Bombshell Read Free Page B

athlete, and when he took off his hat to wipe the sweat off his brow, his tousled black hair glimmered in the sunlight like fine onyx. The sight of him left her breathless. Time was it took at least three flutes of champagne and a diamond bracelet to get her so worked up. And there wasn’t a sheriff in the world who could afford that kind of luxury.
    Must be you, Kiddo. Having you aboard did something to my chemistry.
    The sheriff beckoned her to the passenger side and waved Calvin out of the car and into the back seat. “Have a seat, Miz Harrison. We’ll get you sorted out.”
    Earl Brown gave a perverted laugh as Annalee settled into the passenger seat. Calvin shut him up with a sharp elbow to the ribs. “Boss, you’d best take me and this ornery sumbitch back to the station. A lady like Miss Annalee’s got no business being around this kind of rabble.”
    ****
    Four deputies were required to haul Earl Brown to a cell. Having never seen the inside of a police station, Annalee kept herself close to Sheriff Calaway and tried to ignore the hoots and catcalls that came from the other side of the bars.
    Another prisoner, passed out drunk and covered in vomit, was carried into the cell adjoining Earl’s. Annalee glanced his way, caught a whiff of the stink that emanated from his body, and felt ill. Though her regular bouts with morning sickness had begun to subside a bit, her heightened sense of smell meant she was at the mercy of her surroundings. She grabbed the sheriff’s hard, muscular arm to steady herself and was heartened when he did not pull away.
    “Is it always this rowdy in here?” she asked quietly, hoping the sick feeling in her stomach would go away. After all, she might be amongst hayseeds, but she still had an image to maintain, and it would not do to have these men see her hunched over a wastebasket.
    Calaway handed a stack of paperwork to Calvin Stamp and donned his hat. “Aw, it’s usually not so bad ’til the riverboats come in for the week. I swear those fellas work their fingers to the bone just to keep the saloons awash in cash. ’Bout the only folks with money these days are the bartenders.”
    Annalee’s sour stomach worsened. “Would you mind taking me to the service station now?”
    The sheriff looked at her with concern. “You don’t look so hot. Why don’t you sit—”
    “I just need some air.”
    ****
    It was a short drive back to the bridge. Annalee took in a deep breath of still, humid air and tightened her grip on the cash-filled satchel until the next wave of nausea passed.
    Calaway filled the Roadster’s tank with gasoline and wiped the beads of sweat from his brow. “Gonna be a hot one. No wonder you got all green around the gills. Feeling any better?”
    “I am now, thank you.”
    “That true, what Calvin was saying about you? You some kind of Hollywood star?”
    “Don’t go to the pictures much, do you?”
    “I got better things to do with my time.”
    Annalee wasn’t sure if she liked the way he was looking at her, particularly when his eyes lingered on her belly. Kiddo wasn’t showing too much yet, but Calaway looked at her as though he knew the truth and already judged her a harlot.
    Or worse , she thought. A washed-up floozy.
    “I wouldn’t say I’m a star just yet, but I do all right for myself. I was a WAMPAS Baby Star two years ago, and made seven pictures last year. Did you see Blue Carousel ?”
    “What’s that? Some kind of musical?”
    “Yes.”
    “No.”
    “That was my favorite,” she gushed. “I played a college girl who had to choose between the chance for fame and fortune on Broadway or true love and poverty with a handsome young minister.”
    “What did you choose?”
    “True love and poverty,” she said with a quiet, sarcastic laugh. “Probably should call it a fantasy instead of a musical.”
    “Not much of a romantic, are you?”
    Annalee laughed and waved her hand as if it were the most ridiculous notion ever conceived.