Another Round: The Dugan Siblings, #3

By Cate Dashwood

An unexpected inheritance lands Josephine Cooper back in Red Bridge, Indiana - the last place she wants to be, until she recognizes the hot police officer who just pulled her over. 

Officer Cade Dugan wasn't expecting to run into his high school sweetheart on this traffic stop, but now that she's back in his town he can't get her off of his mind. 

Can the past repeat itself now that they've found each other again?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cate Dashwood LLC
• Release date: Dec 8, 2015
• ISBN: 9781519937490

Book preview

Another Round

By Cate Dashwood

To my brother, Jack, and sister-in-law, Abby.

Jack, just skip over the parts that make you blush

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Epilogue

CHAPTER ONE

Josephine Cooper had barely been back in her hometown for ten minutes, and she was already in trouble.

The red and blue lights of the police cruiser behind her flashed in her rearview mirror as she groaned at herself. This day had gone from bad to terrible in the span of a few hours. It had to be a record, even for her. She’d managed to leave her credit card at a gas station about two hours into her long drive home, take the wrong exit off the highway and drive twenty miles in the opposite direction, and spill coffee all over her favorite yellow blouse. She groaned as she scrambled for her license and registration.

Today could not get any worse.

But then the cop climbed out of his car, and Josephine wanted to melt on the spot. It didn’t help that she was about to get a ticket from a hot cop—he had to be almost six-and-a-half feet tall, and his biceps were bulging out of his short-sleeve navy uniform. His brown hair was cropped close, not quite in a high-and-tight, and his aviator sunglasses hid his eyes along with most of his expression. His jawline was so sharp, she thought it was a crime his face wasn’t in a magazine ad. Even as her heart pounded the way it always did when she was in trouble, she couldn’t help but stare in her side mirror and admire the way he walked, almost with a swagger.

If she wasn’t about to get a ticket for speeding, Josephine might have the wherewithal to flirt with him.

Never mind that she had a huge coffee stain on the front of her blouse.

He had sidled up to her car and said hello to her with a voice thick from the drawl so familiar to southern Indiana. Josephine tried to grab her license as quickly as possible, but instead her wallet had fallen between her legs. When she bent down to grab it, her head hit the steering wheel, causing the horn to give a feeble honk. She vaguely considered fleeing the scene, and might have done so if not for the fact that she’d definitely get arrested. As Josephine handed him her information, her gaze traveled up his very muscled chest to the nameplate sitting on one pronounced pectoral: Dugan.

Josephine’s stomach dropped. Her throat was suddenly dry. She’d just been pulled over by the only man she’d ever loved—her high school boyfriend, Cade Dugan.

Now she wanted to die.

Cade? She almost whispered.

He smiled. He had recognized her immediately.

Josephine wondered if it was possible to perish from embarrassment. She made an irrational prayer that the earth would just open right here on the street and swallow her car whole. But that would probably mean Cade would get hurt, and that would be a shame.

More than a shame. He hadn’t done anything wrong. She was the one who’d been speeding. And she was the one who’d left Red Bridge in the first place.

Sweat trickled down Josephine’s face. It was one of those thickly humid days in Indiana when a person’s armpits felt wet the moment they stepped out the door. Josephine could have really used a car with air conditioning today. At least it had made it to Red Bridge, but with summers like this, she wouldn’t survive long with just the windows down.

Yet another thing to fix.

She chanced a look back at Cade, who was still wearing his sunglasses as he typed up something in his car. He was going to see her entire driving history—including those three speeding tickets she’d gotten in the last two years. In her defense, when her boss, Brenda, called and needed something, it had to be done now, regardless of the time she called or what Josephine was doing.

She sighed. Her ex-boss, Brenda, that was. 

Josephine glanced at her rearview mirror again. Cade was still typing something, which couldn’t be a good sign. He, on the other hand, was looking extremely good. Cade had always been the cutest guy in school, but time and maturity had only made him look hotter.

Why did we even break up again?

Oh yeah, because she’d been a typical teenage girl too wrapped up in her own life to know how good they’d had it and overwhelmed with her ambition to move to the city and make it big. Cade, meanwhile, had been trying to cope with his mother dying of cancer.

She’d definitely been immature and unable to understand or deal with Cade’s grief, along with being overly obsessed with her own dreams of leaving Red Bridge.

She hadn’t seen or spoken to him since the week after graduation.

Age had only made Cade hotter. Josephine wished she could say the same thing about herself, but her makeup-free face and frizzed-out hair told a different story. Of course she had to see him during what felt like her worst day ever. She could only wonder what he thought of her.

Even though he knew it was a necessary part of his job, Cade hated pulling people over.

They always deserved it, of course, but never remembered that. The people he pulled over would either burst into tears or start arguing with him, as if that was going to change his mind.

He’d already nabbed two teenagers for going fifteen miles over the speed limit this morning and was about to change his location when a beat-up gray Honda Civic went whizzing past him.

The car looked like it had the contents of an entire house stuffed in it. Cade wasn’t sure if the driver could even see through her rearview mirror as he turned his siren on and sped up behind her.

He sighed deeply as he put on his sunglasses and walked up to the side of the Corolla, bracing himself for a pissed-off driver as he asked her for identification.

Instead, he looked down into the pool-blue eyes of a face from his past—Josephine Cooper, the girl who’d stolen his heart and then skipped town as fast as she could the minute they’d graduated high school.

It had been eight years, but it might as well have been eight days, judging by the way Cade’s mouth went dry. He swallowed.

Josephine’s eyes were wide, and her face had gone white. She had a stain on the front of her blouse, and her long, straight hair was pulled up in a haphazard bun.

She looked beautiful.

Cade? she asked. Her voice had gone slightly higher. Her wallet, which she’d been opening to get out her license, slipped out of her hands and fell between her legs. She hastily bent her head to grab it and smacked her forehead on the car steering wheel. The horn gave a feeble honk, making her jump. Josephine’s face changed from white to red quicker than a stoplight. She avoided looking at him as she handed him her license and car registration.

Good to see you, Josephine, Cade said. He was thankful for his glasses that hid his own eyes, because he was pretty sure she’d see he was surprised too. He noted the car was registered and her license wasn’t expired. I didn’t know you were back in town.

I...I’m not. I mean, I wasn’t. I just got back today—now, actually.

Been a while since you been here. It wasn’t a question. Cade knew she’d avoided Red Bridge like a hornet’s nest.

It has, Josephine said shortly.

Let me just run this real quick, and I’ll be back, Cade said, turning to go back to his squad car—though not without one quick glance back at Josephine. She was holding her head in her hands and looked as though she might throw up in a way that had nothing to do with the speeding ticket she thought she was getting.

Josephine tried not to panic. She fumbled through the perpetual black hole in her purse, looking in vain for some makeup. She glanced in her rearview mirror and saw him get out of his car and saunter back toward her. And even though she knew it was probably going to cost her at least $300, she thought she could watch him walk toward her like that forever. 

I’m not the first cop who’s pulled you over lately, huh? Cade’s sunglasses prevented her from seeing his eyes. She wasn’t sure, but Josephine thought there was a chance he was teasing her.

Still, she decided it was best to go with apologetic. Yeah, I didn’t learn my lesson like I should have, she said, wishing she’d thrown some lip gloss on instead of thinking about Cade the whole time he was writing the ticket. I know I was going too fast.

Big-city driving is different, Cade said.

He was testing her. Instantly, Josephine’s blood pressure shot up. You know two of those tickets were written in the burbs, she said, more snippily than she meant to.

She couldn’t be certain, but for a few seconds, she’d thought she saw Cade’s lips twitch. I’m sure some of those backwater cops don’t have much to do besides pull over—

Don’t say pretty girls.

Cade cocked his head at her and finished his thought. Speeding drivers.

Josephine wanted to hang her head in her hands again. So much for going for apologetic.

What are you doing back in town? he asked. His tone had shifted from inquisitive police officer to curious friend.

I inherited my aunt’s house, and I plan on fixing it up and flipping it.

Your aunt Lulu died? He sounded genuinely sad. I’m sorry to hear about that.

She blinked several times. Even though it had been six months, she still couldn’t believe her aunt was gone. Lulu had a penchant for white-rimmed sunglasses and bright-red lipstick and had never been seen without either. No crisis had been too much for Lulu to handle—except lung cancer. The only positive was that she hadn’t suffered, but every day since she’d died, Josephine cursed cancer and wished more than anything her aunt was there.

Thank you, she said, trying not to let her voice shake.

Well, Josephine, I think I can let you off with a warning. Just do me a favor and go slower next time. No one’s in a hurry in Red Bridge.

Josephine’s mouth had dropped open in surprise, and she quickly closed it. I will! Promise. Thank you, Cade. Honestly. And it was really good to run into you.

He finally smiled, one side of his mouth going up. Likewise. And hey, if you want, you can give me your aunt’s address, and I can escort you there.

Josephine’s eyebrows went up immediately. Just because I’ve been gone for eight years doesn’t mean I don’t remember where my aunt’s house is. Besides, I bet you’re too busy catching the bad guys.

He shrugged, his eyes still hidden behind his aviators. Not really. Just busy pulling over old friends who are driving too fast.

This time, Josephine was sure she’d seen Cade start to smile with that comment.

I’m going right by there anyway. It’s just a few blocks from my mom’s house.

Thanks, but I’ll be fine. Nice to see you, she added hastily as she buckled her seatbelt.

You too, Cade replied. This time, he didn’t even crack a smile.

And Josephine didn’t even look at his butt in her rearview mirror as he walked away.

Red Bridge hadn’t changed much in eight years. There were a few more buildings on campus, and a few more neighborhoods had sprung up on the outer edges of town, but it was still the hometown Josephine recognized—and loved, if she was being honest with herself. The quaint cluster of coffee shops, boutiques, and bars along the Row, the hipster students wearing ripped concert tees and walking to class, the giant and slightly ostentatious limestone city hall in the middle of the square downtown. With a slight cheer, Josephine noticed a Starbucks had opened up only a few blocks from her aunt’s house. The locals probably hated it, but the big-city girl in her was dying for a grande light mocha Frappuccino with an extra shot of espresso.

Josephine felt slightly guilty that it had taken her this long to go back to Red Bridge. She’d used the excuse that there really wasn’t anyone left there to visit, which was true. Her mother had lived in Red Bridge for a year after Josephine had gone to college before she’d moved to Wisconsin to take care of her aging parents, and then down to Florida with her sister. Lulu had stayed the longest, but Josephine always used the excuse that she’d rather visit her aunt in Florida, which was also true.

But the entire truth was that she couldn’t bear to go back—at first because of Cade. And though that love had burned out long ago, Josephine kept away out of habit. Red Bridge was her past. The big city was her present, or at least it had been until she was fired.

I’ll be back, she’d told herself between tears as the Chicago skyline had receded from her view. All she had to do was fix up her aunt’s house, live on the six-month severance package her company had given her, and work her connections to find a new job in Chicago. She’d be back by Christmas, maybe sooner even, and Red Bridge would once again be part of her past. And fixing up a house would be a good challenge for her, fun even.

Things in Red Bridge could only go up for Josephine after her disastrous morning. She’d get her city clothes out, fix up her hair, and show this town that she wasn’t just some little country girl anymore. 

Filled with hope, Josephine turned onto her aunt’s road and looked for the sweet yellow cottage with the white door and pink knockout rose bushes in front.

Except when she pulled up to the house, Josephine didn’t see a sweet cottage. The paint may have been yellow during her childhood, but was now faded and cracked. The white shutters that outlined the front windows were swaying, while a few had fallen off completely. The bushes in front were gone and replaced by wild tangles of weeds, including foot-high dandelions. The grass that had always been meticulously cut in diagonals was nothing but clumps of clovers. On one side of the house, Josephine could see the gutters had fallen off; on the other, a small forest was growing in them.

Two ladies in matching tracksuits walked past Josephine’s shocked face. Instead of saying good morning to her, they glanced up at the house.

I wish they’d just condemn that place, one of them said.

Josephine, who prided herself on never crying in public, fell back into her car and burst into tears. She fished through her messy glove box for some old McDonalds napkins. She should have been there to help her aunt Lulu maintain the house. Instead, when Lulu had decided Indiana winters were too much for her and had permanently moved to Florida a few years before she’d died, Josephine had put the house out of her mind and visited her aunt at her beach condo. The house, it seemed, had been at the back of everyone’s minds.

If the outside of the house looks this bad, what the hell is the inside going to be like?

Guilt gnawed at Josephine. She swallowed and fished the house key out of her purse and gingerly walked up the driveway as if it were full of land mines. She opened the screen door with too much force; it nearly sailed off its hinges and banged into the side of the house. The lock was dusty as though a key hadn’t been used in it for years, but the key turned, and Josephine opened the door.

The dusty scent of old papers