act like someone who knew nothing.
“I got shot last night at your house.”
I sat up straight and forced my eyes as wide as I could get them. “What?”
“That gunshot last night was a load of rock salt, and it got me right across the back.”
“You don’t sit on your back,” I pointed out.
“Fine. I got shot in the ass. Does that clear things up?”
“Completely.” I frowned. “Actually, I’m lying. I have no idea what any of that means. What is rock salt and how do you shoot it? Ally said it was a shotgun blast. And where were you when you got shot? Why was someone shooting in the first place?”
Carter held a hand up to stop my barrage. “Rock salt is just what it sounds like—lumps of salt formed into tiny rocks. You can load shotgun shells with it. Some people use it to scare away animals they don’t want near livestock. Others use it to scare away trespassers.”
“Is that legal?”
He gave me an aggrieved look. “I shouldn’t even be saying this to you, but technically, if they’re trying to enter your home, vehicle, or business, and you have reason to believe they will harm you, then you can shoot trespassers with real bullets.”
“See, this is where the legal system gets stupid. If an intruder, like the creeper, for instance, clearly knows I’m home, then why would I have a reason to believe he’s not going to harm me? If he simply wanted to steal something, he’d wait until I was gone.”
He nodded. “And that is the way most juries see it. But in this case, he wasn’t inside your house.”
“Not yet.”
“We don’t know what he was planning to do.”
“Well, we know he wasn’t planning to drop by at a decent hour with a fruit basket and ring the doorbell. Doesn’t creating a ski mask count for premeditated something-not-good?”
“Maybe. Or he could just be a Peeping Tom.”
I stared. “Seriously. With all the people toting firearms in this town, is someone really stupid enough to try to peep in windows? I discovered quite recently, and much to my horror I might add, that you can see all kinds of naked and perverted on cable TV. Why leave the safety of your house?”
“Television can’t replace the real item.”
I raised one eyebrow. “So you’re telling me someone is risking getting shot just to catch a glimpse of me in some form of nakedness? It can’t possibly be worth it.”
“Well, I’m not sure if it’s worth it…yet.” He gave me that lazy, sexy smile of his that turned my legs to jelly. And despite my private decree that a relationship with Carter was completely and totally out of the question, I felt my resolve slipping away.
My face flushed hot and I cursed myself for such a typical girl reaction. I may be a girl, but I was anything but typical. Carter’s grin widened at my obvious discomfort.
“So do you think the creeper is the one who shot you?” I asked, trying to get the conversation back around to safe ground.
The smile disappeared. “I didn’t think so last night. I was watching your house from across the street and saw him slip down the hedges to your backyard. I made it to the corner of your house as quickly as possible without making a ton of noise. I didn’t think he had time to circle around the house and come up behind me.”
“Maybe he never went down the back of the house. Maybe he saw you or heard you and hid in the bushes on the side until you went by.”
“I suppose that’s possible,” he said, but I could tell he didn’t want to admit the creeper might have gotten the best of him.
“More possible than yet another guy lurking around my house shooting people.”
He sighed. “Probably so.”
Ally stepped up to the table and placed a to-go cup of coffee and a small bag in front of Carter. “It’s on me this morning,” she said. “For looking out for me and Fortune.”
She hurried off before he could argue. He rose from the table and picked up his coffee and biscuit. “I better get back to it,”
“I got shot last night at your house.”
I sat up straight and forced my eyes as wide as I could get them. “What?”
“That gunshot last night was a load of rock salt, and it got me right across the back.”
“You don’t sit on your back,” I pointed out.
“Fine. I got shot in the ass. Does that clear things up?”
“Completely.” I frowned. “Actually, I’m lying. I have no idea what any of that means. What is rock salt and how do you shoot it? Ally said it was a shotgun blast. And where were you when you got shot? Why was someone shooting in the first place?”
Carter held a hand up to stop my barrage. “Rock salt is just what it sounds like—lumps of salt formed into tiny rocks. You can load shotgun shells with it. Some people use it to scare away animals they don’t want near livestock. Others use it to scare away trespassers.”
“Is that legal?”
He gave me an aggrieved look. “I shouldn’t even be saying this to you, but technically, if they’re trying to enter your home, vehicle, or business, and you have reason to believe they will harm you, then you can shoot trespassers with real bullets.”
“See, this is where the legal system gets stupid. If an intruder, like the creeper, for instance, clearly knows I’m home, then why would I have a reason to believe he’s not going to harm me? If he simply wanted to steal something, he’d wait until I was gone.”
He nodded. “And that is the way most juries see it. But in this case, he wasn’t inside your house.”
“Not yet.”
“We don’t know what he was planning to do.”
“Well, we know he wasn’t planning to drop by at a decent hour with a fruit basket and ring the doorbell. Doesn’t creating a ski mask count for premeditated something-not-good?”
“Maybe. Or he could just be a Peeping Tom.”
I stared. “Seriously. With all the people toting firearms in this town, is someone really stupid enough to try to peep in windows? I discovered quite recently, and much to my horror I might add, that you can see all kinds of naked and perverted on cable TV. Why leave the safety of your house?”
“Television can’t replace the real item.”
I raised one eyebrow. “So you’re telling me someone is risking getting shot just to catch a glimpse of me in some form of nakedness? It can’t possibly be worth it.”
“Well, I’m not sure if it’s worth it…yet.” He gave me that lazy, sexy smile of his that turned my legs to jelly. And despite my private decree that a relationship with Carter was completely and totally out of the question, I felt my resolve slipping away.
My face flushed hot and I cursed myself for such a typical girl reaction. I may be a girl, but I was anything but typical. Carter’s grin widened at my obvious discomfort.
“So do you think the creeper is the one who shot you?” I asked, trying to get the conversation back around to safe ground.
The smile disappeared. “I didn’t think so last night. I was watching your house from across the street and saw him slip down the hedges to your backyard. I made it to the corner of your house as quickly as possible without making a ton of noise. I didn’t think he had time to circle around the house and come up behind me.”
“Maybe he never went down the back of the house. Maybe he saw you or heard you and hid in the bushes on the side until you went by.”
“I suppose that’s possible,” he said, but I could tell he didn’t want to admit the creeper might have gotten the best of him.
“More possible than yet another guy lurking around my house shooting people.”
He sighed. “Probably so.”
Ally stepped up to the table and placed a to-go cup of coffee and a small bag in front of Carter. “It’s on me this morning,” she said. “For looking out for me and Fortune.”
She hurried off before he could argue. He rose from the table and picked up his coffee and biscuit. “I better get back to it,”
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