He wanted to keep it together tonight. They’d made it to his Jeep, the Crimson County Sheriff’s emblem emblazoned across the side and illuminated in the moonlight.
“I came here a few years back for a deputy position. There were some shake-ups within the department and Jase convinced me to run for sheriff in the last election. That was two years ago.”
“You and Jase are close,” she whispered.
“Yeah. Your brother is a good man, Sienna.”
“My brother,” she repeated as if she couldn’t quite grasp the meaning of the word, then turned so she was facing Cole. “Did you tell him I was here?”
“Yes.”
She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and bit down. Cole’s knees went weak.
“I should probably leave in the morning. Coming to Crimson seemed like a great idea when I was all fired up this morning, but now—”
“Don’t go.” He reached out, tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
“I can’t believe Jase would want me here. He came to visit our mom last winter. I wasn’t exactly...cordial.”
“Emily mentioned that.”
“The wife. Is she going to be a problem for me?”
“Emily is protective of Jase. He’s sometimes too nice for his own good. His dad...your dad has needed a lot of caregiving through the years. There were some dark days, most of them before I got to town, but Declan has stumbled even recently. Sobriety is a harsh mistress for him sometimes.”
“I remember the drinking.” Her eyes closed, and he watched her chest rise and fall as she sucked in a deep breath. “I don’t remember much, maybe because that’s the way Mom wanted it. We barely spoke about Jase or my dad once we left Crimson. But the smell of whiskey brings back snippets of memory. Most of them I should probably forget. My parents weren’t exactly kind to each other when they drank.”
“That’s fairly common. Alcohol doesn’t bring out the best in anyone.”
She blinked, her blue eyes clear as a mountain lake as she looked up at him. “My mom hasn’t taken a drink, not even a sip of champagne at a wedding, since she left here. Even though she wouldn’t talk about it, I always got the impression she blamed the town for her downward spiral as much as she did my dad.”
“I’m sorry she had to break ties with Colorado so dramatically, but this town isn’t to blame for the troubles she had. It’s a great community.”
“You’re the sheriff,” she said with a smile. “Of course you think that. Everyone has to be nice to you. They’ll end up in jail otherwise.”
He laughed. “Not exactly.”
“Do you have a girlfriend, Sheriff?”
Cole, he wanted to shout, suddenly desperate to hear her say his name.
“Nope. Work keeps me too busy.”
“Lame excuse. I bet there is a line of women hoping you’ll notice them.”
“Hardly.”
“How many times a week does some generous citizen...” She leaned in closer and he caught the light floral scent of her shampoo. “Somefemalecitizen,” she clarified, “bring fresh muffins by your office?”
“Only on Fridays,” he admitted, then shrugged when Sienna looked confused. “Our office manager went low-carb last year. Marlene limits the baked goods to once a week.”
Sienna shook her head, another smile playing around the corners of her mouth. “My mom only referred to Crimson as ‘that place,’ but I always imagined it as some sort of high-altitude version of Sodom and Gomorrah.” Her smile widened. “It’s more like mountain Mayberry.”
“I’m not Andy Griffith,” Cole argued, annoyed by the implied comparison.
“If you start whistling—”
He leaned in and kissed her, somehow wanting to prove that he wasn’t the easygoing, small-town lawman she presumed him to be. At least that’s the reason he gave himself. The truth was he couldn’t resist her one more second. Her smart mouth and sassy attitude. All the ways she tried to pretend she wasn’t hurting.
