“My pleasure. Thanks for the invite back. Sometimes I crave the peace of an empty apartment, but sometimes…”
“Yeah, sometimes the silence is too loud.”
“Exactly.” He moves closer, his body crowding mine as I tip my head back.
“Stay safe out there, Sheriff.”
He dips his head, his lips skating over mine for a moment before he pulls back. He tips his hat and walks out. I watch him as he gets into his cruiser and pulls away, kicking up dust as he goes.
“He gone?”
I whirl when I hear Riggs’s voice and find him right behind me.
“Yeah.”
“Come and eat then. It would be a shame to let it go cold.”
With a nod, I close the door and follow him back to the kitchen, pondering the strange turn of events. Everything in me tells me to steer clear of the sheriff, and yet, there is something magnetic about him that makes it impossible to stay away.
This does not bode well for my future plans.
We’re curled up, watching a creepy movie, when the house stirs. We have company.
“What is it?”
I lift my head from Riggs’s shoulder. “Someone’s here.”
“Stay here.” He gets up and heads to the door as I strain to listen, but the den is too far from the entrance for me to hear. Moments later, Riggs walks back in, with a tired-looking Shepard behind him.
“Hey, Sheriff.”
Riggs takes his seat once more as Shepard hovers in the doorway.
“Come sit down,” I offer.
“I should go. I don’t want to intrude.”
Riggs snorts. “Since when?”
I roll my eyes, but he does have a point. Even Shepard cracks a smile at that.
“Seriously, man, sit the fuck down. You’re making me feel like you’re going to haul me in for something.”
“Guilty conscience?” Shepard asks, taking the chair opposite me.
“I’m a reformed man,” Riggs announces as he gets to his feet. “Let me go grab you some food. You look like you need it.”
He’s gone before Shepard can say anything. “I’m not sure what to make of him,” he admits.
“I’m sure the feeling is mutual.”
He huffs out a laugh. “Probably.”
“How was your day anyway?”
He rubs his hand over his mouth. “As well as I thought it would be.”
I don’t push him for more. Whatever this thing is between us is new and fragile, and I don’t think either of us trusts the other enough to lay our problems at each other’s feet.
