Page 4 of Arrested By the Deputy

"That's unnecessary," I argue quickly, although I'd like nothing more. This was one of my dreams as a teenager, that the hot guy from what was considered the wrong side of the tracks would invite me out to dinner in his truck. Cal's overcome a lot, and I think that plays into his need to be well-liked than anything else does. "Like I said, I forgive you. I can make a post in the local group if that would make things easier for you."

"Please let me do this." He stands to his full height and walks across the bakery so that we're almost touching. I have to tilt my head up to look at him. "I've made a lot of mistakes in my life. Came from a hard home life, went into construction, and then found the perfect job for myself in law enforcement. Although I love this, I'm still learning, and I need to be more cognizant of the situations that people are in, especially considering how I grew up. It would really be my pleasure to take you out, not to mention, I think we need to show the town that we're a united front. They're taking sides, and it's completely unnecessary."

My cheeks heat because I didn't expect this today, and I probably look like shit after my all-nighter at work, and then in jail. There's a part of me that wants to blow this off and tell him no, but there's another part of me that aches for that teenager I was. The one who wanted the quiet, brooding loner to recognize me, and reach out. She wanted to be the person that he couldtrust, and his anchor in the storm of whatever was going on in his life. I'd tried to befriend him back then, but it was difficult, because he just didn't let that many people close.

He's trying now, and who says I'll get another chance at this? If there's one thing I've learned in life, it's that you have to take the opportunities that are given to you. This is one I never expected, and I would be stupid to pass up. So I find myself agreeing. "Okay, we can have dinner tomorrow if that works for you?"

A smile spreads across his face as he rocks back on his heels. "That's perfect. Thank you for giving me a shot."

"Don't make me regret it Officer Sutton."

"I won't. Give me your phone so I can text myself and you'll have my number. We can discuss what time, and where. I'll pick you up."

I find myself handing the phone over without argument, and I wonder where the fuck my backbone went. Down to my weak knees when this man smiled at me, I guess. "Alright, I'm looking forward to it."

His phone dings, and he flashes me a smile. "Me too, I gotta get going, but please know again, I'm very sorry."

"It's no big deal. See you tomorrow."

"See ya."

And with those words, he's out the door, and jogging toward his police marked SUV.

Tiffany whistles behind me. "Did it just get hot in here, or was it just me? Do you have a crush on Deputy Sutton?"

No one knows, except for me, about the crush I had on him in high school. I've never allowed myself to talk about it, but I want to now. So I turn to her, and give a slight nod. "I need something to eat, but follow me, and I'll tell you all about it."

We're primarily a bakery, but we make amazing sandwiches too. I head over to our cold table where we store everything weneed to make them, and start assembling, hoping that keeping my hands busy will allow me to tell her everything. Tiffany is a lot younger than we are, and more than likely has no idea what kind of a home he came from.

"Cal's a year older than I am, but we were always in the same school together, for the most part. While I grew up on the decidedly middle class side of Whispering Pines, he grew up across the tracks, both literally and physically. I walked to school, and he was bussed in. Even back then he was hot, and there were a lot of girls who had crushes on him, some guys too, more than likely. He was nice to everyone. The same way he is now." I think back to the guy who would be willing to help anyone and give you the shirt off his back. That used to make someone invaluable, and today, with the advent of social media, it can make people vulnerable. "We flirted a few times back then, I would see him in the library, or in the lunch room, and he'd smile. He had unruly hair back then that would fall right over his eye. Every single time I saw it, I wanted to reach up and brush it out of the way."

"Did he ever date anyone?" Tiffany asks, making her own sandwich.

"A few dates here and there, never anyone serious. Even after we've graduated, I've never known him to have anything serious. It's why I've always kept it in the back of my mind that there might be a shot for us one day. But I never got up the courage to make a move, and we graduated. Then he went into construction, I started trying to build this business, the only time our paths crossed was when he'd come in here for lunch."

"Until last night," Tiffany grins, reaching for my sandwich and cutting it for me, before she finishes making her own.

"Until last night," I agree, taking a bite. "I'm a firm believer in things happening for a reason, so there was a reason why he arrested me last night, and why he came in here today offeringan apology. Even if it's because someone pressured him into it, he still could've said no, so I'm going to believe it's meant to happen."

"And you're going to tell me what happens on your date?" She teases, a smile spreading across her face.

"And I'll tell you what happens on my date."

CHAPTER 4

CAL

Ihaven't been on a date in at least a year. For most of my life I've preferred not to date where I live, because I believe that most people think of me as the kid in school who lived on the wrong side of the tracks. My dad was an alcoholic who had the cops called on him more times than I can count, and my mom sat by and watched it happen. Both of them have since passed. I didn't have it on my bingo card to be alone in the world by the age of twenty-five, but we don't ask for the life we get, it's handed to us, and we have to work with it the best way we know how.

That's why I pay attention to my boss. He's more of a father figure to me than my own dad was. I absolutely do not want to disappoint him, and I refuse to fall back into habits that I've worked very hard to break. Hazel and I texted last night, and set this date up. I'm more nervous than I care to admit, but as I finish running a comb through my closely cropped hair, I admit I've cleaned up nice.

It takes me fifteen minutes to leave my apartment and make it over to Hazel's. She's a block from Butter My Biscuit, in an old building that has a lot of charm. I'd looked at the place when I'd been looking for a place to move. It has brick walls, andhardwood floors. It fits her, and it would've fit me too, but at the time I couldn't afford it.

I take her steps two at a time, until I'm standing in front of her door. Before I can even knock, she's opening it, a smile on her face.

"I have one of those doorbells that lets you know someone is there," she explains as she turns to lock up.

"That's good to have, especially since you're a woman living alone."