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Chapter 1
Noah Blake sat at his desk trying to make sense of the pile of paperwork taking over his desk.
It was summer in Red Hook, Texas, which meant there were a lot of upcoming events going on in town. He needed to make schedules for his deputies to be on duty. He tried to rotate it so everyone had some time off to enjoy the activities with family. The events raised much-needed funds for the small rural town, maybe even enough to hire extra people to help out next year. In the last two years, the town had grown, and he needed more help.
He looked at one permit and almost choked on the hot coffee he was sipping.
“Helen!” he yelled out loud to his longtime secretary. She came running in with a wild look on her face. She had a large pink flyswatter in her hand.
“What is it, Sheriff? Another bee?” She looked around his small office with narrow blue eyes. Helen hated bees after getting stung once. She was now convinced they snuck into the station on purpose.
Noah frowned. “Not bees, Helen.”
He waved a white sheet of paper at her like a flag ready for battle. “Whose bright idea was it to think of a dunk tank for the sheriff’s booth this year?”
Helen’s shoulders relaxed. Her blonde hair was streaked with silver strands that were practically invisible. Her glasses gave her a motherly “don’t mess with me” look. She put her hands on her ample hips.
“You always say the bake sale we hold is pointless, considering there is a pie contest a few booths down.” She smirked. “This will raise a lot of money for us. Maybe then we can make some upgrades around here. My computer is a dinosaur and should be put out of its misery.”
Noah groaned and put his hand on his forehead. He couldn’t come up with much of a comeback. He did say that, and he did put her in charge of coming up with fresh ideas. He should have known better. This is what happens when you delegate, he told himself, resisting the urge to bang his head on the desk. It would do no good. Once Helen made up her mind, a hurricane couldn’t change it.
“Are you going to volunteer your time as a sitting duck?”
She laughed and nodded. “It won’t be that bad, Sheriff. We can all sign up for an hour or more. Shoot, the Garcias alone will spend a fortune throwing balls at the target to dunk you.”
He winced, and once again he couldn’t argue with that statement. He had become their enemy when he hurt Alana Garcia. He should have known better than to get involved with the dark-haired beauty. He knew from the very beginning Alana was too good for him. He had resisted her for a long time. Then one night he went to a party and had a few drinks. One dance was all it took for him to lose his determination to stay away from her. He held her soft body in his arms, and he was done for. He asked her out on a date. One date led to another and another. Feeling scared about his growing feelings for Alana, he had panicked and made a mess out of everything.
When Cora Stanton, a former lover, flirted with him, he had done the one thing he was good at: spit out meaningless, charming remarks and asked Cora
for a date. He meant to call Alana right away and break things off with her, but he got called in to help out during a major highway accident nearby. Cora took it upon herself to let Alana know Noah had asked her out. Alana had confronted him, and he felt like the lowest slime ever. He told her the truth: he did ask Cora out, but he was going to end things with her first. A bitter argument had broken out between the two of them. The Garcias hated him. Even his own brothers had been mad at him. That had been six months ago, and he still walked around town under a cloud of shame.
The loud ringing of the phone startled him, and he picked it up. He hated thinking of the past. He had made a huge mistake he could not fix. It would be like trying to piece back an object after it exploded. All Alana had wanted was a chance with him, but he had messed everything up. He had to move on, no matter how difficult it was. Maybe someday he would figure out how to make it right.
“Sheriff Blake,” he answered, putting his mind back on business, where it belonged.
“Sheriff, it’s Drake.”
Noah leaned back in his chair. Drake Lopez was one of his senior deputies. “What’s going on out there, Drake? Is it a quiet night?”
“I don’t know how to say this, Sheriff. The Garcia restaurant was robbed about twenty minutes ago.” Drake said it so fast Noah wasn’t sure he heard it right.
Noah felt his heart speed up. Then it felt like it stopped completely. He had to force the words to come out. “What the hell? Is everyone okay?”
He heard Helen’s gasp as she sat down, obviously hearing Drake. She looked as worried as he felt.
“It’s Alana,” Drake said, his voice cracking. “She was closing up the place with Ray. No one else was there. She cooperated, but the robber stabbed her.”
Noah cursed out loud not caring who heard him. He wanted to throw the phone across the room. His chest felt heavy with tension, and he fought to draw in air. Pain was crushing his insides until he felt like he couldn’t breathe.
“Is she going to be okay?” He gripped the phone so tight he was surprised it didn’t crack into pieces. An image of her beautiful face flashed before him: her lush pink lips turned up into a bright smile, her big brown eyes. She had to be okay. He wouldn’t accept any other outcome.
“It’s bad, Noah.” Drake sounded choked up, like he was battling his emotions. “Liam and Henry answered the nine-one-one call. They took her to the hospital. Liam looked at us, and I knew what he didn’t want to say out loud.”
Drake was a good friend to the Garcia family. He cleared his throat as if trying to force the words out. “Ray called me as soon as the guy left. I’m at the hospital now. Dr. Jennings took her into surgery to see how much damage was done. I thought you should know just in case.”
Noah sat in shock. Just in case what? In case she died? He had to close his eyes and breathe slowly through his nose.
“I’ll be right there.” He didn’t care who heard the anguish in his voice. He wasn’t sure what Drake said after that. Noah sat frozen in shock.
He felt Helen grab the phone out of his hand and hang it up. He still couldn’t make himself move.
“I heard. I’m sorry, Noah.” She sounded emotional, with tears streaming down her face.
Noah looked at Helen, feeling numb inside. He had to swallow past the knot in his throat. “Don’t look like you are planning her funeral. She won’t die, Helen. Alana is strong.”
“I know. Dr. Jennings is the best.” She tried to sound reassuring, but the sound of confidence was missing in her voice.
He wanted to get to the hospital right away, but his legs felt heavy, like they were made of lead. He wanted to stand over her and beg her to be strong and fight. Fight for what? Hadn’t he broken her heart six months ago?
He forced himself to move. He might never make it past her family, but he was going to try.
Her image was all he could see: her long chocolate-brown hair and sexy eyes, her pale skin and plump pink lips. His strong feelings for her had caused him to get scared and do something foolish. If she died, he would never get the chance to talk to her again, to hold her or kiss her.
He had told himself serious relationships were too messy and emotional. He had been there and done that, and once was enough. Having your heart crushed was no fun. Now, when it might be too late, he realized he couldn’t live without one small dark-haired beauty. Her memory still lingered in his head and in his heart. Time had not erased the feelings he had for her despite their being apart. Alana would always be a part of him. He could not lose her.
Helen sniffing into a tissue caused him to focus back on the present.
“I’m going to the hospital,” he told Helen. “Call Greg and see if he can come in an hour early. Drake is at the hospital, too.”
Helen nodded and went to her desk. Noah put his head on his desk so he could calm down. He blinked back the tears. He felt one escape and fall.
Please don’t die, Alana. Don’t let our last memories be filled with bitterness and pain. Give me a chance to fix things between us.
Chapter 2
Noah stepped off the hospital elevator and immediately saw Alana’s family sitting in a small waiting area. The area was filled with tension and grief. The hospital wasn’t as big as a city hospital, but the doctors here were just as good. Noah knew Dr. Jennings was once an ER doctor in Michigan.
Ray Garcia, Alana’s older brother, and Drake were off in a corner talking. Alana’s parents sat together holding hands, staring at a blank wall. Her younger sister, Alicia, huddled in a big chair with her knees drawn up and her head down. He could see her shoulders shaking with quiet sobs. The TV was off, and it was so quiet except for Ray and Drake’s hushed tones. It was a painful scene, and Noah wanted to roar with his own anguish.
Noah took a deep, calming breath and walked over to them despite the bad feelings between all of them. He knew it wasn’t going to be pretty. They hated him, and he didn’t blame them.
Drake turned his head and greeted him. Ray’s eyes narrowed, and he gave Noah a look of real hatred. Once they had been good friends, until that stupid stunt Noah pulled. Ray turned away from him and looked out the window as if he couldn’t face him. It hurt, but Noah kept his face blank and held his emotions in.
Drake walked up to him. He pulled out his notebook and handed it to Noah. He looked upset and angry. Noah knew Alana was like a little sister to him. The three of them, Ray, Noah, and Drake had always looked out for the two Garcia girls. One day Noah noticed how beautiful Alana was becoming and had tried to back away.
“I got all the info, Noah. He is going to be hard to find since he wore a black ski mask,” Drake began in a low, harsh voice. His brown eyes were filled with anger.
Noah nodded and read all the notes Drake had written down. Description and time. Not much to go on. “Have you heard anything about Alana’s condition?”
