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CHAPTER2
After Deputy Cassie Douglashad issued Drake Morgan a warning to watch his speed around Eagle Rock, she’d driven to the sheriff’s office well past her shift’s end.
The night had been long and uneventful, making it feel even longer than the over nine hours she’d put in from eleven o’clock the previous night to almost nine that morning.
“You’re late,” Sheriff Barron said as she entered the office.
“Had a traffic stop on my way in.”
“Anything interesting?” the sheriff asked without looking up from his computer screen.
Yeah. Drake Morgan had been interesting. New to town. Black hair, blue eyes, and at least a foot taller than Cassie, with impossibly broad shoulders and a tight ass. “Just the usual. In a hurry to get somewhere.”
“Guess he didn’t get where he was going on time.” Sheriff Barron chose that moment to glance up. “Give you any trouble?”
“No,” she said. Except for the way her stomach fluttered when he’d given her a crooked smile and thanked her for giving him a warning.
The man had been ruggedly handsome in an unassuming way. She was human and female, and her body had reacted to him more than she would ever admit. Not that she’d act on any attraction. The frisk had been necessary to ensure her own safety. She’d learned early on in her short career as a sheriff’s deputy that she should never turn her back to a man or woman until she knew for certain that person was unarmed. Even then, she didn’t turn her back.
“Ticket?” the sheriff asked.
Cassie shook her head. “Warning. He didn’t have any outstanding warrants. He cooperated and didn’t get angry, even when I frisked him.”
The sheriff grinned. “I’ll bet.”
She frowned. “He had a gun in his glove box. I wasn’t taking any chances. The man could’ve been hiding another gun on his person.”
Still smiling, Sheriff Barron held up his hands. “I’m not judging. A lone female on duty has to do what she has to do to stay safe.”
“Damn right,” she said, her lips pressing together. She glanced around. “Did Wells make it in?”
The sheriff shook his head. “His mother fell last night. He’s at the hospital in Bozeman with her. Guthrie took his shift. She answered a call out at the Miller’s place. Should be back in town within the next hour.”
Cassie snorted. “Fat chance. Ms. Georgia Miller will keep her for more than an hour, looking over every inch of her two acres while regaling her with stories of her past as a Vegas call girl.”
Sheriff Barron laughed. “You’re right. The exact reason I chose to send Guthrie. She’s got more patience than I do.”
“I believe Guthrie has the mom gene.”
“How so?” the sheriff asked.
Cassie pulled up a chair at a desk and fired up the computer. “It’s the genetic predisposition to ignore certain stimuli, like a crying baby, children arguing among each other…you know, a typical day in the paradise of raising a family.”
“I take it you’re not all that into family,” the sheriff said.
“I wouldn’t mind grown children, but I’d have to get them past those awkward newborn to twenty-five stages.”
The sheriff pushed to his feet. “I need to make a run to the gym. My heart doctor told me I either had to work out or die.”
“Nothing like being blunt,” Cassie said
He glanced at his desk, a frown pulling his brow low. “I’ve got so much to do…” The sheriff shook his head and started to resume his seat. “I might just skip the workout.”
“Seriously, tell me what I can do for you.” Cassie grinned. “You’re going to be gone…what…an hour? Maybe two?”
The sheriff grimaced. “I’m almost certain I can’t do more than an hour of any kind of exercise. I’ll be back in an hour, no more.” He pushed to his feet. “You sure you’ll be okay for another hour?”
She nodded. “I’m always too wound up to sleep after coming off the graveyard shift. I might as well catch up on my paperwork.”
