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Chapter Four
Drayton
Jessica, my secretary, is sitting at her desk when I walk back into the station. She’s chewing on the end of her pen as she studies the computer screen in front of her, something she does when she’s deep in thought.
“Call Jimmy at the garage and have him add chains to my tires,” I say, making her jump as I drop my keys on her desk.
“Mine, too,” Connor, my deputy, says, appearing around the corner with his keys in his hand.
Jessica’s eyes light up when she sees him. She sits up a little straighter in her chair, subtly pushing her chest out. By all accounts, they’ve been making googly-eyes at each other since well before I took over the sheriff’s position here.
“I’m on call tonight., and I don’t wanna get stuck in the snow. They’re predicting quite a storm,” Connor adds.
“The storm is moving in sooner than they first thought,” Jessica says, handing me a piece of paper with the weather report on it.
I scan over it quickly. “Let’s get the schools closed. Put the word out that there’s a weather curfew from 6 PM. I want people in their own homes where they’ll be safe.”
“You got it, boss,” Jessica nods.
I head for my office, closing the door and settling behind my desk. I have a mountain of paperwork to get through, but there’s something else I want to do first. My mind keeps returning to five-and-a-half feet of sexy curves and honey-brown eyes that I want to lose myself in, and I want to see what I can find out about her.
Firing up the computer, I check the police database for Daisy Jenkins. Nothing. Not that I expected to find any kind of police record for her. I carry out an internet search, checking all the social media platforms, but once again, draw a blank. If Daisy has a profile anywhere, she’s got it locked down tight. Good girl.
My girl.
The thought pops into my head unexpectedly, but it feels right. Something primitive inside me growled mine the moment I saw her.
I’ve never had such a visceral reaction to a woman. My heart has been flatlining in my chest since I lost my unit, but one look at Daisy was all it took to bump-start it again. It freaked me the fuck out, which is why I opened my big mouth and stuffed both gigantic feet in it.
Daisy was right—I was out of order. I’m not the easiest person to get along with these days, but it usually takes me longer than two minutes to piss someone off. I achieved that objective with Daisy in record time.
I’m a fucking idiot. It’s as obvious as the nose on my face that she’s not a thief. No one who looks like she does can be capable of sin. Although, I can think of plenty of ways I’d like to sin with her.
But, damn, she didn’t back down from me. Seeing her standing there, hands on her rounded hips, her eyes spitting fire at me, almost had my cock firing a one-gun salute in my pants. It’s reassuring to know there’s a feisty spirit lurking beneath that exquisite exterior, particularly given those marks on her wrist. I may be reading too much into that, but I doubt it. My instincts rarely lead me wrong.
My desk phone rings, pulling my thoughts from my curvy cherub, and I spend the next hour fielding phone calls about the oncoming storm from concerned residents. Eventually, I make my way back through to the main office to check on the situation with the snow chains.
“All done,” Jessica says, handing me the keys to the cruiser. “I, uh, I think I’ll stay here tonight,” she adds, her cheeks turning pink. “Be good for Connor to have an extra pair of hands on the phones in case it gets busy.”
I nod, biting back a smile. Maybe she and Connor will finally get on with it and put the rest of us out of our misery.
I glance at the clock again. A little after 3 PM. “I won’t be back unless you need me. I’m going to take a drive around town to make sure everyone is shutting up shop and heading home.”
I head outside, climbing behind the wheel of the cruiser and starting the engine. I spend the next hour driving around town, stopping to help several residents salt their storefronts. It may be a fruitless effort, though, if the weather forecast is right about the dumping of snow headed our way.
Main Street is clear by the time I leave, the shop fronts shuttered against the elements. I pull out my radio and call into the station, happy to hear that everything looks good and the snow trucks have already salted the main roads.
I frown as I suddenly remember something Daisy said earlier. Turning the cruiser around, I head in the direction of The Hideout.
