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“It smells great, thank you.”
“It’s frozen; I cannot take any credit for it.” She laughed before pulling the chair out, and for a second, the light hit her face making it appear slightly darker than it was.That couldn’t be…“You gonna sit or stand to eat?”
Our eyes locked, and she smiled again, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She knew I saw it; I could see fear bubbling in her eyes again. Grabbing my chair, I tugged it around to sit next to her instead of across and dropped into it.
“So, you chose sheriff over flowers?”
“Yeah,” I said, lifting my fork and glancing at her again, trying to see once more if only to confirm my suspicions. “Sometimes, I wonder if I should’ve stuck with the flowers.”
“Because of the thing on the poster?” A dark look passed over my face, and Rose set down her fork to touch my arm. “I’m sorry, I can see that’s a demon for you. I have some of those too.”
My heart fluttered slightly, feeling this for the opening it was. “I’ll share mine if you share yours?” Her face twisted with discomfort, but I plowed through to tell my story. “Early into my career, I was driving home when I saw a car smashed against a tree along the shoulder of the road. The driver was standing in the middle of the road, having a panic attack, so I stopped to help him and make sure he was okay …”
The night flashed before my eyes like it was yesterday. “He muttered nonsensically, throwing his hands around as he kept going on and on about not seeing her, how it wasn’t his fault, that he hit a patch of black ice … I didn’t realize when he saidher,he was talking about a human. I thought he meant a deer or some other animal … There were tons of them around here.
“She was pinned between the tree and the car. When I found her, there wasn’t much I could do at that point, moving the car …” I shook my head, fighting back the tears burning my eyes and the pain clawing at my throat, trying to choke me. “I did the only thing I could and I called my best friend to tell him to get there as fast as he could. They needed to see each other …”
Her hand touched my cheek, pulling me back to the present. A deep frown ruined her beautiful features as her thumb stroked my cheek. I didn’t finish the story; she could see from my face how it ended.
“At first, Landon blamed me for the whole thing because the driver got off due to my failure to apprehend him … With time, he came around, and we reconnected—both of us trying to track that asshole down. I thought we were past this, but … the campaign …”
8
Rose
I couldn’t shakethe feeling of his lips on mine. Or the desire that had possessed me and brought us to that kiss in the first place. It still burned through me, making me want to do more than kiss the man I knew could be my undoing.
So, I stayed away. After giving him my cell number, we texted about his campaign, and I kept him at bay, knowing I couldn’t trust myself around him. I wanted him too much, and if we got close, there was no telling what I might end up doing.
I’d quickly realized with Beau Butler, I lost all my senses.
But try as I might to avoid him, I’d come to a small town, and it was inevitable we would eventually find each other again. At least, this time, Silas was there for it.
“It’s fine, go ahead. The other kids don’t mind if you play too.” I gently nudged him away from my legs, encouraging him onto the playground. Until now, he hadn’t experienced real life, and the idea of playing with kids was overwhelming. He’d never been around such a loud and rambunctious group.
But I wanted him to be free to be a kid.
“Mama,” he turned, holding his arms up to me. My heart clenched tightly, and I lifted him, holding him to my chest as I whispered in his ear.
“You’re safe. We’re safe. No one is going to hurt us again. You’re safe. I love you.” His little arms tightened around my neck as I kissed his cheek and set him down again. He stood there for a while, holding onto my side when he finally worked up the courage to head for the playground.
“He doesn’t say a lot, does he?” Beau appeared at my side, startling me.
“No,” I glanced over at him, “not usually. He thinks talking brings nothing but trouble.” I said the words mindlessly until I saw the look on his face, and I realized my slip. I opened my mouth to correct myself, but Beau was quicker.
“I’m not under any illusions that you were brought here by some misfortune. One day, I hope you know you can come and talk to me about it, either as the sheriff, or as your friend. You can make that call, but I want you to know I’m there for you.”
With that, he walked over to the park and greeted two girls playing tag before approaching Silas and pointing to the swings.
Silas considered it for a moment, clearly uncertain about Beau, before he finally nodded and took the older man’s hand in his little one. My heart warmed at the sight of them both walking slowly to the swings, recalling a time when a different man would shout at Silas for walking so slowly. Instead, Beau’s pace was careful and controlled, letting Silas take the lead as he shuffled to the swing.
Then, Beau crouched, talking to Silas for a moment, and Silas nodded. Beau lifted him into the swing, and together, they played. The expression on my son’s face shifted to one of joy the higher the swing went.
The apprehension and fear melted from his little features, and I saw the moment he went from five times his age to a young boy. He shouted something indecipherable, but Beau got the message and swung him higher, watching as Silas reached, trying to touch the sky.
At that moment, my past melted away, and all I could see was my future. Beau playing with Silas, being the father I wanted my son to have. Quiet, summer nights spent together on the porch and warm, winter nights in front of a fire. Building a life together where we cherished each other and spent all our free time at one another’s side.
I saw him with us and growing my family to the size I always wanted it to be.
