AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Well… I would have tried.
But there was something different about Daisy Lynn Morton. Something wild and sexy that was almost impossible to resist.
So, it was good that Cole hadn’t asked me to back off. Because that was one promise I couldn’t make.
Chapter 4
Daisy Lynn
My heart was racing as I stood outside on the front porch and scanned the driveway for the vehicle that should be arriving any minute. I still couldn’t make sense of why the sheriff needed to speak with me so urgently. He’d called Janessa’s home phone to track me down—not that I would have been anywhere else in this tiny town—and then asked if I could talk.
But then he confused me even more by insisting we talk in person.
He wouldn’t say what it was about, so my brain was busy trying to fill in the blanks.
Was it the poisonings?
Did he need another statement from me?
Was it my date with Cole?
Was I going to get arrested for breaking some law I didn’t know about?
I took a deep breath and then nearly passed out when I finally saw a big, black SUV speeding up the driveway. That wasn’t the sheriff’s patrol car. There weren’t any police markings on it at all, as far as I could tell. But I still knew it was him. It had to be him.
Once the SUV was parked near the house, I walked down from the porch to meet him. I knew Janessa and Becca were probably glued to the upstairs window watching me, but I didn’t dare turn around to check.
My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest as the driver’s door opened and a shiny black boot hit the ground. Thatthudcould have actually been my heart stopping. I wasn’t sure. But I was still walking—my body moving in slow motion all on its own—so I couldn’t actually be dead, right?
“Daisy Lynn.” His low voice was quiet but serious, carrying an air of authority that must automatically come with being a sheriff. “Thank you for agreeing to see me on such short notice. I apologize if I’m keeping you from anything.”
I shook my head. “No, sir. Nothing at all. I was just—”
“You can call me Prescott,” he said, smiling.Smiling. And wow, what a nice smile he had. I hadn’t noticed it before, but now it was all I could see. His teeth were white and sparkling and thankfully made him look a lot less gruff and serious. “I’m off duty, so no need for formalities.”
And… right. I hadn’t even noticed until he’d mentioned it, but he wasn’t wearing his police uniform. Just a nice button-down blue shirt and dark denim jeans.
“Okay, Prescott,” I said, trying the name. It felt a little strange to be so familiar with him, but hehadinsisted. “Can I ask why you’re here?” I felt my skin flush as the words escaped. That wasn’t what I’d intended to ask, but itwasthe most pressing question on my mind. Still, I probably could have phrased it better. “I mean, is there, um, something I can help you with?”
His smile grew a little wider as he inclined his head. “I’m here to see you, Daisy Lynn. I’d like it if we could get to know each other a little better.”
“Oh.” I nodded, then felt my eyes go wide as my brain finally processed what he’d said. “Oh. I… okay. You want… wait, what?” I took a deep breath and tried to focus on something besides the thundering sound of my own heartbeat. Could he hear it from where he was standing? Was I seriously about to have a heart attack? “You’re here to talk to me? Like… justtalk?”
“I’m not asking as the sheriff,” he said. “Just as Prescott. Just a man asking a woman if she’d like to go out and have a cup of coffee, maybe dinner if you haven’t already eaten…”
I felt my face flush again, but this time for a different reason. Cole had been right. The sheriff really was interested in me. And now that the other half of my fantasy was sort of coming true—we might both still be fully clothed, but he was asking me out on a date, at least—I wasn’t sure what I should do.
“But… will it be okay?” I asked.
His brow furrowed. “That’s completely up to you. I don’t want you to feel pressured—like I said, I’m not here as the sheriff. Just a regular guy. I won’t carry any hard feelings if you ask me to leave, but I hope you won’t.”
“No.” I shook my head. “That’s not—I don’t want you to leave. I just meant…” I sighed, frustrated that my tongue and my brain were apparently refusing to work together. “What about Cole? Will he be upset?”
The sheriff’s smile slipped a little. “He knows my intentions. I haven’t tried to hide anything from him. I was under the impression that the two of you had just gone on one date, though. Nothing exclusive or anything like that, right?”
I nodded. “That’s right. Nothing exclusive. We didn’t even talk about that. It was just dinner.”
“And that’s all I’m asking. Just a little time to talk and see where things go. No pressure. We can even call Cole right now to see how he feels about it if that would ease your mind a little.”
