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ChapterOne
Esther Delta glanced over her shoulder but couldn’t see the man who’d been shadowing her. She’d caught glimpses of him throughout the morning as she ran errands with her female cousins. He’d also been in a corner booth at La Hacienda where they’d eaten lunch. She was pretty certain it was Garret Thomson.
Garret was an attractive, seemingly innocent dentist she’d gone on a few dates with in Colorado Springs. He’d been a gentleman until the end of date number three, when he tried to check her teeth for cavities with his nasty tongue. Gross.
When Garret had called to ask her out again last week, she’d told him she wasn’t interested in pursuing a relationship. He’d begged her to reconsider, certain they had a “once-in-a-lifetime connection,” but Esther knew how to be firm and tell a man no. She’d helped raise five younger brothers and worked with a high percentage of men.
Her refusal of Garret was partially because of her duty to her family, partially because of the disgusting goodnight kiss, and mostly because she never went on more than three dates with any man. It was a policy she’d adopted during her sophomore year of college to keep her and any man she dated from a nightmarish experience. Avoiding love, commitments that were easily shattered, and months of debilitating emotional weakness was in everybody’s best interest.
Garret had texted and called until she’d blocked his number. Then he’d resorted to leaving several notes on her car windshield, two bouquets of flowers on her porch step, and sending Crumbl cookies to her desk at work. She was grateful Papa had called and asked that she take a leave of absence from her job as an attorney for the Air Force to help her family protect the Delta secret. She was happy to do anything in her power to help her family, and a break from Colorado Springs and one persistent dentist was a great option right now.
Why would Garret appear in Summit Valley a day after she arrived in town and follow her around Main Street? It was concerning. Was he simply a man who couldn’t take no for an answer? She’d dealt with more than a few of those. Or was he after the Delta family secret? With the stakes of protecting the secret escalating, the entire family was on high alert and everybody was suspect.
She caught his reflection as she glanced at the exterior window of the ice cream shop and shivered. He was across the street, studiously staring into Summit Valley’s only clothing store. He boldly met her gaze in the window. His hazel eyes were far too … calculating, making her think this wasn’t a simple case of a man spurned by a woman he was interested in.
Unfortunately for Garret, Summit Valley was far too small to blend in and stalk somebody. Unfortunately for her, she had to figure out why he was following her without inadvertently giving away any information about the secret. How to draw him out?
Three men walked out of Blake’s Grill, the hometown restaurant where Bailey, her cousin Colt’s girlfriend and Shelly, her brother Thor’s fiancée, were both waitresses. The men all wore khaki short-sleeved button-down shirts with Summit Valley Sheriff’s Office logos, and black pants with guns in their side holsters. The man in the middle had a sheriff’s badge on his shirt, filled out his uniform like a confident, tough sheriff should, and boasted the most handsome face Esther had ever seen.
Sheriff Reed Peterson. An ally and close friend of the Delta family. His deep-brown eyes focused in on her and the sidewalk swayed beneath her feet. Esther bit at her lip as her stomach did a flip-flop. Reed was a year younger than her, and she’d always thought he was incredibly good-looking and fun to tease with, but they’d never dated. Over the past ten years, he’d developed into an impressive, accomplished, tough, and tempting man. He’d asked her out multiple times, but she’d always had an excuse. She couldn’t let herself say yes and fall in love only to lose him tragically. His career alone was a huge red flag. How appealing he was to her made him even more dangerous.
She was tempted to turn the other direction instead of giving in to the desire to scream yes if Reed asked her out today. She could share three incredible dates with the charming sheriff and then let him down kindly like she did all the others. The problem was, she didn’t know if she’d be capable of walking away from Reed.
Would that be so bad?a rogue voice in her mind asked.
She didn’t justify the question with a response. Quite often, it was better to ignore the opposing counsel’s distracting questions.
The three men strode confidently in her direction. She knew Reed’s deputies by name—Isaac Wells and Cameron Boyce. They’d both grown up in the valley, but Isaac was enough younger than her and Cameron enough older that she didn’t know them well. She wanted to bask in Reed’s gaze as he approached, an enticing smile tilting his lips, but she couldn’t forget that Garret was lurking across the street.
Wait—Reed was exactly the man she needed right now.
In a very uncharacteristic move, Esther ran at the men, hoping none of them would pull their sidearms. She threw herself against Reed’s chest and flung her arms around his neck.
His eyes widened, but luckily his arms automatically wrapped around her. It felt insanely good to be wrapped in the handsome sheriff’s arms, but she couldn’t let herself get distracted.
“Esther?” His voice was more questioning than romantic, but hopefully Garret couldn’t hear him.
“Lover!” she all but screamed.
Reed’s brow squiggled and shock registered in his features. She didn’t dare look at his deputies to see how stunned they were.
She was making quite the scene, but she had to make this look real. If her ploy worked Garret would leave her alone or he’d reveal that he wasn’t after her for romantic reasons and hopefully never attempt another dental exam.
Reed would understand. She’d explain … in a minute. Right now, she had to convince the jury beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was real.
She leaned in so close their breath intermingled. “Please play along,” she whispered.
His gaze registered concern, but he nodded slightly.
That was all the permission she needed to press her lips to his.
Reed stiffened against her for half a beat and then caught up. No, he did much, much more than catch up. He surpassed her every expectation of what a kiss with him might be like. His mouth worked with hers in beautiful synchrony. She’d never felt lips like the good sheriff’s before. They were soft and firm at the same time. They were warm and tingly. Like taking a warm bath infused with peppermint oil.
He pulled her in tighter, and their bodies molded as one. Reed took the kiss to dizzying heights. Esther forgot why she’d initiated the kiss, their surroundings, and any worries. All that mattered was Sheriff Reed Peterson. No man had ever kissed her like this. She’d never responded like this to any man’s kiss. Not even with Roman. She and Reed could keep kissing until the sun set and she still might not be satiated.
A low whistle tried to penetrate their bubble of kissing ecstasy. A throat cleared. A loud laugh came from much too close.
Reed released her from the kiss but kept her in the circle of his arms. “You all right?” he murmured against her lips, his husky voice and warm breath making her want to kiss him all over again.
