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“Only if she promises no ruffles.”
Luna held her hand up. “I promise.”
With a laugh, Allison blew a kiss to the screen and hugged her sister before heading to her car. Her mind flashed to the letter Reid had taken from her, and a shudder ran through her body. She tried to shake it off, but an unsettling feeling landed in the pit of her stomach.
Her eyes scanned the area, looking for anything out of the norm, but the usual crowd of people from yoga filtered throughout the parking lot, getting in their cars and driving away.
She checked her backseat, making sure there wasn’t someone hiding, then jumped in the car and locked the doors. Taking a deep breath, she relaxed in her seat.
“You’re being ridiculous,” she muttered. “It was just a letter from an idiot. Nothing more.”
With one last glance around, she reversed out of the space and turned onto the main road. She had a few errands to run, so she stopped at the grocery store, then went to the pharmacy to pick up her birth control pills. Not that she needed them. It had been too long since she had sex, but better safe than sorry.
Right now, her career was her number one focus. She wasn’t ready to settle down and have a kid just yet. She had her own ambitions to fulfill first, and she was getting closer. Once Sandra retired, and she could sit in the coveted anchor chair, she’d be ready for the next step in her personal life.
All her errands for the day completed, she headed home. Her eyebrow arched as she neared her house and spotted a police cruiser parked in front. She immediately recognized Reid as she drew closer.
“What the hell does he want?” she asked out loud with a sigh.
She threw the car in park and jumped out, going right to her trunk and ignoring the six-foot-two muscled man strolling toward her. She didn’t need to look up to know he was close. His presence was overwhelming, blocking the sun and radiating dominance.
“What can I help you with, Reid?” she asked as she grabbed her grocery bags. “And if you’re here to yell at me again, I’m not in the mood.”
He pushed his aviator sunglasses onto his head, revealing those ridiculously blue eyes of his. “Itisabout your damn segment, and I need you to fix it.”
She dropped her bag and let her hands fall to her sides. “And what exactly do you want me to do?”
She met his steely gaze and held it. His jaw ticked, lips pressed into a straight line. With an exaggerated sigh, she turned to her bags and scooped them up. “My frozen vegetables are going to melt, so while I would love to continue our glaring contest—”
“I need you to let me make a statement live on air.”
She froze. “Wait a minute. You want to go live?” She’d only been trying to get him to do that for a damn decade. Even when she thought she had him, he managed to evade her and instead call her at the station to give a statement. He called her infuriating, but he was calling the kettle black. She’d made it her life mission to get the grumpy sheriff on air, and now he was handing her the interview on a platter.
“That’s what I said.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Why now?” He had to be playing an angle. There was no way, after all this time, he was giving in unprompted.
He scratched at the back of his neck, something he did when he was frustrated or stalling. “The mayor won’t give me the increase in my budget if I don’t.”
A laugh bellowed out of Allison. “Oh, that’s just perfect.” Another laugh burst free.
“Are you done?” He looked not too pleased, but she was downright tickled by the situation.
“Not yet.” She continued laughing while he rolled his eyes and glanced down the street.
“Okay, I’m good.”
“So tomorrow?” he asked, and she shoved her bags into his arms. “What the hell is this?”
“Since you need a favor from me, you can help me carry these inside.”
She was pretty certain he groaned, but she grabbed the rest of the bags and kept walking. He needed something from her, and she didn’t want to make two trips. She’d done enough of a workout at yoga. Besides, he should be thanking her for not giving him a harder time, especially after everything he’d put her through over the years. All she wanted was a measly few words from him, but no, he’d just start sprouting curse words like a damn sprinkler, making all her footage unusable.
She opened the door and punched in the code to her alarm. Reid gave a nod, as if he was pleased she had an alarm. She was just happy she remembered to set it. He stepped into her house, filling the small foyer. He scanned the space, then his gaze darted toward the living room.
“Have you been aware of your surroundings when you’ve been out?” he asked.
There was no way she was going to tell him about her momentary freakout in the parking lot. “I told you. That letter was nothing. Just a stupid viewer, sending pointless threats. Just like all those jerks on social media.” She headed to the living room and steered left past the dining room and into the kitchen.
