AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But Grant had cleared all of that up. He’d let Bella know exactly what his intentions were. She didn’t have to worry, and neither did Nick.
Unless…
That word hung heavy in her mind.
In her experience, people weren’t generally the most trusting. When something better came along, it was only the stalwart who stuck around. As of right now, she couldn’t be one hundred percent certain on what side of the line Grant fell. She wanted to believe he was everything he promised he was. That would be the easiest.
Still, there was that niggling doubt that he was keeping something from her. It wasn’t the illegal activity; she knew he wasn’t involved in that. But there was something else, and it was making it hard for her to be able to trust him fully.
Bella needed to get out of her own head. The more she dwelled on what she did or didn’t know, the bigger the chasm that was coming between them. Tonight, she was going to put all of that aside. She was going to enjoy her dinner with him and leave it at that.
Before she could knock on the RV door, it swung open, nearly knocking her back. Grant stood at the top of the stairs, holding the door open with a grin. His eyes dipped to her uniform and his brows furrowed.
“I wasn’t aware I was spending the evening with the deputy. Is something wrong.”
She sighed. “The only thing wrong is that Theo is sick and he needed someone to cover for him. I swear, that man gets sick every other weekend. Sometimes it makes me wonder if he’s really sick at all.”
Grant chuckled. “Lucky for you, I like a woman in uniform.”
“Oh, stop it.” She brushed him off with the wave of her hand, but inside, she couldn’t resist letting her pulse go wild.
He took her hand and helped her into the RV. “You should have seen Nick’s face when I told him that he was eating supper with his grandmother.”
“Was he excited?”
“Sure was. But then I told him that I got to eat dinner with you, and that changed right quick.”
Bella laughed. “He’s too sweet.”
“I’m pretty sure he thinks you’re his friend and not mine. I’ve a mind to be a little jealous.”
She couldn’t help the laughter that continued. “You have nothing to be jealous about. I’ve only got eyes for you.”
He guided her to the small table. “I’m not talking about you. I’m talking about him. If he prefers the town’s deputy over his own father, I’m going to lose all my street cred.”
Bella snorted. “Funny.” It was nice being with him this way—not a care in the world, no worrying about who might be out to get him.
“Is everything okay?”
She blinked and found him staring at her as he placed a plate in front of her. “Of course.” She forced a smile but apparently there was no hiding that she was still very much worrying.
“Doesn’t seem like it.”
Bella glanced down at her plate, which had been loaded with steak and mashed potatoes.
“It’s the case, isn’t it?” Grant sat down beside her, causing her to scoot farther into the booth.
“Am I that transparent?”
He took her hand in both of his. “You care. It’s one of the things I like about you.”
She lifted her gaze, finding it hard to avoid his searching eyes. “I just can’t shake that there’s something more sinister going on. Everything that has happened so far has been getting worse. At first, it was just jeopardizing your job. But then they crossed the line and drugged you.”
“To be fair, that was to get me fired.” His light tone didn’t disguise the fact that he was worried, too.
“What if they’d gotten the dose wrong? You could have been seriously hurt. Controlled substances are just as dangerous as anything else out there when used improperly.”
Grant’s hands tightened on hers. “But nothing happened. And we’re showing them that I’m not someone who’s going to run and hide. Eventually, they’re going to have to give up, right?”
