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Sarah leaned over and put her head between her knees. She’d never had panic attacks before, and now she’d had two in as many weeks. If she didn’t get this figured out, she could end up in the hospital. When she sat up, the sheriff was holding out a bottled water toward her, concern etched in the lines of his face.
“I’ll have my deputies keep an eye out for him. Perhaps it would be a good idea to let Dax—”
“Absolutely not. He already doesn’t like me. I’m not about to give him another reason to hate me.”
“Sarah,” the sheriff spoke softly, “the people in this town have moved on. I don’t see any of them doing or saying anything that would hurt you. They might be a town of gossips, but they aren’t going to be nearly as dangerous as Kenneth might.”
She shook her head fervently. “We agreed I could come and go under the radar. What is it they say? People need someone to blame—someone to hate? I refuse to be that person.”
He studied her, his eyes piercing into her, but he didn’t argue. That was one thing she appreciated about him. The sheriff didn’t push her to do anything she wasn’t comfortable with.
Sarah rose from her seat. “Are we done?”
The sheriff nodded. “I’ll see you next week.”
6
Dax
Dax nodded a hello to the Callahan’s neighbors, Jess and Ruby, as they wandered down the street. His back was pressed against his truck as he waited once again for Sarah to be done with her meeting. She said she wouldn’t be long today. Apparently, the sheriff was busy.
Sure enough, Sarah materialized and hurried down the steps. She looked just as upset as she had last week.
Dax looked up at the door, finding the sheriff watching him. Neither one of them appeared to be willing to break eye contact until Sarah came up short in front of him. She waved her hand in front of his face. “Hey. Earth to Dax. I’m all done.”
His brows lowered and he stood aside to open the door for her. She climbed in, and he shut the door, then looked up at the sheriff again, only to find him gone.
When he settled into his seat, he held onto his keys, not putting it into the ignition. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. Everything is hunky-dory. Why?” Her tone was off and she was paler than usual.
He swallowed hard and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “I can’t pretend to know what’s going on—”
“Then don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine. I’m just frustrated at something the sheriff—I mean my uncle—told me.”
Dax scowled. “I’m trying to help you, Sarah. Will you just give me the benefit of the doubt?”
She huffed. “I don’t trust you. And you don’t trust me. Let’s not pretend anything has changed. Sure, we’ve had to spend more time together lately, but we can’t even say we’re friends.” She gestured toward the keys in his hand. “Why don’t you just get us home and then you can stop acting like you care about me.”
“Will you just be quiet for a minute and let me talk?”
She jumped, turning wide eyes on him.
Dax grimaced and let out a sigh. “You’re right. I’ve not been very welcoming toward you.”
Sarah’s jaw dropped open.
“But whether you like it or not, there are a few people who have been.”
“So what are you saying? You get to treat me like I’m someone who can’t be trusted because I won’t tell you my life story? Well guess what? I’ve heard all of that before. I’m a grown woman who gets to make her own choices. I will graduate from college in a year. I’m just here for the summer—”
“Yes, you’ve mentioned that.” He groaned and dragged his hand down his face. “But the fact is, you won’t be leaving anytime soon. You might as well learn some new skills for if you ever decide to come back. And Bri seems to think that my idea to train you with horses is a good one. Don’t you value her opinion?”
Sarah’s shoulders slumped and she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “Of course I value what she thinks. But it doesn’t matter if you don’t hold even a percentage of that opinion.” Her eyes seemed to be pleading with him to care about her. To show her that she mattered to him. Not seeming to find what she was looking for, she turned away and looked down at her hands in her lap.
He faced her, waiting until she looked toward him. But that didn’t seem like something she was willing to do so he began anyway. “I’m going to do better. It might seem like you’re going to be here for a long time, but it goes by faster than you realize. And you know what else? I’ll let you name that yearling.”
Slowly, her gaze lifted to meet his. “Really?”
