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“What can I do for you, Dolores?” I grumble into the phone as I pull on my green Magnolia County Sheriff’s Department polo shirt that shows off all my curves, as well as my tan cargo pants. Nothing fancy, but I love it. There’s something about not having to choose what to wear to work every day that’s liberating. “I’m not late, am I?”
I double-check my watch before grabbing my keys off my end table and shoving them into my pocket. I’ve been a part of the sheriff’s department since I graduated from college, working my way up the food chain to become the chief deputy, much to my father’s chagrin. It’s not the most glamorous position, but it’s rewarding. There’s something about working to keep the people who helped you grow into a woman safe that gets to me.
“For once.” She giggles before clearing her throat. “We got a call about an alarm going off at the Buckley house over on Maple. Someone attempted to input the security code a few times. The service asked us to send someone around to check it out.”
“Why are you calling me?”
Dolores huffs. I can practically hear her eyes rolling through the phone. I know I should just listen to what she has to say, but it seems getting her riled up is my new favorite pastime. “Colt is at a meeting in Rose Hill, and you’re about to start your shift.”
Colt Butler is considered to be the catch of the century here in Magnolia. Born and raised in the town, comes from a good family, and is now the county sheriff. According to all the mothers in town, it’s only a matter of time until someone’s daughter snaps him up, and my mom was devastated when she realized it would not be me. His chiseled jawline with hair that has that just-got-out-of-bed look would make him any woman’s fantasy, but Colt and I can’t be anything more than friends.
He’s more like an older brother to me than anything. We never really spent time together when I was younger, but we’re so similar it’s crazy. There’s no way we can be anything more than friends. Especially because he’s desperately in love with my engaged older sister. Now, if I can just convince him to sweep Sutton off her feet, it would make my life so much better. Colt would stop sulking around and taking out his jealousy on all of us at the station, and Sutton could move home and take all my parents’ attention off me. Leaving me to continue living my carefree life without them breathing down my neck and asking me questions I don’t know the answers to.
“And you want me to go check it out because my place is only a few blocks away?”
“Yes, please.”
“Mark me as responding and call Colt to let him know. I’ll swing by on my way to the station.”
“Copy that,” Delores responds as I quickly end the call and head out the door.
My family and I used to spend many a Sunday afternoon having dinner with the Buckleys. Sutton and their son were thick as thieves until they both hightailed it out of town after graduation. Last I heard, he’d become some hotshot at NASA and was too good to come back and visit his parents, much like my sister.
It doesn’t take me long to find my way to the Buckleys’ house and pull the car to a stop right behind a black Harley. “It’s just a coincidence,” I mumble to myself as I climb out of my SUV and draw my weapon, approaching the front door slowly and checking my surroundings for any sign of forced entry. No broken windows and the door is still fully intact.
“Must be a false alarm,” I say to myself just as the front door swings open and my one-night stand comes strolling through, a devilish smile plastered across his face.
“Hey, gorgeous. Haven’t seen you around here before.”
My eyes widen in horror as I draw my weapon, pointing it toward the center of his chest. What the fuck is he doing here? Surely, he couldn’t have found me that quickly. How would he have done that? He doesn’t even know anything about me besides my first name. And I know for a fact that I never once mentioned where I live. Somewhere in my head, I hear my dad’s voice, growling at me about sleeping with strangers. Fuck!
“Do you know the code? The noise is giving me a massive headache.” A sly smile crosses his face.
“And that’s my problem because…?”
“Well, you’re the reason I didn’t get much sleep last night.” He winks at me before continuing. “You must be surprised to see me again after you snuck out of my room before the sun came up.”
“It wasn’t before the sun,” I mumble as I try to focus on anything else besides the way his warm laughter fills the air, and my core tightens. Down, girl. I need to get my damn body under control. Not only has my one-night stand broken into someone’s house, but somehow, he found me.
“Semantics.” He makes his way down the steps, close enough to reach out and brush his fingers down my cheek. “Now, are you gonna help me with this alarm, sugar, or are we going to find the closest bed so I can give you a repeat performance of last night?”
“You seem a little full of yourself.” My breathing picks up as I take a few steps back, wanting to put some space between the two of us.
“Maybe, but one thing is certain”—he leans in, tilting my chin upward—“I am going to kiss you.”
“Who said I wanted you to?” I respond breathlessly, trying to wrench my chin free from his grasp.
I have two choices right now: I can bide my time and wait to see how this plays out, or I can holster my weapon and kick this asshole’s ass. I’m decent at self-defense tactics, even with him being almost twice my size, but I don’t want to take the chance that he can get a hold of my weapon.
“So, you don’t want me to kiss you?” he questions as I slowly raise my weapon, pressing it to his chest, directly over his heart.
“Not at all. But what I really want to know is how you found me and why you broke into the Buckleys’ house.” I flash him a megawatt smile as I take a step back, and he raises his hands in surrender.
“Marissa? Why the heck do you have a gun pointed at my son’s chest?” Finn and I jump apart, like we’ve been caught with our hands in a cookie jar.
“Your son?” I question, moving between Mrs. Buckley and my stalker. “I know what Finn looks like, and this is not my sister’s skinny, pimple-faced best friend.” My cheeks heat with embarrassment as I go over everything this man said to me last night.
He was coming home because of a family emergency. Mr. Buckley had a stroke about a month ago. He’s out of the woods, but he has a few hurdles to get over before we can say for certain everything is back to normal. Mrs. Buckley told my mom at the church picnic last week that her son was moving back to help her take care of the bar.
