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“Oh. Right. That would be great.”
After we exchanged numbers, I turned and practically ran out of Starbucks before she had a chance to stop me again.
CHAPTER SEVEN
AIDEN - ELKS AND WOMEN
Pullingup behind a group of people parked on the side of the road, I jumped out of my truck. “You’re too close, folks. I need you to back up. Please, let’s remember these are wild animals.”
The two guys halfway down into the meadow started walking back my way. I smiled, but what I really wanted to do was knock the hell out of them. No matter how many times we told people not to approach the wildlife, they did it anyway. Even after hearing stories of other people being attacked by animals, they risked it all for the possibility of a viral video or photo. No thought for their own safety or that of the animals.
“Just trying to get a better picture,” the one man said.
“The posted signs are clear. After four in the afternoon, all meadows are closed. You can get your picture just fine back here, or up at the observation area.”
“Ain’t nowhere to park there,” the other guy said with a smirk.
I shrugged. “Well, if you walk into the meadow again, I’m going to ticket you. We clear?”
They both nodded, grumbling as they made their way back to their Jeep.
Sometimes I wondered why in the hell I did this job. Each year, the number of tourists grew, and we dealt with more and more stupidity. People thought they could ignore the rules, or that they obviously weren’t meant for them. It was exhausting. Those two guys were exactly the type who would sneak back in here and try to hunt.
After they pulled away, I climbed back into my truck and made my way to the station. I didn’t sleep hardly at all last night.
When I got home and saw Emma giving Hadley a bath, I nearly fell to my knees. She was the only woman besides my mother whom Hadley had let in since Lisa’s death—and with Emma, their connection had been instant. From the moment she saw the woman, Hadley was taken with her. Then again this morning, watching them make breakfast together nearly gutted me. It was too much.
I was tempted to tell Emma to leave. That Hadley and I could do it on our own, and we didn’t need her strawberry-filled pancakes or her packed lunches—with a damnnoteincluded in said lunch, telling me to have a great day.
My head dropped back against my chair. I didn’t move when I heard the tap on my door and Dalton’s accompanying voice.
“You okay?”
“No.”
“Rough day?”
“Rough night, rough day. Tourists who don’t want to listen. A nanny who puts notes in my lunch, wishing me a good day. I don’t think I can do this, Dalton.”
Lifting my head, I watched my best friend shut the office door before sitting down on the opposite side of my desk. Whenwe were younger, we had both wanted to be cops. In the end, I went in that direction, and Dalton went in another and became a biologist. We did make our dream of working for the national park a reality. It didn’t matter that I was his boss; we were best friends, and he’d been there for me always. From Lisa getting pregnant and her parents guilting us into getting married, to Lisa losing the baby, to later having Hadley. He stood by me as I fought to keep my marriage going, when I decided it was time to let it go, and through all my conflicted feelings when I lost Lisa to cancer.
Now he was here for me again.
“Aiden, let me ask you something, and I want you to answer me honestly. You said last night that when you first saw Emma, something happened. What did you mean? You never finished explaining.”
I stared at him. Last night, I had almost admitted to being attracted to Emma from the moment I saw her. When she called me Ryan and scrunched up her nose in a freaking adorable way and asked for a do-over on the introductions. But something else had happened. I’d felt something in my chest I hadn’t felt in years, and honestly never thought I’d feel again.
The feeling was different than what I’d felt the first time I saw Lisa. More intense.
It was a complete and utter shock. Even the two one-night stands I’d indulged in since Lisa’s death hadn’t made me feel anything. That was just sex. A way to rid myself of some stress and anxiety. Neither time had meant anything.
But one look at Emma Middleton two days ago, and I couldn’t get her out of my head.
“Nothing,” I lied. “I mean, it’s just a strange feeling, knowing she’s living in my house.” Guilt swamped me. I never lied to Dalton.
He nodded. “Is that why you were in a bad mood when you showed up this morning?”
“I guess. Seeing her in the kitchen making breakfast, and Hadley so taken by her. I mean, she bonded with Emma almost instantly. I just don’t want her to forget her mom.”
