by Debbie Mason
A car honked at her and then another one did. She waved them on, edging toward the side to give them room to pass as she continued scanning the cars and trucks lining the road.
A black monster truck parked in front of the sheriff’s department caught her eye, and she blinked in surprise. But not half as surprised as when a car plowed into her from behind.
Chapter Eight
As soon as Adam walked into the office of Christmas’s sheriff, Jill Flaherty-Anderson, he knew he’d been set up. Which was why, before he’d even sat in the chair across from her, he said, “The answer is no.”
Jill pretended to be surprised, but she was fighting a smile. “All I said was it’s good to see you.”
“Right. And it’s good to see you too. Congratulations on your very obvious pregnancy. I hope you’ve got a replacement lined up, because it won’t be me.”
His grandfather and Nell had been after him to move home to Christmas from the moment his eyes had opened after surgery. So when they’d called him two days ago, professing their fear his cousin Rick was up to no good and begging him to speak to Jill on their behalf, he had a sneaking suspicion they were playing on his protective instincts. Now he had evidence they were sneakier than he’d given them credit for.
Jill tapped on her keyboard and turned the monitor. On the screen was an application with his name on it. “I figured it was too good to be true. But you got the job, in case you’re wondering.” She filled him in on the compensation package. “I’m only taking four months off, if that makes it more palatable.”
“I appreciate your confidence in me and the offer, but trust me, I’m not small-town-sheriff material, Jill. I’ve put down roots in San Francisco.”
“Nell thought you could use a change of scenery after the shooting. I’m really sorry about your partner, Adam.” She nodded at Zeus, who lay by the door. “Nell mentioned you adopted his K-9 partner. How’s he doing?”
He didn’t have a choice. On his dying breath, Manuel had exacted the promise from him. At the time, Adam hadn’t known if he himself would make it. He’d taken a bullet to the stomach; Manuel had taken one to the chest. They’d just gotten back to the courthouse. Manuel had been teasing him about Sophia seconds before all hell broke loose.
Adam glanced at the dog, who didn’t react to Jill’s voice. Lethargic and despondent, he barely did anything but sleep. “He’s not good. It’s like he blames himself—and me—for not saving Manuel.”
Zeus was the reason Adam had finally given in to Nell and Calder’s plea to come to Christmas. He thought the change of scenery might do the dog good. “So, do you have legit concerns about Rick? Or was that just an excuse to get me in here?”
“It’s more Nell and Calder’s concerns than mine, but given Rick’s history, there is a possibility they are legit. I just don’t have enough evidence to confront Rick or to talk to his parole officer.” She smiled. “And full disclosure, I may have mentioned you were better suited to handle this than me. You’re the expert at this end of the justice system.”
He was decidedly less confident in his abilities since the shooting. He blamed himself for not locating the shooter before he got off a round. In his defense, the area had been crowded, with multiple places to hide. But he’d eventually taken the shooter out before he hurt anyone else.
“Full disclosure on my end, I’ve been keeping tabs on Rick since he was released,” Adam said. “I’ve checked in with his parole office and the halfway house before he moved into the apartment on Main Street. As far as they’re concerned, he’s doing everything by the book. He would though. Rick is a smart guy and happy to bide his time to get what he wants.”
“And what does he want?”
“His share of the lodge. He believes my side of the family stole his inheritance. So, in his eyes, the snowmobile that went missing, the ski equipment, and the petty cash are rightfully his. Nell mentioned that he has a YouTube channel, and she thinks he’s beginning to make some cash, so that’s a step in the right direction. He was always motivated by money, and it’s not like he’d have an easy time finding a job around here.”
“Yeah, I’ve had some complaints about his channel. It’s called The Truth Behind Small Towns. Sounds like he’s airing Christmas’s dirty laundry, only he’s changing the names of the parities involved.”
“He wouldn’t happen to be blackmailing anyone with their dirty laundry, would he?”
“You see, that’s exactly why you would make a great sheriff. I—” A knock on her office door interrupted Jill.
Suze, the dispatcher, opened the door and poked her head inside. “Sheriff, you’re needed out front. Sophia—”
From the outer area came a torrent of Spanish curse words. “It is not my fault he rear-ended my car!”
As Adam and Jill came to their feet, Zeus lifted his head from his paws.
“She stopped in the middle of the road!” an unfamiliar man’s voice said.
“I pulled to the side and put my flicker on.”
“What the hell is a flicker?”
“A flicker, you know.” She made the sound of the signal light.
Jill moved past Adam, who stood stunned in the doorway after catching his first glimpse of Sophia. She had serious bedhead and looked librarian sexy wearing a pair of glasses, but her fuzzy bunny slippers paired with a pink trench coat took the look to laugh-out-loud territory. And given her current mood, he didn’t think she’d appreciate him laughing. He did though. He hadn’t felt like laughing since before the shooting.
He leaned against the doorframe, crossed his arms, and settled in to watch the show. The heavyset bald man stared at her, gave his head a slight shake, and then looked at Jill. “What are you people thinking, issuing this woman a driver’s license? She’s wearing bunny slippers.”
Adam felt a warm weight against his leg and glanced down. Zeus had come to stand beside him. It was the first time the dog had moved without being told, and even then, he took his sweet time.
“Yeah, but on the other hand, she got herself a pair of glasses. They look good on you, Soph. Now, why don’t we take this…” Jill trailed off.
Adam looked up from Zeus to catch the moment Sophia clued in to his presence. Her face softened, and her eyes got shiny behind her glasses. “Adam,” she whispered just before rushing over to throw herself into his arms. “I was so worried about… Ack,” she squeaked and shuffled backward. “What’s that?”
“Okay, I see how it is. Her boyfriend is a deputy, so everyone looks the other way.”
“He’s a US Marshal, and he’s not her boyfriend. He’s her brother-in-law,” Jill informed the guy.
“Is that right? Well, her husband might want to borrow her glasses because it’s obvious there’s something going on—”
Jill, who like Adam, was watching the interaction between Sophia and Zeus with interest, said, “Suze, can you take the gentleman’s statement, please?”
The guy muttered something about suing and preferential treatment as he followed Suze to her desk.
“Soph, this is Zeus. He won’t hurt you.” Adam reached out to stop her from backing into the corner of a desk. “Come here. Let him smell your hand and get to know you.”
“It’s okay. He knows me. He licked me.”
“Yeah, and trust me, that’s a pretty big deal for him. I think your accent reminds him of his handler, Manuel.”
“That’s nice. Can you put him away now?” Zeus moved toward her, and Sophia stumbled in an effort to get away from him. “Adam,” she said, a tremor in her voice.
“Zeus, sitz.” Sit. He walked over and crouched beside the dog, who had yet to make up his mind if he was going to listen to Adam. “Sorry. I was so intent on Zeus, I didn’t realize you’re really afraid of him. This is the most interest he’s shown since Manuel died. He was his K-9 partner. They were together twenty-four seven for years.”
“Manuel, was he your friend, the partner who died in the shooting? The one who took your phone on Valen
tine’s Day?”
“Yeah, that was Manuel.”
“I’m very sorry for your loss, Adam. Yours too, Zeus.” She leaned in to gingerly pat the dog on the nose. When she pulled back her hand, Zeus nudged her. Sophia dutifully patted him again. Though when she stopped for the second time and ignored the dog’s insistent nudge, Zeus stood up on his hind legs, put his paws on her shoulders, and licked her face. “Adam.”
He was so stunned at the change in Zeus that it took him a moment to react. “Sorry. Zeus, plaz.” Down. Once again the dog took his sweet time doing what he was told, but eventually he sat at Sophia’s feet, staring up at her adoringly.
“Damn pregnancy hormones,” Jill said, wiping her eyes. “The poor dog was in a deep depression before he met you, Sophia. Now he’s happy and in love. Looks like you might be staying in Christmas after all, Adam.”
“You’re moving to Christmas?” Sophia asked while inching away from Zeus, who inched along with her.
“No, I’m not, and I have to get going. Can I take you home? It sounds like your SUV is headed back to the body shop.” Then he remembered who her boyfriend was and tamped down the same flare of jealousy he’d felt on Valentine’s Day. “No doubt Jake is coming to get both you and the car, so I’ll—”
“Why would he? The tow truck is taking my SUV to Jake.”
“I thought you guys were dating?” Adam wondered if Sophia and Jill heard the hopeful note in his voice. He prayed they didn’t.
Jill snorted. “She went on one date with him. Her first and last date of the next century. Isn’t that what you told Ty, Sophia?”
“Yes. Dating is for young people.” She wouldn’t look at him and tried not to look at Zeus either.
“Right, ’cause you’re so old. And just FYI, rumor has it that Ty put up a profile for you on Match, and he’s been fielding your requests. You’ve had forty so far, but none of them have been Ty-approved,” Jill told her.
Sophia made an irritated sound, and Zeus stood at attention. Eyes widening behind her glasses, Sophia took a step back. “What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s reacting to the sound you just made and looking for a threat.”
“I am looking for a threat too. His name is Logan Dane.”
“What’s my brother done now?”
“He has arranged an assignation with Autumn, and I am going to catch them in the act…Not that act. I don’t want to catch them in that act. I want to confront your brother once and for all and tell him how much he’s hurting my best friend with his games. But I slept in, and I’m running late, so I have to get going.”
“Okay, so that explains why you look like you do. I was actually a little worried about you,” Jill said.
“Soph, where are you going?” Adam called to her when she went to walk away with Zeus following after her.
“To Sugar and Spice,” she said over her shoulder. Catching a glimpse of Zeus behind her, she quickened her pace. It didn’t do her much good, as the dog did the same.
“Zeus, heir.” Come here.
“Uh, Sophia, you do remember you have bunny slippers on your feet, right?” Jill said. “And I’m almost afraid to ask, but you do have clothes on under that trench coat, don’t you?”
“Of course I have clothes on,” Sophia said, clearly ticked off because the words rolled off her tongue and into one another. She unbelted her trench coat and held it open.
“Whoa, you definitely have the naughty in Naughty and Nice down. Can you maybe put a pair of those pj’s away for me for after I have the baby?” Jill glanced at him. “You might want to close your coat before Adam has a heart attack.”
Chapter Nine
Sophia opened the door to her house, and the dog and Adam followed her inside. “Are you sure Nell doesn’t know where Autumn and Logan are?” she asked him.
After the truck towed away her SUV, Adam had driven her to Sugar and Spice. Autumn wasn’t there, and there was no sign she had been. She wasn’t in the apartment upstairs either; nor was she answering her cell. Sophia couldn’t shake the feeling there was more going on than an early-morning booty call.
“Nell swears she doesn’t know where they are. Gramps says the same, and so did the kids. And it’s not like there was a reason for them to lie. I said I was checking in because we had plans to go fishing.” Closing the door behind him, he looked around. “Nice place, Soph. Might be a good idea to lock the door when you go out though.”
“I usually do, but I was in a hurry.” She lifted a slippered foot as evidence, and the dog came over to sniff it. She would have preferred he stayed in the truck while she changed, but she felt sorry for him. As sorry as she felt for his new owner.
The loss of his friend and his own near-fatal injury had taken a toll on Adam. He was pale, the angles of his handsome face more pronounced, but it wasn’t just the physical changes that concerned her. His reflexes were off. In the past, he would have been between her and Zeus before the dog had taken a step in her direction. She didn’t think his surprise at how Zeus responded to her explained it away. There was more going on than he let on.
“I won’t be long.” Sophia pointed to the kitchen. “If you want something to eat or drink, the kitchen is in there, and the living room is that way. You can sit on the couch, but you stay on the floor,” she told the dog as she removed her trench coat. Catching a glimpse of the look on Adam’s face as she hung it in the closet, she rolled her eyes.
Ty had given her the adorable pj’s as a joke gift when he’d found out about her brief stint as a Playboy Playmate. She’d been Miss January. A job the Danes had never let her live down. Still, she didn’t allow herself to regret the decision. The money had paid her college tuition after all.
But it wasn’t like she was parading around in a merry widow and a thong. The lingerie set was hardly risqué. The pink camisole imprinted with the Playboy logo and pink tap pants decorated with tiny bunny ears covered all her parts.
“Some women would wear this outside in the summer, and no one would bat an eye.”
Adam scrubbed a hand over his beard-stubbled jaw. “Pretty sure you’re not one of those women, Dimples.”
Suddenly conscious she wasn’t wearing a bra, she turned and walked to the stairs. “Go to Christmas’s Facebook page and ask if anyone has seen Autumn and Logan.”
“To do that, I’d have to be on Facebook, which I’m not.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “Twitter?” He raised an eyebrow. “Instagram?” He raised the other eyebrow. She sighed and gave him her Facebook log-in information. “I’m an administrator on Autumn’s page, so you can access hers through mine. Check Instagram too. Autumn posts all the time. But be careful who you like or respond to. People will think it’s me.”
“Got it. I promise not to try to pick up hot women.”
“If you do, I’ll tell Yvonne.”
“You’ll have to do better than that. Yvonne and I ended things in January.”
The girl she used to be cheered, and so did the woman she was now. Although she wished she’d known sooner. Yvonne was the reason she’d stayed away from San Francisco. She’d been afraid the judge would see through her. She’d pictured them laughing at his brother’s silly widow and her pathetic crush. “I’m sorry. She seemed perfect for you.”
“Yeah, well…Zeus, heir. Come here.”
Sophia bowed her head at the clicking of nails on the hardwood floor. Adam called the dog again, but the clicking continued unabated.
“What is it with you and this dog?” Adam said as he came to get Zeus.
“Typical male. They always want the woman who doesn’t want them.” She shouldn’t judge. She was a silly woman lusting after a man who’d never wanted her. “It’s okay,” she relented when Adam tried once again to get Zeus to come, feeling some empathy toward the animal, who now bounded up the stairs ahead of her. “But you’re not coming in my bedroom.”
“I promise I’ll get him out of there so you can change. He just needs to make sure you
’re safe before he can relax.”
“Okay.” She stood beside Adam outside her bedroom, watching the dog at work. “I didn’t get a chance to make my bed.”
“This isn’t the same setup you had when you were married to Bryce, is it?” he asked in a tone of voice that made his thoughts on her overly feminine room perfectly clear.
“No. I decorated it for me, and I love it.” Her gaze moved fondly over the mirrored bedside tables and dresser, gray velvet headboard and bedframe, and pink bedding and chandelier. “It makes me smile every time I walk in my room.”
It was true. Though, ever since New Year’s, she’d been fantasizing about Adam standing right where he was now, looking at her bedroom with that same half smile on his face. Only in her fantasy, he didn’t lean on her doorframe for long. He swept her into his muscular arms, carried her into her room, tossed her on her bed, and then covered her with his big body.
“I’m glad it makes you happy, Soph.” He held up his phone. “I should get on this.”
“You’re not pretending to help like last time, are you? You really are trying to find Logan and Autumn?”
“Like I told you at New Year’s, I agreed to keep you occupied but never got a chance. Nell, Ty, and my grandfather took care of that all on their own. Couldn’t pretend then and can’t pretend now that I’m mad at them for setting us up though. I enjoyed spending New Year’s with you.”
“I enjoyed spending it with you—” She broke off when the dog jumped on her bed. “Zeus, down. Now.” He got off immediately and came to her side, sitting at her feet. “I wish all men listened as well as you. Okay.” She waved both the dog and Adam off. “I’m getting changed.”
“You have anything casual?” he asked as he glanced doubtfully in the direction of her open closet. “Jeans, maybe? I have a feeling my brother took Autumn on an adventure, so we’ll be taking one of our own if you want to find them.”
“How adventurous?”
His mouth lifted at the corner. “Horseback riding, hang gliding, white-water rafting. That kind of thing.”