The Sheriff (Men of the White Sandy Book 5)

by Sarah M. Anderson

  Dr. Mitchell stepped in a little bit closer and dropped her voice. “If you have any questions, just let me know. I know what it’s like to be the outsider here.”

  “But I’m not an…” The protestation died as Summer looked around again. She didn’t fit in here just because Leonard had been her father and Georgey was her brother. One trip to the reservation did not give her bona fides.

  An overwhelming sense of loss snuck up on her. Why hadn’t she come back sooner? Well, she knew the answer to that—there was no way in hell her mother was going to bring her. And then she’d gotten busy with life—college, getting a job, teaching.

  She turned her attention back to Dr. Mitchell. “Thanks,” she said, smiling widely. “I appreciate it.”

  Dr. Mitchell gave a brisk nod and turned back to the clinic. “Jenna? We have patients waiting.” The young woman in scrubs gave a brief nod before throwing a half-smile back at Jack.

  Summer glanced over and found Georgey watching her. He hadn’t answered the question, she realized—did he remember her or not?

  Then she caught Tim Means watching her as well.

  And that brought up a whole different set of questions.

  Chapter Four

  Summer Collins was not what he’d expected. Even now, watching her watch her half-brother, he couldn’t stop staring at her. At her freckles. They fascinated him in a way he never would’ve expected. There was a resemblance between her and Georgey—more than enough to make it clear they were related. But Summer was also clearly white. Her eyes were a soft, beautiful hazel and her hair so light it was almost dark blonde. And there were those freckles, scattered across her cheeks and nose like sprinkles on an ice cream cone.

  She was beautiful. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d looked at a woman and seen nothing but beauty instead of a problem he needed to manage or situation he needed to contain. She looked much as she had sounded—sweet and gentle and maybe a little delicate.

  “Can I go now?” Georgey said sullenly. Which described the last week and a half. Sullen.

  He asked Summer, but she turned to Tim. She had a hell of a body. She was much shorter than Georgey, but they had the same lanky frame. Except on Summer, it wasn’t lanky at all. Her body was lithe and slender and her jeans hugged her hips.

  “Sheriff Means?”

  Crap, he was staring. He turned back to the hole in the wall. “I don’t see a window yet,” he observed.

  “This is bullshit,” Georgey muttered under his breath.

  Before Tim could tell the kid to watch his mouth, Summer swung back on him and suddenly she looked ferocious. “You will watch your mouth, young man. I do not tolerate that sort of language.” It didn’t come out harshly, but Tim felt the weight of her words.

  The expression on Georgey’s face was one step removed from an open snarl. “Or you'll what? Report me to the principal? You’re not my mom.”

  Tim took a step forward, but Jack put his hand on Tim's arm to hold him back.

  Summer’s eyes narrowed. She jammed her hands on her hips and scowled up at Georgey, who had the good sense to look cowered. One of these days, the boy would learn to hold his tongue.

  “I am your sister and your elder and you will not speak like that around me.”

  Not bad, Tim thought. She might just have the stuff to make this work.

  “You can’t tell me what to do,” Georgey said. This time, Jack didn’t hold Tim back.

  “I can leave you here,” Summer said before Tim could get to the kid and throttle him. She glanced at him and notched an eyebrow. “Sheriff Means made it clear that he has plenty of work for you.”

  “I sure do,” Tim said as Summer launched a smile at him that did some mighty funny things to him. He wasn’t used to women smiling at him. Most of the time, people were not happy to see him. Even women who were getting beat up by their drunk, abusive men weren’t happy to see him. Yes, they wanted the beatings to stop, but they didn’t want him to arrest their partners.

  He didn’t have the time to moon over a pretty lady—especially not one who was probably only going to be here for a couple of days, tops.

  “Man,” Georgey groaned and then he picked up the putty knife and went back to work on the window frame.

  Tim shot a look back at Jack, who was grinning like a coyote. He pointedly glanced at Summer, then back at Tim, raising his eyebrows in question. Jack was a hell of a tracker but the man was a prankster through and through. Tim scowled a warning and moved over to where Summer was watching Georgey work. “Can I talk to you—privately?”

  Was it his imagination, or did her eyes darken slightly as she turned her face up to his? “Sure.”

  They headed back toward the cars, but then Jack called out, “Awáŋič’iglaka yo.” Watch yourself with her. Half of the waiting room started chuckling, which caused Summer to turn back and give him a questioning look.

  He was going to find himself down a deputy if Jack didn’t knock that shit off. “Níš-eyá taŋyáŋ awáŋič’iglaka yo, Jack,” he shot back. You watch yourself instead. Clarence, the male nurse, snorted in amusement. A few of the older ladies gave him a smile. One older man gave him a thumbs-up.

  Great. Just freaking great. Was his attraction to her that damned obvious?

  “Is everything okay?” Summer asked, her eyes wide. She gave no indication that she understood, which was for the best, all things considered.

  “Fine,” he said through a tight smile. “Shall we?”

  If the clinic had a window, he might have talked to her there. But currently, there was nothing separating the inside from the outside, so it was pointless. Tim led the way back to where their cars were parked at the end of the lot, far away from eavesdropping ears and smart-mouthed deputies. He leaned back against the hood of his cruiser and crossed his arms. “As you can see, he’s got a little bit of an attitude problem.”

  Summer laughed, a light sound. “I teach ninth grade English at a city high school. Attitude problems are what I deal with all day long.”

  Tim couldn’t help but grin. From the way she’d reacted during their first phone call, he’d been afraid she wouldn’t be able to handle this. But he should have known she’d be tougher than that. “So what do you want to do?” The question hung in the air and Tim realized what he’d said. “About Georgey, I mean.”

  Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  He tried again. “Where are you staying tonight?” he asked, although he already knew what the answer was going to be.

  Color came into her cheeks. “I was going to try and find a hotel,” she said, sounding sweet about it. “But I’m beginning to think that’s not going to happen.”

  He didn’t even try to hide his grin. When was the last time he’d grinned at anyone? His was not a happy, smiling kind of job. “The nearest hotel is about an hour and a half away, in Wall. It’s not a bad drive, but it is a drive.” He waited for a moment, but she didn’t say anything else. She just looked at him with those big wide eyes of hers and he fought the urge to stroke his thumb over her freckles. “You’re more than welcome to do that, but if you’d rather not…”

  “I was in the car for a long time today. I’m not sure I want to spend another three hours in it every day.”

  Was it his imagination, or had she leaned closer?

  No, dumbass. It was his imagination.

  “Did you have any suggestions?” As she said it, she dropped her gaze and then looked up at him through her thick lashes.

  Hell, yeah, he had some suggestions on where she could spend the night. But he had to be a responsible human, like always. “You’re more than welcome to crash at my place.”

  Her eyes got real wide and she stiffened and he knew it had come out wrong, so he hurried to add, “I’ve got a nice place—and a bedroom with a door.”

  He wouldn’t have thought it possible, but her eyes got even wider.

  Could he screw this up any more? “I’ll take the couch.” That was what he should have said first bu
t he wasn’t in the habit of inviting women back to his place. “Georgey has been crashing on it, but it won’t kill him to sleep on the floor for a couple nights. I’ll put clean sheets on the bed and everything.”

  He didn’t like feeling anxious about things. He was a decisive guy who made snap judgment calls all the time. He’d long ago learned to trust his instincts when the shit hit the fan. But this wasn’t a life-or-death situation and his instincts were muddled by a pretty girl.

  “Oh… Is that…” Her voice trailed off and she looked confused. Which didn’t help anything.

  He was talking again before he knew what he was going to say. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d talked this much. “I know it may seem weird to you, but people crash all the time here. Especially during the winter, it’s not uncommon to have five or six people sleeping on the floor. We’re all family, after all.”

  She dropped her gaze to the ground and looked embarrassed. He’d said the wrong thing again.

  “I don’t think I belong in this family,” she said in a small voice.

  He didn’t like it.

  “I mean, I came to the reservation for a pow wow when I was twelve and that was it. Georgey doesn’t remember me and why would he? I don’t know anything about this place or the people here. I don’t even know if I have any other living relatives—and even if I find them, I don’t know what to do about them.” When she looked up at him, he saw so much more than just confusion. He saw longing and loneliness and heartbreak and it cut right through him. “My own brother doesn’t know me—half-brother, that is. I didn’t even know my father was dead. I don’t know if I belong here.”

  He moved. He couldn’t help it. He cupped her cheek in his hand so he could lift her face and look her in the eye. “None of us can change the past,” he told her. Against his will, his thumb moved over the smooth skin of her cheek, over that dusting of freckles.

  She sucked in a little gasp of air as her eyes went wide again.

  “But you do belong here. No matter where you go or who you are, you belong here. If you don’t want to stay with me, I can find someplace else for you. Dr. Mitchell has an extra room—but she’s married to the medicine man, so there might be people sleeping on the couch there, too. If you come home with me, you have a chance to get to know your brother. And he is your brother, Summer. There is no half about it.”

  “You really believe that? That we’re all family?” She hadn’t pulled away from him—but she hadn’t leaned into his touch, either.

  “I do. Time and distance don’t change that.” He hadn’t realized his head was moving until her eyes got even wider. His face was only a few inches away from hers.

  This was beyond stupid. This was sheer insanity.

  He forced himself to step back. But he couldn’t bring himself to apologize for almost kissing her—or touching her. So he didn’t. “It’s going to take a few days to sort out what to do with Georgey and I don’t want to let him go until he’s fixed the window.”

  She blinked at him then shook her head, as if she were trying to clear away a fog. He knew exactly how she felt. “Does he have anyone else? Are there any other family members that I don’t know about?”

  The truth was, there were a few. But she wasn’t going to like the answer. “There are some of his mother’s people, but most of them are in jail. And the ones that aren’t shouldn’t be given guardianship of a boy.”

  She gave him a long look. “Did you put them there? In jail?”

  It almost felt like she was judging him—which was how everyone else on the reservation looked at him. It helped push away any thought of kissing her. Above all else, he had a job to do. And nothing—not even a beautiful woman with freckles—could keep him from that job. “I did.”

  Something in her face seemed to shutter. It hurt to watch—but the hell of it was, Tim couldn’t have said why. This was how people treated him, after all.

  Then she looked at him again, a new resolve tightening her gaze. “I think I’d like to get to know my brother. If you don’t mind…”

  “Not at all.” Knowing she'd be sleeping in his bed? Nope, he didn’t mind a single bit. He thought back to the panicked look on her face when he’d first gotten out of his cruiser and walked up to her car. Damn that Nobody. So he added, “And my house is the safest place on this reservation. I won’t let anything happen to you while you’re here.”

  They stared at each other and Tim had that strange feeling, at least at this one thing, they were equals.

  Then Summer stuck out her hand. “We have a deal?”

  “That we do.” He wrapped his hand around hers but he didn’t exactly shake it. He just held her tight.

  And then he forced himself to let her go.

  Chapter Five

  It was the oddest thing, knowing she was going to go home with this man and being unsure if there was anything else to his offer—the one about him letting her use his bed. While he slept on the couch and Georgey took the floor.

  It felt more like a slumber party than something carnal, she thought as she filled out yet another piece of paperwork at the White Sandy police station.

  But then there’d been that moment when he’d stepped into her, touched her face and leaned down like he wanted to kiss her.

  That moment had been way too short. And since that moment, Tim Means had been nothing but a sheriff. He’d brought her back to the station, set a huge amount of paperwork before her and handed her pen. He’d shown her Georgey’s rap sheet and filled her in on all the times he’d arrested her brother. He’d done so in a detached way that was almost clinical—which didn’t mesh with the way she’d seen him treat Georgey at the clinic.

  Because there, she’d seen the frustration in his face that she sometimes saw in parents’ faces in meetings that usually involved the principal, the school counselor, psychologist, and a security guard or the police.

  Tim Means was worried about the boy. Summer supposed that was encouraging. Georgey did have an impressive record. He was the kind of kid who was right on the edge of being written off by society.

  Tim hadn’t written him off yet.

  However, that didn’t mean she knew what to do next.

  She was actively filling out paperwork to become Georgey’s legal guardian and the thought absolutely terrified her. Once this paperwork went through, he would be her responsibility. Not a problem, but responsibility.

  A huge responsibility.

  She was going to need someplace else to live—a place that had two bedrooms and preferably two bathrooms.

  She had absolutely no idea how to tell her mother she was coming home with her half-brother. It was all well and good for Tim to go on about how they were all family and she would always belong here, but that didn’t change the hard fact that Linda Collins regretted marrying Leonard Two Elks. That didn’t mean Linda didn’t hold Georgey—and his mother—responsible for the end of her marriage.

  Summer wondered if her mother regretted having her. She didn’t think so, but there had been all those things she had said right before Summer left…

  Summer reined her mind in and focused on the paperwork in front of her. “Do you know if he has a birth certificate or Social Security number?” she asked Tim, who was sitting at the desk opposite her. She glanced up and found him staring at her, his dark brown eyes intense and warm, like a summer day right before a storm hit. She felt caught in his gaze, unable to look away even if she wanted to.

  She wasn’t sure she wanted to. There was something she could almost reach out and grab hold of between them.

  Tim got up and came around his desk to stand beside her. She could feel the warmth from his hip close to her shoulder—but not touching. He leaned down and started flipping through one of the files that he’d set on the desk in front of her. “I think I might have his number in here somewhere,” he said, his voice low and deep. Or maybe that was just because he was so close to her now.

  She remembered one of the things she plann
ed to do this summer and couldn’t because suddenly she was in charge of a seventeen-year-old boy—a summer fling. Something short and sweet and hot and very satisfying. She’d planned on going to summer concerts in Minneapolis and art gallery openings and museum talks and movies with some artistic and sensitive man by her side.

  She wasn’t going to get that, not now.

  But the summer fling part…

  “How long do you think it will take until the paperwork resolves itself?” Surely someone had to approve all this paperwork, right?

  Tim stiffened next to her. “Anxious to get out of here already?” he said in a joking tone that hit Summer’s ears a little funny.

  “No, actually,” she said, leaning toward him. He was an attractive man—okay, he was just flat-out hot. He took care of Georgey and he had come for her when she was lost, and there was that something between them. Summer decided to grab for it. “I pretty much canceled all my summer plans. But if I’m going to be here for a while, I don’t want to take advantage of your hospitality.”

  Tim pivoted so his hip rested against the desk as he stared down at her. He arranged his face into something that looked studiously uninterested. “What sort of plans did you cancel?”

  “I was supposed to teach summer school. No one likes teaching summer school,” she added with a grin, “but I have student loans to pay off and it was either that or get a part-time job in retail. And I hate retail.”

  He hooked his thumb in his belt loops. God, he made that look so good. “We have a pow wow in three months—if you want to stick around that long. But I understand if you can’t afford to take the time off.”

  She shrugged. “My loans aren’t going anywhere and this feels…important. I was here for a pow wow about fifteen years ago, you know? It was the last time I saw my dad and it was the only time I’ve been on the reservation. I feel like maybe I’ve missed out on something and…”