by Morgan Fox
“I’ve learned that there were some narcotics-related issues as well.”
“Not with me,” she quickly corrected. “I’ve never done drugs. Sadly, I can’t say the same for my brothers.” Her heart sank in her chest. “Sheriff, I really am trying to start over. Any family I had is long gone. No one knows I’m even here. I’m trying to forget that part of my life. It was never who I was or what I wanted.”
Clay leaned back in his chair and eyed her for what felt like an eternity, and then he said, “Ms. Myles, I’m going to have you take a basic math and reading test. If you pass, I’ll give you an opportunity to prove yourself.”
She sucked in a sharp breath, her heart beating so hard from excitement she thought it might spring from her chest at any moment.
He held up his hand, stopping her from speaking. “You need to be aware that this is a probationary period. You are to show up on time for every shift, work all your hours, and prove that you truly want this job. I will not risk hiring someone I cannot trust or rely on one hundred percent of the time. There will be no exceptions.”
His words were harsh but fair. “Oh, I will, Sheriff Garrett. I promise.” Eagerly, she asked, “When can I take the skills test?”
Clay reached in his drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper. “How does now sound?”
Her tummy did a funny little flip. “Great.”
Handing her the paper and a pencil, he directed her to a desk where she could take the test. The problems were not difficult at all. Basic math and comprehension questions, nothing she couldn’t handle.
Twenty-five minutes later, she finished and returned to the sheriff’s office, handing him her test. Without hesitating, he took the paperwork from her. “Please, have a seat,” he gestured toward the chair across from his desk.
She sat.
Red pen in hand, he began scoring it. Quickly he reviewed her work. She couldn’t watch as he graded her, fearing she had embarrassed herself thinking she was smarter than she was. Her breath caught in her throat as he placed the pen down on his desk.
Clay rose and extended his hand to her. “Congratulations, Ms. Myles, you passed the test. Your first shift will begin Monday morning at 8:00 a.m. sharp.”
Practically jumping out of her chair, she said, “Thank you so much, Sheriff. You won’t regret this.”
Then Clay froze, and his once soft and pleasant expression faded from his face. Now, as she studied him, he looked as though he’d been kicked in the balls and was prepared to unleash hell on the person that did it.
Following his stare, she finally came to see who had drawn his attention so vehemently. Stone McGraw had made his appearance just in time for her to leave.
Turning back to Clay, she stood and extended her hand. “I look forward to working with you, Sheriff.”
Shaking her hand, he said, “We’ll see you on Monday.”
Exiting Clay’s office, she slowed her pace as she stepped past Stone and whispered, “Good luck.” By the tumultuous expression on Clay’s face, he was going to need it.
Chapter Four
Clay’s eyes widened as he stared at the unexpected vision from long ago. Never in a million years had he ever imagined he’d see his childhood friend again. Flashes from a distant past flooded his mind, images of what had transpired between them so vivid they had his jaw tightening and flexing under the pressure of his grinding teeth.
“Stone McGraw,” Clay announced gruffly, stepping from his office and heading toward the front counter where Delilah and James now stood. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Stone arched a black brow, and his dark gaze lowered momentarily as if searching for the inner strength to say what was on his mind. Then, he said clearly, “I’ve come to see you, Garrett.”
“Why?” he snapped.
Casting a quick glance to the people around them, Stone cleared his throat. “Can we talk in private?”
Clay eyed him curiously, tossing a look to both Delilah and James, who stared at him with unease. Neither knew Stone, and with good reason. Clay never mentioned him, and right now he really didn’t want to speak with him either. He had nothing to say to the man who had filled his young life with more misery than he cared to remember.
Truth be told, he hadn’t considered the events that had occurred between them so very long ago. He had too much to live for in the present.
Clay inhaled a chest full of air and released it. “Follow me,” he said, spinning on his heels in the direction of his office. Rounding his desk, he stood with his palms pressed firmly to the walnut-colored furniture. “Please tell me you haven’t come all this way to reminisce about the deeds of young men.”
Stone closed the door and moved to stand on the other side of Clay’s desk, folding his arms over his chest. “I didn’t come here to fight. I came here to apologize.”
Clay snickered. “Apologize? What exactly are you apologizing for?” The idea of the arrogant Stone McGraw apologizing for anything left him speechless. Perhaps miracles really did happen. Or he needed money.
Stone pressed his lips together tightly and then said, “For being a serious asshole to the one person who was my best friend and the only person who stood by me when everyone else shit on me.”
Clay eyed him for a long moment. That was not what he thought Stone was about to say. It shocked him, but not enough to give a shit. “You should have thought about that when we were teenagers.”
Stone raised his hands as if pushing back air. “I know,” he said sadly, his voice raw with emotions.
Clay stood to his full height and crossed his arms over his chest, one hand coming up to scratch his chin. “Should I feel bad for you, Stone? Should I give a rat’s ass that you now have regrets for what you did?” Clay dropped down into his chair and kicked his feet up onto the desk. The first wave of tension had passed, and now it was just a conversation between men, strangers with familiar faces. “The only thing I feel right now is confused as to why you are standing in my office after almost fourteen years.” He scanned over Stone’s posture, a very military posture, and freshly shaven head. “I figured out that you joined the Marines. I had always assumed you’d never leave.”
Stone flashed a shy grin, and a flicker of pain shined deep within his eyes. “I would’ve enjoyed a lifelong career as a soldier, but unfortunately that was not my destiny.” He rolled up his sleeve and showed the burn scars that covered his right forearm and bicep. The burn scars traced up his neck and onto the right side of his face. “My men and I were ambushed.” He swallowed hard.
“That’s unfortunate,” Clay said, locking eyes with Stone. His heart thumped heavily in his chest, but he refused to show an ounce of sentiment. “I still don’t get why you are now standing in my office. You could’ve saved yourself the bus fare and simply put it in a letter.” Clay was not about to make this easy on him, nor was he about to feel sorry for a man who had disappeared from his life like the night disappears from the day. Stone had been his friend, but that friendship had been easily dismissed.
Stone’s arms dropped to his sides. “I know what I did was a big mistake. I should’ve told you what was going on in my life, but—”
“But what?” Clay spit out.
Licking his lips, he said, “I couldn’t tell you that I was jealous of you, that I wished I’d had your life.”
Clay’s lips curled up. “What?”
Stone’s hands flung to his hips, his posture slowly losing its stiffness. His shoulders slouched forward. “Come on, Clay, you know better than anyone how great your life was growing up. Your family had money, while mine had nothing. You had girls falling all over you, while I had none. The only girls who wanted me were the kinds of girls you didn’t bring home or marry.”
“What about Catherine? Was she someone you’d be embarrassed to marry?”
“No,” Stone quickly answered.
Clay’s booted feet dropped to the floor, and he leaned forward on his desk. His eyes were hot as he stared hard at Ston
e. “Then why her? Why did you take advantage of her? Why did you break her heart, fuck her, and then walk away as if she meant nothing to you?” Clay rose from his chair, his pulse ramping up once again. If anything, he deserved to punch Stone square in the mouth for treating his kid sister the way he had. “Stone, I can forgive you crashing my car, but hurting her was unforgivable.”
Stone never broke eye contact as he said quietly, “I know it was.”
Clay scoffed, his shoulders rising and falling from his heavy breaths. “Why did you leave without saying a word to me?” He stared hard. “How could you just walk away without talking to me?”
Stone’s eyes watered.
Never in Clay’s life had he expected to see his old friend resurface, and he certainly hadn’t expected him to seek forgiveness or truly appear remorseful. The young man he once knew would never do such a thing. Stone had been cocky and sarcastic but never apologetic.
“I told you. Besides being a young, adolescent jackass, I was jealous and angry. I hated my life. I wanted a life I could be proud of, and I figured I had to do it on my own.”
Clay’s brows rose up high on his forehead, and the tension pulled at his skin. “So you joined the Marines?” Did he have a death wish? Was his life so bad that he had to run away to war?
“I couldn’t take another moment of being compared to you.”
Clay’s face shifted, eyes narrowing, nose scrunching, and his mouth formed an O. He couldn’t hide the surprise of his words. “Who the hell was comparing you to me?”
“Everyone!” Stone barked, his voice jumping up an octave.
Clay couldn’t believe the excuse he was using. Did he really believe such nonsense? “That’s just ridiculous.”
Eyes rolling in his head, Stone made a sound that was something between a laugh and a muffled groan. “You didn’t see it, and that was one of the many reasons I decided to leave without telling you.” Stone slowly sat in the chair beside him. “My good-for-nothing parents abused the shit out of me. If I didn’t make every team you did, I was beaten. If I didn’t make the same grades you did, I was beaten.” He cleared his throat. “Clay, I was a scrawny kid back then who was never going to make any athletic teams, and let’s face it, there was no way I was ever going to make great grades in school. My parents didn’t even have money to buy school supplies for me, how was I ever going to fucking study without the needed materials to do so?” Stone ran a stiff hand over his peach-fuzzed head. “Life in the McGraw household was no Sunday picnic. A blind person could see that.”
Clay’s throat squeezed. He knew his friend’s life had been hard, but he hadn’t realized it had been that hard. Maybe he hadn’t been the best kind of friend as kids, after all. If he had, he would’ve done something. What, he had no idea, but he would’ve, and that’s the point. “If you asked me, I would’ve tried to help you.”
“How could you have helped me? All you could’ve done was confirm that your life was indeed better than mine and that once again the mighty Clay Garrett had to rescue poor little Stone.” He shook his head. “No, Clay, that was not going to happen. I was going to make my own rules, and I was going to save myself. That was why I stole your car, slept with the prettiest girl I could find, and joined the military without saying a word. It was my eighteenth birthday, and I was getting the fuck out as fast as I could.”
Clay studied Stone. The once-scrawny kid was nowhere to be found. Before him was a fierce-looking man full of muscle and strength, but now he was also a man with the need for others. “What took you so long to come find me?”
Stone chuckled. “I had to get blown up and choke down my pride. As awful as it was, being attacked may have saved my life.”
Clay was overcome by the mental images of his friend burning alive. He wouldn’t wish that kind of torture on any human being. “In what way?” he asked softly.
“Lying in a hospital bed, wondering if I was going to live through it all, and not knowing if anyone would care if I lived or died made me very well aware that I caused the pain in my life. I figured out, perhaps a little too late, that the jealousy I felt had nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. I did have the power to change, and I really didn’t have to do it on my own.” Stone’s voice shook as he spoke. Glancing up, he said, “Clay, you were all I thought about. I wanted to find you and make things right. I didn’t want to die alone, not when I still had a brother somewhere out there.” Locking gazes with Clay, he paused a long moment before he finished his thought. “I’d like for you to get to know the man I am today. I’d like a chance to right my wrongs.”
Clay had always been a hard-ass and a stickler for the rules. Even with all that, he’d never been called cold or unfair. Smiling to himself, he heard Delilah’s voice as she described him as, “A big teddy bear with a gun.”
Meeting his gaze head-on, he asked matter-of-factly, “Do you plan on buying me a new car?”
Stone chuckled. “If that’s what it takes, then sure.”
Clay shook his head. “I’m not going to promise you anything, but I’m willing to get to know you again.”
Stone smiled, leaning forward in his chair.
Clay walked around his desk and took hold of Stone’s hand in a fierce handshake, pulling him close as he said, “I hope I won’t have to shoot you.”
Stone grinned, slapping Clay once on his back. “Yeah, me, too. That would suck.”
* * * *
Stone studied Clay as he grabbed a file from his desk and walked to the cabinet beside him, yanking it open. Shoving the file inside, Clay asked, “How long are you planning to stick around?”
His stomach swished and rolled. His nerves were still very much alive and kicking. Deep down, he hoped that everything went well and Clay accepted him back into his life, and if that happened, he’d stay until hell froze over. Things had to work out between them. He really didn’t have any other place to go. Sure, he could set up shop anywhere, but he wanted to be close to family, and that meant being near Clay.
He also couldn’t ignore how incredible his afternoon had been with Gracie. She’d been a sweet little temptation that a man could get used to sampling.
Stone cleared his throat. “As long as you don’t pull a gun on me.” He grinned. “I’ll be sticking around for a good long while.”
Clay chuckled, leaning his shoulder against the cabinet. “What are you going to do for work?”
“A lady at the diner said there was a ranch looking for someone to help out.”
Clay screwed up his face. “You want to be a ranch hand?”
He shrugged. “Sure, why not?” I know absolutely nothing about ranching. They’ll never hire me, but I still have to try.
“Ever rode a horse? Or scooped up shit?” His tone was laced with humorous intent.
“Does human shit count?”
Clay frowned.
Laughing, Stone murmured, “Never mind.” He kicked his boots out in front of him and crossed them at his ankles. “To answer your other question, no, I’ve never ridden a horse. Care to give me a lesson?”
Clay sighed. “Actually, I think my friend Hunter is more equipped to help you with your riding skills. His family owns Paradise Ranch, but now Hunter helps out on Delilah’s ranch.”
Stone practically jumped out of his seat. “Holy shit, Paradise was the name the waitress mentioned.”
“Madeline?” Clay asked.
He snapped his fingers. “Yeah, that was her name.”
“That’s Hunter’s mother.”
Stone huffed out a breath. “Damn, small-town living is going to keep my ass honest. That’s for sure.” He had no doubt that everyone would know he was new in town, and the moment he left the station, everyone would know who he was and why he was there.
“How do you mean?” Clay asked.
“Everyone knows everyone.”
Clay chuckled as if knowing exactly what he meant. “You’ll get used to it.”
Gracie’s face suddenly flashed in his m
ind. Her sweet jasmine scent lingered on the chair he sat in. A vivid picture of her luscious body splayed out on the table in front of him filled his thoughts, and he quickly found himself shifting in his seat. “Hey, before I forget, did you offer Gracie the clerical job?” If I’m sticking around in this town, I sure hope she is, too.
Clay narrowed his brows. “How do you know Gracie?”
“We arrived on the same bus, and we…” Stone’s guilty gaze drifted up to meet Clay’s. He hadn’t meant to add that last part that clearly would be understood. One thing he knew was that Clay was not an idiot. He’d comprehend exactly what he meant even if he didn’t speak the words.
Clay’s hands dug into his hips, and a deep, heavy scowl etched across his forehead. “Jesus, Stone, did you sleep with her already?”
He shrugged, scrunching up his face.
Clay blew out an exaggerated breath and shook his head. “Well, that’s gonna leave a mark.”
“What’s gonna leave a mark?”
Inhaling deeply, Clay told him, “It’s really not my business to share. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Stone observed Clay’s body language, and his nervous glance out his office window toward the desk just outside. He didn’t need a road map to follow his directions. “Right,” Stone said, smiling. “I hope he doesn’t have plans of trying anything with Gracie.”
“Who?” Clay asked, trying to sound genuinely unclear.
Stone hiked his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the front of the station. “The person who thinks she’s available.”
“So she wasn’t just a one-night stand for you then?” Clay asked with a snicker.
He shrugged. “I’m not sure, we’ll have to see.”
Glancing down at his watch, he noted the time. “I better head over to the ranch before it gets too late.” He rose from his chair, but before he left, he told Clay, “Tell your deputy to keep his hands off Gracie.”
Clay frowned. “I never said it was my deputy.”