“How long have you been doing this line of work? I never got a chance to ask you that when you drove me to my office.”
“I went to college after I left Honey Creek. It’s been about ten years now.” He was doing a good job of taking her mind off that phone call, drawing her out of darkness and into the light of his purpose in coming to see her. The Sheriff of Honey Creek County was interested in her.
“It suits you.”
Did it? She took in his chest in his sheriff uniform, his height, and even though he was flirting, he had a commanding presence.
“Being sheriff suits you.” She couldn’t believe she’d said it. “I mean—”
“I know what you mean,” he cut her off. “And I like that.”
Oh, boy…
“Why did you leave the navy?” she asked, more to divert the conversation.
“I wanted to come home.”
“You planned on running for sheriff?”
“Not at first.”
“What did you do in the navy, anyway?” How had he gone from that to law enforcement?
He hesitated and the glint of infatuation left his eyes. She wondered if this was a sore subject.
“I joined the SEALs.”
Her brow rose. She couldn’t help it. “Wow. You passed that training?”
Was he studying her? He seemed as though he was suspicious of her. Did he wonder why she’d asked? Why did it matter?
“I worked with a team for a while,” he finally answered, “but I didn’t like the travel.”
“And the danger?” Did he like that?
“That didn’t bother me so much. I was careful.”
Careful? “You sound so confident.”
“You have to be.”
“Is being sheriff of this little town enough of a stimulus for you?”
“I was young when I joined the SEALs. I don’t need adrenaline rushes to stay interested anymore. So, yes, I like what I do now. And there’s a lot to be said about dodging fewer bullets.”
“You’ve dodged bullets in Honey Creek?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
And he’d dodged them as a SEAL. “Didn’t you like being a SEAL?” He was sure acting strange about it.
“I liked it. I just wanted to come home,” he answered curtly.
She decided not to question him further on that. He obviously didn’t want to talk about it.
“When is your brother going to be released?” she asked instead.
A woman looked at them as she passed. Lily wondered if she’d heard what she’d asked.
Wes didn’t appear to notice, in fact, his tension eased. “I should have the court order in the next week or two.”
“That’s great.”
She could only imagine what it would be like to watch your brother spend so much time in prison for something he didn’t do. There would have to be some kind of effect on Damien. It had to have changed him somehow. Hardened him. Would he be dangerous?
She didn’t want to find out. Instead of continuing to question Wes, she steered clear of the more detailed questions she was dying to ask.
“You must have been pretty young when he was convicted.”
“Eighteen.”
“Is that why you joined the SEALs?” Did he want to learn how to fight? To kill? Had he planned to go after whoever was responsible for wrongly convicting his brother?
He took a moment to answer and she inwardly kicked herself for asking. She hadn’t meant to bring that up again.
“It might have had something to do with it. I never stopped believing Damien was innocent. I didn’t know what to do. Maybe I joined the SEALs because it gave me a sense of control, whereas with Damien’s situation, I’ve never had control.”
“Even though you wanted it.”
“Yes.”
“I think everyone does the things they do in life for a reason, whether they know it or not.”
“You became a librarian for a particular reason?”
“I love to read.”
“Is that the only reason?”
She had to stop herself from fidgeting. She’d admitted to no one what had led her down this path. “It’s what pointed me in that direction.”
“When did you start reading a lot?”
“It wasn’t until later, after…after I left.” Now she was getting really uncomfortable.
“It was probably a good thing you did leave.”
She just looked at him. If only he knew.
“I mean so you could find something to do with your life.”
Did he mean other than being a wild woman?
“Without the pressure of…” He seemed at a loss for words.
“I should really get back to work.”
He looked at her a moment. “Scared you away again, huh?”
“No, it’s not that.” What a lie that was. Brandon’s release was hurtling her back in time. How could she have a normal relationship with any man if every reminder made her feel vulnerable?
“Then have dinner with me. Tonight. What time do you get off?”
“Oh…that’s sweet, but…it’s just not a good time.”
“You’re shooting me down again.” He said it playfully.
“I’m afraid so.” She couldn’t help laughing. “Besides, did you know I’m forty?”
“Wow, your life is over.”
She shook her head. “You’re only thirty-three.”
“Word gets around. You’re old enough to be my sister.”
“Stop that.” But she laughed.
He grinned and she got the distinct impression that he wasn’t about to give up on her. There was something appealing about that. There was something appealing about a man who wasn’t afraid of rejection. It showed boundless ambition and self-confidence. A humble ego.
There was a time in her life when she would have jumped headfirst into a relationship with a younger man, but things had changed.
He backed away. “I’ll be back.”
“People are going to talk,” she said.
Emily had finished with the person at the counter and now watched them.
“Let them.” He backed up some more.
She wasn’t so sure, but his teasing was infectious. “Easy for you to say.”
He took another step back. “It’ll give them something else to talk about besides you.”
“Oh, yeah? How do you figure that?”
“I just got a bug in me to start reading more.”
Meaning he’d be stopping by the library more often. Her first reaction was to tell him no, but the delight he’d made her feel stopped her. She didn’t try to sway him.
Wes left the library wondering if he’d misread the back-and-forth emotions from Lily. Sometimes she flirted with him and at other moments she withdrew. Was it their age difference? He wasn’t that much younger than her. And she had good skin. Hell, he’d probably look older than her when he was forty.
He’d been trying to contact the victims’ officer ever since the morning after Lily had plowed into his truck. She’d seemed to know Lily so he’d called a friend he’d made over the years Damien had been incarcerated and asked for her contact information. The minute he learned she was a victims’ officer, he’d gotten more interested in finding out the real reason Lily had gone to the prison. But the officer had gone on a weeklong vacation the day after Lily had wrecked his SUV. He’d planned to wait to go to the library until after he spoke with her, but the truth was, he couldn’t stay away any longer. What if Lily started thinking he wasn’t interested?
He just hoped she wasn’t messed up with an inmate at Montana State Prison. She said she’d changed but…
It’d been a week. He’d call the victims’ officer again.
He drove to the west side of town and pulled to a stop in front of the Honey Creek County Sheriff’s office. Getting out, he walked into the building, passing the front counter and heading to his office directly behind that, and sat behind his desk. He leaned bac
k and let himself stare at nothing for a while, thinking about Lily. Maybe he should start to worry about how much he was beginning to like her.
The legal pad on his desk caught his eye. It was full of scribbled notes about Mark Walsh’s murder case. He’d jotted them down earlier. Some were centered around the money-laundering angle the FBI was investigating, others were on the note found on the body of the man who murdered Jake Pierson’s partner. Jake was the first FBI agent assigned to the money-laundering investigation and Jim Willis had been his partner. Since this whole thing started, Wes had gotten to know both of them. Jim had been a good friend to both him and Jake. He shouldn’t have died like that, shot by a hit man who was after Jake for information the investigation had uncovered.
The note found on Jake’s partner’s body hadn’t been signed, but it was on a special kind of stationary that had bothered Wes ever since he’d seen it. The stationary was expensive. Not just anyone would use it. He’d been all over town tracking down possible sources. One lead had taken him to the Colton ranch, where he’d found some in his dad’s office. Was that significant? Probably not. The stationary could have been ordered from an office-supply catalog. Anyone could have ordered some. It would be tough narrowing down a suspect that way. And of course, there were no prints on the paper other than those belonging to the hit man.
A knock on the open door brought his head up. Deputy Ryan King stood there. He was a six-foot lean-framed man with fine, light brown hair whose light green eyes kept the women coming around, but he never strayed from his wife.
“Come in,” Wes said.
Ryan closed the door and moved closer to Wes’s desk. “Sorry to bother you, Sheriff. I’m not one to give gossip much thought, but my wife told me something I thought you’d want to hear.”
Leaning back in his chair, Wes waited.
“She goes to that quilting group that meets in town. You know the one?”
“Yes. What about it?”
“Well, Terri said there was talk about you and that Masterson woman spending time together. Someone saw her drop you off here at the office and said you looked like you were getting along really well.”
How long before it got around he’d just left the library? Wes chuckled. Didn’t those women have anything better to do than talk about people?
“Some people take offense to you getting messed up with someone like her,” Ryan said. “You’re the law in this town. If people don’t respect you….”
“It’s been fifteen years since Lily left this town.”
“That doesn’t matter. It’s your integrity in question.”
“She isn’t the same person. She’s grown-up now. People will see that after a while.”
“But if you continue to see her…”
Now he was beginning to get annoyed. “It’s just talk.”
“People are wondering where you were with her, where you could have met her.”
“It doesn’t matter how or where I met her.” He looked pointedly up at his deputy. “I could have met her anywhere in town before that.”
“I’m sorry, I know it’s none of my business. It’s just…your reputation.”
“I’ll worry about my own reputation, but thanks for letting me know.”
“Come time for reelection…”
Wes looked up from the pile of papers on his desk and lifted his brow.
Ryan frowned, but relented.
When his deputy had left, Wes couldn’t focus on the mound of work he had to do. Maybe he should pay more attention to what the town was saying. What if something got around that would hurt Lily? What harm would it be to use Ryan as a way of monitoring the gossip? He didn’t care what was being said, but Lily did. And that was reason enough for him.
He picked up his phone and dialed Ryan's extension.
Chapter 3
“You’ve got one of the best pair of blue eyes I’ve ever seen.” Levi Garrison came into step beside her. “Has anyone ever told you that?”
May Masterson rolled those blue eyes that were so like her mother’s and didn’t slow down on her way to her next class. Levi easily kept up with her. He was tall and had a long stride.
“I’m serious. I meant to tell you that the other day.”
“When you were making fun of my mother?” Jerk.
“Yeah, well, about that…”
“Say anything smart and I’ll knock your front teeth out,” she said without looking at him. He was one of the most popular boys in eleventh grade. He was a football player and active on committees. He was smart, too, but not as smart as her. May knew her GPA was higher than this yokel’s.
“I’ve been meaning to apologize for that. You took it all wrong anyway.”
“How else am I supposed to take it when someone asks me if I’m as good as my mother?”
“That wasn’t me. I didn’t say that.”
“No, you said I was prettier.”
“You are.”
She sent him a glare.
“You took it wrong. I wasn’t after you that way.”
“You said I had a nicer tail.”
“I was just havin’ fun. Who cares if your mom was easy when she was in high school? That was a long time ago.”
May stopped and curled her hand into a fist. She raised it and brought it back for good momentum.
Levi caught it as she began to swing. Her fist fit into his hand.
His green eyes flared with something hot. “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to make you mad.”
“What do you care?”
He made the mistake of letting his gaze fall to her chest before meeting her eyes again.
She pushed him with her free hand. “Leave me alone, you jerk!”
“Hey.” He let go of her fist. “I’m trying to be friends here.”
“I don’t want any friends.” Not here anyway. She missed her friends in Sacramento. No one called her a slut there.
She pivoted and marched down the hall again, dodging other students, bumping someone’s shoulder. A girl narrowed her eyes at her as they passed each other. May flipped her off.
Levi took hold of her wrist and pulled her to the side of the hall, twirling her smoothly. Her back came against a locker, but not hard at all. Levi was agile in the way he handled her. She didn’t want to like that about him.
He put his hand on the locker above and beside her head and leaned closer. “I said I was sorry.”
Her breath got stuck in her throat.
He leaned back and offered his hand. She looked down at it and back up at his cute face.
“What do you want?”
“Your friendship.”
“That sounds like a line.” Except he seemed sincere. Wouldn’t it be great if one of the most popular boys in school liked her? “What do you really want?”
“To take you out. But that can wait. I’ll settle for being friends for now.”
“And once we’re friends? Then what? You try to get into my panties?”
“No. I’m not after you like that, I told you.”
“I don’t believe you.” But she wanted to.
“Just start by taking my hand. If all you can offer is hello in the halls, that’s fine by me.”
She eyed his hand again. What harm would it be to accept his apology? She could be reasonable. It felt good to have someone on her side for a change.
But what if he wasn’t? What if he was just playing her? What if this was some kind of joke?
“Come on. I won’t do anything drastic. I promise.”
Deciding to give him a chance, she gave him her hand. He grinned as he shook her hand.
“You’re gonna be late to class,” he said, still smiling as he strolled down the emptying hall.
She watched until he disappeared into a classroom and then started to turn to head for hers.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
May stopped and saw Sherilynn McTeague and one of her friends standing nearby. Sherilynn had long, blond hair and lig
ht brown eyes. She was a pretty girl in a prissy sort of way, and, like Levi, one of the most popular kids in school. But not so bright academically.
She was also Levi’s girlfriend.
“Last I checked this was a public school,” May said. She wasn’t afraid of this prom queen.
“You stay away from Levi.”
“Yeah,” chimed in her friend, a slightly chunky, short-haired girl with big cheeks. “Go find your own boyfriend.”
“Levi isn’t my boyfriend. We were just talking. Not that it’s any of your business.” May turned to walk to her classroom.
“Careful how you talk to me, ho,” Sherilynn called to her back.
Anger fired up in May like wind over a brush fire. Ho? Slowly, she pivoted, tensing as she moved closer to the two.
“If you’re looking to get laid, do it with somebody else,” the girl continued. “There are plenty of other boys who’d love to oblige you.”
“Yeah,” her chubby friend said. “Like mother like daughter. Isn’t that what they say about people like you?”
Stopping, May’s temper flared hotter. She was sick of holding her head high and not reacting to these unwarranted barbs like her mom always told her to do. She’d hold her head high all right. After she kicked both of these girly-girls’ behinds.
Fisting her hand, she slugged the chubby girl right on the mouth. The girl’s head jerked to the side and she stumbled backward, nearly losing her balance. See if she talked nasty ever again.
Sherilynn shoved May against one shoulder. May had to take a step back, but now she turned her attention to this girl. She swung her fist again, catching the side of her head. Then she hit lower, aiming for the soft part of her stomach. Sherilynn grunted and pulled May’s hair. May yelled and slapped her hard across her cheek. Sherilynn stumbled and bumped into the chubby girl, tripping over her feet and falling. May stepped over her, meaning to straddle her and keep hitting, but the chubby girl pulled her by the arm. May yanked free and backhanded the girl on her nose. The girl retreated with a screech and held her bleeding nose.
Sherilynn was starting to sit up and climb to her feet. May lifted her foot and planted it against her chest, shoving her back to the floor. Then she straddled her and started slugging. See if she smiled pretty for any guy for a while….
The Librarian’s Secret Scandal Page 4