by A. J. Pine
She pressed the opening of her cup to her lips and hummed as her tongue caught the first taste. There was nothing like the first sip of coffee in the morning.
“I thought I tasted cinnamon when I kissed you,” Cash said softly.
Olivia coughed, almost spitting the hot liquid all over the floor.
He took a long, slow sip from his own cup, then let out a satisfied-sounding sigh.
Right. He knew how she tasted—and she him. Who the hell was the Olivia who’d kissed a stranger last night—twice—and was now wondering when she’d get to do it again?
They hadn’t spoken much after Lucinda’s. He’d simply walked her next door and made sure she got back into the B and B okay. They’d decided on ten for this morning and then they’d said good night—with no further lip-locking.
But she was watching him drink his coffee now, and coffee drinking involved lips. She knew her focus today was the letters, but Sheriff Cash Hawkins had a mouth that was very distracting.
“What?” he asked.
“Huh?”
“I ate a donut on the walk over. I got chocolate on my face or something?”
“No!” she blurted. “I mean—wait, the cop-and-donut thing is for real?”
He rolled his eyes. “I like donuts. Who doesn’t like donuts? The people-and-donut thing is for real.” Still no trace of a Sunday morning smile.
She shrugged. “I like donuts.”
He lifted a white paper bag she hadn’t realized he was holding in his other hand. Probably because she’d been staring at his lips. “Chocolate cake, chocolate frosted. From Baker’s Bluff. Best donut you’ll ever taste.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Here I thought I was taking care of you this morning, but you show up with a donut. I can’t beat that.”
He scanned the quiet foyer. “Everybody still asleep?”
She shook her head. “There are a few people in the kitchen. A few left already on a wine tour. And then there’s me.” She grinned, taking in the wood floors, the wainscoting on the walls. “This place is so charming. I’ll have to tell Gran and Pop about it. Maybe they’ll come back for their anniversary.”
He scrubbed a hand across his jaw. “When do they hit forty-eight?”
She grinned because that’s what thoughts of her grandparents did. They made her smile. Gave her hope when she thought her well had run dry. “A few months. Just after the new year.”
“Hmm,” he said, brows pulling together.
“What?” She waited while he sipped his coffee, as he seemed to contemplate the best course of action for his response.
“Well…It’s just that they’re selling.” He turned toward the curtained front window and grabbed a sign leaning against the glass—a sign she hadn’t noticed last night in the dark. A sign that said FOR SALE.
“Oh.” The one word was all she could muster. Because after her inauspicious arrival—after coming up empty-handed at Lucinda’s apartment—now there was this perfect place that would soon be no more.
Cash cleared his throat. “I didn’t realize the bed-and-breakfast meant so much to you—seeing as how you’ve been here one night and all.”
She groaned and grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him out of the foyer and into the sitting room to the right.
“Look,” she said, pointing straight ahead.
“It’s a fireplace,” he remarked without a hint of emotion.
“And knotted pine floors, and that adorable love seat, and the rocking chair where I came up with the brilliant idea to see if I could get into Lucinda’s apartment. I’ll have you know that I did ring the bell. I don’t know what possessed me to try the doorknob. No. I know. It was desperation. But the point is—” She groaned. She didn’t know what the hell the point was. She just knew she hated the thought of this place going away before Gran and Pop got to see it.
“I mean, I like the DaSilvas as much as the next guy, but they’ve been making preparations for retirement for the past few years. Both their kids are grown and ended up in Arizona. As soon as they hand over the deed to the place, they’re moving into a condo in Phoenix.”
She peeked into the kitchen where the older husband and wife team, Rose and Marcus, had been cooking breakfast alongside two newlyweds. The younger couple was sitting at the breakfast bar eating, while the two owners slow-danced to a country song that was playing from a Bluetooth speaker.
Rose waved. “Olivia! Stay out of trouble today, huh?” Then the woman winked. “Mornin’, Sheriff.”
Cash smiled in Rose’s direction, his eyes crinkling so that Olivia knew the gesture was genuine. She wondered how long a person had to know the man before they elicited the same response. Sure, he’d laughed in the police truck yesterday, but it had been at her expense. That didn’t count.
“Mornin’, Rose. Marcus.” He gave the two a friendly nod. “Any bites on the place yet?”
Rose beamed. “We just got an offer on Friday. Waiting to see if the buyer’s loan gets approved.”
Olivia swallowed. “We should go,” she said, tugging at Cash’s wrist again. But this time he didn’t budge so easily.
She waved good-bye to the kitchen congregation and sped back toward the foyer and then out the bed-and-breakfast’s front door.
She paced the sidewalk, stopping when the breeze sent such a chill through her the only remedy was another sip of coffee.
Cash finally appeared several seconds later.
“You want to explain what that disappearing act was all about, or should we just head to the Everett ranch?”
She thought about answering him. There was no logical spin to put on the idea, but then again, she doubted he saw her as anything close to logical after the way she blew into town, knocking laws over left and right when she’d never so much as gotten a detention in high school, let alone ended up handcuffed inside a police vehicle.
“I just feel like it’s all a bunch of signs pointing toward me being too late.”
“Too late for what?”
She shrugged. “For finding what I’m looking for. It’s like Gran and Pop’s story disappeared, you know? Her house isn’t her house anymore. The letters are probably gone. And now this amazing bed-and-breakfast that totally captures the charm of Oak Bluff—where they could have celebrated the best love story ever—won’t even be a bed-and-breakfast anymore. I just think it was probably a mistake—running here.”
She wrapped both hands around her coffee cup and brought it to her lips—both to keep herself from fidgeting and to stop herself from unloading any more of her baggage on a man who gave up a quiet Sunday to help her find what she came looking for.
“Here’s the thing, Olivia Belle. I don’t believe in signs, only intent. And you did run here. The question is, do you intend to go home with those letters?”
She nodded slowly, lips still pressed to the small opening on the to-go lid.
“Then don’t you give up before you’ve even started.”
Her eyes widened and she lowered her cup, studying him. “You sound just like her.”
Cash drained the rest of his coffee, dropped the cup into a street recycling receptacle, and crossed his arms. “I sound like a her? Can’t say I’ve ever been told that before.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head with a small laugh. “You sound like Gran. After my first couple of failed relationships in college, she started giving me the third degree whenever I began dating someone new. Those were her words when she met Michael.”
“The fiancé.”
“The not fiancé. Look, he’s a good guy with a good job, and he was good to me.”
He cleared his throat. “That’s a hell of a lot of good.”
She waved him off. “But he’s not the right guy. And I’m not even the right woman. It’s just that you might be right. I could truly be unfixable.”
He brushed a rogue curl out of her eye, his fingertips skimming the length of her face. “I mighta said something about being a little broken, but I sure as hell never
told you that you needed fixing, and anyone who ever gave you that idea is a damned fool.”
Her breath caught in her throat, and for the first time since they’d met—albeit less than twenty-four hours ago—she was at a loss for words.
“Now, let’s go find us some letters,” he said, holding out his hand.
She placed her palm in his, and he gave it a reassuring squeeze. And in that instant, Olivia Belle’s heart did something it had never done before.
It skipped a whole beat. Either this strange man was getting to her in ways no one had before, or she was in need of medical attention. She wasn’t quite sure which scared her more.
Chapter Six
Cash knocked on the screen door, but the main door was open. So when no one answered, he took it upon himself to enter. It wasn’t like he was an unexpected guest. He’d texted Jack Everett late last night after he’d caught Olivia breaking and entering, and Jack had been more than happy to help.
“You can just do that, huh?” Olivia asked. “Walk into other people’s homes when the door’s unlocked and not call it breaking and entering. Is that a sheriff thing?”
He held the screen door for her. “No. It’s a friend thing. Last time I checked you and Lucinda weren’t friends.”
She huffed out a breath. “I didn’t realize someone with as pleasant a demeanor as you had friends. And I bet if Lucinda met me and got to know me, we’d be BFFs in no time.”
His brows furrowed, and she groaned.
“Best friends forever?”
He stared at her absently.
She jutted her chin out as she stepped through the door, and he had to bite back a grin. Of course he knew what the letters stood for, not that he’d ever uttered them in his life. It sure was fun to mess with her, though. And she was right about Lucinda. She and Olivia would be fast friends if they ever had the chance to meet. Lucinda had a soft spot for things that were strange or different yet still beautiful in their unique way.
That was Olivia Belle. Strange. Different. And absolutely beautiful. He was on dangerous ground, even though it was the same earth he’d traversed for the better part of his life.
“Jack?” he called out as they headed down the short hallway toward the kitchen. “I think I’m a few minutes early, but—”
They both stopped short in front of a kitchen table lined with slices of cake—and a half-dressed Luke Everett—the middle brother—blindfolded, his arm in a sling while he was being fed a forkful by Lily Green.
Cash cleared his throat.
Lily yelped while Luke simply chewed the food that was in his mouth, removed the tie covering his eyes, then gave Cash and Olivia a sly grin.
“Mornin’, Sheriff. Who’s your friend?” He raised a brow.
“Sheriff!” Lily said, with a little more enthusiasm than he was used to seeing from her. “I was just—I mean, Luke was helping me pick a cake for the wedding.”
Cash narrowed his eyes. “You two are getting married?”
“Hell no!” Luke said.
Cash wasn’t judging, but Lily and Tucker Green had just finalized their divorce.
Lily narrowed her eyes at Luke, then laughed nervously. “No. Luke and I are not getting married. But my ex-husband is. To Sara Sugar. From that Food Network show, Sugar and Spice? Right. You don’t watch television. Anyway, Tucker’s getting married, and I’m happy for him, and I’m sort of catering the wedding.”
“What?” Olivia blurted. “I’m sorry. I don’t know you, and that was rude of me, but—what? You’re catering your ex-husband’s wedding?”
Lily bit her lip and nodded. “I know it sounds crazy, but I need the job.”
“And she agreed to it before she knew whose wedding it was. Not that I didn’t try to stop her.” Luke put his coffee mug down on the counter and swiped the fork out of Lily’s hand. “If you all are going to keep on talking about Lily’s excellent decision-making skills, I’m just going to take care of the cake.” He dug the fork into the hunk of cake and stuffed it into his mouth.
“You’re an asshole sometimes. You know that?” Cash said.
Luke just raised his fork in a gesture of cheers and kept on eating.
“Jack in his office?” Cash asked Lily.
She shook her head. “Is he supposed to be? Ava just went to meet him and Owen for lunch.”
Cash pulled his phone out of his pocket to double check his texts, then cursed under his breath.
“What is it?” Olivia asked, and he could hear the doubt seeping into her voice.
“Nothing,” he said. “Just missed a text from Jack. He took his son Owen to the park for some pitching practice this morning, and now it looks like they’re meeting Owen’s mom, Ava, for lunch. He was going to dig up some deed history on your grandma’s house since I can’t find the record of sale from before Lucinda purchased it. Jack’s a contract attorney, and he’s got a buddy in real estate who might be able to track it down. He says he’s sorry if he put us out and that he’ll email me what he finds this afternoon.”
Olivia’s shoulders sagged.
“Hey,” he said gently. “It’s not a sign.”
He glanced back to Luke and Lily who both looked like they were guilty of something, but of what he wasn’t sure.
“Heard about the rodeo last night,” Cash said to Luke. “Bull threw you pretty hard.”
Luke’s devil-may-care grin faded. “I got—distracted,” was all he said, and Cash could tell not to press the issue.
“You got any horses need working out since I take it you’re out of commission for a bit?”
Luke’s jaw tightened. After his brothers, Cash knew riding was the most important thing to Luke Everett. Being benched wouldn’t be easy for him.
“Yeah,” Luke said. “Cleo and Bella are always good for a workout.”
Cash nodded toward Lily. “You make sure he stays put.”
“Oh, I’m not here to—I mean, I was supposed to do the cake tasting with Ava.” Her face brightened. “Do you two want some cake? I’m sure Luke would love the company.”
Luke mumbled something Cash couldn’t quite make out. And as good as some of Lily Green’s homemade cake sounded right about now, he somehow felt like he and Olivia were intruding.
“We’ll take a raincheck,” Cash said.
“I’m Olivia, by the way,” she said.
“Lily,” the other woman said. “And this ray of sunshine is Luke. You new in town?”
Olivia shook her head. “I mean, yes. I am new, but not staying. Just visiting—and trying to stay on the right side of the law. It was nice to meet you both.”
“I’ll hold you to that raincheck, Sheriff!” Lily said as they turned toward the door.
“That’s what I’m hoping,” he called over his shoulder, and they were out the door a few seconds later.
Cash led her toward the stable. He was going to make sure this morning wasn’t a loss as far as Olivia giving up hope. “I know what you’re thinking,” Cash said when they were a good distance from the ranch.
Olivia’s cheeks were pink, and she was smiling. “You mean that there was some major sexual tension happening during that cake tasting?” She put finger quotes around cake tasting.
“You are aware that there was actually cake. And Luke did seem to be tasting it.”
She raised her brows. “So you didn’t notice it.”
“No.”
She took a step closer to him, and he could swear the crisp October morning grew warmer with her approach.
“You didn’t feel the heat? Or you like to pretend that kind of thing doesn’t exist?”
He cleared his throat. He knew that kind of thing existed. He knew damned well. But yeah, he was pretending right now. Real hard. Not with Luke and Lily, though. Whatever was going on there was none of his business. The problem was that whatever heat Olivia had noticed back in that kitchen, it had followed them to the stable. And now it was just him and her.
“We’re not here to talk about heat,” h
e said. “And apparently we’re not here to talk about the deed to your grandma’s house. At least not yet.”
She moved in closer, that heat he didn’t want to acknowledge melting the space between them, and he knew she felt it, too. “What are we here for, Sheriff?”
He could tell she was trying to be coy, but there was a slight tremor in her voice that mirrored the erratic rhythm of his pulse.
He was here to clear his head. That much was true. “We’re here so I can show you Oak Bluff the way it’s meant to be seen—on the back of a horse.”
On the back of a horse? “Whoa there, Sheriff. Slow your roll. I don’t ride horses. I’m from San Francisco. I ride trolley cars. Sometimes I even ride Ubers—”
“And sometimes you ride a canary yellow Bug way too fast in a town that moves at a much slower pace.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Horses don’t move at a slow pace.”
The corner of his mouth twitched, and she gasped dramatically.
“What now?” he asked.
She stepped closer and was even so bold as to touch that spot where his bottom and top lips joined, inspecting it, eyeing it with scrutiny.
He wrapped his hand around her wrist, but the touch was gentle—not full of the force she knew a man of his stature was capable of.
“I was just seeing if this thing worked,” she said. “I mean, other than when you’re laughing at my expense.”
He rolled his eyes. “I smile.”
“Mmm—no. You don’t. You’re that strong, silent type, so stoic, burying your feelings. I mean, if you have them.”
He sighed and lowered her hand, but he didn’t let go. “I’m having a feeling right now,” he said dryly.
She laughed. “I bug you, don’t I?”
“Yes. Because you’re stalling. Come on.”
He tugged her toward the stable door, and only because he’d now laced his fingers with hers did she not resist.
“Oh!” she said when he opened a stall door to reveal a gorgeous caramel-colored horse. Gorgeous and huge. How did anyone even get into the saddle without a ladder?
“Olivia Belle, meet Cleo. Cleo…” He stroked a hand down her mane. “Meet Olivia. You two are going to get to know each other rather well today.”