Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Ryland
“Damn, Sheriff,” Emmanuel says when I lay down on the bench press. “What’s gotten into you?”
Henry whistles as he comes over to watch. Cara too. Even Santino takes off his big noise-cancelling headphones and joins the group.
We’re all in the weight room in the back of the precinct for our traditional Monday morning workout. It’s something we’ve been doing for years. It was meant to be a team building exercise, but we usually just end up talking shit and making fun of each other.
“I didn’t know you could lift this heavy,” Santino says as I grip the bar.
“I’ve lifted heavier than that,” Henry says without a hint of irony in his voice. The man is a long way away from lifting this heavy with his beer gut and all that extra weight he’s carrying. Being married has made him soft.
Emmanuel snorts out a laugh. “Give me a break, Henry. You couldn’t even lift that bar if those weights were made of foam.”
“Guys,” Cara snaps. “Let the boss concentrate.”
Everyone watches as I lift the bar with a grunt. It bends under the tremendous weight, but it doesn’t break as I slowly raise it up and down.
My muscles are screaming. My heart is pounding. I just grit my teeth and focus on pushing this bar. Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down.
“Holy shit,” Santino whispers as he watches.
I was up all night. I don’t think I slept a wink.
That girl…
She did something to me.
Something I don’t quite understand. I’ve gone through five decades of life and met all kinds of girls. Every size, shape, and personality possible and I’ve never even been tempted. Not once.
But this girl… This angel… She’s imprinted herself on me. She’s under my skin and in my heart. She’s taken over every thought I have.
I’m… obsessed with her.
My Ellie.
“Nine,” Cara counts as I lift the bar up and down. “Ten. Eleven.”
I have so much adrenaline coursing through me, I have to get it out somehow.
I tried jerking off last night, but that just made it worse.
After the third time, thinking of her, I realized it was pointless.
It just made me feel more lonely. It just reminded me that she wasn’t there.
That I’ll never be complete without her.
I do two more reps and then slam the bar down on the rack. The whole thing shakes as my squad erupts in cheers and exclaims of disbelief.
“Not bad for an old man,” Henry says, slapping my shoulder as I sit up.
Normally, I wouldn’t even think twice about a comment like that, but today, it stings. Old man.
Damn. Am I too old for her?
What was she? Twenty-seven? Twenty-eight?
I’m fifty-two. We might have twenty-five years between us. Is that too much?
Does age even matter when two adults have a connection?
I know that if she was twenty-five years older than me, I’d still want her. Nothing would quench my thirst for this girl. Nothing.
“Is that a personal record?” Cara asks, counting the plates on the bar.
“Doubt it,” I say with a shrug of my jacked shoulders. “I used to be a beast in my twenties.”
“He used to be,” Emmanuel says with a laugh. “Sheriff, I think you are still very much a beast.”
“Watch this,” I say as I grab some more weight and slide it onto the bar. If these guys want a show, I’ll give them one. I’ll show them what an ‘old man’ can do.
“What the fuck?” Santino whispers as I lay down and start lifting.
“Seriously, Sheriff,” Cara says, watching in awe. “Did you get bitten by a radioactive spider or something?”
I just ignore them all, staring at the ceiling, but only seeing her, as I lift up and down, up and down, up and down.
I looked her up last night. There were a few stunning pictures of her on the Angelic Divine website. I must have stared at them for hours.
My arms start to shake as gravity begins to win out. Emmanuel grabs one end of the bar and Santino grabs the other. They both grunt as the three of us lift up the bar and place it on the rack.
Everyone stares at me in awe as I stand up and take a sip of water. I roll my shoulders and shake out my arms. I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and damn, I do look jacked. My muscles are pumped to the max and I’m bursting out of this sleeveless workout shirt.
I try to imagine myself through the eyes of a twenty-eight year woman.
I’m tall and muscular with tattoos that I think are pretty cool.
Maybe my hair is too gray. There’s a lot of black in it, but maybe too much gray?
When the hell did that happen? Damn, is there like a dye or something I can fix it with?
I sigh as I run my hand through it. I’m not into the whole beauty scene. I’ve never stepped foot into a salon and I wouldn’t know what to do if I did. I’ve had the same barber—Ron—for the past thirty years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him dye someone’s hair.
Cara is on the treadmill, so I wander over and hang out beside her while she jogs.
“That was so impressive,” she says. “I can’t wait to tell Graham how much you lifted.”
I grin, knowing that’s going to bother the hell out of my arch nemesis. Let the fire chief try to lift that without tearing something.
“Hey, what do you think about my hair?” I ask, keeping my voice low so the guys don’t hear.
“Your hair?” Her eyes dart up to the top of my head. “What about it?”
“Is it too gray?”
“No,” she says, looking confused. “It looks good. Wait, is this about that girl from yesterday?”
“What girl?” I say, trying to sound calm and casual even though my heart is suddenly racing.
“That harp player,” she says with a grin. “The one you kept staring at.”
“No,” I say, backing away. “That was for… a… work, and…”
“Sure, Sheriff,” she says with a chuckle as I get tongue tied. “You have nothing to worry about with your hair.”
I’m about to tell her how she has it all wrong, when Santino calls my name.
“Sheriff,” he says as he comes back from the front. “There’s a girl here to see you.”
My stomach drops. No way… It can’t be…
I head to the front with my insides vibrating like crazy. If she’s here, I don’t know what I’m going to do.
Warm desire floods through my body as I turn the corner and see her. Ellie is standing in the reception area with a white box from the Warm Loaf Bakery looking more radiant than even my most vivid dreams can conceive.
Our eyes meet and it’s like my whole body comes alive. It feels right. It feels like I’m finally whole. Like I’ve finally arrived home after a long arduous trip.
Her blue eyes widen as she looks at my exposed arms and jacked chest. Maybe I should have put a shirt with sleeves on, but I kind of like the way she’s holding her breath as she checks me out. I’m not feeling so old now. Not with the way she’s looking at me.
With her eyes distracted, I check her out too.
She’s wearing blue jeans that cling to those delicious hips in the most mesmerizing way.
My mouth waters as I drag my eyes up to her tight white shirt, her beautiful breasts doing their damnest to steal all of my attention.
I have to force my eyes off them before she thinks I’m as bad as Cooter.
She’s so beautiful. I can’t get over it. Her golden hair is loose today, glimmering and shining as it catches the sunlight pouring in through the front windows. The silky locks frame her flawless face. Perfect skin, luscious lips, and the most captivating blue eyes I’ve ever seen.
If I had any doubts that she wasn’t as perfect as I remembered, they’re being obliterated now. This girl is perfection. She’s my dream girl.
I’ve seen criminals, lowlives, and all sorts of ugliness in this station. Some of the worst people in the state have stood where she’s standing and that contrast stirs something primitive within me. I feel it again, that surge deep in my chest—protective, primal, possessive.
The need to take this sweet innocent girl and hide her from all the horrors of the world runs hot.
“Hi,” she says shyly as she clutches the white box nervously. Those adorable cheeks turn pink as she licks her lips. “I just wanted to thank you for yesterday.”
She holds out the box. “Macaroons. From the bakery. I hope you like them.”
I put my hand on the box and for a moment we’re connected through cardboard.
“Ellie,” I say, my voice rough like sandpaper. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know,” she says as she lets go. “But I wanted to. You were so brave and you were right there when I needed you.”
I smile as I place the box on the counter and head around so there’s nothing between us.
She shifts her weight from one foot to the other as she looks up at me. If she knew what she does to me—how my heart kicks every time she speaks, how the air feels charged just having her near—she’d run back to whatever town she came from.
“I’m just happy I was there in time,” I say, my fingers tingling with the need to touch her. I keep them locked by my sides instead. “I wouldn’t be able to bear something bad happening to you.”
Her cheeks flush, and she bites her bottom lip. “This town is lucky to have you.”
“No, I’m lucky to have this town,” I say, smiling. “The Greene Mountains is the best place on Earth. Are you sticking around? I’d love to show you some of the sights.”
“We’re leaving this afternoon…”
My stomach drops. This can’t be over before it’s even started.
“But… Maybe I could stick around for another day or so,” she says with a shy smile. “I need a break from the girls. They’re always arguing and I can’t take it anymore.”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” I say, feeling like my whole future is unraveling before me. And it’s a future I can’t wait to start. “How do you feel about hiking?”
It’s a beautiful day, I’m off work, and the thought of seeing my dream girl in my mountains is just too irresistible to pass up.
“I love hiking,” she says, “but I don’t have any proper shoes.”
She’s wearing flats. That won’t do at all. Not in these mountains.
“Let me take you to Greene Adventure,” I say. “I’ll buy you some hiking shoes and show you some views that will leave you breathless.”
Her breath catches as her eyes quickly roam down my body. It seems I’m already showing her a view that’s leaving her breathless.
“I’d like that,” she says, nodding with an adorable smile on her face. “But you don’t have to buy me shoes. I’ll pay for them.”
We’ll see about that. I want to spoil this angel.
And I have all day to do it.
But hopefully, if this day goes right, I’ll have more than a day.
I’ll have a lifetime to pamper her, just like she deserves.