Chapter 25
EMMA
Mason answers the door, only cracking it enough to poke his head out. “Can I help you?” he says through the opening.
“It’s the sheriff.” Sheriff Garrett’s words are loud and clear. “I’m looking for Jake Callahan. He here?”
“I’m here,” Jake calls as he walks toward the door, me tucked against his side, his arm around my waist.
As if choreographed, Mason opens the door wider as we join him.
“Morning, Callahan.” Sheriff Garrett stands on the porch, his expression carefully neutral, but his eyes sharpen when I step into the frame. His gaze flicks to me, taking in Jake's shirt, my bare legs, my messed-up hair. His lips pressed together, but he manages a civil nod. "Emma."
"Sheriff," I say, keeping my voice steady.
"Mind if I come in?"
Jake steps back, pulling me with him. "Not at all. Get you a cup of coffee?"
Garrett nods. “Appreciate it.”
Jake takes my hand and leads us into the kitchen.
Luke’s at the counter, his expression giving away nothing as he pours five cups of coffee like he anticipated it. The sheriff nods his thanks as he accepts his, declining sugar or cream as his gaze takes in the space.
I can’t blame him. It doesn’t look anything like I’d have imagined.
The kitchen is sleek, obviously remodeled recently, with high-end appliances—a gourmet cook’s dream.
I remember Dad telling me a long time ago that some “city slickers” bought Blackthorn Ranch and used it as a vacation home. Now it’s home to three badasses.
I wonder if they cook.
“Here you go, darlin’,” Luke says, handing me a cup and jogging me out of my thoughts. “I already added your sugar and cream.”
“Thank you.” How the hell did he know how I took my coffee?
He winks at me before leaning against the counter, his ankles crossed, sipping his own brew.
Garrett frowns at me, and I realize he thinks this isn’t the first time I’ve spent the night here, given Luke knows my coffee order. Clever. I relax for the first time since Harper texted me. This is going to work.
"I'll get right to it," Garrett says, turning back to Jake. "Eli Turner is missing. Witnesses reported seeing you in the parking lot of the Rusty Spur last night.”
“Witnesses?” Jake asks, tilting his head with a faintly questioning expression.
“One witness saw you in a black truck.”
Jake nods, gesturing to the yard. “I’m sure you’ve already checked out my vehicle.”
I look out the window and see a couple of trucks and a large SUV out there, all black. Both the trucks look similar to what Eli drove, though I’m not an expert on cars.
Sheriff Garrett studies Jake steadily. “It matches the description of what the witness saw.”
I poke Jake. “You don’t have to protect me. Just tell him.”
Jake frowns. “Emma—”
Sighing, I face the sheriff. It’s a little like facing my dad, and I have a moment of chagrin.
No one wants to confess to a father figure that she was making out with a man, no matter how old she is.
“Eli wanted me to meet him at the Rusty Spur. He’s been trying to pressure me to sell Dad’s ranch to him, and Jake said he’d come and make sure I was okay. ”
Still holding my hand, Jake brings it to his bare chest, cradling it against his heart. “Turner made Emma uncomfortable. He frightened her.”
“I’d told you that, Sheriff.” I ignore Jake frowning at me and hold the sheriff’s gaze. “You filed my complaint last week, remember? I told you Eli was harassing me, and you said you couldn’t do anything unless he actually did something wrong.”
“Classic,” Luke says, shaking his head.
The sheriff gives him a narrow look, though he also has the grace to look a little guilty. Then he returns his attention to me. “Why didn’t Jake meet you inside?”
“I was late,” Jake says.
“That was my fault,” Luke says easily, an abashed smile quirking his mouth. “And I’ll probably hear about it for the next week.”
“Maybe longer,” Mason mutters.
“But it didn’t matter,” I continued, “because Eli didn’t show up. I ran into Jake in the parking lot after I decided I’d waited long enough.”
Sheriff Garrett watches me closely. “What time was that?”
“I gave Eli half an hour, so it’d have been around nine thirty,” I say honestly.
The sheriff turns his frown back to Jake. “The witness saw you leaving the parking lot sometime before ten. What were you doing between nine thirty and then?”
I clear my throat. “That’s private, Sheriff Garrett. And since, as far as I know, public nudity is still illegal in Iron Ridge, we came back here to, uh, continue."
Luke snorts into his coffee mug.
Sheriff Garrett shoots him a glare before returning his attention to Jake. “Another witness claims he saw Turner’s truck on Ridgeback Highway, close to your ranch.”
Jake shrugs. “What time?”
“Around eleven o’clock last night.”
Luke chuckles softly. “Eleven o’clock last night, Jake and Emma were in his room. I won’t tell you how I know that, but I can tell you I’m buying earplugs today.”
Mason holds out his fist to Luke, and they bump knuckles.
The sheriff turns to us.
Jake pulls me in closer, as if trying to shield me from the sheriff’s censure. "That's correct. We were here."
"I see." Garrett's eyebrows climb toward his hairline. “And you all were here the whole time?”
"The whole time," Jake confirms, his voice hard.
"And we can confirm that," Mason says from his position by the counter.
Luke clears his throat. “Is this where I point out that you probably checked out who we were when we walked into your town last week? So you know who we are, what we’ve done, and how we’re decorated.”
“I know,” Sheriff Garrett admits with bitter reluctance.
I turn to Jake. “How decorated are you?”
The sheriff frowns. “You don’t know?”
Luke laughs. “They’re getting to know each other, but it hasn’t involved much talking yet.”
“Luke,” Jake says, the warning implicit.
Garrett studies us for a long moment, his eyes moving from me to Jake to Mason and Luke and back again. I can see him weighing it, calculating, trying to decide what to believe.
He and Dad were good friends, and Harper, the apple of his eye, and I are besties, so I know he’s going to trust me. Maybe I should feel guilty about that, but I don’t. Not when I went to him, and he couldn’t—wouldn’t—help me, and certainly not given he willingly helped Dad run Jake out of town.
Finally, he nods slowly. "Alright. I appreciate you clearing all that up."
"Is there anything else you need?" Jake asks.
"Not right now." He pulls out a business card and hands it to Jake. "But if you think of anything, give me a call."
"Will do."
Sheriff Garrett heads for the door, then pauses and looks back at me. "Emma, I never thought I’d say this, but it’s a good thing your dad isn’t here to see you."
Ouch. The words hit hard. I feel a stab of pain before the anger engulfs it. I have to physically stop myself from throwing my coffee mug at his head. Instead, I lift my chin and stare him down. "If Dad were here, I think he’d surprise you. I think he’d be proud of the hero Jake’s become."
He glanced at Jake, his skepticism clear. Then he nods once and leaves. The door closes behind him, and for a long moment, nobody moves.
Then Luke lets out a low whistle. "Public nudity. Jesus Christ, Emma."
"It worked, didn't it?" I'm shaking now, the fight draining out of me all at once.
Jake pulls me against his chest, his arms coming around me tight, bolstering me. "You alright?" he asks against my hair.
“Are you?” I counter, my voice muffled against his bare chest.
He kisses the top of my head.
I pull back enough to look up at Jake. His eyes are dark and intense, and something in them makes my breath catch.