A Very Grumpy Sheriff (Wolf Valley: Grumps #15)

Chapter 1

Suri

I’m homesick.

I thought that feeling would fade, but it hasn’t.

I like it here in Wolf Valley. I think I could stay here forever, that I could eventually call it home.

But even after four months, I still feel a bit out of place here in this small town.

I’ve made a few friends, but it still feels like something is missing.

My mind drifts to Devon Hayes, and I shake my head.

No, don’t think about him. That crush is over.

No matter how many times I tell myself that, it’s not true. I’ve been trying to forget about him, to find someone who sparks the same attraction he always did. It hasn’t happened yet. I’m worried it never will.

I’ve been trying to convince myself to sign up for online dating site, or maybe let one of my new friends set me up on a blind date, but I haven’t pulled the trigger on either idea yet. Something is still holding me back.

My phone rings, and I’m grateful for the distraction. I smile as I see my best friend’s name on the screen, and I eagerly swipe to answer her call.

“Rowan!” I greet happily.

“Suri! I miss you.”

I smile sadly. “I miss you too.”

Rowan and I grew up together in Colorado.

She’s been my best friend for pretty much my whole life.

We went from seeing each other every day when we were younger to three or four times a week once we graduated and started working.

Then she got married, and I got offered a job in Wolf Valley.

We still FaceTime, text, and call, but it’s not the same as being with her.

I’ve been trying to convince her to move to Wolf Valley too, but I know she can’t—not until her new husband leaves the military.

“How’s work?”

“It’s been great,” I say honestly.

My job is the reason I moved to Wolf Valley. I’ve always wanted to work with animals, wolves specifically. When I got the offer to work for the Wolf Sanctuary, I jumped at it. Working with the wolves and my boss, Vera, has been a dream come true.

“No scary wolves?” Rowan teases.

I chuckle. “No, they’re great.”

“I’m so happy you’re doing what you love,” she says softly.

“Soon, we’ll both be doing what we love,” I promise.

She snorts. “Yeah, in a few years. I need to make it through medical school and residency first.”

Rowan has always wanted to be a doctor, and with the help of her husband, Grant, she’s finally able to afford medical school in the fall.

Rowan clears her throat. “So—”

I instantly tense. She sounds nervous, and I prepare myself for terrible news.

“—have you gotten any letters from Devon lately?” she asks carefully.

“No,” I say firmly, hoping she’ll drop this line of conversation.

Rowan is silent.

I chew on my bottom lip as I think about Devon and the last letter I sent him.

I’ve been in love with Devon Hayes since the first day of freshman year.

He was a few years older than Rowan and me, and he never so much as glanced in my direction.

I’m not surprised. He was a hot, fit junior, and I was a chubby, wallflower dork.

Plus, he was always too focused on saving the world to ever spare me a glance.

Still, I never stopped fantasizing that one day, our eyes would lock, and he would fall madly in love with me.

That never happened.

Instead, two years later, he turned eighteen, graduated, and joined the Army.

He left town, and I think I cried for a solid two weeks before Rowan told me to snap out of it.

She suggested I write to him, that he must feel lonely and maybe even scared.

I realized she was right and sent my first letter to him the very next day.

From there, I sent him a letter every chance I could. I told him about my days, the small-town drama, and always ended by telling him I hoped he was doing well and signed it Love, S.

To my surprise, after my third letter to him, I received one back. That might have been the greatest day of my life. Finally, I had a relationship with the man I’d been crushing on for years.

Our letters continued for the next three years. We sent hundreds of letters back and forth. He told me about bootcamp, about becoming a Green Beret, about his deployments. I told him about my college classes, my dreams for the future, and my adventures around town with Rowan.

Our letters and relationship changed over the years. We started sharing more personal stuff with each other, talking about our hopes, dreams, and fears. He sent me photos of himself and some with his buddies.

He begged me so many times over the years to tell him my name, to send pictures, to meet him, but I never did.

I chickened out every time. I thought about how he ignored me in high school, how he never gave me the time of day.

I was afraid he would be disappointed when he met me in real life, and I couldn’t handle it.

Not until I moved to Wolf Valley.

I knew that with a move, I needed a fresh start. I needed to let go of this crush. So, in my last letter to Devon, I told him about my move. I told him that this would be my last letter to him, and I signed it with my full name.

It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I knew I needed to let him go. I needed to move on—or try to. Being in love with a guy I’d probably never see again wasn’t healthy.

Unfortunately, after months of no contact, I still think about him a hundred times a day.

“Suri?”

Rowan’s voice pulls me from my thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m still here.”

“I only asked about Devon because I have some news about him,” she says. “Do you want to hear it?”

I lick my lips, my heart racing in my chest. I’m desperate for any news about Devon, but I know it will only hurt any small progress I may have made in getting over him.

“No,” I whisper.

“Okay,” Rowan says simply. “I was thinking about coming up for a visit before school starts in August.”

“Really?” I scream excitedly.

She laughs. “Yeah, if you can take a few days off work? Or maybe I could come up for a long weekend or something?”

“Sure, either one! Oh my gosh! I’m so excited!”

“Me too. I’ll look at dates and let you know.”

“Sounds good.”

I hear a male voice call her name in the background—Grant must have just gotten home.

“I’ll let you go,” I tell her.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” she promises.

“Love you.”

“Love you too.”

We hang up, and I look around my small apartment. I need to do laundry and go grocery shopping before work tomorrow. Then maybe I’ll curl up on the couch and read that new romance book that came out the other day.

My gaze snags on my laptop, and I chew on my bottom lip as I think about signing up for a dating site.

I should do it today. I’ve been putting it off for too long.

I take a step toward my computer, then pause.

Later. I’ll do it later, I promise myself, turning away.

With a plan in place, I stand, adding clothes to the washer, then grabbing my keys and phone and heading out the door. I decide to walk to the store since it’s only two blocks away, and I smile as I descend the steps to the sidewalk.

Then I look up and lock eyes with him.

Devon Hayes.

Devon Hayes is standing on the sidewalk right in front of me.

I blink, thinking I’m dreaming, but nope, he’s still there.

My mouth hangs open. I’m frozen in place as I stare at the man who has owned my heart for close to half my life.

Devon smiles as he pushes off his car—a police cruiser—and steps toward me. I watch in shock as he stops in front of me, his smile growing wider.

“Hey, Suri,” he says softly.

Perhaps I should have said yes when Rowan offered to tell me the news about Devon.

Because it seems he’s now living in Wolf Valley.