Chapter 2
Devon
I joined the Army to serve and protect, to make a difference, and also to get the hell away from my father and the house I grew up in.
My mother left when I was six, and it only took me a few months to see why.
My father was a monster. He lived to put me down, to exert his control over me.
Not a day went by when he didn’t remind me that I was useless, worthless, a burden.
So, I did what I could to survive. I kept my head down, tried to stay out of his way, and planned my way out.
The military was always my escape plan. I knew it was the quickest way to get out of my hometown. I knew it would be good for me. When I got to bootcamp, I thought I had it all figured out. I thought I was finally free. I thought I finally had everything I wanted in life.
Until that first letter arrived.
Every week like clockwork a new letter would show up, all of them from a woman who refused to tell me her name or anything specific—anything that could help me identify her.
It was obvious from the first letter that she knew me.
This wasn’t some pen pal assignment for school or something.
I tried to get her to tell me how we knew each other, but she would never answer that question.
She refused to meet me, to send photos, anything.
She was driving me crazy. She had me wrapped around her finger, and I had no idea how to find out who she was or how to convince her to let me in.
It was frustrating as hell.
I tried to let that go because I needed my girl.
I needed those letters. Over the years, her letters were what held me together.
Her words kept me alive in the darkest of places.
Her kindness saved me when I didn’t want to be saved.
Suri became everything to me. She was the first person in my life who didn’t expect anything from me. She was so sweet. She cared about me.
And now she’s standing in front of me.
My eyes devour the sight of Suri, drinking in her curves, her shoulder-length brown hair, her wide blue eyes. God, she’s fucking gorgeous.
As soon as she told me her name, I looked her up. She’s not big on social media, but there were a few photos of her. I’ve saved every single one to my phone and looked at them about a million times a day since that final letter.
It couldn’t have come at a worse time. I had been injured on my last deployment, and it took weeks for the letter to bounce from the base overseas in Germany—where I was airlifted for medical treatment—to the base in Colorado, where I was sent to recover.
When it finally reached me and I read her words, I wanted to jump out of my hospital bed and track down my girl.
Suri was crazy if she thought I would let her go. She’d become the most important person in the world to me. I fell in love with her words, her sweetness, kindness, and her outlook on life. I fell in love with her, and I wasn’t about to let her say goodbye and disappear.
Unfortunately, it took a few months for me to fully heal and track down where Suri had moved. Ironically, my best friend, Grant, was married to her best friend, Rowan. It took some convincing, but I was finally able to get them to give me her new address.
Once I had that, I made a plan.
I got discharged from the military, found a job with the Wolf Valley police, and packed up my shit to follow my girl to Oregon. Now that I’m here, the plan is to get Suri and me on the same page, to get a ring on her finger, and have her sleeping next to me every night.
I thought it would be easy, but now I’m here, I’m not so sure. She still hasn’t said anything. I don’t think she’s even blinked since she spotted me. It’s not the reaction I expected after years of sharing everything with each other.
“Suri?” I step closer until our bodies brush.
My fingers itch to grab her and drag her against me. I want to kiss the hell out of her. I want to throw her over my shoulder like a caveman and drag her back to my place.
“What—I—What are you doing here?” she asks, her face heating with an adorable blush.
“I live here now. I’m the new sheriff in town.”
“In Wolf Valley?”
I nod. “Yep.”
“Oh,” she whispers.
I thought she would be happy to see me. Instead, she looks confused and in shock.
I thought we were close after all her letters. Did I read that wrong? Maybe Dad was right. Maybe no one will ever want me.
I try to squash that thought and force a smile to my lips. “Have dinner with me tomorrow night.”
Suri rears back, taking several steps away from me. “I can’t.”
“Why not?” I demand.
“I have a date.”
I see red. I want to track down whoever she’s seeing and strangle him with my bare hands for thinking he could ever be with my woman.
“Cancel it,” I snarl.
She huffs, shaking her head. “No.”
“Yes.”
“Why would I do that?” Suri snaps.
“Because I’m here now.”
I know instantly that was the wrong thing to say.
Suri rears back, her eyes narrowing and pinning me in place. Red splotches bloom on her cheeks as she points a finger at me. “Listen here, asshole—”
I hold up my hands, trying to get ahead of her anger. “That came out wrong.”
“You think I’ve been sitting around, twiddling my thumbs and hoping you might show up one day and decide to pay me some attention?” she shouts, still pissed with me.
“Well… yeah,” I mumble.
She throws her hands up and turns to storm off.
“Wait!” I yell, jogging after her.
She doesn’t stop.
I run in front of her, blocking her path. “Who is the date with? Where is it? When is it?”
Her lips press into a firm line. “The steakhouse. Tomorrow night. Now get out of my way.”
She steps around me, and I watch as she walks off.
Okay, new plan, I tell myself. First step in winning over my girl: Stop that date.
My phone rings, and I grunt out a hello as I answer it.
“Well, hello to you too,” Grant says sarcastically.
“What’s up, man?”
“Just calling to check in. How’s it going?”
“It’s going,” I grumble as I climb back into my police cruiser, switching the phone to my other ear. “What’s new with you?”
I try to listen to what my friend says, but all my thoughts are on my girl. I take one last look up at her apartment before I pull out onto the quiet street and drive back to the police station.