Chapter Ten
D ale’s heart pounded as he grasped Sadie’s shoulders and stared into her beautiful face. He fought the urge to crush her close, reminding himself that would be overstepping their…friendship. Still, the moment he’d heard about the SUV trying to run her off the road, he’d felt like someone had punched him in the gut.
Why he’d had such a strong reaction was a mystery. He’d only known her two days now, or was it three? Christ, he wasn’t sure how long he’d been back. And technically, he’d known her for more than a decade, but he’d always kept his distance because back then, his attraction to the cute freshman would’ve spelled trouble for his Navy plans.
But since returning, fate seemed to throw them together. That didn’t matter. What mattered was the fact he couldn’t stand to see her get hurt.
Especially because of him.
She’d been in his truck. Had it been a case of mistaken identity, and when they realized it hadn’t been him at the wheel the SUV had taken off?
“I’m fine. Honest,” she said, reassurance shining in her eyes.
Dale let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, but the tension in his chest didn’t fully ease. “I swear, when I heard what happened—” He stopped himself, releasing her to run a hand through his hair.
“The SUV cut me off, but I didn’t hit anything,” she said. “I’m okay. So is your truck.”
His truck?
“I don’t give a shit about my truck, Sadie,” he muttered, setting a hand back on her shoulder, needing the connection. “You’re sure you’re not hurt?”
Smiling, she reached up, placing her hand over his. “I’m sure. You know, you’re kind of cute when you’re all worried like this.”
A mix of relief and exasperation shot through him. “This isn’t funny, Sadie.”
She chuckled softly, squeezing his hand. “I know, I know. But you have to admit, you just pounded on the door and rushed in here like some kind of action hero. I’m surprised you didn’t kick down the door.”
“If I thought you were in danger, I would have,” Dale muttered, though a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
Gabe, who had been standing quietly near the doorway, finally stepped forward, his sheriff’s hat in hand. “Sadie, you know the drill. I’m going to need to take your statement.”
Dale released her and stood back as she nodded.
“Let’s go to the kitchen. I made fresh coffee, or if you prefer, there’s some lemonade in the fridge.”
Gabe smiled. “Coffee always works for me.”
She returned the smile and grabbed a coffee cup off a nearby end table. “Me, too.”
“ Noise. Bad…Noise. Bad .” Tesla stared up at them near his button mat.
Gabe’s mouth dropped open.
She bit back a laugh. “I know, buddy. But it’s over now.”
Dale frowned. “What noise?”
“Your knock,” she replied with a grin. “It scared me. I jumped and he scrambled off my lap.”
He stared back at the cat, who held his gaze while he pawed another button. “ Mad. ”
“Dale, uh, did a cat just tell you he’s mad because you knocked too loud?” Gabe asked, disbelief still lifting his brow.
“Looks that way,” he replied.
Sadie cleared her throat. “Not sure if you’re interested, but there is a “Sorry” button near your foot.”
Apparently, he was more rattled by the SUV thing than he realized, because without his permission, his foot tapped the damn button and, “ Sorry, ” echoed in the room.
Tesla rose to his feet, sauntered over to a cat bed, where he stretched, yawned, then settled down and closed his eyes.
Guess he was forgiven.
“Come on,” Sadie said, heading for the kitchen.
“So, that just happened,” Gabe muttered, following her, with Dale on their six. “Please tell me my wife is not aware of this button thing, because there are too many animals in our house. I’ll go bonkers.”
Sadie laughed. “Lyndsey hasn’t been here since I started teaching him to use them.”
Gabe exhaled. “Good.”
“But to be honest, I think your dog, Chief, would catch on the quickest,” she said, pulling two mugs from a cabinet and setting them near the coffeemaker.
Pride straightened his buddy’s shoulders as he walked over to make a cup. “He is a smart aleck.”
Dale opted for the caffeine too, pouring himself a black coffee.
Sadie set a plate of delicious smelling cookies on the island before settling onto a stool in front of where she’d placed her cup.
“I thought we ate all of these earlier,” Dale said, reaching for one.
Amusement sparkled in her eyes. “I always have back-ups.”
“Smart woman,” Gabe said before biting half the cookie in his hand. “Damn, Sadie. These are amazing. Even better than my wife’s…but don’t tell her I said that.”
She smiled. “I won’t. And thanks.”
After the sheriff washed his cookie down with a gulp of coffee, he pulled out his pad and pen. “Can you tell me exactly what happened?”
“Yes, of course,” she said, her expression turning serious as she recounted the events.
Dale’s chest tightened with each detail falling from her lips.
Had it been a coincidence?
No. He didn’t believe in them.
Had she been targeted because she was driving his truck?
Or had she been the target?
His gut knotted and the delicious cookie he just devoured now sat like a lead lump in his stomach. Either way, she was now in danger, and he knew instinctively it was due to her association with him and his dad.
“…Then it just sped off like nothing happened,” she said, regaining his attention.
Gabe jotted down notes in his pad, his face grim. “Did you get a look at the driver? Any details about the vehicle?’
“Not much.” She shook her head. “The windows were tinted, and there was no license plate. It all happened so fast. But it definitely wasn’t an accident. It felt deliberate.”
Dale’s jaw tightened as he listened, the need to protect her rising like a wave. He scrubbed a hand over his face. “We need to figure out who the hell is behind this.”
“We will,” Gabe assured him, closing his notepad. “I’ll have my deputies keep an eye out for the vehicle, and I’ll check the traffic cameras in the area, even though I’m sure Carter is already on it.”
He nodded, glancing at the clock on the microwave. “We’ll soon find out. He’s on his way over as we speak. Said he found something.”
Sadie set her cup down and slid off her stool. “Then I’d better put on more coffee and dig out another secret cookie stash.”
Dale watched her, his mind still reeling over her brushes with danger today, while admiration warmed the chill from his chest at the way she was handling it. Her hands were steady as she filled the reservoir on the coffeemaker with water and scooped grounds into a filter before clicking the brew button.
She was calm, collected, and amazing. Most women he knew would’ve been unhinged, and rightfully so, but not Sadie Quinn, he thought as a knock sounded from the back door.
“Come in,” she called and stopped his heart.
“Sadie, you can’t just let people walk into your house without checking to see who is at the door first,” he said, rising to his feet, but before he reached the back door, it opened and Cooper, Dean, RJ, and Mac strolled in.
“Hello. Looks like we got here just in time,” Cooper said, nodding at the gurgling coffeemaker before grabbing a cookie. “Carter texted he was almost here.”
She glanced at Dale and nodded. “You’re right, I should’ve checked first. These guys are dangerous.”
RJ laughed, reaching around Dale to swipe a cookie, while Dean nodded a greeting and took a seat at the island.
Mac, however, strode up to him and stopped, looking as pissed off as Dale felt. “You and me, we need to talk, later.”
By talk, the guy meant he was going to chew Dale out. Whatever. He didn’t have time for that bullshit, but he nodded anyway.
The muffled sound of a car door slamming had him walking toward the front door, passing a yawning Tesla on his way. He glanced out the side window to see Carter already heading for the porch.
Dale opened the door and watched his approach, noting a tablet gripped in his hand.
When the guy reached him, he lifted a brow. “Sadie, you really let yourself go,” he joked, stepping past Dale into the house and waiting until the door was shut. “We got something,” he said, holding up the tablet.
“Let’s look at it in the kitchen,” Dale told him, already leading the way. “Everyone’s waiting.”
Especially him. With luck, they’ll get an ID.
“Hey, everyone,” Carter greeted, walking straight to the island where he set up his tablet. “I pulled the feed from the cameras at the barn. You’re gonna want to see this. It happened twelve minutes after Sadie left this early morning.”
Dale exchanged a glance with her and then Gabe before they all gathered around Carter, who tapped the screen, bringing up the video. The footage showed the interior of the barn, still somewhat dimly lit in the morning light. A figure in a dark hoodie moved stealthily through the shadows, their face obscured by the hood. The intruder moved with purpose, heading straight for the stalls, keeping their head down, as if knowing where the cameras were.
Dammit.
“Watch this,” Carter said, zooming in on the footage.