Chapter 6
Riley
Sel’s knowing grin made my cheeks burn as I disentangled myself from Dungar’s embrace. The intimacy we’d shared during the night felt exposed in the morning light streaming through the jail’s window.
“A child locked us in,” I said, sliding from the bunk and standing, smoothing my rumpled shirt while Dungar rose as well, towering over me. Hovering over me, actually, in a protective way I found comforting. “A boy named Billy took the key. He was here yesterday with his grandmother.”
Sel grabbed the spare off the hook and approached the cell door. “How many outraged calls did you place to me or our brothers for rescue, Dungar?”
Dungar cleared his throat. “Our phones are on my desk.”
The lock clicked open and Sel swung the door wide. “My older brother, defeated by a human child and a locked door.” He handed the pastry bag to his brother. “I brought your usual.”
“Thank you.” Dungar accepted the bag, easing around his brother to place it on the desk.
“Are you alright, Riley?” Sel asked with what sounded like real concern. At least he’d stopped teasing. “Your first day in town and you’ve already experienced our finest hospitality.”
“I’m alright.” My voice came out husky. I stepped from the cell, my legs stiff after the cramped sleeping arrangements. “It wasn’t exactly how I planned to spend my first night here, but it was…educational.”
Dungar’s eyes met mine, and something intimate and unspoken passing between us. My heart flopped against my ribs.
“I, um, guess we should get to work,” I said.
“No, go get some rest,” Dungar said. “The deputy work will still be here after you’ve had some sleep.”
After years of looking out for myself, having someone worry about my well-being felt foreign but not unwelcome.
“I could take a short nap.” I retrieved my phone and bag from his desk. “I’ll be back in a few hours. We can’t have the town thinking their new deputy is lazy on day two.”
Dungar nodded. “I’ll handle things until you return. The town’s usually quiet in the mornings.”
“You don’t need to sleep?”
“I got plenty last night.”
The subtle circles under his eyes suggested otherwise, but he was the boss. I wouldn’t push it.
Sel glanced between us. “I should get back to the bakery. Holly will wonder where I’ve disappeared to.” He headed toward the door, then paused. “Stop by for coffee once you’ve had that nap, Riley. We brew the best in town.”
“Thank you. I will.” The easy acceptance from Dungar’s family felt both comforting and dangerous. I couldn’t afford to get attached, not when my past could catch up with me at any moment.
Except… When the law dropped me off here, it was for the long haul. This wasn’t a temporary safe house, a place where I’d barely dare to sleep one night. I could stay here longer. Put down roots if I wanted.
I wasn’t sure what that felt like, but I’d like to try.
As Sel left, silence settled between Dungar and me. All the things we’d shared in the darkness, from the whispered confidences to the comfort of his arms around me, to the way I’d felt safe for the first time in years, hung in the air between us, unacknowledged but impossible to ignore.
The door swung open with a creak, and Cara Winslow marched in, her hand firmly on Billy’s shoulder. Her floral dress and sensible walking shoes gave her the air of a retired schoolteacher.
“Sheriff, Deputy,” she said. “I’m sure you remember me from last evening. I’m Cara Winslow, Billy’s grandmother. We have something to return to you.” She gave Billy a gentle but firm nudge forward.
The boy scuffed his shoe across the wooden floor, not meeting our eyes as he held out the key.
“I found him playing with it this morning,” Cara said, her tone softening. “We don’t steal, do we, Billy?”
“No, Grandma,” he said, finally looking up at Dungar. “I’m sorry I took the key.”
Dungar’s expression remained stern but not unkind as he accepted it from the boy. “Thank you for returning it. That’s the responsible thing to do.”
Billy nodded, keeping his gaze on the floor.
Cara glanced around the jail cell. “I hope you don’t mind my asking, Sheriff, but how secure is this facility in general? Billy has a knack for creative mischief. I’d like to be sure he can’t get himself into any more trouble while we’re visiting.”
“We have cameras all over town and patrol regularly,” Dungar said. “You may not know, but there are seven of us orcs here. We built the place and do all we can to ensure everyone remains safe while they’re here. If you have any specific concerns, we’ll be happy to address them.”
“Wonderful,” Mrs. Winslow nodded, patting Billy’s back. “Come along now. I promised you a treat at the bakery if you apologized properly, which you have.” The boy’s face lit up as they headed for the door. Cara turning back to smile our way. “Enjoy your day, Sheriff, Deputy.”
They stepped outside on the boardwalk was punctuated by Cara’s next words. “Billy, please. Don’t play with that.”
“I ride on the pony express,” he whined. “I’m just delivering the mail.”
“Don’t play with the mailbox. It could hold real mail the sheriff and his deputy need.”
Scuffs rang out, and I walked to the door, seeing Billy racing down the boardwalk ahead of his grandmother, who was giving chase, huffing. Billy disappeared through the swinging saloon doors.
Noting that the lid of the old-fashioned mailbox mounted on the jailhouse wall stood ajar, I shut it, then returned inside.
As the door closed behind me, silence settled between Dungar and me.
“I should go,” I said, though everything in me wanted to stay.
“Rest.” Dungar grunted. “Take all the time you need.”
As I stepped toward the door, Dungar moved at the same time. Our arms brushed, and heat shot up to my shoulder. We both froze, our fingers hovering inches apart. For one breathless moment, I thought he might take my hand and…
Do what?
I didn’t even know what I’d like him to do.
He stepped back, giving me space.
“Thank you,” I said softly. “For making sure I was warm enough last night.”
His dark eyes softened. “Anytime.”
I needed to leave before I did something foolish, like ask him to hold me again.
I forced my feet out the front door and down the boardwalk to the Red Fang Saloon, trying to ignore the sensation that something fundamental had shifted in my carefully constructed world.