Chapter 5
Jaxon
“Can you help me, Sheriff? I have to work and I can’t watch her every second of the day but she needs someone to keep an eye on things.”
Colton Hayes eyes me warily. “You don’t even know that something’s gonna happen. She’s a counselor. She probably has a pretty good idea what’s going on with this guy.”
“She doesn’t understand men.” I shake my head. “I heard some of what that guy was saying and he’s pissed. He’s lost his wife and from the sounds of it that’s a good thing. He sounds like a controlling son of a bitch. You know the kind.”
“I do. But that doesn’t mean that she’s wrong.”
I snort. “Yeah. It does. You know it and I know it. He’s not sane.”
“You got a name?”
“I don’t. I don’t know if she has a clue. It doesn’t sound like she even knows who the wife is. Let alone who he is.”
The lean man in front of me just nods his head. “Those kind of guys are a little unpredictable sometimes. But that’s not to say that she’s wrong. He might have just been blowing off steam and he wasn’t really gonna hurt her. Hell, he might be just as shocked as she is.”
Glaring at him, I stand up. “Can’t you at least put an extra patrol out towards her house?”
The tall man stands and nods. “Yep. I can do that. But until I’ve got a definite threat to look into and we know who the hell we’re dealing with, it’s just kinda shooting blind.”
“That’s all I ask. Just keep an eye on things. I’m gonna be around more. I’ll keep an eye on her.”
He shoots me an amused look as he hitches his belt up. “Purely altruistic, I’m sure.”
I don’t even pretend to misunderstand him. Shaking my head, I glare at him. “Nope.”
“Thought so,” he replies mildly. “I get it. We always want to protect what’s ours. Just don’t fuck up and make me put you in jail for it.”
“No way. I’ve got a woman that’s gonna drive me nuts to look out for.”
He throws his head back, chuckling. “Good luck. I have a feeling you’re gonna need it.”
“I’ve got this.”
He snorts. “You keep on thinking that.”
I nod at him and turn around, stalking back out.
I need to think. I keep trying to think if I know that guy. But he didn’t look familiar and it’s driving me nuts.
With a growl, I stalk out of the station and head to Timberline and another cup of coffee.
Red flashes in my peripheral vision. A very familiar shade of red. Without thinking, I follow her into Maggie’s Place. It’s still early so the place is just starting to fill up and half the tables are empty.
So it takes me no time at all to find my quarry. Her pale green eyes are shadowed but she smiles at Maggie as she hands her a menu. She laughs at something the older redhead says to her.
That smile draws me in like a magnet. Like sunlight to a plant I stretch towards it and find my feet leading me towards her slight, curvy figure.
She stiffens as I stand next to the table. Maggie huffs at me but there’s a sparkle in her eyes. “What’s got you here so early, Jaxon Peters?”
I don’t even bother looking away from Aspen.
Maggie grins and hands me another menu. “Don’t make me shove your handsome ass out of here, Sergeant.”
I sit down and eye Aspen warily. It feels like something’s shifting between us.
Her hands fidget with the menu and her eyes stay down. Which I don’t like. I need her eyes on me. Need to see those soft green pools looking right at me.
I need to know that she’s alright.
My breath hitches.
Her eyes come up and they’re wary. Like an animal that isn’t sure what’s about to happen when it’s faced with a predator.
I smile. Her cheeks flush.
“What?”
“You look really pretty today, Aspen.”
“Thank you.” Her brow furrows.
“I talked to the Sheriff this morning about your encounter last night.”
“You did what?” She shrieks. The glare in her eyes sparks golden flames and I can’t help but smile. I like it when she’s sassy and annoyed. Especially at me.
“I told the Sheriff what happened at your house last night. It would have been more helpful if I had a name for the guy but at least I got a chance to warn him to keep an eye on your house for any strange activity.”
She huffs and sits back in the seat. “I didn’t ask you to do that. I didn’t ask you to do a damn thing except go home.”
Grinning, I wink at her. “If I waited for a woman to ask me to do something, I’d be waiting a long time. Women are a mystery. And sometimes they tend to be a bit self-destructive.”
She sits up and glares at me. “You are an arrogant son of a gun.”
Snorting, I smirk at her. “I’ve been called worse, Red. I’ve been called a helluva lot worse.”
“I don’t need people spying on me all the time. I promise the people that are in my groups anonymity. I definitely don’t want other strangers standing around and scaring them away.”
“The police around here aren’t strangers. You most likely know every last one of them.”
“That’s not the point. The point is that the people around me want to talk to me and the group but they don’t want others judging them for needing my help.”
“Your group is grief counseling, right?”
“Yes.” Her reply is blunt and her dazzling eyes look away from me. Judging by the way her whole body has tightened, her shoulders so far up towards her ears that you can barely tell where they end and her chin begins.
I sit back and study her. Her arms are crossed and my own almost cross from the sight of her full breasts pushed up over the top of her low-cut emerald green sweater.
“I can tell that you don’t want to talk about things like your own past that I would imagine were part of what helped you make the decision about your job. I can deal with anything you want to talk to me about. But I’m also willing to wait until you want to tell me.”
She huffs and smirks. “That’s not going to happen.”
“We’ll see. I’m a patient man, Red. I’m in this for the long haul.”
Her eyes roll and that full mouth of hers tilts. “You don’t do the long haul. I’ve heard about you. I don’t know what you think you’re going to get out of helping me but I’m not interested in whatever you’re selling.”
“We’ll see, Red. We’ll see. For now…I’ve got to go to work but I’m going on a hike this afternoon and I think you should come with me.”
“Why?”
“Because it gets you away from that crazy idiot and it gets you out of the house.”
“What about the storm that’s moving in?”
I glance out the window at the watery sunlight. “There’s supposed to be a brief window today and we should be able to get up the mountain a little and get some exercise before it hits.”
“You know, you’re kind of an annoying man.”
Chuckling, I shoot her a smile. “I’ve heard worse. C’mon, Red. Live a little. It won’t hurt to spend a little time away from this place, out in the fresh air.”
“It’s with you.”
“I don’t bite….much.’
Her huff and the way she bites her lip has my dick pushing against my pants again but not by one iota do I let her know what’s going on. The woman’s flighty as hell. If I do what I want to do and drag her out of here, she’s gonna move to another country to get away from me.
“Fine.” She waves a slim, pale hand between the two of us. “But there’s nothing going on here between the two of us. So don’t get any funny ideas.”
Maggie comes back and eyes the two of us with a twinkle in her eyes. I can already tell she’s on my side. As long as I don’t fuck it up. If that happens, she might castrate me.
I lean back so she can put the food down. “Enjoy.”
“Thanks, Maggie. Looks delicious.”
She winks and walks away, leaving us to quietly eat our food. I watch her pick up her fork and take a dainty bite and I swear to god, I’ve never gotten hard watching a woman eat but I sure as hell am now.
But I don’t do a damn thing.
Instead, I lean down and take a bite of my burger, my eyes never leaving her.
It’s a quiet lunch but I had it with the woman of my dreams. The woman I intend to marry.
So it’s the best damn lunch I’ve ever had. It feels like the beginning of something amazing.
And I’m all in for it.