Chapter 3
TORIN
The door hadn't even closed behind us before Ruby rounded the counter and made a beeline toward us with her arms outstretched.
"Claire Hollister. Honey, is that really you?"
Claire didn't have a chance to say a word before she got caught up in one of Ruby's hugs.
"I didn't know you were coming home, sugar. Your mama must be so thrilled to have you back in town." Ruby pulled back but kept her fingers wrapped around Claire's arms like she was afraid to let go.
"Hi, Ruby." Claire's voice came out soft and small. Maybe she'd forgotten how overwhelming Ruby Nelson could be. Or maybe she didn't want to draw any more attention to herself. Too late for that. Everyone inside the Merc was already staring right at her.
I cleared my throat. "We're just here for a couple of those maple bourbon cinnamon rolls. Mind if we grab a table in the back?"
"Torin!" Ruby let her hands fall, then turned her sharp gaze on me. "Why didn't you tell me Claire was in town? How long have you known?"
"I just got in last night." Claire pulled her bag up higher on her shoulder. "We ran into each other at the hardware store."
"Well, no sense in you hiding away in the back. The two of you take this table right by the window. How long has it been, Claire? Five years? Six?" Ruby ushered us toward a small two-top right in front of the window.
Great. Now anyone passing by would be able to see the two of us sharing a table. I didn't mind being seen with the prettiest girl in Mustang Mountain, but it seemed like Claire wasn't too eager to be in the spotlight.
"Thanks, but we'll take that table in back.
" I wasn't about to let anyone push Claire around, not even the mayor's wife.
A sense of protectiveness welled up inside my chest. It was the same feeling I got when I saw Claire stuck in that window last night.
I had a habit of looking out for others—as a sheriff's deputy it was literally my job.
But the way I felt about Claire went far beyond keeping an eye on someone in town. The knot in my chest proved it.
"Suit yourselves. I'll get you a couple cups of coffee and be right back with those rolls." Ruby bustled toward the counter, and I followed Claire to a table tucked into a corner at the back of the store.
"Thanks for not making me sit in the window." Claire slid onto a chair and scooted closer to the table. "I already feel like everyone is staring at me."
"Probably because they are." I smiled so the comment wouldn't land so hard. The truth of it was, everyone in the Merc had been staring at her since she walked in the door.
"I guess I forgot what it's like to live in a small town," she said.
"So, are you back for good?" Ruby set down the mugs, then two giant cinnamon rolls.
Claire's eyes widened. "I'm just here to settle Aunt Lois's estate."
"And then what?" Ruby asked.
"I'm not sure." Claire reached for her coffee, clearly uncomfortable.
But Ruby leaned closer and lowered her voice. "People are wondering what's going to happen to the land, hon."
"She left it to me." Claire looked up and met Ruby's gaze with calm, quiet confidence in her tone.
I didn't doubt Ruby's intentions. The acreage Claire was inheriting butted up to the land Slade Kincaid had offered for the rodeo site. Lois Hollister had never done anything with it, so most folks assumed it would stay that way.
Ruby had always walked the line between the feuding families, but she was definitely interested in seeing the plans for the rodeo go through. If Claire wanted to, she might be able to shut down the whole deal.
"The land your aunt left you borders the rodeo site." Ruby planted her hands on her hips and let her body language say what her words hadn't.
"I heard about the rodeo. My family has a lot to gain from seeing it move forward, just like everyone else in town." Claire stirred a splash of cream into her mug.
Ruby tilted her head. "Does that mean you're okay with letting the plans move forward?"
"I can't say for sure yet. I'll need to look into it now that I'm back."
I'd never seen someone stand up to Ruby like that. Most folks caved the second they got caught up in her stare. I leaned back in my chair and felt a little guilty about how much I was enjoying myself.
Ruby let out an unsatisfied hmpf, then finally left us alone.
I leaned forward. "That was satisfying."
"What?" Claire cut a piece of roll with the side of her fork and speared it. "Watching Ruby interrogate me?"
"No. Watching you not back down."
"You make it sound like we're fighting." Her lips parted and she slid the bite of cinnamon roll into her mouth.
My cock twitched as she pulled the fork free and let out a soft groan. I dragged my gaze back to my plate. Watching Claire Hollister eat a damn cinnamon roll shouldn’t feel like the most distracting thing I’d done all week… but without a doubt, it was.
"You were right about these rolls. This is delicious."
I smiled. Having her tell me I was right about something shouldn't mean a damn thing, but it did.
Even though she'd been a couple of years behind me in school, I'd noticed her back then.
Hell, I more than noticed her. I crushed on her hard for years.
But she'd never looked at me. Why would she?
She was a Hollister, practically Mustang Mountain royalty.
And I was just a kid trying to survive high school without drawing any attention.
"Aren't you going to eat yours?" she asked.
"Yeah." I stopped staring at her and dug into my own roll.
After a few minutes of small talk, Claire pushed back her chair and stood. "Excuse me for a minute. I'll be right back."
I watched her walk toward the restroom at the opposite corner, then forced myself to look away before anyone noticed. The last thing either of us needed was to add any fuel to the gossip fire.
I lifted my mug and took a long drink. Movement caught my eye.
An older woman at a table near the wall watched me with a steady gaze I recognized.
Helen Davis. She'd been friends with Claire’s Aunt Lois for decades, one of the few people in town who seemed to move between the old family lines without drawing blood.
She stood and crossed the space between us with slow, deliberate steps. Her hand rested on the back of Claire's empty chair.
"Your mama raised you to keep the peace." Her voice came out low and even.
I set down my mug. "Yes, ma'am."
"Some things were settled kindly." She paused, her fingers tightening on the chair back. "Don't let them turn cruel."
Before I could respond, she turned and walked toward the front door. I watched her leave, the bell above the entrance ringing in her wake.
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
My gut twisted. Helen Davis didn't waste words. If she'd taken the time to come over here and say something like that, it meant she knew something. Or suspected something. Either way, it wasn't good.
I'd spent my entire career as a deputy learning to read the space between what people said and what they meant. But this? This felt like a warning wrapped in courtesy, the kind of thing that happened in a town where everyone knew everyone else's history going back three generations.
Some things were settled kindly.
That could mean a dozen different things. Land deals. Family disputes. The feud itself, maybe, though nothing about the Hollister-Kincaid mess had ever been settled, kindly or otherwise.
I picked up my fork and stabbed at the cinnamon roll, but my appetite had vanished.
Claire came back and glanced at my plate as she took her seat. "You okay? You look like you just got bad news."
"I'm fine." I forced myself to take another bite.
She didn't push, just reached for her own fork and finished off the last of her roll.
When we'd both drained our mugs, Claire reached for her bag.
"I've got this." I pulled out my wallet.
"No." She already had cash in her hand. "You paid for the stuff to fix my window. The least I can do is buy you breakfast."
"Claire—"
"Torin." She leveled me with a look that said the conversation was over.
I held up my hands in surrender and watched as she walked to the counter and paid Ruby. The older woman said something that made Claire smile, a real one this time, not the guarded version she'd been wearing since we walked in.
Outside, the morning sun shone bright. Claire stopped on the sidewalk and turned to face me, the sunlight playing across her hair. She crossed her arms over her chest. "So, are you going to tell me what that was all about?"
I didn't pretend not to know what she meant. "You mean Mrs. Davis?"
"Yeah. She said something to you on her way out. I saw her from the hallway."
I looked down the street toward the sheriff's office, then back at her. "This town likes its stories simple."
"And if they're not?"
The question hung between us. I thought about Helen's warning.
About the old cattle ledger I'd seen Dawson and Slade looking at last month.
About Claire's aunt leaving her land that could make or break the rodeo deal.
And about the way everyone in this town had been choosing sides for so long they'd forgotten why the lines were drawn in the first place.
I met Claire's gaze. "Then things get messy."
She studied me for a long moment, her brown eyes searching for something I wasn't sure I could give her.
Finally, she nodded. "Thanks for the coffee."
"Anytime."
"You still want some help with that window?"
Her lips curved up on one side. "Haven't I taken advantage of you enough already?"
She needed to stop saying shit like that before I showed her exactly how I wanted her to take advantage of me. Instead of leaning in and kissing that damn grin off her face, I shook my head.
"I've got a couple things to do but can stop by in an hour or two."
"Are you sure you don't mind?"
"Not at all."
"Okay, then. I'll see you soon." She turned and headed back toward the parking lot where she'd left her car.
I watched her go with that same pull in my chest I'd felt last night when I helped her through the window. I'd spent my life holding lines in this town. I was a deputy, a keeper of the peace, and the guy people called when they needed someone steady and reliable to show up and handle things.
But standing there on Main Street, watching Claire Hollister walk away, I realized something that made my gut clench.
For the first time, I wasn't sure which line I was standing on. The one that kept the peace in Mustang Mountain? Or the one that was starting to form between me and a woman who'd always been on the other side of every boundary this town had ever drawn?
I headed back to my truck and climbed in, but I didn't start the engine right away. Instead, I sat there and watched Claire's car pull out onto the street and disappear around the corner.
Don't let them turn cruel.
Helen's words echoed in my head.
Whatever was coming, I had a feeling keeping the peace wasn't going to be an option much longer.