Chapter 100 Dean （Ace） Mercer
Dean (Ace) Mercer
Ace Mercer leaned against the wooden post outside The Last Stand Tavern, arms crossed, boots planted like he had nowhere else to be.
Truth was—there was nowhere else he wanted to be.
Not when she was about to walk by.
He checked his watch, not because he cared about the time, but because he knew her routine.
Same time every morning.
Same determined stride.
Same refusal to look his way.
And there she was.
Tessa Bloom.
She stepped out of her little florist shop down the street, the bell above the door giving a soft jingle that somehow carried all the way to him. Like his body had memorized the sound.
Her arms were full of fresh flowers—wildflowers, of course. Bright colors spilling over the edges like they didn’t know how to be contained.
Kind of like her.
Ace straightened, pushing off the post without thinking.
Her short, curly red hair caught the sunlight, lighting up like fire. She wore jeans and a soft green top, simple… but on her, it didn’t feel simple. It felt like something you looked at twice.
Hell. Something you couldn’t stop looking at.
“Morning, Tessa,” he called, keeping his voice easy. Casual.
Like he hadn’t been waiting out here just to see her.
She didn’t slow.
Didn’t even glance his way.
Ace huffed out a quiet breath, running a hand over his jaw.
“Not even a hello today?” he tried again, stepping off the porch and into her path.
That did it.
She stopped.
Slowly.
Then she looked at him.
And there it was—that spark. That fire in her eyes that made his pulse kick just a little harder.
“Good morning, Ace,” she said, her tone polite… but distant. Like he was just another customer and not a man who’d been trying to get her attention for weeks.
Months.
He grinned anyway. “See? That wasn’t so hard.”
Her lips pressed together like she was fighting a reaction. Irritation. Amusement. Maybe both.
“I have work to do,” she said, shifting the flowers in her arms. “Some of us don’t spend our mornings standing around watching people.”
Ouch.
He deserved that.
Didn’t mean he had to like it.
“I wasn’t watching people,” he said lightly. “Just one.”
Her eyes flicked to his, just for a second.
And there it was again—that flicker. That awareness.
But just as fast… it was gone.
“Tried that line on all the women in town?” she asked.
“Just you.”
That made her hesitate.
Barely.
But he saw it.
Ace stepped closer, not enough to crowd her—but enough that he could catch the faint scent of lavender and something sweet drifting off her skin.
Flowers.
Of course.
“You ever going to give me a real chance, Tessa?” he asked quietly.
Her expression changed then.
Not softer.
Stronger.
Like a wall snapping into place.
“No,” she said simply.
His chest tightened, but he kept his face neutral. “That a hard no?”
“That’s a smart no.”
He frowned. “Meaning?”
Her gaze flicked toward the tavern… toward the Ranger emblem hanging by the door.
Then back to him.
“Meaning,” she said, voice calm but firm, “every time someone gets involved with you Rangers, something bad happens.”
Ace stilled.
“Tessa—”
“I don’t have time for that,” she cut in. “I have a business. Responsibilities. A life that doesn’t include dodging bullets or wondering if someone’s going to kick my door in at night.”
His jaw tightened.
“That’s not what this is,” he said.
“Isn’t it?” she challenged softly.
Silence stretched between them.
Because damn it… she wasn’t wrong.
Ace exhaled slowly, his voice quieter when he spoke again.
“I’d never let anything happen to you.”
Her eyes searched his for a second longer than before.
And for just a moment… he thought she might believe him.
Might want to.
But then she stepped back.
Breaking it.
“I’m sure you believe that,” she said gently. “But that doesn’t make it true.”
She shifted the flowers in her arms again and moved around him.
Just like that.
Walking away.
Again.
Ace turned, watching her go, his chest tight and something deeper settling in his gut.
Because the thing was—
She wasn’t afraid of him.
She was afraid of what came with him.
And for the first time since he’d set his sights on Tessa Bloom…
Ace Mercer realized this wasn’t going to be easy.