Chapter 3 #4
Then things started changing around town.
Grant Sullivan, the sheriff, found someone, a good woman who looked at him like he hung the moon.
I watched them at the diner one morning, caught the way Grant smiled at her, the way he touched her hand across the table like he couldn't help himself.
I hadn't seen Grant smile like that in years.
He's my age. Forty-six. Divorced like me. Cynical like me. Or he was.
Then Nathaniel Blake, the town doctor, started bringing his partner to community events.
Nathaniel's older than me by a few years.
Quiet. Reserved. But when he talks about her, his whole face transforms. He lights up.
I saw them at the hardware store a few months back.
She was teasing him about paint colors and he was laughing, actually laughing.
Nathaniel Blake, who barely cracks a smile at the best of times.
Watching them made something shift in me. Something small at first. Just a crack in the walls. A quiet thought that maybe I didn't have to be alone forever. Maybe men like us, men who'd been burned and broken, could still find something real.
I didn't do anything about it. Just kept living my life. Kept working. Kept the walls up. But the crack was there, widening with each passing day.
Then Sadie Quinn showed up in my town with her sassy mouth and fierce independence, her refusal to be controlled by anyone. She walked into my life in the middle of a fire, and I haven't been able to think straight since.
Last night changed everything. Kissing her on the porch was one thing.
Taking her to bed was something else entirely.
I've had women over the years, casual, meaningless, physical release and nothing more.
Last night wasn't that. Last night was everything.
It stripped away every defense I'd built, left me exposed in a way I haven't been in decades.
I pull into the station parking lot and cut the engine.
My hands grip the steering wheel. My jaw clenches.
I'm terrified. The feeling is unfamiliar, and I hate it.
I'm not a man who gets scared. I run into burning buildings for a living.
I make life-or-death decisions without hesitation.
But the thought of Sadie leaving? That scares the hell out of me.
What if she realizes I'm too old for her? Too set in my ways? Too damaged? What if she gets tired of the quiet mountain life and wants something more? What if she leaves like everyone else?
But the thought of not trying? Of letting her slip away because I'm too afraid to take the risk? That's worse. That's unbearable.
I know she's mine. I felt it the moment I carried her out of that burning cabin.
The certainty settled into my bones and hasn't left since.
She's mine and I'm hers, and nothing's going to change that.
But I also know I can't force it. I can't control her.
I won't become the thing that hurt her in the first place.
Ryan tried to own her. Tried to control every part of her life. I'll never be that. I'll protect her, keep her safe, give her everything I have. But I won't cage her. She has to choose me. She has to want this as much as I do.
I climb out of the truck and head inside. The station's quiet this early. Ramirez is in the kitchen pouring coffee. He looks up when I walk in.
"Morning, Chief." He studies my face a second too long. "You look different."
I grunt and grab a mug. "I look the same as always."
"Nah." He leans against the counter and grins. "You look like a man who got laid last night."
I shoot him a look that would make most people back off. Ramirez just laughs.
"It's the redhead, isn't it? The one from the cabin fire?" He shakes his head. "Man, you've been different since she showed up. Lighter. Less grumpy. It's weird."
"I'm not less grumpy," I mutter.
"You're definitely less grumpy." He takes a sip of his coffee. "It's good, Chief. You deserve something good."
I don't respond. Just stare into my mug. Ramirez claps me on the shoulder and heads toward the bay, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
He's right, though. I do feel different. Lighter. Like something heavy I've been carrying for twenty years finally lifted. Sadie did that. She walked into my life and cracked me wide open without even trying.
I'm all in. The decision settles over me like a weight I'm willing to carry. I'm all in with her. Whatever it takes, however long it takes. I'll prove I'm not going anywhere. That she can trust me. That I'll never hurt her the way Ryan did, the way my ex-wife hurt me.
I’ll give her everything. My house. My protection. My heart. And I’ll let her choose. Every single day, I’ll let her choose me. Because that’s what love is. Not control. Not possession. Choice.
I drain my coffee and head toward my office. The shift’s just starting, but my mind is already back on the mountain. Back with the woman sleeping in my bed. Back where I belong.
She’s mine. And I’m hers. And I’m not letting her go.
Consequences be damned.