27. Sophie
SOPHIE
For a long moment, I couldn’t make my mouth work.
I just stood there, looking at him, at the animals, back at him again.
My gaze kept bouncing between Eric and the pasture as though my brain refused to believe both things could exist at the same time.
Kind sheriff. Gorgeous sheriff. Goat-rescuing sheriff.
I’d stumbled into some alternate universe where emotionally available men built fences instead of excuses.
My heart felt too big for my chest. It felt like somebody had replaced all my internal organs with helium balloons and good intentions.
“You…” My voice caught. I swallowed hard and tried again. “You did all this for me?” My throat tightened around the words. I had about a thousand other questions lined up behind that one, all trying to squeeze through the same tiny opening at once.
He nodded once, like buying four animals, building them a home, and completely dismantling every defense mechanism I’d spent years carefully constructing was just another afternoon project.
I looked around the pasture again, to the new fence and shelter, the fresh hay, water, everything.
Bandit happily chewed on a piece of straw like he’d already decided this was home.
Theo had discovered the hay pile and appeared to be conducting an extremely thorough quality inspection.
Daisy stood nearby with quiet confidence, clearly having accepted this entire arrangement far faster than any of the humans involved.
Even the little donkey looked suspiciously pleased with himself.
Nobody had ever done anything like this for me.
Ever.
Not Henry, not anyone. And it wasn’t because they were trying to impress me before eventually disappointing me in increasingly creative ways.
Just because they cared. Because somewhere along the way this impossible man had looked at four animals and decided to solve the problem.
My emotions promptly dissolved into a complete and utter mess.
I had officially progressed from “angry enough to yell at the sheriff” to “might burst into tears because he built a goat enclosure.” There really ought to be road signs warning people about emotional whiplash. Mine had become severe enough to qualify for medical observation.
What a day.
I laughed once. Then sniffed. Then laughed again.
Sniffed a couple of times more. Very sexy.
My emotional range had become deeply concerning.
Five hours ago I’d stolen a livestock truck.
Then I’d gone to jail. Then I’d declared Captain Competent an emotionally constipated asshole.
Now I was standing on his property contemplating whether it was socially acceptable to cry over properly installed fence posts.
Apparently yes.
The sheriff watched me quietly. “You okay?”
“No.” I laughed through another shaky breath. “I mean… yes.” I rubbed at one eye before another completely traitorous tear escaped anyway. “Maybe? Ask me again in ten minutes when my personality finishes rearranging itself.”
The sheriff let out a laugh.
I let out another sniff.
“I don’t know.” I pressed one hand against my forehead. “My brain has officially resigned.” It packed up its tiny desk plant, stole the good pens, and left me with absolutely no qualified replacement.
He shook his head, smiling. “You really do live in a different universe.”
I grinned. “It’s part of my charm.” I looked back toward the pasture one more time. “They’re safe.”
He nodded. “They are.”
“And they’re really staying here?” I asked, still feeling like this was too good to be true.
“They are.” There wasn’t a hint of hesitation in his voice. Just certainty. Somehow that made my chest squeeze even harder.
My eyes burned all over again. “You built all this today? You’ve got some kind of superpower hiding under that sheriff badge?”
He laughed. “I had some help getting supplies.” He shrugged. “The rest wasn’t complicated.”
I stared at him. “If you say so.” I shook my head slowly. “Maybe not the lumber part. Although, judging by those fence posts, I’m guessing you’re annoyingly good with power tools too.”
Our eyes met. For a long moment neither of us spoke. The silence no longer felt awkward. It was comfortable, like we’d somehow found our way back to each other after taking an unnecessarily scenic detour through felony charges.
Finally, he asked, “So…” A small smile touched his mouth. “Do you like it?”
I looked around once more. “I do. I really do.”
He let out a slow breath, almost like he’d been waiting for that answer. “Good.”
I looked back at him. “Good?”
His shoulders lifted in a small shrug. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“You built an entire home for four animals.”
“I built a fence.”
“You built a fence, a shelter, bought hay, water troughs, feed...” I pointed toward Bandit, who’d somehow found a stick twice his size. “And whatever he’s currently doing.”
Eric watched Bandit for a second. “I don’t think even he knows.”
I laughed. “You really didn’t have to do all this.”
“I know.”
My heart gave a little tug. “You could’ve called a rescue.”
Eric nodded. “I could’ve.”
“You could’ve dropped them off and walked away.”
“Yes. I could’ve.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You keep agreeing with me, but somehow you’re still standing here with four extra mouths to feed.”
A smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. “Didn’t seem right.”
“No,” I admitted. “I guess not.”
He glanced down for a second before meeting my eyes again. “If I was going to fix what I messed up, I figured I should fix the part that mattered most to you.”
I looked around once more. “Well. You did a great job. I love it.”
The word felt far too small for what was swelling inside my chest. Love wasn’t big enough. There should’ve been another word. One specifically reserved for impossible men who rescued animals and accidentally rescued stubborn women at the same time.
The words barely left my mouth before my body made another executive decision without consulting my brain.
I closed the space between us, reached up, and caught his face between both my hands—again. My thumb brushed lightly along his jaw, rough with the start of an afternoon beard. “You’re going to ruin me for every other man on the planet.”
Then I kissed him. Really kissed him.
And not like the impulsive, terrified kiss from the festival.
This one was different. It carried every thank you I couldn’t put into words. Every apology. Every ounce of relief. Every impossible, terrifying, wonderful feeling that had been steadily growing inside me from the moment Captain Competent had walked onto that dance floor and held out his hand.
For one heartbeat he seemed almost surprised. Then his hands found my waist, and he kissed me back.
Slowly at first. Then with a quiet certainty that stole every coherent thought I had left.
I leaned into him without even realizing it. He pulled me closer, and the scent of cedar, fresh-cut wood, and soap surrounded me. His thumb brushed lightly along my side.
I smiled against his mouth. Actually smiled. Because somehow, in the span of a few hours, this impossible man had arrested me, bought four farm animals, and completely turned my world upside down.
I laughed softly between kisses.
He pulled back to look at me. “What?”
I shook my head, tears threatening again. “You’re…” I laughed once more. “A really wonderful man.”
Something warm flickered across his face. The guarded sheriff disappeared.
There was only Eric.
He rested his forehead lightly against mine. Then he slipped his fingers through mine. “Come on.”
“Where?”
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I’ve got something to show you.”
I laughed. “That is either the most wholesome invitation ever or the smoothest.”
He chuckled. “I guess you’ll have to come inside and find out.”
Still holding hands, we walked toward the house together. He held the door for me, and I walked in.
“Nice,” I said, taking it all in, the brown leather sofas, the heavy wood furniture. “Very manly. A bit caveman-ish. But I like it.”
“It gets the job done.”
“Well, that’s certainly one way to sell it.”
He smiled.
I wandered a few steps farther inside, my eyes moving from one corner of the room to the next. It looked exactly the way I’d imagined Eric’s house would.
Nothing fancy. Nothing pretending to be something it wasn’t.
Everything looked solid. Built to last. The leather sofa had clearly been sat on hundreds of times, but it was well cared for.
A large stone fireplace dominated one wall, and neatly stacked firewood waited beside it even though summer hadn’t quite given up yet.
My gaze drifted to a pair of well-worn work boots sitting neatly beside the back door. Not kicked off. Placed there. Of course they were.
“You alphabetize your socks too?” I teased.
He frowned. “No.”
“Really?”
“They’re separated by color.”
I stared at him. “You’re kidding.”
His expression never changed.
It took me three full seconds to realize he was teasing me. “You almost had me.”
Eric chuckled. “I know.”
I laughed.
Books were scattered across a shelf beneath the television. Not decorative books people bought because the colors matched the curtains. Real books. Repair manuals. Local history. Wildlife guides. A thick volume about woodworking. A couple of crime novels with creased spines.
“You read?”
“I can.”
I rolled my eyes. “You know exactly what I meant.”
“I do.”
My attention wandered toward a row of framed photographs sitting on a side table. An older couple stood beside a red barn, smiling into the camera. Another picture showed a teenage Eric holding what looked like an enormous pumpkin, wearing an expression that suggested he’d rather be anywhere else.
I smiled as I glanced back at him. “You had hair.”
His face screwed up. “I still have hair.”
“A lot more hair. Like big.”
He gave me a look.
I laughed again. “You were cute.”
“I was fourteen.”
“That explains the haircut.”
I wandered toward the kitchen. Like the living room, it was simple.
Everything had a place. The countertops were spotless.
A fruit bowl sat in the middle of the island with exactly three bananas and two apples.
Nothing else. No mail piled on the counter or a mysterious junk drawer exploding into neighboring cabinets.
All very neat and organized.
The exact opposite of me.
“You actually live like this?”
He looked around. “Like what?”
“So...” I gestured vaguely. “Functional.”
He shrugged. “It’s easier to find things.”
“Ah.” I leaned against the counter, looking back toward the living room.
For just a second... just one tiny second, I pictured myself curled up in that chair by the fireplace with a blanket and a book. Eric walking in through the back door after work. Eric looking at me like that. Then kissing me. Then carrying me over to the bedroom and ripping all my clothes off...
Yeah… gotta stop that. My brain was getting way ahead of itself again.
I’d known the man for all of five minutes. Okay... slightly more than five minutes. Still.
I cleared my throat and looked at him. “You know,” I said playfully, “for a caveman, you’ve made this place surprisingly cozy. Still sexy in that primeval drag-your-woman-by-the-hair-to-the-bedroom sort of way.”
“Come here.” He closed the distance between us, the warmth of his breath brushing across my skin.
Heat flickered in his dark eyes before he tipped his head and brushed a lingering kiss against one corner of my mouth.
My pulse stumbled as he repeated the gesture on the other side, catching my lower lip in a gentle tease.
I found myself responding excitedly, kissing him back with the same intensity. He slid his tongue between my lips, and I shuddered with pleasure, heat blooming over my skin.
I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had kissed me like that, with such passion and desire. It was setting my core on fire. I wanted to rip off his clothes and touch every inch of his hard body.
I pushed myself against him, feeling the heat between us. His hands moved under my shirt, sending delicious tingles over my skin.
He flashed a wicked grin and drew me against him. Warm breath ghosted over my skin before he captured my mouth in a kiss filled with urgency. His hands gripped my hips with a possessiveness that made me shiver.
I pulled away playfully. “Like I said. Very caveman-ish.”
Eric let out a growl and claimed my mouth again.
He was everything I wanted in that moment—steady, strong, and impossible to resist. Every slow stroke of his hands unraveled another layer of my resolve until I was leaning into him without a second thought.
It was far more than a kiss. It was the kind of moment that made the rest of the world disappear.
I drew in a shaky breath, struggling to calm my racing heart. He eased back enough to look at me, his breathing uneven. The heat in his eyes stole what little composure I had left.
In one effortless movement, he swept me into his arms and carried me into the living room. He eased me down onto the leather sofa before leaning over me, the solid warmth of his body surrounding mine.
Every nerve ending seemed to come alive, my pulse racing until I could feel it everywhere. He finally broke the kiss, lingering only inches away as his gaze searched mine. The unmistakable longing in his eyes stole the breath from my lungs.
In a blur, he pulled off his shirt and jeans.
So, of course, I had to rip off my shirt too. Then my jeans until I sat there in only a bra and panties.
The next thing I knew, Eric was on top of me again, and then my panties disappeared. Yup. The sheriff definitely had superpowers.
As he settled over me, my legs slipped around his waist, drawing him closer. The solid strength of him surrounded me, warm and reassuring. We found each other without thinking, moving together with an easy rhythm until the rest of the world faded away.
I wasn’t disappearing into someone else’s life.
I was finally walking toward my own.