“You failed to confirm, didn’t you?”
He couldn’t help but smile. If the Janae she was talking to was the one who lived in his town, she would know, like any other resident, the folly of not responding to that confirmation email or call.
“Listen, that’s not the point,” Vanessa continued. “I’m out of a room, and I can’t find anywhere else to stay. The only room available is at the sheriff’s house.”
“Lucky bitch.”
“Janae!”
“What?” Janae continued. “As fine as that man is, you could do worse. Hopefully, the storm knocks the electricity out while you’re there and the two of you have to snuggle together to generate body heat. As dry as your love life is, you could use all the help you can get.”
“Janae! You’re on speaker!”
Spurred on by the visible embarrassment sparking in her eyes, the smile on Michael’s face spread wider. Not that he wanted Vanessa to feel bad, yet finding out her love life was just as sad as his fanned a special kind of glee in his soul.
“Well, you should’ve known better than to put me on speaker without telling me. You know my mouth.”
He certainly did, and even though he couldn’t understand why it would matter, he was more than a little grateful she’d spilled the beans.
“Hi, Janae.” Michael leaned closer to the phone Vanessa was holding in the air. “How’s it going over there at the hospital?”
“Heyyyyy, Sheriff,” she sang in her usual spirited greeting she’d been giving him since they were kids in high school. Exchanging his given name for his title, it was still filled with friendship and a tad bit of mischief.
“You taking my girl in for the night?”
“I’m offering to, but she’s afraid I’m some sort of ax murderer hiding behind a badge here in…” He paused purposefully as he titled his head toward Vanessa, “Mayberry. Isn’t that right, Vanessa?”
“I done told you about disrespecting the name of my town, Vanessa.”
“Janae,” Vanessa moaned. Her voice was full of exasperation, and Michael was delightfully entertained by her predicament. “All I called to find out was if Michael could be trusted and if I should take the room. I can do without the rest of this.”
“Whatever,” Janae responded with a slight note of annoyance coloring her tone. “You couldn’t be in better hands. And unless you want to do an allergen challenge by being exposed to pet dander at my house or Cree’s, I’d suggest you take him up on his offer.”
Michael’s shoulders shook with silent laughter until he heard Janae call his name. “And Michael,” she continued, “take care of my girl. Don’t make me come for you. ’Cause you know I don’t care nothing about that badge you wear. You mess with her and it’s me and you.”
He resumed his laughter. She absolutely didn’t. From the mayor to the Sunday school teacher, little old Ms. Johnson, if Janae had a bone to pick with you, she didn’t give a damn about your title or position in life.
“I gotcha, Janae. Scout’s honor, I promise to keep her safe.”
“All right,” she responded. “That’s good enough for me. Listen, my break is almost over. You two get home out of this rain. I don’t want you ending up in my ER trying to navigate mountain roads in all this mess.”
“Thanks, girl,” Vanessa added before ending the call and returning her gaze to him.
“So, you believe me now?”
She huffed before nodding. “Fine, you’re safe. If the offer still stands, I’d be grateful for the room at your place.”
He smiled, then leaned down to grab the weekender bag sitting on the floor near the desk. “Follow me, m’lady. Your chariot awaits.”
“I could’ve driven my own car.”Only if you want to end up careening off the side of the road.Vanessa sat rigid as the thought sped through her mind. She was a good driver; however, as she peeked out of the windshield into the thick darkness, she questioned whether she could handle the dark, windy mountain roads. She summarily decided the sheriff didn’t need to know all that. Instead, she kept up her “I can handle anything” facade to keep up appearances.
“These roads are treacherous in broad daylight. Risking them when you’re unfamiliar with them at night in bad weather isn’t a good idea.”
Common sense said he wasn’t wrong. Considering the fact she was pretty certain his high beams were on, even though they were hardly cutting through the pitch surrounding them, it was just as well she’d agreed to take his car.
“Does the town have something against guardrails and streetlights? The roads don’t need to be this dark and ominous.”
He didn’t take his eyes off the road. She could still see the slight smile lifting the side of his mouth, though. “Yeah, light and noise pollution.”
