Bailey chuckled. “No to mud, yes to coffee. Noted.”
“I think you’re going to fit in here just fine,” he said with a smile. “Do you want to go meet the others before I show you the ropes and give you the whole introductory spiel?”
Her stomach flipped but she nodded confidently. “Yes, that sounds great.”
She followed behind Sheriff Willis as he led her out to the bullpen where the officers’ desks were.
“Everyone, this is Bailey,” Sheriff Willis said over the din of the busy environment. “Bailey, this is everyone.” He swept an arm around the room.
Bailey smiled and waved awkwardly. “Uh, hi, everyone.”
“You’ll have a chance to learn everyone’s names and get to know them personally soon,” Sheriff Willis promised.
Throughout the day, almost every single person found Bailey to talk to her and kindly welcome her to the department. Some of them asked questions about how Aaron was doing or how things were going with the rebuilding of the parts of the sanctuary that were damaged in the fire. She realized that she had no reason to be worried about these people being like the guys she had worked with in Kings Mountain. Aaron had been right—they were good cops and good people. She was excited to be a part of this group of officers.
By the end of the day she was tired but happy. Some of the officers invited her to grab a beer at the local bar after their shift, but she declined, promising to join them next time. She didn’t say no because she was worried about a repeat of whathad happened at the bar in Kings Mountain, but because all she wanted to do was get home to Aaron and tell him about her day.
She got in her truck and drove back toward Warrior Peak. She waved at Hannah and River, who were taking a walk, as she drove by but didn’t stop to talk. She would give them all the details about her first day on the job tomorrow. Right now, the only person she wanted to talk to was Aaron.
When she pulled up in front of their cabin, she paused for a moment, taking in its charm. Sure, it was small and rustic and the hot water didn’t always work, but if home was truly where the heart was, then this was definitely home. At the end of a long day, that’s all she could ask for.
She got out of her truck and walked into the cabin to find Aaron cooking dinner. He turned and smiled when she came in.
“Hello, officer,” he said with mischief in his eyes. “I promise I’m not doing anything illegal.”
She tried to look stern, playing along. “I sure hope not, or else I might have to handcuff you.”
He waggled his eyebrows. “Is that so?”
She nodded solemnly. “Yes, and I was given my department-issued cuffs today, so you better watch it, buddy.”
He laughed. “Let’s save that for later. First, let’s eat and you can tell me all about your day.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” she said. “I’m starving and whatever you’re making smells delicious.”
They sat down and ate together, and she told him all about her day. The people she’d met, how kind they’d been, and how much she looked forward to working for the department. Aaron listened and asked a few questions, then told her about his day. He’d had some physical therapy and then worked on some small projects that he had convinced Lawson and Xavier to let him do.
“Sounds like we both had a pretty productive day,” Aaron said.
Bailey nodded in agreement. “Are you ready to do it all over again tomorrow?”
“I guess so,” Aaron replied. “But first, I have some other plans for us tonight.”
“Do you?” she said coyly, standing up from the table.
He stood, too, and grabbed her around her hips, lifting her off the ground. “I sure do. Let me show you.”
She wrapped her legs around his waist as he walked them into the bedroom, and couldn’t remember a time she was so content in all areas of her life.
She was finally where she was meant to be.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Aaron looked around the cabin that he and Bailey shared and sighed. Things were quiet now that she worked and wasn’t around all day. He was so incredibly proud of her, but he missed her when she was gone. He had gotten used to slow mornings, midday walks to visit Wheatie and give her treats, afternoon coffee on the tiny back porch of their cabin, and cooking dinner together every night.
They could still do those things sometimes, just not every day like they had been. It didn’t help that he wasn’t fully back to work, building and doing other physical jobs around the lodge grounds. He could admit that he was a little envious of Bailey being able to put that uniform on each morning and go to work helping people. While he didn’t want to be a police officer anymore, he did want to do something that mattered.
He felt like what he did at the sanctuary mattered. Now, if he could just convince Lawson and Xavier that he was healed up enough to go fully back to his job. He’d been consistent with his physical therapy and going to all of his doctor’s appointments. He felt strong and capable of returning to work. He decided he was going to go talk to Lawson and Xavier about it right then and there.
