At some point in the night Shelby tiptoed out of her bed to her overstuffed chair by the big floor-to-ceiling windows and picked up her laptop.She had dreamt a scene so vivid in her mind she had to get it on the page.It wasn’t much but at least she was writing again.Before dawn she crawled back in bed with Wes and tried not to worry about what his arrival meant.She couldn’t ask him to leave his life in Sandy Point behind just for her.That seemed like such a big step.But she couldn’t deny she wanted him too.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Wes
Home Sweet Home
Spending the daywith Shelby in Atlanta started off fine.They walked down to her favorite bistro for breakfast and browsed her favorite bookstore.But by afternoon they were back at her place and it was clear she planned to spend the day writing.He knew she was mapping out her new series that she’d started in Sandy Point.He told her to do her thing and he planned to sit and read on the couch, but about fifteen minutes later his phone started blowing up.First it was the station, then it was several of his deputies, and now it was his brother Dalton.
“I’m just going to step in your room to take this call,” he said to her back where she sat at her desk.She hadn’t typed anything, and he couldn’t help but wonder if he was the cause.
“Hey, man, what is so important that my phone won’t stop ringing on the first day off I’ve taken all year?”Wes said, after answering his brother’s second call.
“Someone set fire to the pier,” Dalton said.
“Our pier, the one with our name on the roof?”Wes said, gritting his teeth.
“The very one.Luckily some fisherman spotted it and called it in, but there’s enough damage to shut down part of the boardwalk and we need to do an insurance claim,” Dalton said.
“Damn.But I’m sure my deputies are working the scene.And I planned to be back tomorrow.”
“There was something else.”
“Okay, tell me.”
“Someone also torched Gran’s mailbox this morning.”
“What?”Now his blood was boiling.This arsonist thought they were going to intimidate him, but it wasn’t even clear what they wanted.
“I didn’t mention it to Gran yet, but this morning on my way to work I found it engulfed in flames.I reported it and asked them not to bother you with it.But now with the pier…” Dalton paused.“Whoever this is needs to be stopped, Wes.”
“I’ll drive back today, but it’s going to take me at least four hours.Maybe Gran should stay with you all until we get this person locked up?”
“Ya she should, but you know she won’t.At least we got that alarm on the house, so she should be safe.And we could take turns staying with her.”
“Alright, I’ll let you know once I’m back in town.I’ll stay with her tonight.”
He found Shelby in the doorway when he clicked off the call.
“Is everything okay?”
“There’s been a rash of fires being set lately, this time the pier and my grandmother’s mailbox.”
“That doesn’t sound like a coincidence.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
As much as he wanted to be with Shelby, he couldn’t help but wish he’d stayed in town.
“Obviously you need to go home and manage this.Can’t expect the sheriff’s department to replace you so fast.And I actually need to focus on this book.Maybe we can try again this weekend?”
“I’m sorry.”He pulled her close for a kiss.“It’s not that far of a drive, and once I set the tone in the office that I’m not always on call anymore, we won’t be disturbed.”
She nodded but looked skeptical.
He slid his hands down her arms and gripped both her hands.“We can make this work.I just need time to find a new job.”
She nodded with a smile.“There’s no rush.I wouldn’t want you to make any rash decisions you’ll regret.”
