Chapter Eight
“What canwe do for you, Sheriff Milton?” Dylan offered his hand and looked the man in theeye.
The sheriff didn’t accept his offering. Instead, he shifted his gun belt and eyed Dylan with a brow-raised suspicious scan of him and then me. The sheriff hadn’t physically changed much over the years. His hair was still full and salt and paper, his frame still lean and tall, but next to the new and physically impressive Dylan, the man didn’t seem so imposing anymore. “What are you doing in Magnolia Corners, DylanMarkham?”
“I’m here to visit. I’ve turned my life around Sheriff Milton, the way you encouraged me todo.”
I might have tsked at his words, but they both kept their alpha gazes on eachother.
Dylan put his hands on his hips and rocked back on his heels. “I’m glad to see you. It saved me atrip.”
“Out of town, I hope,” Sheriff Milton said in an I’ll-throw-you-against-the-car-and-cuff-youtone.
“No sir. I was planning on coming by the station to thank you. I give you all the credit for saving my life.” Dylan touched my shoulder. “Saving both our lives from self-destructivebehavior.”
Sheriff tapped his finger against his gun. Not in a threatening way—more as a habit from years of service. “Glad to hear it. Sounds like you have a life outside of Magnolia Corners. Best you get back to itsoon.”
“Maybe you should stop running people out of town,” I said before I had a chance to think about it. “Dylan here might thank you, but you had no right to threaten to arrest him when he did nothingwrong.”
“He had marijuana in his vehicle,” he said with his deep, authoritativevoice.
“You and I both know that was his drug-addicted father who probably was planning on selling it for his next fix. Dylan isn’t like that.” I looked up in time to see a proud grin on Dylan’s face. I couldn’t help but defend him. Apparently, old habits died harder than Sheriff Milton’sstare.
He took a deep breath, and his shoulders softened along with his eyes a smidgen. “Maybe so, but I wasn’t going to deal with another bad boy corrupting a goodgirl.”
“He corrupted me?” I shrieked. “After my mother ran off, he kept me from going small-town certifiably crazy. I’m the one who tee-peed the station. Dylan only arrived in enough time to whisk me from the crime scene. I’m the one who spray painted the side of the school, not Dylan. I was the one who did all of it. He took the fall for me and tried to keep me out of trouble. If it wasn’t for him, I would be the one run out oftown.”
The sheriff tipped his hat up with one finger and looked down at me. “You had it tough as a kid, but it was only a matter of time before you fell into his messed-up world. He had toleave.”
“Wasn’t your call to make,” I saidflatly.
Dylan pulled me into his side as if we were a united front. I couldn’t lie… I liked it. It felt like old times, us against the world. “We both made poor choices, but we’ve learned, and we are doing wellnow.”
“We?” Sheriff smacked his lips and hooked his thumbs on his belt. “Sounds like you’re stirring up trouble again.” He eyed Mrs. Welsh’s house and then the lawnmower. “I’d hate to take you in on a noise-ordinanceviolation.”
I jumped forward. “You wouldn’tdare.”
Dylan slid an arm in front of me and nudged me behind him. “Sorry for the disruption. It won’t happenagain.”
“You know she’s a crazy old lady. Why are you picking on Dylan? Why do you have it in for him even today?” I shouted over Dylan’sshoulder.
The corner of Sheriff Milton’s lip curled. He stood eye to eye with Dylan. “I rest my case. You are poison in this town, just like yourfather.”
Dylan lifted his chin. “I won’t be herelong.”
“Make it even less.” Sheriff Rude-neck headed toward his car but stopped and turned back to us. “Hear you have a stellar military record. I’d hate for anything to cause you any trouble in your otherlife.”
“Is that a threat?” I ducked under Dylan’s arm to take on Sheriff Milton and his bullyattitude.
“You may not understand this right now, Avery, but I’m looking out for you. This time, I won’t allow one of my town girls to beruined.”
“What are you talking about?” I crossed my arms over my chest a few steps fromhim.
Sheriff Milton didn’t answer. He only walked back to his car. He stood there for a moment and exchanged a stare down with Dylan before he returned to his car and backed out of thedriveway.
“What was that about? You two just looked like you had a full conversation with nowords.”
“Nothing.” Dylan shook his head as if to clear it off a fog. “Well, that didn’t go the way I hadexpected.”
