When she pulls away from me, she carries her coffee with her toward my room which is where her bag is waiting for her. As much as I want to follow her, and pull her back into bed, I know I can’t. Not today.
I need to head into the station as well. Even though the last thing I want is to watch Helen drive away from me, today is not the day to ask her to move in here with me. I’m also not stupid enough to ask her to quit her job, even though it’s clear she hates it.
There’s more work for me to do with her. I’m going to make her comfortable here, so she never wants to leave. I’m going to get her to fall in love with me and then I’ll make her happy for the rest of my life.
I’m in a shit mood by the time I walk into work. Saying goodbye to Helen was as awful as I imagined it was going to be. It felt like my heart was in the passenger seat of her car as she drove away. Even now, I can feel the tendril of our connection stretching out across the miles between us.
I rub my chest absently while my heavy steps lead me farther from my woman. I already know the ache there won’t be disappearing anytime soon. Probably not until I have my woman in my arms again.
“Oh,” Carla’s voice is sly in a way which makes me instantly wary, “good morning, Sheriff.”
“Good morning, Carla,” I don’t even try to hide the suspicion in my tone. She’s up to something; I just don’t know what it is. Yet.
The intense way she’s studying me has me scrunching up my face and crossing my arms across my chest. I don’t even care if it makes me look defensive. Carla loves being in on the gossip and I’m sure there is plenty of it going around Sweetwater Valley about me at the moment.
I’m not interested in adding to it.
But that’s not going to stop Carla from saying something. It never has before.
I let out a sigh, on edge because I already miss Helen. I know it’s a little silly considering I just saw her, but I don’t really care right now. The idea of her driving back to Dogwood Ridge and then going to work makes me skin crawl. Everything in me is screaming at me to get her closer and keep her there.
Don’t even get me started on her ridiculous decision to go and check out the Old Mill on a fucking whim, and without any backup. When I think about it, it makes me want to rage.
Swallowing down my anger, and my fear, is difficult.
I believe Helen learned her lesson and won’t be putting herself in the same kind of situation again. But what if she does? The thought makes my skin feel too tight.
“Did you have a good weekend?” Carla’s voice is innocent, but I can see the mischief shining in her eyes.
“Yes,” I can hear the hesitancy in my voice to even give her that much information. I force the question out, “How about you?”
“Oh, you know,” her voice is breezy, “just normal stuff. I did laundry and cleaned the house while catching up on my shows.”
“Sounds like a relaxing weekend,” I offer.
With an eager nod, she asks, “What about you? What did you do?” When I arch an eyebrow in question, she rushes out, “I heard you bought double the meat you normally do. Why did you need extra?”
I can’t help but scoff and rest my hands on my hips. “Let me get this straight. People are talking about me because I bought extra meat? No one thought I might just be stocking up my freezer?”
The look Carla gives me tells me just what she thinks of me trying to deflect her curiosity and the rumor mill. It’s not even like I want to deny the time I spent with Helen. That’s the last thing I want because my woman isn’t some dirty little secret and I’m not going to treat her like one.
My shoulders slump and I blow out a breath, “Fine. Yes, I did get extra meat. I had a date.”
“A date?” Carol echoes me as her eyebrows shoot up to her hairline.
Her surprise doesn’t come as a shock. I haven’t done much dating in the last few years because I’ve been too busy and, honestly, uninterested. If I needed someone to spend the night with, I went out of my county to find it because I didn’t want to deal with rumor and speculation.
This is different. Helen is different. She’s everything.
“Yes, a date.”
I don’t give her anything more and walk away. I’m sure it’ll only make Carla more determined to get the details because the woman is nosey, but it’s fine. Carla, and everyone else, will find out about the woman who has stolen my heart.
Getting my mind to focus on work isn’t easy, but I manage it. Kind of. Maybe. A little.
I make sure to call Lyons to see if he’s heard anything else about what is going on in McMinn County. The other night I wasn’t able to check the Old Mill out. It’s for the best because making sure my woman was safe was far more important.
Still, now that I’m back at my desk, I’m itching to find out if there have been any more leads that tie back to the Old Mill and if McMinnfound anything out there. Lyons doesn’t have the information I’m looking for but promises to let me know if he hears anything.
