“Dad,” Helen’s voice is smooth, practiced in a way which has my hand clenching into a fist at my side. Her eyes flick toward me before going back to her dad—fuck me, her dad—before landing on Sheriff Lyons. The smile on her face is polite, but, somehow, I know it’s dimmed. “Hello, Sheriff.”
“Helen,” he greets her with a nod of his head. Polite, but not necessarily welcoming.
“I saw Ezra earlier today at Bunz Out,” she offers, her voice is awkward in a way I don’t like.
Ezra? Who the fuck is Ezra?
Lyons scoffs, “Please tell me she wasn’t wearing one of her shirts.”
Helen blinks and clears her throat. “I thought it was funny,” she offers and I can tell she’s trying not to wince, “and the kids love them.”
When she glances my way again, Edgar turns toward me with a practiced smile on his face that makes me want to curl my lip. “Sheriff Wilder,” he intones, “this is my daughter, Helen.”
I hold my hand out, everything in me on edge waiting for her to slide her hand into mine. “Rhodes,” my voice is a deep rumble, “please. It’s nice to meet you, Helen.”
Her eyes flare and the moment our skin touches the hair on the back of my neck stands up and I have to clench my jaw to stop myself from reacting. Fuck, it feels like I’ve just been punched in the gut.
My nostrils flare and I take a deep breath, her honey and anise scent wraps around me while I give her hand a squeeze in acknowledgement of this connection. Her eyes are big and round as she looks up at me, and it takes everything in me to let go of her hand instead of using my hold to pull her against my chest.
Something tells me Edgar Cowell wouldn’t appreciate me making such a bold move.
Although, considering the way he’s side eyeing me, I have a feeling that he’s not completely unaware of the way I can’t help but stare at his daughter. And I sure as fuck am not going to apologize for it.
This woman is meant to be mine.
The fact that there has always been a rivalry between our towns doesn’t matter. The fact that she’s the mayor’s daughter doesn’t even factor into this.
Hell, I’m not even concerned about not knowing anything about her other than her name and her familial relationship with the mayor.
We’ll have the rest of our lives to get to know each other.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of you leaving the clerk’s office and stopping in to see me?” Edgar’s question is jovial, but there’s steel underneath it which I don’t like one bit.
I give Helen a nod before stepping past her and into the reception area. Do I take in another lungful of her scent? You better fucking believe it.
“I thought you might be free for lunch,” Helen’s voice is bright, but I swear I can see reluctance written on her face when I look at her.
“Of course,” Edgar practically crows, “I always have time for lunch with my daughter.”
The smile on Helen’s face freezes and holds. She turns toward me and her eyes flare with a fire I don’t understand. But I sure as fuck want to fan it and watch it catch.
“Mayor Cowell,” my voice is smooth and I manage to tear my eyes away from Helen long enough to shake the man’s hand, “It was nice seeing you again. I’ll be sure to continue to loop Sheriff Lyons in on anything I find,” I assure him.
I’m not sure whether his care is genuine or not, but if I don’t air on the side of caution on this one, I’m going to drive myself mad.
Looking back at Helen, my voice softens slightly, “Helen.”
Her lips part slightly and her cheeks pink just enough. “Sheriff,” she shoots back as she looks up at me from underneath her lashes.
The flecks of gold in her brown eyes flash with heat and I know I’ll chase this woman to the ends of the earth if I need to. Hopefully, it won’t come to that.
Apparently, I’m going to need to come up with a lot more reasons to visit Dogwood Ridge. I file away the fact that the mayor mentioned the clerk’s office and can only assume he means the county clerk. If she works there, that information might come in handy in the future.
One thing is for sure. Helen is mine.
CHAPTER 4
HELEN
