"Aw, come on, don't be like that." His hands slide lower, and my skin crawls. "Just trying to be neighborly."
I'm about two seconds from introducing his balls to my knee when a familiar voice cuts through the music like a blade through silk.
"Take your hands off her. Now."
The drunk guy spins around, sees Gabriel standing there in civilian clothes, and immediately releases me like I'm on fire. Even without the uniform, Gabriel radiates the kind of authority that makes smart men think twice.
"Just dancing, Sheriff. No harm meant."
"Dance somewhere else." Gabriel's voice could freeze hellfire. "Far away from her."
The guy stumbles off, muttering complaints under his breath that he's smart enough to keep quiet.
Gabriel's eyes find mine, concern replacing the cold command from moments before.
"You okay, Trouble?"
The nickname sends warmth spiraling through me, but I lift my chin anyway. "I had it handled."
"I'm sure you did." His lips quirk slightly, like he's fighting a smile.
"Come on. I'll walk you home."
"I'm fine—"
"Lucy." The gentle but absolutely immovable way he says my name ends the argument before it starts.
I wave goodbye to Emma, who is now talking animately with a group of girls.
Outside, the March air bites through my thin jacket like it's got teeth. Gabriel shrugs out of his leather jacket without a word, draping it over my shoulders before I can protest.
It smells like cedar and leather and something indefinably like him, something that makes me want to bury my face in the collar and breathe deep.
My mind races as we startwalking.
Home is a beat-up van parked behind the clinic, and there's no way in hell I'm letting the sheriff see that.
Bad enough he's already suspicious without adding "secretly homeless" to my growing list of red flags.
"I need to check on the animals first," I say when he automatically turns toward the residential streets. "At the clinic. Colt gave me a key for overnight checks."
Our footsteps echo off empty storefronts, the only sound besides the distant hum of bar music fading behind us. I'm hyperaware of everything. The weight of his jacket on my shoulders, how he shortens his stride to match mine, the way streetlights catch the silver threading through his dark hair.
"Emma seems to like you," he says eventually, his voice rougher in the quiet night.
"She talks enough for both of us." I glance sideways at him. "Has some very... enthusiastic opinions about local law enforcement."
Even in the dim light, I catch his grimace. "Emma's got no filter."
"She mentioned something about you helping during hay season. Very... athletically." I'm playing with fire, but the normalcy of flirting, of being just a girl teasing a guy she's attracted to, is intoxicating.
Gabriel stumbles slightly. "Christ. Nothing's sacred in this town."
"Could be worse. She also called you a walking sin wrapped in a badge and good intentions."
"She what?" His voice cracks slightly, and I have to bite my lip to keep from grinning.
"Oh, and something about reading her rights, but I think that's when the conversation went completely off the rails."
