They walked to the grocery store, and she hummed along to the tinny music playing over the speakers as they picked out dinner together. It felt almost surreal, doing something as mundane as this with him, but in a good way. She’d love to repeat it as often as she got the chance. Maybe that was a little selfish, but hell, who could blame her? She loved having him all to herself.
As they checked out, she felt eyes on her and looked over to see Lawson watching her. She glanced up at him with a smile and he winked back, causing her to blush. They made small talk while the cashier continued to ring up their groceries and it felt like the most natural thing in the world. They seemed to share an easy rhythm between them and Sarah had to reach out and touch his hand just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. He squeezed her hand back, and then they gathered the bags and headed back to the truck to load them up.
“I think this is going to be enough to keep us going all summer.” He laughed.
She shrugged. “Hey, not all of it is for me. Plus, I like to think ahead,” she replied as they climbed back into the truck. But, before they could drive off, Lawson got a text on his phone. He looked down at it and grimaced slightly.
“What is it?” she asked.
“The sheriff,” he replied. “He says I should head over there now. They’re ready for me.” He glanced over at her. “You wantme to drive you back up to the lodge?” he asked. “I can come back down afterward, it’s no trouble…”
“Don’t be silly,” she answered, shaking her head. “You don’t need to go all the way up there and back again. You’ll spend two hours just driving. It’s daytime and I’m perfectly capable of driving myself. How long do you think you’ll be?”
“A few hours, at least.”
“Text me when you’re done,” she suggested. “And I’ll come pick you up.”
“You don’t have to—”
“I know I don’t,” she replied softly, reaching over to touch his arm lightly. “I want to, Lawson. I want to help.”
“Okay, well, if you’re sure,” he said as he handed Sarah his keys.
“I’ll go up and drop off the groceries and check in with everyone, then I’ll come back down and grab myself a coffee while I wait,” she suggested. “I don’t have any appointments today and I could use the change of scenery.”
“You going to be alright on your own?”
“Of course, I will,” she replied. “I might have been a little out of sorts last night, but I can handle myself. You don’t have to worry about me.”
A weight seemed to ease from his shoulders when she said that, and she was so glad to see him give in and stop worrying about her for a change. It wasn’t that she hadn’t given him reason to be concerned over these last few weeks, but the last thing she wanted was for him to neglect other things he needed to focus on to hover around her.
There was only one main road up the mountain to the lodge and she knew it like the back of her hand. Plus, it was the middle of the day, so she knew there’d be no trouble on the road right now. The men Lawson and the others were after, including the two locked up at the police station, skulked around in the darkof night. No way would they try something in daylight, on a well-traveled road where anyone could drive by and see. Those kind of men preferred the shadows to keep them safe.
Sarah sat and watched as Lawson crossed the street to the police station. He turned to wave at her before he went inside, and she waved back and then put the truck in gear and pulled out on to the road. A truck full of groceries, a sky full of sunshine and a sweet man waiting for her to come pick him up. Did it get any better than that?
Chapter Sixteen
Lawson entered the police station, where Sheriff Willis was waiting for him, arms crossed, a terse expression on his face.
“Finally, you’re here,” he muttered. “Kept me waiting long enough.”
Lawson stopped in his tracks. “You weren’t around when I first came by,” Lawson pointed out, cocking an eyebrow at the sheriff. If there was one thing he had never credited the sheriff with, it was a short temper.
Sheriff Willis rubbed a hand over his face. There were dark rings beneath his eyes, and Lawson couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for him. Clearly, it had been a long-ass night, dealing with those two prisoners in lockup, and it looked as though it was taking its toll.
“You good?” Lawson asked him.
The sheriff nodded. “Sorry. Just wish they weren’t in my station, that’s all,” he replied, nodding in the direction of the cells that held the two prisoners.
“They been giving you trouble?”
“They’ve been talking a big game,” Sheriff Willis muttered, sighing. “Giving my officers plenty to think about. Seems like Granger taught them to be as difficult as possible while they were under lock and key. Probably thought it would get them released sooner that way.”
“Sorry you had to be involved in this. Thanks for dealing with them,” Lawson replied grimly. He could only imagine what kind of trash talk the thugs had been saying to the police officerswho worked here. All the threats and taunts they were probably maliciously spewing to get a reaction, or cause the officers to drop their guards so they could get the upper hand.
“I understand why they’re here. I just hope this can get wrapped up quickly. They’re both causing such a ruckus, none of my officers are comfortable being around them,” the sheriff remarked as he went to grab the keys from behind the counter. “When you’re done, we’ll get them transferred over to the FBI and it can become their headache. Our small town isn’t set up to handle something of this magnitude.”
Lawson couldn’t help but feel bad for the man, especially with all the danger that had surrounded the lodge over the past couple of years. Normally, Blue Ridge was a quiet, peaceful town that didn’t see much action in terms of criminal activity. There had been a lot the sheriff had to step in and deal with concerning the lodge that no one had expected or been prepared for. None of them at Warrior Peak had any idea of the constant danger they would face.
