Garrett stepped between the two of them.“Deputy, could wekeep this professional?If you can’t handle treating a woman with some modicumof respect, then we’ll need to call in Mr.Barnes.”
The deputy’s face screwed up.“What does that word mean?”
His fellow deputy was a woman who looked to be in her latetwenties/early thirties, and she rolled her dark eyes.“Sorry.He’s not intothings like vocabulary or words, really, unless they’re insulting.Gil, whydon’t you go get us some coffee and I’ll handle this.”
“Ain’t gotta use big words.Makes a man feel small,” hemuttered as he walked off.
The deputy turned to Olivia.“Liv, I’m sorry.I got here asfast as I could.My shift didn’t start until eight.Are you okay?No one was inthere.”
Olivia gave her a wan smile.“I’m okay, though I will haveto call my dad.Hopefully he won’t feel like he has to come back.He and Momand Papa are having some quiet time.Kelly, this is Garrett Pace.He’s anattorney with our company, and Keane Rollins.He’s the foreman out at Aidan,Lexi, and Lucas’s ranch.”
The deputy smiled, and the whole world seemed to havedecompressed.She held out a hand.“I’m Deputy Kelly Morgan.Livie and I wentto high school together.”
“Her mom managed the resort’s restaurants,” Oliviaexplained.
Kelly grinned.“Oh, the good old days.I grew up on alifestyle resort, though my mother was firmly asexual by that time.She alwayswished she didn’t need a dick to make her happy since she typically picked themeanest dick she could find.How was the wedding?I was so sorry to miss it.”
Olivia reached out a hand.“It was lovely, but how is yourmom?”
“Better since yours sent out some of her favorite soup.Theygot the tumor and now she’s got radiation therapy, but she’s going to be okay.”The deputy looked Keane’s way.“My mother has breast cancer that might havetaken her out if Abby hadn’t gone with her to the doctor.She said she didn’tneed a mammogram, but turns out she did.It’s going to be okay, but I wish shehadn’t had surgery when there was a spectacular wedding to go to.I heard youhad trouble last night.Lola was down at the station this morning complainingabout unfair treatment.”
“Lola was sexually harassing my friend,” Garrett said.
All eyes went to Keane, and he shrugged.“She was determinedto give me attention I neither sought nor wanted.She was handsy, andapparently it was all because she was jealous of my girlfriend.”
Deputy Morgan’s brows rose, and her lips ticked up slightlyas she looked to Olivia.“I didn’t know you were dating anyone.”
“I met them at Josh and Grim’s wedding,” Olivia replied witha shrug.“What can I say?The party favors were amazing.”
Garrett snorted and looked Keane’s way almost as thoughtrying to figure out how he would take that joke.
Everyone thought because he liked to slap some ass and getcalled Master, he didn’t have a sense of humor.“Abby picked us up on sale at aparty store.”
Garrett smiled.“I would have gone with we were the eliteoption.”
Olivia wrapped an arm around his, leaning into him.She kepther eyes on her friend, but he felt her close.“They work with my uncle.I metthem at the wedding, and imagine my shock when they were on the plane with methe next morning.However, if you see my other douchebag ex, we’ve beentogether forever.You can’t remember a time I wasn’t with them.”
Deputy Morgan’s eyes went wide.“Scott’s back?Why?”
“He’s the new rep for Organic Foods.”
The deputy whistled.“That feels like a downgrade from theVP position he left you for.I’ll keep my eye out.But we should talk aboutthat fire.”
Olivia stood up a little taller, and her hand fell away.
She was going into boss mode.“Yes.Do we have any idea whatstarted it?We had our electrical upgraded a year ago.”
“We have an inspector coming out this afternoon, but I tooka look.I think I can tell exactly where it started,” the deputy explained.“Ithink someone poured gasoline all over your desk and it started there.Josh’soffice had minor damage, but yours is gutted.I don’t like it.Not aftersomeone slashed your tires yesterday.”
Keane straighten up.“The deputy yesterday told us hethought it was kids.”
Deputy Morgan frowned.“Yeah, there are some of mycolleagues who don’t love paperwork.We don’t have a feral pack of teensrunning around causing trouble.At least not until football season.I mightagree with him, but someone took out the security camera at exactly the righttime.I think someone knew that was Olivia’s car.”
“So you think they might be connected.”Keane’s brain wasworking overtime.“I find it interesting that her ex-boyfriend shows up andsuddenly she needs a lot of help.He thought she would be alone for the week.”
“How would he know my parents were planning to stay behind?”Olivia asked.
Deputy Morgan waved that off.“Sam was telling everyone thathis sons might be having their honeymoon, but he was planning one, too.He wasbragging about getting to spend time with the most gorgeous woman on earth inChrista’s on Thursday.It was sweet, but everyone knows they’re not home rightnow.”
