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I nodded, giving them a small wave as I headed for the door. The rain had stopped, and the sky was starting to clear. The weather forecast might be right for once when it promised a better day.
As I headed down the mountain road and back into Whisper Ridge, I could see the damage the storm had wrought overnight. The paths were riddled with debris, branches, and scattered leaves everywhere. Small streams of water still flowed down the hillside, carving new grooves into the mud. Sections of the gravel road had been washed out, forcing me to navigate deep puddles and newly formed ditches. The fields closer to town were waterlogged, with patches of standing water reflecting the morning light. Whisper Ridge bore the storm’s scars, with a few damaged roofs and fallen fences visible from a distance. Daniel's car was right behind mine, and Iassumed he was heading to the doctor's office. He gave a short wave when we separated as we hit town. He went to the practice, and I went home.
When I pulled to a stop outside the diner, I could see it hadn’t escaped unscathed. One of the front windows was cracked, spiderwebs of fractured glass catching the early morning light. The awning hung lopsided, barely clinging to its supports, and the Lily’s Diner sign dangled by a single chain. Water pooled at the entrance, seeping under the door, and the facade was battered and worn.
“Shit.” I locked the car and jogged over to find Noah and Chris hefting boards to cover the broken window.
Noah was pale but focused, Chris struggling to keep his balance against the gusts of wind that hadn’t abated. Fox, Noah’s son, was helping, and without being asked, I joined in, taking one end of the sheet of plywood and offering it up to the window so Noah could nail it in place. Chris sagged against the door, then pushed it open to move inside, his crutch catching on the doorframe and only Noah’s hand on his arm stopping him from tumbling. This place was my home, but this was Noah’s business, and I really liked their little family.
“Is this the only damage?” I asked.
Noah nodded. “To the diner, yeah. We got off light—the coffee shop windows are toast.”
“I’ll head over there after this.”
“I’ll come with you as soon as I’m done here. Chris and Merle will handle the diner and keep the coffee going.”
Knowing Neil would be out fixing things, I glanced toward the sheriff’s office and fought the urge to track him down.
It turned out I didn’t need to, given that he was already at the coffee shop directing others where to cut the branches that had smashed into her window.
“Connor,” he acknowledged.
I joined the effort, grabbing a saw and working alongside volunteers to clear the debris. It was grueling work, and the storm had left a hell of a mess. While maneuvering a particularly stubborn branch, I felt a sharp stab and looked down to see blood welling from a cut on my hand. I stalked inside, grabbed some paper towel, wrapped it around the wound, and kept working. Neil watched me, his face twisted as if he’d sucked a lemon, but he didn’t say anything.
Once we’d finished clearing the window, Neil grabbed my arm, pulling me away from the group. “You’re getting that looked at,” he insisted, his grip firm and unyielding.
“What?”
“You cut yourself,” Neil snapped, sounding both worried and angry. His eyes flicked to the makeshift bandage on my hand, growling at the blood seeping through, then stared back at me with his familiar stubborn expression.
“I’m not going to waste Doc’s time with a scratch,” I argued, easing my arm free.
“Yes, you are.”
I snorted, “Make me, Sheriff.”
Neil’s eyes narrowed, a determined glint in them. “I have handcuffs.”
The idea of Neil putting me in handcuffs flashed through my mind, and instead of the intended threat, all I could think about was how that could be the start of a funnight in his bed. The thought of being restrained by his firm grip and authoritative presence sent a shiver of anticipation down my spine, igniting a fire that had nothing to do with anger. No one ever imagined a guy like me would love to be held down, to take a break from being in charge, but sometimes … yeah, I imagined what it would be like.
Someone to stop the urge to do stupid things.
“I might like that,” I said in a low tone, and his eyes widened.
We squared off in the alley behind the diner that ran toward the surgery, the air thick with tension. His shock at the words, or irritation at me—I couldn’t tell—was radiating off him in waves. Our breaths came heavy, as we each dared the other to make the next move. The intense back-and-forth, the proximity, everything seemed to blur into a single moment of charged emotion.
“Dammit, Connor!” His voice was low but fierce. “Why can’t you just do what you’re told for once? You’re not invincible. One cut and you could get an infection. What if you’d gotten swallowed in the mud last night? Jesus, you need to listen to me and start taking things seriously!”
“I take things seriously,” I shot back, matching his tone. “And I don’t need a babysitter.”
He winced, then his anger flared as he gripped my arm again. “I’m not trying to be your babysitter, you idiot. I’m trying to keep you from making my job a million times harder. Is that so hard for you to understand?”
“I’m not your job,” I yanked my arm free. “I’m a grown fucking man, and I don’t need a keeper.”
Neil’s face twisted in frustration. “You got betweenAbraham and his gun last week, Connor! Do you have any idea how reckless that was? Two weeks ago, you tried to pull a car out of a ditch using a rope and your bare strength and the fucking thing nearly flattened you. You think you’re invincible, but you’re not! One of these days, you’re going to get yourself seriously hurt, and then what? You think I enjoy watching you risk your life like it’s some game?” His voice was rising, anger and worry blending together in a raw, unfiltered outburst. “I can’t keep bailing you out of these messes, Connor. You need to start thinking before you act! And if you just took one freaking minute to?—”
I pushed him up against the wall, gripping his shirt, and kissed him. Hard. Anything to stop him talking.
