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“Two trees blocking the corner of Elm and Aston, minor flooding, and Emmet Carson’s car is stuck in the middle of Locust Tree brook after flash flooding. Wyatt’son scene with Engine 11. Lewis is cut off from town after the creek broke its banks, but he’s making his way in as best he can, only it will be a while.”
“Tell Lewis to take care getting around the mountain.” My senior deputy was only a short while from retirement, and the last thing I wanted was for him to get washed away.
“Will do. He says not to worry. Uhmm… We’ve had reports of rumbling on the west side, possible landslide. That’s it for the storm.” He took a deep breath, and I braced myself for the rest of what I knew was coming. The connection to Abraham through my dispatcher made everything so complicated. It was a tightrope walk between duty and personal ties, wearing on both of us.
Solomon didn’t waste any time. “I heard about the latest incident with Abraham,” he said in a low voice. “I wanted to reassure you that Lucy’s fine, and she wants to thank Connor for stepping in. Abraham won’t be pressing charges.”
“Connor’s an idiot,” I muttered.
“That’s as may be, but Abe isn’t doing so well, and he knows he crossed a line. He’s sobering up, and I’ll check in on him later tonight. Lucy’s at ours, and my wife is looking after her.” He said all this in a rush, his embarrassment and anger evident.
I nodded, and relief washed over me. Lucy and Abraham married forty years ago and had two grown kids who had moved away. I’d never had any trouble with that family until Abe had lost his job, hit the bottle hard, and then had a DUI, which I’d had to pull him up on. His life had spiraled, and he needed to gethis pride back and be in control. “I’m glad to hear that.”
Solomon shook his head, frustration etched into his features and his eyes filled with sorrow and determination. Then he got all concerned. “And your dad? Your mom called here first.”
“He’s okay,” was all I would give him, and I changed the subject. “So, talking of Emmett and his car, he said he had part-time work at the garage and thought Abe might be a good match.”
“He sure would.”
“Okay, I want to speak to Lucy tomorrow. I’ll visit her at your house. Get Abe to come in and make a statement.” I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes briefly, my headache worsening.
Solomon rifled in his desk drawer and handed me Tylenol and a bottle of water. I swallowed the pills, hoping they worked fast. I needed a miracle to clear my head because this storm was fierce, running through town, trapped behind the mountain, leaving chaos in its wake, and I was over it already.
With a final nod, I headed to my office, my mind still swirling with the night’s events. The storm outside seemed a fitting backdrop for the disorder inside. Connor’s words echoed in my head, his frustration and anger mingling with mine. The town of Whisper Ridge was my responsibility. With the cost-of-living crisis hitting town, local politics, developers pricing out locals for housing, and the recent scandal involving Pastor McKenna,plusa new deputy, I felt as if I was holding my life and career together with sheer willpower alone.
Then there was Connor.
Sitting at my desk, I couldn’t help but think about the man and his determination to protect, his stubbornness, his … everything. He was infuriating, but he also had a point. Sometimes, the system wasn’t enough. Sometimes, you had to take matters into your own hands.
But I had to find a balance. Even when it seemed impossible, I had to be the law in this town. I also had to deal with my feelings for Connor and our unresolved tension.
For now, though, I needed to focus on keeping Whisper Ridge safe, one storm at a time.
Chapter Three
CONNOR
The storm pounded my car,and gusts of rain and wind slammed against the windshield of my SUV. The wipers were working overtime to keep up. It felt like a mission, pushing through the downpour to get to the Lennox Ranch. Normally, I’d relish a good storm, the action-adventure side of me battling the elements—but tonight was different because the destination wasn’t some rescue or a mission; it was Quinn’s birthday, and there was no getting out of it. Not when Quinn wasn’t just my boss but was also a friend. Not only that, but Connor, his warnings, and the almost-kiss made me restless, and my skin felt tight with need.
“Fuck my life,” I muttered, then glanced at the gift bag on the passenger seat. Inside was the mug I’d bought in a last-minute panic:World’s Shittiest Boss. TheShittiestpart was my little addition, a weak attempt at humor. What do you get a millionaire who could buy himself anything he wanted? A joke mug seemed safer than another bottle of whiskey or yet another piece of tech I’d set him up with aspart of my job to keep him safe and out of the eye of the media.
The Lennox Ranch came into view through the sheets of rain. On a summer’s day, it was a warm, inviting ranch house, the kind of place that screamed family and history, and in the winter, it was lit up like one of those Christmas houses full of candles. Rachel was organizing Quinn’s birthday tonight. Hence, the event was in the main ranch house, not my boss’s and his husband’s place, which is a quarter mile up the mountain. Quinn and Levi spent time in the main ranch house with the people they called family and were so damn happy.
I’m not jealous.
I don’t need people.
Yet, here I was, heading into all that found family, the outsider, the lone wolf without a pack. My SEAL team had long since scattered, my family wanted nothing to do with me, my cousin—the only one who continued to speak to me after I’d come out—was gone, and the concept of slipping into life at the Lennox Ranch as Quinn had done was alien to me.
“You’re being fucking stupid,” I told myself, and the empty car and the mug on the seat, as a powerful gust of wind rocked the SUV, making it slip on the gravel from one side of the road to the other. Even four-wheel drive wasn’t keeping me in a straight line, and I frowned at the heads-up screen where the scarlet of the storm still hovered over Whisper Ridge.
I wished the stormwasa person I could take down. After feeling so drawn to Neil and seeing him walk awayagain, I mightn’t have felt so antsy if I had control over something like the elements in my life.
Yeah, it’s the storm that’s making me antsy, not my reluctance at being forced to socialize.
Or Sheriff Sexy cutting me dead.
Shake it off.
