“Are you sure you’re all right?” Emily asked.
Lily had forgotten her assistant had followed her. “Yeah.” She bent to pick up a few books from the first box and turned to place them on a table in alphabetical order by author name.
“Who were you just talking to?”
She sent a look over at Emily, letting her know she was prying too much.
“Sorry,” Emily said.
The sound of someone behind them made Lily turn. So did Emily.
Wes Colton stood on the other side of the boxes, holding a book in his hand. The sight of him stole her breath and shards of excitement chased her bleakness away.
“Looks like you got some new inventory.” His voice was masculine and as appealing as she remembered. Maybe more so.
What was he doing here? Her insurance company was handling the transaction with his SUV. Of course, he had another reason, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to face that.
“Wes.” She hoped she didn’t sound as school girlish as she thought.
Emily glanced from her back to Wes.
He held up the book, the picture of a bare-chested man looking down at the soulful face of a brunette. “Interesting cover art.”
Lily snatched the book from his hand and dropped it back into the box he’d taken it from. “It’s popular fiction.”
He didn’t say anything, just grinned his amusement and something else. Was he flirting with her?
“Uh … I’ll go help at the checkout counter,” Emily said, smiling secretively as she wandered off.
Uncomfortable with the way Emily left them alone and the realization that she’d picked up on Wes’s flirting, too, Lily had to force herself to look at him.
“How are you?” she asked.
“Good. You?” Was he nervous, too, or was this small talk a way for him to get a conversation going?
“Good,” she played along.
He smiled wider. “I came by to see you.”
His announcement dispelled the awkwardness. Gladness expanded and bloomed in her chest.
“I bought a new vehicle in Bozeman yesterday,” he added.
“Oh, that’s good. I hope you like it as much as your last SUV.”
“More so. Cost me a little more than I expected, but it’s worth it.” His gaze floated over her face. “It’s good to see you again.”
Another charge of excitement tickled her. She smiled and saw how he noticed. “It’s good to see you, too.”
Losing herself as she met his smiling eyes, feeling his attraction match her own, it took her a moment to realize how they were behaving. She glanced around. Emily was busy with someone at the checkout counter. There was no one standing near them. No one had noticed them ogling each other.
Reality came down a little harder. Did she really want to encourage Wes? Aside from the folly of him getting involved with what everyone considered the town floozy, she would be no good for any man right now.
The news of her rapist’s release had robbed her of her strength. She was vulnerable again. The same struggle she’d overcome so many years ago was returning. Would she be able to go home and not feel as though she had to lock every door and window and double-check them periodically? She hated that kind of weakness, the power Brandon Gates still had over her. Would she ever be free of that part of her life? It was disheartening.
No. She refused to succumb to irrational fears. He was moving back to North Carolina. That was far away from here, and he’d be foolish to try and make contact with her again. He had to know she’d expose him if he did.
“Don’t worry, our secret is still safe,” Wes said.
He’d given her a brief distraction from her troubles, but they weren’t going to magically go away. “You shouldn’t have come here.”
“Would you rather we go back to the prison?”
He was trying be funny, but he had no way of knowing how upsetting the reference was for her. She looked down at the floor.
Wes was quiet for a few beats. “So … how do you like the library?”
Back to safe topics. He had a way of easing her into those and keeping her enchanted.
She glanced around at the dark wood shelves and Emily helping someone else now at the checkout counter. Something about this place made her feel good. It soothed her. Maybe it was her love of books. They’d installed new computers a few months ago. Some of the floor had been carpeted and some refinished with new hardwood. New lighting had been installed, too. It was cozy. Fresh. Clean and bright. “I like it.” She looked back at him. “I like the work, too.”
“How long have you been doing this line of work? I never got a chance to ask you that when you drove me to my office.”
“I went to college after I left Honey Creek. It’s been about ten years now.” He was doing a good job of taking her mind off that phone call, drawing her out of darkness and into the light of his purpose in coming to see her. The Sheriff of Honey Creek County was interested in her.
“It suits you.”
Did it? She took in his chest in his sheriff uniform, his height, and even though he was flirting, he had a commanding presence.
“Being sheriff suits you.” She couldn’t believe she’d said it. “I mean—”
“I know what you mean,” he cut her off. “And I like that.”
Oh, boy…
“Why did you leave the navy?” she asked, more to divert the conversation.
“I wanted to come home.”
“You planned on running for sheriff?”
“Not at first.”
“What did you do in the navy, anyway?” How had he gone from that to law enforcement?
He hesitated and the glint of infatuation left his eyes. She wondered if this was a sore subject.
“I joined the SEALs.”
Her brow rose. She couldn’t help it. “Wow. You passed that training?”
Was he studying her? He seemed as though he was suspicious of her. Did he wonder why she’d asked? Why did it matter?
“I worked with a team for a while,” he finally answered, “but I didn’t like the travel.”
“And the danger?” Did he like that?
“That didn’t bother me so much. I was careful.”
Careful? “You sound so confident.”
“You have to be.”
“Is being sheriff of this little town enough of a stimulus for you?”
“I was young when I joined the SEALs. I don’t need adrenaline rushes to stay interested anymore. So, yes, I like what I do now. And there’s a lot to be said about dodging fewer bullets.”
“You’ve dodged bullets in Honey Creek?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
And he’d dodged them as a SEAL. “Didn’t you like being a SEAL?” He was sure acting strange about it.
“I liked it. I just wanted to come home,” he answered curtly.
She decided not to question him further on that. He obviously