“Prince?” Jimmy raised an eyebrow.
She nodded, her shoulder-length thick hair swaying with her head motion. “You know, my golden-haired, blue-eyed prince who will share this enchanted cottage in the woods with me for the rest of my life.”
“And when, exactly, are you expecting this prince to show up?” Jimmy asked, his mind working to keep up with the conversation that had gone from guns, to killer dogs and now to a prince with blond hair who would provide her with her happy-ever-after ending.
She shrugged her slender shoulders. “Could be tomorrow, could be in a year. Who knows, but I’m a patient woman and I’m only twenty-six. I have time. I’m willing to wait until fate blows him in my direction. Forgive me, I’m being a bad hostess. Would you like something to drink? Maybe some iced tea or a cold beer?”
What he’d like to do was to sit here and talk to her forever, to get to know the woman who had captured his attention from the moment she and her two sisters had walked into the police station three months ago to file a missing-persons report for their aunt.
Instead he stood and shook his head. “Thanks, but I should probably head on home.” He had a feeling if he spent too much time with Sheri he might like her even more than he already did, and one of the few things Jimmy was certain of was that he wasn’t any kind of a golden-haired prince.
Sheri stood, the dog rising to all fours, as well. “Thanks for coming so quickly, Jimmy. I really just wanted to scare Travis. This is my property, not his personal hunting grounds and he needed to be reminded of that fact.”
“I’ll remind him again the next time I’m in the tavern,” he replied. On impulse he reached into his pocket and took out a pad and pen. He scribbled down his personal cell phone number and handed it to her. “Just in case you get the urge to hold somebody at gunpoint again. Call me first and I’ll see if I can talk you down.”
She smiled at him, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “Night, Jimmy.”
She headed inside the house as he walked around the side and back to his car. Minutes later as he made the drive to his apartment, he thought of what Sheri hadn’t asked. She hadn’t asked for any updates on her aunt Liz’s case.
That indicated to Jimmy that she’d already given up hope of the woman ever being found and that was a tragedy. Jimmy couldn’t imagine what it must be like to have a missing loved one.
Of course, Jimmy had no loved ones in his life. Despite the fact that she’d just held a man at gunpoint, Sheri Marcoli was a caring and gentle woman who deserved a prince and a happy ever after.
No matter how attracted he was to Sheri, he knew he was the antithesis of that prince. Black-haired and dark-eyed, Jimmy also sported two tattoos, had literally fought his way through life and had only known love for a brief period of time when he’d been eight years old.
As he pulled into the parking space in front of the small apartment he rented, he dismissed thoughts of Sheri Marcoli. He was a man apparently built to be alone, as he had been through most of his life.
What he needed to concentrate on was the mystery of Liz’s continued disappearance and the most recent case of an armed robbery at a local convenience store.
Work. That’s what Jimmy did best. Solving crimes was his talent, his passion. He was good at it and he had a feeling he’d be very bad at loving and being loved.
* * *
“Okay, Highway, you be a good boy while I’m gone today,” Sheri said as she opened the oversize doggie door that had been cut into a side wall of the kitchen. The door led into a large fenced area where Highway could enjoy coming and going from the inside to the outside, without having the full run of the backyard and the woods.
When she was home all day she allowed him the freedom of the yard, but when she was gone, he spent his time using the doggie door and was confined to the large pen or inside the house.
As he ambled out into the mid-June sunshine, Sheri grabbed her purse from the kitchen counter and headed toward the front door.
Minutes later she was in her pickup headed for the roadside store she ran along with her sister Marlene. Unfortunately, she had a feeling the days of her sister working there were limited.
Marlene was in the process of realizing her own dream of owning a bakery on Main Street. She’d already found the perfect storefront and with Detective Frank Delaney’s love and support, her dream was slowly becoming a reality.
Sheri couldn’t be happier for both of her sisters, who had found the men of their dreams and were working to build a future filled with love and commitment.
Sheri’s one foray into a relationship with a man had been a disaster. Her hands tightened around the steering wheel as she thought of Eric Richards. They’d dated for three months before he’d shown his true colors.
She hadn’t realized at the time they were dating that Eric was just like the kids who used to bully her at school. He’d only shown that side of himself to her when he’d gotten angry and once had been enough.
A sudden vision of Jimmy Carmani filled her head. He was definitely a hot piece of work with his thick black hair and dark chocolate-colored eyes. Nobody in the entire town of Wolf Creek wore a pair of black slacks and a tailored white shirt quite as well as Jimmy.
She didn’t know much about him except that he was one of three detectives that served the small town of Wolf Creek. She also knew he had a reputation for being brilliant and devoted to the job and she had to admit feeling a small tug of attraction toward him.
She dismissed thoughts of Jimmy as she pulled in front of the store where signs advertised Amish cheese and furniture, fresh produce and nuts, and a variety of other items that would appeal to the tourists that came through the area on their way to the bigger, more popular tourist city of Hershey.
This was the kind of place Sheri had always envisioned working. She loved doing business with the nearby Amish community and visiting with travelers who passed through the store on their way to new adventures and family fun.
She was always the first to arrive and open the doors for the day. She’d work alone until ten at which time Jennifer Fletcher would come in to help out. Marlene would arrive between noon and one along with Sheri’s other part-time help, Abe Winslow.
Sheri wasn’t planning on replacing Marlene when she stopped working at the store and instead devoted all her time to her bakery. Sheri, Jennifer and Abe were a good team and would hopefully be able to manage the store during the hours it was open.
They were like a little family and since Aunt Liz had gone missing and her sisters had become romantically involved with their men, a sense of family had been missing for Sheri.
Her evenings were quiet with just Highway and her woodland creatures for company, and yet she knew there was somebody special fate had in store for her...her prince who would banish her loneliness and love her as nobody ever had before.
Once inside the store all thoughts of princes and loneliness vanished as she got to work stocking shelves, checking the produce to make sure it was still fresh and attending to all the duties to be ready for a day of business.
She hadn’t been open long when seventeen-year-old Jason King walked in carrying one of his mother’s handmade quilts. “Good morning, Jason,” she greeted him with a gentle smile. She had a special soft spot for the young Amish man. His mother, Mary, had died six months ago, leaving Jason and his father, William, the burden of caretaking for five little Kings ranging between the ages of seven and two.
Jason cast her a tired smile as he set the quilt on the counter. “Good morning to you, too.”
“I see you’ve brought me another of your mother’s treasures.” Sheri placed a hand on the lovely, close-stitched patchwork quilt. “We sold the wedding ring quilt almost the same day you