Page 106 of Home Town Knight

I pulledoff the last bit of the stencil from the wall and stepped back to admire my handiwork.

Behind me, the bell on the door jingled, and there was a low whistle. “Would you look at that.Hartley Gazette. Genevieve Blake, Editor-in-Chief.”

“Has a nice ring to it.”

“That it does.” Owen’s body pressed up against my back. He put his arms around me, taking off his hat to kiss my neck.

“You’re going to get paint on your uniform.”

“Don’t care.”

“You realize anyone could look in and see the sheriff getting cozy with the editor of the local paper? You’ll cause a scandal.”

“Don’t care about that either.”

I spun in his arms and planted a firm smack on his lips. “Good.”

Over his shoulders, the view through my windows was stunning. Main Street at the height of late summer. Blue sky, flowers blooming outside every shop, ice cream in every tourist’s hand.

“I thought you’d be here earlier,” I complained.

“Sorry. Busy morning at the station. Couple of trespassers south of town, which Keira dealt with, and then a shoplifter at the hardware store. But I’m here now, and I’m ready to work.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’ve finished my whole list for the day.”

“Then we’ll just have to do somethin’ else.” He fit his hat onto his head and gave me a crooked grin. Ugh, he knew I was a sucker for that cowboy stuff.

Owen grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the back rooms.

It had been two months since I’d returned to Hartley with Owen. Right after arriving, I’d tracked down the man who once owned this building. He’d been so happy to hear I wanted to start the paper again that he’d given me a discount on rent. Which I desperately needed.

I’d been writing freelance stories, but that didn’t pay much. Nor did I expect theGazetteto make me rich. We had some advertisers lined up and some volunteers to write articles. Aside from that, and the oldGazettelogo I’d kept, I was starting from scratch.

I’d also moved into Owen’s house with him. We’d both acknowledged it was fast, but we wanted to be together all the time. Those months apart had taught us that.

Hartley was growing on me. Soon, I’d love it as much as Owen did. That was why I’d wanted to bring theHartley Gazetteback to life. This town deserved a voice. And the local officials also needed to be held to account. Even the sheriff. I wasn't going to give him a free pass just because I was in love with the guy.Soin love.

We reached the storage room at the rear of the building, which was across from the tiny bathroom. “There’s not much back here, Sheriff. We’re simple folks here at theGazette.”

“Is that so?” The brim of Owen’s hat was low over hiseyes, but the look he gave me was smoldering. He backed me up against the wall. “I’ve heard some concerning rumors about the reporter who works here. That she’s got a naughty side. I don’t appreciate that kind of thing in my county.”

Giggling, I took his hat and put it on my head. “You should decide for yourself. Feel free to inspect my business thoroughly.” I was already unbuttoning his shirt. Stripping Owen out of his uniform was one of my favorite pastimes. “But are you sure we have time? We’re supposed to be at River’s in an hour.”

“Babe, you know how much I can do with an hour.”

Sixty minutes later, I could confirm he was right. Owen had taken me up against a wall in the storage room, my hands splayed against the plaster in front of me as he slid inside me from behind. He’d let me wear the cowboy hat. But I was pretty surehewas the one who’d gotten a ride.

I had zero complaints.

We walked together down the block to the saloon, then to River’s apartment on the second floor. He smiled as we came inside. “How’s the newspaper business?”

Owen palmed my butt cheek through my jeans. “I’d say her business is excellent.” I shook my head at my man, while River cackled.

We chatted for a bit before getting to our reason for meeting. The latest on Stillwater. The three of us sat around River’s kitchen table, and I sent the document I’d been working on to his phone via encrypted transfer.

We’d still been hunting for the corrupt official with ties to both Stillwater and Hartley. While River and Cerberus were great at finding and analyzing reams of data, I was great at investigating people. Teasing out their motivations and looking for inconsistencies.

Despite my exposé on Stillwater, they hadn’t made any moves against me or my friends. Not yet. But I’d receivedcalls from state and federal law enforcement agents hoping to get access to my sources. While I’d refused that request, I’d agreed to an exchange of information. So long as it was two ways.

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