Page 99 of Valor

“We’refriends,Dad.”

“Got it.” He grins at me.

“Look who’s here. What a delightful coincidence!” my mother announces as she comes back into the kitchen with Sheriff Gibson Lawson right behind her. My brothers and I always joked that when our mother was up to something, you could see the trouble reflected in her eyes. And right now, paired with a wide smile, is the trouble, bright and shining in her blue eyes.

My heart jumps when I see him as warmth spreads through my veins. This man. Will he ever stop stealing my breath?

Wearing dark jeans, worn boots, and a button-down black shirt, he offers a smile and a wave. “Mrs. Hunt said there’s tacos on the menu. I hope it’s okay if I intrude.”

“You’re not intruding,” my dad says. “Come and sit. Lani, can you get him some sweet tea?”

“I can.” I stand, eyeing both of my parents as I do.

My mother, who has conveniently started cooking her homemade tortillas, is on the other side of the kitchen right where the glasses are. So, I lean in. “Really, Mom? How did you plan this?”

“I know you can’t turn down taco night,” she says with a grin. “And as it turns out, Gibson had no plans, either.”

“What a coincidence.” I get a glass down from the cabinet above her as she smiles innocently at me.

“I thought so.”

“You know, if I didn’t love you so much, I’d be mad.”

“But youdolove me so much. And I love you. So, go enjoy dinner with yourfriend.”

After filling the tea glass, I head back to the table and take my seat beside Gibson. We’ve been friends forever, so the seat choice only makes sense. Except the more time passes, the harder it gets to keep that friend line drawn.

Especially when I want so much more.

“Here you go, Sheriff,” I say, handing him his glass.

“Thanks, Doctor Hunt.”

I smile. “So tell me, any big police chases in town today?”

“I did have to get a kitten out of Mrs. Norris’s tree earlier.”

“Again?” I ask. The woman’s cat gets stuck at least twice a week.

“Third time this week.”

Make that three times a week.

“You’d think she’d just stop letting the thing outside.”

“According to her, the cat has figured out how to get out all by herself.”

“Sure she has.” I laugh.

“How about you? Any big doctor stuff happen recently? Medical emergencies?”

“A couple broken arms,” I tell him. “It is spring and all. Kids getting back outside and climbing onto things they shouldn’t be climbing onto.”

“Like the roof of a barn?” he asks, arching a brow.

I glare at him. “That wasonetime. And Dylan dared me to do it.”

“If Dylan dared you to jump off a bridge, would you?”

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