Page 7 of Call it Reckless

I quietly entered, almost immediately hearing a thump, followed by a muffled curse coming from a room to my left.

Pulling my gun and a flashlight, I followed the wall until I came to an open door. In the moonlight streaming through the window, I saw a tall figure standing over a desk, shuffling around inside a drawer. Suddenly, the figure froze, but within a split second, it pulled something from the desk, looked in my direction, and aimed it at me.

Fuck.

A feminine voice called, “Freeze right where you are, you bastard.”

“Sheriff’s department. Don’t move,” I shouted in return as I clicked on the flashlight, aiming my weapon alongside it. “Put your hands above your head, where I can see them.”

In the beam of light, I could see a woman barely dressed in tiny shorts and a tank top with long hair draped over her shoulder, where it left a wet spot on a white T-shirt that did very little to hide her assets underneath. Not at all what I’d been expecting.

I lowered my weapon. “Bristol?”

She didn’t flinch. “You’ve got three seconds to tell me what you’re doing here, or I’ll open this up on your sorry ass.”

I held my ground but holstered my gun, then flashed my badge at her. “I’m Deputy Sheriff Braxton. We met briefly at Emalee and Zach’s wedding a few months ago.”

She lowered her weapon and crossed her arms. I breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Reid, wasn’t it?” She took a couple of steps closer to me. “How ‘bout you tell me what the hell you’re doing creepin’ around my house?”

Even if she wasn’t pointing a weapon at me anymore, I didn’t mistake the look in her eye for a welcome.

“I didn’t know you already moved in. I didn’t see a car out front. When I saw a light moving around, I decided to investigate, thinking maybe some vagrant had broken in.” I shrugged. “It’s happened before. Why are you in the dark, anyway?”

I heard her sigh and lowered my light as she came around the desk. “Dang old house. I blew a fuse when I was trying to dry my hair. It must be connected to the other lights in the back of the house. I remembered my grandpa used to keep a flashlight inside his desk. I was trying to find it since my cell phone is almost dead. And for the record, I moved my Jeep into the garage out back. I didn’t know I needed to leave it out front to advertise my arrival.”

I ignored her eye roll and small shake of her head. “Want me to take a look at the fuse box?”

She shook her head, making her long hair swirl like a curtain around her face.

“I appreciate it, but there’s no point if I don’t have any fuses. Besides, only a couple of rooms are affected. Cam already has an electrician scheduled to swap out the fuse box for a circuit breaker sometime this week. I’ll see if she can get it moved up. She’s been helping me make sure this old house is cleaned up.”

Red and blue lights flashed through the window, startling us both.

She moved closer and poked me in the chest. “Geez, Reid. Did you call the cops?”

There was some power behind that poke, but I didn’t flinch. Instead, I froze. She was tall, only a few inches shorter than my six-foot-two. Her hair was still damp, but that didn’t stop a few tendrils from curling softly around her face. She smelled like some kind of intoxicating exotic flower. I couldn’t tell the color of her eyes, but even in the dark, I could sense them glaring in my direction.

She poked me again, snapping me out of my daze. “Why would you call them? Aren’tyoua cop?”

She ran her hand through her long hair as she threw back her head. She couldn’t possibly realize how sexy she looked, exposing her graceful neck while thrusting her tits out, or she’d have never done it.

“Ugh. I’d almost forgotten how meddlesome small towns can be.”

Her comments hit me the wrong way. “First off, I’m a deputy sheriff. Second, of course, I notified dispatch to advise them of the situation. And third, thatmeddlesomenessas you called it? That’s people looking out for you and your property. You might show a little gratitude.”

Irritated, I stomped off toward the front door, leaving her in the dark. I swung open the door. My best friend and fellow deputy had his hand raised to knock.

“Evening, Reid.”

I nodded at him. “Zane.”

He glanced inside. “Everything okay in here?”

Bristol nudged me out of the way. “It’s fine, Officer. I moved in today and happened to blow a fuse tonight. I was searching for a flashlight when Deputy Busybody showed up. I appreciate all the concern, but I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.”

She waved her hands around as she talked, still holding the small pistol. Immediately, I was back on high alert, not trusting that she knew how to use it, given that she didn’t have enough sense not to wave it around.

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