Page 1 of Sheriff's Dirty Secret
prologue
Luke March
I should beoff my shift, but here I was instead.
Walking around the middle of town, in full uniform, my utility belt heavy on my hips as sweat started to form at the back of my neck. I smiled and nodded at the kind citizens of Moonlit Pines as they passed me while I made my rounds around the farmers market.
Just like I had every Tuesday since I started as Sheriff of Moonlit Pines two months ago.
Sure, it looks good in theory.
The new-to-town sheriff meets and greets his close-knit community. Getting to know the vendors and the regulars of the long-standing event. And maybe the first two weeks, that was my intention.
But after a particular little cookie vendor caught my eye, my intentions weren’t so pure.
Olive Trejo.Just her name made butterflies the size of pterodactyls come to life in my stomach. The sight of her green EZ Up tent up ahead made my pulse kick up and my palms a little sweatier.Me!The man who worked in big towns, been shotat more times than I can count was nervous over a little pixie of a woman with more attitude than you’d think would be possible.
I wanted to approach her, but every time I got close, I put my foot in my mouth and made a mess of shit. That’s why I’d stuck to staying on shift longer Tuesdays when I’d already worked a twenty-four-hour shift. Just for the opportunity to observe her in her element.
I knew the moment she saw me.
There was something about the way Olive held her body that changed. And I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination or not, but her gaze warmed up. She liked me. She might not act it or admit it, but she did.
“Miss Trejo,” I called out the moment I was close to her booth. Her dark eyes connected with mine, and my mouth watered.Fuck, she’s pretty.The sweet scent that clung to the air around her booth smelled decadent. Hell, decadent was an understatement.
“Sheriff. Come to harass unsuspecting vendors again?” I inwardly winced but couldn’t blame her hostile attitude.
I deserved it.
The first time I stopped by her booth, I got so fucking tongue tied, I stupidly asked for proof of her permit. It was obvious I’d made a shit first impression.
“Nothing like that. Just seeing what you have this week.” My eyes dropped to the few cookies she had left.
“Hmm.” She shrugged like she didn’t care. Her attention floated from me to the new librarian, who had just started at the library around the same time I moved here but had been living here for longer,. “What can I get you, Lola?” Just like that, she’d dismissed me. But I wasn’t going anywhere. The woman took her glasses off and cleaned them with the edge of her book-themed shirt.
“Can I get one of your mixed half-dozen?” she asked and sighed, her shoulders heavy, “I don’t think I could make a decision to save my life today.”
“Bad day?” Olive asked, her voice softening the way I’d noticed it did with her friends at the resort or her siblings.
“I guess.” It was obvious the librarian didn’t want to talk about it. My eyes bounced to Olive, and I knew by the way she was watching her customer that she wasn’t going to push. “Everything works out, though, right?” Lola sighed as she tried to stay positive.
“Right,” Olive agreed. I watched as she slipped in not only the boxed six pack but a brownie as well. “Here you go.” She handed Lola the bag, and when the librarian went to reach for her wallet, Olive shook her head. “It’s on the house.”
“No, I can’t let you do that, Oli,” Lola started to argue, but Olive shot her a look, and I knew the librarian wasn’t going to fight. “Okay, but no more of that. You need to get your shop soon, and you won’t get there giving stuff away.”
“I will if it’s to make someone’s day better. It’s all about karma.” Olive winked, and fuck if her words didn’t do something inside of me. It wasn’t just something she said to make her friend a little more at ease.
She meant it.Believed it.
After working in Pheonix and then Seattle, I wasn’t so sure people got what they deserved.
“Plus, a couple cookies won’t change that. Enjoy and remember the day will get better.” She winked and Lola smiled, genuinely this time, her eyes slightly shiny. “You wanna talk, I’m here, okay?” Olive said quieter as I pretended not to be overhearing.
Lola nodded before she walked away, leaving just the two of us at the booth.
My woman—I had no idea when I started to think of her that way, but I did—begrudgingly focused her attention back on me.
“What about you, Sheriff. What will you be having?” The question was more than loaded, and I couldn’t help the way my eyes roamed up and down her body.
