Page 9 of Entranced in the Mountains
“What is it?” I snap a little too aggressively. I’m on edge without her in my sight.
“There’s an unauthorized vendor who won’t leave,” Henry says. “What do you want me to do?”
I grit my teeth and huff out a breath. I don’t give a shit about some unauthorized vendor. Not when the girl of my dreams is back there waiting for me.
“If he doesn’t leave, arrest him.”
My body is aching as I start walking to the stage. Henry says something else, but I don’t hear it with my heart pounding so savagely in my ears. His voice sounds muffled, like we’re both underwater.
I’m in deep for this girl. She’s got me turned all inside out.
The crowd parts for me as I march toward the stage like a man on a mission. Ineedto find that girl. Find her and make hermine.
I hurry around the large stage, hoping to see her in the back. Her three band members are there arguing, but she’s missing.
She’s gone.
My stomach drops, terrified I’ll never see her again.
“Where’s the other one?” I bark at the girls.
They all turn and look up at me in shock.
“The harp player,” I say, struggling to keep my tone soft so I don’t scare them away. “Where is she?”
“The bathroom,” the singer says, pointing to the community center. “Is there a problem?”
I jog toward the building, not even taking a second to answer her. I have to see her again. I have to let her know we belong together.
I know I’m acting insane. This isn’t me. I’ve been the Sheriff of this town for nine years and I’ve kept my cool through robberies, blizzards, bar fights, and even one freak bear attackthat emptied the entire farmer’s market. I don’t lose control. I don’t chase women. Especially women I’ve never met.
I’m not that kind of guy.
I’m calm and cool and collected no matter what the circumstances are.
But right now, I’m spiraling. Badly.
I can still see her up on the stage playing that harp, her fingers moving like silk over the strings. The sound she made wasn’t music—it was temptation.
Temptation that I am powerless to resist.
I grit my teeth and start running.
CHAPTER FOUR
Ellie
I’m still trembling as I tuck my harp into its padded case. My fingers know the motions—reset the pedals, cover the strings—but my mind is somewhere else entirely. On a hot silver fox wearing the sexiest uniform I’ve ever seen.
That sheriff.Mmmmm.
I can’t stop picturing him at the edge of the crowd, arms crossed over his massive chest, dark eyes never wavering from me, not even once. Even now, I can still feel them on my tingling skin.
“Let’s get going,” Sloane says as she quickly packs up her violin. “I want to get back to the inn.”
“What’s the rush?” Tessa asks. “I want to get a corndog from the food truck.”
“She wants to FaceTime with her fiancé,” Mira says with a grin.
