Page 42 of Chasing Shelter (Sparrow Falls #5)

TRACE

It was official. I was addicted to Ellie Pierce.

Her laugh, her scent, her moans. The way she fit so perfectly into our lives.

It wasn’t effortless, exactly. It took a hell of a lot of effort to find alone time with her.

But the way we came together when we did, or how she folded in with me and Keely when we were all together, something about it felt… right.

More than right, it felt different. But in the best way. As if all three of us were finding parts of ourselves we hadn’t before because of each other. For Keely and me, it was all because of Ellie.

I forced my gaze away from the scene taking place at my kitchen island.

The breakfast mess had been swept away in favor of hair tools, accessories, and things I didn’t even know how to classify.

I feared my kitchen would never be the same.

Ellie had come over at half past six with a full rolling suitcase.

She’d even purchased one of those cape things people wore in salons that was covered in unicorns.

Checking the time on my phone, I grimaced. “Ten minutes.”

“I am just putting on the finishing touches,” Ellie promised. She reached for a spray bottle. “Every unicorn deserves a little glitter. ”

I pinned her with a stare. “Is that stuff going to get all over my kitchen?”

Ellie’s lips tipped up. “Watch out. Maybe I’ll sneak over here and paint your walls with a glitter finish.”

“Oooooh,” Keely awed. “That would be sooooo pretty.”

“Don’t you dare, Blaze.”

Ellie just laughed and sprayed the glitter in Keely’s hair.

She’d done pigtails in a style like I’d learned the other day but ended the inside-out braids in ponytails that she’d curled and then added spray color to, promising me it would wash out.

She’d placed unicorn and rainbow barrettes throughout the braids and completed the look with a unicorn horn headband that had rainbow ribbons twirling off it.

Ellie pulled the cape off Keely with a flourish. “You are done.”

Keely let out a squeal as she hopped off the stool. “I wanna see!” She raced down the hall before I could stop her.

I turned to Ellie. “Thank you. This is going to make her year.”

Ellie’s expression went soft. “I love doing it. I had way too much fun looking for supplies.”

“Thank you,” I said again.

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“I want to.”

A mischievous smile played over Ellie’s face as she walked toward me. “I’m pretty sure you preemptively thanked me last night.”

Memories of her moans and quick intakes of breath played in my mind. “Please, don’t make me hard before I have to take my kid to drop-off.”

Ellie laughed, the sound wrapping around me in the best way. “Okay, but you do need one thing for drop-off.”

I frowned. “What?”

Ellie moved so fast I didn’t have a prayer of stopping her. Her arm lashed out, spray bottle in hand, and she let the glitter spray fly. “There. Now you match Keely.”

My jaw went slack. “You didn’t.”

She shrugged. “You needed a little something. ”

I dove for Ellie, tickling her sides as she shrieked and twisted in my arms. “You look good,” she cried.

“I have a meeting with my whole department today.”

Ellie only laughed harder. “You’ll be a vision.”

Pulling into my spot at the station, I switched off my engine and grabbed my cell from the cupholder. A text notification.

Cope has changed the group name to Don’t Tell Mom.

Cope

Gonna bring Sutton and Luca back to Sparrow Falls through the weekend. I have a few days off training. Should be there around noon. Where are you delinquents hiding?

He was officially back in the throes of hockey since recovering from his incident with Sutton’s ex and a teammate, and we’d barely seen him for the past couple of months.

Me

Come to Keely’s Wacky Hair Day parade. It’s at 2:30. It’ll be the best surprise.

Cope

We’re there.

Kye

You can admit it, Copey pants. You missed us. I get it. We’re fucking awesome.

Cope

Missing everyone but your annoying ass. And you better not have left anything at my house.

Fallon

Why would he leave something at your house?

Kye sent a series of shhh emojis and then a snake, which made no sense.

Cope

You know I have a thing about snakes. Ever since that scene in Indiana Jones where he falls in a pit of them. This fucker left a dozen fake ones in my bed the last time I came home.

Fallon

Kyler Blackwood, you didn’t.

Arden

Run Kye Kye, she’s coming for you.

Kye

He bails on us for Seattle, he runs the risk of retribution.

Shep

Honestly, with Kye, it could’ve been a lot worse.

Arden

Truth. Do you know that he rigged my showerhead with pink dye when I was in high school?

Kye

You kicked my ass in front of my friends.

Fallon

You mean your felons?

Kye hadn’t exactly been mixed up with good people when he came to live with us at sixteen.

He’d gotten into some seriously dangerous stuff, including an underground fighting ring with ties to organized crime in Portland.

It had taken time to pull him out, and it wasn’t without more than a few bumps in the road.

Kye

You know the few of those guys who still live here are terrified of you.

Rhodes

As they should be. Fal’s vengeful streak should have everyone shaking in their boots.

Fallon

I’m not that bad.

Rhodes

You wrapped that kid’s car in plastic wrap and covered it in Vaseline when he tried to jump Kye senior year.

Fallon

Bruce Caruthers is a dick weasel of epic proportions, and he deserved what he got.

Shep

Everyone back away slowly and don’t make any sudden movements, she’s on the warpath again.

Fallon

You’re a bunch of chickens. Trace, do you have a sneak peek of Keely’s hair? I wanna see.

I knew she was purposefully changing the subject, but I helped her out and sent a selfie I’d snapped of the two of us in the car. Ellie had taken a few of her hair from the back, but I didn’t have those.

Rhodes

Trace, is that glitter in your hair? Did Fal glitter-bomb you?

Kye

The sheriff looks like he’s about to hit up a rave. Someone text Lolli.

Shep

I’m sending her the picture now. I’m sure she’ll have some accompanying diamond art for you by the end of the day.

I groaned. The last thing I needed was one of my grandmother’s inappropriate pieces of art. I’d told her the Old-West-themed one she’d done, complete with assless chaps, had been damaged in my move. In reality, I’d hidden it in the back of my garage.

Fallon

Did you do Keely’s hair? It looks amazing!

Me

Ellie did. Had a whole plan and a suitcase full of supplies.

The chat was quiet for a moment, and then it erupted all at once.

Rhodes

Suitcase, huh? Are there sleepover supplies in that, too?

Cope

I want tickets to watch Linc kick Trace’s ass. I never got my punch in when he started up with Arden.

Arden

I’ll show you a punch, Puck Boy.

Kye

You paying for that styling in sexual favors, Sheriff?

Fallon

I KNEW IT! You two are meant to be.

Kye

Your turn to run, Trace. Fal’s planning your wedding.

I pulled a true Arden move and took a picture of myself flipping off the camera.

Kye

Dude, you’ve changed.

Shep

I heard him curse the other day.

Shaking my head, I switched the group chat to Do Not Disturb and headed into the station.

Fletcher looked up from behind the desk, a confused look on his face. “Morning, Sheriff.”

“Morning,” I said with a nod.

“Hey,” he went on before I could make it to the bullpen, “do you have a minute for me to talk something out with you?”

I turned, curiosity piquing. It wasn’t unusual for younger officers to pick my brain on things.

Generally, it was something that didn’t have legs, like thinking they’d solved a decades-old cold case or something.

But that wasn’t Fletcher. He was levelheaded, did his job, was thorough, and didn’t make trouble.

“Shoot,” I offered.

Fletcher rounded the desk and didn’t speak until he’d reached me. “I’m worried about Ellie.”

Everything in me stiffened, cement pouring into my muscles in an instant. “What do you mean?”

It took everything in me to keep my expression neutral. My fingers itched to reach for my phone and text her to make sure everything was okay. The need for that touchpoint was almost too much for me to take.

“I saw the report about the photos,” Fletcher went on.

The cement in my muscles hardened as my back molars pressed together. Deputies had access to our case files, so Fletcher hadn’t done anything wrong, but I couldn’t help but feel like he was stepping on my toes. Jealousy , I realized.

“I was in the hardware store the other day, and Jimmy Banks was giving her a hard time. He doesn’t seem like the type who would pick up a long-range camera to shoot photos or use some techy software to send threats, but I thought you should know.”

A little of my tension eased. Fletcher was being a good deputy, doing his job.

“I appreciate the heads-up. I’ll have Gabriel pay him a visit.”

Fletcher’s expression shifted slightly. Most people wouldn’t have noticed, but I’d had a lifetime of reading the subtlest changes in mood or awareness because it was the best method of protection. I understood the shift. Curiosity about why I wasn’t taking the helm on the case and guessing why.

In a community as small as Sparrow Falls, you were bound to know the people whose cases you covered, but my relationship with Ellie was more , and I had to let Gabriel take the lead. But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t be involved .

“Let me know if you need any help,” Fletcher said. “I’m happy to take an extra shift at Ellie’s.”

That had a little of the tension returning to my muscles. “I’ll let you know.”

Holt Hartley and his team were supposed to be heading down here tomorrow to get the security at Ellie’s installed. Then we wouldn’t need anyone sitting outside her house.

Fletcher nodded and moved to return to his station. He was a good kid, eager, wanted to help. I needed to stop being such a grumpy bastard just because he’d looked in Ellie’s direction.