Page 2 of Falling for the Sheriff

Atlas

My eyes are playing tricks on me. They must be. The woman standing before me looks as beautiful as she did the night I laid my eyes on her.

Forget the unwanted gift in her arms. Whoever decided to finally put me out of my misery by solving the mystery that’s been eating at me all this time is the true hero.

She’s pale in the face, looking like a deer caught in headlights. Then, without much of a warning, her hand clamps to her mouth.

“I’m going to be sick.” A threat that sounds far too real helps snap me out of my stare.

I move without thinking. Reaching for the flowers, I take them from her hold and pass them toward Kelly, asking her to set them on my desk. Then, I’m gently taking the woman by the elbow, leading her toward the bathroom.

Feeling eyes in our direction, I fight the urge to scowl as I glance over my shoulder. “Back to work.”

We make it to the bathroom, and I’m forced to let her slip inside alone. Like I’m afraid she’s going to slip out of my fingers just as she had three months ago, my feet feel like concrete.

Three long months. Each day is the same as the last. Filled with regrets and left with the same questions on repeat.

Is she from around here?

Why did I let her slip through my fingers?

Will I ever get to see her again if I make the same mistake twice?

Questions I shouldn’t be allowing myself to have. Not when I went into the agreement for a one-night stand. I mean, a gorgeous woman wanting me doesn’t happen every day. Hell, it doesn’t happen once in a lifetime. So, yeah, I went with it.

Figured I could clip the usual loneliness feeling that claws at me from time to time.

Why haven’t I been able to move on? Do the same thoughts plague her?

I don’t have long to think about it.

When she returns, she’s got more color to her cheeks. Her eyes dance against the carpet, and her hands find the front of the apron she’s wearing.

Daisy’s Blossom Boutique ’s logo is on it, belonging to a little shop tucked away in town. She’s a delivery person? I’d never seen her in town before. If she works this close to home, I’m willing to bet she lives here, too.

“Sorry about that. It hasn’t been a good morning.” Slowly, her eyes lift. Meeting my gaze, she stirs. “Sorry.”

All I want to do is draw her in, reassure her that she’s got nothing to apologize for. At the same time, my tongue is twisted in a thick knot, and I’ve forgotten how to speak.

All this time, hoping to see her again, and I can’t even think of a thing to say to her? Fuck that.

“No worries, it happens. I’ve had a bad breakfast from time to time.” Forcing a laugh, I rub the back of my neck. “Can I get you anything? How about water?”

The tension in her body seems to dissipate, her shoulders sagging. Slowly, her mouth twitches into a half-smile. “I’m fine. Don’t mind me, I always look this rough.”

Who is she trying to kid? She’s glowing. Her beauty has only seemed to grow. She’s still got that same shy look to her, the hesitance in her step.

I want to offer her a seat, give her a reason to stick around. Just in case her stomach flares up again. Keep her close so I can ask how she’s been.

Before, we were too busy to learn anything about each other. If I’d told her I was the sheriff at this station, she would’ve left me at the bar and found someone else who didn’t carry the weight of wearing a badge.

While I may have her body memorized, I want to fill in the blanks when it comes to everything else.

I still don’t even know her name.

Lowering my gaze, my eyes linger on her stomach. Despite her arms trying to cover it, there’s no denying the slight curve. Suddenly, my thoughts turn to static.

Could it be…?

No. Impossible.

Some lucky bastard must’ve found her and didn’t make the mistake of letting her out of their sight. That has to be it.

There’s no way she’s pregnant because of…

Sure, we didn’t use protection, but it was only the one time. Did she mention being on the pill? I was too worried about planting my face between her thighs to even think about asking. After that, everything else happened in a blur. Not because of the alcohol, but because things just felt right.

Fuck.

“I need to get back on the road.” Her eyes fall, and her lips pinch together when she catches me staring. “Um, congrats on the seventeen years.”

My mouth moves, a silent, useless shape forming words that die before they reach the air. It doesn’t matter. There’s nothing to say that could change this.

And just like that, she’s gone. Abandoning me. The world narrows to the space she just occupied, now filled with nothing but the soft sounds that come with the station.

A brutal sense of déjà vu hollows me out. One moment, she’s real—close enough that I felt the warmth of her skin against my fingertips. Next, she’s gone, making me wonder if I’ve gone crazy and manifested this whole situation.

Every instinct screams at me to chase, to run her down, to pull her into my arms and anchor her to me this time. But my boots are lead, rooted to the warped floorboards. I just stand there. Dumbstruck. A statue of a man falling apart on the inside.

“Sheriff?” Kelly’s voice is a hesitant intrusion.

She’s grimacing, and I don’t have to look in a mirror to know what she sees—every raw emotion is written plain across my face.

“The mayor is on line one. Insisting he talks to you. He wants to know if you’re available to talk about…

announcing your anniversary on social media. ”

Julian. The name is a stone in my gut. I don’t want to talk to him. I don’t give a damn about celebrating another year in a career I’ve devoted my life to. I also know better than to ignore a man who treats patience like a weakness.

A sigh deflates me, snapping the last taut thread of my stupor. “Transfer the call,” I grunt, the sound rough. “I’ll deal with him.”

The walk back to my desk is a forced march through a world that feels suddenly thin and false. By the time I sink into the worn leather of my chair, I’ve locked my feelings back inside.

The others won’t see it, but it’s something I’ll have to reopen once I’m alone.

A tiny, insistent light blinks on my phone receiver, demanding my attention. I can only give away some of it.

I still don’t know her name—the woman who might be carrying my child.

But now, I know where to find her. That fragile hope I’d clung to—the one that never wavered—ignites into a sure, burning certainty. They call me headstrong. Obstinate. A man who doesn’t know how to let go.

They’re right. And when I want something? I don’t give up. Not until what I want is mine.

* * *

The station is going to look like a hospital room at this rate.

Littered with different shades of colors, some flowers are more wilted than others.

Kelly’s desk has a disarray of lilies. Each windowsill has random flowers I don’t recognize.

My desk has carnations. If I keep going, my wallet is going to be flatlining at this rate.

When the same dark-haired male comes strolling in with a vase of roses, I’m ready to howl and give the poor guy a shake for keeping the woman away from me.

There’s no way she quit Daisy’s. Could she be working inside? I can’t call and ask for her name. Not without coming off like some stalker or creep. The shop is always closed whenever I leave the station.

It’s already been a week. By now, she should’ve strolled in.

“Who wants them?” Kelly offers up the vase like she’s an auctioneer ready to sell something off.

“Put them with Fergus’ stuff. He’ll get a kick out of it.” Sighing into my hands, I consider giving up on my delivery plan.

Kelly does as I ask, stealing his seat while he’s out on patrol. Using the wheels, she rolls over toward me. By the time my hands fall, I see the concern written all over her face.

I may not be handling this inside too well.

“Who was that lady?” She rotates back and forth, tilting her head when I don’t answer. “ Atlas .”

I haven’t breathed a word to any of these people about my love life. They do me the favor of keeping theirs to themselves. I’m not in a rush to break those rules of ours.

When I grunt, she sighs. Looking at the wilting carnations on my desk, she plucks one out of the vase. It’s the first arrangement brought here, the one she brought.

“I bet you could get fresh ones right about now.” Twirling the stem, her thumb grazes a dying petal. “Better do it soon, before you forget what you have here. They’re not going to last much longer. Especially since you haven’t been changing the water.”

I scoff under my breath, unable to deny her claim.

“Why not take an early lunch? Snag a burger and hit up the flower shop on your way back?” She hits the handle on the chair and lifts to my eye level.

Lowering her voice, she leans in. “But you better not come back with more flowers. It smells like a freaking garden in here. Tell them to refuse any future orders and say your card got stolen while you’re at it. ”

She wants me to go to the shop and leave empty-handed? Shit, I guess I’m more transparent than I want to be.

“Yeah. Food sounds good.” I sigh as I stand a little too eagerly. “I’m starving. Good idea. Stolen card, you got it.”

Leaving behind the sound of a sigh, I take the excuse to see her again. To find her and have a conversation that lasts more than a couple of words.

Starving for only one thing, I skip over stopping somewhere for food. Instead, I head straight for Daisy’s.

The bell rings above my head, and I see a few women drifting around the back of the shop. Right at the front, there are a few prearranged flowers, waiting to be snagged.

Daisy is near the counter, a phone pressed to her ear. She offers up a smile and scribbles down what I assume is a future order. Once she’s thanking them and ending the call, she’s wasting no time meeting me at the counter.

“Sheriff.” Her mouth twitches. “I don’t see you here too often. How’s Grayson?”

Wasting no time asking about her reclusive brother, who happens to own a cabin near mine, I chuckle at her enthusiasm.

“You know how he is. Doesn’t talk to anyone. Haven’t run into him in a couple of weeks, but then again, he doesn’t have a reason to leave the mountain now, does he?” Not since he went off and found himself a wife.

“Not anymore.” Stifling a laugh, she pulls back and taps her fingers against the counter.

“So, what can I get you? Someone’s been keeping us busy at your department, so I can’t blame you for wanting something.

Say the word and I’ll throw it together.

I’ll even give you a little discount since you keep an eye on him. ”

Rubbing the back of my neck, I fight the urge to correct her. “I actually came here looking for someone. A woman. Brown hair. Beautiful.” I swallow thickly. “Pregnant.”

Her smile slips away, and she stiffens up. “Alice? She’s not in trouble, is she?”

Alice.

“Nothing like that. Just needed to ask her a few questions, that’s all.” Trying to talk like I’m a person and not like I’m about to make an arrest, I curse at my failed attempt. “I just need to talk to her. Is she in?”

I hold my breath, waiting for her to tell me she’s not here, so my suffering will continue endlessly.

“She’s in the back. Give me a second.” With that worried expression on her face, she doesn’t give me time to reassure her before she disappears.

Scolding myself for the terrible start, I prepare myself to see her. To see Alice.