Page 4 of It's a Wonderful Knife

Todd sighed. “Leave him alone, Girdy. You’re like a mother hen.”

Giving me one last apprehensive look, she turned around to face the front of the bus.

I sighed and leaned my head back against the seat. For whatever reason, that made Mary Puppins start howling at me like someone had sat on her tail. Clenching my jaw, I tuned out the hysterical pup and the gratingly cheerful chipmunks, who were now singing “Santa Baby.”

Yes, the bus ride was challenging, but soon enough, we’d arrive at Giggly Elves Farm, and things would probably start goingmuchsmoother.

Chapter Two

Royce

I’d planned on sitting next to Max, and judging by the look he’d given me moments ago, he was hanging on by a thread. I was frustrated that Hermina had planted herself next to him, simply because I’d been slower about getting on the bus. Her dog kept yapping at Max, and I worried it was only a matter of time before he said something.

I realized he was determined to be a team player on this trip, but he was who he was. It was unrealistic to think he’d suddenly become super tolerant of people. That wasn’t even necessary. He was already so much better in how he responded to anyone who got under his skin. I felt a little guilty about him joining me on this trip, even though it had been his idea. He’d volunteered, but my guilt came from the fact that I knew he didn’t really want to be here. He was simply trying to please me. Which I appreciated, but not if it ended up being too much of a strain on him.

River was beside me, and he laughed suddenly as he stared at his phone.

I gave him a curious glance.

“I just got a text from Lucas.” River smiled. “He’s ready to kill me for sitting with you.”

“Really?” Max was probably feeling the same.

“Yes.” He sighed. “His feathers are all ruffled now. I’ll have to do some damage control.”

I frowned. “You should have sat with him.”

“I know,” he said softly. “But I wanted to sit with you, Sheriff.”

I ignored his playful tone. River knew I was with Max. I couldn’t understand why he kept flirting with me. I wasn’t the sort of man to date two people at one time. Surely River knew that by now. Even if, God forbid, things didn’t work out with Max and me, River wasn’t someone I’d ever be with.

“Who’s Lucas sitting with?” I asked, craning my head to see behind me.

“Penelope. It’s not a great pairing. As you’ve probably noticed, Lucas isn’t a big talker.”

“No. He’s not. But I wouldn’t think that would matter with Penelope.” I smiled wryly. “She usually does all the talking.”

“That’s very true.” He sighed.

“I notice you spend a lot of time with Penelope.”

“Well, she’s useful to know.” He seemed to catch himself. “I mean, I like Penelope. She was so warm and welcoming when I first arrived.”

“Sure. Sure.” I twisted my lips. “Plus, she knows all the powerful people in town.”

He wrinkled his brow. “While that’s true, she exudes a very positive energy. I’m drawn to people like that.” He gave me another one of his flirty smiles. “You have a beautiful aura, so I’m drawn to you too.”

“Gee, thanks.” Heat touched my cheeks because he was staring at me so intensely. I didn’t trust River as far as I could throw him, but in my position, I had to be nice to everyone. It wasn’t always easy with River though because I was fairly certain he wanted Maxwell gone. He’d already admitted he’d enticed Lucas to Rainy Dale hoping he could replace Max as the town’s GP. In fairness to him, he’d thought Max was going back to LA. Most of the town, including me, had thought the same thing. But Max hadn’t left, and the fact that Lucas was still here made me uneasy.

He cleared his throat. “So it seems things are back on with you and Maxwell?”

“Yep.” His vaguely disapproving tone annoyed me, but I didn’t really give a hoot what other people thought about Max. He suited me just fine, whether they liked it or not.

“He’s a lucky man, Sheriff.”

“I see it the other way around.”

“Do you?” His tone said,“How could you possibly?”