Page 9 of Seducing the Sheriff (Charming Butte #2)

Chapter Five

Greg

I regarded Cash with a smile. Something about how he was vibing with the house made him more endearing to me, helped me to express myself more freely with him.

He furrowed his brow. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

My confidence faltered, but I was determined to recover. I didn’t want him to make an excuse to leave because he thought I was being weird.

“The house seems…” I shrugged, suddenly self-conscious. “At least to me anyway…” Clearing my throat, I willed myself to get a grip. “Less ominous. You know, as if it had been waiting for that body to be found.” My cheeks heated. “That sounds ridiculous.”

Cash laughed lightly. “Not at all. I was afraid to say out loud that I was thinking the same thing.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Really?”

He moved to the center of the living room, tipping his head back, gazing up at the wagon wheel light fixture hanging from the high ceiling.

He pointed at it. “Didn’t notice that last night.

” He slowly turned around, seemingly taking in the surroundings.

“But yeah, its unique character strikes me as more lighthearted than gloomy.”

I nodded. “Exactly. Despite the setback with the closet, I’m more excited than ever to get to work.

” I rubbed my chin. “I’d still really like to get hold of the old blueprints, though.

” I let out an inelegant snort. “Not that I’m interested in restoring it to the original one-room shack, but there might be some historical architecture that could be reinstated. ”

Cash rubbed the back of his neck. “You know, I have the day off on Wednesday, and I haven’t done as much exploring as I’d like since moving here. Why don’t we take a trip to the county office, see what we can find out?”

I shifted my weight from one hip to the other. This was a friend thing, right? Human interaction. Who knew?

“That would be great.” I didn’t want to overplay my hand by rambling on.

“Of course, I know how busy you are, so if you can’t make time in your schedule—”

“I can make time.” I tried not to cringe at how the sentence burst from my mouth.

“After all,” I said casually. “Those blueprints would be very helpful.” Shit.

“Not that going for a day trip doesn’t sound cool, too.

I’ve done almost no exploring either and…

” Gah, why couldn’t I simply shut up? “Goodness, I haven’t gotten your tea.

I’ll be right back.” I pressed my lips in a thin line as I glanced around the makeshift living area.

“Sorry, there’s no real furniture yet.” I gestured to one of the folding chairs next to the air mattress. “Go ahead and get comfortable.”

I rushed from the room before I could shove my foot even deeper into my mouth. At this point, it would be coming out of my ass.

I quickly went through the tea ritual, trying to ignore the fact that the tea had indeed gone past the best-by date. I’d tossed a few basic items from the cupboards into a box when I moved, but hadn’t examined any too closely.

My reasoning was that I would at least have something in the kitchen when I arrived.

While I had a decent idea of what the area was like from all my online research, I never truly understood what I was dealing with until I was there in person.

In all my years of traveling around the Southwest and flipping houses, that had been one of my main lessons.

Fortunately, I’d also had the presence of mind to bring two mugs as well.

I planned to hang on to the one with the quote, “Handymen Know How to Use Their Caulk”, so I could keep the saying facing me.

My dad gave it to me one year for my birthday because he thought it was so hilarious.

Cash could have the one from the Grand Canyon.

“Here you go.” I handed him the safe mug. “I’m afraid the tea is a bit on the old side. I put two bags in to make up for it.”

I assumed that was the right thing to do. The extent of my tea preparation knowledge was pouring boiling water on a bag, then discarding it whenever.

“Thanks.” Cash smiled as he accepted the mug. “That’s probably what I would’ve done.”

I didn’t want to get ahead of myself, but I was starting to get a twinsies vibe from Cash.

I perched on the edge of the other chair, careful to keep the naughty side of the mug so it was facing me.

We both blew on our drinks, the silence stretching out to that point that always made me want to go and hide somewhere.

I held in a snort. I certainly couldn’t use the closet.

“So…” Cash leaned back and rested his ankle on his opposite thigh. “Besides working on houses, is there anything else you like doing?”

“Well,” I began, “Outdoor activities. Primarily hiking, but I used to do some river-rafting back in Wyoming.”

Cash finished a sip of his tea. “That’s where you’re from, right?”

“Yeah. Cheyenne. Grew up there.” I tapped my fingers on the side of my mug. “But I love traveling, love the history of old places, so staying in one spot started to eat at me after a while.”

Cash’s features fell. “Oh. I take it this is only a temporary stop for you, then.”

I bit my bottom lip. “No, not at all. I’m almost forty, so I figured it was time to pick a place and settle down. I prefer the desert, but Cheyenne holds too many memories. Not terrible ones, but I’m ready to put down roots, start over. That kind of thing.”

Was I even making sense? I took too big a swallow of my still scorching tea and tried not to choke.

“How did you end up picking Charming Butte?”

“Honestly, I did a search on Southwestern properties that had at least five acres. The other thing I’d like to do is raise sheep.

Since I’m not reselling houses anymore, I’m going to have to figure out something different to do.

I’ve done some weaving to pass the time and really enjoy it.

” I chuckled. “Aunt Bonnie got me started. She was worried about me never being in one spot, no buddies, no boyfriends. She figured if I kept my hands busy, I wouldn’t end up getting drunk in bars every night. ”

My gut clenched the moment Cash’s eyebrows shot up. What the actual fuck was wrong with me? Had I lost my ever-loving mind? Blurting that I’m gay to a small-town sheriff. Genius move, Greg.

This was why I shouldn’t be allowed around other members of the human race.

Cash unhooked his leg and put both feet back on the floor. This was it. He was getting ready to make his escape after my startling revelation.

He held my gaze, and I braced myself for whatever judgments he might make. “Yeah, it can be hard being gay in a small town. I was a bit worried about that myself when I moved here. I wasn’t sure if I’d be the only gay person in Charming, or what the attitudes might be like.

Cash smiled. “Almost immediately, I met Fire Chief Meyer Jones and discovered he’s in a relationship with a rancher. Maybe Dex could give you some advice about sheep farming. Not sure if that’s his thing or not, but perhaps he could point you in the right direction.”

After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I tried to come up with a semi-coherent response. Jumping up and shouting, ‘Oh my God, you’re gay!’ seemed a bit over the top.

“Oh. Okay. Sounds like a good idea.”

I inwardly groaned. Hopeless was clearly my middle name when it came to conversation.

“Great.” Cash rose from his chair and handed me his mug. “I should get going, but if you’re still up for Wednesday, I can come by and get you. Did you want to grab breakfast before we leave town?”

I sure as hell did. It could be our new tradition. Seriously, Greg. Stop.

“Yeah, that works. Eight too early?”

Cash let out a light laugh. “Hardly. I’m a morning guy.”

I smiled. “Me too.”

Twinsies for sure.

The next morning, it was back to business as usual.

I had a couple of days before my… excursion with Cash, and I wanted to get as much work in as possible.

In truth, I was stymied when it came to the closet and that area around it.

As if the house wasn’t run down enough, the poor thing had been viciously attacked by the investigators.

I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel.

Of course, if I located the original blueprints or other renovation record, it might be a good idea to hold off.

There was still plenty to be done on the outside.

The small post barn could use a lot of help.

And I wanted to expand the deck in the back so I could enjoy the view beyond the boulder outcroppings next to the house.

With a sigh, I pulled onto Charming Butte’s Main Street, forcing myself not to search for where the police station was. I hadn’t noticed it the last time I was in town, but then again, I hadn’t been looking.

There it is.

It was on the corner of the commercial section of Main Street as I turned right off the highway into town. The small wooden building had seen better days, and the peeling sage green paint seemed to have surrendered to the unrelenting desert heat.

I forced myself to concentrate on anything other than the nice sheriff who I’d be hanging out with a couple of days from now. The handsome, gay sheriff who wanted to spend his day off with me. With me.

No, I needed to think about other things for now.

Starting a friendship was difficult enough, a huge enough challenge.

Letting my thoughts wander in any other direction held the potential for disaster.

I’d just arrived, dammit. I didn’t need to start alienating everyone if I somehow fucked things up with Cash.

As I rubbed the back of my hand across my mouth, I spotted a sign above a retail space across from the bike shop that was near Destiny’s Flying Saucer coffee shop.

Squinting my eyes, I could barely make out the name, The Crafty Coyote.

An empty parking spot right in front of the store beckoned to me, and I impulsively steered my truck into it.