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K ai and Henry had ordered their first beer, and were waiting for Lulu when Chase ran into the sports bar and straight to their table, out of breath and his face red.

“Where’s Lulu?”

“At the ranch,” Kai replied, puzzled by Chase’s demeanor. The man was normally as calm and laid back as hell. “Why? What’s going on?”

“Allie Baker just got out on bail, apparently,” Chase explained. “One of my regular customers stopped by and told me that Allie’s been down at the hair salon raising hell. She says she’s going to get revenge on Lulu for arresting her. They said she seemed serious about it, and then she marched out still furious, vowing to make Lulu pay for what she did. I tried to call Lulu, but she’s not answering. I came here to warn her.”

“She might still be at the ranch,” Henry said, checking his watch. “Or on her way. Let me check the app and see where she is.”

“The app?” Kai echoed. “What app?”

Henry rolled his eyes at the question, even as he pulled his phone from his pocket.

“How quickly you forget that I’m a victim of a kidnapping in my youth. That makes me overly paranoid and suspicious of pretty much everyone and everything. Because of my rampant paranoia, I convinced Lulu to put one of those apps on her phone that tells me where she is all the time. She has my information, too. She said that if it made me feel more secure, she was fine with it. Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the time, I don’t check it because I don’t need to.”

Kai wasn’t a huge fan of the modern methods of what he considered technological stalking, but in this case, he’d make an exception.

“She’s still at the ranch,” Henry said, turning his phone screen so that Kai and Chase could see it. “I’ll try calling her. Maybe she was in the shower earlier.”

Henry tried, but once again, no answer. Kai also tried, but Lulu didn’t pick up either.

It didn’t make sense. He’d seen Lulu climb out of the shower to answer her phone. If she thought the call was from the sheriff’s station or one of her friends or family, she wanted to take the call. She always said that she knew that if they called it was important, otherwise they’d simply send a text to be answered whenever.

“That’s weird,” Henry stated. “Normally, Lulu would answer right away.”

“Maybe Allie is already there,” Chase suggested.

“I don’t like this,” Henry declared. “This isn’t like Lulu.”

“Let’s not jump to any conclusions,” Chase replied. “There’s probably a perfectly reasonable explanation for why she’s not answering.”

Henry held up his phone again.

“She’s still at the ranch. Or at least her cell is. Even Lulu wouldn’t take a shower this long. Why isn’t she answering us? I don’t like this at all. We need to drive to the ranch right now.”

Kai was more than certain that Lulu could handle Allie Baker with one hand tied behind her back. But…he couldn’t deny that he had a hinky feeling as well. It was simply unusual behavior for Lulu. As the sheriff of a small town with mostly part-time staff, she had her phone on her pretty much twenty-four-seven. She’d even carried it around when they were on their long weekend, although she’d never received a call. Only a few texts with questions that could be answered when she had a few minutes.

It felt a bit silly to go running to the ranch because she wasn’t answering her phone. People were allowed to ignore calls whenever they wanted to. It didn’t mean that she was in mortal danger. Maybe she was just getting dressed, and she was going to call them later.

The question warred in Kai’s brain, but it was no contest when he looked at Henry. The other man’s hands were balled into tight fists, the knuckles white. The situation was affecting him, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

Kai didn’t want to see Henry upset. If it helped in the least bit, it wasn’t a big deal to head towards the ranch. They might even meet Lulu driving toward them on the way. She’d be slightly amused at their behavior, but she’d easily understand. She, more than anyone, was aware of how Henry could react to certain situations.

“Sure, let’s go. Just in case Lulu needs our help.”

“I didn’t want to be an alarmist, but I’m glad we’re heading to the ranch,” Chase admitted when they were in the car a few minutes later. “Anything can happen there. Lulu might have got some crazy idea in her head and ended up injured.”

The image of Lulu lying on the ground, possibly in a pool of blood, had Kai pressing the accelerator even harder. He hoped that when they arrived, they’d feel like idiots for worrying when she was fine.

“Hey, Henry,” Kai said as they raced down the deserted road. “Try calling her again. See if she picks up.”

Henry pulled out his cell phone and tried again before shaking his head.

No answer.

Something wasn’t right.

While Ramsey was still writhing on the floor, Lulu crawled toward the door on her hands and knees, her throat burning and her breathing ragged. Chase wouldn’t be home yet, but if she could make it all the way to the barn, a few of the ranch workers might be there still.

Ramsey began to struggle to his feet, although still extremely unsteady. She had to get on the move, and she needed to do it now. She wasn’t going to get in another lucky shot. He’d be more wary a second time.

Her muscles screamed in protest when she forced herself to stand. It felt like every bone and muscle hurt, but she couldn’t lament any physical injuries. She could moan and groan later, nurse herself back to health.

When she was safe.

Because Ramsey, who was now screaming nasty names at her, was pissed off - absolutely fucking furious. If he caught up to her, he was going to want to inflict equal damage and pain, if not more. If she hadn’t fought back, she had no doubt she’d be dead.

She could hear her phone ringing again, sitting on the kitchen counter, but grabbing it wasn’t in the cards. She’d have to move back into the house to do that instead of taking the few steps out of the front door.

Lulu’s bare feet had run across the concrete of her front porch and then down to the gravel and dirt of her driveway, cutting the tender flesh of her soles. Ignoring the pain, she’d turned to head toward her aunt and uncle’s house when she heard the sound of Ramsey’s footsteps behind her and the sound of an engine not far in the distance.

A vehicle was barreling up her driveway, a cloud of billowing dirt and dust behind it. In that split second, she changed her mind completely, spinning so that she was now running up the driveway toward it instead of away.

Ramsey was directly on her heels, a mere few feet behind her - perhaps closer. If he could reach out and grab her the belt of her robe…he’d have her.

Her heart pounding wildly, Lulu let out a grunt as she pushed herself to move faster and get closer to the SUV that she could now see clearly. It was Kai’s vehicle.

She didn’t know why he was here instead of the sports bar in town waiting for her, but she was damn glad that he was.

Stumbling, she fell onto the gravel driveway, the rocks digging into her knees, feet, and palms. A hand grabbed the hem of her robe, yanking her backward, but Kai had already jumped out of the car, along with Chase and Henry, and was running straight toward her. Ramsey wasn’t going to win. Not this time.

When she was safe and sound, she was going to take great pleasure in arresting him for the cold-blooded murder of Dana Cartwright. And the attempted murder of the town sheriff. Assaulting a police officer was a serious offense. Even if he somehow managed to slip out of the murder charges, he wasn’t going to skate on attacking her.

Kai knocked Ramsey away from her before pulling her into his arms, wrapping them tightly around her. Henry and Chase, in the meantime, had corralled Ramsey a few feet away.

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you? When we were driving up, we saw him chasing you.”

Kai’s expression was anxious, his brows pinched together in concern. She reached up and smoothed his forehead with her fingertips. The love and concern on his face made her own heart squeeze painfully in her chest.

I love this man.

“I’m okay. He was chasing me. He killed Dana, and he was going to kill me.”

Her hand dropped to her sore neck where Ramsey’s hands had been only moments before. When Kai saw the red marks she was sure were livid on the skin, he snarled in anger and fury.

“Don’t,” she said when she could see that he was about to stomp over and punch Ramsey. “He’s not worth it. Please stay with me.”

His expression softened, and he pulled her closer into his arms, warm and protective. She could happily stay here and never move from this place.

“I ought to beat him to within an inch of his life,” Kai muttered. “He tried to?—”

“It’s okay,” she whispered, placing her scratched palms on his chest. His heartbeat was fast but steady. “You got here in time. I’m alive.”

“We thought we were saving you from Allie,” Henry said. “But when we got here, Ramsey was chasing you. We’re kind of confused. If you could fill us in that would be great.”

“I’m dirty, sweaty, out of breath, and cut on my hands and feet, but you want an explanation?” Lulu shakily laughed. “Of course, you do.”

Henry’s expression turned from curious to horrified in a split second.

“Oh my god,” Henry groaned. “I’m so sorry.”

Kai placed a hand under her legs and lifted her up, carrying up onto the porch and placing her into one of the chairs.

“You shouldn’t be standing on your feet,” Kai said. “Chase is calling out Deputy Steve and some other backups. Should I tell him to add an ambulance?”

Oh, my heavens, no.

“I am not going to be shoved into the back of an ambulance for a few cuts. We can drive to the hospital at the regular speed limit. No flashing lights or sirens. I’ll be fine. And by the way, Henry, the reason I was running from Ramsey is because he killed Dana. I’m pretty sure I was next on the list.”

“Ramsey?” Chase asked, his eyes wide. “Shit, we had no idea.”

“You thought Allie was coming for me? Why?”

“Because she said she was, sweetheart,” Kai replied, pressing his lips to her cheek. He was looking at her like she was the most precious thing in the world. She could get used to this. “I’m just glad we listened to our gut that something wasn’t right. You weren’t answering your phone.”

He’d listened to his gut? She had, too. Looks like that had worked out just fine. Her dad knew his stuff, but then he always had.

“So, you were the ones calling me over and over? I was a little busy realizing that Ray Ramsey was a killer.”

Sirens were in the distance but growing louder with every passing moment.

“Stay down,” Kai commanded when Ramsey had begun to try and stumble to his feet. “Deputy Steve is going to arrest you, so you won’t get far anyway.”

“No, he’s not,” Lulu said. In any other scenario, she’d want to stay and be coddled by Kai, but not at this moment. “As the sheriff of Harper, I’m going to arrest him. And I’ll take great pleasure in doing it, too.”

“I don’t doubt that you will.”

“You think I’m crazy, don’t you? It’s just something that I want to do myself,” she explained. “I want to give Dana justice. She deserves it.”

“Sweetheart, I sort of like your kind of crazy,” Kai said, kneeling so he could cup her face with his hands. She could already feel the prick of tears in the back of her eyes. His expression was filled with so much love and adoration. She didn’t have a clue what she’d done to deserve this or find this man, but she was just damn happy. “You can keep the peace in town and spend your evenings watching television or reading. Exciting or calm. I’m there with you. All the way. I love you, no matter what you do. And if anything ever happened to you?—”

Quickly, she placed her finger over his lips, shaking her head.

“I’m okay, and I’m going to be okay. You came to my rescue.”

“I don’t think you needed me. I think you would have been okay.”

“Either way, you came for me.”

Henry and Chase, who had been watching each, cleared their throats loudly.

“Uh, we came to your rescue, too,” Henry said awkwardly. “And Lulu, you need to tell Kai you love him this very minute. He said it to you, so you need to say it to him.”

Henry might think that he didn’t need love in his life, but this just proved that he was more than worthy. Somewhere out in the world was a woman who was going to be perfect for him.

“Kai Oliver, I love you,” Lulu said loudly as her deputies arrived, their tires blowing up more dust and dirt and their sirens almost drowning out her romantic proclamation. “More than I ever could imagine. I promise you now, I’m going to tell you every day. So, get ready. Now let me do my civic duty and arrest Ramsey.”

Her parents hadn’t even been gone two weeks. When they returned from their vacation, they were going to be surprised. She’d solved a murder.

And fallen in love. Deeply and madly. The forever kind.

Life was full of surprises. Sometimes, really good ones.

“I heard you’re the person taking care of my little girl.”

Retired sheriff and legendary lawman Seth Reilly didn’t necessarily make that statement sound like a good thing. But it hadn’t sounded terrible either. Mostly neutral.

Kai was being evaluated and sized up, which was easy to see. Fathers weren’t always happy about the man that was doing “it” with their daughters. And this father was more intimidating than most… Seth Reilly probably knew a hundred ways to kill a man, hide the body, and then go to brunch with his family without ever being suspected of foul play.

Kai and Lulu hadn’t waved their relationship in any faces with a bunch of PDA. They truly hadn’t. But Kai’s things were in the bathroom and bedroom. It didn’t take a genius to figure out he’d been staying there while taking care of Lulu.

“I am, sir. But I think she’s feeling much better today since you and your wife are here.”

“Call me Seth,” Reilly said, clearing his throat. “Once we heard what happened, we came as soon as we could get a flight. She does look good. You must be doing a pretty good job. She’s not the easiest patient.”

Lulu was giving Kai a smug smile from her perch on the sofa. She’d warned him that her dad would be a hardass at first, but he wouldn’t stay that way.

“If I love you, he’s going to love you,” Lulu had said. “You have to look for the little signs, but they’ll be there.”

Kai had been invited to call the man by his first name. Surely that was one of those little signs Lulu talked about?

“He’s doing a wonderful job,” Presley Reilly declared, patting Lulu’s leg. They were sitting together on the couch, talking about the cruise that had been cut short because of Lulu’s adventure. “Lulu looks very healthy. And happy.”

The last was said as sort of a challenge to her husband. Kai could already tell that Presley Reilly was an amazing woman who knew how to handle her spouse. They were also totally in love with one another. The adoration between them was clear and strong. They’d been through so much in their marriage, and it looked like it had only brought them closer.

Kai wanted that with Lulu. Yes, it was fast. Maybe he was as spontaneous as she was. They both were all in on this relationship, and he could already picture them making a home and building a life and family together.

“What are your plans now?” Presley asked. “You’re still going to be the sheriff, right? You’re not going to let that asshole make you feel like you don’t deserve this job?”

Ray Ramsey had admitted when questioned that he’d pushed to hire Lulu for one reason - he thought she’d make an awful sheriff and could easily be controlled.

Obviously, he hadn’t known her all that well despite her growing up in town.

When he’d hired her, he hadn’t been planning to kill Dana Cartwright. He’d simply wanted to pull the strings of the head law person in Harper. He said it made him feel like a big shot. Later, when Dana told him she was pregnant and planned to keep the child, he’d decided to use Lulu to his advantage. He’d kill Dana, and Lulu would never solve the murder because he assumed she was incompetent.

He’d gone to Dana’s house that night, and they’d argued in the garage. He’d tried one more time to get her to terminate the pregnancy, but she wouldn’t do it. She’d turned her back to go in the house, and he’d grabbed the nearest thing he could lay his hands on, which turned out to be a pipe. He’d hit her on the back of the head and then decided to move the body to the lake area, hoping it wouldn’t be discovered for a while so that forensics wouldn’t be that helpful. It was Ramsey’s bad luck that Kai liked to jog in that area.

When it appeared that Lulu was actually capable at her job and making progress, Ramsey decided to throw Allie Baker under the bus since she was already under suspicion due to her unusual behavior. As her landlord, he had no trouble sneaking into her apartment when no one was home and planting the murder weapon.

He thought he was home-free until Kai asked about who had access to Allie’s apartment. He panicked, went to see Lulu, and realized that from the way she was acting, she suspected him. Even if she didn’t, he needed to stop her from continuing the investigation. He didn’t have an answer when the district attorney offered up the theory that Kai wouldn’t have let it go if anything had happened to Lulu.

That’s the truth. I wouldn’t have rested until I found out who killed her.

It just proved the theory that criminals often didn’t think things all the way through to their logical conclusion.

“I’m not quitting,” Lulu declared. “I’m the sheriff of this town, and I’ve arrested my first murderer. They’ll have to fire me if they don’t want me.”

“I don’t think anyone will be doing that,” Chase said. He and Henry had been pretty quiet during the reunion with the parents, letting Lulu soak up all their worry. “You’re a hero, and heaven help any town council member who tries to get rid of you. Ellen Dunphy is going around town telling everyone she always knew you’d be amazing as sheriff. Everyone is saying the same thing. They all knew you were going to kick butt and take names.”

“Liars,” Henry hissed, his expression stormy. “They didn’t believe in you.”

“We believed, and now they do,” Chase replied. “Everyone learns at their own pace. Some just take longer.”

“You know, Dad, you were right,” Lulu said. “Kai and I trusted our gut. And it all worked out.”

“When your father gets it right, he really gets it right,” Presley said. “But ultimately, it was you who made it happen. You’re a good sheriff, and this town is lucky to have you.”

Lulu was looking at her dad now, wanting and needing that validation. Seth Reilly didn’t disappoint. No two people on earth could look prouder of their child than Seth and Presley Reilly did at this moment.

Chase and Henry were grinning like idiots, seriously proud, too.

“You are an excellent sheriff, baby girl,” Seth said. Kai thought it sounded like the older man was slightly choked up when she spoke. “I’ve put this town in good hands. They are fortunate to have you.”

“Who wants pizza?” Presley asked, a big smile of happiness on her face. “Our treat.”

“I’m not turning that down,” Chase stated. “But be warned that Henry and I are starving.”

“We wouldn’t expect anything else, son,” Seth laughed.

“Let me comb my hair and put on some shoes,” Lulu said, standing up.

Kai immediately went to her side, ready to carry her if she needed it. The soles of her feet had been cut in a few places, and she’d stayed off of them in the last couple of days, but she was bound and determined to go back to work tomorrow. Kai was wasting his breath trying to talk her out of it. She was still in some pain, but she didn’t want to admit it.

It turned out Seth Reilly had the same idea, however, and they both almost crashed into one another to lift Lulu from her spot on the couch. Presley appeared amused, Lulu’s father less so.

“I guess you have this handled,” he said, straightening up. “If you don’t feel like getting out of the house, sweetheart, we can order in.”

“Are you kidding? I’m dying to get out of this house. I’m about to go stir-crazy. Just give me a few minutes.”

She leaned on Kai’s shoulder as they walked into the bedroom so she could get ready to leave. When she closed the door behind them, she stopped and wrapped her arms around his middle.

“I think my dad likes you.”

“I’m not so sure about that. He wanted to help you. Maybe I should have let him.”

“He’s just having a little trouble realizing that I’m all grown up. He doesn’t have to worry about me anymore.”

Kai wasn’t an expert on parent and child dynamics, but one thing was for sure…

“He’s always going to worry about you, Lulu. Not because you’re wild or impetuous or spontaneous. But because he loves you and doesn’t want anything to happen to you. We’ll feel that way about our kids, too, someday.”

“You always know the right thing to say.”

“I don’t, but it’s sweet that you think I do. Now, what can I do to help you get ready? I’m at your service.”

Sliding her hands up his chest, she wound them around his neck, her fingers making lazy circles on the back of his neck. Her eyes were soft with all the love that he was feeling, too. He hadn’t planned to fall like this, but how great was it that he had.

She amazed him. Lulu Reilly was one of a kind.

“Kiss me,” she commanded. “Then we’ll go eat pizza.”

Who was he to argue? Kai would kiss this woman any time of the day or night.

Hopefully, for a lifetime.