Page 3 of Sheriff's City Girl

She pulled her gaze from mine, leaving me feeling disappointed, regardless of the rules I’d set for myself. “I’ll be back with your breakfast in just a sec.”

“You’re really hung up on her,” Jackson reiterated as soon as she was out of earshot again. “You know you could just ask her out, take her to the BBQ and dance. I’ll bet she ain’t even heard of it.”

I shook my head. “Nah, I gotta work the early shift of the night, and I’ll be trying to keep an eye on Jess.”

“She’s a sophomore in high school, Mason,” Jackson pointed out. “You gotta let the girl breathe a little. I was tryin’ to figure myself out when I was that age, and that’s hard to do when your dad is up your ass all the time.”

“You still ain’t got yourself figured out,” I joked, covering the fact that I knew he had a point. I was kind of a helicopter parent when it came to Jess, but…

I had seen a lot of bad in the world, and I just wanted to protect her from it.

Emma returned with our breakfast before we could carry the conversation any further. “Here you boys go.” She sat down a bagel with a pink-tinted cream cheese spilling from the sides while setting some sort of pastry in front of Jackson.

“Thank you, ma’am,” I beat Jackson to the punch this time.

“You’re welcome. Try it,” she motioned to the bagel. “I just love to get new feedback from customers. It makes my day… Well, or ruins it,” she added with an enchanted laugh.

I swallowed my nerves and took a bite of the warm, crispy bread. The strawberry cream cheese was sweet, adding to the fluffy texture of the bagel. “Holy…” my voice trailed off as I chewed. “This is good.”

Jackson burst into laughter. “I told you, you just had to try it and you’d see. This is by far the best place to eat in town now.”

“Thank you,” she beamed. “I’m so glad you like it. We serve lunch and dinner as well, though I keep most of our meals on the lighter side. For that reason, we close at eight.”

I nodded, still trying to process the delectable breakfast. It put my usual to shame. However, before I could finish chewing, someone called for Emma, and she gave us both smiles.

“Enjoy your meal. Don’t worry about ringing up at the front. Like I said, this one’s on the house.” She tapped the table and then disappeared, off to take care of others.

“So you approve?” Jackson eyed me.

“I gotta give it to you on this one. This is pretty damn tasty.”

And I bet Emma is, too.

The thought was startling, and before I beat myself up for it, my phone rang. I picked it up, answering. “Sheriff Hewitt.”

“Hey,” Lindy, one of the deputies, answered. “We got a problem off County Road 90. Tim Reef’s cattle are out.”

“Again?” I groaned.

“Yeah, but there’s a vehicle accident involved this time.”

“Shit. Be there shortly.”

Chapter Two

Emma

“Another day, another dolla!” Lily greeted me, throwing her hands up in the air like the absolute goofball she was. “How’s the most popular and most beautiful baker in town doing on this fine Texas evening?”

I rolled my eyes at my best friend, though I couldn’t help but smile. “You say the exact thing every time you roll in here after closing.” I went back to wiping counters as she locked the door behind her.

“So…” She leaned against the counter, her ashy blonde hair pulled up in a bun. “Anything interesting happen today? Because I’m not gonna lie, I’m always so envious that you get to socialize with adults and I have to spend my day with ten-year-olds.”

“You fit in well,” I teased, giggling as she gave me a warning look. “But really, it wasn’t that interesting today. Now that I’ve been here and open for a few weeks, I’m starting to have regulars more than new faces—oh, except for Sheriff Hewitt. I finally got to meet the mysteriously hot man that you told me about.”

“Oh my god, really?” she gasped. “He was here? Why didn’t you call me? I would’ve called in for a sick day!”

I swatted her with the rag. “I’ll bet Drew really would’ve appreciated that.”

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