Page 19 of Sheriff's City Girl

“Dara is here?” Mason’s brows shot up like I just told him something he didn’t know.

“I figured she was here with Jess…” My voice trailed off, wondering if I just got the girl in trouble. “It was just a guess. I don’t actually know.”

“Right,” Mason snapped, causing Lucas to shoot him a weird look.

“Dara is here,” Lucas answered me. “She’s in the second horse barn—you can get there by following the path to the south.” He gestured to the southern exit of the barn. “It’ll take you right to her. She should be just about done with those stalls. I did tell her that she could exercise a couple of the younger horses, so she might be doing that. You’ll have to drag the kid out of here—Lily always has to.”

“Wonderful,” I sighed, glancing down at my watch. I was hoping to pick her up, get her home, and then get back to the café to help Sarah lock up. It would be her first time without my help, and as much trust as I had in her, I was still a little worried about it.

I could feel Mason’s eyes on me as I went to glide past the two of them, and my chest felt heavy as I tried to breathe. Why was he so handsome? His rugged look beneath his Stetson cowboy hat was to die for, and the way he filled out his uniform was something out of a movie… Every freaking thing about Mason messed with my senses, and my head spun as my arm brushed against his.

“Might want to be careful in those shoes,” Lucas quipped as I headed for the side door. “Hate to see you get horse shit all over them.”

Mason chuckled at his friend’s words, and I felt heat rush to my cheeks.

“I’ll watch out for it, thanks,” I muttered, my heart racing out of humiliation as I tried to push the door open.

“Pull it in,” Mason said, amusement deepening his voice.

“Right,” I snapped, pulling the door open and hurrying out of the barn. As soon as the door clicked behind me, I let out an embarrassed sigh and wiped the sweat from my forehead. It wasn’t even that warm—I was just all flustered and worked up over a less than five-minute encounter with the man I slept with.

As I walked along the trail to the next, slightly smaller barn, I worked to get myself together. The last thing I needed was to be all worked up when I picked Dara up. Besides, what happened with Mason… It was nothing. He hadn’t bothered to show up or call after the encounter—not that he had my phone number—but still.

He acted like I was just another person. I mean, yeah, it was a little tense and he was surprised to see me, but it was probably just the fact that I didn’t belong at the ranch. I took rhythmic breaths as I slid the second tan colored barn open, relieved to see Dara unsaddling a palomino horse.

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked her, my voice forcefully cheerful.

“Uh, hey,” Dara giggled. She was the spitting image of her mom, though her blonde hair was always braided out of her face. “Mom said she had a staging.”

I nodded. “It looks like I caught you at the right time. Did you have a good time?”

A teasing smile grew across her face. “You sound like Mom. But yeah, I had a good time. Triton here is a real mess though. He has more energy than he knows what to do with.”

“He looks tired to me,” I said with a shrug, taking in the way his eyes were half closed.

“That’s because he’s all out of energy now.” She patted his sweaty back. “But it’s all good. I think he’ll make them a really nice ranch horse if they don’t sell him. I’m trying to convince Mom and Dad to let me buy him. Lucas said that I could work it off here at the ranch.”

“That would be really cool.” I tried to sound like I knew something about what she was saying. “Are you about ready to go?”

“Yeah, are you in a rush or something?” She eyed me as she picked up the brush and started working it down Triton’s shoulder. “I just have to brush him down and then I should be good.”

“That’s fine.” I shifted, my feet aching in my converse. They weren’t the best shoes to wear, but they looked cute with my light pink mid-length dress. “Take all the time you need.”

As long as Mason stays away.

“Cool, thanks.” Dara was focused on the horse, and I leaned against one of the empty stalls. My mind flashed back to the surprise on Mason’s face when he found out that Jess wasn’t with Dara…

Does he not know where his daughter is?

I bit my lip, hesitating for a moment before I asked Dara. I didn’t want to get in the middle of anything, but… “Hey, where’s Jess? She’s always with you.”

Dara’s smile faded, and I knew I was wading into teenage drama. “Well… She used to hang out with me all the time—she’s the reason I started coming here. But today, she decided to go hang out with her new friends.” The last two words were full of bitterness or annoyance. It was hard to pinpoint exactly how she was feeling about it.

“Ah… I see,” I said, not wanting to press too much. If she wanted to talk about it, she would.

And obviously, she did.

“Yeah, there’s this new kid at school. His family just moved here or whatever, and he comes across as so cool, but I think he’s a douche bag. He totally likes her though—like really likes her. She’s just gotten sucked right into him.”

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