Page 23 of Sheriff's City Girl

“I’m real glad this place is doing well for ya,” he said to my awkward reply, leaning against the counter. “The town needed a place like this. There used to be a diner across the street, but when Matilda, the owner, passed away, her kids—who had long moved away—let the building go into disrepair.”

“Yeah, Drew told me about that,” I said, speaking easier now that I had something to say. “I looked at taking it on, but it was cheaper to renovate this spot than that one. I think there’s some structural damage.”

“Yeah, who knows what all there is,” Mason chuckled, meeting my gaze as I stopped sweeping. “It was a nice place though. Someone like yourself would’ve enjoyed it, I think. She had a lot of homemade recipes.”

“I would’ve,” I admitted, a smile stretching across my face. “I love finding those hole-in-the-wall places with refined recipes and history. I don’t feel like there’s as many as there used to be.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, really. I don’t leave this county too much and given that this is the county seat—and the most populated town—I don’t travel much.”

I laughed, unable to hold back. “So Lily was right about you then. You really don’t get out much.”

“You’ve been talking to Lily about me?” He raised an eyebrow, a glimmer of something that looked a lot like amusement filling his ocean irises.

“Well… I mean…” I felt the heat building in my cheeks. “I was curious. I think the whole town is kind of curious about you, to be honest.”

He chuckled, setting his cowboy hat on the counter. “Now that might be true to some degree. Any time you’re a public figure in a town like this, there’s always rumors that float around.”

“Yeah, I could see that.”

“Just know that probably only about half of them have some merit,” he teased, flashing me his pearly whites. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, and my hands felt sweaty again.

“I haven’t really heard anything too questionable,” I admitted, finally leaning the broom in the corner. “But are you hungry or anything? I can make you something?”

“Thanks, but I’m good,” he said, his eyes drifting down my body for a split second. “So… Where are you from? Lily said you were a college friend from Austin.”

I licked my bottom lip, the thought of my mother coming to my mind. “I am from Austin, actually. I was born and raised there. It was just my mom and my sister growing up.”

“My mom was a single mom as well,” he said, his lips turning downward. “My dad passed away when I was young, and she raised me on her own. She passed away when Jess was three, so it was a tough time for me. My wife left me about a year after my mom passed. So, needless to say, my twenties were turbulent.”

I nodded, sympathy filling my chest. “I’m so sorry.”

“That’s okay,” Mason said in a flat voice, like he was used to hearing those words. “Are you close to your family?”

“Uh… I wouldn’t say that,” I grumbled. “My mom keeps up with me, but that’s about it. My sister is married with a young daughter, but I don’t get to see either of them much. They moved to NYC with her husband. She’s very close to my mom—in fact, my mom is actually moving up there in a few months.”

His eyes flashed with an emotion—pity, I think. “I get that. Lily has talked about you since she moved back from college, so I’ve always been aware of the best friend from Austin.”

I wasn’t sure why he was telling me that, but it made me feel better about it all. “Yeah, we’ve been really close since we first met during welcome week of our freshman year. It was just meant to be.”

“You sound like Lily,” he chuckled. “I grew up with her and Drew, but I’m quite a bit older than they are, so I didn’t really know them back then. It wasn’t until they came back to town that I got to know them—and then well… you know Dara and Jess are best friends.”

I nodded, but I was suddenly reminded of the friend that Jess had been ditching Dara for. I opened my mouth, thinking about spilling it to Mason, but stopped. It probably wasn’t my place to inform him what his daughter was up to. In fact, it might come across very wrong.

“Are you busy tonight?” Mason asked, his question sending a jolt of excitement through my bones. “Lily has Jess tonight, since it’s a weekend. I’ve been working late on the missing cattle investigation. I was thinking about taking an evening ride and didn’t know if you’d like to join? No pressure,” he added quickly.

Is he asking me on a date?

I nodded before I let myself think too much about it. Yeah, I preached that I wasn’t into it—that I was an independent woman who did things all on my own… But honestly, I was curious about Mason. He was the definition of mysterious.

And sexy.

“Do you want to meet me at the ranch or ride together?” Mason had this gleam in his eye that made everything about this adventure more thrilling.

“I suppose I could just meet you there? I’d hate for you to have to bring me back here.”

“What if we did it the right way, and I pick you up from your house? Then I can just take you home.”

I almost agreed with him, liking the heroic male notion, but shook my head. “There’s no need for that. I’ll just meet you there.”

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