Page 51 of Sheriff's City Girl

And a little worried about Jess, myself.

“What’s wrong?” Dara stuck her head out of her bedroom, tilting her head in confusion. “You look worried.”

“Um, yeah, do you know where Jess went tonight? She’s not at home,” I said, keeping my voice low. If anyone was going to know something, it was Dara—and based on the guilty look on her face… She had answers.

“I…”

“Just tell me,” I demanded, my voice staying quiet but growing firm. “She snuck out of her house tonight and Mason is trying to find her—to make sure she’s safe,” I added for clarity.

“Is that Dara?” Mason asked in my ear, but I ignored him, staying focused on Dara, not him.

“She… I think she was going to the Graham’s… His parents are out of town, and he was throwing a party… I… I was invited because of Jess, but I didn’t wanna go—well, I wasn’t actually invited,” she stopped, a frown pulling at her lips. “I don’t want her to get in trouble, Emma… I don’t want her to know that I ratted her out—she’s gonna hate me.” A tear slipped down Dara’s cheek, and my heart sunk in my chest.

“Is there anyone else who might know?”

“The whole school knew about the party,” Dara said, wrapping her arms around herself. “Like half the high school will probably be there. Cody throws wild parties.”

“Okay, thank you.” I gave her a soft smile. “Goodnight, Dara.” I spun around and headed back down the stairs. “She’s at Hudson’s place, I think.”

“I’m outside to pick you up,” Mason said into my ear. “Come on.” He then hung up, leaving me to wonder why the hell I was being dragged into the mess with his daughter. I hardly knew her—how could I possibly help? My hand flew to my stomach as I made my way out the front door, pausing to set Lily’s phone down.

Someday I’ll have a teenager—with Mason.

Tonight was definitely not the right night to tell him, though. Eventually, I would have to, but talk about kid problem overload…

Ugh.

What a story I would have to tell Lily in the morning. My casual tennis shoes padded along the concrete drive as I headed for the old Bronco parked behind my SUV.

“Why am I going with you?” I asked as I slid into the passenger side. “I don’t know why I would be any help in this…”

Mason looked over at me, his face furrowed deeply with worry. “You’re a woman, and I don’t know what Jess is doing at the party… But it ain’t hard to come up with a few ideas.”

I nodded, letting out a sigh and pushing my hair out of my eyes. “Maybe Lily should’ve gone.”

He shook his head. “Lily would mean that Dara told on Jess. I know all about that girl code shit. I’ll have to come up with the fact that it was a call.”

“Right…” My voice trailed off at the shoddy plan. “I bet she’s smarter than that. Not to mention, why would I be with you?”

“Why were you emerging from my bedroom the last time she saw you?” He cocked his head at me, daring me to challenge that one.

“Touche,” I muttered, relaxing back into the seat. I was exhausted, the first trimester taking its toll on me. I was a lucky one, however, that my morning sickness was minimal, and that was relieving since I worked around food most of the day.

“I don’t know why she’d be going to some party, especially without Dara,” Mason blurted, his eyes still focused on the road. “I just… She’s never done this kind of thing—and how the hell did she get out there? I know how other teenagers act, but that’s not Jess.”

I pursed my lips, giving him a weary look. He might be a great sheriff, but he was clearly in denial about his daughter. “Just because she snuck out and went to a party doesn’t make her a bad kid. It doesn’t mean that she’s not still herself. She’s just… being a kid.”

“It’s dangerous,” Mason snapped at me. “You clearly don’t understand that.”

I fought the urge to bite back but didn’t. I knew he was just acting out of concern for Jess. “I do understand in some ways. I snuck out when I was a teenager—to see a boy. I know that Jess is a good kid, and honestly, I was, too. It’s just easy to get wrapped up in your feelings when you’re young. You don’t think as clearly, and your parents are the enemy. Well, for me it was just my mom, but yeah.”

“And you don’t have a good relationship with your mom now, right?” He eyed me as he pulled off onto a gravel road.

I shrugged. “That has nothing to do with the choices I made in high school. We were close while I was in college. I put space between us because she puts too much pressure on me to be a traditional woman, and you know, settle down.” My hand wanted to go to my stomach, cradling the baby that was going to lead to “settling down”…

Just in a very complicated way.

“I don’t want her to grow up and put a bunch of space between us,” his voice dropped in volume, growing thick with emotion. “She’s all I’ve got—and I know that I ain’t exactly given her the easiest life with me working all the time and her mom running out on us…”