Page 85 of Sheriff's City Girl

And I found nothing funny about it.

And then I went to sleep.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Emma

Ipulled up to Mason’s cabin and parked beside the Bronco that had been sitting there for nearly three weeks now. Mason was recovering, and during that time, things had been mostly quiet around town. Talk about Graham had thankfully died down, and the funny looks I got while working were happening less often…

Well, either that, or I was just getting used to them.

I put the car in park and grabbed the armload of groceries that I had bought. Ever since Mason had come home nearly two weeks ago, I had been coming over every evening, making both him and Jess dinner. I know that Jess could’ve taken care of him, but I wanted her to focus on school…

And maybe prove to her that I was good enough for her dad—not that she ever made me feel like I wasn’t. It was me who was making myself feel that way.

“Hey, Emma!” Jess called from the porch, a huge smile on her face. She had her backpack slung over her shoulder, like she was either leaving or just getting home.

“Hey,” I greeted her with a smile, climbing the porch steps.

She dropped her bag onto the porch and took some of the groceries off my hands. “You probably shouldn’t be carrying all this? I don’t know though. Just a heads up, I won’t be staying for dinner tonight. Dara and I are going to ride at the ranch, and then I’m staying with her.”

I nodded, recalling Lily saying something about it. “That sounds good,” I said, following her into the house. Mason was up in the kitchen, looking more annoyed than ever. He was feeling a lot better, and that was wearing on him.

“I don’t know why I can’t go back to work,” Mason grunted as we set the groceries on the counter.

“Just one more week,” I reassured him, patting his arm. “It won’t be long, and you’ll be back to everything you usually do. But if you do too much before you’re cleared, you’ll have to rest even longer.”

“She has a point, Dad,” Jess eyed him as she ripped open a bag of potato chips, popping a few into her mouth.

“Hey now,” Mason narrowed his eyes at her. “Those are mine.”

I rolled my eyes at the two of them, always arguing over whose chips were whose… Which was why I bought two bags. I pulled the second bag out and handed it to Mason, while Jess burst into laughter. “Problem solved.”

“You’re a saint, Emma,” Mason planted a kiss on the top of my head. “I don’t know what we would’ve done without you these last couple of weeks.”

“Probably eat a lot of takeout,” Jess made a face, shuddering. “And there’s only so much takeout before it hits my digestive system in all the wrong ways.”

“Okay, good to know,” I laughed, poking her in the shoulder. “I’ll try to remember that in the future.”

“Probably best that you do,” Jess chuckled, folding the top of the chip bag down and putting it into the cabinet. “But anyway, Dara’s here,” she glanced down at her phone. “So, you two enjoy your night.” She gave us both a knowing look, and my heart started to beat a little faster at the idea. Mason and I hadn’t had any alone time since what happened…

“You be careful out there riding.”

“Yeah, okay. The cattle thieves are all gone.”

Mason blew out a sharp sigh. “Yeah, but we all know that Graham didn’t act alone.”

“They’re probably long gone,” Jess shrugged, giving us both hugs before heading toward the door. “I’ll see y’all lovebirds later. Feed my baby sister or brother well, Emma.” She burst into laughter, as I shook my head.

“You’re a mess, Jess,” I teased her. “But yeah, he or she will definitely be fed very well. My appetite is huge right now.”

“Love ya, kid,” Mason called just as she reached the door.

“Love y’all,” Jess shot back, disappearing before I managed to make out what she had just said… My heart swelled… But then I realized she might’ve just been talking about the baby.

Ugh.

I was head over heels for all of the Hewitts, including Jess. I just hadn’t told Jess that yet. I didn’t want to push her to look at me any differently.

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