Page 3 of Mine to Dominate

She exhaled in relief. The one thing the town didn’t need was a weak man. He’d get eaten alive.

“Good. We’ll help him fit in.”

The guys grinned.

Lance snickered. “Are you going to Mother Hen him like us?”

She gasped. “I do not.”

Both men snorted.

She narrowed her eyes at them, walked into the small kitchen, and started coffee. She thought about knocking on the sheriff’s door and introducing herself, but the door was closed, and she didn’t want to interrupt him. She’d wait until he cameout.

After grabbing the coffee cup, she went to her desk and went over the notes Carol had left her.

The phone rang off the hook, and the next time she looked up, it was past lunchtime, and she was hungry. She grabbed a can of soup from the stash of food she kept in the bottom drawer. She was just taking the bowl out of the microwave when someone bellowed.

“Where the hell is everybody?”

A mountain of a man filled the doorway, making her shake, and then the hot liquid splashed onto her hand and made her gasp.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I’m the day dispatcher and your assistant.”

He looked at the way she was holding her hand. “What happened?”

She shook her head. “I jerked and spilled some of the soup on my hand.” She walked to the sink.

“I caused that?”

“It’s not a big deal.” She looked over her shoulder. “So, you must be the new sheriff?”

“Yeah,” he said and walked over to her. “Let me see.” He reached for her hand.

She tried to dodge him, but he was quick and examined the burn.

“I told you it wasn’t a big deal.”

“It’s red,” he said.

She tugged. “It’s not going to blister or anything.”

“Is there any ointment here?”

“We have a first aid kit, but I’m serious. I’m good.”

He reluctantly released her.

She pulled a piece of paper towel off the roll, dried her hand, and then turned to him. “So, I’m Kayla.”

“I’m Zeke.”

She studied him. He was huge. Bigger than any of the other guys, and muscular. His shoulders were the width of the doorway. He had close-cropped dark hair and intense dark eyes that seemed to look right through her.

“It’s nice to meet you. Are you settling in okay?” she asked.

“Yeah. I’ve got a lot to learn.”

---