Page 18 of The Sheriff & the Nurse

Clint could feel Lily staring a hole into the side of his head.

“How do you know Aiden Porter?” she asked.

“Cade Miller’s wife Jacey and her sister Elizabeth Oliver are connected to him through their military protection,” was the first response he thought of. Miles should’ve mentioned Aiden at some point. Miles knew the icon much better than Clint did. How distant had her and Miles’s relationship become over the years?

“Oh,” she murmured. “Jacey and Cade have been on some extended honeymoon, haven’t they?”

“Yeah.”

Everyone in the country knew about the criminal Benjamin Oliver and his daughters Jacey and Elizabeth and his son Quaid Raven. The people of Coleville didn’t know the half of how dangerous Benjamin was and that Cade and Jacey were in hiding until he was apprehended. Clint and his deputies watched over Cade Miller’s parents and sisters and Aiden had sent a teamto install high-level security cameras, sensors, and alerts on their home.

Neither of them said much as they pulled into town and up to his two-story home at the far edge of town a few minutes later. He liked his country-style home with the wraparound porch, huge windows, and his acre of grass nestled against the forest.

The term ‘town’ was pretty loose regarding Coleville. His sheriff’s office, the church, the post office, a small grocery store, a hometown diner, and a beauty parlor made up the town stretch. They didn’t even have a bar in Coleville, which he was grateful for. There were about thirty homes spread around the town section, most of them with huge yards, and some were even small ranches. He loved the country feel.

The lake stretched from the west side of town toward the mountains, fed by mountain streams.

The lake. The dock. He’d almost kissed her on that dock. His stomach pitched with anticipation of getting to that spot again.

No. That wasn’t what was happening here. Just because Lily was close by, going to stay in his home, fake engaged to him … okay, they might have an opportunity to kiss to prove to somebody they were engaged. His pulse quickened.

He pulled into the garage, hit the park button, shut the garage door behind them, turned off the truck, and said, “Please wait,” when he saw her reach for her door handle.

She leaned back against the seat and looked over at him. She looked perfect sitting there in his truck.

“Do you need to check on something?” she asked.

“No. My house is secure.” He smiled. Only his deputies, his family, and those who had been protected at the Coleville Ranch knew his family was over the top about security. Miles had recently brought the actress Eva Chevron to the ranch to protect her and they’d fallen in love.

How was Lily dealing with the breakup? He wasn’t ready to ask. When he’d come upon her that night on the dock two years ago, she’d had a tear running down her face. He’d wanted to punch Miles for it. Had Miles put it there or had their relationship been lackluster for years like Miles believed?

Clint had punched Miles multiple times last week, angry and defensive for Lily’s sake. Truth be known, he’d been even more annoyed that Miles had Lily as a long-time girlfriend, the woman of Clint’s and Walker’s dreams, and he let himself get distracted by a famous actress. Miles explained that he and Lily hadn’t had much of a relationship in years and he’d tried to break up with her multiple times. What was Lily’s take on it? Was she as damaged by the breakup as Clint had felt when Sheryl dumped him two weeks before their wedding?

“Why can’t I open my door then?” she asked, and he realized he’d gotten lost in his thoughts and staring at her.

“Because I’m a Coleville.” He arched an eyebrow.

She smiled softly. “Miles would never let me get my door either.”

Miles. He loved his brother. He wanted Miles to be happy with Eva. He hated that thoughts of Miles and Walker kept coming between him and Lily. Not that he and Lily had a relationship. This was a fake engagement. He’d do well to remember that. Lily had the power to break him more than even Sheryl had, and he’d never dated Lily. His loyalty to Miles and now Walker wouldn’t allow it.

Jumping out of his truck, he hurried around, opened her door, and offered his hand. She looked at his hand, looked at him, and then back to his hand.

“I don’t bite,” he tried to tease.

“You sure?”

He grinned and didn’t move.

She put her hand in his. He enfolded her smaller hand in his grip. It felt right—like her hand was meant to be there.

He helped her out of the truck, but he didn’t want to release her hand. He also didn’t want to scare her. Alone. In his house. And she was dealing with an odd manipulation situation with a doctor who had authority and clout. He never wanted her to see him as manipulating her because of his position.

Releasing her hand, he stepped to the back door of the truck, opened it, and retrieved her suitcase. He walked her to the door leading into the mud room, pushed it open, and stepped back.

She walked through, glancing around. “This is beautiful.”

Clint smiled, taking his hat off and setting it on the counter. Rhett had built his house, and his brother did fine work. The laundry and half bath had knotty alder wood cabinets with gray swirled granite countertops. The floors throughout the main level were distressed hazelnut. “You haven’t seen anything yet,” he teased, gesturing her through the mud room area and saying, “Living area lights, medium.”

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