Page 38 of The Roper & the Author

“Both, actually. We both weren’t wanting to hurt each other and from what Miles said, he didn’t mind having a girl back home to get packages or phone calls from and brag about to his buddies. For my part, having a Navy SEAL boyfriend kept me safe from a lot of different men hitting on me.”

“Ooh, that makes sense, since you’re absolutely gorgeous but you have this angelic radiance about you. I bet you’re irresistible to men everywhere.”

Sheriff Clint let out a low growl at that. Lily smiled. Walker’s shoulders were bunched around his neck, his jaw was tight, and his mouth was a thin line.

“Sorry,” Marci said. “Apparently only Lily liked that comment.”

Clint half-laughed at that. “Forgive me, Marci. I’m overly protective of my Lily.”

“Nobody would blame you for that, and don’t worry. No man would dare mess with the tough sheriff’s lady.”

Clint smiled at her over his shoulder. Thank heavens she was getting the tough nut to loosen up and he’d slowed down the pace. She took another glance at the thick forest around them.

“Okay,” Marci continued, “so you and Miles just kept the status quo because it was more convenient not to break up. What changed?”

Lily glanced at her fiancé. “A man who’d already murdered four people threatened me with a poster left at my house.”

“No! How terrifying.” Talk about an inciting incident.Chacho.

“It was. At first, we didn’t know who had left it and suspected the wrong doctor.” She waved a hand. “You don’t need all the details.”

“I do, actually. You have no idea the wheels turning in my head. You’re giving me all kinds of inspiration. Please, please give me the details.”

“Well,” Lily continued after sharing a glance with Clint. “I told the doctor that I was engaged to Sheriff Clint Coleville.”

“Oy!” Marci exclaimed. “A fake fiancé angle. I love those!”

Lily laughed as Clint gave her a smoldering look. “I was terrified out of my mind,” Lily said, “but I did love every moment spent with Clint. He rescued me heart, body, and soul.”

“Whew. It’s smoking hot on this shady mountain trail.” She glanced at Walker. He was focused on the trees to his left. “Okay, keep going. Spill it all.”

Lily kept telling the story, with Clint adding a few details here and there. Mostly Clint looked like the ideal hot cowboy sheriff who was besotted with his fiancée. Marci was eating each detail up, from the horror of Lily’s parents almost being killed to the struggle to resist each other being alone in Clint’s beautiful house. She tried not to miss anything. She’d write it all down later. She was so invested, she hardly noticed her burning legs and lungs and the fact that she was panting for oxygen. She also forgot to get lost in the scenery, but that was okay.

There was something off with Walker during the entire story. Why was he visibly uncomfortable, and why did Marci feel there was a missing piece they weren’t sharing? As an author, she’d been accused of being as curious as an investigative detective.

She had to get to the bottom of Walker’s discomfort. Was he simply protective of Miles, or was there another angle she was missing?

Chapter

Twelve

Walker was extremelyuncomfortable with Marci by his side dragging out every last detail of Clint and Lily’s story. Marci appeared enthralled with Clint. Not that Clint would ever stray from Lily, but it made Walker feel like he was coming up short again.

He was happy for Clint and Lily. It had stung that they’d fallen in love while Walker was interested in her, but it was different with Marci.

Marci lit him up with a simple touch or glance. It was like comparing the sun to the stars for him. The stars were beautiful, but even the brightest star like Lily was outshone by the sun.

He worried for most of the tale that Lily would share that Walker had been after her too. Thankfully she didn’t. They reached the end of their story with the proposal and wedding plans and Marci finally ran out of questions. He noticed as they ascended toward King’s Peak that she was panting for air but still gushing about how beautiful and incredible the mountains were. She’d compared him to the mountains. He liked that.

“Let’s stop and get a drink,” he said.

Clint nodded to him, and they stopped on the trail. Walker pulled off his backpack and handed out water bottles. Marci thanked him with a smile and drank deeply from the water bottle. Trickles of moisture trailed from her lips down her neck. He studied that moisture, wanting to lift it off her skin with his finger.

“Sorry I’m slowing you all down,” she said, pulling in long, slow breaths.

“You’re doing great,” Walker said. “You’re not used to the elevation.”

“Por seguro,” she said. She looked at Lily. “I run or bike the beach at home or swim in the ocean. No incline anywhere, and we are right smack at sea level.”

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