Page 35 of Caught By A Cowboy

“I don’t want you worrying about your jobs here. I want you to do what makes ya happy.” I snatch her up in my arms and pull her even closer.

“Well, funny you should say that. There is one thing that would make me very happy.” She goes all coy, the way she always does when she gets too shy to ask for something.

“Hit me.” I shake my head.

“Can we dance? I know you said we couldn’t but look, the other guys are doing it.” I glance over to the dance floor and see my workforce letting me down, even Grayson seems to be taking one for the team by dancing with Jean.

“Princess, I’d do anything for ya, but that…” Suddenly, I notice that everyone goes still, the band stops playing and all eyes are on the door behind me. I turn around and see a woman, in her late twenties, standing all by herself in the entrance. She’s wearing jeans and a tank top beneath her leather jacket, her hair is long and dark, and she doesn’t seem at all overwhelmed by the fact she’s got the attention of the whole room.

“And you are?” Eleanor Chambers steps forward and asks the question that’s on everyone’s minds.

“Hey y’all, name’s Riley. Sheriff Riley Hale.” She earns herself a few shocked gasps but stands proud, and I can’t help admiring her for it.

Eleanor looks outraged as her son steps forward and offers his hand.

“Pleased to meet ya, chief. I didn’t think you were arriving until Monday, if I’d known ya were already here I’d have made an effort to welcome ya.”

“Deputy Chambers, I presume?” She takes his hand and shakes it.

“You can just call me Hayden, everyone else does,” he tells her.

“Well, Hayden, I heard there was a dance, and I figured it would be a good opportunity to get to know everyone.” Her eyes move to settle on Eli’s and when they shift to Sawyer’s and then to mine, I get a real unnerving feeling in my gut.

“Here, let me introduce you to some folk.” Hayden guides her into the crowd as the band starts to play again, and I cantell by the way he looks over at me as she shakes hands with the Walkers that she’s put him on edge too.

“She seems nice.” Maddison rests her head on my shoulders as she watches our new sheriff make nice. “Now, how about that dance?”

“Sorry, darlin’, I need to steal your man.” Sawyer marches toward us, grabbing my arm and dragging me outside. He waits until there's some distance between us and the door before he turns to look at me.

“Jace. We got a fuckin’ problem.”

MADDISON

“She’s got some nerve showing her face here.” Eleanor crosses her arms over her chest as she watches the new sheriff like a hawk.

“She seems nice enough,” I point out, trying to ease some of the tension that’s built among the three women who Isabel refers to as the Clearwater Creek coven.

“Nice? How is turning up atourdance, and taking all the limelight, nice?” Jean asks and when Isabel drops her head so they can’t see her laughing, it almost sets me off too.

“Well, I for one think we should give her a chance.” A girl with long, blonde hair and a really pretty face injects herself into the conversation. “I’m Taylor, my brothers work for Jace,” she greets me warmly.

“Pleased to meet you, and thanks for the clothes you sent.” I smile back at her.

“No worries, it’s important to make newcomers to our town feel welcome.” She turns to look at the three judgemental women who are still focused on every move Riley Hale makes.

“This town doesn’t need a sheriff, anyway.” Eleanor puts her nose in the air, the same way she did when she saw my pumpkin patch. She was most put out when I joined the decorationcommittee, she wasn’t happy at all that I wanted to replace her annual garland with the pumpkin patch but people's reactions to it as they posed for photographs have proved her wrong.

“I don’t know about that, Eleanor, didn’t Billy McGee disappear a few weeks ago?” Taylor calls her out and I already know I’m going to like this girl.

“Billy’s always disappearing, another of his wives probably caught up with him,” Daphne sniggers at Jean while Eleanor shakes her head, looking displeased.

“Why are we even talking about that old fool anyway?” She takes a sip of her punch as her cheeks flush pink.

“I agree with Taylor, we should give her a chance, and get to know her.” Isabel decides to make a stand, though I can see how nervous she is about it by the way her hands shake as she refills her glass.

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough of that, sweetpea?” Eli sweeps in from nowhere and takes it from her. It gives me a chill because it reminds me of the way Adam used to be with me. Anytime we went somewhere, I felt like a performing monkey – don’t drink too much, keep a smile on my face, talk to the right wives – seeing Isabel get steered toward the group of well-dressed women and their husbands makes me feel really sorry for her.

“I’ll bet she’s in the family way,” Daphne whispers over the rim of her punch glass, and I breathe a sigh of relief when I see that all eyes are directed at Isabel.

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