Page 6 of Reeve

When Deputy Snack walked out of the Parsnip, his eyes had landed on me, just as I’d hoped. They’d scanned my face, and his lips had turned up.

“Hi,” I’d said.

“Hi,” he’d answered.

“My shift’s over, so I thought I’d stick around. Can I do anything else to help?”

“Nah,” he’d said, flashing me a full-blown smile that made my knees weak. “You saved his life. That’s about the best you can do.”

His was a new face in Skagway—an incrediblyhandsomeface with high cheekbones, amber eyes, and close-cropped, black curly hair. To say I was interested was an understatement.

“You’re new in town, huh?”

“Yep. Fresh out of the academy in Sitka.” He’d held out his hand. “Aaron Adams.”

“Reeve Stewart,” I told him, shaking his hand and realizing how much smaller mine was encased in his. Up close, all of him was bigger than I originally thought. I could see the definition of his pecs under his work shirt. Whew. He was hot. No doubt.

“Nice to meet you, Reeve.”

“Nice to meet you, Aaron,” I said, making no attempt to take back my hand.

“So you’re an EMT, huh?”

“Just about,” I said. “I have a few more hours left before my practical.”

He slid his hand away from mine, slowly, like he wished he didn’t have to. “That’s awesome.”

“Yeah. I really like it.”

“That makesmelikeyou, Reeve Stewart,” he said, leaning against his car, his hip grazing mine. “People who help other people are my favorite kind.”

The way he said this—so smoothly, like the words were lyrics to a song playing in his mind—made my breath catch. My crush on him was developing lightning-fast and made me bold.

“Since you’re new in town,” I’d said, “I think you might need someone to show you around.”

“I think you’re right.”

“I’d be happy to be that person.”

“Oh, yeah?” he’d asked, pivoting slightly to face me. “Well, that sounds pretty sweet to me.”

I’d reached for his hand, taken a pen out of my breast pocket, and written my phone number on the skin of his palm.

“Text me.”

“Will do.”

“Can’t wait,” I’d said, pushing off from his car.

“Me neither,” he’d answered, his eyes glued to my ass as I sauntered away.

I’d checked my phone every ten minutes for three days, but needless to say, he’d never texted. And the next time I saw him, he barely made eye contact with me. He’d acted like we’d never met outside of the Parsnip, never had a highly charged conversation filled with delicious innuendo. He’d looked embarrassed. Sheepish.

Someone must have told him who I was—the sister of the Sheriff’s ex-girlfriend and a seventeen-year-old EMT-in-training with three overbearing brothers. And just like that, all of the gorgeous potential I’d felt at our first meeting was—whoosh—gone. Whenever we saw each other after that, we avoided each other’s gaze. What started out as giddy flirtation had quickly turned into perennial discomfort.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I had a short-lived burst of hope when I turned eighteen that October.Maybe I’d hear from him now that I was a legal adult. Maybe he’d finally reach out.When he didn’t, the embarrassment I’d felt for weeks had swiftly turned to scorn.

“Reeve! Wait up!”

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