Page 80 of Redeeming Melodies

"Smooth, Sheriff."

"I try." But his eyes held mine, serious now. "No more disappearing acts?"

"No more running." Meant it with everything in me. "Though fair warning - I'm still figuring this out. All of it."

"That makes two of us." His smile went soft around the edges. "Maybe we figure it out together?"

"Together?"The word felt bigger than just one syllable. "You sure you want to take that on? A confused ex-racer and his kid?"

"Pretty sure." Jake's voice carried that steady certainty I was starting to rely on. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Besides, think Tommy's already got me wrapped around his finger."

Had to laugh at that, tension finally breaking. "Yeah, he's good at that. Gets it from his old man."

"That so?" His eyes sparked with something warm. "Seems a bit presumptuous, considering you still owe me a proper date."

My heart did that stupid flutter thing again. "That what this is? You asking me out, Sheriff?"

"Depends." He stood, moving closer with that quiet confidence that did things to my insides. "You planning to stick around this time?"

"Yeah." The truth came easy now. Set my mug down, met him halfway. "Got a house to finish. Got a kid who needs stability. Got a sheriff who apparently needs my number to keep tabs on me."

"Just your number?" His hand found mine, warm and sure.

"Play your cards right, Thompson." But I was smiling now, real and open. "Maybe you'll get the whole story eventually."

"Looking forward to it." He squeezed my hand once before letting go. "Should head back to the station. But Elliot?"

"Yeah?"

"Next time you need space? Just tell me. Don't need a reason, just... let me know you're okay."

Something in my chest expanded, warm and certain. Because this man - this steady, patient man - wasn't asking me not to run. Just asking me to let him know I'd come back.

"I can do that." Walked him to the door, everything feeling more solid somehow. "Thanks, Jake. For understanding. For giving me another chance."

"Not a chance." He paused in the doorway, those brown eyes holding mine. "Just time. Time to figure out what we could be."

Watched him walk to his truck, badge catching the morning light. My phone felt heavy in my pocket, his number now a tangible connection between us. A promise, maybe. Or at least a beginning.

"Jake." His name came out rough, wanting.

He moved first this time too, just like that night under the stars. But where that kiss had been gentle, questioning, this one burned. His hands framed my face as he backed me against the doorframe, everything else falling away until there was just this - just us, finding something real in each other.

My fingers twisted in his shirt, pulling him closer. He tasted like the tea we'd barely touched, like promises we were finallybrave enough to keep. When his teeth grazed my lower lip, the sound that escaped me was embarrassingly needy.

"Fuck," he breathed against my mouth, one hand sliding into my hair. "Been wanting to do that since you came back."

"Yeah?" Managed to get out between kisses that felt like drowning in the best way. "That why you've been watching my house on your patrols?"

He laughed, the sound vibrating through both of us. "Caught that, did you?"

"Small town, Sheriff." Pulled back just enough to see his face, to memorize how he looked with kiss-swollen lips and dark eyes. "Not much gets past us locals now."

"Guess I'll have to be more subtle." But his smile said he didn't mind being caught, not one bit.

This time I kissed him, pouring everything I couldn't say into it. All the fear and want and possibility. His grip tightened on my hip, and yeah, this was definitely not how the sheriff of Oakwood Grove usually conducted his morning patrols.

We madeour way to the bedroom in a silence that felt sacred, heavy with words we hadn’t dared to say and feelings neither of us fully understood. The room felt smaller, warmer somehow, like it knew what was about to happen. Jake’s hand was steady in mine, thumb tracing patterns against my skin. Each touch pulled me closer, made the world fade until there was nothing but him and me, and all this damn need we’d been pretending didn’t exist.

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