Page 19 of Loving My Enemy

Immediately, I was behind Elka and gripping the monstrosity. “On your word, Tyson. We’ve got you, don’t we, Elka?” I felt her body trembling beneath mine. I shoved the thought aside. For now.

Elka gave me a quick look over her shoulder before she turned to Tyson with a nod. “Yep. Totally got you, sheriff.”

“Thanks, Elka.” He gave her a wink and Elka sucked in a deep breath.

“Ready.” It took about a minute to get the monstrosity down the staircase and another two to get it into the small corner space in the back, but then it was done. “Thank you both for your help,” she said with her shoulders squared and her chin tilted up.

“Our pleasure,” Tyson told her with an exhausted smile.

“I have some fresh peach lemonade and chunky chili if you’d like to take a quick break?” Her gaze avoided me altogether so, of course, I had to screw with her.

“Sure, we’d love to. Thanks.”

Elka froze and finally, slowly, her gaze swung to mine. “No problem. I appreciate your help, sheriff.” Then she turned and jogged up the stairs, leaving me staring at her sweet round ass.

“You’ve got your work cut out for you, man.” Tyson slapped me on the back and laughed far too hard. Damn him.

I didn’t say anything because he was right. I didn’t know why I wanted to win Elka over, only that I did.

Very much.

Chapter 10

Elka

Why did I invite them to stay for lunch when I hadn’t asked for help in the first place? Upbringing, plain and simple. In addition to making sure that I was the fittest little girl in all the world, my parents had drilled manners and etiquette into me until it was habit. Apparently, distance wasn’t a cure for that particular habit, so now I was having lunch with the sheriff who was nice enough—friendly as well as charming. And Deputy Vargas who yelled at me, pulled a gun on me, and then kissed me. Somehow my body couldn’t help but respond to him.

Especially when I thought about his body—so big and so, so hard against my back as we got my work table into the basement. Deputy Vargas was a delicious specimen of a man, well-muscled, sculpted even, if those big arms that had bracketed me were any indication. But they weren’t just big and strong, they were steady too, never trembling as we got the table to the bottom of the steps and into its final resting spot. Damn him.

“Do you need any help?” Sheriff Henderson was a nice guy and sharing a meal with him was no hardship. He was handsome as sin, with deep green eyes. Plus, the whole badge-and-uniform thing made him practically irresistible. To some women, but not me.

Definitely not me, because men weren’t on the agenda right now.

Not at all.

I scanned the kitchen and shook my head. “I’ve got it covered, thanks. Have a seat and take care of that thirst, sheriff.”

He winked. “Why thank you, Elka.” The man was incorrigible, and I rolled my eyes at him.

Rather than pay attention to Deputy Vargas as he entered the kitchen, I pulled the cooking pot from the heater and set it on the table so everyone could serve themselves. Next, I pulled out the grated sharp cheddar, scallions, and jalapeno peppers, and placed it all on the table with bowls and spoons. “Dig in, guys.”

The sheriff frowned. “You’re not eating with us?” His spoon fell back into the bowl and I waited for what he had to say next. “If you’re uncomfortable with us being here, Elka …”

“No, it’s not that, sheriff. I need to get things set up downstairs so the rest of my work day flows smoothly. Thanks to your help, I can. Seriously, enjoy it.” I hadn’t planned to eat until much later. Now that I could make my own choices, I ate when hunger struck and not a minute sooner, which meant I could get lost in my work until my stomach growled its displeasure.

“That doesn’t sit right with me, Elka.”

My teeth ground together in impatience and I struggled not to roll my eyes. The sheriff was a good man who only wanted to help; it wasn’t his fault his sense of right and wrong was straight out of the Old West. “That’s too bad, sheriff. You chose to barge in on my schedule and I do appreciate the help, but I’m not eating just to make you feel better.”

“What do you need to do down there? Maybe I can help.” Deputy Vargas wore a knowing smirk that made me want to smack him as hard as I could. I was pretty it was illegal to strike an officer, and since he was looking for a reason to put me in jail, I crossed my arms.

And glared at him. “I don’t need your help.”

“That’s what you said before.”

My chin notched up another inch in defiance and my glare intensified. “I didn’tneedyour help. I would have gotten in on my own but when two men with guns show up and refuse to go away, you accept the help.”

It wasn’t entirely true, but I knew I couldn’t let Deputy Vargas bully me.

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