Page 1 of A Deceitful Pact

SAWYER

“She’s the one, ain’t she?” I watch the way my best friend looks across the room at his girl. I never thought I’d see the day it happened, but Jace Sullivan has fallen fast, and he’s fallen hard.

He’s obsessed with her, fascinated by every little move she makes, and I feel real fuckin’ sorry for him.

“Put a ring on her finger, didn’t I?” Jace tries playing it down, but he ain’t fooling no one. The whole of Clearwater Creek has seen a change in the man since Maddison Montgomery came to town.

“She sure did a good job of fixing this place up.” I glance around Jace’s barn, impressed with how Maddison’s made it look for the town's annual Fall Dance.

“I gotta be honest, I didn’t think she’d be able to impress the Clearwater Coven, but she pulled it off.” Jace laughs as he watches Jean, Daphne, and Eleanor all cluck around Maddison with smiles on their faces. “So, you gonna ask the Delaney girl to dance?” He points his head over to where Beth Delaney is standing at the punch table, and when she raises her hand and waves at me, I smile awkwardly and tip my chin at her.

“Nah, I’ve been tryin’ to cool things off.” I take a sip from my bottle to avoid having to explain why. There’s nothing wrong with Beth, she’s a decent girl. She’s pretty and kind, but she’s also been dropping far too many hints about us making things official. I ain’t ready for that bull shit, not with her,oranybody else.

“You know, her dad’s probably already started saving for the wedding,” Jace teases.

“Come on, I’ve taken her on two dates.” I let him see that his humor ain’t impressing me.

“Two dates in Clearwater Creek means you’re courtin’.” He raises his eyebrows.

“Courtin’?You're sounding more and more like Jean Miller every day.” I huff a laugh. “Don’t start being that person, Jace.”

“What person?” He stares back at me.

“The person who’s got himself all wifed-up and in love, and is determined to see everyone else do the same. Some of us ain’t cut out for that kinda thing.”

“Maybe not, but it’s a feelin’ every man ought to know.” Jace gets all serious on me. “We’ve done some pretty dark shit between us.” He lowers his voice. “It’s nice to have a reminder that we ain’t dead inside.” His eyes hold mine for far too long after he’s finished speaking.

“Get out of here before you grow a fuckin’ pussy.” I take the hat I’m wearing off my head and waft him away with it, and he chuckles to himself as he makes his way across the room to save Maddison from the town’s busybodies.

I stand alone, taking in everything around me. These events that the town committee puts on always have a good turnout. Ain’t no one in town ballsy enough not to show. Jean and her crew are always ready to give a lecture on community spirit to those who don’t wanna appreciate the work they put into keeping up our little town’s traditions. Now that they’ve roped Maddison and the mayor’s new wife onto their committee, I’ve got no doubt these kinda events are gonna get bigger and better. Already, I’m seeing a lot of faces I don’t recognize. Word must have spread outside of Clearwater Creek for this one.

“Hey.” I hear a soft voice, and when I look back over my shoulder, Beth is staring up at me with dreamy eyes and a big smile.

“How's it goin’?” I rest my shoulder against the beam and fold my arms.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d be here tonight.” Her cheeks flush pink as she twists on her heels.

“You know there's nowhere elsetobe on the night of the Fall Dance,” I tell her sarcastically and have to squint when she bursts out in a dramatic, high-pitched laugh.

“You’re so funny.” She slaps me on the shoulder. “What I meant was…I kinda expected you to ask me. I thought we–”

“Listen, Beth,” I interrupt her, taking the toothpick from my mouth and clearing my throat. It’s time I put this girl out of her misery. Suddenly, the room turns silent. The band has stopped playing, and when I look toward the entrance where everyone else seems to be staring, my mouth drops open in shock.

“And you are?” Eleanor Chambers steps forward, while I scrub my hand over my face and check I’m seeing right.

“Hey, y’all. Name’s Riley. Sheriff Riley Hale.” The gatecrasher speaks up and confirms that I’m not going crazy.

Fuck.

I stare speechless at the woman who may be a stranger in this town, but sure ain’t no fuckin’ stranger to me. It’s been three years since I last saw her, and not a day’s gone by since that I haven’t thought about her in one way or another.

“Pleased to meet ya, Chief.” Eleanor’s son, Hayden, breaks the silence and steps closer to the new sheriff. “I didn’t think you were arriving until Monday. If I’d known you were already here, I’d have made an effort to welcome you.” He holds out his hand.

“Deputy Chambers, I presume?” Hale takes it and clearly shocks Hayden with how firm her shake is.

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

“Well, Hayden, I heard there was a dance, and I figured it would be a good opportunity to get to know everyone.” Her eyes settle on our mayor, Eli Kelley, then slowly move to fix on mine. I feel a jolt of electricity slice through my spine, and when I look at Jace, I see the clueless bastard smiling as if he’s impressed. The town’s been in an uproar since they found out we were getting a female sheriff; some even wanted to set up a petition to have Hayden take the job instead. Hayden’s a good enough guy, and not just aware of how we run this town, but supportive of it too. But he’s also young and inexperienced.

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