Page 61 of Peaches

I snort. “I wasn’t aware I needed to prove my intentions to earn a plate of food.”

The furrow in his brow deepens. “Unfortunately, son, you’ve made a habit of stirring up enough trouble for just about everyone in this town, and I’m afraid I don’t trust any of your intentions at this point. So why don’t we just get to the part where you tell me why you’re here. Hell, maybe I can help you.”

“I’m not your son,” I bristle. For as much as the man always claims he’s only ever trying to deescalate a situation, he sure likes to push the buttons he knows will set me off. It’s one of the many ways he uses the front of his badge to fuck with me.

“I’m sorry,” Olivia says before I can respond. She looks confused, turning around to look at the sheriff standing behind her. “May I ask what this is about? Is there something wrong?”

He doesn’t so much as look at her when he replies, “Not yet. But I’m afraid it’s inevitable when it comes to this one.”

I want to fucking punch him.

I don’t know what I expected Olivia to respond with, but the deep scoff that rips through isn’t it. “His name, for the record, is Rhett. And unless he actually gives you a reason to bother him, I’d like to politely ask that you sit down and focus on your own dinner.”

The sheriff finally looks at her, brows rising in surprise. He definitely didn’t anticipate June Danvers’s daughter coming to my rescue. “I’m just trying to keep your mother’s place of business safe.”

“I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be,” she says with an icy tone that has me clearing my throat to cover a burst of surprised laughter, “considering I’m the one who asked Rhett to come.”

He narrows his eyes, looking back and forth between us. And then something akin to realization strikes his face, and he frowns again. “Olivia,” he says, giving her a pointed look. “I want to make sure you understand something. Rhett Bennett isn’t interested in settling down or changing his ways, not for any woman. Especially not for such a nice girl like you. Don’t let him fool you, sweetheart.”

I clench my fists at my sides, seeing red. “Don’t patronize her, you fucking prick,” I seethe, stepping toward him. What I wouldgiveto feel his face break from one good, solid hit.

“Rhett,” Olivia says softly, pressing a hand to my chest.

It’s enough for me to look down at her, my gaze snaring in her eyes. There’s a softness to them, an understanding. An unfamiliar emotion sinks into me, spreading out and down my spine.

“It’s not worth it,” she says simply.

I breathe deeply and take in the point of her nose, the curve of her rosy lips. With every passing second, the anger inside seems to dissipate like a dangerous mist yielding to the sun. And then I nod, stepping back to my original place. For her: I yield.

She turns to face the sheriff again, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring.

An uneasy smile creeps along his mouth as he shakes his head. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he mutters before pulling his wallet from his back pocket. I watch as he shuffles out two twenty-dollar bills and hands them to her. “Thanks for dinner,” he says, and then moves around me to walk out the door.

A deeper exhale bleeds out of me when he’s gone.

“I’m sorry, Olivia—” I start to say, but she shushes me and takes my hand, pulling me toward the same empty booth she set me up in last time. I feel the attention of everyone in here but keep my focus on her until we reach the table.

“Want something to drink?” she asks as I sit.

I nod, eager to get this train back on its tracks. “Yes please.”

She’s still wound up when she returns with a soda, setting it on the table in front of me before sitting on the other side of the booth like she’s not still on shift. The café isn’t exactly full, but there are enough occupied tables that I’m sure she’s busy enough. “Is that what it’s always like for you?” she asks. “When you come into town?”

I shrug. “I’ve gotten used to it.”

She shakes her head. “That’s not okay, Rhett.”

I force a smile. “I’m not exactly innocent,” I remind her.

“Still, that doesn’t mean people can shit on you forever.” She’s genuinely pissed off, and I have to focus on untangling my straw from its wrapper so I don’t shoot over the table and kiss her. “The sheriff, of all people, has no right to treat anyone like that without a good reason. You weren’t even doing anything wrong.”

“Yeah, well, there’s a long history there. And it’s not just him hiding behind a position of power.” I think of the mayor too, how they both like to tag-team with their bullshit. I sink my straw into my soda and look at her. “It’s okay, peaches. Really.”

She shakes her head again, that stubborn fire I like so much still raging.

My phone vibrates on the table, skating across the surface in a jagged dance. I see Kasey’s name flash across the screen and reach down to silence the call.

“You don’t deserve to be treated like that,” she says somberly, and it pierces me right in the chest.

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