Page 2 of Midlife Witch Unexpected

Gone.

Crushed a billion times by the reality.

My husband liked men.

What I had thought had been true love was a façade. I shuddered. It had now been a total of 89 days 12 hours and 34 minutes since I found out my husband was gay. And slowly it had started to make sense. All the times I’d seen him look just a little too long at the waiter or at another male companion in some group. I always thought it was because he was charming and friendly, all those things made him such a great businessman. He was a man’s man.

He was more of a man’s man than I had ever imagined.

But this guy in front of me on this abandon back road, he liked women, and from the way he was leering at me he hadn’t had one in a long time. He opened the truck door and stepped out. I glanced back at my old Jeep. He had parked close and for me to get to my gun in the glove box would take a bit of a dash. But I needed it. I should’ve known better. No part of the country was safe for a single woman to travel alone at night. It only took one mistake to disappear forever. But I wasn’t going to be a statistic.

I’d never do that to my daughter.

“What’s your name?” I shouted out in a friendly tone as I slowly backed up to my jeep.

His feet hit the ground and he stood to his full height. He had to be six foot five without a doubt and easily three hundred pounds. I could probably outrun him, but maybe I’d have to kick off my boots. Running in Uggs in the Oregon wilderness in the middle of the night would be dumb. Doing it barefoot in autumn wouldn’t be very bright either, though.

“My name is Ted.” The man smiled a big toothy grin. I could see he was missing a couple of teeth. Probably some brawl or bad dental hygiene.

I took another step back, opening the jeep door and bounding into the driver's seat. In seconds I had the glove box open, my gun drawn, cocked, and pointed directly at Ted’s head. “Don’t you dare come another step closer.”

Ted’s eyes widened in surprise, but he stopped moving.

The passenger door of Ted’s Truck opened.

Good lord, there were two of them. I didn’t take my eyes off Ted.

“Everything all right there, Ted?”

I frowned.

It was a woman.

There were cases where serial killers operated with a female apprentice. My gaze flicked to the older blond woman walking towards us. When I looked back at Ted, he was holding a badge.

“Ma’am you’ve just pulled a gun on an officer of the law. I’m afraid I’m going to have to take you down to the police station.” Ted gently moved my gun aside as he put his badge back in his pocket and opened the jeep door.

“How could I possibly know you were an off-duty police officer?” I shot him with my strongest glare. We stared each other down before he stepped back, and I reluctantly stepped out of the jeep.

“Ma’am, I’m the Sheriff. It’s my job to keep the peace around here and you’ve just broken it.” The sheriff spoke like he was talking to a frightened yet dangerous animal. “I’ll need you to step into custody.”

“I’m sorry!” I cried. “It was a mistake.”

“Ma’am step away from the vehicle,” Sheriff Ted drawled. “We’ll need you to come down to the station.”

“You can’t just leave my jeep sitting on the side of the road. I don’t even know where we’re going! And let me see your badge again.” I suddenly thought of episodes of late-night crime drama. What if he was a fake? I grabbed his shiny bit of metal and turned my phone flashlight on it. I peered at his identification then shone the light directly in his face.

His face was all squinting in the bright light, but he was who the badge said he was. Cougar Creek Sheriff Ted Murphy.

“This is all just a misunderstanding.” I plastered on my most charmingly apologetic smile. “There’s really no need for me to come into the station. I’m just trying to find Cougar Creek. I’ve gotten a little lost on the back roads and my GPS isn’t working. I’m trying to find my aunt’s house.”

“You got an aunt in Cougar Creek?” Sheriff rubbed his scruffy chin. “And who might be?”

“Dead.” My words were thoughtless, my mind on how I was going to not get caught up in red tape. His eyebrows raised in surprise. “I mean passed away.” I hurriedly corrected myself to include some compassion in my tone. “It happened a couple of years ago. A heart attack out of nowhere. She and my mom were sisters, but they weren’t close. Everyone was shocked when she left the house to me. So was I!”

“What was her name?” Sheriff Ted was watching me with his head cocked to the side.

“Aunt Emma,” I said. “I mean Emma Hayes.”

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