For the first time since I got here, I laughed. The Dawson brothers were always tight. Tuck was the oldest, Brooks was the middle child, and Hayes was the youngest. I was about to ask about the rest of his family when Tuck stepped through the door wearing a pair of rubber boots.

“Well, I’ll be damned. Harlow Bennett is back in Marcellus Falls. I heard you’ve made quite a splash already.”

Tuck Dawson was an older version of his brother. They both had the same dark eyes, sharp jaw, and build. Tuck’s laugh lines around his eyes were deeper and a bit more pronounced, like he’d seen his fair share of late nights. He was also wearing a badge on his chest that wasn’t there the last time I saw him.

His smile was easy as I walked into his open arms. “I heard there was a new sheriff in town.”

“You got that right, sweetheart, so you better behave.” He folded me to his side and shot his brother a grin.

I patted his chest. “Same goes for you, buddy. So, don’t even think about writing me any tickets, or I’ll tell your mom.”

He snorted and squeezed me tight. “Speaking of telling, there is a rumor going around that you’re shacking up with my little brother.”

I shook my head. I should have known he would bring that up. “He was gracious enough to let me stay in his guest room.”

“I bet he was.” He smirked. “I know the options are limited around here, so if you need someplace else to crash, I’ll leave my door unlocked.”

Brooks’ jaw tightened as he stared at his brother’s hand on my shoulder. “Can we skip this little flirt session and get to the reason why I called you?”

He stared down at me with a raised brow. “I was hoping he would be in a good mood after playing host to you last night.”

Brooks scowled. “Tuck, I swear to God…”

Tuck raised his hand in surrender. “All right, let’s focus on the plumbing and see what we’re dealing with here.”

At least someone in this town, other than Molly, didn’t despise me. I shouldn’t have been surprised because Tuck was a good guy, but I wasn’t expecting him to welcome me back with a hug and a smile.

They both crouched down to inspect the damage. Tuck looked back at me. “You think this is your ex?”

I wrung my hands in front of me. “I don’t know who else it could be. He’s probably pretty upset about what happened, so I wouldn’t put anything past him.”

While it was hard to imagine him taking his anger that far, I couldn’t dismiss the possibility. Marcellus Falls was only a little over four hours from the city when driving the speed limit, so it wouldn’t have been impossible for him to make it up here last night, cut the hoses, and make it back to Manhattan before anyone noticed.

He pulled out a notepad and jotted down a few notes. “There doesn’t appear to be any forced entry, but that doesn’t mean theycouldn’t find a way to get in. I can check with a few neighbors and ask to look at their security cameras.”

“What about dusting for prints?” Brooks asked.

Tuck rubbed his jaw. “I can call Chief and see what he wants to do. We don’t have an available team, but the state police might be able to send their technicians out. Every agency handles things differently.”

“Okay,” I said. “We won’t touch anything.”

“I’ll get started on the report. I’d suggest calling your insurance company to assess the damage and file a claim.”

I rubbed my hands along my jeans. “Thanks for coming out.”

He glanced down at the puddle of water and squeezed my shoulder gently. “We will get to the bottom of this.”

I’d imagined Tuck giving me the cold shoulder, maybe act a little bitter toward me for breaking his brother’s heart, but this level of kindness caught me off guard.

“I appreciate it. I’m sure you have a lot more important things to deal with.”

“Nonsense. Your safety is a priority.” He straightened. “Do you have a place to stay until the repairs are done?”

“I’ll probably book a room at the Stanford Inn until I come up with a more permanent plan. Hopefully, the repairs won’t take long.”

“How long do you plan on staying in town?” Brooks asked, angling his head to the side to study me.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t have a plan. I’m figuring things out as I go along.”