Page 29 of Stormswept Colorado

I shrugged nonchalantly, as if I hadn’t just snapped at him. “Just trying to be accurate. Facts matter.”

He chuckled. “Got it, Chief.”

I crossed my arms and glanced around. “Is Bryan here tonight?”

“You seem very concerned about Bryan’s whereabouts.”

“I’d like to know if a man I almost arrested is at a party with me.”

“Itisa small town. I’m sure it’s happened before.”

Okay, that was true.

Callum smirked like this was top-notch entertainment. “But no, I don’t think Bryan’s here. Ayla is, though. Nobody seems to know what she did to get arrested. She’s not talking.”

I rolled my tongue against my teeth. “She assaulted a police officer. Namely, me.”

“Holy sh—” Callum dropped his voice to a whisper. “Shit. I knew Ayla was pretty fierce, but I didn’t know she had that in her.”

I’d gotten more than I bargained for with her, that was for sure. No wonder she’d built such a successful career. A lot of that kind of thing was luck, but there had to be countless hours of hard work behind it.

Ayla Maxwell was a whole lot of determination and a fierce attitude wrapped up in a gorgeous package.

Maybe I’d been wrong about her, and she wasn’t the spoiled diva I had thought. But I doubted she would ever let me close enough to find out.

“She wanted to make a point,” I said. “Whole thing was ridiculous, really. It got out of hand. Not sure if she has an issue with all police, but she definitely doesn’t like me.”

Callum turned thoughtful as he mashed the avocado in a wooden bowl. “You remember Ashford and Lori met on-base, right? Lori and Ayla’s father was a colonel and a certified asshole.” His voice was still low, so nobody else but me could hear him. “Colonel Hopkins was the reason Ayla ran away at sixteen. That’s why Ayla and Lori didn’t speak for so long. Ayla wanted a clean break from her family.”

My brow furrowed. “Was their father abusive?”

“I don’t know the whole story. But if she’s got a problem with authority figures, that could be one of the reasons why.”

Hell, I hadn’t known that. Ayla had a way of pushing my buttons. I hadn’t realized I was pushing hers right back without meaning to. No wonder she got so defensive with me.

Some people assumed I was a stereotypical cop who wanted to throw his weight around. Feel powerful. But that wasn’t me. I just wanted to keep our town safe and thriving. My daily job had a lot more to do with community service than locking people in jail.

But it wasn’t just the fact that I was a cop. The evidence of my military service was right there on my skin, the scars prominent for anyone to see.

Did I remind Ayla of a man who’d abused her?

Fuck, I hated that thought.

The past was never really gone, was it? You could tell yourself it didn’t matter. But those old wounds still ached. And those old voices echoed.

ELEVEN

Teller

I was aboutto doze off when I heard someone climbing the step ladder to the roof of Emma and Ashford’s building. A pale blond head appeared, glowing in the moonlight. “Oh. I didn’t realize anyone was up here.”

She turned to go.

“Wait, it’s fine,” I murmured, so I wouldn’t wake the sleeping nine-year-old in my lap. “Not much happening, but feel free to join us.”

Ayla stepped onto the roof. “I don’t want to wake him.”

“You won’t. Ollie sleeps like a drunk in the tank. Hard part’s going to be getting him downstairs and home to bed.”

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