Page 32 of Ridin' Solo
“We have to say something to Sheriff Locke.” Her gaze hit the countertop between us. “My conscience won’t let me not say something.”
Fuck. There was reality slapping me in the face like I knew it would.
I took a sip of coffee to give myself time to think. Time to formulate the best course of action. Oakley’s thumbnail tapped against her mug, the only sign she felt nervous.
“Can you wait? Just a few days. There are a few things I need to clear up first.” Okay, there were a lot of things I needed to clear up first, but she didn’t need to know all of it.
She gripped the mug and took another sip, standing up and heading toward the sink. The mug went in the sink as she gazed out at my backyard, the same forest she probably saw from her own kitchen window.
“A few days, Wyatt.” She spun and faced me, her spine stiff. “If you don’t hurry, Iwilltell him myself.”
I walked over, gently placing my hands on the waist of her jean shorts. Such a small package, yet she held so much courage. I dipped my head so she could see the truth in my eyes. “I promise you we’ll come clean.”
Her mouth tried out a smile, but I didn’t think either of us were convinced. “Okay.”
I winked at her, needing some humor to burn off the tension I could feel growing between us now that reality had burst our sex bubble. “I’m going to start calling you Honest Abe.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “Go ahead and try, Lieutenant.”
I pulled her into a hug, chuckling around her weak attempts to poke me in the ribs. When she stilled and gave in to the hug, I kissed the top of her head. Her hair was back in that fucking bun, but I knew what it looked like hanging between us as my cock filled her to the brim. Yet another vision burned into my brain.
Oakley left shortly after, tapping her wrist as she walked out my door. Her message was clear: I had very little time to set things in motion before she went to the sheriff.
I dumped the rest of my coffee in the sink and headed to get dressed. A run would clear my mind and help me form a plan. As I tied my shoelaces, I felt like my hands were tied too. Coming clean to the sheriff would drastically change our jobs. One of us would have to move departments. Seemed like a pretty drastic move when Oakley didn’t even know my real last name. What if we changed our job situation to be together and then she found out about my past and didn’t want me? I could tell her all the details now, but that might change both our dating and working relationship when we’d literally just begun. I couldn’t see Oakley understanding the choices I’d made before I’d gotten my head screwed on straight. Late night confessions of that magnitude seemed like something you gently brought up after dating for a few months. Once she knew the man I was now was the real deal.
My shoes beat a path through the forested area skirting the city limits of Auburn Hill before coming around to a clearing with a guardrail and a steep drop to the ocean below. The view was breathtaking, so I stopped and zoned out for a bit, still no closer to deciding on what to do. A loud seagull swooped in and had me jumping back from the railing. Fucker almost clipped the top of my head in search of food.
A vibration in my pocket had me jumping again, my mind thinking I was under attack by another seagull, which wasn’t unheard of around here.
“Fucking seagulls…” I muttered, fishing the cell phone out of my pocket . “Oh, great.”
It was my mother texting me.
Mom:It’s been three hundred seventy-seven days since I’ve seen your handsome face. I’m starting to take it personally.
Wyatt:Mom. I’ve been settling into my new place and the new job. It’s not personal.
Mom:So you say. Sure would heal a mother’s heart to get a visit from her only son.
I gripped the phone tighter and blew out a deep breath. Yeah, she was right. I’d been a shit son, but I’d had my reasons. Didn’t help the guilt that bloomed in my chest, though.
Wyatt:I promise to visit very soon.
Mom:I’ll hold you to that. How about next weekend?
I rolled my eyes. Damn, that woman was a natural-born saleswoman. Always trying to close somebody.
Wyatt:I’ll check my work schedule and get back to you. Love you, Mom.
I put the phone away and started running back to my house, letting the burn in my legs and lungs distract me from the guilt of not visiting. Despite the increased pace that should have taken all my focus, just one thought kept pummeling me: did Oakley and I have what it took to make it long term? And if so, what was I willing to give up to get the girl?
15
Oakley
All week I’d suffered from what I could have sworn was a split personality. That had to explain why I’d go from dreamy teenager one second to having a full-blown panic attack the next. I’d worked alongside Wyatt, keeping things professional, even if I found him studying me when he thought I wouldn’t notice. The devil in me was enjoying having a streak of bad girl buried deep in an otherwise sterling reputation.
I placed the mobile fingerprinting unit on the desk of the maintenance man who’d worked for this department longer than I’d been alive. Poor guy was given a tiny corner space with a blinking fluorescent light, but he didn’t seem to mind. We kept a mobile unit in the car at all times for quick-checking car accident victims, but when I tested it this morning before heading out, it wasn’t working properly. The damn thing was always on the fritz, which was why I checked it almost daily.
