Page 1 of Seducing the Sheriff
Chapter One
Greg
Making a gruesome discovery during my first week in Charming Butte wasn’t on my starting over bingo card, but I was accustomed to bizarre finds in my history of flipping houses. Although I had to admit that this particular unearthing won the renovation shocker prize.
The day had begun rather mundanely. Not much different than most of my days. However, this time, I was in a new town. In a new state even. I’d never worked on any houses in New Mexico before, but the almost one hundred-year-old fixer-upper was meant to be my forever home.
Now that I was pushing forty and my dad was gone, I’d started thinking about my future and what it would look like. I wasn’t even sure what I wanted it to look like. All I knew was that I had no ties, a large nest egg and endless possibilities. Everything else was gravy.
However, what I found in the back of an old closet wasn’t the type of gravy I’d anticipated.
“Yes, Aunt Bonnie, I got here okay. I shipped most of my things.” I pulled out a chipped coffee mug from a cardboard box on the kitchen counter. I couldn’t part with it since it was one my Dad had given me. “It wasn’t much of a drive.”
She was all that was left of my family, but she was living in Alaska with her third husband. No thanks. Much too cold for me.
“I figured. But it’s not as if Cheyenne isn’t around the block from New Mexico. And didn’t you say that… What’s it called again?”
“Charming Butte.”
“Right.” She chuckled. “Isn’t it further down, right near Roswell?”
“Yeah.” I sighed. Every state had things it was known for, or special landmarks, historical places. There were several in New Mexico, but my least favorite was the one that revolved around UFOs and aliens. Yet, the overall beauty of the state couldn’t be denied. “But not too far from Carlsbad, either. I’ve visited the caverns a few times over the years. It’s a great area.”
“Then why not move there? It’s none of my business, hon. But if you’re looking to find your forever home, wouldn’t it be best to stick to someplace you already know you love?”
I inwardly shuddered at the F word. Forever was just so… forever. I was still trying to become one with the idea of not relocating every six to twelve months, the way I’d been doing for almost two decades. The concept of anything being eternal was way beyond my mental grasp.
“Well, yes. I would’ve loved to have found someplace closer to Carlsbad. But I prefer not being right in the thick of things, and there wasn’t a property that spoke to me. This place is…” I drew my eyebrows together, wondering if any word I used could adequately describe how I felt. “Unique. It’s like a patchwork quilt, the sum total of a variety of owners across a century, and the stamp they put on it to make it their own.”
“Huh. I see...”
I doubted it. “Anyway, this house is on a nice piece of land outside of town, so lots of open space, and some nice terrain to hike in. Charming is small, too. That works for me.”
“You’ve always loved that solitary life, haven’t you? It seems so lonely. It’s like you’re a hermit.”
Uh-oh. Incoming lecture alert. She’d left Wyoming long before I was an adult, and once I was out of high school, I’d begun my journey in and around the southwest. We hadn't spent that much time together over the years, so my dad had been her primary source of intel into Gregory Harding’s life.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. There were a few guys I’d hooked up with over the years who’d said almost the same thing to me. People who didn’t understand me or have an interest in the way I lived my life couldn’t tell me how I should be. I knew who I was and what made me happy—not them.
“Aunt Bonnie, I appreciate your concern. But I’m very content with my place in life. I’m actually quite excited about getting started on this house. And with the acreage I have, there are a lot of other things I could do here as well.”
“Oh dear. Is that the sheep thing your dad mentioned? All by yourself, shearing sheep, taking care of sheep, renovating an old home that probably has a zillion things wrong with it. That sounds dreadful.”
I’d discovered over the years that most people don’t understand my love of weaving. I guess they don’t equate the supposedly hyper-masculine stereotype of a construction guy being into crafting.
“It sounds perfect to me. Besides, now that I’m not flipping houses, I have to figure out another way to generate income.”
My savings and investments were only going to take me so far.
“If you ever get in trouble, you know you can always come and live with me and Frank. We’d love to have you.”
I gritted my teeth. If I thought she was trying to tell me what to do now, living with her would be an unending nightmare. If it came down to it, I’d pitch a tent in the desert before moving to Alaska.
“I appreciate the offer, Bonnie, but like I said, Alaska isn’t for me. I enjoy the occasional snow day, but I need to have sunshine and warm weather as much as possible.”
She sighed. “I suppose. To each his own, right?”
Maybe she was finally beginning to understand.
