Page 11 of Seducing the Sheriff
My gut clenched as my future life flashed before my eyes. For whatever reason, I felt more alone in my new forever home than I ever had when I was living a rootless existence. Cash seemed lost in thought, so I was hopeful he hadn’t noticed my sudden melancholy.
“Hmm, yes.” Cash rubbed his chin. “I remember Rosie was saying—she’s worked at the station for a long time—something about the previous owners. She said the place has been vacant for years, and not many people knew them well. I guess they were pretty much hermits.”
“Yeah, that’s basically what I was told yesterday.” My jaw went slack. “Do you think they had something to do with…” I glanced around, then leaned in the way Cash had earlier. “What I found last night?”
“It’s certainly possible. But it all depends on how old the corpse is. Obviously, if that person was deceased before the previous owners moved there, then they would be innocent.” Cash drained his cup. “Identifying the remains will be a good start. That is, if it’s even possible after so much time has passed.”
I arched my eyebrows. “This is wild. An honest-to-goodness whodunnit.” I shook my head, chuckling. “Not what I was expecting when I bought the place.”
Cash let out a light laugh. “Yeah, I bet. I hope it doesn’t bother you.”
I pondered. “No, not really. If it were a more recent event, I think I’d be more creeped out. I feel bad admitting this, but I love a good mystery, like solving puzzles. Love history.” I smiled. “This has a little bit of each of those things.”
Cash nodded slowly. “That it does. I don’t know how much help I can be, but I’ll ask around about the property records. You might need to go to the Hall of Records in Santa Maria, the seat of the county.”
“Oh yeah. Good point.”
It’s not like I had oodles of time on my hands to wander around Mustang county trying to solve a decades-old murder. On the other hand, it would be practical to find out as much about the property as I could.
“If you’d like,” said Cash. “Drop by the office on Monday, and I’ll let you know what I find out.” He cleared his throat, his eyes averting before meeting my gaze again. “If there’s anything important I think you need to know before then, I can give you a call. I gave you my card, but I never got your number.”
This was it. The moment when I decided whether to take the leap, to make a new friend instead of living like the hermits who’d once owned my home. I didn’t need to carry on their lonely legacy.
“Sure. I’ll text it to you,” I said, swallowing hard and taking a deep breath before adding the next part. “Call anytime.”
Chapter Four
Cash
I absolutely did not mean to invite Greg over. Not even a little. The plan was simple: a quick, courteous nod—nothing more. He’d see the nod, nod back, and keep walking like a decent human. That was it. That was the whole interaction.
See, I’d grown fond of the invisible force field my badge gave me. It was like a social repellent—Charming people gave me a tentative smile and moved on.
Besides, I was still “the new guy.” I’d gotten past that fresh-out-of-the-box feeling where you smile too much and hope nobody notices you fixate on the menu, instead of staring at them like a rabbit in headlights. And Greg—well, Greg was one of the other new guys. Which technically meant we had something in common, but not enough to justify shared pancakes. Not that I was eating pancakes.
But my mouth clearly had a different idea. Before I could stop myself, I’ve invited Greg to sit down and now we were making a date…no, not a date. Definitely not a date. Just two people with a mutual interest of history bonding over a dead body. I sighed. I could hear my mom shrieking with laughter now.
I was thankful my food arrived then because it gave me something else to think about other than not-dates with the new guy in town.
Greg regarded the plate of huevos rancheros. “I see you like the salsa, sheriff.”
I nodded. “The spicier the better.”
“Noted.”
I couldn’t miss the way his lips twitched, and I realized what I’d said. I shoveled eggs into my mouth to shut me up before I said anything else that could get me into trouble.
The eggs were hot. Hot! Hot! But I gamely chewed and swallowed, hoping he didn’t see my eyes watering and deduce I had indeed burned the top of my mouth. From the way a smile quirked up one side of his mouth, that was a lost cause. But he said nothing, just drinking his coffee.
Alejandra came over with the coffee pot to top off our drinks. I was going to be buzzing by the time I returned to the office.
She smiled at Greg. “Hi, I’m Alejandra. You must be the new owner of the old Jenkins ranch.”
“I am.” He gave her an awkward smile. “Pleased to meet you. Cash…Sheriff Lawson…has told me good things about your food.”
He sounded as uncomfortable making small talk as I was, but Alejandra beamed at him, clearly pleased with the praise.
“I hear you had some excitement last night.” Alejandra flicked a glance at me. I carried on eating, pretending not to get involved. “I guess you can’t talk about the b-o-d-y.”
