Page 23 of Seducing the Sheriff
He caught my expression and gave me a wry smile. “I overslept. I haven’t had coffee yet. I couldn’t make myself a cup and not offer you one.”
“Coffee would be great,” I said, accepting one of the cups. I took a sip and sighed with pleasure, appreciating the strong flavor of the roast.
As I drove down his driveway, Greg said, “I know nothing about you except your job, and you have a mom.”
I hummed. I guessed that was true, we’d been too busy with the unexpected body to exchange life stories. I only discovered Greg’s background because we’d had to investigate his arrival in Charming.
“What do you want to know?”
“How old are you?”
“Thirty-eight. Same age as you. Our birthdays are three months apart.”
“You’re young to be the county sheriff.” He must have caught my pained expression, because he said, “I guess you hear that a lot.”
“I do, but I wanted to be sheriff, and I was voted in.” I shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong, when I’m arguing with Chief Wally, I feel like a teenager arguing with his dad.”
Greg gave a warm chuckle. “I haven’t met Chief Wally yet.”
“He’s semi-retired, until there’s something he wants to poke his nose in.”
“I get you. My first boss was like that. Made his son foreman, but he couldn’t let go. It took him months to realize he’d trained his son well and he needed to cut the apron strings.”
I sighed. “I guess no one wants to think they’re easily replaceable.”
“But sometimes you wish he’d let you do your job?” Greg asked softly, turning to look at me.
“Something like that,” I agreed, pleased he understood what I meant. I liked the old man. I really did, but I was the sheriff now, not him.
Greg settled back in his seat, the quiet hum of the engine filling the silence between us. “That’s why I work for myself,” he said, his voice low and thoughtful. “No one breathing down my neck. I’ve never been great with people.”
I glanced at him, surprised. “Really? You seem perfectly at ease with me. And Rosie couldn't stop singing your praises. ‘Such a polite man,’ she said.”
He let out a soft, almost wistful sigh. “I was raised to be polite. But with you…” His eyes met mine briefly, and something unspoken lingered in the space between us. “With you, it’s different. It feels... easy.”
I turned back to the windshield, but for a brief moment, the world beyond the glass seemed to blur before snapping back into focus. No one had ever said that about me. Usually, it was how tense I was, how I never stopped being a cop—not even at home. But Greg? He said he could breathe around me.
And just like that, something bloomed inside my chest. Gentle, unfamiliar. Like warmth spilling through a crack I didn’t know existed. I’d found someone who understood me. Did he feel the same way about me?
Chapter Seven
Greg
So far, the day with Cash had turned out quite interesting. My discovery that he was gay the night before had managed to shift my thoughts from potential friend to maybe boyfriend. Was that a real possibility? Not only from his point of view, but could I handle having an actual, honest-to-goodness, committed, and all-the-good-things relationship after all my years as a professional hermit?
I glanced sideways at the subject in question. One hand gripped the top of the steering wheel, while the other rested on the bottom. Those intense, serious eyes, the strong chin, the proud, straight nose, and slight upcurve of his upper lip… I dragged my fingers through my hair, holding in a sigh. Great. Already, I was smitten. This could either go really well, or I would have to abandon a half-mangled house and scurry out of town in the dead of night.
Speaking of dead things…
“Have you ever worked on a really old, cold case like this before?”
Much to my growing interest, Cash tugged those gorgeous lips into a smile. “Solving mysteries isn’t really in the job description.”
“Oh.” I’m sure I was impressing him so far with my sparkling intellect. Why wouldn’t he be chomping at the bit to hitch himself to my wagon? “Of course.” I chuckled shakily. “I guess you’re as curious as I am.”
Cash’s smile remained sinful, and I shifted in the bucket seat of the truck. “Well,” he replied. “I gotta be honest. As much as I love my job as sheriff, I do sometimes wish I could experience what the detectives or other investigators go through. Piecing together the puzzle of a crime has always sparked my curiosity.”
He was a guy after my own heart. “I never considered law enforcement as a profession,” I offered. “But I love reading mysteries, watching true crime shows… That kind of thing.”
