Page 5 of Kissing the Sheriff
“No, thank you. I can buy what I need and carry it.”
“I can carry some.”
“I wouldn’t think of it.” He pulled out his list and looked it over. After making his purchase, he picked up what he could manage and headed back to Cassie’s.
Alma’s words kept coming back to him:She’s liable to shoot you …“That’s silly,” Conrad told himself. “Silly, silly, silly.” He swallowed hard and continued to the sheriff’s house. With any luck, he’d live through the day and continue his work tomorrow.
But how much luck would he need?
CHAPTERTWO
Cassie cleaned her gun, then started on her father’s rifle. She kept it at the sheriff’s office mounted on the wall. She loved the piece and wondered if she should start keeping it at home instead.
She spied Sarah Crawford passing by outside, then got back to work. Which Englishman would Sarah get? Cassie had to admit she hadn’t spent enough time with them to make many judgments. They were well-dressed, handsome and had good manners, but so did the bank robbers that killed her father and the rest of the posse. She didn’t want to trust the newcomers and didn’t plan to.
The one she got stuck with was a flirt and a rake, anyone could see it. Though he acted the gentleman, she knew the type and would have to stay on her toes around him. She’d also have to control her temper. She didn’t want to shoot him in the foot before he was through working on her place.
She smiled at the thought and finished cleaning the rifle. After remounting it on the wall, she decided to stroll by her house and see how the repairs were coming. Besides, it was lunchtime and she was hungry. She didn’t have anyone to deliver her lunch like Pa did.
She walked down the street to home, nodding at townspeople as they passed. They gave her funny looks and she wondered if they knew Conrad was at her house. Well, she’d find out soon enough.
She drew closer, heard the hammering and smiled. Yep, he was working. Her smile was a result of knowing she could antagonize him. She couldn’t help herself – he deserved it. She knew from town gossip that it was only a matter of time before he began flirting. She’d have to decide what to do if he did anything untoward. Would he? Hmmm, she wasn’t sure. If she gave him warning enough, maybe he would keep his mouth shut, his eyes averted, and leave her alone.
He also might leave her house alone. Then she’d have to think of something else. Some work was better than no work, after all.
She reached her house and watched the Englishman as he knelt in the middle of the porch and hammered away. A small stack of boards sat in the middle of her tiny front yard. She also noticed her flowers were dying – she should’ve taken the time to water them this week. But the arrival of Conrad and his brothers had her flustered and she’d been forgetting things lately.
The hammering stopped. “Oh, it’s you.” Conrad stood and waved. “I thought I’d attend to the porch first. I didn’t feel right working inside without you present.”
She went up the walk. “Do what you must.” She eyed the porch steps. He hadn’t tackled those yet. She joined him on the porch and studied his work. Several boards were missing. She spied them near Pa’s old rocking chair. Each looked rotten. It was a wonder she hadn’t stepped through any of them. “How many more bad ones are there?”
He scratched his head. “At least half a dozen, I’m afraid.” He knelt and finished hammering in a nail before getting to his feet.
She stepped aside. “What are you doing?”
He stopped and looked at her with raised eyebrows. “Getting another board, if you don’t mind.”
She blushed. “Oh, of course.” She moved several feet away to give him a wide berth.
“I don’t bite,” he stated, then went to fetch a board.
Cassie watched, embarrassed at her reactions. So far, he’d been the perfect gentleman. Maybe he was and flirting was part of his nature. She’d seen that type before too – happy-go-lucky men, as Pa would say, whose friendliness could be confused with flirting. The difference was, they were that way with everyone, not just women. She decided to observe and see if that was what she was dealing with. If he wasn’t the rake she first thought, she’d feel more comfortable being around him while he worked.
She went inside, made herself a sandwich with some leftover chicken, then decided to be polite and offer him one. She returned to the porch. “Are you hungry?”
He whacked a nail a few times. “Famished, actually.” He wiped his brow with a handkerchief and met her gaze. “Are you offering food?”
“I am.” She tried to look away but couldn’t. His thick, wavy brown hair poked out from beneath his hat and his blue eyes were mesmerizing. All the Darling men had strong, angular features and she guessed that more than one lady had swooned when they walked into a room. But this wasn’t England, and she wasn’t a lady in the conventional sense. Hmmm, that’s how she’d get him to behave. She straightened and rested her hand on the gun at her hip. “So, do men shoot in England?”
He set his hammer down. “On occasion. Though it depends entirely on what one is shooting at.” His eyes gravitated to her hand. “Were you planning on shooting me anytime soon?”
She gave him a lazy smile. “That depends on whether you do a good job or not.”
He didn’t so much as flinch. “How encouraging.” He left the porch to fetch another board.
It was obvious he didn’t fluster easily. Good. She didn’t want to have to deal with some fussbudget. “The new boards look nice.”
“They should. I measured everything.” He carried several boards up the porch steps and set them down. “So, what’s on the menu?”
