Page 16 of Awakening the Sheriff

But I’d managed to hide my reaction to him. I’d never been more grateful I didn’t blush. Well, I did, but it didn’t show, so no one knew but me. Otherwise, the embarrassment would have been unbearable.

Of course, instead, I’d run my mouth, talking about poetry, of all things. No one else was interested in poetry. Mandy had made that abundantly clear throughout our marriage. Heck, my students’ eyes all started drifting shut whenever I talked about it in class—and I worked hard to make it as interesting and accessible as possible. Come to think of it, I hadn’t tried using lyrics of rap songs yet. If I took out all the offensive words parents would object to, that might work.

Anyway, I’d gotten caught up in my favorite subject, too enthusiastic to finally talk about my love for poetry to realize that no one cared. And it had been with Tiago Banner, one of the hottest guys on the planet. He wasn’t my type—a little too sophisticated and slender—but I wasn’t blind or immune to his charms. Or to those of his brother. I bet those two could charm a grizzly into a picnic.

I would’ve limited my embarrassment if I’d kept my mouth shut after that, but no, I’d barreled straight into another conversation with Cas. Okay, one could argue I’d gotten him business—and if I hadn’t already been determined to hire him, I would be now to avoid further humiliation—but still. I shouldn’t have talked so much in front of new people. In front of Auden’s friends.

Auden’shotfriends, I might add. Not quite as attractive as him, but all a few levels above my looks. When you were sharing a table with two supermodels, it was hard not to feel a little depressed about your reflection in the mirror.

But maybe if I managed to hold my tongue for the rest of the meal, they wouldn’t think too badly of me. From my lips to God’s ears and all that because I wasn’t sure how many more disappointments I could handle. So far, nothing about this move had panned out the way I had hoped and planned, and I wasn’t just talking about my kids’ reactions.

I’d expected to make new friends. I’d grown up in a small town, so I knew how they worked, how easy it was to connect with others. If you shopped locally and became socially active, you’d meet people to befriend. Except I hadn’t.

I’d popped into the Four Foxes a few times, and while people had been friendly enough, I hadn’t met anyone I connected with. And my coworkers were nice, but I hadn’t experienced that click of friendship with anyone there either, not even a possible friendship.

No, so far, my attempts to integrate and build a local network of friends had failed. Which was why I needed this to work, why I needed to make a good impression on these guys. Well, fat chance of that after that disastrous start. I let out a deep sigh and shoveled another heap of lasagna into my mouth. At least the food was scrumptious.

Auden bumped my shoulder. “You’re quiet.”

No one else seemed to be listening in, all focused on a story Tomás was telling about some wild adventure he and Tiago had experienced in Rome. “I figured I’d said enough.”

Auden frowned. “Why would you think that?”

Was he oblivious or merely trying to be nice? “I doubt you or your friends were interested in my discourse on poetry.”

He studied me for a few beats. “We all have very different jobs and interests. Take Tomás and Tiago. Their world is so far apart from mine I wouldn’t even know where to begin pointing out all the differences. Marnin and York live in Seattle, and they’re two of the smartest people I’ve ever met, York especially. I’m just the local sheriff, a bit of a country bumpkin. Yet we’re friends and always interested in each other’s lives and hobbies. Hell, they’ve heard me rave over new LEGO sets they couldn’t possibly care less about, but they’re still happy for me.”

“LEGO sets?”

Auden raised his chin ever so slightly. “Building LEGO sets is a hobby of mine.”

“What kind of sets?” I was trying to picture it, but I had a hard time reconciling my image of him with a man playing with LEGOs.

“I’m eyeing a Millennium Falcon set right now, debating whether I should get it. It’s 7500 pieces and would keep me busy for a while. Those are the kind of projects I love.”

7500 pieces? Holy moly, that would take me weeks to build. “I built some stuff with my kids when they were younger, but they were never that much into LEGO.”

“My girls weren’t either, but someone gave me a police station set as a gift, kind of like a joke, and when I started building it, I discovered I liked it. It’s peaceful and relaxing.”

“Good for you. I can imagine you need a hobby like that, considering your job.”

“I do, but my message was that if I can rave to my friends about some new LEGO set I’m working on, you can wax poetic about whatever you’re passionate about.”

I couldn’t resist teasing him a little. “You’re saying I could wax poetic about poetry?”

He grinned. “I’m sure the teacher in you would object to using the same word twice in one sentence, but yes.”

He was making a good point, but I wasn’t convinced. “But they already know you. You guys have been friends for how long?”

“Since elementary school.”

My eyes widened. “All of you?”

“Except for York, who is a few years younger than us, but we were friends with his older brother.”

Were? Were they no longer friends?

He answered my unasked question. “He was a Marine, and he died in action twenty years ago.”

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