Page 89 of Awakening the Sheriff

“Oh.” Byron swallowed. “Right, that’s what you meant.”

She sighed. “And I know about the shoplifting too. Look, my dad is the sheriff, okay? I hear a lot. Plus, I’m not stupid. But I don’t talk. We don’t.” She looked at her sister. “Dani and I know to keep our mouths shut when it matters.”

Dani nodded solemnly. “I wouldn’t ever tell anyone that. That’s personal and no one else’s business.”

I loved how she’d said that as if it was the most normal thing in the world. For them, it was, and how amazing was that? I was proud, witnessing the bond between the sisters, their unshakable loyalty mirroring that of their father. Auden looked at his daughters as if they hung the moon.

“No one else at school knows?” Byron asked.

Violet shook her head. “My dad is good at keeping things hush-hush. Well, except from us, but he trusts us.”

My eyes grew unexpectedly wet, and a swell of emotion surged from Auden’s tender gaze at his daughters. He had an extraordinary relationship with them, one I hoped to emulate with my own boys one day.

Byron sat up a little straighter, and the look he gave Violet was filled with respect. “I’ll apologize to Gabe.”

Violet’s eyes widened a fraction. “That would be awesome.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt him. Well, physically, I did, but not like emotionally or whatever.”

“It would help if you told him that.” She was much kinder now. Gabe was lucky to have her as a friend.

“I will. I promise.”

“Good.” Violet leaned back. “That was all I had to say.”

“Well, that sure cleared the air.” Auden looked stunned by the powerful exchange. “Anyone else?”

When no one said anything, Dani jumped up. “Wanna play with the Xbox?” she asked Milton.

He nodded. “It’s in my room.”

Within seconds, those two were gone. Funny how Violet and Milton were the same age, yet Milton was drawn to Dani. He was emotionally young, and Dani’s exuberance was exactly what he needed to come out of his shell. Maybe those two would become good friends.

“Dad says you make beats,” Violet said to Byron with that classic teenage display of fake boredom because, god forbid, someone could think they were interested in something.

“Yeah,” Byron answered cautiously.

“Wanna show me some?”

Oh man, the look on his face… Pure shock followed by joy that he quickly hid. “Sure. They’re on my laptop.”

And just like that, Auden and I were alone. I sagged back onto the couch, and he wrapped his arm around me and dragged me close. His chest had become my new favorite pillow, and I rested my cheek against him as I pulled up my legs.

“Christ, Violet had me concerned there for a moment,” he said with a little laugh.

“She’s a force to be reckoned with…and she’s only fourteen.”

“I know.”

“I love her already. She has so much of you in her. And Dani is such a ray of sunshine.”

“She’s all Tricia. The older she gets, the more she looks like her mom.”

From upstairs, loud laughter drifted down, Dani and Milton having fun with whatever game they were playing. “I think they’re getting along.”

“For now. They’re teenagers, so they’re bound to clash…but we’ve cleared the first hurdle.”

I sank a little deeper into his arms. “So you wanna marry me, huh?”

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