2. Tucker

“Gran, you need to have your oil changed more often if you don’t want to ruin your engine. Every three thousand miles. I’m gonna start checking your mileage before church every Sunday if you don’t listen.”

“Oh, Tucker. You’re such a good boy, but ya know I”m gonna forget. My memory left with my brown hair, and neither one of them are coming back.” She pats my cheek lightly, giving me a big smile.

“That’s ok, I’ve got you written in my book. I”m gonna be watching you and I’ll let you know when it’s time. You don’t worry about a thing, Gran.”

“You better be at my house on Sunday with that cute little girl for dinner.” She points a wrinkled finger at me.

“I wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else. Can we have pecan pie?” I give her a hopeful look. Gran makes the greatest pies in the county. She’s won so many contests and made multiple enemies because of it. Those women take their pies seriously.

“Anything for you, Tucker.”

“What about me, Gran?” Colt strolls into the bay.

“Don’t you have a gran of your own?”

“I do, but she’s not nearly as beautiful as you and her pies are garbage.” Colt kisses Gran on the temple, she pinches his cheek and shakes her head.

“Colton Brown, you better hope I forget what you said before I see Judith at bingo tomorrow. She’s beautiful, but I agree, her pies are trash.”

Laughter bursts free from me. Gran isn”t shy about the quality of her food. She’s the greatest in the area, which is why I find myself at her house every Sunday… and any other time she invites Riley and I over.

“You boys have a good evening and try not to get into too much trouble.” She wags a finger in our direction.

“It’s alright, Gran. I know the sheriff.” Colt smirks.

Gran rolls her eyes, waving at us over her shoulder as she heads to her car.

“What’s up, Colt?”

“Nothing. Can”t I just stop in and say hi to my best friend?”

I eye him with suspicion. He’s a terrible liar and he’s trying to hide something. He’s practically bouncing around my garage like his secret is rattling around inside of him, begging to break free.

“Sure, you could, but that’s not why you’re here. You have a secret that’s begging to be told. I swear you’re worse than those nosy bingo playing old ladies.”

“I can”t tell you; I swore I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

“That’s alright, you won”t last long and I”m betting whoever you promised knows that.” I chuckle.

Living in a small town has its disadvantages, but the thing I love the most is knowing everyone around here well enough to be able to predict how they’ll respond to specific situations.

“Pfft, she barely knows me at all. She’s been gone for so long.” His eyes widen and he slaps a hand over his mouth. “Forget I said anything.”

“Not gonna happen, Sheriff. How long has she been gone?”

“Tucker, I”m serious. She’ll kill me,” he hisses, taking a step closer like this person is going to magically appear out of nowhere.

My gaze narrows on him as my brows draw together. There’s only one person I’ve ever known to scare Colt this much… but it can”t be.

“Shit.” I drop the wrench on my workbench, running a greasy hand through my hair.

“What? I didn’t tell you a thing!”

“You didn’t have to. Only one girl has ever scared you enough to keep a secret.”

My mind strays to her and what it means if she’s back in town. I”m not sure I”m ready to see her, not yet.

“How the hell did you figure that out from the little I said! Oh my gosh, she’s gonna kill me! She’ll go to jail forever for killing the sheriff! She won’t survive jail, she’ll fuck shit up, shanking any girl who gets too close.”

“So, Skylar’s back in town.” I sigh, my chest filling with an aching heaviness. If I wasn’t already sure it was Sky, I’d know now.

Skylar walked away from me ten years ago and never looked back. She was destroyed and needed to find something new or some shit like that. All I know is she never came back. I waited around like an idiot thinking she’d return, but Skylar Barren was always too big for this little town. Once she lost what we shared, she didn’t stick around for more than a few hours.

“Tucker, you can”t tell her I told you! She’ll have my balls. Thank God I carry around a taser all day. I never thought I’d have to use it, but with Skylar back in town, it’s a real possibility.” He shakes his head with a grim expression.

“How is she?” I ask quietly, not sure if I really want to know.

“She’s gorgeous, but I couldn’t see much of her. I pulled her over for speeding, told her to fix her broken taillight, and booked it away from her. I didn’t wanna risk getting run over by her.”

“I’ll never understand why you’re so scared of her.” I chuckle, moving over to the sink so I can wash the grease off my hands and close the shop for the day.

“Because she has a killer right hook and my face is no stranger to it.”

“I showed her how to do that.” I smirk, thinking back to the day she asked me to teach her how to defend herself.

Skylar was adamant she needed to be able to take care of herself. She swore she wasn’t going to let a guy think they could go after her just because she was a girl. She made me teach her to fight for an entire summer. Every time I taught her something new and she mastered it, I was rewarded with a big kiss. I taught her everything I knew.

“Why the hell would you teach her to fight? She’s crazy! You don’t teach crazy women how to fight.”

“The thank you she gave me was worth it.” I smirk but it doesn’t last for long before a frown takes over my face. If I hadn’t taught her to fight, I wonder how different my life would be right now.

“What’s that face for?” Colt points a finger at me, a scowl playing on his lips.

“Nothing.” I wave him off, turning my attention back to cleaning up my shop so I can go home to Riley.

“That’s not nothing. That’s definitely something! Tell me what!”

“No, and unlike you, I know how to keep a secret and I”m not afraid of Skylar.”

“Fine! Don’t tell me, but I’ll find out! The sheriff knows everything.” He puffs out his chest like he does every single time he reminds me he’s the sheriff.

“Huh, so you figured out who keeps toilet papering Mr. Raven’s house?”

“Well, no… but I’ll figure this one out!”

“I’d bet on you solving the mystery of who’s TP-ing Mr. Raven’s long before you figure out my secret. Of course, you could just ask Skylar, I”m sure she’d be all for sharing with you.”

“I”m not stupid enough to ask Skylar to tell me your little secret.”

“There’s nothing little about my secret,” I mutter under my breath. “I gotta get outta here, Riley wants to go on a hike tonight.”

I throw a dirty rag at him, making him jump back in surprise. I flip off all the lights and slide the door to the bays shut just as Colton jumps out into the gravel parking lot, ending my work day.

I”m going to take advantage of the relaxing night I have planned because things are about to get interesting and a whole lot more complicated around here.