Chapter Three

“Oh, that better be what I think it is,” Jason said.

Kayla grinned as she walked across the floor of the sheriff’s office. “It is.”

“It’s about time,” Nash complained. “You haven’t brought your world-famous lasagna in for us in months.”

She rolled her eyes as she walked toward the break room. She set it in the refrigerator and turned to make coffee.

“Hey,” Fletcher said behind her.

She stiffened and turned toward him. “Good morning,” she said in a cool tone.

“I tried to catch you before you left last night.”

“Why?” she asked without turning.

“You know why. I wanted to come to your place, but the last time, you got really upset.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fletcher, what do I have to say to get through to you? Seriously. Nothing is ever going to happen with us.”

He straightened up and scowled. “You haven’t even given us a chance.”

“And I’m not going to.”

A shiver of dread skated up her spine at the look in his eyes as he stepped toward her.

“Is there a problem here?”

Kayla exhaled in relief at the same time. Fletcher stiffened even further, and a violent light flashed in his eyes before he blanked it.

“No, Sheriff,” Fletcher said, turned, and walked out.

Zeke watched him go and then looked back to her. “What was that about?”

She turned away and continued to make coffee. “It’s nothing.”

“Listen, if he’s bothering you, come to me.”

She glanced at him, almost tempted to tell him, but it was the sheriff’s second day. He didn’t need to deal with this crap right now.

She cleared her throat. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.”

He stared at her for a long moment. Her stomach tightened as the energy in the room spiked. She needed to get away from the guy as quickly as possible.

“I left a pan of lasagna in the fridge for everybody. Feel free to grab some.”

He nodded but stayed silent.

She had the impression he was trying to read her mind, which was disconcerting. “So … well, there’s fresh coffee. I better get to my desk.”

****

Zeke took a step to the side and let her pass. He wanted to question her more because he knew something was scaring or upsetting her, and it had to do with that deputy. The first time he’d met the man, he’d known he was going to have problems with him. The old sheriff explained that the guy’s father, a councilman, was extremely angry because his son didn’t get the sheriff’s job and brought in an outsider. Guessing Fletcher listened to all the crap his father had been spewing was going to make for some tough times for the deputy. Zeke wasn’t going to let it bother him unless the younger man brought it into the station.

Zeke wasn’t worried about himself, but now, after seeing the man with Kayla, he needed to keep his eyes on the situation.

Darrell had told him that Fletcher kept trying to get Kayla to date him, and he’d had to have a talk with him and ask him to back off a few times. He also told him she never complained, so he didn’t think it was a big deal but to keep his eyes open. He would definitely be doing that and more. If the man was sexually harassing Kayla, Zeke was going to put a stop to it once and for all.

Zeke watched her walk away. He knew she was a sub from their first meeting. She was a tiny thing but had nice curves that he wouldn’t mind getting his hands on. Everything about her was feminine from the way she looked, talked, and he’d never get sick of just watching her movements.

Her long dark hair was always pulled back into a high ponytail, and he had the urge to pull it down to see how long her hair was. He couldn’t detect a lot of makeup, but then again, she didn’t need any. He disliked it when a woman wore heavy makeup.

She had light blue eyes that were slanted enough to look exotic. Long black lashes made the color of her eyes even brighter and stood out even more than they already did. Her mouth was full, and her bottom lip was bigger than her top. She had a very kissable mouth, and he knew she’d taste sweet. She had very light skin, and from what he’d seen so far, it was flawless. No freckles or scars marred the surface.

The two times he’d seen her, she wore jeans and a nice blouse tucked into them. The shirts were a bit big on her, but he could guess she probably did that to hide her chest. Her full, luscious breasts made his mouth water.

He mentally shook himself when he realized he’d been staring at her. He looked around the room and relaxed when he saw no one had noticed. If he didn’t watch it, he could be accused of sexual harassment, and the last thing he wanted was to make her feel uncomfortable.

A grin spread across his face. It was the second day on the job, and he was already fascinated with his secretary/dispatcher. He couldn’t do anything about it now, but he’d definitely keep his eye on her.

It was afternoon when he was able to leave his office to grab a cup of coffee in the break room and maybe scrounge around for something to eat to tide him over until he got home.

Only when he opened the refrigerator door did he remember her talking about her lasagna. He pulled out the pan, set it on the counter, and peeled the foil back. It was thick and filled with meat and vegetables.

He cut some for himself and placed it on a plate before putting the pan back. He stuck his plate in the microwave, and within seconds, the smell of it was filling the air and making his mouth water. He pulled out the plate and grabbed a fork before he headed to his office.

His eyes closed, and he hummed when the first bite hit his taste buds. “Jesus.” He’d never tasted lasagna this good and had lived in several big cities with everything imaginable. It was gone quickly. If he’d been alone, he might have licked the plate or gone back for seconds. He snorted.

She just kept getting better and better in his eyes.

She was great with the public and his deputies, who treated her more like a sister than anything. Well, except for Fletcher. The guy was turning out to be a weasel, more so than Darrell had mentioned. When he was in the main room, he watched how the other man looked at Kayla when he thought no one was looking. He’d keep his eyes on him when he could because he wouldn’t allow him or anyone else to touch her or make her uncomfortable.

The day came to a close, and he heard the shift change. He got up and stood outside his door to see how they did it. It looked seamless so far, but he might make a few changes later after everyone got used to him.

He saw Carol over by the dispatch desk. The women seemed to know each other well, but then it was a small town, so it would be easy to know everyone. Eventually, he’d like the citizens to see him as part of them, not as an outsider. He knew it would take time for them to get to know him and determine he was a good guy out for their best interests, and he wasn’t going to leave.

This was his home now. He’d been looking for several months for just the right job. He wanted one in a northern state because he liked the cold and hated hot temperatures. He wanted it to be a small town but one that was established and did not have the possibility to deteriorate.

This job came up, and it was unbelievable how smooth the transition was. The old sheriff had a house for him to rent until he decided where he wanted to live.

He hadn’t found a house he wanted to buy, so he looked for land to build on. He’d found a sweet bit of land about three miles from the edge of town. It was over ten acres, but the majority was woods. It had a house there but had been left vacant for several years, and it had deteriorated, so he decided to tear it down and build what he wanted.

Zeke knew he wanted the master bedroom on the main floor and would have a French door leading out to a patio with a hot tub. There would be a second floor that would hold four bedrooms with two Jack-and-Jill bathrooms between each room.

He did like to cook but didn’t have any idea how to lay the kitchen out to make the best of the space. Maybe that would be a way to get to Kayla. Ask for her help designing his kitchen.

The commotion died down, and everyone got to work. He hadn’t seen Fletcher for most of the afternoon and made a note to look into what he was doing and if he was actually working.

He walked back into his office and sat down. He still had a few hours of paperwork to get through. It was one thing about the job he hated, but it had to be done.