I dropped my arms and offered a careless shrug. “Last time I checked, I was running unopposed.” Just like I had for the last few elections, as I’m sure she knew.
“For now. That can always change.” Her dark eyebrows raised and her smile sharpened. “And you’ve never had to run with a body count following you before.”
I grimaced and fought the urge to run a hand through my messy hair in frustration. She wasn’t wrong. While Sheridan and the surrounding area tended to be peaceful, over the last year we’d had a few significant dust-ups, all of which seemed to circle around the Warner clan.
“I’ve always had a body count behind me.” I’d been deployed to some of the most dangerous places in the world, but I couldn’t escape that. “Now, only difference is that it’s just a little closer to home.” I sighed and moved toward the door, trying to give her the hint it was time to go. “Tell the mayor I appreciate his continued support.” I couldn’t honestly say it’d been a pleasure to work alongside him. He rubbed me the wrong way from the get go.
Delaney slithered from her perch and made her way over to me. She got uncomfortably close, not reading the signals that I didn’t appreciate her in my personal space at all.
I flinched when she lifted a finger and pressed it against the center of my chest, her tone sounding less business and more bedroom. “What about me, Rodie? Do you appreciate my support as well? Aren’t you curious just how helpful I can be?”
Biting back a growl of frustration, I reached up and caught her hand in mine. “I’ve told you, I don’t mix work and play. I keep my professional and personal life very separate. I’m flattered that you’re interested in me, but like I’ve said on more than one occasion, I have no inclination to start something with anyone, let alone a coworker. I admire your dedication to your job and appreciate your investment in this town, but that’s where our relationship ends.”
I dropped her hand as her smile shifted to a very irritated scowl. She gave a little huff and reached out to smooth a hand down her skirt. She cleared her throat and narrowed her eyes at me.
“You’re a difficult man, Sheriff. I’ve never been one to back down from a challenge. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I did.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her she didn’t stand a chance, that I was already very interested in someone else, but that would inevitably lead to questions I wasn’t ready to answer. Fortunately, the night deputy in charge of dispatch walked by my office at that exact moment. He stuck his head inside, shifting his gaze between me and the dark-haired woman who was still uncomfortably close.
“Sorry to interrupt. Got a call about an accident out on one of the farm roads. Sounds pretty serious. Sent some guys out and called the volunteer fire department already. Figured I should let you know since you’re still in the office.”
I breathed a sigh of relief and stepped around Delaney. “Thanks for letting me know. If it’s serious, I better make sure the guys handle the scene appropriately.” I reached for my hat, knocking loose papers and discarded coffee cups to the floor. I winced at the mess and mumbled, “I’ll clean that up when I get back.”
I was on my way out of the office door when a small hand latched on to my forearm. “You still haven’t eaten, Rodie. You need to take better care of yourself. The people of this town need you.”
It was easy to read between the lines. Sure, the town might need me, but it was obvious she thought she did as well.
“I’ll grab something on my way out of town. You take care, Ms. Hall.” I tipped the front of my hat and slipped out of her hold.
My deputy gave me a knowing look as I practically ran toward the front door of the small station.
“She sure is persistent.” He sounded slightly envious.
I groaned. “She is. But I’m not interested.” Would never be. She was as far from my type as anyone could be. Even when I’d been figuring things out and testing the limits of my sexuality, I’d never been drawn to small, dark-haired people. I much preferred the all-American, blond, blue-eyed look Wyatt Bryant was working with.
“She’s pretty influential around these parts. Might not be in your best interest to play too hard to get.” The other man called to my back as I pushed out the door. I didn’t even stop and admonish him for speaking loudly enough for Delaney to hear.
Grumbling under my breath, I made my way to my SUV. This wasn’t the first time in my life I’d been the object of unwanted advances, though it was the first time my continued rejections might affect my job and future in Sheridan. That pissed me off more than anything, to be honest. I’d already had to scramble to come up with a plan B for my entire life; I wasn’t sure I had it in me to figure out a plan C.
I climbed behind the steering wheel, pausing and taking a deep breath when I realized the entire interior of the vehicle smelled like Wyatt’s cologne. For some reason, the woodsy, fresh scent calmed down some of the turmoil churning under the surface of my outwardly calm demeanor.
Delaney Hall was absolutely not for me, but if I had anything to say about it, I was going to make Wyatt Bryant mine for as long as we could last without killing one another. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing in my life outside of being a sheriff and being hung up on a pretty, wounded former special agent who was my polar opposite in almost every single way. Well, those two things didn’t necessarily go together, but I was determined to find a way to make the two of us work.
Wyatt
I groaned when the morning sun peeked through the decorative curtains on the wall of the bunkhouse. I’d been to the Warner ranch many times, for happy occasions and not so pleasant ones. This was the first time I’d been in one of the fancy, pricey bunkhouses they used for the guests who came to the property for a full, hands-on dude ranch experience. Families and adventurous types from all over the world made the trek to the ranch to experience the great outdoors and see what “roughing it” really meant. Never in a million years did I think Webb would find his place playing cowboy and tour guide for a living. However, he was calmer, more at peace, and far less dangerous now that he had a permanent place here on the massive property. My brother was great with people. He could charm even the hardest of hearts with minimal effort. He was also a natural when it came to handling the different animals on the ranch. He had a soft center hidden under his careless and carefree façade, and it was a relief to see him thriving, especially when I was so obviously not.
Webb and his girlfriend wanted me to stay with them when I agreed to come to Sheridan for a while. I’d eventually caved when Tennyson offered to move with Webb to DC to take care of me, even though she’d just taken a new job working with Rodie in the sheriff’s office. I knew they would drop everything and show up on my doorstep if I didn’t do something. I’d taken care of Webb our entire lives. I was the one who raised him. I was the one who protected him. We suffered and survived by relying on one another — and no one else. I knew it hurt him that I wouldn’t let him hover over me while I adjusted to my new reality, and I’d told him until I had no more voice left to argue that he didn’t need to return the favor. I was his big brother. It was my job to look out for him. I didn’t take well to being treated like an invalid, and it was nearly impossible for me to ask for help, even when I needed it.
Swearing under my breath, I slowly rolled over onto my back, tossing my arm over my eyes and taking inventory of all the places my body throbbed and ached. It had been a mistake to act tough and pretend like I didn’t need the cane in front of Webb yesterday. A combination of pride and stubbornness kept me from leaning on it while he guided me to the small, fully-stocked house I would call home until I figured out what I was going to do with my life. I didn’t want him to know how slowly I was healing or how badly I was really hurting. I never wanted Webb to worry about me or feel like he’d somehow let me down by not being there when I nearly died. I didn’t want him to spiral out of control when he thought about the fact it was his twin, our brother, who put me in this position. An out-
of-control Webb was a very, very dangerous and unpredictable Webb.
So here I was, turning forty soon and relying on my baby brother for just about everything. Before I’d been gunned down in a devious plot orchestrated by Webb’s twin, a twin we hadn’t known about until recently, I figured I’d be happily settled down with a steady partner, planning a family, and advancing to a director position within the agency. None of those things had happened, even before the ambush.
My love life was practically nonexistent. It was hard to be with someone when I never knew where I was going to be sent or who I was going to have to pretend to be if I went undercover. My career was high risk, and it went without saying that because of my job, I was secretive by nature. Both those things made forming an honest and open connection with anyone very difficult. Since I’d pretty much proven that I couldn’t keep a partner for longer than a month, family planning ended up being a pipe dream. I resigned myself to the fact I’d raised my baby brother, and he’d grown into a good man I was proud of. That would have to be enough of any fatherhood I’d ever get to experience. Yet, in the back of my mind, I’d always hoped for more.
As for work, I was good at my job. Passionate and dedicated. But sometimes the wheels of justice moved too slowly and I got impatient. I wasn’t very good at toeing the line and had been my own worst enemy when it came to significant advancement. I was pretty sure the guys up the chain of command threw a party when I told them they could take their desk job and shove it. Not too many of my coworkers were sad to see me go, which was another heavy blow to my tattered pride.
I had no clue how I was supposed to find my next step, much less any sort of lasting relationship, in a place so far away from everything I’d ever known. But here I was. This detour was unplanned and honestly much harder to navigate than I expected.
I reached blindly for the bottle of painkillers next to the bed, popping one in my mouth and swallowing it dry. It took longer than I cared to admit to get myself out of bed and into the shower. My limbs felt like they were made out of cement, and my balance was shaky at best. I moaned the entire time I pulled on a pair of sweatpants. I considered making myself a pot of coffee and some breakfast, but honestly, it seemed too hard. All I wanted to do was lie back down on the soft bed and pull the covers over my head. I’d been doing that a lot lately. Only, that was back in DC when I wouldn’t have anyone nosy enough to come check up on me and make sure I was okay. I was in Sheridan now, and all hope of staying undercover, in a totally different way, as in under the actual covers, was shot to hell. Eventually, Webb was going to come see what I was up to, and for some reason that I couldn’t explain, I refused to appear weak and vulnerable in front of my younger brother.
Almost as if I summoned the unwanted interruption with the power of my thoughts, a knock rattled the door of the bunkhouse. Assuming it was my brother, I limped over, pulled the door open, and turned back around without looking to see who was on the other side. Immediately, the scent of coffee and fresh-baked pastry hit my nose. My mouth started to water, but I when I turned to look, it wasn’t Webb standing there holding breakfast.
“Cam?” I blinked down at the teenager who nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Long time no see, kid.”
Cameron Bauer was the teenage runaway the youngest of the Warner brothers had rescued from a horrific kidnapping. The teenager had almost ended up lost to a massive sex-trafficking ring. He was lucky he escaped by the skin of his teeth, and even luckier that the Warners had taken him in and claimed him as one of their own. The kid was sort of like a lost puppy, all wide-eyed and unsure of a life that included a loving family, a warm bed at night, and three square meals a day. Yet, oddly enough, even though he’d been living on the ranch longer than Webb, Cam still seemed skittish.
He held up the old-fashioned picnic basket and offered me a lopsided smile as I tugged the door open wide enough for him to enter the bunkhouse.
“Brynn made you breakfast. She was going to bring it down, but I wanted to see how you were doing. I heard you got hurt really bad on your last assignment.” The teenager’s eyes skimmed my bare torso, which was a patchwork of raised scars and puffy red skin that was still healing from multiple surgeries. He cringed as he shoved the basket into my hands. “Oh shit, it’s worse than I expected.”
I took the offering and set it on the obviously expensive, handcrafted kitchen table. I moved to pull a t-shirt on over my head in an attempt to hide my war wounds, and told Cam, “I’m okay.”
I should’ve told him not to swear, but I couldn’t do it. This kid had seen the worst humanity had to offer and had come out on the other side. A bad word here or there wasn’t going to hurt him any more than the damage that his past had already inflicted.
“Does it still hurt? It looks like it hurts.” Cam moved around the table and started pulling things out of the full basket. Brynn Warner kept the ranch running like a well-oiled machine. She’d been taking care of the family and the patrons of the ranch since she was practically a child. Her history with the Warners was long and complicated, but now she was engaged to the youngest of the brothers. It was no longer a sore topic as to why she already had the same last name as the family. She’d earned her Warner status, and she was the best mother figure a kid like Cam could ask for. No one had a bigger heart than she did. And no one was a better cook, based on the smells emanating from the picnic basket.
“It hurts less than it did a week ago. I’m healing… slowly.” I picked up a homemade cinnamon roll and sighed at how good it smelled. Thank God for Brynn, because there was no way I had the energy to look for food, much less prepare anything, and here she was saving the day again. “How you been, kid? Things good with you?”
I knew from Webb that Cam had recently started school in Sheridan. As someone who grew up on my own on the run, I knew how challenging it could be to finally settle into a normal routine. Add in that Cam had neon orange hair, a seriously prickly attitude, a fashion sense that you definitely didn’t see out in the country, and the fact he was openly, proudly homosexual, I doubted his adjustment to typical teenage life had gone smoothly.
Cam offered up a shrug. “Things are okay.”
I motioned to the basket and told him, “Help yourself.” When he rummaged around inside, I asked him about his older brother. “How’s Mikey doing?”
The Bauer brothers weren’t as close as Webb and I. In fact, Cam’s older brother was kind of a shithead who’d let the kid down time and time again. Although, he’d been horrified when he realized the lengths his younger sibling had gone to in order to survive on the streets, and his attitude changed slightly.
Cam shrugged again. “Doing all right. He’s come up to visit a few times on break, but he’s mostly focused on staying in school and his usual partying.”
I snorted as I made myself a cup of coffee. I inhaled deeply and sipped slowly as I felt some of the sleepy fog dissipate thanks to the influx of caffeine and food in my system. “Sounds about right. How about you? Are you doing okay in school? Make any friends?”
Cam gave me a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me look as he plopped down in one of the seats tucked underneath the table. “Not really. I don’t have anything in common with the kids at my school. Some of the girls are pretty nice. I think they like the novelty of having a gay BFF. They ask me for makeup and fashion advice, like I know anything about either of those things. The guys all avoid me or treat me like I’m some kind of alien.” He rolled his eyes and gave me a shy glance under his eyelashes. “I still keep in touch with Ethan, though. We talk pretty much every day.”
“Ahhh… I see.” I hid my grin behind the rim of my coffee mug. Ethan was my former partner’s stepson. Grady moved to New York with his new family not long after the mission that brought us both to Wyoming. I didn’t know much about Grady’s step kids, but he’d never mentioned that Ethan was gay, so I hoped Cam wasn’t setting himself up for heartbreak. The kid deserved a break after all he’d been through. “Ethan’s a go
od kid. I’m glad you have someone you can talk to, a friend you can trust. That’s important.”
“He’s coming to visit this summer.” The soft, dreamy expression that crossed his face did something to my heart. I knew that look. Every teenager who ever had a crush knew that look and what it felt like.
I remembered those feelings of first love. It was so delicate, so fragile. Mine had been shattered into a million pieces before it even had a chance to start. But the fact that Cam could still find it in himself to feel that way about someone after how terribly he’d been mistreated, well, it was honestly inspiring.
“That’ll be fun.”
He nodded and lifted his eyebrows at me. “The whole family is coming. If you’re still around, you’ll get to see Grady.”
I huffed. “Grady came to DC after I got out of the hospital and helped me out. I wasn’t exactly nice to him while I was laid up. I’m sure he’s had enough of me and my rudeness to last a lifetime.” My former partner was my best friend in the entire world. If Ethan was indeed attracted to Cam, the boys couldn’t ask for a better advocate. He would have the boys’ backs no matter what.
Cam grinned, but his expression quickly turned more serious. “Hey, I know you might not want to hear it, but I’m sorry about what happened to your brother and mom. Webb was really quiet about everything when he got back to the ranch, so I know losing them had to be difficult for you guys, even if you won’t admit it.” He lifted a hand and rubbed the center of his chest. “It sucked when my family cut me off, even though they were terrible people. It still hurts like a bitch.”
I bit back a few dirty words and set my mug down on the table with more force than necessary. “Webb has a soft heart. Everything that happened was harder for him than it was for me. I’m okay, kid, don’t worry about me. Anyway, don’t you have to get ready for school?”
Detour (The Getaway Series Book 5) Page 3
