by Katie Lane
“I have my own life, Granny Bon!”
“You do not, Spring Leigh. You have Summer’s life. She was the one who got it into her head to open a retail store in Houston. She just bullied you and Autumn into tagging along with her. And none of you are happy because of it.”
Spring was too stunned to speak. Probably because her grandmother’s words hit so close to home. It had been Summer’s idea to open the store. She was the one who’d decided on Houston. The one who’d had Autumn looking for a vacant building. The one who’d made Spring ask Dirk for the loan. Spring and Autumn had just been foot soldiers carrying out General Summer’s battle plans. And still she couldn’t stop herself from arguing with Granny Bon, probably because if she didn’t have the life Summer had chosen for her, she didn’t have a life at all.
“I might not have wanted to run a store at first, but I don’t mind doing it now.”
“You don’t mind? That doesn’t sound like a person who loves her job.”
“Okay, maybe I don’t love it. But Autumn and Summer need me. If I’m not there, the store will fail for sure.”
Granny heaved a long sigh. “Maybe it’s time you failed together so you can succeed on your own. I realize you’re the baby girl of the family. The smiling sweetheart who everyone likes to coddle. But coddling doesn’t build character. It makes you weak. It’s time to get strong, Spring Leigh. It’s time to stand on your own two feet. Now I need to go. I’ve got another call.” She hung up, leaving Spring feeling like she’d been smacked in the face with a tether ball.
She fell back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Did everyone in her family view her as a ditzy weakling? It certainly seemed that way. And what was her grandmother thinking when she said Spring should leave her sisters? She could never be happy without her sisters. They had a special bond. All she wanted was a little time away from Summer’s nagging and an apology.
She got up and went in search of Dirk. He was in his study working on his laptop. She walked into the room and sat in the chair across from his desk. “I just talked with Granny Bon.”
He nodded. “I know. I just called her and she said she’d been talking with you.”
“She’s crazy, right? I mean, I don’t want to leave my sisters forever.”
Dirk leaned back in his chair. “I don’t think that’s what she’s saying, Spring. I think she just wants you to have some time away from Summer and Autumn so you can figure out who you are.”
“And that’s what I intend to do.” She sent him a hopeful look. “Just as soon as you loan me the money to get my Jeep fixed.”
Dirk studied her with sad eyes. “I’m not going to loan you money, Spring.”
“What? But you said that you would.”
“That was before I spoke with Granny Bon. Before she made me realize that I’m doing you more harm than good by always bailing you out of things. I loaned you money for the store and look how that turned out. You and Summer are ticked off at each other, and I feel responsible.” He shook his head “I’m not going to be responsible if something happens to you on some camping trip. If you want to go, you’ll need to pay for it.”
Spring’s temper snapped. “You and Granny planned this, didn’t you? Neither one of you wants me going camping alone so you figured out a way to keep me from it. Well, Granny is right. I do need to stand on my own two feet. That includes not listening to my sisters, you, or Granny. I’m going camping. And if I have to get a job to pay for that camping trip, then I will!”
Chapter Six
Waylon stared at the empty inbox of his online dating profile. He hadn’t thought women would be beating down his door to date him, but he had thought he’d get a few messages, or “hugs” as they called them, from interested women. Maybe he should’ve given the questions a little more thought. Maybe his answers had been too short and vague. Of course, he hadn’t tried to “hug” any women either. He’d found a few he was interested in meeting, but he didn’t have a clue how to start a conversation.
This online dating thing sucked.
He sat back in his chair and stared longingly at the empty coffee mug sitting on his desk. Gail always made sure to keep it filled. She also brought him one of Ms. Marble’s cinnamon swirl muffins from the diner every morning. Damn, he missed Gail. And damn the temp agency for not sending someone over to take her place. Although he figured it couldn’t be easy finding someone who wanted to drive all the way to Bliss. And no one in town seemed to have time to help him out.
He got up and headed to the reception area where they kept the coffeemaker. He grabbed the carafe and filled it up in the bathroom before pouring it into the reservoir and then putting in a filter. He opened the can of coffee, but there wasn’t even one scoop left in the bottom. He blew out his breath and threw the empty can at the trash can a little harder than he intended. It rebounded off the wall and landed with a clatter on the floor just as the door opened.
Spring Hadley sailed in, looking like a daffodil in her bright yellow dress and white sweater. “Good morning,” she said, as if it were the best morning ever. Her gaze tracked the empty coffee can as it rolled across the floor. “Do sheriffs always start the day off with a little coffee can basketball?”
His face heated at being caught throwing a temper tantrum—especially when Spring looked so smug about catching him. Her blue Arrington eyes sparkled, and her cherry red lips held a definite smirk.
“There’s no coffee,” he said. The explanation sounded stupid as hell and made her lips twitch with suppressed laughter.
“Then I arrived at the perfect time.” She offered him the to-go cup she held in her hand. Steam wafted from the slit in the lid . . . along with the enticing scent of coffee. “Well, go ahead and take it. You look like you need it much more than I do.”
He wanted to resist, but his need for caffeine was too strong. “Thanks.” He took the cup. The rim of the plastic lid had the perfect imprint of cherry-red lips. He stared at the mark for only a second before he ignored the lipstick and took a deep sip. As soon as the sickeningly sweetened flavored coffee filled his mouth, he wanted to spit it back out. He hated sweet. He was a straight black kind of guy. He had to close his eyes and concentrate to get it down his throat. He opened them to find Spring smiling with satisfaction.
“Good, isn’t it?”
He swallowed again to get the taste out of his mouth. “Yeah, real good.” He tried to hand the cup back, but she refused to take it.
“No, you can have the rest.”
He didn’t want to insult her after she’d been so charitable, so he nodded and set the cup on Gail’s desk. He’d dispose of it later. “What can I do for you?”
Her smile got bigger. “The question is, what can I do for you?”
The blatant sexual innuendo almost had his mouth dropping open. He’d seen the desire on her face the other day in the trailer, but when she’d turned from his kiss, he figured he’d read her wrong. Now he realized that the desire had been there, and he had to admit that it boosted his ego. Especially after the dismal response he’d gotten on the dating site. Of course, he couldn’t take her up on the offer. He had a reputation to uphold. And Spring Hadley wasn’t respectable as much as she was unpredictable. She proved this when she reached out and tapped him on the nose.
“Get your mind out of the gutter, Sheriff. I’m not talking about sex. I’m talking about working for you. I’m here for the job.”
He didn’t know what surprised him more, the fact that she’d read his mind or the fact that she wanted to work for him. “Excuse me?” he said.
She straightened her shoulders and smoothed the skirt of her dress. “I’m here for the job.” When he just stared at her, she continued. “The assistant job? The one you told me about the other night? You said that your assistant was on leave and you’d asked Mrs. Daily to help you, but she couldn’t because—”
He cut her off. “No.”
Her eyes widened. “No, you didn’t tell me that?”
&nb
sp; “No. I don’t want you being my assistant.”
Her smile wavered. “But why not? I thought you needed help.”
“I do, but the employment agency is sending someone over. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got paperwork to do.” He headed for his office, but he should’ve known he couldn’t get rid of her that easily. She followed right behind him, the heels of her canary-yellow shoes clicking on the tile floor. Who wore yellow shoes? He took a seat behind his desk, calmly cupped his hands on the stack of paperwork he needed to get through and repeated himself.
“No.”
Her expression went from bright sunshine to scowling storm cloud. “You’re just being difficult. The employment agency is not going to send anyone. If they were, that person would be here by now. And from what I’ve heard in town, no one wants to work for a grumpy sheriff who doesn’t smile. Even Joanna Daily would rather spend time with your dog than you.”
His jaw dropped. That’s why Joanna hadn’t taken the job? She didn’t want to work for him? And the rest of the town felt the same?
Spring’s eyes softened. “I’m sorry, but I think you need to know that no one is jumping out of their panties for this job. And you forgot your coffee.” She set the cup of disgusting coffee on his desk, bumping his laptop in the process. The online dating screen popped up. He made a grab for it, but she pulled the laptop out of his reach. The sunshine smile came back. “You’re online dating?”
“No.” It wasn’t a lie. He hadn’t gone on one date. He stood and reached over his desk to take the laptop from her. Unfortunately, Spring had already gotten an eye full.
“No wonder you don’t have any responses. That has to be the worst picture ever. Did you take it yourself? If you did, you need a lesson in selfies. You never take a selfie straight on. It makes your nose look huge and gives you a double chin. You need to hold your phone above your head and take the shot from a higher angle.” She opened the small purse hooked over her shoulder and took out her phone. “Here, let me take another one.” She frowned at the cracked screen. “Dang. I forgot. You broke my phone.”
He closed the laptop with a snap and sat down. “I did not break your phone. Now you need to leave. I have work to do.”
She put her phone back in her purse and picked his up from the desk. She had absolutely no boundaries. She held it up. “Say Cheetos.”
“You’re not taking my—”
“Too late.” She lowered the phone and tapped the screen. “Eeesh. You look even madder than you did in the one you used. And you have something on your top lip.”
She squinted at the phone before she laughed. “Women love lipstick, but usually not on men.” She waltzed around his desk and took his chin in her hand. Her thumb swiped over his top lip in a heated brush that left him speechless . . . and semi-erect. Or maybe it was her close proximity that had his body heating. She stood between his spread knees, the full skirt of her dress spilling over his thighs. His hands actually started to tremble from the desire to span her trim waist, and he had to tighten them into fists to keep from doing so. It was a relief when she stepped back and held up the phone.
“Smile, sheriff.” She clicked off another couple pictures, and then scrolled through them. “Wow. You are not photogenic at all, are you?”
He held out a hand, thankful that it was no longer shaking. “Give me my phone.”
She shrugged and handed it to him. “Fine, but I’m just telling you. You won’t get any responses with a picture that makes you look like a Cyrano de Bergerac serial killer. Now about that job. If you hire me, I’ll not only bring you delicious coffee every morning, but I’ll redo your dating profile until you have women beating down the door for a chance to date Sheriff Waylon Kendall.”
“Thanks, but I can get my own coffee and my own women.”
One jet-black eyebrow arched. “Then why are you on a dating site?”
He opened his mouth to reply before he realized he didn’t really have an answer. “Look, thanks for the coffee, but as I said before, I’ve got paperwork to do.”
She looked at his desk. “Which is exactly why you need my help. A sheriff shouldn’t be doing paperwork. He should be out making sure his town is safe from bad guys while his trusty assistant keeps his office running smoothly.”
“Somehow I don’t think you’ll keep my office running smoothly.” He squinted at her. “And why do you want to work for me? What happened to your store in Houston?”
“It’s still there. And I plan to get back to it as soon as I earn enough money to pay Emmett to fix my car. Which should be around the same time that your assistant comes back. So you see, this is a perfect setup for both of us.”
There was nothing perfect about Spring working for him. “Why doesn’t Dirk just loan you the money to fix your Jeep? I think he can afford it.”
Her cheeks flushed, and her eyes snapped with anger. “He can, but sometimes people are stingy. Now do I get the job or not?”
Ahh, so that was it. She and Dirk had gotten into some kind of family squabble. A squabble Waylon wanted no part of. He got to his feet. “Not.” He took Spring’s arm and escorted her to the door. “Thanks for the coffee, but I like mine black. No sugar. No fake flavoring.”
He guided her out into the foyer before he stepped back into his office and locked the door. He released the breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding before he walked over, picked up the cup of coffee, and dropped it in the trash. He needed to start on the pile of paperwork. But instead he sat down, opened his personal laptop, and looked at his online dating picture.
Spring was right. His nose did look huge. And with his day’s growth of beard and sour expression, he did look like a serial killer. He glanced at the door before he picked up his phone. He smoothed back his hair, pinned on a smile, then lifted the phone above his head. The selfie wasn’t any better than the first. His nose didn’t look huge, but his smile looked fake as hell. He tossed his phone down and went back to work.
An hour later, he’d only finished a few of the reports he needed to get done. He rubbed at his temples. He had a bitch of a headache, no doubt from lack of caffeine. He had just decided to head over to Lucy’s Place Diner for a cup of coffee when he heard Tucker’s laughter. He got up and unlocked his door to find Tucker standing in front of Gail’s desk, flirting with the woman sitting behind it. A woman Waylon had lost all patience with.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked.
Tucker immediately came to attention. “I just stopped by to check in, Sheriff, and got to talking with our new assistant.”
“She’s not our new assistant.” He glared at Spring, who started typing on the computer like she was the new assistant. He stepped closer and stared at the screen. “How did you get into our system?”
She stopped typing. “Tucker was nice enough to give me the password. And I was just emailing you the phone messages I took while you were locked in your office. But now that you’re here.” She picked up a stack of messages and read them off. “Someone broke into Miley Gaines’s car and took her Garth Brooks CDs. But after talking to her, I’m pretty sure it was her ex-boyfriend. She broke up with him and he’d bought her the CDs. Glen Stafford is convinced that Dale Roberts is growing marijuana on his property. Joe Foster lost his cow. And Zane Arrington called to see if you wanted to come to dinner tonight. Carly’s making her braised beef.” She set down the notes. “I told him that you’d be there. I didn’t think you’d want to miss out on Carly’s pot roast. It’s to die for.”
“It sure is,” Tucker agreed enthusiastically. “I stop by the diner for it every Thursday night.” He paused and looked longingly at Spring. “Maybe you’d like to join me one night.”
“Why, aren’t you the sweetest thang.” Spring flashed a bright smile that made Tucker’s cheeks turn pink. “I’d love to.”
Waylon didn’t know why he suddenly felt so ticked off. Maybe because his wet-behind-the-ears deputy had just gotten a date while Waylon couldn’t get
one woman from the entire country to “hug” him.
He glared down at Spring. “You need to go.” He crossed his arms and used his no-nonsense sheriff’s voice. “Now. Like right this—”
The phone rang. Spring gave him a sweet-as-sugar smile before she answered it. “Sheriff Kendall’s office. How can I help you?” She paused. “Oh, hi, Mrs. Daily. This is Spring Hadley . . . I’m just helping out the sheriff until Gail comes back . . . yes, Deputy Tucker told me all about her poor mama falling and breaking her hip. In fact, I just got through sending her a big bouquet of flowers from the sheriff.”
Waylon opened his mouth, then snapped it closed. He should’ve sent Gail’s mama flowers. It annoyed him to no end that Spring had thought of it before he had.
“Sure thing. Hold on, I’ll get him.” Spring held out the phone. “It’s Joanna Daily. She wants you to stop by and pick up some dog food for Sherlock. He ate the last of it this morning.”
Waylon took the phone. “Hi, Joanna. I’ll be sure to pick up a bag on my way home.”
Joanna spoke in an excited voice. “I’m so pleased you hired Spring Hadley. I felt guilty not being able to help you out when you so desperately need it. But it sounds like everything worked out for the best.”
He shot a glance over at Spring. “I didn’t hire Spring Hadley.”
“You mean that sweet girl is working for free? Now, that’s not right, Waylon. Especially when the county gives you plenty of money for an assistant. Or have they? I’ll call the county clerk right now and give her a piece of my mind.”
Before Waylon could say a word, the phone went dead. He replaced it in the cradle before he looked at Spring. Her smile was even bigger, as if she knew she had him tarred and feathered. She picked up the cup from her desk and held it out.
