MOST ELIGIBLE SHERIFF

by Cathy McDavid

  “That’s a good idea.”

  “I’ll be back after the party.”

  “You don’t have to hurry on my account.”

  She looked at him then. Closely. Intently. Realization dawned in her eyes. “Something’s wrong?”

  Much as he longed to touch her, he resisted. “Come back to Sweetheart, if that’s what you really want.”

  “What do you want, Cliff?”

  He spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully. “What I want isn’t possible.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Things have changed.”

  “Annie offered me Scarlett’s old job. I’d still rather talk to your aunt first about a beverage manager position for the Mega Weekend of Weddings. If she’ll listen to me.”

  “There isn’t going to be any Weekend of Weddings.”

  Ruby frowned. “What?”

  “Cancellations have been pouring in since the TV stations aired reports on Crowley. Couples are afraid to come here. As of thirty minutes ago, we’re down to nineteen weddings.”

  She grew quiet. “Is that what your meeting with the town council was about?”

  He paused. The memory was too fresh. Too painful. “They’re considering revoking my appointment as sheriff.”

  “They can’t do that!”

  “Yes, they can. And they probably will. My position isn’t official until after the election. Assuming I win. They’re meeting again tomorrow to decide.”

  “But you’re a Dempsey. A hero.”

  “Heroes don’t put innocent people’s lives in danger. My nieces and nephew could have been hurt. Scarlett is lucky to be alive.”

  “Nothing happened to any of them. Because of you.”

  “My aunt and the town council don’t see it that way. I don’t see it that way. I shouldn’t have let Scarlett watch the kids. Not with Crowley on the loose, looking for you and roughing up your boss.”

  She pressed her hands to her cheeks. “You’re wrong. This is my fault. And Scarlett’s. Not yours. I shouldn’t have come here. Your aunt told me that earlier, and she’s right.”

  During their confrontation in town. The one that had also made the news and fueled his aunt’s ire. Cliff’s, too. At his aunt. She had no right to take her wrath at him out on Ruby.

  “I’m sorry about that.”

  “It’s okay,” Ruby said. “She was scared. We were all scared. I’ll speak to her. Clear this up.”

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

  “She can’t revoke my appointment!”

  Another time, her remark might be funny. “My uncle’s with her now. He has a knack for calming her down.”

  “I’ll cancel my trip to Vegas,” Ruby announced. “Stay here with you until this is all straightened out.”

  “Actually, I think you should stick to your original plan. Return to Vegas.” He didn’t add, “Just for the engagement party.”

  She searched his face, making him wish she wasn’t so adept at reading him. “You’re breaking up with me.”

  Had they ever really been together? He didn’t think Ruby would appreciate the semantics. “It might be best if we kept our distance for a while.”

  “How long?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Until after the town council decides on your appointment? Wait, that’s tomorrow. After the engagement party? The Weekend of Weddings?” If there was one.

  “Longer.”

  She pushed off the car. “Did your aunt put you up to this?”

  “I’m not sure she even knows about us.”

  “So, this keeping our distance is entirely your idea?”

  “Ruby, please try and understand.”

  “That your job is important to you? Oh, I get that.” The faster she talked, the higher her voice rose. “And your position in this town. Your reputation. The tradition of passing the job down from one generation to the next. But let’s be honest with each other, why don’t we? Crowley showing up is my fault and you’re punishing me for it by sending me away.”

  “I’m doing no such thing.”

  “Aren’t you?” She glowered at him.

  Cliff took a step back. “I screwed up before with Talia. Now, I’ve screwed up again. I let my feelings for you get in the way of me doing my job. I’ve spent the past two weeks protecting you from Crowley. And what do I do? I leave your sister alone with my nieces and nephew.”

  “You gave her strict instructions to go directly to the ranch. She didn’t. If anyone’s to blame, it’s her.”

  “When has that woman ever done what she was told? Those kids were my responsibility, and I almost cost them their lives. Maeve is...”

  “Mad at you?”

  Cliff thought back to the terse phone conversation he had with his cousin. “Upset.”

  “You’re letting your family make a bigger deal out of this than it is.”

  “It’s a pretty big deal, Ruby.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut. “I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply your nieces and nephew aren’t important. I just don’t see what this whole thing has to do with us.”

  “I wanted to spend more time with you.”

  “Wanted?”

  “This morning. The reason I agreed to let Scarlett watch the kids was because I wanted to spend time with you.”

  “Is that so awful?”

  “Yes, when it affects my judgment.”

  “You saved Scarlett. Surely that cancels out any trivial mistake.”

  “That’s not how it works. I’m charged with protecting this town and everyone in it. I can’t make mistakes. Large or trivial.”

  “Are you going to forego personal relationships your entire career because caring for someone might affect your judgment?” She visibly fought for composure. “That’s pretty extreme, Cliff. Your father didn’t do it. Neither did the rest of the Dempsey sheriffs. Why should you?”

  “I don’t have the answer.”

  “You dated my sister, for crying out loud.”

  “It wasn’t the same. I didn’t—” He stopped himself before saying too much.

  “What?” she insisted.

  “The relationship wasn’t ever going to go anywhere.”

  “It doesn’t look like ours is, either.” Her mouth trembled in an effort not to cry.

  He couldn’t let her hurt deter him. “The town’s in trouble. I have to do my best to fix it.”

  “And not screw up a second law enforcement career.”

  Her remark struck him like a missile straight to the chest. Recovering took a moment.

  “I have a responsibility, an obligation to give this town, its citizens, my best service.”

  “And you did today. You apprehended a criminal and saved a life. Service doesn’t get any better.”

  Not according to his aunt. “Sweetheart depends on tourists. People who come here need to know they’re safe and their families are safe. I can’t protect them if I’m distracted.”

  “Is that what I am? A distraction?”

  Hurting her had been inevitable. He just hadn’t realized how much her reaction would hurt him.

  “You’re not. You mean more to me than anyone else.

  “Then prove it.”

  She should be able to expect that from a man who proclaimed to care for her. “I can’t go against my aunt and the town council. Not while the future of Sweetheart is at stake.”

  “Never mind, Cliff.” Ruby dug her keys out of her pocket and opened the car door. “You obviously don’t care about me, or I wouldn’t have to expend this much effort convincing you what we have is worth fighting for.”

  “Please, Ruby. Don’t.”

  “Don’t what? Leave? You just
told me not to hurry back on your account. Don’t leave mad? What else did you expect? Don’t return to Sweetheart? That can be arranged.”

  She was probably too busy mentally slicing him into a hundred thousand pieces to notice the door to the barn wasn’t open.

  Cliff could either walk over and open the door or stop her from going. The choice should be easy. Losing Ruby would tear him in two. In the end, he did what he had to.

  Sliding the wooden bar across the door, he flung it open and stood to the side.

  Ruby rammed the car in reverse and backed out. Dirt and debris from the soft barn floor spit out from beneath her tires and showered the bottom half of Cliff’s pants.

  She couldn’t have made her goodbye any clearer.

  He didn’t watch her drive away. It was too hard. Instead, he closed the door and wandered through the barn, stopping briefly at the stalls. The old mare and pony stuck their heads out and nickered for attention. Cliff absently stroked one soft muzzle, then the other.

  Difficult as it would be for both him and Ruby, he’d made the right decision. Like rebreaking a bone that wasn’t healing correctly. Hurt like hell at first, but eventually it would mend and be good as new. Maybe even stronger.

  Yeah, just continue telling himself stupid analogies like that one for the next fifty years, and eventually he’d feel better.

  Cliff leaned his forearms on the pony’s stall door and did something he hadn’t when the Reno drug raid went to hell in a hand basket. Something he hadn’t done since he was thirteen and got punched in the nose by an older boy at school.

  He fought back tears.

  * * *

  TWO-AND-A-HALF WEEKS. The amount of time Ruby had been gone. Yet it felt to Ruby as if she’d been away a lifetime. Everything was strange and surreal. The city. Her condo. The casino. Even now, the serving station in the VIP lounge, a place she’d stood countless times overseeing the staff, looked different. As if someone had redecorated in her brief absence. Only no one had.

  Where were the mountains? The tall ponderosa pines? The quaint storefronts and charming homes? The down-home friendliness?

  Did falling in love change a person’s perspective? If not, then having one’s heart broken certainly did.

  She hadn’t fully admitted to herself that she loved Cliff until reaching the outskirts of Sweetheart. It had taken every ounce of willpower she possessed not to turn her car around.

  She might have done it was there any chance he’d change his mind about them. That uncompromising expression he’d worn when she’d peeled away erased all doubt.

  Ruby would carry the memory with her for the rest of her life. Cliff cared for her, she was sure of it. Had cared for her. But not enough to stand up to his family and risk that damn reputation he was always so worried about.

  Would she do the same in his shoes? Jeopardize her job and her relationship with her family?

  Before going to Sweetheart, the answer would have been a resounding yes. After watching the news, she had her doubts.

  Everywhere she went, headlines screamed and TVs and radios blasted the latest update. She couldn’t stroll through the casino without a TV in one of the bars or lobbies reaching her ears. Was nothing else newsworthy?

  Then there were her friends and coworkers, all of them eager to fill her in on what they’d heard or ask probing questions about Crowley and her sister’s abduction. If not for the casino’s top-notch security staff, Ruby wouldn’t have made it past the reporters waiting in the lobby.

  According to the latest interview with Mayor Dempsey, the Mega Weekend of Weddings had been cancelled. She’d expressed grave concern about the town’s prospects to recover in the wake of another disaster.

  Ruby’s broken heart cried a little.

  Late-night talks with herself and sympathy from friends hadn’t made a difference. Fine, she wasn’t to blame for Crowley’s actions. He’s the one who decided to get ramped up on his mother’s cocaine, drive to Sweetheart and abduct Ruby.

  But he wouldn’t have come to Sweetheart if not for her, as Mayor Dempsey had vehemently pointed out.

  Ruby sighed. It always came back to her. As did the terrible breakup with Cliff.

  That was also preventable. She should have stuck to her guns in the beginning and not gotten involved with him until Crowley was no longer a threat. But she hadn’t.

  Still, if he loved her...

  Except he didn’t. He hadn’t even called to check up on her. She needed to toss that disposal phone instead of hanging on to it.

  “Chica! Why the long face?”

  She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder.

  Ernesto. Again. He’d been hovering over her like a mother hen since her return. Truth be told, she loved him for it.

  Tucking the notepad and pen she’d been holding into her uniform pocket, she faced him. Among her other duties tonight, she was personally serving the casino owner’s table. He and his guests would want for nothing.

  “I’m fine,” she told Ernesto.

  “Admit it.” He winked knowingly. “You were thinking about him.”

  Ernesto was the only person she’d told about Cliff. Unburdening herself hadn’t lightened her emotional load. Ruby was still miserable.

  “It’s over. I need to move on.”

  He pulled her close, and Ruby caught a whiff of his trademark flowery cologne. Her boss was nothing if not flamboyant, from his neon-colored shirts to his Italian leather shoes. On him, in his job, the style worked. He was an extremely good manager, well-liked by the customers and highly regarded by the employees.

  “The heart needs time to heal,” he advised Ruby. “Don’t rush. However, if you change your mind, there’s a new guy on the floor. A blackjack dealer. Very much your type.”

  She had to laugh at that. “I’m not dating for a while.”

  Ernesto tsk’d sympathetically. “Of course you aren’t. Not after your experience with that dreadful man Crowley.” He laid a hand on his chest. “It’s my fault. I should have taken your complaints more seriously.”

  How many people were going to claim responsibility for what happened? Her. Cliff. Scarlett and Ernesto. Were Crowley’s parents feeling the least bit guilty? The rookie cop who’d made the mistake during Crowley’s first arrest?

  She bit back a rush of anger. Crowley alone was to blame.

  “It’s all right, Ernesto. Don’t worry.”

  “But I do, chica. I want the old Ruby back.”

  In the large room, the casino owner’s engagement party was in full swing. The VIP lounge could easily hold two hundred, and at least that many were here tonight. More were expected.

  Considering the noise and activity level, it was a wonder Ruby and Ernesto were able to hold a conversation. Nearby, the wait staff scurried to and fro, their trays laden with champagne glasses and hors d’oeuvres.

  “I should have insisted Crowley be banned from the casino the first time he gave you trouble.” Ernesto rolled his eyes. “Mr. Xavier wouldn’t hear of it.”

  “Crowley’s father is a very influential politician,” Ruby said. “Mr. Xavier didn’t have a choice.”

  “Bah!” Ernesto dismissed her words with a wave.

  “You’re wrong, I did have a choice.”

  Ruby and Ernesto spun in unison, their mouths hanging open.

  Mr. Xavier stood in front of them, having come in via the private entrance. She and Ernesto had been too occupied to notice.

  Ruby’s cheeks warmed.

  “I apologize, sir.” Ernesto hung his head.

  “Don’t. Either of you.” Mr. Xavier strode forward. “It’s me who owes you and Ruby an apology.”

  In his mid-fifties, the man was fit, handsome, successful and wealthy. His fiancée, the center of attention at the party, was ten years his juni
or but looked twenty.

  They were a striking couple and, from all accounts, deeply in love. Ruby wished them the happiness that had eluded her and Cliff.

  Mr. Xavier came over and took Ruby’s hands in his, startling her. Though always kind, he maintained a professional distance from the employees. A point he and Cliff would agree on.

  “I was too concerned with how banning young Crowley would affect business when I should have been concerned about the welfare of one of my best people.”

  Another person taking responsibility for Crowley’s actions. When would this stop?

  “His father is a good customer,” she said. “With a lot of friends in high places.”

  Was a good customer. Crowley senior hadn’t visited the casino since his son’s arrest. Probably, like Ruby, he was avoiding the reporters.

  “I’m sorry about the adverse attention this has brought the casino,” she said.

  “Are you joking?” His raucous laughter momentarily drowned out the noise. “Business is booming.”

  Ruby thought his celebrity fiancée might have more to do with it.

  “If there’s anything you need,” Mr. Xavier continued. “Anything I can do, just let me know.”

  “Thank you, sir, but I’m fine.”

  A cheer rose from Mr. Xavier’s table. The celebration was escalating.

  So much excitement for one wedding, Ruby thought. Sweetheart used to host hundreds a year. Now, they couldn’t give one away. Because a cloud of fear hung over the town.

  “If you’ll excuse me.” Mr. Xavier smiled and started to walk away. “My bride-to-be and my guests are waiting for me.”

  One wedding...

  Ruby surprised herself by calling out, “Mr. Xavier.”

  He stopped, his expression expectant. “Yes.”

  “There is something you can do.”

  “Of course.” A tiny hint of impatience tinged his voice.

  “Not for me, actually. But for some people who are very important to me.”

  “What’s that?”

  She gathered her courage, still not quite believing what she was about to say. “Have you and Ms. Lilly decided on the destination for your wedding?”