Her Small-Town Sheriff

by Lissa Manley

  Phoebe followed, but he called out, “Hold on a sec, Phoebe.” His work wasn’t done. Not by a long shot. He and Heidi were good. Now it was time to make things right with Phoebe.

  Wide-eyed, Phoebe spun around just as her foot hit the third stair. Heidi stopped at the top of the landing. Two blue gazes locked on him.

  “As soon as you get changed, we need to talk,” he said to Phoebe quietly.

  She silently nodded.

  Heidi came back down a few stairs. “What’s going on?”

  “You take Phoebe up and get changed,” he said, pointing upstairs with his right crutch. “And then Phoebe and I need to have a private conversation.”

  “Ooh. Private.” Heidi wagged her brows. “Sounds good.”

  He gave her a poker face.

  With a snort, she crooked a hand. “Come on, Phoebe. I’ll loan you something of mine.”

  Without a word, Phoebe followed her upstairs.

  And Carson waited, his stomach churning, for her to come back down. And make or break his happiness.

  After what seemed an interminable wait, but was really only ten minutes, Phoebe returned dressed in a too-small pair of gray sweatpants, a white T-shirt with some swoop-haired teenybopper boy band on the front and a pair of white athletic socks. Her damp hair hung loose around her shoulders, starting to curl wildly around her face.

  “Pretty, I know,” she said, pirouetting in front of him.

  He cocked a brow. “Actually, you look adorable.”

  “Thanks. I think,” she said, giving him a sideways glance.

  Silence.

  Finally, she raised her chin. “So, let’s talk. I have something to say, too.”

  Anxiety wove sharp tentacles through him. “Okay. Let’s go into the living room and sit down.” Not that he’d ever admit it, but his ankle was starting to throb relentlessly. Too much standing and worrying.

  She spun on her heel and marched into the room. He followed, almost knocking her over with one crutch when she stopped abruptly and he plowed into her.

  “Sorry,” she said in unison with him.

  Once they’d both righted themselves, he said, “You go first,” at the exact time she said, “You go first.”

  He looked at the floor. “Apparently we’re on the same page.” Unless she was on the I’m-going-to-dump-you-all-over-again page. And then they definitely weren’t on the same page, or even reading the same book. Just let her try and run away.

  She remained silent.

  “Why don’t we just say what we have to say together,” he offered. “Then no one is put on the spot.”

  She inclined her head to the side. “Fair enough.”

  “On three, all right?”

  “Okeydoke.”

  Taking a deep breath, he said, “One. Two. Three.”

  “I love you,” he said.

  “I love you,” she said at the exact same time.

  He stared at her, hanging on to her clear blue gaze, his breathing shallow and hitched. His heart took a tentative little hop of joy. “Did you just happen to say you loved me?” he asked, his voice husky.

  A charming blush spread across her cheeks. “I did.”

  His breathing snagged. “What made you change your mind?”

  “The ocean and the jetty,” she said with a little shrug. “And your remarkably smart daughter.”

  “Huh?”

  She grinned and stepped closer, and even though she’d been doused in seawater, her fresh clean scent reached out and tickled his nose. “After we reached land, Heidi said she didn’t know the ocean and the jetty could be so dangerous. And that made me realize that danger is everywhere, for you, me and everybody. Life happens. That, in turn, helped me to see that letting my fears hold me away from loving you wasn’t what was going to make me happy.”

  “So, how did Heidi help?”

  “Oh, just with a few profound words along the lines of, ‘if you love someone then nothing else matters.’”

  His throat tightened. “So now that the ocean and my twelve-year-old daughter have had their say, what is going to make you happy?” he asked, caressing her smooth-as-silk cheek.

  “You are,” she said, simply. Yet he’d never heard more profound, or welcome, words.

  A response stuck in his throat as joy ricocheted through his heart.

  “And by the way,” she said, grinning up at him in an adorable way that he would never get tired of, “You were right when you said I was using your job as an excuse to keep from taking a risk.”

  “I’m a genius,” he replied, shifting his weight to his good leg and bending down to rest his forehead against hers. “And that’s why I’m never letting you go.”

  “Then I guess we love each other, don’t we?” She came to within an inch of his lips.

  “Guess we do.” He let his crutches fall to the floor and gathered her close, erasing the tiny bit of space between them.

  And he sealed the whole deal with a kiss.

  A long time later, he came up for air, smoothing her damp hair back with his hand. “Glad we have that all cleared up.”

  Eyes shining with happiness looked up at him. “You can say that again.”

  He bent down and kissed his way to her ear. “I want you to be in my life forever,” he whispered, stating his deepest wish, no holds barred.

  Her arms came around him and she pressed herself close. “As a family, you, me and Heidi?”

  “Of course,” he said, burying his nose in her neck. “One big happy family.”

  “Hey, you two.”

  He broke away and spun around at the same time Phoebe did.

  Heidi, dressed in fuzzy pink sweats, stood in the living -room doorway, grinning so big he was sure her face was going to crack. “What’s going on here?”

  “You want to break the happy news?” Phoebe said, her mouth crooked into a beautiful, happy smile he would never get tired of seeing.

  He nodded. “I do.” Turning, he looked at Heidi, his mouth turned up so far it almost hurt. Almost. “We’re in love.”

  With a whoop of joy, Heidi launched herself at them. As he stood on one foot, with Phoebe’s quick action helping out, he caught half of Heidi while Phoebe caught the other half. Were they good partners, or what?

  And then he had both of his girls in his arms, and he knew without a doubt that Phoebe had given him the one thing he wanted most in the world—peace.

  Coupled with love, how could they go wrong?

  Epilogue

  “I now pronounce you husband and wife,” Pastor Goodrich announced, his booming voice filling the sanctuary. “You may kiss the bride.”

  From her position on the altar next to Molly, feeling nothing like an eggplant or purple dinosaur in her bridesmaid dress, Phoebe looked on as her beaming best friend and Grant kissed before all of their family and friends.

  When the ecstatic bride and groom pulled apart from their long kiss, a warm cheer went up, and Molly looked right at Phoebe. Molly quirked a brow and gave a brief tilt of her head, as if to say, are you going to be next?

  Phoebe shrugged, holding her hopes close, not wanting to assume too much. Yet. But deep down, she had dreams for a wedding of her own in the near future, with the most perfect man on the planet standing at the altar with her, saying their vows before God.

  That thought automatically had her eyes seeking out Carson and Heidi sitting in the second row of the church.

  Carson, looking more handsome than ever in a dark blue suit, snow-white dress shirt and navy blue patterned tie, winked and threw her a small yet private smile that made Phoebe’s breath catch. Heidi, quite the young lady with her hair pulled up, wore a pretty pink frock Phoebe had helped her pick out. Heidi waved, grinning brightly.

  Phoebe’s heart just about collapsed in pure happiness. How had she ever thought letting the sheriff and his daughter into her heart would be a bad thing?

  The past month had been a whirlwind of helping with Molly’s wedding preparations sprinkled with lots o
f time spent with Carson and Heidi. Phoebe felt as if they were a family already, and the thought of making the connection permanent thrilled her.

  She had a suspicion Carson felt the same way, given how close they’d become in the past few weeks, since that day they’d both realized they belonged together.

  The wedding march rang out from the church organ, and Molly and Grant, holding hands, stepped off the altar and headed up the center aisle of the church. Phoebe and the rest of the wedding party filed out behind them.

  As she approached Carson and Heidi, Phoebe mouthed to Heidi, “You look beautiful!”

  Heidi mouthed back, “You, too!”

  Phoebe paused for a brief moment as she waited to continue up the aisle, clutching her bouquet in her hands, and looked at the man she loved. His gaze held hers, warm and filled with a tenderness that never failed to make her melt.

  He pressed a hand to his heart, then gestured to her, as if he were giving her all of the love he held inside of him.

  With her own mushy heart bursting to overflowing, she mirrored the gesture, holding his gaze, knowing that nothing would ever pull her from his side.

  The wedding party continued on up the aisle. Phoebe followed, feeling as if she were walking on air as she sent her thanks up to God for helping her find such a perfect love, for helping her to believe that second chances were possible, even for her.

  And then, with her head held high and her heart finally, blissfully complete, Phoebe stepped from the flower-bedecked sanctuary into the sunlit church foyer, ready to start her new life with an amazing man and his wonderful daughter by her side. As a family.

  Forever.

  *

  Dear Reader,

  Welcome back to Moonlight Cove! I’m so excited to be writing more books about my favorite beach town, and equally excited that I have readers like you who join me as two stubborn people fall in love when they least expect it. I hope you enjoy reading about Phoebe and Carson’s rocky road to true love and that their story touches your heart and reminds you that with a little faith, second chances are always possible.

  Some of the themes in this book are based on my own experiences. Who hasn’t experienced grief over losing a loved one? This thought led me to write a story in which the hero and heroine are brought together by shared feelings of loss and sadness, only to discover that life does get better after a devastating loss, and that love and faith help heal wounds wrought by grief.

  I truly enjoy hearing from readers, so please feel free to contact me either through Love Inspired, or at www.lissamanley.com.

  Blessings,

  Lissa

  Questions for Discussion

  Carson insisted on some kind of consequence for Heidi’s shoplifting. Was he too harsh? Not harsh enough? Why or why not? What other consequences could he have imposed? In your opinion, did his occupation as a cop dictate his reaction? Or did his role as a father have more influence?

  Phoebe didn’t believe in second chances, and truly believed she would only have one true love. How was this belief flawed? Or not?

  Was Mrs. Philpot responsible for Heidi’s sneaking out of the house? If so, how could she have handled the situation differently? Was she a bad caretaker, or was Heidi just sneaky enough to slip by anyone?

  Phoebe went to grief counseling to make her mother happy. Was this a wrongheaded way to go about handling her grief? What else could she have done to deal with the loss of her fiancé?

  Carson blamed himself for his son’s death. Discuss whether you agree with his self-blame or not, and why. Did he have control over his guilt, or not? How would you have reacted in this situation?

  Phoebe unwittingly broke Carson’s confidence by telling Heidi she knew about her brother’s death. Were her actions justified given the situation? How could she have handled the discussion with Heidi differently while still letting Heidi know she empathized with her?

  Was it realistic of Carson to expect to keep CJ’s death a secret? Was he simply trying to sweep the tragedy under the rug, or were his actions understandable given the situation and his character? Discuss.

  Carson called Phoebe on not depending on the faith she touted as being so helpful in dealing with grief, turning her advice back on her. Discuss why you think Phoebe had a harder time helping herself than helping Carson. Is it harder for most people to see the solutions to their own problems? Why or why not?

  Carson felt asking for help was a sign of weakness. Why did he feel this way? Was this reaction realistic? Talk about how you feel when you have to ask for help.

  Discuss why you think Carson had a difficult time opening up to Phoebe. Was this difficulty justified, or not? Why? How has this kind of reaction affected your life?

  Discuss how CJ was killed, and whether or not Carson should have left him alone to take down the perp. Also discuss whether his role of Dad should have overridden his role as cop, or vice versa, and why.

  Did Carson deserve the guilt he carried over CJ’s death? Depending on your answer, how should he have decided how much guilt he deserved? Where should he have drawn the line? Is there a line? Does it change as time passes? Discuss.

  Carson’s accident on the job reminded Phoebe how she felt when her fiancé died, and soon after, she told Carson that she couldn’t let herself love him for fear of losing him one way or another. Discuss whether her thinking was skewed, and how she could have handled this situation differently. Were her actions justified, given her character and what she’d been through?

  Phoebe realized the world was full of danger when she rescued Heidi from the jetty, which resulted in a change in the way she viewed loving Carson. Discuss why or why not this epiphany was believable, and whether she would have ultimately admitted she loved Carson if she hadn’t had the experience on the jetty.

  Heidi’s way of handling conflict was to run away. Discuss whether this was a valid way to operate, and how her gut reactions to stress might change as she gets older.

  ISBN: 9781459227835

  Copyright © 2012 by Melissa A. Manley

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

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