“It’s a tough crowd today.” His eyes met mine, and another pesky spark ran through me. “Well, don’t let me keep you.”
I dug my fingers into the door and watched the sheriff tip his cowboy hat before turning around to leave.
“Okay, what’s your name?” I asked, wishing he weren’t leaving.
The sheriff stopped and turned around wearing a smile as wide as any I’d seen, and my entire body lit up at the sight.
“Dwayne Wilson.” He gave a quick nod and walked away to his SUV as I shut the door to hear Becca’s squeals throughout my apartment.
“Sheriff Wilson is smokin’ hot.” Becca squeezed my arm and then shook it as if I weren’t alive. “And he likes you.”
I laughed, rolling my eyes. “He doesn’t even know me to like me.”
“Listen, I know chemistry when I see it and—”
I chuckled and shook my head. “Oh, look at the time.” I grinned, pointing at the clock. “We should go get Colby.”
Becca wagged her finger in front of my face as I stuffed my wallet and phone into my purse. “Mark my words. You and he will go out on at least one date.”
“Whatever you say.” I grinned at my friend. “I’m going to miss you down in Portland.”
She gave a throaty laugh and shook her head. “Sure, you will.”
“Okay. Off we go to get my little man.”
“I can’t wait to smooch him.” Becca giggled.
“You know, you’re going to be the best mama in the world.”
“Well, first, I’d need to settle down with a sheriff of my own.” Becca followed me out the door, and I locked up behind us before making our way to my car.
The fall weather had definitely moved in to stay. The breeze from the water wrapped its iciness around me as I fumbled with the car lock. It was like the cold made my fingers brittle and slow-moving.
“Exactly. So, let’s focus on finding you your own sheriff before we start trying to fling me in the direction of Sheriff Dwayne Wilson. Not that I couldn’t see myself with him. Surprisingly, the whole cowboy thing is pretty sexy and—” I glanced at Becca over the top of my car as her eyes widened and she shook her head frantically.
My eyes froze on her in tortured panic as I saw her gaze move over my shoulder and back to me.
“Is he here?” I whispered, and she slowly nodded.
“Did he hear me?” I hissed.
She nodded again, and I clenched my eyes shut as Becca climbed in the car.
I placed both arms on the top of my car and leaned against them, paralyzed with embarrassment.
“You okay, miss?” The sheriff couldn’t even hide his amusement if he tried.
I didn’t answer, but I slowly opened my eyes to see Becca bending down to see out the window in our direction.
“Claire? Are you okay?” he repeated, and I slowly turned around to face him.
“I’m…I’m fine.” My brows arched. “What are you still doing here in my parking lot? I didn’t see you there.”
“Obviously.” He grinned and glanced at the pavement.
There was a clipboard set on his hood.
“Do you always do your office work outdoors?”
“When I can.” He nodded, his grin only widening.
“I see.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’ll have to be more careful around town then. You have a bad habit of lurking in all the wrong places.”
He nodded, keeping his gaze on me, and I swore every single cell in my body was on fire even though I was standing in freezing weather on a Pacific Northwest island in the middle of fall.
“Or all the right places, depending on how you look at it.” He drew a breath and rocked on his heels. “But I will say that since you arrived on Fireweed, you’ve certainly livened up my daily encounters.”
My cheeks reddened, and I hid a smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I do need to pick up my son from school.”
The sheriff bent over and waved at Becca as I opened the door and climbed in my car.
“I’m sure I’ll see you around town.” This time, the sheriff waved at me. “Drive safely, Claire.”
I clutched the steering wheel to death and took a deep breath.
“You’re as red as I’ve ever seen.” Becca chuckled, and I turned my gaze to hers.
“I wonder why.” I glanced at the sheriff, who was still writing something down on his clipboard as I pulled out of the parking stall and let out a deep breath. “He’s got to think I’m some sex-crazed single mom who—”
“Just has a healthy libido,” Becca interrupted, giggling.
I glared at my friend as I turned on the road to my son’s school. “I just pray I don’t keep running into that man.”
Becca grimaced. “Well, it is a pretty small island.”
“Thank you, Captain Obvious. That’s exactly what I needed to hear.” I giggled and shook my head as I pulled the car into Colby’s school parking lot. “Right on time.”
I found a spot to park, and Becca jumped out of the car, arms wide open and ready for when Colby charged out of the double doors.
The bell rang, and in less than a minute, the elementary school doors blasted open with hordes of young kids running toward the buses and parking lot. I scanned for Colby, and my heart squeezed with glee when I saw him.
He was talking to the same boy as the other day, but he sped away when he saw Becca waiting for him.
For some reason, she was cooler than I was around his new buddies. He raced into her arms, and she picked him up and squeezed him before helping him climb into his booster seat in the back of the car.
“Hey, my little man.” I beamed, glancing at him in the rearview. “How was your day?”
“Amazing.” He grinned.
Fireweed was where we were meant to be.
“The teacher said the horse I drew showed real promise,” Colby gushed, pulling out the drawing and handing it to me.
“Wow. You did this?” I was shocked.
The horse looked realistic and like an adult drew it, not a six-year-old.
“She said I should enter the Island Art Contest.” He smiled and rested his head on the back of his seat.
“And I agree.” I smiled just as the siren chirped behind me, making me jump six inches into the air.
“Oh, cool,” Colby yelled, craning his neck behind him.
I let out a grunt and saw a police SUV parked behind me with his lights going.
“Great,” I muttered under my breath, and Becca chuckled.
“That’s the coolest thing ever,” Colby continued as he clapped his hands and bounced in his booster seat. “Aaron said his uncle was picking him up from school.”
“Aaron?” I asked, staring at the police unit behind me.
“Yeah. Don’t you remember? The kid I told you about.”
“Oh, that’s right.” I felt guilty for not remembering nearly enough about Colby’s first friend on Fireweed.
“Aaron told me he could get his uncle to use his siren and lights.” Colby waved at another little person in the police vehicle. The same boy who came running out with Colby earlier.
I refused to look at the man sitting in the driver’s seat.
I already knew who he was.
Because of course, it would be him.
The sheriff.
Another couple of chirps of the siren made me jump while Becca looked all too enthusiastic about the sudden turn of events.
“Is he going to block us in for another hour or what?” I grumbled, and Becca snickered.
“Isn’t his uncle the coolest?” Colby nearly hummed the sheriff’s praises, but I kept my cool.
“Yeah. Policemen are essential people,” I agreed.
I watched the SUV pull from behind my car as I tapped the steering wheel nervously.
“I think I’m leaving you in very good hands.” Becca grinned as I pulled out of the parking lot.
“You are impossible.” I gave her a sideways glance and
shook my head.
“Mama, can we have pizza tonight?” Colby asked, my eyes connecting with his in the rearview mirror.
“Absolutely.” I nodded. “We can make our own. I bought pepperoni, crust, cheese, mushrooms, and sauce.”
Becca laughed. “You make the best pizza.”
“Pillsbury dough makes the best pizza.” I chuckled as we pulled into the parking lot of the apartment building where we rented.
The lease was for a year, and it was quite affordable when compared to living in a city. Not to mention, the apartment was near the water, and our unit even had a view of Puget Sound. It wasn’t huge by any means, especially compared to where Colby and I used to live, but it felt like home the moment I entered the apartment. It had two bedrooms plus a space they called a flex room, which was in addition to the living area and kitchen, so it was perfect for us.
“What’s on the door?” Colby asked.
I pulled in front of our unit and squinted at the door and couldn’t tell.
“Well, I’ve paid all our utilities, so it can’t be that,” I teased, hopping out of the car to help Colby out of his booster.
Not that he needed it, but I just couldn’t stop myself from going back there to assist. My little boy was growing up far too quickly.
Colby leaped out of the car, ran to the front door, and ripped off a piece of paper that was hanging.
“Mommy, are you in trouble?” Colby asked.
I rushed to Colby’s side and pulled the piece of paper away from him.
Becca jogged over, breathless. “What’s wrong?”
My eyes focused on the words on the piece of paper, and I smiled, shaking my head. A flutter of excitement, quickly followed by doubt and worry, invaded every part of my body as I looked at my son.
“Mommy’s not in trouble. Your friend’s uncle just thinks he’s very clever. The policeman left a welcome note on our door, that’s all.” I unlocked the door, and Colby went inside as Becca snatched the piece of paper from me, reading it aloud.
Since you’re in new in town, I thought you might enjoy a dinner out with my nephew and me. The boys seemed to hit it off, and maybe we should follow their lead.
“The man doesn’t dillydally.” Becca’s brows waggled, and I laughed, closing the door behind us.
Sighing, I let the smile touch my lips that had wanted to be there since seeing him at my doorstep. There was something about the sheriff that made me want to smile.
“No, he doesn’t.” I glanced at Colby as he pulled his homework out of his bag. “And neither does Colby. Can you believe the boy does his homework without my having to beg him?”
Becca smiled and nodded. “He’s a good boy. You’re a lucky woman.”
Pride filled every ounce of me, and I nodded. “I really am.”
Becca handed me the note back, and I stared at the sheriff’s words as I wondered if I’d be as brave as I wanted to be.
But picking men had never been something I was very good at, and I doubted much had changed since moving to Fireweed.
Chapter Four
“Are we leaving yet?” Colby stomped his cute little foot with a yellow rubber boot on it. It was drizzling outside, but that didn’t mean we could cancel a trip to the pumpkin patch.
I smiled and smooched his cheek. “Go harass Becca to get out of bed, and we can take off.”
“Okay.” Colby clomped down the hallway into the flex room, where we’d pumped up an air bed for Becca.
“Becca, Becca, wake up. The pumpkins are waiting.”
I heard Becca groan and the rubber on the mattress squeak as my friend tried to hide from my son. An evil giggle erupted from me, and I followed the path of the pillows swatting at Colby.
“Doesn’t Auntie Becca want to come pick out pumpkins with us?” I asked, lying on the bed next to Becca. Colby climbed on top of us, and Becca finally opened her eyes.
“Of course, I do.” She chuckled and pushed off the sheets. “I just thought since it was Saturday, you people would try sleeping in for a change.”
I laughed and shook my head. “It’s ten o’clock. We did sleep in.”
Becca let out another playful groan and rolled off the air mattress.
“Colby, get her.” I pointed at Becca, and Colby giggled as he grabbed the very pillows Becca had swatted in his direction as she dashed off to the bathroom. “What do you say we go heat up some of the pancakes we had for breakfast so Becca doesn’t starve to death on our adventure?”
Colby tossed the pillow on the air mattress and nodded.
“I like it here, Mommy.” Colby opened the fridge and pulled out the maple syrup in the door while I took out the pancakes and placed a couple on a plate to heat in the microwave.
“You do?” I asked, feeling relief spread through me like a wildfire.
“Aaron is so cool, and there’s a pumpkin patch instead of a store to get pumpkins, and Aaron said that Santa has a second home here on Fireweed that we can go visit in December.”
“Really?” My brows shot up in complete surprise. “I had no idea Santa had a place here. That is pretty cool.”
“Who’s got a second home on Fireweed?” Becca asked, wandering in and sniffing the air.
“Santa,” Colby explained.
“Wow. That’s pretty extraordinary.”
Colby looked at me as he thought about the big word, and I grinned.
“She thinks it’s awesome and totally out of the ordinary.” I handed Becca the plate of pancakes, and she smiled, sitting next to Colby and the syrup.
“It is.” Colby nodded and eyed Becca’s pancakes. “Extraordinary.”
“Did you not get any of these pancakes?” she asked.
I nodded. “We did.”
“Do you want more?” Becca asked Colby, cutting a piece of pancake off and dabbing it in the syrup for Colby.
He took a bite and mumbled a quick thank you before hopping off the stool. Colby wandered over to the living-room window and stared outside at the water.
“Can we go swimming?” he asked, turning around to see my reaction.
“You know we can’t swim in Puget Sound.” I laughed. “We’d turn into icicles. We’d become decorations at Santa’s house, clinging to the outside of his North Pole workshop.”
“That’s a bit morbid,” Becca muttered under her breath, chuckling.
Colby turned back to look at the water. “Do you think Dad will visit us?”
His question stunned me, and I traded a nervous glance with Becca. There was so much Colby wouldn’t understand and shouldn’t even know about at six.
But I knew the answer, which was no.
Unless there was a problem.
“I don’t know, hon.” I walked over and hugged Colby into me, and he grabbed my knee and squeezed me tight.
“I miss him.” His warm breath soaked my pant leg, and my chest tightened.
I wanted to tell him I did too, but I didn’t miss his father and I didn’t want to lie to Colby.
So, I just squeezed him harder before squatting down and pulling him into me.
“You are a brave boy, and you’re taking such good care of Mommy.” I kissed the top of his head. “And I know Santa will remember just how extraordinary you’ve been with everything you’ve had to deal with.”
He looked up into my eyes. “Awesome and out of the ordinary.” He laughed, and I kissed him again.
“Yes. Exactly.” I stood, and Colby wrapped his tiny fingers around mine, and I felt like I was in my version of heaven. I didn’t need a big, fancy house or expensive cars to make me happy. I just needed my son close to me, safe and sound.
The moment Colby came into this world, I knew I’d do anything and everything for my little man. I’d do whatever it took to protect him, even if that meant uprooting our lives and moving to an island far away from where he was born.
“You ready for pumpkin hunting?” Becca asked, knowing exactly how to break the tension in the air.
Colby jumped and squea
led, letting go of my hand as he raced to the front door, pulling on his red rain jacket and waiting impatiently for me to unlock the door. His breeze knocked the sheriff’s paper onto the floor, and Becca picked it up.
“Given any more thought to our handsome sheriff?” Becca asked, and I shook my head, giving her the quiet sign.
Colby opened the door as we got behind him, and I turned to Becca. “You’ve got to remember that children his age are like parrots. What he hears you say, he says.”
Becca patted my back as I locked the door behind us, and we walked to the parking lot. “Come on, it can’t be any worse than riding a stallion or—”
“Let’s just not test that theory.” I gave her an evil stare, and she giggled as we climbed into the car.
“All buckled in?” I asked Colby, checking for myself in the mirror.
“Yeah. Let’s go.” Colby grinned at me in the rearview mirror, and I pulled the car out of the space as my cell phone announced the directions to the pumpkin patch.
“Aaron said they have hot apple cider and sugar cookies here. He says that there are mini pumpkins and white pumpkins and—”
Becca interrupted and turned in her seat. “White pumpkins? There’s no such thing.”
“Yes, there is. There are ghost pumpkins, right, Mommy?”
“Yup.” I nodded my head, listening intently to Colby and the navigator.
After driving for about fifteen minutes, we spotted the pumpkin patch signs and I no longer needed to listen to my phone.
“Look at that,” Colby squealed, and Becca and I turned our heads in the direction of the parking lot where a hayride was happening. “They didn’t have anything this cool where we used to live.”
Another victory for Fireweed Island.
“No, they didn’t.” I nodded in agreement and quickly found a place to park before Colby jumped out of the rolling vehicle. He didn’t even wait for help crawling out of the booster seat.
“Aaron said he might be here today too.” Colby stood, marching in place as he waited for me to untangle myself from the seatbelt.
“Hopefully, Aaron’s Uncle will be busy watching over the island,” I said to Becca, and she just grinned.
Even though there was a drizzle, we put our hoods up and didn’t worry about an umbrella. It would be way too tricky to manage pumpkins, umbrellas, and a wandering six-year-old. We’d only get slightly soggy rather than thoroughly drenched in weather like this.
Discovering Love on Cranberry Lane (Island County Book 11) Page 3
