Discovering Love on Cranberry Lane (Island County Book 11)

by Karice Bolton

  Colby’s head turned quickly to stare at Aaron as he scratched his head, but when Aaron revealed no answers, Colby spoke up.

  “Who’s Dotty and Todd?” he asked.

  “They rule the roost.” Jake laughed. “They seem to believe they are king and queen of the alpaca herd here on the farm, but I won’t spoil it for you.”

  Jewels giggled as she headed back down the hall with the boys following behind. “Yes, we will let them do the speaking for themselves.”

  “I’ll take a chili dog, please,” Jake hollered as his mom walked beside him down the hall.

  The sheriff turned around slowly to face me. “So, I think that was their not-so-subtle way of letting us have a little alone time.”

  I giggled and shook my head. “Why would we need it?”

  “I think you know.” His eyes stayed on mine, and the familiar flutter worked its way through my belly as I looked away.

  “I am a huge fan of hot dogs, so… ” I put my hands on my waist.

  He laughed, and I brought my gaze back to his. “Miss Swanson, you’ve really thrown me for a loop.”

  “Why’s that, Sheriff?”

  “Well, I can’t get you out of my mind.”

  My heart stumbled to a stop, and I brought my gaze back to his as he took a step forward.

  “I loved our date the other night.” He took another step to narrow the gap.

  “It was a date?” I asked, feeling excitement thread through me.

  His grin widened. “In my book.”

  I drew a breath and tried to hide the dopy smile that would undoubtedly ruin my chances of playing it cool.

  “That’s certainly good to know.”

  “And I’d say this might be date number two.” His brows arched as his suggestion floated between us.

  “I’d like that.” I nodded, feeling like I was suddenly back in high school. “So far, I’m a cheap date. Pizza and hot dogs.”

  The sheriff’s throaty laugh made my heart squeeze. I loved the sound. He touched my chin and spoke a little softer. “I love your sense of humor.”

  “I wasn’t kidding.”

  The sheriff shook his head, smiling. “See?”

  But this time, when our eyes connected, every single cell in my body craved something that only this man could give me.

  The sensation made no sense.

  Was completely irrational.

  But my lips literally burned with the desire to be kissed by Fireweed’s sheriff.

  My gaze dropped to his lips, but I quickly spun on my heels just before he caught my wrist in his hand.

  The sheriff pulled me into him, looping his arms around my waist as I looked up into his gorgeous green eyes.

  His lips parted slowly, and I drew a breath as I shut my eyes, waiting to feel his mouth against mine.

  My mind was spinning, and I was so grateful I was already in this man’s arms as he slid his hands up along my spine to the back of my head. Our faces were so close, it would be criminal if he didn’t kiss me.

  The sheriff let his fingers tangle in my hair, the sensation creating tingles through my entire body as I kept my eyes closed.

  Bringing his hand around, he slowly lifted my chin with a finger and swept his lips against mine as his hands cupped the back of my head. His mouth parted, and I tasted a hint of cinnamon as I opened mine.

  I let out a little moan of happiness as he kissed me, and I returned the favor, sliding my hands along his chest, realizing how muscular Dwayne Wilson appeared to be.

  As our mouths moved together and the kisses deepened, I heard the boys calling for us in the other room.

  Our kiss broke from one another as I stepped back, nearly losing my balance from being so weak in the knees.

  “That was nice,” I whispered as I glanced at Dwayne.

  His gaze was heated and left me wanting so much more.

  “Yes, it was.” He nodded, a half-crooked smile covering his lips as he held his hand out for mine. “How about dinner tonight, after the llamas?”

  My world felt suddenly dreamy, and all I could do was nod and say yes.

  Chapter Eight

  “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you, Dwayne. They’re not llamas.” Jake grinned. “They’re alpacas, and if you mention llamas around Todd and Dotty, you’ll be sorry.”

  Aaron laughed and looked up at his uncle as Colby held my hand. We were walking through a muddy field toward a large barn. Several alpacas wandered around in the pasture.

  “Get it straight, Dwayne,” I teased.

  Dwayne laughed and glanced over at me. “So, I’m finally Dwayne now, huh?”

  A tingle ran through me as our kiss flashed through my mind.

  “For now.” I squeezed Colby’s hand.

  An eerie melody rang through the air, and I looked at Jake, who grinned.

  “The alpacas are excited. They saw us coming their way.”

  “That’s them?” I asked.

  “Sure is.” Jake peeked inside an open door and then opened the second door.

  “Sounds like ghosts.” Colby looked up at me, and I smiled.

  “It does. Perfect for Halloween.”

  Colby nodded his head, and Aaron stopped marching forward.

  “What’s that smell?” Aaron scrunched his nose.

  “Alpacas,” Jake hollered from the other side of the barn.

  Dwayne laughed, and Aaron huffed. “I don’t remember them smelling like this before.”

  Colby chuckled, and I picked him up as we wandered into the barn.

  I spotted a beautiful blond alpaca, nuzzling up against Jake’s hand. Its lips moved and twisted into puckering expressions as Jake patted its head.

  “Wow. They look like teddy bears.” Colby kicked his legs out, and I set him down.

  “They are Huacaya alpacas,” Jake explained as a beautiful humming sound came through the air. “Not llamas.”

  A dark-brown and very graceful creature meandered its way toward us. When she reached the gate, she rubbed her nose on the bar, and I looked over at Jake.

  “That’s Dotty. She’s a lover. Go ahead and pet her.” Jake nodded, and I picked up Colby.

  He slowly pushed his fingers deep into her thick coat. “She feels so soft but…not.”

  Aaron looked over at Dwayne, and he walked him over.

  I used my spare hand to pet Dotty, and she really did have a soft coat. I thought it would be coarse and wiry, but it was surprisingly smooth.

  Colby pulled back his hand, but Dotty nudged his fingers again, and Colby laughed, sinking his fingers into her fur.

  Dwayne reached over and petted Dotty as the hums increased in volume when I spotted the blond alpaca making its way over.

  Jake laughed. “Uh-oh.”

  The blond beauty was taller than Dotty and was determined to come in our direction.

  “Such a nice llama,” Dwayne said, shaking his head and continuing to pet Dolly.

  The blond walked up alongside Dotty and glared at Dwayne.

  “I think he’s trying to tell you something,” I told Dwayne.

  “Really?” He glanced at me as Jake made his way over.

  “What are you trying to tell me, llama?” He smiled at the alpaca.

  “Todd doesn’t like being called a llama.” Jake sat on the gate as if he were at a sporting event.

  Dwayne laughed and shook his head. “He doesn’t know I’m calling him a llama.”

  “Uncle Dwayne, I think he does.” Aaron intuitively took a few steps back and stood next to Colby, who’d stopped petting Dotty once the larger alpaca came over.

  I cocked my head to study Todd and watched his lips start to shift and curl. Todd stretched his neck out and over the gate, and Dwayne took a quick step back.

  “Whoa there, buddy.”

  I hid a laugh as I watched the big, burly sheriff gracefully jump backward.

  But Todd wasn’t finished. He started grinding his teeth as his lips curled, and the alpaca eyed Dwayne suspiciou
sly.

  “It’s okay, Todd. You’ve got to forgive the sheriff.” Jake flashed a wicked grin, and I turned my attention back to Todd.

  The alpaca’s grinding became more intense as Dotty stepped backward and I picked up Colby. A gurgling sound started, and I instantly knew what was about to happen.

  “Dwayne, step back.”

  He turned to look at me with a huge grin and shrugged.

  “No, Dwayne—”

  He glanced back at Todd, who flipped his lips and spat right in Dwayne’s face.

  Colby and Aaron erupted into giggles, and I failed miserably at holding in my laughter.

  Jake hopped off the gate and shook his head. “I told you to quit calling them llamas.”

  I couldn’t stop laughing as the handsome and rugged man I was falling for had mint-green foam slithering onto his shirt.

  Colby and Aaron walked over to a tamer batch of alpacas as Jake handed Dwayne a paper towel.

  “You’ll want to get under a faucet pretty quickly. The stuff stinks pretty bad.” Jake glanced at me, smiling, while Todd and Dotty wandered away.

  “How sexy,” I teased as Dwayne wiped off the green goo as best he could.

  “Not quite the stallion you were looking for?” he teased, and my entire body heated with embarrassment.

  “So, you did hear me in the grocery store?” I asked, laughing.

  Jake’s eyes widened. “I think it’s my time to go help the boys give out snacks.”

  “Good plan.” Dwayne laughed as Jake wandered off.

  “Well, it was metaphorically speaking,” I assured him.

  Dwayne’s laughter deepened. “Yeah, I’d hope so.”

  I held my head in my hand. “Alpacas’ spit stains clothing pretty quickly.”

  Dwayne’s brows furrowed. “How do you know?”

  “Because the same thing happened to me in elementary school, but with a llama, and I wasn’t antagonizing the animal.”

  Dwayne’s eyes connected with mine, and the smile in his gaze made me weak in my knees. “I wasn’t antagonizing the alpaca.”

  “Ah, I see he’s an alpaca now, not a llama.” I grinned.

  “The man has earned my respect.” Dwayne gave a quick nod.

  “Or did Todd merely scare you straight?”

  Dwayne let out a sigh and flashed a sexy smirk. “Does it really matter at this point?”

  I giggled as we wandered over to the boys.

  “You’re smelly,” Aaron told his uncle, and Jake laughed.

  “Maybe we should head back to the house?” Jake asked, trying to keep a straight face.

  Dwayne looked at the boys, who both nodded, and we made our way back to Jewels and Jake’s home.

  The moment we stepped inside, Jewels’s eyes landed on Dwayne’s shirt, and she laughed.

  “I see you had a run-in with Todd.” She shook her head. “Don’t feel alone. Todd hated Jake until I had a little pep talk with the alpaca.”

  “Wait. This happened to Jake?” Dwayne’s brow arched.

  “Oh, so many times I lost count.” Jewels grinned mischievously.

  “He failed to mention it.” Dwayne smiled and glanced at Jake, who shrugged.

  “Todd and I have had our differences, but he knows I’m a good guy…you?” He shook his head. “Anyone’s best guess.”

  “Uncle Dwayne really smells,” Aaron explained to Jewels, who nodded in agreement.

  “And on that note…” Dwayne glanced at me. “I think I should head on home and get cleaned up.”

  “Do you want to do a raincheck on dinner tonight?” I asked.

  “Not really, but…”

  “How about I have you two over on Monday? I’ll cook, and maybe everything will air out by then.”

  “You mean, like me?” He smiled, and I noticed tiny lines around his lips. A bit of the day’s stubble darkened his jawline.

  I laughed. “I’m not sayin’, but…”

  Aaron and Colby laughed, and Dwayne grinned.

  I looked over at Jewels. “Thank you so much for having us over. I certainly didn’t expect lunch, and the hot dog stations were so clever. I’m really touched that you went to so much trouble.”

  “She always sets up the hot dog stations for me, every Saturday,” Jake teased as Jewels slid her arm around his waist.

  “I hope you can stop by the library sometime soon.” She smiled at me before looking at Colby. “And you too. I’ve got the best stories just waiting for you.”

  Colby nodded, and I thanked Jewels and Jake again as I followed Dwayne outside.

  Before I reached my car, I slowly turned and smiled at the sheriff. “I really had fun today.”

  “Me too,” Colby shouted, opening the car door.

  “I did too.” Dwayne nodded as our eyes stayed on one another’s for a second longer.

  “I’ll see you on Monday?”

  Dwayne nodded, and I felt a rush of giddiness run through me as I ducked into the car to help Colby get buckled.

  “Aaron and his uncle are coming over on Monday?” Colby asked, sounding even more excited than I felt.

  I nodded and drew a breath as I crawled out of the backseat to catch Dwayne driving away. A funny sensation ran through me as I thought about having to wait until Monday to see him again, which made no sense.

  Although, I swore my lips still tingled where his mouth had met mine.

  “You okay, Mama?” Colby asked as I stood staring at the taillights on Dwayne’s car.

  “Uh, yeah.” I shook my head. “Totally. Just wondering what we should have for dinner.”

  “Hot dogs.” Colby giggled, and I winked at him.

  “Nice try.”

  “Spaghetti?” he offered.

  “Perfect. Spaghetti it is, and we don’t even have to go to the store.”

  I climbed into the driver’s seat and turned around in the driveway, glancing at the mammoth home we’d just left. It was a beautiful home. I’d probably get lost in it for a few weeks, but it was gorgeous, nonetheless.

  “Aaron asked if I could stay over next Friday.”

  I glanced at Colby in the rearview. “You’ve never been on a sleepover.”

  “I know.” He grimaced, thinking about what it entailed.

  I could see his little mind working hard, debating whether he was ready for it or not.

  “I’ll talk to Dwayne about it. Make sure he knows about the idea.”

  “You could stay over too,” Colby suggested, and I hid a smile.

  “You never know.” I turned the car onto the road, which would eventually lead to our apartment, as I wondered about Dwayne’s home. I didn’t even know which part of the island he lived on.

  “Do you want to go to the library after school on Monday?” I asked, and Colby nodded.

  I noticed his eyelids getting heavy, and I knew it was time to stay quiet. I turned the radio on low and listened to a nineties-alternative station I’d found and loved since moving here.

  As I tapped my finger on the wheel and continued the drive to our place, I noticed a black sports car turn on the road behind me. The shadow of the driver looked like a burly man, rough around the edges and completely out of place as he tailgated me and flashed his high beams. I was going a little over the speed limit already and had no plans to step on the gas.

  Colby had fallen asleep as I searched for a place to turn off and let the guy go by, but with each passing second, dread filled me to the brim.

  Fireweed didn’t strike me as an aggressive driver’s paradise, and turning off on a road I really didn’t know didn’t seem like a great idea, either. I stared at the license plate in the rearview mirror and committed it to memory as I gripped the steering wheel tighter.

  The man behind us honked, and I was surprised Colby didn’t wake up.

  I watched as the man flashed his headlights one more time and then gunned it to pass me, glaring at me as he drove by me in an oncoming lane.

  Never mind it was a solid double line. I shook my he
ad and let out a slow breath, relieved that the man left me in the dust.

  But as I turned onto the road leading to our apartment building, I spotted the black sports car parked in the apartment lot and my chest tightened.

  I pulled in front of our apartment, and everything looked okay. I quickly threw off my seatbelt and hurried to pull a sleeping Colby out of the car as I rushed to the front door of my apartment. I glanced behind me to ensure no one was there and quickly unlocked my door and stepped inside.

  The moment the door shut behind me and I locked it one-handed, I felt instant relief and took a deep breath as I carried Colby to the couch where I laid him down.

  I sat down next to him and stared out at the beautiful view of Puget Sound. I felt safe inside these walls, but I wasn’t going to ignore the run-in. If it had been someone from the island, the sheriff needed to hear about it.

  I quietly made my way to the bedroom and called the sheriff’s cell number. Surprised at how quickly he picked up, I held in a giggle.

  “Hey, Dwayne.”

  “Second thoughts about dinner since the spitting incident?” He chuckled, and my heart twisted and turned in my chest. I wanted to explore where this relationship with the sheriff could go, but I knew my life was way too complicated at the moment to really let my guard down.

  I let out a wistful sigh. “No, but I did have a license plate I wanted to report to you.”

  “Oh, really?” He sounded concerned and surprised.

  “Yeah. Some guy in a sports car was flashing his lights and honking at me on the way home, and then low and behold, after he passed me on the two-lane road, he’s actually parked here at my apartment complex.”

  Dwayne let out a deep sigh. “I’m sorry about that. Probably some tourist. Give me the plate number, and I’ll see what I can find out.”

  “Thanks. I’m hoping it’s not—”

  Aaron started hollering for his uncle in the background, and I laughed. “Sounds like you’ve got your hands full. I’ll see you on Monday.”

  “Are you sure? It sounded like you had something else to say.”

  Aaron’s hollers went to screaming, and I chuckled.

  “I’m totally sure. Go check on Aaron.” I raised my voice so Dwayne could hear me.