Home for a Hero by Heatherly Bell

Author:Heatherly Bell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-11-18T17:05:40+00:00

Chapter 27

“Sure, babe,” Ryan said. “I’ll stay.”

Zoey simply gazed at him in his uniform of beige cargo pants and white button-up, sleeves rolled up his sinewy forearms. Took him in. Every inch of him. He had shadows of beard bristle on his chin and jawline, his mossy green eyes were warm and inviting, and he looked good enough to eat. She would now put her heart on the line with a little bit of truth. Revealing some of just where this was going for her. Showing him how accustomed she’d become to being with him nearly every night. How much she counted on him to hold her and make her feel safe. Desired. She’d never had a man to depend on before unless you counted Tio. Never a man she could trust with her heart and her body.

And her life had worked that way for years, her expectations lining up neatly with the results. This was different. So different that some nights she couldn’t breathe.

“I almost can’t sleep anymore without you.”

The man now had a direct line to her heart and given the way his gaze heated, she’d told him exactly what he wanted to hear.

He drew her into his arms on the couch and squeezed her waist tight. “That’s good.”

“Did you get many nuisance calls today?” She ruffled his hair.

“Not many, unless you count the mayor and city councilman Pullman as nuisances, which wouldn’t be wrong. Both want my endorsement in the next election.”

“It’s nice to be wanted, but they should really have the endorsement of the next sheriff. Right?”

He shifted next to her. “Yeah, that will be me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, if the good people of Fortune reelect me, I’ll be their sheriff again.”

The floor dropped out from under her. No, no. This wasn’t the plan. Wait. Hold on. He’s going to explain in a minute and it will all make sense. He didn’t lie. He didn’t change his mind once he’d made a decision this important. She could trust him. This was Ryan. He was steady and rock-solid, and they had a plan.

Her fingers froze in the middle of trailing through his hair. “Why? You hate it. You weren’t going to run again. That’s what you said.”

“When I first got elected, I resented being put in a leadership position again. I did it because I had to, because I was asked to help and because I was needed. Like I’ve done so many things in my life. Out of duty. Obligation. This was supposed to be temporary because the last time I led anything of real importance, I failed one of my men. It cost him his life.”

Okay. This was the problem. He still felt guilty after all this time over something that was not under his control. But Jill’s words resonated in Zoey’s mind: And you believed him? Ryan will do what he needs to do. That’s who he is.

“Ryan, that wasn’t your—”

“Fault. I get it now. All I can do, all any of us can do, is try.

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