Snowbound with the Sheriff by Laurel Greer

Author:Laurel Greer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-10-07T14:44:59+00:00

Chapter Ten

Working on the barn every day until the following Tuesday was oddly soothing. Maggie was easing back into some of her veterinary duties, Gramps was supporting her and Lach was juggling his vet-tech hours with his responsibilities at the training school. Stella didn’t have much construction experience, but she could wield a paint roller. With the majority of the drywalling completed during the work bee, there were plenty of surfaces to slap with paint.

The solitude was welcome, too. Staying at Maggie’s since Friday meant a whole lot of socializing in the evenings, exactly the time of day she was used to having space. So she didn’t bother with putting in her earbuds and catching up on podcasts while she painted—the sound of eggshell latex slicking over the walls was meditative, counteracting how jittery she’d been since that kiss.

More than jittery. Consumed.

He’d stayed away, at least. Somehow, they’d managed to avoid each other. She’d spent most of her time with her half siblings, which had likely helped, but still. Not running into someone in Sutter Creek for five days seemed noteworthy.

“Stella?”

The low voice startled her, and she almost dropped the roller. “Did I summon you?” she muttered.

Ryan rounded the corner into the conference room, concern shadowing his eyes. He had on his uniform, including his black cowboy hat. Great. One more hot mental image to fixate on.

He came right up to her, lifting his hand and almost touching her face. He dropped it to his side before he actually made contact. “Are you okay?”

“Do I not look okay?”

“Yeah, but you’re good at putting on a show.”

Fear rolled through her. “What happened?”

“You haven’t seen the story yet?”

Her stomach bottomed. That she’d had close to two weeks before the news broke had been both a blessing and a curse. She’d known this day was coming. But she still didn’t want to face it. “I left my phone in my purse. How bad is it?”

He held out his phone.

She shook her head. “My hands are covered in paint. Just tell me.”

“It names you. And it speculates that you took a deal to cover up something you did. Mentions a multi-agency investigation.”

Her knees shook, and she sank to the cement floor, cross-legged. Oh, God...

Ryan took the paint roller out of her hand, placed it in the tray and kneeled next to her. “Hey. Deep breaths.”

“Yep.” Impossible, what with the knowledge that she might never get her life back, her dream back.

He stroked her back. “Seriously, breathe.”

“I am,” she croaked. Not well, though. And she did not need an audience judging her wheezes. “Why are you here?”

“When Special Agent Gill couldn’t get a hold of you, he called me to see if I’d check up on you.”

She jerked away from his touch. “You know my FBI contact?”

He nodded curtly. “He called me the day after you got to town.”

What? “How much do you know?”

His hand returned to her back, a comforting weight. If she scooted closer and leaned on him, shared her burdens with him, could she trust him?

Yes or no, it won’t do any good in the long run.

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