How To Land Her Lawman. Teresa Southwick

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      “Yeah. She stayed in Copper Hill to be there for your sister until I was out of the woods.”

      “I liked her.”

      “Kim does, too. And if she didn’t—”

      Will laughed. “It wouldn’t be pretty.”

      “No kidding.”

      “You should take a trip,” Will said. “With Josie.”

      “I’d like that, but I feel a responsibility to the folks here in Blackwater Lake. Can’t just turn their welfare over to a rookie deputy, no matter how smart and eager he is. Not with the hotel and condos getting closer to opening every day.”

      “Yeah, I can see where you’re coming from.”

      Will knew this was his dad hinting for him to make this temporary sheriff thing permanent. He remembered what that kid at the photo shoot had said about his hurry to get to the big city. In fact Will had told April he understood where the kid was coming from. But it felt like forever since he’d been obsessed with excitement, getting away from this town to do something more important.

      “I know you do, Will. And I always knew you wanted me to be proud of your accomplishments. You have no idea how proud I am of you, the man you’ve become.”

      “Thanks, Dad.”

      “And you’re older now. Age has a way of making you look at things differently. This town really has a lot to offer a man.”

      Just like that an image of sassy April Kennedy popped into his mind. She wasn’t that skinny little girl anymore, but had grown into a beautiful, confident, accomplished woman. So many of his good memories were wrapped up in her, but she was the girl he’d left behind. It hadn’t worked out for them and no matter what Will accomplished in his career the failure in his personal life would always bother him.

      “Blackwater Lake was a good place to grow up. Tim is thriving here.”

      “Yes, he is. He’s a great kid.” There was grandfatherly pride in his voice, but there was something flat in the tone.

      Will glanced over to the passenger seat and saw the look of resignation on his dad’s face. He should have known the man wouldn’t miss the way Will had deliberately changed the subject. There was no point in taking the idea any further. He would be going back to Chicago at the end of the summer.

      That was just the way it was.

Chapter Four

      In her kitchen, April peeked out her sliding glass door with its great view of Will’s house across the alley. She knew he ran every morning and she did, too. In spite of Kim’s dire prediction that she and Will were bound to run into each other, so far it hadn’t happened. That was about to change. She hadn’t seen him since he’d helped with the teenage photo shoot and that had been a couple days ago. The time had come to give her game a kick in the pants.

      It was Sunday, the one day of the week that she didn’t open the shop until afternoon. But she got up a little earlier than usual, put on her running clothes, stretched out and now watched the Fletchers’ back door. If he didn’t show soon she’d have to do her run solo and think of another way to get this flirtation show on the road. Then an ego-deflating thought hit her.

      What if he just didn’t like her at all?

      Before she had a chance to blow that out of proportion his rear door opened. It was him, and he leaned back inside for a moment. This was her chance.

      She left the house and hurried up the sidewalk until reaching the alley, then pretended not to see Will, who stopped at the edge of the grass behind her.

      “April?”

      She glanced over her shoulder. “Hey, Will. Morning.”

      He caught up with her and fell into step. “Mind if I tag along?”

      “Nope.” It took effort not to look smug.

      “How far do you go?”

      “About six miles. Up Deer Springs to Spruce. Around the elementary school, down Elkhorn Road and back.”

      “Works for me.”

      She glanced over at him in his running shorts and snub gray T-shirt with the bold black letters CPD written on it. The wide shoulders and broad chest were pretty impressive and that was darned annoying. Why couldn’t he be fat? Would it kill him to have male-pattern baldness setting in? But she wasn’t that lucky. He was even better looking than when she’d loved him.

      “Try to keep up,” she said and increased her speed.

      Will stayed right with her and it was easy for him because his legs were muscular and so much longer than hers. If he wanted to, he could leave her in the dust. But he didn’t, so it wasn’t a stretch to assume he didn’t mind her company. She would go with that working theory.

      “How’s your dad?” She happened to look over at him and saw his mouth pull tight. “What’s wrong?”

      “He’s fine.” With the baseball hat and aviator sunglasses it was impossible to read his expression. “Had a checkup the other day and doc says he’s the poster boy for how to recover from a heart attack.”

      “Oh, good. You scared me there for a minute.” That was a relief. Hank Fletcher was the father she’d never had. “It’s just that you had a weird look on your face and I went to the bad place.”

      “Sorry. Didn’t mean to send you there. Dad passed everything with flying colors. Doc even said if he keeps up the good work he’ll get the green light to go back to the job at the end of summer.”

      “That’s great.” Then she noticed the muscle in his jaw flex and wondered what he was leaving out. “So why do you look like someone disconnected the siren on your cop car?”

      He met her gaze and one corner of his mouth quirked up. “Because someone disconnected the siren on my cop car.”

      “Okay. Roger that. You don’t want to talk about it.”

      April remembered a time when he told her everything, but obviously things had changed. It shouldn’t bother her that he no longer confided in her. The fact that it did even a little was evidence that getting closure was the right way to go.

      For about a mile they ran without talking. Then Will broke the silence. “How’s business?”

      “Good. Summer tourist traffic in the shop is up significantly from last year. Plus weddings keep me busy. ’Tis the season for them.”

      “Are you taking the pictures when my sister gets married?”

      “Of course.”

      “But you’re her best friend. Who’s going to be her maid of honor?” Will asked.

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