Callie could see Mel’s cabin in the distance. “You want some advice?”
“No.”
“Well, you’re getting it.” If she was quitting, she might as well go out with a bang. “Stop being such a jerk. You’re getting a worse reputation than Max. If you don’t watch it, these people will vote you out of office next year.”
He snorted. “I’d like to see them try. Who are they going to elect? Logan? That boy can’t get his head out of a comic book long enough to put his name on the ballot.”
“Well, Nell said she might run.” It was just what Bliss needed, a pacifist sheriff.
Nate threw his head back and laughed. It was the first genuine laugh she’d heard out of him since he’d walked into town. It lit his face and made her wonder what happened to the sweet, funny man who’d taken her virginity with such care.
“Losing an election to Nell would be like losing to a Disney princess. I swear, I expect small woodland creatures to follow that one around. And she wouldn’t wear the uniform.”
Callie smiled. The idea was funny. “She wouldn’t. Polyester isn’t natural, and the shoes don’t fit with the vegan lifestyle. But, seriously, Nate, if you don’t watch it, they could run a rubber duck against you and that duck would win.”
Nate turned up the long drive, the car tilting back as the four wheel drive took over. “Good luck with the duck, then, baby.” He stopped as though startled he’d used the term of endearment. “Sorry. I’ll try to do the job to the best of my ability. I just don’t think a lot of the people around here will appreciate it.”
They were quiet the rest of the drive. Callie forced herself to turn away from the sheriff. He was too lovely, too remote. What had happened to him? She wondered which one was the real Nate Wright. The playful, sweet lover she’d known years ago, or the hard, distant lawman she’d had in her life for the past two weeks. She’d asked Stefan, and all she could get out of him was that Nate had worked with the federal government and wanted a quieter job. You didn’t get much quieter on the law enforcement front than Bliss. Of course, there were other things to consider.
“I got proof now.” Mel was jogging down from his one-bedroom cabin, his eyes darting around, trying not to miss a thing. He held a shotgun in his hand.
Nate’s hand was immediately on the Colt in his hip holster as he got out of the Bronco and faced Mel. “You set that down now.”
Mel stopped in his tracks. He was a tall, angular man. Deep into his fifties, Mel still had a strange innocence about him even as he held a shotgun. “Set what down?”
“The gun that you better not point this direction.”
Callie glared his way. “You’re going to get someone shot one of these days. And no, I’m not talking about Mel.” She walked up the trail and placed herself solidly between Mel and the sheriff.
“Goddamn it, Callie Sheppard, you get your ass back here. That man has a gun.” Nate’s bark cut through the peaceful afternoon with all the grace of a hacksaw. His face was red, and every muscle was at angry attention.
Callie sighed. Rye had been right to ask her to stay on. He’d just been wrong about the timing. Nate hadn’t integrated in two weeks, and she was beginning to doubt he would ever feel comfortable. “Everyone has a gun here, Nate. Except Nell and Henry.”
“I told them they should, but they insist that the aliens are peaceful,” Mel said, looking over her shoulder. “I promised to protect them when the invasion starts. I think I found a camp for the first wave. It’s up here, Callie.” He stared back at Nate and lowered his voice. “I don’t trust that one. I think he might be one of them, Callie. Why did Rye have to quit?”
Because Rye wanted to be home doing what he loved. She didn’t blame him, but sometimes she wished he hadn’t quit, either. It left her in the unenviable position of protecting the town from the sheriff and vice versa. She turned back to Mel, who was fully dressed for war in his fatigues. It was always best to take Mel as seriously as possible. It settled his mind if he thought someone was working on the problem. “Why don’t you show me this encampment?”
Nate was frowning fiercely as Callie turned and started to follow Mel. His long legs ate up the distance between them, and his hand was on her arm before she knew what was happening.
He spun her around on the small dirt trail. She had to put a hand on his chest to steady herself.
He growled at her as fierce as any bear in the mountains. “You ever do that again, and I swear I’ll put you over my knee and spank you. And I won’t care who’s looking.”
Callie could see it. She would be naked, the air cool on her cheeks. His cock would be rock hard and pressed against her belly. He would take his time because the anticipation was part of the tease. And then, his hand would make contact. She would squeal a little, and when he was done with the spanking part, he would turn her around and she would suck that big cock of his.
“What the hell are you thinking?”
Callie grinned as they walked behind Mel. Nate’s face was flushed as though he could tell what was going through her brain. When she glanced down, she realized at least one part of her fantasy had come true. The sheriff of Bliss sported an enormous erection in those khaki pants of his.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.” She wasn’t about to tell him what she’d been thinking.
Nate swore behind her but followed anyway.
Chapter Five
Nate trudged down the path following in Callie’s wake. His temper was on edge. She was going to be the absolute death of him. He’d nearly had a heart attack when she put herself between him and that crazy with a shotgun. Did she think for a single second what could happen? That gun could have gone off at any minute. He had a sudden vision of Callie’s chest blooming with blood just like…
He wasn’t going to think about that. He also wasn’t going to think about the way Callie’s face had gone a little dreamy when he mentioned spanking that ass of hers. If, and it was a mighty big if, he ever got to date Callie Sheppard, he was going to treat her like a lady. He wasn’t going down that dark path. It had already cost him years of his life and had almost killed Zane. He wasn’t that man he’d become while working undercover.
Hell. He wasn’t sure who he was anymore.
“It’s right up here, Callie.” Crazy Mel was pointing to a spot just past a cluster of aspens. The locals called them quakies because of the way the slender trees shook in the wind. They were all over the property he’d bought. He’d gone home yesterday to find Zane sitting among them, staring at the sky over head. Zane didn’t talk much anymore. He seemed content to run around the woods, watch ESPN, and drink the occasional beer at the dive bar the next town over.
Callie started to stumble over a rock. Nate grabbed her waist and balanced her. She shouldn’t be running around the woods in little leopard print heels. Her big brown eyes locked onto his, and he had to look away.
“Thanks,” she said. She pulled away and straightened her skirt. With a brisk nod of her head, she pushed through some bushes and followed Mel.
“It looks like a campsite.”
Nate heard Callie’s calm voice as he slapped the brush away and joined them in the little circle of trees and shrubbery. He shoved aside all the emotional crap that was threatening to take over his brain and went into cop mode. Every instinct in his body was on high alert. It wasn’t aliens, but Mel had found something.