Bookapy License

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please go to https://bookapy.com/ and acquire your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Mountain Man Sheriff

(Standalone Novella)

by S. E. Riley

Copyright © 2024 S.E. Riley; All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Epilogue

{1

Prologue: Lauren

I couldn’t remember the last time I had been in handcuffs. I was certain that I hadn’t been in the back of a sheriff’s truck back then, either.

Sheriff Hollis, at least that’s what he told me his name was. I have trouble trusting law enforcement these days, especially when he kept looking at me as if I was crazy. I might have screamed if that distrusting look passed across his green eyes one more time.

Fortunately, he didn’t look at me again after loading me into the back of the truck. Instead, he was busy running the plates again. I thought he was only running them again to placate me. He didn’t seem to believe that my ex-husband would ever tamper with documents to change the ownership of my car.

Maybe this was all karma’s way of getting back at me.

I had finally packed my meager amount of things and left my controlling cop husband. When I threw a dart at a map, it landed on Willow Town. This was supposed to be my chance at a new beginning, but instead, I was being driven to the local jail.

What a way to make an impression.

Here I am, Willow Town, newly a criminal and ready to terrorize you all by stealing my own car, I thought as the sheriff drove over the bumpy back roads.

“You know, this is all a mistake. I’ve already told you that once. If you would actually listen to me, you might see that I’m telling the truth.”

“Miss, you were trying to break into a car on the side of the road. That car back there was reported as stolen. You are either the thief or may have seen something relevant to this case. We can sort that out when we get back to the station.”

“Holy shit,” I said, leaning back against the seat and trying to adjust my wrists in the cuffs. “You are a real piece of work, aren’t you? No wonder you’re the sheriff.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, his jaw clenching as he looked at me in the rearview mirror. “If anyone in this vehicle is a piece of work, it’s you. Do you honestly think I would believe that you weren’t trying to break into that car? You were about to throw a rock through the window when I pulled up.”

“Because my keys were locked inside my car!”

I never would have been arrested if he hadn’t pulled up when I tried to break into my own car. I wouldn’t have had to do this if the car hadn’t broken down in the first place. I had been in a hurry to get out and find out what was wrong with the engine, slamming the door before I remembered to grab the keys.

“You can’t prove that. Fact is the car is reported as stolen, and you were going to break a window. While I can’t question you on what I think you were about to do, I can question you concerning the stolen vehicle.”

“Lucky me,” I muttered, closing my eyes, and hoping it would all be over soon.

By the time the questioning was over, the sun had set in Willow Town. I was still without a car as the police tried to figure out what was happening. Apparently, my story of an ex who happened to be a corrupt cop wasn’t good enough for them. I had expected as much. Cops never wanted to believe that one of their own could be corrupt-not even if they were from different counties and had never met.

Still, they had pried open the car and given me back the duffel bags that were in the back seat filled with belongings after sifting through them. My car would be held until they determined whether it was mine or not, despite showing them my insurance.

Go figure!

Rather than argue with them, I slung both bags over my shoulders and walked down Main Street. Main Street was one stretch of road that seemed to house the commercial district of Willow Town. Everything you needed was on this one short stretch of town. I tried to find my new workplace and home while looking around at the small buildings. Most of the buildings were quiet, their lights off, and their curtains were drawn. It was too late at night for anyone to be awake unless they were patrons of the one and only bar in town.

Less than 10 minutes later, I entered Taz, and a woman with bright blue hair was behind the bar. She looked up at me and smiled, quickly speaking to one of the other bartenders. Then, she rounded the bar and joined me, wiping her hands on her towel.

“How can I help?”

“Hi. I’m Lauren…I’m looking for Kayleigh.”

“Ah, yes, Lauren. Pleasure to meet you.” She shook my hand firmly before looking at her watch. “Thought you’d be here earlier? Did you get lost on your way here?”

“Sorry, no. Car trouble.” I giggled nervously.

“Happens to the best of us,” she said, smiling as she reached into the pocket of her apron and withdrew a key. “You must have had a long trip getting here. Go get some rest. The apartment is upstairs. It’s small but cozy. If you need anything, come down here and let me know. I’m usually here from noon onwards.”

“Thank you,” I said, taking the key.

Kayleigh nodded. “I have a bar to tend to. I’ll see you tomorrow night at seven for your first shift. Try not to be late.”

“Thank you,” I said again, turning the key over in my hand. “You don’t know how much I appreciate this.”

Kayleigh smiled as she walked around the bar. “You sounded like someone who was looking to start their life over. I’ve been there before.”

Smiling, I nodded and backed away from the bar as more patrons clustered around it. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“Have a good night, Lauren.”

I left the bar and headed to the little apartment above it. She was right; the apartment was small, but it was cozy. It was the first place I could call my own since the divorce. Curtains hung over the window, and a few pieces of furniture spread throughout the apartment. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to hold me over until I could start buying my own belongings.

Instead of dwelling on what the apartment wasn’t, I smiled at what it was. It was the first place I ever had that belonged to me and only me. There was no ex-husband with his name on the lease.

When my head finally hit the pillow later that night, I got the overwhelming sense of finally being home.

{1

Chapter 1: Nate

Saturdays were beer night. My sister Sarah and I would abandon all our responsibilities and head to Taz for a few rounds. It was a weekly tradition that we had been carrying on for years. I could count the number of times we had missed our beer night on one hand.

Even though I was avoiding the new bartender like the plague-and had been for the last four Saturdays I came in-she wouldn’t keep me from beer night.

Arresting her had been the highlight of my month. The entire drive to the station was filled with her incessant chatter about how she couldn’t possibly have stolen a car. I didn’t believe her at first, or even when we got to the station, but I had been sure she was telling the truth by the time I had released her from custody.

It had taken longer than I would have liked to verify her story, and even then, the story seemed hazy at best. It was only when calling the dealership and giving them the VIN that it was confirmed the car had been sold to Lauren and not her ex-husband. The plates had still been registered to Jason Guthrie, no matter how many times I ran the plates.

Still, there had been something that told me that this woman hadn’t stolen the car. There was something about how her eyes had darted around the station, as if looking for her husband, nearly scared that he would pop out of the shadows.

It was too late at that point to make amends. She was pissed off, and there was nothing I could say to make her believe I was just doing my job.

Not that it mattered. Apart from beer nights, Lauren and I hadn’t seen each other since then. It was a small town but living on the outskirts-and spending most of my time at the station-helped me avoid majority of the population. It was sometimes lonely, but it was better than watching my ex-best friend walk around with my ex-girlfriend on his arm.

I nursed my beer far in the back corner of the bar, trying to erase the thoughts of my disastrous last relationship from my mind. Despite my efforts to relax and have a good time, there was a brown-eyed blonde who kept skating around the edges of my vision.

Watching her as she worked was something else. Each time I came in on a Saturday, she was working, and she made sure I wasn’t in her section. It had been annoying at first, but now, it was entertaining. She was doing everything in her power to ignore me, but I didn’t miss how those brown eyes looked at me every now and then.

“Don’t hate me for being late,” Sarah said as she slid into the chair across from me. “I promise I tried to be on time this week, but my classes were running late, and getting back to town took longer than I thought.”

I laughed and shook my head, taking another sip of my beer. “Sarah, relax. School comes first. It’s fine.”

Sarah grinned as Kayleigh shoved a cold glass of some craft beer in front of her. Kayleigh was gone as quick as she had come, off to serve more of her patrons.

“So,” Sarah said, looking over at the bar to where Lauren was determined to ignore us. I caught her eye for a second, winking at her only to see a scowl cross her face. Lauren turned away, smiling at one of the men in front of her.

“So, what?”

“So, you still interested in that bartender?”

I scoffed and shook my head. “I’m not interested in any bartender.”

“I forgot that you’ve sworn off women,” Sarah said, smirking around the rim of her glass as she took a sip of her beer.

In a way, she was right. I didn’t have time for women in my life and didn’t want to have time for them. Not after my last girlfriend had spent most of our relationship cheating on me with my best friend. While I had moved on from that, I still had no interest in dating anytime soon. I was happy alone.

“It’s easier this way. I have more time to focus on my career.”

Sarah rolled her eyes, leaning on the table. “You do realize that sounds insanely lonely, right?”

“It’s fine, Sarah. It’s what works for me right now.”

She hummed and drummed her fingers on the table, not bothering to say anything more on the subject and easily switching the topic to her classes. As I listened to her talk, I knew that Sarah would make an amazing lawyer one day. She was passionate about helping people and righting wrongs. She loved a good argument. My heart swelled with pride as she talked about some of her lessons.

“Hey,” Kayleigh said, approaching the table with a wary smile nearly an hour later. She was carrying two more beers for Sarah and I. “I hate to ask this, but I have to pick up Bryce early on Saturdays from now on. Lauren is still new at closing the bar. Would you mind waiting with her, Nate? Just for the next few Saturdays? I know I shouldn’t worry about something happening to her, but it’s still late at night with a bunch of drunks lingering.”

“Not a problem, Kay. Tell Bryce I say hello,” I said before downing the last of my beer.

Sarah waited until Kayleigh had walked away before smirking at me with a knowing look. I said nothing as I sipped at the new, chilled beer. Sarah drummed her fingers on the table, trying to drive me insane. Her smirk grew as I glanced over at the bar, looking for the curvy blonde before looking away.

“We really aren’t going to talk about how attracted you are to Lauren?” Sarah asked, her tone light and teasing as she traced her finger through the condensation on her bottle.

“We aren’t going to talk about that because you’re wrong.”

Sarah’s smirk drew as she shook her head. “You keep telling yourself that.”

“I will.”

***

It was well past midnight when Lauren rounded up the last drunks. She helped them outside to waiting cars driven by their wives or loved ones, before heading back inside to clean up. I watched her the entire time from my place at the table in the corner. Though she looked like she was ignoring me, I could tell from the tension in her shoulders that she was aware of my presence.

Instead of acknowledging me, she went to the stereo in the corner and connected her phone. Moments later, some country song was blasting through the bar, and she sang along to it. She raised her hands above her head, twirling around as she worked at cleaning the bar top and drying the glasses. I tried not to watch her, but the way her thick hips swayed was hypnotic.

Lauren worked in silence, acting as if she was the only one in the room until she moved to the tables at the far end. Every now and then, she would look up at me and scowl before going back to scrubbing away sticky liquids and crumbs of food. Finally, she turned the music down and sighed.

“What?” I asked, smirking as I took a sip of the beer I had been nursing for the last hour.

“You could help clean up,” Lauren said, looking at me over her shoulder as she scrubbed at the last of some congealed nacho cheese on a table. “Instead of sitting there and looking pretty.”

“You think I’m pretty?” I watched as a red blush crept across her cheeks. She shook her head and moved to another table.

“I don’t think about you at all.”

“I think you’re lying about that,” I said, teasing her. “I think you spend more time thinking about me than you ever want to admit. In fact, I’m sure you’re thinking about me right now.”

“Thinking about murdering you,” she muttered, glaring at me over her shoulder.

“You know, you probably shouldn’t admit your homicidal tendencies to the sheriff.”

The corner of her mouth turned slightly before she again schooled her face into a blank expression. Lauren finished with another table and started cleaning the last. I watched her, wondering what she was thinking about. For years, I had been good at reading people. Not her, though. Never her. Maybe that was part of the interest I had in her. Even though we’d barely exchanged a word over the past month, something about her reeled me in. She kept me on my toes like nobody else ever had.

“Back to my original comment,” she said, tossing a rag at me. I caught the rag before it hit my face, grinning at her scowl. “Get off your ass and start cleaning.”

“I don’t work here,” I said, stretching my legs in front of me and crossing them at the ankles. “In fact, I am a paying customer. You wouldn’t ask a paying customer to help clean up, would you?”

If looks could kill, I would be dead already. She would have crossed the room and skinned me alive if she had been given half the chance.

She gritted her teeth and shook her head. “You are such a pain in my ass.” She grabbed the half-finished bottle from my hand, wiping rather roughly where my beer had been sitting, and walked away.

“Not on purpose,” I said, grinning when she returned to her cleaning.

“I have a hard time believing that your behavior isn’t on purpose.”

Lauren said nothing else as she finished cleaning the bar. I could have gotten up to help, but that might have given her the idea that I wanted to help her. I didn’t. The less fondly she thought about me, the better. If I even stood a fraction of a chance with her, I would ruin it like I ruined every other relationship in my life.

She shone too bright to have her light smothered by my darkness.

When she was finally finished cleaning, I felt like more of an ass than before for not helping her. I didn’t apologize as I watched her grab the keys and take off her apron. She hung the apron over a hook behind the bar before moving to the front door.

“You coming or what, Sheriff?”

I got up from the table, smothering the smile that threatened to appear at her irritation. “I don’t know. I thought I might stay here a little longer since your customer service skills are outstanding.”

“Get off your ass, put up your chair and get to the door or I’ll lock you in here and call the police about a robbery.”

“Funny,” I said, upturning my chair on the table and following her to the door.

Lauren smiled sweetly and shrugged, unbothered that her threats were ignored. Instead, she looked amused as she flipped me the middle finger.

“That’s mature.”

“I never claimed to be mature,” she said.

“Well, I wouldn’t expect maturity from a criminal such as yourself.”

“Watch it, Hollis. You’re starting to sound like you’re enjoying my company. Wouldn’t want that, considering you’re an intolerable bastard on your best day.”

Instead of getting to know her like I wanted to-goading her into talking to me some more-I stayed silent. I waited with her outside as she locked the door. She kept her mouth set in a thin line as she looked over her shoulder at me before climbing the stairs to her apartment. I waited as one of the few taxis in town idled in the background, the several beers I had adding a haze to my vision.

Still, my mind was clear enough to briefly consider what would happen if I followed her up those stairs.

{1

Chapter 2: Lauren

The sun was beating down, warming the shores of the riverbank. There was something about late summer that made everything seem better. I laughed as Kayleigh balanced Bryce on her hip while wading into the river. The little boy giggled and leaned over her arm, reaching for the shimmering water.

Movement from the other edge of the river caught my eye. When I looked up, I could see Nate standing on the other side, a fishing pole draped over his shoulder and a tacklebox in his hand. He glanced at me for a moment, his mouth setting into a hard line before he picked up the cooler at his feet and walked further down the river.

I watched as he worked methodically, putting a lure on the line before casting it into the water. For a moment, there was a look of peace on his face. That was before he looked up, and our gazes locked. The serene smile was gone and replaced with another deep frown. I rolled my eyes and looked back at my new friend and her son, determined to enjoy the day despite the grouch across the river.

“What’s his problem?” I asked, wading into the water with Kayleigh and Bryce. She looked up, scanning the riverbank before her eyes locked on the sheriff of Willow Town.

“Nothing,” Kayleigh said, grinning as she set Bryce in the water and held his hand. “He’s a good man, but he’s a little reserved. Not that I can blame him. He had to grow up fast.”

“He always seems irritated with me whenever I see him.”

Kayleigh chuckled and shrugged. “That’s just his face. He’s a grump most of the time, but he’s also the kind of man who would give you the shirt off his back if you asked for it.”

None of that lined up with the man that I had seen so far. He seemed determined to push my buttons at every turn. He was annoying and irritating. I couldn’t stand him, but at the same time, I wanted to get to know him better. I wanted to know what makes him tick. But I would be lying to myself if I didn’t feel like wringing his neck and burying him six feet deep every time I saw him.

To say my emotions regarding the sheriff were complicated was an understatement.

“I find that hard to believe,” I said, glancing back at Nate. He scowled, turning his back to me.

“Give him time. He’ll come around, eventually.”

I snorted and ran a hand through my hair as the wind blew. “I don’t know about that. He threw me in jail without considering that my story might be the truth. Besides, why would I even want him to come around?”

“To be fair, you did tell me that you were about to break into a car, and your ex is crazy. And you want him to come around because he is hot as hell, and you two have off-the-charts chemistry.”

“Yeah, it’s not my fau…wait, what? We do not have chemistry,” I said, making a point of not looking at the sheriff. “We could not have less chemistry.”

Kayleigh rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah? Then why does he show up at the beginning of your shift on Saturday and stay until the end? Or how about how you look like you’re going to jump over the bar at him whenever he orders a beer.”

“I do not,” I said, my voice tight.

“Yes, you do. You look at him like he is the most attractive man you’ve ever seen. Hell, you look at him like you would drag him into a closet and have your way with him if you could. Try telling me again how that isn’t chemistry.”

“I don’t even know what chemistry is,” I said, trying to find another way out of this conversation. “My ex-husband and I were married at nineteen. Stupidly young, I know. And now I’m twenty-eight, and I have no clue if I even had chemistry with him.”

“Oh,” Kayleigh said, wiggling her eyebrows at me. “So, you’re interested in older men now, then?”

“I’m not.”

“I would say that you are. Nate is thirty-five. That’s older.”

“I’m done with this conversation,” I said, wishing the ground would open up and swallow me whole.

“You have chemistry with Nate,” Kayleigh said, looking over at the sheriff and giving a small wave. “You should see what would happen if you explored that with him.”

“Shut up.” I grinned, my cheeks flushing a bright red, as I crouched down to splash a little wave at Bryce. The boy squealed and jumped, water splashing everywhere.

For the rest of the morning, we played in the water as I squelched any thoughts of the sheriff. At some point, he packed up his fishing gear and left, giving me one more scowl before waving amicably at Kayleigh and Bryce.

Well, fuck you, too. I snarled in my mind as I turned around to splash around the water some more. As noon approached, thoughts of the sheriff were in the distant past as I had easy fun with Kayleigh and her son.

Kayleigh was a good boss, but she was a better friend. There was a part of me that worried about getting close to her. If my ex found out where I was-and I didn’t doubt that he already had-it might put Kayleigh and Bryce at risk.

When I left them that afternoon, I was certain that I would do whatever it took to keep them safe. That meant that I would keep Jason away from them at all costs. I’d keep my distance as much as possible, but I wanted a friend. I needed a friend.

By the time I got home, I was done worrying about Kayleigh and Bryce. My ex had always been crazy and controlling, but he had never been dangerous. They would be safe. It was me he was after and nobody else.

At least, I didn’t think he was until I saw the picture taped to my front door. It was a picture taken on the day I was married, my white dress hugging my body as my ex-husband stood behind me with his arms wrapped around my waist. In the picture, we looked happy. There was no sign of what was to come.

My heart was hammering in my chest as I tore the picture down and crumpled it up. For a moment, I hesitated outside. I didn’t want to enter the apartment in case he was in there. I reached out and tried the handle, breathing a sigh of relief when I found it was still locked.

“He’s just messing with your head,” I said softly as I unlocked my door. “He’s messing with you, but he isn’t here. He can’t bring you back.”

With that in mind, I entered my apartment and got ready for work.

***

The bar was open, but Kayleigh had given me the early shift. It was only midnight, and the party in Taz would remain open for a few more hours, given that it was another Saturday night in Willow Town. I smiled and waved to some of the regulars as I left for the night, eager for the cool night air to hit my skin.

The wind was blowing softly, easing the heat of the day as I walked outside. I tilted my head back and looked up at the stars littering the sky. Back in the city, I was lucky if I saw any stars.

As I climbed the stairs to my apartment above the bar, there was an uneasy twist in my stomach. When I turned the corner of the landing and saw the door to my apartment was wide open, my heart froze in my chest. My knuckles turned white as I gripped the railing and climbed a step higher. Shattered glass coated the mat in front of the door, a picture of me and my friends torn in half among the mess.

Without thinking, I turned and ran down the stairs. I took a deep breath before I entered the bar, trying to remain calm as I scanned the room for the man I knew would still be there. When my eyes locked with the sheriff’s, I crossed the room to his table.

“I need help,” I said before he could say anything else.

Nate set down his drink, his green eyes searching my face. What he was looking for, I didn’t know, but whatever he saw had to have been enough. He stood up, towering over me, and nodded to the door.