Maybe she’d think about dating in a year or two.

Or never.

She could probably live with never. Especially if she got a dog. Or a houseful of cats.

The air whipped past. Sad, really. She considered herself a great catch, but she wasn’t about to let another man into her world and risk ruining all this happiness. And why was she even thinking about this? Her divorce was still who knew how long away from being final.

Enough. She cranked up the radio, found some good tunes and settled in to enjoy the ride. The back roads of Nocturne Falls took her past some beautiful scenery and some amazing houses. No clue who lived in the big mansion near the winery, but the place was epic. Delaney had mentioned that her husband’s grandmother had a house that was beyond all else. Could that have been it?

She sped on, loving the winding roads and unexpected turns. This town was not only the perfect place to live (Halloween every day was a paranormal romance author’s dream), but it was proving to be the perfect place to own a car like this.

The Corvette would never be her daily driver. Her trusty hybrid was much more suited for that. But for weekends? And outings? And just plain fun? The Vette and these roads were a match made in Car & Driver heaven.

She owed Delaney lunch and a major thank-you for getting her to come to Nocturne Falls. Something told her this place was going to be life-changing.

Her foot got a little heavier on the gas, and she zipped through another right-left-right turn combination. She whooped out loud, the grin on her face causing her cheeks to ache. She could practically feel her dad smiling down on her.

Then the wail of a siren interrupted her perfect day.

The Corvette sped past Alex’s patrol car as he was sitting at a stop sign, about to turn back toward town on his normal route. He doubted the driver had even seen him since she’d made no attempt to slow down.

He flipped on the siren and went after her, catching up in a quarter mile. Then she slowed and pulled onto the shoulder.

Nice car. New Jersey plates. That was a long way to drive a classic car on vacation, but then, stranger things happened.

He stepped out and approached the vehicle. “Ma’am, are you aware you were doing seventy in a fifty-five mile per hour zone?”

She glanced at him, a pair of big sunglasses hiding her eyes. “Yes.”

Not the response he’d expected. Usually, a traffic stop brought on tears, arguing, excuses—you name it, he was used to it. But admittance of guilt? That was a rare one. He blinked behind his aviators. “Any particular reason you were going that fast?”

She seemed to be fighting a smile. “Because I can?”

He wondered if he should administer a field sobriety test, but his sensitive nose didn’t detect even a hint of alcohol. Still, there were other substances that might be making her this bold. All he was picking up on was something sweet and floral. Not a bad smell at all. Not the slightest hint of anything supernatural, though. She was a hundred percent human. Like most tourists. “It’s illegal and unsafe to exceed the speed limit, ma’am.”

“I know. But sometimes you just need to let loose, you know?”

“License and registration, please, ma’am.”

She sighed loudly as she dug in her purse. “Could you cool it with the ma’am business? We’re probably the same age.”

She handed over her information and he checked. She was twenty-nine. Five years younger than he was. Roxanne Sykes from New Jersey. And not bad-looking, now that he could see her without sunglasses and a scarf over her head. “I’ll be right back.”

“No hope for a warning, huh?” She smiled optimistically.

“No, ma’am.” He walked back to his car while she frowned after him. Warnings were for locals, not tourists. He plugged her info into the system. Nothing outstanding. He wrote up the ticket and walked back.

He held out his clipboard. “Sign here please.”

She signed.

He returned her ID and registration, along with a copy of the ticket and instructions about how to pay it. She stuffed it all in her purse, obviously not happy with him. Which was to be expected. “Have a nice day, ma’am.”

“I was. Until you showed up.”

“Just doing my job.”

She looked at him, brows raised and just peeking over the rims of her sunglasses. “Are we done?”

He nodded. “Yes, ma’—”

She yanked the shifter out of park and drove off.

Women. He shook his head as he walked back to the patrol car. At least she hadn’t resorted to tears. That always made him feel like such a heel.

A call came in on the radio. A noise disturbance at one of the local hotels. He responded and drove away, the ticket he’d just written all part of his day.

By the time that day was over, he was happy to go home. He didn’t feel much like studying, but the test for sergeant was coming, and he wanted to be prepared. He changed out of his uniform and into shorts and a T-shirt, then grabbed a beer from the fridge.

Diego was lounging in the hot tub on the back deck, a beer at the ready. And probably not his first.

Alex stared at his brother through the kitchen window. Diego had the radio turned up and his eyes closed like he didn’t have a care in the world. Pretty amazing that someone who still didn’t have a job after three weeks could feel that way. Irritation curled in Alex’s belly, but some of that was aimed inward. After all, he’d allowed Diego to move in.

But what were his options? He sighed. He knew what they were. He should have said no. Made his little brother face reality. Like every other adult had to do. Alex took a long pull off the bottle, the cold liquid diminishing some of the heat building in his gut. He loved his brother, but this conversation needed to happen.