Waiting was not Fort's forte. Waiting out a crook was light years easier than waiting to meet the woman he was to pretend to love and possibly want to marry. He knew little about her except Sabrina said he'd know her when he saw her. Which he found foreboding. He'd spent one sleepless night trying to recall the mutual friends he and Sabrina shared, but his memory from those days back at the Texas ranch were foggy, likely muddled from the exhaustion he'd experienced trying to keep the ranch afloat and Dad from sinking it faster than he already was.

Fort paced in front of the escalators. He walked the width of them, paused on the other side, sighed heavily, shifted, turned, and crossed in front of them again, treading back over his footsteps. The crowd was thinning, and a quick glance at the board showed her flight status had changed from DELAYED to ARRIVED.

Any moment now.

Sweat broke out across his brow. Crap, this whole plan was suddenly real. Sabrina's warning clicked for the first time. What if this did backfire? What if the town felt played? Yeah, she’d said it all before, only now, he was listening.

Think of Deke.

That's all he had to do in order to push his reservations aside. He would take one for the team if it meant the team—in this case the town and its people—would not be at the whims of a narcissistic, greedy megalomaniac.

Waiting at the bottom of the escalators near baggage claim, Fort stopped pacing when passengers began to spill onto the escalators. He scanned all the faces of the passengers and wondered who'd been sent. Apprehension caused his stomach to clench. Hell, he'd seen some nasty stuff in the sandbox, and each nightly patrol was a tense experience. He was sure he'd come away from his stint with some PTSD, or an ulcer at the very least. But this...this waiting for a stranger was maddening. How was he supposed to convince the good people of Wolf Creek that he loved and adored this stranger when he was all jittery like a virgin on his wedding night?

Fort swiped off his Stetson, brushed his hair back, shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and let a curse roll out under his breath. With more force than necessary, he stuffed his hat back on and went to stand at the bottom of the escalators, feeling sweaty all over. This was his idea, and by God he was going to stick to it.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and stared down at the tips of his boots, hoping he wasn't about to make things worse. Dark red dots were splattered across them. He'd helped birth a breech calf earlier today, and luckily both mom and baby were doing fine. If an animal can come into the world feet first, blinded, and still make his way, Fort Besingame could shut the hell up and do basically the same. Jump in feet first and do the right thing. Save the town. Maybe they'd see his commitment to the town then....

Lips pressed together, Fort looked up at the incoming passengers and began scanning the faces. Man, man, man, woman and child, man, man, woman, woman, woman, man... Whoa, back it up. He reversed his trail to the second to last person he'd seen. Something about her was familiar. She was tiny, probably could fit into the crown of his hat, but the look on her face was fierce. When their eyes met, hers widened. The man in front of her shifted, covering half her face. His mind raced to place her. The little, pert nose, dark hair cut short in that girly Disney-fairy way. Behind round, vintage, dark-framed glasses, her big eyes widened. His gut told him they were blue. When he narrowed his gaze, she rolled her eyes in response. He'd leaned in, an ineffective tactic to get a closer look when his mind finally placed her. It struck him with such a force he leaned back on his heels and sucked in a breath.

“Oh, hell no,” he said, pointing his index finger right at her. The man in front of her gave him a scowl but stepped away, and Fort had his first full-length view of Corinne Walters. A large bag hung from one shoulder, a backpack off the other. She looked just like she had all those years ago, like a menace to society. Some people had a resting bitch face; Corinne's was always a challenge face. As if “I dare you” would roll off her tongue at any moment. Everything, and he meant every single stinking thing, got her dander up. He'd never met a woman so contrary. So much that she was exhausting to be around.

“You can just go back to the desk and ask for a return flight home,” he said. She continued to hold his gaze, never once wavering. She dug through the bag on her side and pulled out a large camera, one of the fancy professional ones photographer's use, and lifted it. The lens already off, she pointed it at his face, and he heard the soft repeated click as the camera was set in action.

“What are you doing?” he snapped.

“Capturing this moment for posterity. Or proof.” She cocked her head to the side. “Maybe both.” She reached the end of the escalator, stepped off, made a sharp U-turn, and stepped onto the one going up. She swiveled so her back wasn't to him, and he heard the camera whirl again.

“Lookey there. So much said in these pictures. Who needs words?” She winked at him, tucked the camera away, then gave him a tiny finger wave that ended by shooting him the bird as she rode away.

“What are the odds?” he mumbled. “Of course, Sabrina sent you!” he called to her. Maybe Sabrina hadn't intended to help him all along.

She nudged her chin to the space behind him. Her voice grew louder as the escalator carried her away. “Pretty good deduction considering no one else is waiting down there for you and willing to play house. Guess that's why you're a cop.”

Fort quickly scanned the area and noticed they had the attention of a few passengers. No one he knew.

She continued, “But if you want me to break it down with specific stats, I think I might be able to do that, considering who our fathers were.”

Children of gamblers—that was them. Only her father happened to be a crook, too, the one that had destroyed his father and what small life they had back in Texas.

“What was she thinking?” he mumbled and briefly closed his eyes. The moment needed a deep, calming breath, and he took eight of them, trying to slow the spinning, free-fall he was experiencing. One moment he was working toward his plan to be sheriff, and the next he was watching said plan crash and burn. All because Corinne Walters was sent to pretend to be his dream girl. He watched her step off and, within a blink, she was immediately gone from sight.

Fort took off, climbing the escalator in long strides. She was walking back to the ticket counter when he caught up with her. Catching her by the elbow, he spun her toward him. A bolt of fire shot up his arm and zinged his chest.

Yeah, who was surprised that Cori produced a negative charge? Not him. “What was Sabrina thinking? Is this some kinda joke? You having another laugh at me about this?”

She studied him, as if each blink of those large eyes was seeing deep into his mind, reading his thoughts.

“I had no idea it was you until I saw you. Jokes on both of us.” She jerked her elbow free, then resituated the backpack on her back.

Fort scanned her from top to bottom. “Why did she send you? Of all people?”

Cori shifted her weight and crossed her arms. “I'm sure you're hugely disappointed. I know I am. I also know I'm not your type. What was it you said about me in high school? I was a carpenter's dream? Flat as a board and never been nailed?”

Fort narrowed his eyes. “What does that have to do with anything?”

She stuck her hands out in front of her chest. “You like them big and dumb. I'm the exact opposite of that.”

He wouldn't say the exact opposite. She'd filled out some in all the right places. Not that he was looking or anything.

He waved to get her to continue. “Anytime you want to make sense is good with me.”

“What I mean is that Sabrina said you have one goal. Maybe she sent me because I wouldn't be a distraction from that goal.”

Fort looked over her shoulder, focusing on something else besides her. Maybe if he didn't look directly at her, he could be reasonable. It didn't matter she wasn't directly involved with the con her father ran, but when he saw her, he saw his past. He saw his failures. How Sabrina thought she wouldn't distract him was plain stupid.

He huffed out his frustration. “Sure, I can see how the daughter of the man I despise the most wouldn't bother me at all.” He narrowed his eyes. “I'm only going to think of everything your dad did every time I look at you. A constant reminder of those bad times,” he bit out.

His plan was sunk. No way Cori Walters was going home with him. It was bad enough she knew his secret.