Cheyenne called Payton on her lunch break.

The other woman answered groggily and Cheyenne felt bad about interrupting her sleep. “Sorry, dear! I wouldn’t call unless it was important.”

“Give me a minute,” Payton rasped.

Cheyenne could tell she was moving around the room, then came the sound of her friend peeing.

Cheyenne couldn’t help but laugh. “If you drop the phone in the toilet you’re going to be mad at yourself.”

“My phone is on the counter, goober. That way I can wash my hands when I’m done.”

Cheyenne laughed, loving her friend for being so normal. She was curious to see what Payton said about her current situation.

“So what’s up?”

The acoustics changed behind Payton, then Cheyenne heard the coffee pot kick on. “Wanted to let you know I’m staying at Sheridan’s house. I know you’ve been spending a lot of time with Brock, but just in case you rode over to my house, we won’t be there.”

“Wait, what?” Payton’s voice turned unnaturally sharp.

“Wade was released from prison, and they didn’t tell us about it. He’s been out for a few days now.”

Cheyenne covered the receiver of her cell phone, afraid that someone would here the foulness spewing from Payton’s inventive mouth. Mrs. Ironton, the fifth grade teacher, was also in the room but she could hardly hear the tornado siren. Cheyenne thought she was safe.

“Anyway,” she whispered, “Sheridan found where someone had been snooping around my windows, so he thought it best to move me into his house. He’s got an alarm system and stuff. And a guard dog.”

There was silence on the other end of the line. “You are in the same house as Sheriff Sheridan Lane? The man you haven’t said more than ten words to in the past, uh, seven years?”

Cheyenne shifted uncomfortably, feeling ridiculous now that Payton had laid it out that way. “Yes.”

“And the girls are with you? In the same house as Sheriff Sheridan Lane.”

“Yes.”

Cheyenne could hear her slurp scalding coffee. “And how do you feel about that?”

Cheyenne sank back into her chair. “You know, I feel pretty good about it. It makes me mad that Wade is out. He seems to think he can just wipe away the past seven years and take up where he left off. He sent the girls a note and stuffed animals, but I didn’t tell them about it.”

“I wouldn’t have either,” Payton said quickly.

Cheyenne loved that they thought alike like that. “Sheridan has been amazing, quite honestly. He’s driving us to school and picking us up, and trying to get a jump on what Wade’s up to. Tracking down information. But in general he makes me feel … strong about the situation. We’ve been talking and I’ve realized I kind of held a grudge against him.”

“Why? He was the one that rescued you.”

Her throat tightened with tears, and she turned her face away so that Mrs. Ironton couldn’t see her. “Yes,” she whispered, “but he saw me at my most vulnerable. That was the worst moment of my life.”

Payton sighed at the other end of the line. “Oh, honey. You’ve been looking at it like that all this time?” Cheyenne could almost see her shaking her head. “I always looked at that night as the strongest of your life.”

Shock reeled through Cheyenne. “What?” she gasped.

“Cheyenne, I would smack you if I was close enough! For years you struggled to give those girls a steady life, in spite of the way Wade sabotaged everything you did. I remember you would make plans and he would deliberately go out drinking so that you didn’t have a ride. It didn’t matter if it was a kid’s birthday party or something else important. He’d just leave you and the girls. And as much as I love you, you would make excuses for him.”

“Yes,” she acknowledged.

She’d been hanging on to her marriage by a fingernail back then. Every little thing would set Wade off. She’d catered to him more than she ever had any of her girls.

And also, she’d lived in fear of what might happen if she didn’t.

“But that night,” Payton continued softly, “you finally said enough. Though you were hurt and in devastating, crippling pain, you made sure your girls were safe, right?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“And you finally pressed charges. Though I know it was humiliating and painful, you had them do a rape kit at the hospital to gather evidence. You, and Sheridan, I might add, slammed him with everything possible to get his sorry ass put away for a long time. Correct?”

“Yes.”

“Now,” Payton said finally. “Does that sound like the actions of a weak woman?”

Cheyenne didn’t know what to think. Her world was spinning, her head was spinning. Everything Payton said sounded so… logical. Had she really been that blind to what she’d done for herself that night by focusing entirely on what had been done to her?

With a start, she realized she was panting with fear or realization or excitement or something. She wasn’t even sure what.

“I know you, Cheyenne. You blame yourself for everything. And you can’t look at it like that. You saved yourself and the girls with what you did that night. How could that possibly be wrong?”

“See,” Cheyenne said softly after a long moment’s thought, “this is why I keep you around, and why my brother finally snatched you up.”

Payton laughed. “Yeah, finally,” she said with a huff. “Let me tell you one other thing, Cheyenne. Remember when I was all torn up about kissing Brock? And the talk you gave me?”

“Yes,” she sighed.

“Well, I’m going to give you the same kind of talk.”

“I don’t know if I can take any more.”

“Well, you’re going to.” She sighed, as if she had to impart bad news. “I know you’re a modest woman, you always have been, it’s your nature. And that night, Wade made sure to shatter that modesty because it was so important to you. He knew when he dragged you out there into the yard that there nothing he could do to you that would be more humiliating. Am I right?”

“Yes.”

“Sheridan arrived and do you know what the first thing he did was?”

“He covered me. I remember that.”

“I want you to remember that you’re a woman. It is completely natural to be affected by what happened to you, but when a good looking man like Sheridan Lane rolls into your life, and looks at you the way I’ve seen him do, you better take notice of that. Do you understand?”

“I understand,” she whispered.

“Cheyenne, people are sexual animals. We’re naughty by nature. I’ve realized over the past couple weeks that there is no such thing as too much sex. And because you’re my best friend in the world I can tell you that.”

Cheyenne laughed in spite of herself. “Yeah, but that’s my brother we’re talking about.”

“Oh, get over it. I’ve known you a long time. You have it in you to be a sexual woman. And if you’re going to be in close proximity with him in his house, I expect you to take him up on anything he offers you.”

The thought of Sheridan Lane doing more than just looking at her sent a thrill through her bones.

“And if he doesn’t offer, then he’s not as smart as I think he is. Hmm. maybe you should do the offering.”

Cheyenne laughed, as Payton had meant her to do. “I don’t know if I can do that, but I’ll try not to be so spooked.”

“Then that’s all I can ask for. I just want what’s best for you, Cheyenne, you know that. There’s a lot of love floating around Honeywell right now. It’s not unreasonable for you to grab a tiny part of it.”

Tears were blurring her vision. “Yes. I know. You’re amazing, Payton.” She cleared her throat. “Speaking of love, we need to get on this wedding shower.”

“Well, sounds like you might have your hands full of Sheriff Lane right now. Why don’t you let me take over planning this week? Make me some notes and I’ll work on them.”

“Oh, that would be such a help. The venue needs a walk through. We only have a couple weeks to get everything ready.”

“I know,” Payton said calmly. “I can do your running around while you’re holed up. We’ll get it done.”

Cheyenne promised to send Payton notes about what needed checked on.

After she hung up, she just sat there for a moment, absorbing everything her best friend had said. Payton was pragmatic. She knew how to get things done. And she knew how to lay things out so that Cheyenne would come around to her way of thinking.

Cheyenne considered herself a smart woman, but Payton had shone a light on things from a totally different perspective.

Why hadn’t she talked to her sooner?

* * *

They settled into a schedule. Sheridan would take the Lowells to school, go do his work, then arrive back at the school to pick them up at three. He was lucky that his schedule allowed him to do that. Captain Patterson, one of his best friends, was just as able to run the department as well as Sheridan and understood the situation. He was more than happy to help Cheyenne out, whether she knew it or not.

With a little subtle surveillance, they’d confirmed what Wade was driving— the white, dark-windowed truck they’d seen the first day when they were leaving Cheyenne’s house, just as he’d suspected. Wade was staying with his parents on their farm and so far, hadn’t stepped out of line in anything. Even his license was up to date.

They were in a bit of a holding pattern, but he wouldn’t be good forever.

Sheridan didn’t mind the wait though. His house was more lived-in, warmer, louder and happier than it had ever been before. Some people would call it cluttered and too busy, but Cheyenne had a way of keeping everything organized that he hadn’t quite figured out yet. The girls were busy, but aware of other people. They were sweet. They kind of reminded him of Olivia before her mother died, open and curious about the world.

And it was a little flattering the way they reacted to him. He wouldn’t say that they were parched for male attention, but it kind of seemed that way. No matter where he was in the house, he usually had a shadow with him. Carolyn liked to talk about anything under the sun. Sheridan wondered if there wasn’t a boy she was interested in, because a few of her questions were a little pointed. ‘Sheriff, if you were in my grade do you think you would like this?’ and she pirouetted in a dark little skirt with a body-hugging shirt. Carolyn didn’t have much to show off yet in that department, but he felt like she was looking for some kind of approval. “I think you should wear what you’re comfortable in, not worry if some boy likes it. You’re the one wearing it.”

She’d made a face, her fine skin puckering between her eyes. Before he could respond, she’d leaned in and hugged him around the waist, making his heart swell.

Savannah challenged him. He was writing up a report at his desk one night when she wandered in to ask him about a problem in a puzzle book. It took Sheridan a few minutes to decipher what the problem needed. When he told Savannah, she gave him a distracted ‘oh’, then asked him about the report he was writing, which she’d been reading while he was distracted. Sheridan explained the situation and the actions he’d taken to cite the individual.

“But he was outside the vehicle,” Savannah said. “How do you charge him with DUI when he wasn’t even in the car?”

“Well, he’d broken down at the side of the road, and his keys were in the ignition. When he called for help because he broke down, he basically said his car broke down while he was driving it. He was drunk when I got there, so I arrested him.”

She still seemed like she wanted to argue.

“Look at it this way,” he said. “If we had put gas in his car for him and let him go while he was drunk, then he drove through a stop sign and killed someone, we would be responsible for that.”

She nodded her head, understanding in her eyes. “Interesting.”

That kind of became their thing, then. She would ask him what cases he was working on and she would puzzle out what she thought he needed to do, then he would explain to her what he was legally required to do. It turned into a good challenge for Sheridan as well as Savannah.

And Grace made him laugh until his gut hurt. When he got a late afternoon call for a fatal crash investigation on Friday, Cheyenne and the girls stayed at the house. When he returned, his normal parking spot on the driveway had been outlined in purple chalk. There were yellow stars all around the space, and a paper sign had been mounted on the exterior of the garage door. Sheriff Lane Parking ONLY. All others will be bit by the guard dog, Wulf! There was a big, slobbering dog mouth on one side of the paper. Then she’d drawn big footprints up the sidewalk. Apparently that was where he was supposed to walk. He was chuckling as he entered the house and it was exactly what he’d needed after that horrendous call.

Well, that and the aroma of Italian food he could smell on the air. He had to step over the vicious guard dog to get to the kitchen, but he managed it without waking Wulf. Cheyenne looked up from a sink of dishes and smiled at him, her beautiful hair curling in the steam of the water. She wore a casual t-shirt and shorts today, obviously ready for the weekend.

More than anything else, seeing her brought his mind right back to where he needed to be. If he’d felt more daring right then, he would walk across the expanse of tile and kiss her on the cheek, but he was too afraid of this perfect moment in time being shattered by her pulling away.

Sheridan knew he was possibly opening his heart to being irrevocably hurt, but he couldn’t help himself. He knew Cheyenne and the girls were only staying for as long as they needed to to get away from Wade, but it was hard to separate the fantasy from the reality. If he thought Cheyenne would be willing, he would move them in permanently, and he would marry her in a heartbeat. She was incredible.

“Oh, you look worn out,” she said, coming up to him. Then, shocking him completely, she leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. Sheridan held completely still as her soft lips landed oh, so close to his own, but he didn’t dare move. She was like a doe in the woods. He didn’t want to spook her by reacting too fast.

Cheyenne brushed her hand down his chest. “Why don’t you go get cleaned up and I’ll set your dinner out?”

Sheridan blinked, wondering how the hell he could drag the world to a halt and just stay right in this moment. “Okay.”

But he didn’t move, his boots were planted. He just stood there looking down at her. Cheyenne’s creamy skin flushed, and he realized she hadn’t removed her hand from his front yet. Her fingers had curled around some of the slack in his shirt, at the buttons. Sheridan wished he could feel it, but he had a bulletproof vest on underneath, shielding him from her touch. Damn it.

“I like greeting you when you walk in the door,” she said softly.

Sheridan’s throat tightened, and he had to clear it before he could respond. “I do too. It’s been a long time since anyone cared to.”

Her big blue eyes turned luminous, but he didn’t want her feeling bad for him. He pulled back and forced a grin. “Did you see Grace’s welcome?”

She shook her head, curling her arms around herself.

“You ought to go look at the driveway.”

She padded across the room, also stepping over the vicious guard dog, and let herself out the front door. When she saw the artwork, she laughed and shook her head. “The girl has such an imagination.”

Grace came running around the side of the house, Daisy tight on her heels. She skidded to a stop beside her mother and held out a little white pansy. “Here, Mom. I love you.”

“Love you too, baby!”

But Grace was already gone again, racing on around the house.

“Thank you for the artwork, Grace,” Sheridan called.

“You’re welcome!”

They laughed, and Cheyenne slipped the little flower behind her ear. “She’s super excited because it’s officially summer for her now. Mom’s summer school requirements are a drag.”

“Ah, yes. I understand now. There’s so much running and flower picking to do this summer.”

Cheyenne lifted a brow at him and nodded, serious-faced. “You know it.”

Then she sighed. “I do have a few things planned for their summer, but it’s hard to know what to do with Wade hanging around.”

“What did you have planned?”

“Well, Savannah is supposed to be leaving for a summer camp at Kemp Lake next week. And Carolyn has been invited to Aspen with a friend from school. I know the parents and trust them with her.”

Sheridan frowned, trying to think how a possessive asshole would think. “They’ll probably be fine, don’t you think? If anything they’ll be safer away.”

Cheyenne nodded. “Perhaps you’re right. I just hate to let them go right now.”

“Well, you’re their mother, so it’s completely up to you.”

She was quiet as she returned to the house and Sheridan could tell she was thinking. It was a good time to slip into his room and change.

Sheridan stripped down and took a moment to put his Glock into the gun safe. He’d gotten out of the habit since Olivia had gotten older, but there was no risking younger hands getting on his weapon. Then he stepped into the shower.

When you were on a fatal traffic scene, it tended to be messy. And even though he hadn’t physically touched any part of the victim, the air had been full of smoke and ash. The vehicle had been consumed when it hit a tree at the bottom of the bank, and had burned for a long time. By the time the fire department had put it out, the entire scene was destroyed. He was waiting on dental records from the coroner to positively identify the victim.

In the days to come, he hoped someone would call looking for their lost brother or cousin, whoever the man had been to someone. And then they could narrow their investigation and try to figure out what happened. Loose ends in any case bugged him.

Maybe that was why he was feeling tense. Wade was running around free, and Cheyenne was walking around like she was waiting for the hangman’s noose to slip around her neck.

Maybe they needed to spur things on.

He wondered what Wade would do if it became known that Cheyenne was with someone. They were heading into the weekend. Maybe Sheridan would take Cheyenne on a date.

The thought of even asking her was thrilling, but it also made him feel guilty. Asking her on a date would serve to stir Wade up, but it also sent a bolt of excitement through Sheridan. He hadn’t been on a date in a long time, and definitely not with a woman as beautiful and kind as Cheyenne Lowell.

He doubted she would even agree to the ruse.

Sheridan slipped on shorts and a t-shirt, planning on mowing the grass after he ate. When he returned downstairs, Cheyenne had set a plate of lasagna and salad at the island, along with a tall glass of iced tea. Until he saw it, Sheridan didn’t realize how thirsty he was. He tipped the glass back and drank the thing down.

Before he could even set the glass down, Cheyenne was there with the pitcher to refill.

“I think Wade was a colossal idiot for ruining what he had with you.”

Cheyenne smiled. “Yes, he was,” she agreed.

The food was amazing, as always, and he made sure to tell her that as she puttered around the kitchen. When the girls tromped into the kitchen in their bathing suits, she cautioned them to be safe.

“You can go with them,” he told her.

Blinking, she shook her head. “Nah. I’ll just watch for now.”

Sheridan cleaned up his mess when he was done eating and put the plate and utensils in the dishwasher, then he wiped down where he had eaten. It was the least he could do for the amazing meal she’d just fed him. Slapping a ball cap on his head, he headed for the garage and his lawn mower.