Authors: Jerri Drennen
“I have to get back to work, Becky. Maybe I’ll see you at Bingo tonight.”
“I’ll be there,” she said, reaching out to cop a feel of his bicep before sighing loud enough for him to hear. “Have a great day, Trace.”
Trace fought an eye-roll and headed for the station. He loved his job, loved the small town of Groves, but with all the single women vying for his attention, he wasn’t sure how much more he could stand, since he had
no
intention of getting married again.
CHAPTER TWO
Regina stepped inside the VFW hall and glanced around, the smell of stale coffee and popcorn overwhelming her.
Why had she decided to come? She’d never played Bingo in her life, not even as a child, but Sylvia thought it would be a good idea for her to get to know the residents of Groves—put a face to her business and start to assimilate herself into the community.
She scanned the tables peppered here and there with people, unsure of what she was supposed to do.
“B three,” echoed over a loudspeaker.
Regina recognized the voice.
Sheriff Langston
. Her eyes swept the room, spotting him sitting at a card table, turning a handle on some wire contraption. He reached in and pulled something out. “I twenty-three.”
The man’s voice vibrated like an electrical current down Regina’s backbone. Tonight, he wore a light blue chambray shirt, which highlighted the color of his eyes, and she noticed how full his lips were beneath them.
“Are you going to play?” a man asked, forcing her attention away from the sheriff’s mouth.
“I’m not sure. I’ve never played Bingo before.”
The young, brown-haired man standing next to her smiled. “You must be the owner of Healthy Glow.”
She frowned. “How did you know?”
“We don’t get many new people in Groves. Trace told me he met you today.”
Regina’s frown deepened. “And you are?”
“Oh, sorry. I’m Garrett Sherwood. Trace’s deputy.”
The ruddy color of his cheeks and nervous stance had her thinking he wasn’t used to talking to women he didn’t know. But that didn’t stop him from doing a full body scan, his gaze stopping abruptly on her chest. Men were all the same. Give them a rack to stare at and they’ll be happy to do so.
He looked up, knew he’d been caught, and turned red.
Regina sighed. She thought it best to move on and learn how to play. That was why she was here, after all. That, and to meet the people in town. “So, explain this game to me.”
“Okay. I’ll get us some cards.” Garrett scratched at the nape of his neck. “Find us a seat and I’ll teach you the basics.”
She glanced around the tables. Sitting with women would be best. Older ones. They were more accepting.
“N forty-five,” the sheriff said.
Regina turned and found his gaze on her.
She sucked in a breath and blindly found a table. Regina didn’t care who she sat with. She was too busy shaking off the rush of intense heat coursing through her body, making it hard to breathe. No man had ever made her feel so frazzled. Maybe it was just fatigue. That had to be it. Because lately men just gave her the willies. Especially after the way her ex-boyfriend tried to end their relationship—with her dead.
Psychopathic lunatic
.
Garrett dropped down in the seat next to hers and placed a card on the table in front of her. “Open your hand.” He grinned.
The boy had a cute smile. She’d give him that.
Regina stuck her hand out, and he dumped a bunch of green see-through orbs onto her palm. She stared at them, unsure of what she was supposed to do. She glanced at the people around her table.
Okay
. They were markers of some kind.
“O sixty-five.”
Regina squirmed in her chair. The sheriff’s voice alone could give a woman an orgasm. What would that baritone be like whispering sweet nothings in her ear? The mere thought had her nipples puckering. She hoped Mr. Ogler next to her didn’t notice.
“You have that one.” He pointed to it on her card.
She stared at the number and realized she needed to cover the spot with the green circle thingy. Regina placed one over the sixty-five and smiled at Garrett, who again turned red. He was worse than an adolescent. She’d think the guy was a virgin if he wasn’t at least twenty-five. No man his age could be one. Could he?
“G forty-seven.” The sheriff’s words cut into her thoughts and diverted her attention back to him. He looked up, and their eyes met.
Regina couldn’t look away. She was like a deer in headlights.
“Bingo,” someone in the room shouted, forcing her to lose eye contact with him.
She glanced around and saw a gal in a canary-yellow gauzy sundress heading her way, her gaze narrowing on Regina. The woman reached Regina’s table, and a smile appeared—a fake one from what Regina could tell by how tight her lips were drawn.
“Hello, Garrett.” The brunette plopped down on the other side of her. “You must be our new shop owner.”
Her smile was definitely not genuine. Regina could tell by the deep lines in the woman’s forehead.
“Yes, Regina Moon. And you are?”
“I’m Becky Riverside. My family owns the hardware store in town.”
Great
. Regina was going to have to visit that store in the next few days for supplies, and this was what she’d have to contend with. The woman was trying to hide the fact she didn’t like Regina. Animosity snapped in the air around them, a strange undercurrent that made her uneasy.
“What do you sell at Healthy Glow? I was going to come by today but didn’t get a chance.”
If it was anyone else she’d invite her to find out, but Regina hoped to avoid this woman from now on. “A little bit of everything.” She glanced around. Everyone seemed to have stopped to watch their exchange. Talk about feeling as though she were in the spotlight.
“Garrett, could you check Glenda’s card?” the sheriff asked over the loudspeaker, drawing everyone back to the woman who had called Bingo.
The deputy jumped up and raced to the winner’s table.
“I’d better go.” Becky rose from her chair. “That was the last game of the night, and Trace and I have plans.” The woman’s brown eyes glistened, like she had a secret nobody else was privy to.
Regina watched her walk away. No “nice to meet you.” No “welcome to Groves.” She was going to be in for a mess of trouble with this woman if she didn’t avoid her.
Sheriff Langston was dating the brunette? Then why had he been looking at Regina with eyes that went beyond mild curiosity? Clearly the man knew he could have anyone he wanted with his earthy, good looks and that over-stimulating voice. See if she’d give him the time of day from now on.
Not that she had before. When he’d come into the store earlier and had stared at the Griffin she hadn’t realized she’d left out, she knew he’d question its origins, and she wasn’t ready to tell anyone about her religious beliefs. It wasn’t anybody’s business. That was why her attitude with him earlier bordered on rude. All she wanted was to get him to leave. Quickly. Before he had a chance to look around some more and ask those difficult things she wasn’t ready to answer.
Regina rose and walked to the scarred back table, where a frail, gray-haired lady with a red paper flower pinned to her white blouse gathered all the cards and markers.
Garrett rushed back. “Come earlier next time. That way you’ll get a chance to win.”
“Win?”
“The jackpots. Today’s biggest was one-hundred and forty dollars. The pots depend on how many people play.”
Regina nodded. “I’ll remember that. Thanks for your help.” Maybe she’d come again and give it a try. Wasn’t like she couldn’t use the money.
“Would you like to get a cup of coffee?” he asked, his gaze darting around. He couldn’t even look her straight in the face. Maybe he
was
a virgin.
“Are you trying to pick up our new resident, Garrett?” the sheriff asked from behind them.
She swirled around, his alluring spicy scent tickling her nose.
He gave his deputy a crooked grin.
Regina swallowed hard. The sheriff of Groves was adorable and sexy as hell with the top three buttons of his shirt open to reveal tanned skin beneath.
“Did you enjoy yourself?” he asked.
When she didn’t say anything, he cleared his throat.
Her attention snapped up, and their gazes connected again. This man had no insecurities. That was obvious by the way he carried himself. Too bad she wasn’t feeling the same right now. “I think I may have come a little too late. Sylvia told me what time Bingo started tonight, but I’m still settling into my new place and lost track of time.”
“Trace,” Becky called, hurrying to his side. “Can I talk to you?” She glanced at Regina, and the clear resentment in the other woman’s eyes sent a chill creeping over her. Why she had this reaction to her, Regina had no clue.
Regina rubbed a hand over her bare arm and turned to Garrett. “Let’s go get that coffee.” She knew it’d give him the wrong idea, but she wanted to leave, and that seemed the quickest way to do so.
Garrett’s eyes widened, and his cheeks flushed. He was plainly surprised she’d said yes, yet took hold of her elbow and led them away from the sheriff and the woman Regina planned to avoid like a bad spell.
* * *
His deputy left with the woman Trace hadn’t been able to keep his gaze and thoughts off of since she’d entered the hall, and a strange feeling worked its way over him. He had no idea what the reaction was. But he knew he didn’t like it.
“Did you see what she was wearing?” Becky asked from beside him.
He had. A form-fitting black dress, which outlined the curves of her body, and even from his vantage several feet away, he could tell she wasn’t wearing a bra. That alone had stirred a part of his anatomy which hadn’t seen much action lately. Not that he hadn’t had offers. It just wasn’t safe to accept any. Sex was serious for women and led them to think commitment, and no way was he giving any woman that idea. Marriage was not for him. He’d found that out the hard way from his ex-wife, Brianne.
Cheating
…
Every time he had been called to a crime scene when he’d worked homicide in Chicago, another man had been called to her bed—their bed.
Eight years had passed since then, and her infidelity still stung. Yet, finding out about her affairs had influenced his decision to leave Chicago for a small town. The city of Groves had been just what he needed to get over the whole divorce mess, and he could now say he no longer missed The Windy City or Brianne. This had become his home, and he liked being sheriff of the tiny Arkansas community. Not to mention being single, though he did have a lady friend a county over he visited from time to time—a woman who wanted nothing more than his company for a few hours. Too bad it’d been over a year since he’d made that trip.
“Are you listening to me?” Becky interrupted his thoughts.
“Sorry. I need to get to my rounds, Becky. I’ll see you later.” Trace didn’t care how she reacted to his abruptness. He was in no mood for her clinging tonight. He had too much on his mind, like why Regina Moon had made him forget for a few minutes that women weren’t in the cards for him. Remembering Brianne and her whoring ways brought back why.
He exited the building and started down the street, glancing in all the alleyways to make sure no one was skulking about where they shouldn’t be, a routine he performed every night before heading home.
He crossed the street and spotted Garrett in the window of Caulders’ Café. He glanced at his watch. Quarter to ten. They’d be closing soon.
The closer he got to the building, the tenser he became. Was Ms. Moon with Garrett, or had she used his deputy as an excuse to get away from him? No way could the woman have run any faster out of that hall. Not to mention her rudeness earlier in the day with him.
Did
she
have something to hide?
As he neared the door to the café, an overwhelming need to go inside assailed him.
No
!
He had rounds to finish, then he needed to go home and get some rest.
But would he be able to sleep when all he could think about was Regina Moon’s pert nipples pressed against that black dress?
One lucky, little black dress
. His palms itched to be that lucky. Too bad he’d never get the chance to find out if her breasts were as lush as they appeared—not when feeling up a woman led to sex, and that was completely out of the question with any woman from Groves—new or not.
CHAPTER THREE
Reluctantly, Regina walked into Groves Hardware and glanced around the store. The place was small and cluttered, exactly what she would’ve pictured for a town this size.
She prayed Becky wasn’t working today. She couldn’t handle another round of uneasiness she’d been left with two nights before—a strange sensation that seemed to hover ominously over her. She’d think the woman was some kind of witch if they weren’t in Arkansas.
Then again, maybe this was the perfect place for one to hide.
That’s why she’d moved here, to lay low. Though her relocation had nothing to do with her Wiccan beliefs.
Hopefully Rod wouldn’t find her, since restraining orders didn’t mean crap to him. He was too crazy to care if he stayed within a hundred feet of her or not. They’d broken up over a year ago, and he still thought they could work things out.
Like she could forget he’d tried to strangle the life out of her.
“Can I help you?” a gray-haired hulk of a man, wearing a pair of stripped overalls asked as he walked to her, a slight hint of a yellowish-green aura surrounding him.
Regina studied the man’s face for a second or two, noting the haggard lines around amber eyes that looked friendly enough. “Yes. I need some wall paint and brushes.”
“Any particular color?” He started toward the back.
Regina followed. “Something green. Sage maybe.”
The man walked behind a long counter against the far wall, where an old hand-crank cash register sat. He reached underneath and pulled out a color fan. He pointed to a soft green Regina liked right away. She could feel the serenity of the shade enveloping her. “I like that. I think a gallon should be enough. I also need a beige.”