Where We Began (Stone Lake 2.5)

“Then, how about you get me out of here so I can go home and shower in my own bathroom and sleep in my own bed.”

“Your wish is my command, m’lady,” he jokes, giving a slight bow—at least with his upper body.

I laugh, even though the action is painful.

“From a sheriff to a prince. What else are you hiding?” I ask as I slide off the bed, gingerly. He comes over to help me stand, taking my overnight bag before I have a chance to bend over to retrieve it.

“I can’t tell you. Bringing out all my greatness at once does strange things to women,” he says with a wink.

“Like makes them run away?” I quip as we walk from the room. The Sheriff shocks me by laughing. It’s a good deep from the soul belly laugh that makes me feel a little warm inside.

“Damn, Junie, not sure I ever met a woman who can bust my balls so easily and yet leave me with a smile.”

For some reason that sounds like a compliment.

“Stick around, Sheriff, you haven’t seen anything yet,” I warn him, and I’m rewarded with another laugh just as we walk outside. The fresh air and the sunshine seem unreal to me and I drink it in, despite the headache. I just need to get home. Everything will be better then.

I hope I’m right.

Ben

The inside cab of my truck is quiet. Junie seems wiped. I sneak a look at her and she’s leaning her head against the truck window, her eyes closed.

“I hate to bother you, Junie, but you’re going to have to direct me where to go, unless you’re still living in the hotel?”

“I rented a house on Courtland Street.”

“When did you do that?” I ask.

“Recently,” she says, but doesn’t elaborate, and I don’t press.

“Will you be leaving Stone Lake now?” I ask her, when the silence in the cab of the truck seems too much. I refuse to think it has to do with liking the sound of her voice. My head is too messed up over Luna, and Junie has too much to recover from for me to think of her like that in the first place. Which is a damn shame, because I can tell she’s a good woman, despite having Lodge as a brother. The thought makes the corner of my mouth lift.

I look over at Junie and her eyes are still closed. She has the longest dark lashes that I think I’ve ever seen on a woman and they’re not fake, but then I get the feeling nothing about her is fake.

“Trying to get rid of me, Sheriff?” she asks, her eyes, a deep crystal blue, opening to stare at me. I gaze back at the road, shaking my head.

“Not at all. Having you in Stone Lake might just pretty the place up.”

“Careful, Sheriff. It almost sounds like you’re trying to flirt with me over there.”

“Maybe I am,” I admit.

“I don’t want to break your heart, but I’m officially done with men,” she tells me. I glance at her again. “My house is that small white one on the end there.” She looks relieved pointing at it as it comes into view.

I pull into the driveway, shifting the truck into park. She reaches for the door and I put my hand on her leg.

“Hold up, Junie. Let me get out and check the house, then I’ll come back and help you in,” I tell her.

“I’m not an invalid, Sheriff,” she grouses.

“Didn’t say you were, but you are weak and we’ve had enough surprises, don’t you think?”

“Have at it,” she mumbles, clearly unhappy, but giving in just the same. I slide out of the truck, my hand automatically going to the revolver at my side. Since this mess happened, I’m probably overly cautious, but I imagine I will be that way for a long damn time. The loss of one of my own hurts like hell.

“Be right back,” I promise her, slamming my door after me. I’m around the hood of the truck, walking up her entrance when she yells out from behind me.

“Hey, Sheriff?” she calls, her head sticking out of the window and as weak and tired as she is, it should be illegal for a woman to look that good.

“Yeah?”

“Not to be a smartass or anything,” she adds with a pause, making me laugh. “But won’t you need these?” She holds her keys out between two fingers, her pinky finger up in the air as she rocks them back and forth making them jingle. I shake my head, walking towards her, holding my hand out, palm up, underneath the keys. She drops them down and she’s smirking.

“I think you might just be a smartass, Juniper Sellers.”

“Damn, what gave me away?” she jokes with a smile that in no way reaches her eyes, but it does show she has grit. I close my fingers over the keys and walk back towards her door. I find myself wishing I was in the right headspace to show Junie that she shouldn’t give up on men. But, I’m definitely not.