I’d seen her last night at the Bella e Buona. She was as beautiful as ever, even in her server uniform of black slacks and a black button-up shirt. Her hair was pulled back with two tendrils framing her slender face. She hardly wore makeup—but didn’t need it as her dark eyebrows and lashes defined her features.
I scrubbed harder against my cheeks. I shouldn’t be thinking about how pretty Sadie was, now or ever. Adam would punch me right in the face if he knew. Heck, he’d haunt me from the great beyond. It was best to lock those thoughts away and bury them under rubble.
What I couldn’t figure out—what had kept me up most of the night—was why she wanted to rent from me. There had to be other apartments in Evergreen Hollow. Why mine?
My stomach pulled in ten different directions.
When I’d finished the space above the garage, I’d been hoping to have a tenant who was around more than I was. My job as sheriff often required odd hours and long days. If I brought someone into the station, I had to stay until they were processed. I didn’t like my house sitting empty—even a cop’s house could be broken into. I grinned. If anyone would scare an intruder away, it would be Sadie. She had a tongue that could send a Navy SEAL into the fetal position.
Her strong will and inner strength was the first thing that attracted Adam to her. He’d known the military was in his future and that he’d need a woman who could handle long absences. Sadie was independent. She’d been going to college and working on her own career when they found out she was expecting. With true grit, she’d made the decision to stay home to raise their son.
It was a decision I admired. My mom often said the hardest thing she’d done was raise her kids. The older I got, the more I understood her sacrifices. She’d never had a career of her own, and yet she was the most successful woman I could name.
My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out, expecting Sadie’s number to pop up. It was work. I relaxed, but only slightly, as a call from work meant trouble.
“McKnight here.”
“We’ve got a 5150 at a gas station ten blocks from your place, can you provide backup?” asked Holly, the overzealous community service officer Potts had hired a few months ago.
“Anyone hurt?”
“I don’t think so. The clerk and customers got out. It’s just the guy in there going crazy and making a mess.”
I glanced down at the uniform I had yet to take off from my early-morning shift. “I can be there in ten.”
I hung up and tapped my phone against my palm, quickly making a plan of attack. My feet were moving before I had the whole thing figured out. Strategy had always been one of my specialties. If only I’d been better at it that day…
I forced the thoughts back into the black box at the back of my mind. I’d learned that trick early on in the service. A counselor had come to talk to my unit before they left. He discussed putting all the bad things in a box while out on assignment and then unpacking it when we were in a safe place.
The only trouble? I’d not unpacked mine. Not from the last time I’d seen Adam breathe. I couldn’t—wouldn’t. So, sometimes the memories came up and voices told me I wasn’t good enough. I mentally fought them off with Army grit and determination time and again.
But I didn’t open the box. And I never would.
The sound of Walt’s car door shutting was just the jolt I needed to bring me back to reality. I watched as he grabbed a paper bag from his trunk and attempted to grab another one. Not wanting to see him struggle on his own, I strode across my next-door neighbor’s tulip-lined gravel path and gathered the bag in my arms.
“Lemme help,” I said as I grabbed another bag.
Walt startled but then smiled up at me. “I knew it was a good sign when a McKnight wanted to move in next to us.”
Walt was retired, and his wife worked at the local power company. She had a great retirement coming her way but said she didn’t want to slow down quite yet. Walt was more than happy to tend to the yard and the house. He barbecued a mean burger and yelled at the kids who rode their hoverboards up and down the street to wear helmets.
In short—he was a great guy.
I nodded and followed after him as he headed up the walkway and into his small house. I deposited the bags next to his in the kitchen and then turned to run my hand through my dark hair. This was good. Helping someone was the distraction I needed.
Then the phone call from Holly came screeching into my mind, and a sense of urgency filled my chest. I watched as Walt moved to walk out the door.
I hurried to ask the question that had me crossing the tulips in the first place. “I just got called back into work, but I’m supposed to meet my renter in twenty minutes. Any chance you could have her sign the lease and hand over the keys?” I dangled from my fingers the two keys I’d had made.
“Her?”
“Sadie Miller,” I said to be sure Walt didn’t let a stranger in.
“Ah, Adam Miller’s widow.” A silent reverence fell around us, and I found my chest seizing up. This wasn’t the time for a breakdown. I needed all my faculties if I was going to survive not only this call, but also Sadie Miller suddenly becoming very close to me.
“Wait a second.” Walt tugged his pants up as his familiar smile spread across his lips. He’d moved on so fast from his previous comment that I found myself envying him. “A single man…a single woman…” He pumped his eyebrows. “Sounds like something’s cookin’ on the other side of this fence.”
My neck warmed, and I donned my stone-cold face—the one that made criminals want to wet themselves. “There’s nothing of interest going on. I need a renter, she needs an apartment.”
Walt tipped his head, considering me.
“Besides, I’m not the type to get romantically involved. Marriage isn’t in my plans. I’m happily single.” Despite the fact that I had ridiculously crushed on my best friend’s girlfriend-turned-wife since junior prom, I was pretty sure not pursuing your best friend’s widow was a rule in every handbook. And I was an avid rule follower.
Walt grunted.
I had the distinct feeling I’d protested too much. I clamped my teeth together and willed myself to stop talking. I didn’t need to defend my decision to rent to Sadie.
“Well, if you say so.” Walt took the keys. “You’re the kind of guy women go for, ya know. Steady job. Good family. If you’re fixin’ to stay single, you’d better watch your back. Even my wife mentioned wanting to set you up.”
I mentally cringed as my mental black box shuddered at the phrase. That was what Adam and I used to say to each other—I’ve got your back. It had been true right up until…
I slammed a fist on the counter, and the paper bags jostled.
“I’m doing a favor for an Army buddy,” I explained. “That’s all.”
Walt’s teasing glint dimmed. “Good on ya.”
“I really appreciate this, Walt. You’re welcome to my riding mower anytime.”
Walt scratched his cheek. “It does a good job on the corners.”
I grinned. “I’d better get going.” I hurried to my issued car and started it up. Maybe it was better this way. If Walt got Sadie settled, I might be able to skip seeing her at all today. The dance we did around each other in town was fine—despite the guilt I carried for not following through with my promise. There were just too many memories attached to her. Too many things I wanted to forget.