And after last night, he was sure she felt the same way.
Or pretty sure.
It was late morning now. Due to an altercation between two neighboring ranchers-who were fighting over a downed fence and a misplaced pig, which Riley had had to help capture-he was late getting into town.
Late and filthy.
He had a mountain of paperwork to face, maybe even two mountains. But he could think of little else than last night, when he and Holly had initiated his kitchen in the joys of food fights and making love.
The countertop had been only the beginning, after which they’d moved to his table, then eventually his bed.
Holly hadn’t stayed the night. He’d wanted her to, but she’d given him the animal excuse.
They needed to be let out and fed.
He knew better. She was terrified of him and the feelings he evoked.
Well, they were even there, but with that terror came an undeniable warm and fuzzy feeling.
Now there was an offer on the café, from a couple out of Tucson, and his heart, warm and fuzzy only a few hours before, went cold.
Holly was now free to leave.
Forgoing his office, he went straight across the street. It was between lunch and breakfast thankfully, so the place was quiet.
“Hello?” he called, walking past the counter into the empty kitchen, his intentions being to take Holly straight into his arms and kiss her senseless.
Then demand she stay.
No, that wasn’t right. Of course that wasn’t right. He couldn’t, wouldn’t, demand anything of her. Ever. She had a life to lead and he would leave her to do that, as she saw fit. Which meant she’d probably go as far from Little Paradise as she could get.
And he couldn’t blame her, not simply because they had different hopes and dreams.
The only person in the kitchen was Dora. She had the makings of lunch scattered across the countertop, her forehead wrinkled in concentration as she chewed on her gum with the subtlety of a freight train.
“Hey, Sheriff.” She sent him a wink and a grin. “You look hungry. Busy night?”
When he paused at the loaded question, she burst out laughing. “Now that’s the same look I got from Holly when I asked her. Sort of embarrassment, satisfaction and bafflement all at once. Imagine that. Wonder what put that look there?”
“Very funny.”
“Yeah.” She sobered. “Did you hear? We got an offer on this place. They said all the employees can stay on. All two of us, that is, me and Steve.”
“I’m very happy for you, Dora.”
“But you’re not happy for you.”
He tried to look casual and probably failed miserably.
“I know.” She sighed. “She’s outside.” She hitched her head toward the back door. “She’s talking to Buster, the dog she doesn’t own, while being watched by Harry, the cat that’s not hers.”
“Thanks.” He stepped outside, into the small yard where Marge used to grow herbs.
Holly was hunkered down by an empty bowl, a hose in one hand, her other embedded in Buster’s fur.
He was licking her cheek.
“Hey, that’s my job,” Riley said.
Holly didn’t move, didn’t turn to face him, and that’s when he realized she was crying.
Crying.
His stomach somewhere near his shoes, he stepped off the steps and came around, watching as Buster licked off another tear.
Before he could say a word, there came a ringing, which he realized originated from the cell phone hooked on her belt.
She sniffed, kept her gaze averted, and answered the phone. “Hello? Yes, Mother, I heard about the offer. An inspection this afternoon?…Of course I’ll be ready, but I wanted to talk to you…I know, you’re busy, but this is really important…It’s just that I’ve come so far with the café, I was hoping you’d come out and see…”
The hose in her hand filled up the empty water bowl. It stared to overfill. Buster played in it.
Riley stood stock-still, anticipation humming through him because it sounded like Holly didn’t want to rush out of town.
“I know it’s not convenient,” Holly said. “But it’s not like I’m in the Sahara Desert. Yes, I realize you have to get off the phone now, but I just wanted to tell you, I don’t think it’s the right time to sell. I really want to-”
Riley held his breath, willing her to just get it over with, to put him out of his misery and say she couldn’t wait to leave this rinky-dink town. But even as he thought it, his heart ached.
He didn’t want her to say it at all. He wanted the opposite. Somehow, some way, he’d come to realize she was nothing like his mother, was nothing like the woman he’d thought, who could never handle a place like Little Paradise.
Holly could handle it, she had handled it.
She belonged here.
“Mother? Hello? Hello? Dammit!” Holly yanked the phone from her ear and hit a series of numbers, waiting impatiently.
Riley waited, too. Could she really want to stay?
“Mother,” Holly said in relief a moment later. “I just wanted to tell you, the café is in great shape now.” She spoke at the speed of light. “I was thinking we could actually sort of keep it in the family… Yes, I know you’re not interested in the food business, but- Yes, I also know I’ve always gotten bored with things in the past and never saw them through, but this is different…Mother, you’re not listening very well-”
Riley grabbed the phone from Holly’s ear and put on his most polite voice. “Hello, Mrs. Stone. This is Riley McMann, sheriff of Little Paradise.”
Holly stared at him in horror. “What are you doing?” she hissed.
“Trust me,” he whispered back, but she grabbed at the phone.
“Trust you to ruin my life?” she whispered furiously. “No, thank you.”
He merely used his height to his advantage.
Holly gave up and closed her eyes. “My life is over.” She meant it. Her mother would not understand that Riley was trying to help her.
Holly hardly understood it herself.
“Yes, ma’am, I do realize you were talking to your daughter,” she heard him say. “But I think you should know, Holly has done a marvelous job here. She’s changed the serving style and it really works. She got a huge spread in the paper this morning and the café is- No, she’s not paying me to say this!” Shocked, he looked over at Holly.
Holly couldn’t help it, she laughed coldly. “That’s my mother.”
“Look, Mrs. Stone, I’m trying to tell you-” His jaw tightened. “Yes, I’m really the sheriff-”
Oh, her mother was in rare form this morning. Now she’d insulted Riley, the only man in Holly’s entire life to…to what? To get past her defenses? To make her see herself in a way she’d never seen herself before? To make her want things she had no business wanting, things like a white wedding dress and a picket fence?
Last night had been the most amazing-and terrifying-night of her life. Riley had shown her things she’d never dreamed of. He’d coaxed her in that soft, sexy voice to both say and do things she’d never imagined, and all that before the most incredible sexual experience of her life.
His kitchen would never be the same.
She would never be the same.
And now it was over.
Miserable, Holly watched the water from the hose fall into the dog’s dish and overflow.
She shouldn’t feel so surprised that the café had sold, but she did. She felt as if her world had just slipped out from beneath her feet.
And it made no sense. All along she’d known she would leave here. It’d been simply a temporary phase in her life until she figured out what she really wanted to do.
Only it was occurring to her, this was what she wanted to do.
Her timing had always left a lot to be desired.
Riley handed her back the phone, his eyes dark, his mouth grim. “She’s gone. She…didn’t want to talk right now.”