area that he loved, a cluster of the huge tree limbs joined to form a canopy. This was the spot where he would park under the shade of huge trees, hidden from sight off the highway to clock speeders. On occasion he would steal away here just to clear his mind, think about important matters and to put a number of things in perspective. Right now the main thing on his mind was that his daughter would probably start dating soon. So far she hadn’t mentioned anything about it and he definitely was not going to put any ideas in her head.
He needed to call his office to remind Trudy Caldwell, his office manager, to make sure the Miller file was on his desk when he got back, which wouldn’t be too long. So far he’d issued six speeding tickets and had been here only a few hours. Didn’t anyone feel compelled to abide by the speed limit anymore? And some of the excuses they made while trying to talk their way out of a ticket were just downright ridiculous. As sheriff he expected people to operate within the confines of the law and not the other way around.
It was hard to believe he’d been sheriff in Catalina Cove for four years already. When he’d accepted the job and relocated here, Jade had been twelve. Not once had she complained about moving from their home in Nevada to Louisiana, although she’d left her friends behind. They’d decided to look at the move as an adventure. Thankfully, because of Jade’s outgoing and bubbly nature, she’d quickly made new friends.
Leaving Reno was necessary in order to move on with their lives after losing Johanna. Cancer had claimed her exactly three months to the day she’d noticed the discoloration of a mole on her thigh. He would never forget the day he’d gotten that call at the FBI headquarters where he worked as an agent. In a teary voice Johanna had told him the results of the biopsy. It had come back as cancer, already at stage four. It seemed once the diagnosis was made the condition worsened, and he had buried his wife on the day that would have been her thirtieth birthday.
He pushed from his mind thoughts of Johanna. Even after over four years they were too painful to dwell on. He was about to reach for his phone to call Trudy when a car sped by. The driver was clocked doing sixty in a fifty-five-miles-an-hour zone.
Pulling his patrol car onto the highway, he flipped on his flashing red-and-blue lights and siren as he took off behind the speeding red Corvette convertible.
* * *
VASHTI HAD THE radio on full blast while singing along with Beyoncé, belting out her newest hit. This was a perfect day to drive with the top down. March was about to roll into April with spring-like days. The midday sun wasn’t too hot and the breeze was just right. She loved the feel of her hair blowing in the wind, and wished somehow her problems could be blown away as easily. If she had to return to Catalina Cove she might as well make the drive fun. She would admit this car had a lot of power. Already she’d made it to the outskirts of town and should be reaching her destination soon.
She glanced in her rearview mirror and saw the flashing red-and-blue lights and immediately turned down the volume on the radio. That’s when she heard the siren. Where had the police officer come from and how long had they been following her? She pulled to the shoulder of the road and he pulled off the road behind her.
Vashti wondered why she’d gotten stopped. Annoyed, she tapped her hand on the steering wheel and when the police officer reached her car, she looked at him. OMG. She was convinced she was staring up into the most handsome face she’d seen in a long time. And on top of that, a snap of sexual awareness she hadn’t felt in years rocked her to the bone.
He was so tall and she thought there was something magnetic about those dark brown eyes that were staring back at her. It took her a minute to notice his lips were moving, which meant he’d been talking. What on earth had he said? She’d been too busy concentrating on the shape of his lips.
“Excuse me, Officer. Could you repeat that?”
He gave her an irritated look. “I asked why you didn’t stop when you heard my siren?”
“I didn’t hear your siren probably because I had the radio on full blast. Sorry about that.”
“Your license please.”
“Sure.” She then went into her purse and pulled out her driver’s license, wondering who had ruined his day. It was obvious he was in a bad mood. She handed him her driver’s license. “And why was I stopped?” And why was she noticing how the shirt of his officer’s uniform seemed to stretch across a broad chest and over muscular shoulders?
He didn’t answer her. Instead he returned to his patrol car. She was tempted to hang out the window and check out his rear end but quickly talked herself out of doing so. Mr. Not-So-Nice-Cop had one redeeming quality. He was definitely a hottie. But regardless of his sexy attributes, he could have answered her question before walking off.
A good ten minutes had passed before he returned and handed her license back to her. “And why was I stopped?” she asked him again.
“You were speeding.”
“Speeding?”
“Yes. You were going sixty in a fifty-five-miles-an-hour zone.”
Had she? She knew that was a possibility. More than once she’d had to ease her foot off the pedal when she’d discovered she’d been going faster than she intended. He handed her a ticket to sign and she felt a tingling sensation in her stomach when their hands brushed in the process. She looked up at him. “Is this a real one?”
He lifted a brow. “A real what?”
“Ticket.”
“What other kind is there?”
She frowned. “A warning ticket.”
“I don’t give out warning tickets.”
She looked at the ticket and then back at him. “Two hundred dollars!”
“Yes. That’s forty dollars for ever mile you were going over. Forty times five would be two hundred dollars.”
“That’s a bit much.”
He lifted his brow again and she wished he wouldn’t do that. Each time he did she was captivated by the beauty of his eyes. “You think so?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t. You broke the law.”
“It wasn’t intentional.”
“If you say so. Here’s your driver’s license back.” Again their fingers brushed and Vashti felt that tingling sensation.
“I take it you’re headed to Catalina Cove,” he said, pushing his hat back from his face to reveal even more of his features.
“Yes, why do you ask?” she asked, noticing that besides being handsome, the man was broad-shouldered and fit.
“No reason. Just make sure you drive within the speed limits while you’re there. Looks like this little toy you’re driving might get you in trouble.”
She looked at her ticket before looking back up at him. “Looks like it already has.”
His mouth formed a smile and she felt a fluttering in her stomach at the sensual curve of his mouth. No man should have the ability to have such an effect on a woman...especially when he’d just made her two hundred
