She was in such a jittery state that she didn’t realize her window was still rolled up until he leaned over and tapped on the glass.
Her cheeks burning, she rolled it down. “Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.”
Oh, she was brilliant when she was flustered. No doubt about that.
His expression was perfectly sober, but there was a clever gleam in his eyes as he bent over farther to talk to her through the window. “What’s going on here, Ms. Jenkins?”
He always called her that. He had since she was sixteen years old. Even though she was used to it, for some reason it bothered her today. As if he was treating her like a boring old spinster instead of an attractive young woman.
She wasn’t as pretty as Skye or Ria. At least she’d never believed herself to be. She had shoulder-length hair in a medium blond, steel-gray eyes, and a curvy figure. She wasn’t bad-looking, but she also wasn’t gorgeous.
But still... Ken didn’t have to treat her like he would his grandmother.
“Nothing’s going on.” Because she was off-balance, her tone was a bit more defiant than it normally would have been. “I was driving too fast. Go ahead and give me a ticket.”
Ken’s eyes were very blue. Much bluer than she’d realized before. They scanned her face with a close scrutiny that left her feeling confused and vulnerable. “It’s not like you to speed. So why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you so we can take care of it?”
Ken had always had a laid-back manner about him that made everything he said seem casual. Low stakes. It was usually comforting and reassuring—like he was never worried—but at the moment it bugged her.
Because ridiculously she wanted him to take care of it. Even though it wasn’t his business. Even though there was absolutely nothing he could do to mend her damaged heart.
“I was in Richmond at a bookstore,” she said, giving him the easiest explanation she could come up with. “I was having a good day and wasn’t paying attention to my speed. I’m sorry. Like I said, I’ll be happy to pay the ticket.”
“Did you get anything good at the bookstore?” His eyes had moved to the bag on the passenger seat.
“Yes.” She was surprised enough to answer honestly, opening the bag to show him the stack of books. “I got a lot of good books. Plus a first-edition Emily of New Moon.” The expensive books were carefully wrapped up, so she didn’t show him those.
“Is that a good book?”
“It’s one of my favorites. By the same author who wrote Anne of Green Gables. But I don’t think it’s your kind of book.”
“What do you know about my kind of books?” The corner of his mouth turned up just slightly. It was ridiculously appealing.
“Just a guess, but I bet I’m right. I’ve never seen you come into the library.”
“I’ve got a bunch of old Westerns that belonged to my dad. I read those sometimes.”
“Really? Who wrote them? Louis L’Amour? Zane Grey?”
“Some of both, I think. I don’t pay much attention to authors. I like reading them though. Wish there were more.”
“We’ve got a pretty good collection at the library. You should stop by sometime and see if there are any that you haven’t read.”
“Maybe I’ll do that. What else did you get?”
“I got old editions of the entire Betsy-Tacy series. I love those. They weren’t even very expensive.” She patted the top book—Betsy’s Wedding—lovingly.
“And you were in a hurry to get back to read them?”
“No. I’ve read them dozens of times. I checked them out of the library for the first time when I was twelve or thirteen. I really was just having a good time and not paying attention to my speed. I felt...” She trailed off, realizing she was starting to ramble.
She never did that.
“You felt what?”
“I don’t know. Like I wanted to be a little bad for once. Like I wanted to be... free.” She stared at her steering wheel. She wasn’t sure what she expected. Some people weren’t built for being bad or having adventures. She was definitely one of those people. “You need my license and registration?”
“Nah.” He scrawled something on his little pad, tore off the sheet, and handed it to her. “I’ll give you a warning this time. Just watch your speed when you’re having fun. I know there’s not much traffic, but deer sometimes run across here, especially this time of year, and it just takes a distracted moment to run off the road. Don’t want to see you hurt.”
She swallowed, nodding and accepting the paper he handed her. “Thank you. I’ll be more careful. I appreciate your not giving me a ticket.”
“No problem, Ms. Jenkins. Glad you had a good day with your books.”
“See you later!” she called as he started to walk away. She watched him in her mirror. He had a really fine ass too. High and tight and nicely curved in his snug pants. It looked firm.
She kind of wanted to touch it.
Shit. Where did that idea come from? What had gotten into her?
Ken wasn’t on her radar of eligible men. He’d been married for most of the years she’d known him, although he’d been divorced now for more than two years. He had two little daughters. He was ten years older than her.
Plus he was the sheriff.
Clearly her mind had been affected in the aftermath of her breakup. Ken wasn’t the kind of man she should be lusting over.
It was nice of him to not make her pay a ticket even though she’d deserved it. She glanced down at the warning he’d written down. It took a while to decipher his writing, but when she did, it made her blush for no good reason.
Maybe you can find some other way to be free.
KEN HARLEY SPENT THE next two days thinking about Madeline.
It was ridiculous.
He’d always liked the girl, even back when she was a smart, quiet teenager who never drank or got in trouble or made
