CHAPTER 42

Many things had changed in John's life in just a few weeks. If he was being honest, he would concede that Charlotte had transformed him. They had stopped going to the graveyard on Sundays. He and his mother had talked and agreed to visit only on special occasions. They had to stop grieving.

And again if he was honest, he'd admit that he already had. However, being honest might hurt him more than he was willing to take.

His days fell into his regular pattern of maintaining order and apprehending the criminals. He wasn't being driven insane by some crazy blonde. Still, he missed her crazy. He just needed to get on the phone and give her a call.

He didn't.

Summer gave way to fall and he still couldn't make that call. He thought about her all the time; it was impossible not to. Sarah occupied a special place in his heart, but Charlotte owned the rest of it.

The rest of him.

Somewhere in October he finally admitted that. Admitted that a man could fall in love more than once, and it didn't make either love less meaningful. One was his past, the other his future.

Just when he thought he was ready to make that call, Charlotte's phone calls to Alice stopped. She'd sent clothes for school, and Alice was beside herself with excitement. Every night there was a call, advising his daughter what to wear with what. But the past two weeks had been silent. He hated he'd been right. Charlotte was back in her world and she was slowly forgetting about them. About him.

These days he didn't even think about calling. It was over, really over, and he had to find a way to forget Charlotte.

But he couldn't seem to do that without snapping at every-one. He curbed his grouchiness as he took a call from Asha Oglo. Tosin had a girlfriend and was doing well in the home. Tosin didn't even want to go back to his shack. That was the best news he'd heard in a while. His first thought was that he had to tell Charlotte. But Charlotte wasn't here. Or ever likely to be again.

Loud music disrupted the quiet of his office. What the hell? Stuart came in, frowning.

"What's going on out there?" John asked, not able to keep the grouchiness at bay.

"Some lady in a Camry is talking to Wayne."

"Tell Wayne to talk to his girlfriends elsewhere and have some respect for other people's privacy."

Arthur's gaze quivered. "I'm not sure, Sheriff. He's the D.A. and---"

"Never mind." John grabbed his hat. "I'll take care of it."

The car was parked in front of the courthouse. The windows were tinted and up. Still, the music was blaring at the sound-barrier level. Wayne was nowhere in sight.

He tapped on the window.

The window slowly went down. His heart did a lung-buster. Sky-blue eyes stared back at him. 'Charlotte!'

"Hi, John!" she called out above the music,  "Is something wrong?"

"Turn down the music."

"Oh, sorry." She pressed a button and the CD player turned off.

"What are you doing here?"

She opened the door and got out. He stepped back. Her hair was longer, and she wore a blue pullover sweater that looked like cashmere, along with black pants and heels. She looked stunning, and it complemented her eyes. Breathtaking.

"I came to see Wayne."

"What?" That startled him, and he attempted to focus on her words rather than consuming her with his gaze.

"I've been offered a job in Horseshoe and I'm finalising the paperwork."

"A job? What? Where?"

"I'm taking on a teaching position. I will be covering for Mrs. Kriger's daughter-in-law, who gave birth early, under the principal's strict supervision. I've been offered a full-time teaching position after that. I must, of course, fulfil the prerequisites in order to obtain my teaching certificate. However, I am able to accomplish that both online and here in Horseshoe."

"What? And what does Wayne have to do with this?"

"He's on the school board and arranged it."

"You intend to live and work in Horseshoe? Teaching?"

"Yes."

"Where are you staying?"

"At Mrs. Pearson's."

He'd reached his limit with polite conversation. His limit had been maxed out about five minutes ago. He took her hand and led her to his office.

"Are you arresting me?"

"What?" He closed the door and shouted, "Arthur, I need some privacy!"

"Yes. Yes. Welcome back, Ms. Charlotte." Arthur shuffled out the door.

"Is playing loud music a misdemeanor or a felony? Does the offense require jail time? Community service?"

He stared into her dancing blue eyes and all he wanted to do was kiss her, which is what he did. He folded like a hillbilly sheriff in a one-horse town.

She tasted of caramel, cinnamon and heaven. His kind of heaven. He kissed and kissed her, trying to obliterate some of the loneliness inside him.

"What are you doing here?" he whispered into her mouth.

"Bursting my eardrums waiting for you to notice me, waiting to see if you've missed me."

"Like crazy. And you're crazy. Absolutely crazy and I...I...love you." The words came from the deepest part of him.

She stepped back, her hands on her hips. "Why couldn't you say that in July? Why did you put us through this misery?"

"Because I wanted a guarantee that you would love me forever, that you would love a hillbilly sheriff."

"And now?"

"Now I just want you in my life. In Alice's."

"Well, Sheriff, you're in luck. That's my plan, too."

Needing to touch her, he tried to close the distance between them, but she sidestepped him. "Let's talk about this hillbilly-sheriff thing. Are you ever going to let me forget that?"

"Probably not."

"Well, then---" she laughed "—I guess I'll just have to ask you to marry up with me."

He grinned, feeling young and alive. That was what she did to him. "Name the date and place."

"What about Sarah?"

He didn't. "She's dead and I'm finally able to admit that. Thanks to you I'm ready to live and love again."

"Oh, John." She hurled herself at him. "Hold me. Hold me so tight that I never feel lonely again."

He did.

Sometime later, he sat in his chair with Charlotte curled up on his lap. Everything was right in his universe. Everything was perfect.

"Do you really have a job here?" He kissed her temple, breathing in her tantalizing scent.

"Yes."

"You're not staying at Ms. Pearson's."

"No?" She cocked that .38 Special eyebrow at him.

"No."

After a long kiss, he asked, "You traded the convertible for a Camry?"

"Yes. I needed something more practical, something more me."

"Charlotte! Charlotte!" You could hear Alice's screams from a block away.

John grimaced. "Alice knows you're here?"

Charlotte ran a finger over a button on his shirt. "Haetel does, but I told her not to tell Alice until after school." She kissed him and ran her tongue over his bottom lip. "I wanted to surprise you."

He bit her tongue, and there was silence for a while. "I have no control over the women in my life and I'm beginning to like it that way."

"Charlotte!" The scream came nearer.

"Get ready for Hurricane Alice."

Charlotte winked. "I'Il meet you in the hammock tonight."

John smiled and had a feeling he was going to be smiling for the rest of his life.