Chapter Fifty-Three

Austin couldn't help counting down until he could leave the Miller house. After their drive to take care of some business in the next town over, the three men had come back to the mansion to play video games. Martha Miller insisted then that he stay for dinner, which wasn't unusual. But usually he wasn't trying to get out of there.

After he thanked her for another excellent meal, he took his leave. He noticed his feet speeding up a little as he reached the threshold. 

"Austin, wait." Sean came jogging after him. "Are you headed back to town?" he asked.

"Eh yeah," the Sheriff nodded, kind of.

"Would you mind givin' me a lift?" he asked, not quite meeting his eye.

"Sure," he nodded again and together they headed out to his truck. Austin didn't want to open himself up for any questioning, but he was determined to find out what his friend's wink earlier today meant. He waited until they'd left the Miller estate well behind them. "Where's good?" he asked to start with.

"Just anywhere near the other side of town," Sean answered carefully. It was an easy walk from there to Tatum's.

"You know… your brother's right, you're actin' weird," Austin said.

"No, I'm not," he responded.

"Come on."

Sean sighed, looking at the Sheriff; it would be nice to be able to tell someone about his relationship, but he was a little worried that Austin might tell his brother. "If I tell you, you promise not to tell Aaron?"

"Sure," he nodded. "I know how to keep things confidential," he added when he realised the younger Miller wasn't quite convinced yet.

"Okay, great. Thanks," he said quickly.

"So, what is it?" Austin asked, prodding him when it didn't look like he was going to continue voluntarily.

"I have started seein' someone," Sean started. "Tatum."

"Good for you," the Sheriff nodded now, taking him by surprise.

"That's it?"

"What else do you want me to say? I don't care about the feud. And she's a nice girl, they both are. They could use some good fortune," Austin explained.

His friend gaped at him, not realising initially that they'd passed where he'd asked to be dropped off. "Where are we goin'?" he asked when he realised.

"I've got plans to hang out with Isabella, so I might as well drop you off at theirs," the Sheriff answered, chuckling when he'd taken his friend by surprise again.

"You and Izzy?" Sean asked when he'd recovered.

"We're friends," Austin answered with a simple shrug. Maybe he was hoping they could become more. He wasn't going to tell his friend that though. They drove the last few minutes in silence, until he parked up. A little sheepishly they walked up the porch together and Sean gave a knock on the door.

"That's for me," Tatum jumped up as well as she could, excited to see her boyfriend. Isabella rolled her eyes from where she was sat on the sofa. The redhead fought back a little squeal as she gave Sean an enthusiastic hug. "Hey Austin," she smiled after she'd planted a big kiss on her man, seeing her sister shoot up from the corner of her eye.

"Wow Tatum, you're blossomin'," the Sheriff said surprised. He hadn't seen her in a few weeks, not up close, and she'd definitely gotten bigger since then. The redhead gave a small blush.

"Thanks," she said, now pulling her boyfriend into the house with her. "Don't mind us… We'll be upstairs," she aimed at her sister now, making the Colombian blush.

"Tate," Sean reprimanded her teasingly, but followed her up the stairs anyway.

"Eh, sorry about that?" Isabella stammered, her attention on her friend, gesturing for him to come in. "Film?" she asked now, trying to move away from what her sister had implied.

"Sounds good," Austin nodded as he followed her into the living room, stopping in his tracks when he heard Tatum's giggle from upstairs. "How about we watch that film at my place?" he suggested with a chuckle when the brunette looked at him a little embarrassed.

"Great idea," she grinned, not even bothering to tell her sister she was leaving as she was sure Tatum wouldn't hear or care anyway. Isabella quickly grabbed her bag with her house keys and followed him out the front door before she could hear anything else from upstairs.

It was only a five-minute drive and Isabella was happy that she didn't have to fill any long silences, as Austin was humming along to the music. She could listen to him hum or sing all night; it was a low, comforting sound.

"Do you still want to watch the film, or just sit outside?" the Sheriff asked as they walked up his porch, seeing the swing and thinking it wasn't that cold out tonight.

"I don't mind," Isabella shrugged. The main thing for her was that they were spending time together; she didn't mind what they actually did.

"Let's stay outside," Austin decided now, thinking it would be nicer to sit on the swing and talk together than watch some film he had no interest in. It did make him think about the first time they'd sat together on this swing. He could still remember the colour of the sky as the sun set, the way she smelled of flowers and he'd never forget the taste of her cherry red lipstick. That had been the start of a wonderful summer. He didn't want to think about the way it had ended. Now they were sat next to each other, it was like time had stopped and he was still that young kid; like all those years in between hadn't happened.

He smiled to himself when Isabella decided to snuggle close to him when they sat down.

"I hope you didn't lure me here to redo history," she said, nudging him teasingly, making him think that maybe he had. He turned so he could look at her. Her face was so close her breath tickled his skin. It was amazing how comfortable they'd gotten with each other.

"I like to think I've learned a thing or two since then, so it wouldn't exactly be redoin' history," he answered with a crooked smile, wrapping his arms around her, and almost daring her to find out. He chuckled when she narrowed her eyes at him, as if she was telling him she was on to him.

"Dream on, sheriff," she tried to sound casual, but the flush of her cheeks showed she definitely wasn't.

"You know I will," he winked, not sure what had gotten over him, but he realised he wanted to know how far he could go, and if she would let him kiss her; suddenly it was all he could think of. He brushed a strand of her hair out of her face, enjoying the softness of her skin beneath his fingers as he cupped her face. "You sure you don't want to find out?" he murmured, smiling when she swallowed hard. She parted her lips as if she wanted to answer, but no sound came out. Taking that as his cue, Austin closed the gap between them and carefully brushed her lips with his. His heart hammered in his chest, scared she would push him away, but when he heard her smile he deepened his kiss. His skin tingled where she touched him as she wrapped her arms around him, and it took him all his restraint not to pull her on top of his lap. Whatever his memory of their first kiss had been like, it was nothing like the way she kissed now, nothing like the way she tasted in his mouth.