Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 138588 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 554(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138588 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 554(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
“Don’t take him personally,” the sheriff said, moving around the bar. “I’m afraid Sawyer is not the friendliest guy in town.”
“Well, you always look at him like he’s about to do something illegal, so of course he’s not comfortable. You have to be comfortable to be friendly,” the woman Sabrina was almost sure was his wife said in a tone that let her know this was well-worn territory.
“I don’t have a problem with Sawyer,” the sheriff argued. “I understand him better. He’s a good man, but you have to admit he’s got some serious issues. He’s surly and secretive and can be quite rude at times, as our new friend recently discovered.”
Callie didn’t look convinced but shook her head. “I bet it took a lot for the man to walk in here, and you immediately get into his space like he was going to do something wrong.”
“I wanted to know what he was making,” the sheriff admitted. “The eggnog is awful and probably needs to be tossed out before it poisons someone, and I’m not going to try whatever the essence of winter is. I can’t find the beer, so I was kind of hoping Sawyer would make me an Old Fashioned.”
“Well, you could have asked him nicely,” his wife countered.
“No, I couldn’t because he took one look at the new girl and ran away,” the sheriff argued. He then winced and tipped his head Sabrina’s way. “Like I said, Sawyer’s a deep one.”
He probably could sense desperation. He’d looked at her, said that girl hasn’t had a date in forever, and ran the other way. She wasn’t in his league looks-wise, and her mother had always been on her about losing what she called the “baby” fat. As she neither was a baby nor had she given birth to one, she had to figure it was her mom’s way of “politely” calling her fat. She didn’t have her sister’s height or her elegant looks. She took after her father’s side of the family. Short legs, big boobs, and wide hips were pretty much the only gifts her dad had ever given her. “It’s okay. Though in his defense, he wouldn’t have been able to pull off an Old Fashioned. There’s no bitters here.”
“Oh, there will be when Marie wakes up and realizes Teeny let the children decorate her like a Christmas tree,” the sheriff promised. “And Sawyer… Well, I’ve honestly never seen the man react the way he did. I’m going to assume he had certain feelings he is not ready to deal with.”
Sabrina rolled her eyes. “You think he saw me, fell madly in love, and ran because he’s too damaged to ever love someone? I doubt it.”
“Oh, it happens.” Callie took another sip of her drink. “It happens way more often than you would think. I’m pretty sure Caleb couldn’t speak for the first six months after he met Holly. I mean he could, but he didn’t make much sense around her and he’s got an MD.”
“Sometimes I question the university who handed him his degree. They obviously didn’t teach a class in bedside manner.” The sheriff moved around the bar and poured himself a couple of fingers of whiskey. “Though you’re right about him not being ready at the time. It took Alexei showing back up to get Doc in gear. It took Noah showing up to make Jamie look at Hope. Lots of guys are dumb.”
Callie stared at him as he talked about all the other men who hadn’t been ready to find the loves of their lives. The sheriff was excellent at not noticing the death stares his wife was sending him.
“Six years, Nate,” Callie said with a frown.
The sheriff winced. “So all I’m saying is if he wasn’t interested, he likely wouldn’t have noticed you at all,” the sheriff concluded after remarking on most of the trios in Bliss. “But it’s probably a good thing because I don’t know Sawyer is marriage material.”
“I wasn’t looking to marry the man. I thought I might get a Cosmo out of him.” Did everyone in the world see her as some wallflower desperate to get a man?
Of course, when she’d first caught sight of him, her heart had fluttered. She’d had to catch her breath because he was a stunning man. It didn’t mean she was desperate. Just a little lonely. He didn’t have to run from her. It wasn’t like she would have tackled him or anything. Not when it was clear he didn’t want her to.
A brow rose over the sheriff’s blue eyes. “Really? That is not the reaction most women have to Sawyer Hathaway.”
Callie snapped her fingers. “Hathaway. And Nate’s right. He is like every gorgeous bad-boy stereotype wrapped up in an emotionally unavailable package. Don’t get me wrong. I like Sawyer. There’s a good man under all his growly protestations, but he’s not a guy I would set up with one of my friends. Now I do know some men who are looking for something more serious. We’ve got a couple of part-time deputies coming in. I’m pretty sure they’re partners, if you know what I mean.”