“What are they putting in the water over there? Did you see the other one? Where can I get me a sheriff sandwich?” Hailey wrinkles her nose. “I’ll stay away from ones that include our brother and threesomes.” She scrolls with her thumb. “There’s a thread.”
“Please, if there’s a god, kill me.” I bang my head softly against my folded arms. “I get it. He’s hot, and don’t think he doesn’t know it. But none of this helps my predicament.”
Hailey discards her phone. “Okay, I’ll be good. Let’s get to it. What’s your plan?”
“That’s the problem. I don’t have one.”
“Well, there are only two options as far as I can tell. Find a way to talk to him and explain the situation…or blindside him at the party.”
Ryder and his fiancée are throwing us a welcome party next Saturday with all their friends, and I can’t imagine the sheriff won’t be there. “I have one week to figure it out.”
“Yep, so let’s talk pros and cons.”
I tap my nails on the table. “The blindside gives me the upper hand.”
“You love that.”
“I do, and with him, I need every advantage I can get. But with a blindside, there’s a greater chance of our brother picking up on something between us.” I wave a hand through the air. “You know how he is.”
She nods. “Good point. Even if the sheriff has a great poker face, Ryder is like a dog with a bone if he catches a scent. A shock ups the odds of discovery considerably.”
“As much as I’d love the upper hand, the strategic move is to deal with this like an adult and allow both of us the opportunity to put on our game faces before we’re forced to spend the entire day together with alcohol.”
“I agree. Besides, maybe it’s not public, but you’ll still blindside him.”
I press my fingertips into my temples and rub in a circular motion. “How do I get myself into these messes?”
Hailey chuckles. “It’s your special gift.”
“I want new gifts.”
“This is your payment for being hot, bold, and exciting. Every gift has a price.”
I sigh. “Do you have any ideas on how to get out of this?”
She tilts her head, causing the sun streaming in from the windows to highlight her hair like spun gold. “You could call the station, ask to speak to him, and explain your new reality.”
“But they might ask who I am, and what if Ryder finds out?”
“Don’t give your name.”
“They aren’t going to hand me over to the sheriff without identifying myself.”
“You could try.”
I shake my head vehemently.
Hailey picks up her phone again and starts tapping before sliding it over to me. “There’s a contact email. You could email him.”
You know, it’s pretty hard to look hot and lethal in a professional headshot, but Sheriff Charlie Radcliffe manages it.
Charlie. I roll the name around in my mind, picture screaming it out in the heat of passion. I fan my face. “It’s hot in here.”
“He was that good, huh?”
The beginnings of a plan start percolating in my overactive brain as I chew on my lower lip. “What if I drive over to Revival, stake out the station, and follow him home.”
Hailey’s expression narrows in suspicion. “You sure that this isn’t about being alone with him? That this isn’t about him having his wicked way with you?”