Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Besides, when I leave the station, I wear a coat that makes it more than clear I’m a sheriff. But being that I’m the only sheriff in New Hope and it’s a small town, everyone knows who I am. It’s more for the tourists, which we have a shit ton of.
We're only a few hours out from the city, and it's the busiest time of the year right now for New Hope, with Christmas around the corner. I’m always a bit on edge during this time. The amount of strangers around town does that to me.
I toss on a pair of jeans and boots before grabbing one of my many plain black shirts that has a pocket where I can slide my badge. I'm still fairly new to the job, and it practically fell into my lap. There hadn't been a plan to leave the Rangers, but Kindred hadn't been in my plans either until she was standing in front of me with those bright blue eyes, curves for days, and that smart-ass mouth of hers.
Her brother is still in the Rangers, but when my contract was up, I left. I knew I needed a job. I might have inherited a fuck ton of money, but I'm used to staying busy. I enjoy the routine, and right now it's the only thing getting me through each day; my control is starting to slip.
I'm not sure how much longer I can hold out on this cat-and-mouse game Kindred is playing. At first, I thought she hated me. I get it. I can be rough around the edges and a man of few words, and fuck, when I did have words, they often got twisted when I was speaking with her. She takes them as me telling her what to do, and I look at it as I’m always trying to protect her. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not innocent in any of this. She drives me nuts but in the best possible way.
It wasn’t long before I started to see that her disdain for me might not be just a dislike. I was the only person who understood her antics and felt her ire. That had to count for something. You'd think I kicked her puppy, not that she has one, but you get the gist.
Or I could be making up shit in my head. The fuck do I know about women? I was sent to military school at the age of thirteen, and after that, I joined the Army, eventually retiring as a Ranger before coming here. Never have I wanted anything to do with women before Kindred.
That woman has me in knots, and I never know if I'm coming or going with her. It both pisses me off and has me fighting a smile. I never had to fight them before her; no, I just didn't have them. There really wasn’t much to look forward to in my life. She changed all of that. Now I wake up and go to bed thinking about a future with her.
I still can't help but bite back a chuckle when I think about the time I gave her a parking ticket. She had been ignoring me for a straight week, so I did what I had to. Kindred came storming into my office, slamming it down on my desk, telling me I could shove the ticket up my ass. Then she darted right back out, leaving the ticket on my desk with a "fucking good job, dumbass" sticker on it.
I didn't know they had those kinds of stickers. I thought they ended at "good job," but knowing Kindred, she'd had that personally made. I love ruffling her feathers. She’s so damn smart and creative that I never know how she’s going to react or exact her revenge on me. But I look forward to every damn second of it. I head out the door, hopping into my SUV that has Sheriff written across each side.
Something has to change. I have been trying to figure out the whole romance thing. Shelly over at the library has given me a few tips and a stack of books to read. I didn’t know romance books were filled with so much sex. I also didn’t realize that when you read it, you might picture yourself in the role.
Now every book I read, in my mind the heroine is Kindred and I’m the hero. I actually feel like I’ve got a lot of the shit down from those books. I’m surly and grunt a lot, issuing orders. I’m not sure that is working, or I might be doing it wrong.
I'll have to go back over to the library and see about getting a few other books. I heard there are different tropes. Either way, something has to give.