Free Riverbend Road by RaeAnne Thayne Page B

since she wore her hair in braids on either side and those light freckles had been much more pronounced. Back in the day, he used to spend every spare moment he could at the Baileys’ house with his best bud, her brother Marshall. The warmth and peace there had been a foreign concept to him at first compared to the fighting and yelling at his own house but had quickly become addictive.
    â€œSomebody ought to give you dinner,” he said gruffly when she continued to look at him out of wide blue eyes. “It’s not every day one of my officers runs into a burning building to save a couple of kids.”
    â€œThank heavens for that.” A dimple flashed beside the mouth he had never noticed was so lush and soft. “You don’t have that many officers and you certainly can’t suspend us all.”
    â€œTrue enough.”
    She appeared to consider the offer and he couldn’t begin to guess what was going through her head. He seriously doubted she was entertaining the same thought that seemed to ricochet through his brain—that something had changed between them the moment he saw her come bursting through the doors of that burning barn.
    â€œI would actually really enjoy a steak,” she finally said. “I’m all dusty from the hike, though. Give me fifteen minutes to run home and change and toss a salad.”
    â€œYou don’t have to do that. The salad, I mean. I’ve got a head of lettuce in the refrigerator and can throw something together.”
    â€œI’ll bring something. Just give me a few.”
    He was inordinately happy that she had agreed. Probably just lingering relief that the situation today had turned out so well, except for poor Caleb Keegan’s broken ankle.
    â€œThey shouldn’t take much time to cook. I’ll wait until you’re back to throw them on. The coals can heat a little longer.”
    â€œSounds good.”
    She headed for the door, whistling for Pete.
    â€œYou can leave him if you want. He can keep me company out on the deck.”
    Again, she looked a little surprised. “Okay. He could probably use some water. Young Pete, behave yourself. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
    She headed out into the soft dusk, leaving him with her dog, a couple of steaks and the uncomfortable feeling that he had just made a grave mistake.

CHAPTER SIX
    D INNER . W ITH C ADE E MMETT .
    What was wrong with her?
    This had been a day for weird things. The whole moose debacle that she had nearly forgotten about, the fire, her suspension, their new neighbor and finally this.
    She had tried so diligently to keep things casual and friendly between them. Since coming to work at the Haven Point PD, she felt as if she were walking on a knife’s edge, afraid she might reveal her growing feelings for him.
    Working side by side in a small, intimate department was awkward enough. She was the only female in the department and had to constantly pretend she was just one of the guys. With the rest of the officers, it wasn’t an issue. She could laugh and joke, pull pranks and buy a round of beers at the Mad Dog on their downtime.
    The problem was, deep in her heart lived the knowledge that she didn’t want to be one of the guys to Cade.
    She knew there was no other option. He was her boss. While she worked at the Haven Point Police Department, that was the only thing that mattered.
    The day had already been surreal and she feared she was too tired to keep up the pretense all evening. What if she did or said something that revealed the feelings that seemed to have always been a part of her but that had deepened and changed over the years?
    This was going to be a nightmare.
    A wiser woman would have simply thanked him for his kind invitation but declined. She was tired, it had been a long day, she should rest her lungs. She had a million ready excuses. What was she thinking, agreeing to spend more time with him, when it was taking everything