Rural Romance by Alexa Riley

Chapter One

Cooper

Many months later…

“Hey, Sheriff, how’s it going?”

I nod at Jim, the guy that owns the music shop downtown, and straighten my paper. “Good, just taking my lunch break.” I scan back over the sports section, reading again about the Lions’ win over East this past Friday night.

There’s not much in the local paper, but I’m distracted and have to re-read a few times.

“Out here?” Jim asks, and I look up again from the paper.

I’m outside the music shop on Main Street sitting on a bench with my lunch half eaten next to me. It’s a beautiful day, so why wouldn’t I take advantage of the sunshine and summer weather just around the corner?

“Yeah, why?”

“Nothing really, just wondering if it’s because this spot is perfect for looking into the diner.” I glare at Jim, and the old man smiles as he tips his hat and goes into his shop.

“Bunch of busybodies in this town,” I mumble, fluffing out my newspaper again and trying to read the sports section for a fourth—no, fifth time.

I try like hell to read the article about the local high school's chance at going to state this year, but instead I find my paper slowly lowering so I can look over the top at the town’s only restaurant. The special today is fried chicken, and it’s the best in the whole state. My stomach grumbles at the thought of it, but then I catch a glimpse of lavender and I remember why I don’t go in there anymore.

Grabbing the peanut butter and jelly sandwich next to me, I take a bite and try not to think about all the shitty sandwiches I’ve been eating lately. Last week I drove to the city to see Lux just so I could have a home-cooked meal. But then she asked me too many questions about…her, and then I had an emergency at work and needed to leave early.

The hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and when I glance up from my paper, I see she’s watching me. Well, she’s actually glaring at me, but it stirs me all the same.

Juno Folke has been a thorn in my paw since the day she met Lux. She’s always there, digging in, and I can’t get her out of me. I even tried one night to give in and—

That’s enough.

I scold my own thoughts because I can’t go down that path. I can’t think of that night in the kitchen, especially out here in the daylight. That’s a memory for when I’m alone and it’s dark. Not out here in front of women and children when I can’t do anything to hide what happens when I think about those soft lips…

“Damn it,” I curse myself as I shake my paper out once more. The damn thing is going to be shredded by the time my lunch break is over.

“They say talking to yourself is a sign of insanity.” I look up and see Luca leaning against the light pole with a toothpick in his hand. He’s smug as he smiles down at my lunch and shakes his head. “You know people drive from the next state over for that fried chicken, but here you sit with your PB&J with the most sour-looking face I’ve ever seen.”

“Mind your business.” I take another bite of my sandwich, and it might as well be sawdust.

“Sure was good today.” He rubs his belly and stretches his arms over his head. I roll my eyes as a group of girls pass, and he winks at them. “Afternoon, ladies.” They all giggle and blush.

“I’m trying to have my break in peace,” I say without looking at him.

“Seems an awful waste to sit out here when the prettiest view is inside the diner.” Luca says, trying to get me to take the bait.

“You’d know a lot about waste. Like how you enjoy wasting my time.” I still don’t look up, forcing myself to stay calm.

“I’m just stretching so my food can digest. You know Juno always gives me a little bit of her pie every time I see her.” When I glare up at him, he winks at me. “Sweetest treat in town.”

“Luca,” I warn, but he plays with his toothpick and ignores the bomb inside of me that’s about to go off.

“From what I hear I’m not the only one she’s handing it out to for free.”

Before I tell my body what to do, I’m on my feet and inches from him. “That’s enough.”

“Easy, big brother.” He winks at me before he pushes off the light pole and walks down the sidewalk. Just when I think he’s gone, he turns around to face me with his smile still just as bright as before. “Today was peach, and it sure was juicy.”

His cackle echoes through Main Street as he walks away, leaving me standing there in a rage. I clench my fists at my side, the paper and my lunch long forgotten as I look into the diner.

She’s at the window with an empty tray propped on her hip, looking at me. Her lavender hair is braided over one shoulder, and even from here I can see the hot pink on her lips. I don’t think about what that hot pink would look like on my skin. Instead I turn around, grab my trash, and stuff it angrily into the garbage can.

By the time I glance back at the diner, she’s gone and so is my appetite. I get in my patrol car and do a couple of checks all over town before I head back to the station. An older woman named Ruth works dispatch, but mostly I think she gossips to the people that call in and report crimes.

Our town is so small nothing ever really happens, and that’s part of the reason I love it here. We’re close enough to a big city that we can go have fun, but the biggest news in our town was last week when the Piggly Wiggly renovated their meat department.

Other than me and Ruth, there’s a retired firefighter who volunteers on nights and weekends so I can have days off. Compared to the hours and demands in the military, this job is relaxed and exactly what I needed after coming back to Pink Springs.

I wasn’t prepared to come back so soon, but after my father died, I knew I needed to take care of Lux. Luca was older, but he still needed someone to look after him too. After my run-in with him at lunch, I’m wondering if I shouldn’t have just left him to the wolves like the dog he is.

“Afternoon, Cooper, anything good going on?” Ruth asks as I come into the office and hang my hat up.

“I heard they sold out of chicken at lunch.”

“Fiddlesticks, now what are Frank and I going to do for dinner?” She immediately gets on the dispatch radio, and I hear her telling one of her friends that the chicken sold out.

I smile and shake my head as I go into my office and close the door. Pink Springs is always where I wanted to come and raise a family, but part of me wonders if that’s what this town wants for me.

There’s only one person who’s ever turned my head, and once that happened there was no turning back. I force myself not to think of her, but it’s no use. It’s like when someone tells you to not to think of a lavender squirrel that’s pissed off, and suddenly that’s all you’re thinking of. Fluffy, cute, and ready to bite, but somehow you can’t stop thinking of her.

There was one moment when things could have been different, but I stopped it from going any further. She’s my sister's best friend, but she’s also not the small-town type. One day Pink Springs won’t be enough for her, and when she leaves, she’ll take my heart with her.