Curves and the Sheriff (BBW Romance - Coldwater Springs 2) (2 page)

“
Sarah
Grant. She teaches elementary school here.”

The
sheriff froze. “You’ll get your phone call,” he
growled.

###

“
Sarah!”
Libby rushed over to her cousin and hugged her tightly, blinking
back tears of relief. It was so good to see a familiar face.

Sarah
Grant returned the hug. “Libby.” She stepped back,
turning to the tall, dark haired man who had entered the room with
her. “This is Chase, my fiancée.” She shared an
intimate smile with him.

“
What?”
Libby almost squealed.

Sarah
beamed and held out her hand. Libby gazed at the large solitaire
diamond on her cousin’s left hand ring finger and then turned
her gaze to the man standing next to Sarah.

“
The
Chase McCord?” Libby couldn’t help the cheeky grin
that lit up her face. “Sarah’s told me a lot about you.
Except for the fact that you‘re engaged.”

“
It
only happened last week.” Sarah blushed. “I wanted to
tell you in person.”

Chase’s
lips tugged upwards and he wrapped an arm around his fiancée.
“And she’s told me about you, too. But she didn’t
mention that you’re an alleged con-artist and car thief.”

“
He’s
an idiot.” Libby scowled. “A total jackass. Anyone can
see I’m not a criminal.” She was
not
going to
think about the sheriff’s dark brown eyes or tall, muscular
frame. Or lips that looked perfectly kissable. Nope.

“
Jake
Morgan happens to be a friend of mine.” Chase raised his hands
to ward off Libby’s death-ray glare. “I didn’t say
I agreed with what happened here. But Jake probably thinks you can’t
be too careful.”

Sheriff
Jake Morgan. The name definitely suited him. What a shame he was so
- so--

Libby
blinked as he appeared in the doorway. “Miss Grant, you’re
free to go,” the sheriff said gruffly. “Sorry for the
mix-up.”

Mix-up?
Practically being arrested and interrogated was now being called “a
mix-up”? She blew out a deep breath she didn’t even know
she’d been holding.

Sarah
must have seen the expression on her face because she hastily said,
“Thank you, Jake. Come on, Lib.”

Libby
raised her chin as she strode past the sheriff. If she ever saw him
again, it would be too soon.

“
Miss
Grant.” She paused, hating the fact that she did so.
Reluctantly turning around, she raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”
She forced her tone to be completely businesslike.

“
Your
purse.” He held out her handbag. “Your car is in the
parking lot.”

A
flush stole over her cheeks. “Thank you.” She took it
from him gingerly, careful not to let her fingers touch his. She
remembered the tingle she’d felt when he’d escorted her
to his vehicle on the highway. She didn’t want to experience
that again. No way.

She
walked out of the station into the dusky January twilight, Sarah
behind her. Libby heard Chase say, “Thanks Jake,” before
he caught up with them.

Libby
breathed in the frosty air, her breath forming a white cloud in front
of her face. “Oooh!”

“
I
take it Jake isn’t your favorite person right now.”

“
You’ve
got that right, Chase.” Libby ran her hand through her blond
curls. “And I don’t want to think about him or what
happened this afternoon ever again.”

Sarah
put her arm around Libby. “Let’s get you settled in at
the cottage. Chase can get us some pizzas.”

“
And
wine?”

Both
women looked hopefully at Chase.

He
chuckled
.
“Pizza and wine coming right up.”

###

Libby
hummed under her breath, placing returned books on the trolley.
She’d been working at the library for almost a week now, and
seemed to be getting on well with Mrs Bird, the head librarian and
only other employee.

She’d
quickly settled in her cute two bedroom furnished cottage, three
blocks away from the library. One of the perks of living in
Coldwater Springs, besides hanging out with Sarah, would be the
chance to walk to work in the warmer weather.

Libby
glanced down at her soft peach sweater and gray slacks. Somehow her
outfit managed to highlight her figure in all the right places and
the colors flattered her hair and pale skin. According to magazine
articles, there were tons of guys out there who liked a woman with a
voluptuous figure. So where was her guy?

“
Libby!”
The hiss jolted her out of her thoughts and she whipped around.

“
Yes,
Mrs Bird?” She kept her voice low. Mrs Bird was aptly named.
She wore slightly old-fashioned clothes on her tall, thin frame and
arranged her gray hair in a neat bun at the back of her head.

In
Laramie, the library where Libby had worked encouraged people to
bring their tablets, laptops, ear-buds and cell phones. Sometimes
kids even ran rampant around the aisles. No one would dare do any of
those things in the Coldwater Springs library. Mrs Bird made sure
that peace and quiet reigned. All day. Except for the melodious
chimes of the self-checkout machine.

“
The
sheriff is here.” Mrs Bird frowned.

“
What?”

“
He
hasn’t been in here for eleven months. Not since I fined him
for having an overdue book.”

“
I
bet he didn’t like that.” Libby tried not to smirk. It
seemed that even the sheriff had to obey the library rules.

“
Be
a dear and go see what he wants.” The older woman patted her
bun. “I have to check on the mothers’ group next door
and make sure they know about the new parenting books that arrived
last week.”

Libby
grimaced.
She
did not
want to see Sheriff Jake Morgan.
She had successfully - some of the time at least - kept thoughts of
him at bay. Except at night, when images of his tall, muscular body
and dark brown eyes invaded her dreams.

“
Don’t
think about that now,” she murmured to herself, walking slowly
to the other side of the room. Be polite and professional, polite
and professional, she chanted silently as she spied him standing in
front of one of the shelves.

“
May
I help you, sheriff?” Keeping a neutral expression on her face
was difficult when she stood this close to him. Why did he have to
be so gruff and tough?

She
took a calming breath. His scent of clean, fresh leather filled her
senses. Why was she attracted to him? It just didn’t make
sense.

“
Just
looking for something to read, Miss Grant.” He turned from the
bookshelf
.
His hooded gaze swept over her, taking in her
appearance. He stared at her for so long that Libby’s cheeks
burned and she wondered if he was going to accuse her of stealing
another car.

“
Well,
let me know if I can help.” Libby edged away
.

“
I
will,” he murmured.

Walking
back to the book trolley, she wondered at the soft tone of his last
two words. That man was not attractive at all. Not when he
suspected her of being a
notorious
con-artist. And a car
thief.

Libby
tried to keep her mind on her work, concentrating on placing books
back correctly on the shelf. However, after working as an assistant
librarian for the last three years, shelving books was something she
could do in her sleep and she found herself thinking of
him.

She
fought the urge to peek around the end of the aisle. Was he still
browsing the shelves? Or had he already left?

Libby
wheeled the empty trolley back to the desk. The scolding chimes of
the self-checkout machine reached her ears. She rounded the corner,
ready to assist the patron to check out their books correctly. But
when she reached the self-checkout, she saw the sheriff departing the
library, a book under his arm.

She
couldn’t see Mrs Bird anywhere. Libby took a deep breath.
“Sheriff!” Hurrying after him, she managed to catch up
with him at the library door.

He
turned around to face her, an eyebrow raised in enquiry. “Yes,
Miss Grant?”

Why
did he have to be so formal all the time? Although she supposed
being called Miss Grant was better than being called Alleged
Con-Artist Libby Grant.

“
Did
you have any problems with the self-checkout machine?”

He
scowled. “What do you mean?”

She
tried not to flush at his scrutiny. “When a book isn’t
checked out properly, the machine makes a warning sound. Mrs Bird
said you haven’t been in here for a while, so I wondered if you
were familiar with using the new machine.”

“
I’m
sure it’s fine,” he said dismissively.

“
I
heard the warning chime, but not the chime for the book being checked
out properly. May I see the book?”

He
reluctantly handed her the popular forensic thriller. If she was
wrong, she would look foolish. But if she was right…

Libby
walked over to the librarian’s desk and scanned the book. Just
as she thought. “I’m afraid you haven’t checked
this book out properly, sheriff.”

He
glowered. “I used the machine.”

“
Let
me show you.” So Jake Morgan didn’t know everything
after all! He followed her to the machine. “First, I need
your library card.”

He
dug out his wallet and handed her his card. “Here.”

“
Place
your card under the scanner.” She pushed the card under the
laser beam, her stomach fluttering at his nearness. Only an inch
separated them. He dipped his head, his breath fanning her neck,
and she shivered
.
The machine played a tune and snapped
her attention back to the matter at hand. She cleared her throat.
“Now place the book under the scanner, so it can read the
barcode.”

A
pleasant chime
filled the air as the machine processed the
information on the barcode and automatically printed out a date slip.
Libby handed it to him, careful not to let her fingers brush his.
“All done.”

“
Thanks.”
He put the slip into his pocket and picked up the book.

Pleased
with how she handled the situation, Lobby tucked a stray curl behind
her ear. She couldn’t help wondering if he’d noticed
that
she
hadn’t accused him of stealing.

He
turned to go, and then swivelled on his heel. “Miss Grant.”

“
Yes?”
Her pulse accelerated.

“
I
want to apologize.” He paused. “I may have been a
little tough on you the other day when I brought you in for
questioning.”

You
bet you were.
Some of the anger
and frustration she’d experienced that day came rushing back
and she fought for composure.

“
I
know you mightn’t believe it, but I was just doing my job.”

She
struggled to find the right words. “Just as I’m doing my
job today, sheriff.” Libby gestured to the library book tucked
under his arm.

He
smiled wryly. “Truce?” He held out his large, tanned
hand.

She
hesitated, then placed her hand in his. “Truce.”
Electric tremors raced up her arm as his warm hand clasped hers. His
eyes held hers for a long moment.
Libby held her breath until
he suddenly released her hand and nodded, striding out of the
library.

###

Music
and laughter filled the old Grant farmhouse. Chase and Sarah‘s
engagement party was in full swing.
It had been a week since
the sheriff had apologized to Libby; although she welcomed the
apology, she hadn’t bumped into him again.

Surveying
the throng of guests, Libby wondered if he was here tonight. She
shivered at the thought of encountering him again. What would she
say to him? Would she feel that same tug of attraction?

More
people entered the living room, including the sheriff
.
A
ripple of excitement ran down her spine when she
glimpsed
him on the opposite side of the room. He wore denim jeans that fit
him like a glove and a pale blue long-sleeved shirt. Her heart
skipped and she consciously steadied her breathing. So what if he
was a good-looking guy? He wasn’t the first one she’d
seen. Ducking her head, she walked over to the punch, hoping he
wouldn’t see her.