Page 25 of Hard to Hold
“You got any plans now?”
I shook my head.
Wolfe jerked his chin in the direction of the stairs. “Come on. I’ll drive.”
I had to hold back the words that hung on the tip of my tongue. I was going to say that I could drive myself, but I didn’t want to. I needed to prove to myself that I really could trust this man. He’d given me a job and hadn’t questioned me about anything. Even when I'd turned in my paperwork, although some of the information was missing, he hadn’t asked about it.
Oh, I knew I would have to provide my social security number, birthdate, and all that crap in order to receive a paycheck, but I was hesitant. Being paid biweekly meant I had a little time. If it meant I worked for two weeks for free, so be it. At the end of next week, if I felt comfortable enough, I'd give it to him.
If not, then I'd walk away. It was that simple.
“Okay,” I agreed, turning toward the stairs.
I waited while Wolfe closed up the shop, setting the alarm and locking the doors before he made his way to his truck. He walked me around to the passenger door and opened it, lingering there while I climbed inside.
The truck was a beast. Thank goodness for step bars or I never would’ve managed to get inside without help.
“Buckle up,” he said, closing the door and then moving around to the driver’s side.
When he joined me, I had the seat belt locked into place. I scanned the interior of the truck, not at all surprised to see it was clean. Wolfe’s office was unorganized, but I had to say, everything was always spotless. That characteristic carried over to his vehicle as well. It made me wonder what his house looked like.
As Wolfe steered the truck out of the lot, he picked up his phone and hit a button.
“Hey, Sheriff. Thought I’d let you know that I’m takin’ Amy out to the range behind my house. Gonna teach her how to shoot a gun.”
There was a brief pause. Wolfe glanced both ways at a stop sign, his expression unchanged.
“Yep. Just thought you should know. Later.”
I got the feeling that it wasn’t customary for residents to inform the sheriff when they were going to be shooting on their own land. I was pretty sure Wolfe had done it for my benefit. It did make me feel better knowing that someone was aware of where I was going, although, if I was completely honest, I wasn’t worried that Wolfe would hurt me. In fact, I felt safe with him.
Safer than I had in a long, long time.
And I wasn’t sure what to think about that yet.
Wolfe
I disconnected the call and tossed my phone into the center console.
I could feel Amy’s eyes on me.
“Do you always call the sheriff when you’re gonna be shooting?”
The doubt in her tone told me she knew better.
I smirked, cutting my eyes to her briefly. “Not usually, no.”
A smile formed on her face, and I could see that she had relaxed somewhat.
My reasons for calling Rhys had been twofold. Mainly to put Amy at ease. I figured she’d be more comfortable knowing that the sheriff was aware of where she was and who she was with. And two, because I'd wanted to entice the sheriff to show up. I didn’t bother to mention to Amy that Rhys wasn’t on duty at the moment. Nor did I share with her what Rhys had said.
“You callin’ to brag? Or is that an invitation?”
“Yep. Just thought you should know. Later.”
I would let him figure out which question I'd been answering. Either the sheriff would show up or he wouldn’t. Knowing Rhys, he’d be there. Since he had avoided me since the day I confronted him outside the shop, I figured it was time for me to make a move. It wasn’t like me not to go after what I wanted, and since I had half of what I wanted right here in the truck with me, I simply needed to get Rhys on board for everything to fall into place. I had waited long enough.
“Where do you live?” Amy asked, her attention fixed on the scenery passing by the truck.
