Page 2 of A Very Grumpy Sheriff
Suri
I’m homesick.
I thought that feeling would fade, but it hasn’t.I like it here in Wolf Valley.I think I could stay here forever, that I could eventually call it home.But even after four months, I still feel a bit out of place here in this small town.I’ve made a few friends, but it still feels like something is missing.
My mind drifts to Devon Hayes, and I shake my head.
No, don’t think about him.That crush is over.
No matter how many times I tell myself that, it’s not true.I’ve been trying to forget about him, to find someone who sparks the same attraction he always did.It hasn’t happened yet.I’m worried it never will.
I’ve been trying to convince myself to sign up for online dating site, or maybe let one of my new friends set me up on a blind date, but I haven’t pulled the trigger on either idea yet.Something is still holding me back.
My phone rings, and I’m grateful for the distraction.I smile as I see my best friend’s name on the screen, and I eagerly swipe to answer her call.
“Rowan!”I greet happily.
“Suri!I miss you.”
I smile sadly.“I miss you too.”
Rowan and I grew up together in Colorado.She’s been my best friend for pretty much my whole life.We went from seeing each other every day when we were younger to three or four times a week once we graduated and started working.Then she got married, and I got offered a job in Wolf Valley.We still FaceTime, text, and call, but it’s not the same as being with her.I’ve been trying to convince her to move to Wolf Valley too, but I know she can’t—not until her new husband leaves the military.
“How’s work?”
“It’s been great,” I say honestly.
My job is the reason I moved to Wolf Valley.I’ve always wanted to work with animals, wolves specifically.When I got the offer to work for the Wolf Sanctuary, I jumped at it.Working with the wolves and my boss, Vera, has been a dream come true.
“No scary wolves?”Rowan teases.
I chuckle.“No, they’re great.”
“I’m so happy you’re doing what you love,” she says softly.
“Soon, we’ll both be doing what we love,” I promise.
She snorts.“Yeah, in a few years.I need to make it through medical school and residency first.”
Rowan has always wanted to be a doctor, and with the help of her husband, Grant, she’s finally able to afford medical school in the fall.
Rowan clears her throat.“So?—”
I instantly tense.She sounds nervous, and I prepare myself for terrible news.
“—have you gotten any letters from Devon lately?”she asks carefully.
“No,” I say firmly, hoping she’ll drop this line of conversation.
Rowan is silent.
I chew on my bottom lip as I think about Devon and the last letter I sent him.
I’ve been in love with Devon Hayes since the first day of freshman year.He was a few years older than Rowan and me, and he never so much as glanced in my direction.I’m not surprised.He was a hot, fit junior, and I was a chubby, wallflower dork.Plus, he was always too focused on saving the world to ever spare me a glance.Still, I never stopped fantasizing that one day, our eyes would lock, and he would fall madly in love with me.
That never happened.
Instead, two years later, he turned eighteen, graduated, and joined the Army.He left town, and I think I cried for a solid two weeks before Rowan told me to snap out of it.She suggested I write to him, that he must feel lonely and maybe even scared.I realized she was right and sent my first letter to him the very next day.
