“We’re not friends. We’re not going to be friends.”

No, they’ll be so much more...

Escaping from a cheating fiancé in a “borrowed” car, Sienna Pierce can’t think of anywhere to go but Crimson, the hometown she swore she’d never go back to. And Crimson sheriff Cole Bennett has a lot at stake in keeping the town on an even keel. On the surface, they have nothing in common. Unfortunately, there is nothing superficial about their feelings for each other!

MICHELLE MAJOR grew up in Ohio but dreamed of living in the mountains. Soon after graduating with a degree in journalism, she pointed her car west and settled in Colorado. Her life and house are filled with one great husband, two beautiful kids, a few furry pets and several well-behaved reptiles. She’s grateful to have found her passion writing stories with happy endings. Michelle loves to hear from her readers at www.michellemajor.com.

Also by Michelle Major

Sleigh Bells in Crimson

Romancing the Wallflower

Christmas on Crimson Mountain

Always the Best Man

A Baby and a Betrothal

A Very Crimson Christmas

Suddenly a Father

A Second Chance on Crimson

Ranch A Kiss on Crimson Ranch

Her Soldier of Fortune

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Coming Home to Crimson

Michelle Major

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-07778-1

COMING HOME TO CRIMSON

© 2018 Michelle Major

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To Jan and Suzanne:

Thank you for being the best aunties a girl (or her kids) could ever imagine!!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Extract

About the Publisher

Chapter One

Unfaithful dirtbag. Cheating scum ball. Two-timing lowlife.

Idiot.

A slew of descriptive and mainly colorful phrases pinged through Sienna Pierce’s mind. That last word, though, she reserved for herself as she sped along the two-lane highway toward Crimson, Colorado. She’d left the ritzy mountain town of Aspen, and her boyfriend—ex-boyfriend now—in her rearview mirror.

She was an idiot for not seeing the signs earlier. Kevin’s late nights at the office, the last-minute business trips, the fact that they hadn’t had sex in... Well, she should have guessed something was wrong between them.

But he fit her world—her mother’s world. Kevin was her stepfather’s heir apparent at the investment firm. She never thought he’d jeopardize his future this way. Although what did it say about their relationship that she’d believed their strongest bond was his career aspirations?

Another wave of humiliation washed over her, bringing with it a mix of sweat and nausea. Interesting that embarrassment and anger were the most prevalent emotions right now. Her stomach churned, but her heart remained relatively untouched.

Did that prove she deserved the ice princess accusations Kevin had hurled at her across the hotel room as he’d rushed to pull up his boxers, while the woman in his bed hid under the Egyptian cotton sheets at the five-star hotel?

She adjusted the temperature inside the Porsche, cold air blasting from the vents in the dash. Perspiration continued to bead all over her body, droplets snaking down her spine. Her long hair clung to her neck, and she pulled it over one shoulder.

The weather on this June morning was perfect, the sky overhead an expansively brilliant blue she rarely saw in downtown Chicago. Mountains rose up to meet the sky to the west, their massive rocky peaks reminding her that she was just a speck on the earth in comparison. Sunlight beat down on the cherry-red sports car, the glimmering reflection mocking both her mood and the fact that at twenty-seven years old, she seemed to be having a premature hot flash.

With one hand on the steering wheel, she tried to shrug out of her tailored Calvin Klein suit jacket, the one that had always made her feel both powerful and sexy, like she could handle anything. Until forty-five minutes ago, when her professional attire and meticulously straightened hair had somehow given the appearance that she was trying too hard compared to the effortlessly seductive woman she’d caught glimpses of in that hotel room.

Nothing in her life was right at the moment, especially when one of her arms got tangled between the jacket’s sleeve and the seat belt. The car swerved as she yanked her arm, and she forced a deep breath. Oncoming traffic was pretty much nonexistent between the two towns, which was a bonus since the last thing she needed was to cause an accident.

Pull it together, she told herself as she lifted her foot from the gas pedal. How fast had she been driving anyway?

The answer to that question came as she glanced into the rearview mirror and saw red and blue lights flashing behind her. She let out a little growl, the thought of a speeding ticket fueling her temper.

This was Kevin’s fault, too. At least Sienna blamed him. She blamed him for everything.

Dust billowed around the Porsche as she pulled onto the shoulder and parked. She unfastened the seat belt and shrugged out of her jacket. It felt like shedding a thousand-pound wool coat.

Knuckles rapped on the window, and she pressed the lever at the same time she leaned closer to the air vents.

“I’m sorry, officer,” she said automatically, fanning her hand in front of her face. “I was having a bit of trouble taking off my jacket around the seat belt. I’ll be more careful.”

“License and registration, ma’am.”

The rumbly voice gave her pause and she sat back, glancing up into the face of a man who could have been the direct descendent of some Wild West lawman. The firm set of his jaw and rugged good looks seemed like a throwback to the era of John Wayne, although he wore a modern law enforcement uniform of a beige button-down and black tie, khaki pants and a gun clearly tucked into the holster at his waist.

The button clipped above his shirt pocket read Sheriff. Okay then, the real deal.

And not feeling all that friendly, if the tight line of his mouth was any indication. She couldn’t see his eyes behind the mirrored aviator sunglasses but imagined he was glaring at her.

“Of course,” she said and pulled her wallet out of the Louis Vuitton purse on the passenger seat.

“You know texting and driving is against the law,” he said as she handed him her driver’s license.

“I was having some sort of bizarre hot flash,” she blurted. “Not texting.” Even now she could feel the silk tank top clinging to her skin. “Anger induced, not hormonal,” she felt compelled to add, her cheeks flaming.

One thick brow lifted above the frame of his sunglasses, and Sienna resisted the urge to fidget.

“You were also driving twenty miles above the speed limit.”

“I certainly was not.” Sienna rolled her eyes. “I’d never drive that fast.”

“Ma’am—”

She pointed a finger at him. “I don’t like your tone when you call me ma’am.”

“I clocked you at eighty-five and it’s a sixty-five mile an hour zone that drops to forty-five as you come into town.” He paused, then added, “Ma’am.”

Sparks raced across Sienna’s skin. Somehow his tone had gone from patronizing to sexy-as-hell in one word. She had no idea what had possessed her to try to goad this small-town sheriff into a reaction, but her body’s response to him was totally unexpected.

And bothersome.

“I’m sorry,” she repeated. “This isn’t my car so I’m not used to how it drives.” The truth was she’d been too preoccupied with mentally trash-talking her cheating ex-boyfriend to realize she was driving recklessly. Kevin’s fault, as well.

“Who does the car belong to?”

“I don’t know.” She flipped open the glove compartment. “I assume it’s a rental. I took it from my ex-boyfriend.”

The sheriff leaned forward, his hands resting above the driver’s side window. The fabric of his shirt pulled tight across his arms, revealing the outline of corded muscles. “As in you stole it?”

“No,” she answered immediately. “I... It wasn’t quite like that.” She closed her eyes and drew in a breath. In fact, it was exactly like that.

She’d taken a private shuttle from the Aspen airport to the upscale hotel where Kevin had made a reservation. She’d originally been scheduled to come on this trip with him, three days in the mountains of Colorado with a few meetings thrown in to make it a legitimate business expense. Sienna hadn’t been back to Colorado in almost two decades, and to make a trip so soon after her estranged brother’s visit to Chicago last year... Well, it had been too much to even consider.

Yet in the end, she couldn’t stay away. Kevin had acted so disappointed she wasn’t coming, dropping subtle hints that he’d planned to pop the question in Aspen. So she’d taken a red-eye into Denver, then a commuter plane to Aspen, thinking how fun it would be to surprise him.

She’d surprised him all right, in bed with another woman. Could it get more clichéd than that? Her life had been reduced to a cliché.

“How about we start with the registration?” the sheriff asked, his voice gentling as if somehow he could sense what a mess she was on the inside.

That infuriated her even more. Sienna didn’t do vulnerable. People around her saw what she wanted them to see, and the thought that this mountain-town Mayberry lawman could see beyond her mask made her want to lash out at someone. Anyone. Sheriff Hot Pants, for one.

She dipped her chin and looked up at him through her lashes, flashing a small, knowing smile. “How about I write a healthy-size check to the police foundation or your favorite charity...” She winked. “Or you for that matter and we both go on our merry way?”

“Are you offering me a bribe?”

She widened her smile. “Call it an incentive.”

The sheriff took off his sunglasses, shoving them into his front shirt pocket. His eyes were brown, the color of warm honey, but his gaze was frigid. “How’s the thought of being arrested as an incentive for you to hand me the registration?”

He smiled as he asked the question. His full lips revealed a set of perfectly straight teeth in a way that made him look like some sort of predator. “Or perhaps you’d like to step out of the car and I’ll handcuff you? Another viable option, ma’am.”

Blowing out a breath, Sienna grabbed the stack of papers from the glove compartment. She hated that her fingers trembled as she leafed through to find the registration card.

She held it up without speaking, and the sheriff plucked it from her fingers.

“Do you have anything else you’d like to say before I run your information?” he asked conversationally.

“I might like to call my lawyer in Crimson,” she answered automatically. It would be just her luck that Kevin the scumbag had reported his rental car as missing after she’d convinced the bellman to release it to her. It had felt like a tiny sliver of retribution for what he’d done but now it was coming back to bite her in—

“You have an attorney in Crimson? I find it hard to believe you have ties to anyone in my town.”

“Your town,” she muttered. “Like you own it.”

“Ma’am.” This iteration was a warning.

“I do know an attorney,” she snapped before he could say anything more. “Jase Crenshaw.”

The sheriff laughed. “You know Jase?”

The way he asked the question made her feel two inches tall. As if Jase Crenshaw wouldn’t want anything to do with a woman like Sienna. Which was both ridiculous and possibly true at this point.

But she didn’t let him see her doubt. Never show anyone the doubt.

Instead she flashed another smile. “I certainly hope I know Jase. He’s my brother.”

* * *

Cole Bennett blinked. Once. Twice. He rubbed a hand over his jaw, then pulled the sunglasses out of his pocket and returned them to his face.

If the gorgeous and obviously high-strung blonde in the Porsche had told him her brother was the President, he wouldn’t have been more surprised.

He patted his open palm on the top of the car. “Sit tight.”

“Are you going to call Jase?” she asked, her voice suddenly breathless.

“I’m going to run your plates and make sure this car hasn’t been reported stolen.”

She snorted, a strangely appealing sound coming from a woman who looked so uptight he guessed she’d never made a noise that wasn’t appropriate for a luncheon at a ritzy country club. Living in the mountains of Colorado, Cole had little use for anything fancy, even with Aspen an easy thirty-minute drive down the road.

“My cheating, dirtbag, sleazeball ex is probably too busy entertaining his mistress to even realize the car is gone.”

Cole was amused despite himself. “And when he does?”

She rolled her pale blue eyes. “I borrowed the car. I’m planning to return it.”

“I gather you recently discovered the cheating, dirtbag, sleazeball side of him.”

“Along with a view of his saggy, naked butt in bed with another woman—that part I could have done without.”

“How long did you date?”

“A little over two years.”

“And his saggy butt came as a surprise?”

She laughed, low and husky, and he felt it all the way to his toes. “I got good at not looking. He had other redeemable qualities.”

“Fidelity wasn’t one of them?”

He regretted the question when the corners of her mouth turned down. He liked seeing her smile and got the impression she didn’t do it half as much as she should.

“Apparently not.”

“Do I need to confiscate the keys so you don’t take off?” he asked conversationally. “I’m not in the mood for a car chase today.”

She met his gaze, her blue eyes sparking with some emotion he couldn’t name but that resonated deep in his gut. “Do I look like a flight risk?”

“You look like ten kinds of trouble,” he answered, then turned and headed for the Jeep he drove while on duty. Cole Bennett didn’t need trouble in his life, no matter how appealing a package it came wrapped in.

Both the car and the woman checked out fine, but Cole didn’t trust that things wouldn’t go south when the ex-boyfriend realized the car was gone. Maybe she was indeed going to return it, or maybe she was going to do something stupid that would end up bad for all of them.

Cole prided himself on his ability to read people and situations. It was a skill he’d learned first in the army and then through a more recent career in law enforcement. But Sienna Pierce was an enigma.

On the surface, she was a perfect, polished society type—the kind of woman he would have looked right through on any given day. But a current of something more ran just below the surface—a feral energy he didn’t quite understand but that drew him despite his better judgment.

He glanced through the front window of the Jeep to the Porsche and sighed. He could call Jase and dump this problem onto his friend’s doorstep. There was no doubt Sienna was going to be a problem. Jase rarely talked about the sister who’d left with their mother when they were kids.

But Cole knew his friend had received a letter from his estranged mother last fall. It had pushed his recovering alcoholic father, Declan, off the wagon in a tumble that had almost cost Jase the town’s mayoral election and the woman he loved.

Jase was a good man, honest and loyal. Cole understood better than most how much that meant and what a rare commodity it could be. No matter what Sienna’s intentions were, her brother would give her the benefit of the doubt and open his home and heart to her. Cole wasn’t convinced she deserved that chance.

Sometimes people were too kind and they got hurt because of it. His mother had been one of those gentle-hearted souls. Jase likely was, as well, although his wife, Emily, was tough enough for the both of them. Either way, Cole would do his best to protect his friend. He made his decision, called the station to tell the department’s secretary his plans and got out of the car.

Sienna turned her head as he approached. She’d put on tortoise-framed sunglasses in the interim so her eyes were hidden from view. Also hidden—or at least ruthlessly tamped down—was any of the wild spirit he’d sensed in her earlier. The woman frowning up at him was so cold she could make a polar bear shiver.

“It’s your lucky day, ma’am,” he told her, handing back her license and registration.

Her rosy lips pressed together. “Is that so?”

“You’ve earned yourself a sheriff’s escort.”

“Was the car reported stolen?” she asked with much less concern in her voice than he would have expected. “Are you arresting me?”

“The car’s fine,” he answered. “For now. I’m going to make sure it stays that way. We’re heading back to Aspen, Ms. Pierce, to return the Porsche.”

“I don’t need your help with the car.”

“Good.” He leaned a little closer. “Because it’s not you I’m helping. It’s your brother I care about.”

Chapter Two

Kevin stood on the sidewalk under the hotel’s blue awning, obviously arguing with one of the valets, as Sienna pulled the Porsche to the curb.

“You stole my car,” he yelled as she got out, stalking toward her. “What the hell were you thinking?”

She took a moment to adjust her skirt and ran a hand through her hair, then tossed the keys to the relieved young man in the valet uniform gaping at them both.

“What were you thinking?” she countered, strangely empty of emotion at the moment. Her heels made a soft clicking noise on the pavement as she moved to stand in front of him.

“Come in the hotel, Sienna. We’ll work this out.”

“There’s nothing left to work out.” She reached in her purse and handed the valet a twenty-dollar bill. “Thank you,” she told him with a serene smile. From the corner of her eye, she saw Cole Bennett climb out of the Jeep that had the words Crimson County Sheriff emblazoned across the side.

Under normal circumstances, Sienna loathed drawing attention to herself. Right now she couldn’t find the energy to care.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kevin snapped. “I made a mistake. It was one night. I didn’t even know her.”

“That doesn’t make it any better,” Sienna said through clenched teeth.

“Ready to head out?” Cole asked as he came to stand beside her.

“Who the hell are you?” Kevin demanded.

Cole flashed an aw-shucks grin that would have done Andy Griffith proud and pointed to the badge on his chest. “Good morning to you, too, buddy. I gather you can read as well as cheat on your girlfriend?”

Kevin narrowed his eyes as he gave Cole the once-over. “A cop,” he muttered.

“Sheriff,” Cole corrected.

“I want this woman arrested.” Kevin pointed toward Sienna. “For grand theft auto.”

Sienna felt her body go rigid, then Cole put a hand on her back, whether as comfort or as a silent reminder not to flee, she couldn’t tell.

“A fan of video games, I take it,” Cole said conversationally. “‘Grand Theft Auto’ is good but I prefer ‘Call of Duty’ myself.”

Kevin’s hands clenched into fists. “This isn’t a damn joke.”

“I borrowed the car because I needed to compose myself,” Sienna said, forcing her voice to remain calm. “Then I returned it.”

“She has a witness,” Cole added. He pointed to the young valet. “You saw her return it.”

The gangly teen swallowed. “Yes, sir.”

Kevin lifted a brow. “Come with me and work this out, and we’ll let it go. Otherwise, you’re going to have to explain to your parents why you were arrested for stealing a car. Mommy won’t like it when that hits the news cycle, and what a blow after she just finished chemo.”

He reached for her, but Cole moved forward, effectively blocking his access. “The only thing you’re letting go of is Sienna,” he said, all trace of civility gone from his tone. Sienna had a sudden twinge of sympathy for whatever bad guys were lurking around this section of the Rocky Mountains. Cole Bennett was clearly not a lawman to tangle with.

“This is none of your business, Sheriff.”

“Are you joking?” Cole threw up his hands. “You’re going to force me to use the ‘I’m making it my business’ line? I try not to veer into TV cop stereotypes, but if that’s what it takes...”

Sienna raised a hand to her mouth, stifling a giggle. The situation was no laughing matter and Kevin had the right of it with his implied threat about her parents. Both her mom and stepdad assumed her marriage to Kevin was a done deal, the engagement just a box to check off the official wedding to-do list.

Maybe she was light-headed from lack of oxygen at this altitude, but she realized she not only had other options in life but wanted to explore them. To see who she could have become without the rigid constraints of the life her mom had orchestrated. Her mother had gone through her own emotional journey during her battle with cancer, one that had culminated with reuniting with the son she’d left behind. But Sienna wasn’t on the path of reconciliation, and certainly not with Kevin.

She pointed at her ex-boyfriend. “You have a saggy butt.”

The valet snickered as Kevin’s mouth dropped open.

Cole turned to her, one corner of his gorgeous mouth twitching with amusement. His honey-brown gaze held hers for a moment. “You went there,” he muttered. “Really?”

“I deserve better than you,” she continued, moving around Cole to go toe-to-toe with Kevin. “I deserve better than how you treated me.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” he said, and she wondered why she’d never noticed that when he smiled it looked more like a sneer. “If you weren’t such a stuffy prude, I wouldn’t have had to find another woman to warm the bed. This is your—”

His head snapped back as her fist connected with his nose. She yelped, as surprised by the fact that she’d punched him as she was by the pain in her knuckles. Kevin cried out, covering his face with his hands.

“You saw her. Assault and battery,” he shouted through his fingers.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Cole promised. He gestured to the valet. “Get him a towel and some ice.” Then he grabbed Sienna’s arm. “I think you’re done here.”

“I didn’t mean—”

“No more talking,” he told her, half leading and half dragging her across the street to his Jeep. “Let’s just get out of this town before you cause an even bigger scene.”

She stopped a few feet from the car. “Are you going to make me sit in the back seat?”

“I should after that stunt,” Cole said but opened the passenger door for her. “Get in. Your saggy bottomed ex has gone into the hotel. We should be gone by the time he comes out again.”

Neither of them spoke as Cole drove out of Aspen. The upscale shops and restaurants housed in historic brick buildings gave way to apartment complexes and other, newer structures and finally changed to open meadows as he took the turn onto the highway that led to Crimson. It was the third time today she’d driven this stretch of road.

As they passed a herd of cattle grazing in a field behind a split-rail fence, Sienna searched for the mama and baby she’d spotted earlier this morning. The young calf, which couldn’t have been more than a few weeks or months old, had been glued to its mother’s side as if that was the safest place in the world to be.

Sienna wished she could relate to that feeling.

“I don’t make scenes,” she said, finally breaking the silence.

Cole’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “Then you do a great imitation of someone who does.”

“It’s not my fault he cheated,” she whispered.

Cole glanced over at her. “Say it like you mean it, sweetheart.”

“I do. I want to.” She clasped her hands tight in her lap. “He was right about one thing. My mother is going to be irked by this situation.”

“The part where he cheated or the part where you broke up with him because of it?”

“We were supposed to get engaged on this trip,” she said because she wasn’t ready to answer his question out loud.

“Then I’d say you dodged a bullet.”

She held on to that comment for a moment, cupped it between her hands—like a kid would with a firefly late on a summer night—and found she liked the light shining from it. So she tucked that light inside herself, the way she’d learned to do with anything that made her happy but would have disappointed her mother.

Sienna had learned early how to pick her battles with Dana Crenshaw Pierce, and most of them weren’t worth waging.

“Did you grow up in Crimson?” she asked, needing a break from talking about her own messed-up life.

It was a simple enough question but Cole tensed like she’d just requested he recount his first sexual encounter in graphic detail, then broadcast the story across his cruiser’s radio.

“No.”

“Somewhere in Colorado?”

“No.”

“Okay then.” When he didn’t add anything more, she threw up her hands. “I’m going to assume you’re some sort of super secret law enforcement guy and you’ve had your past wiped out by the covert government agency that basically owns you and if you breathe one word of where you came from or who you used to be, everyone in your family will die.”

“They’re already dead,” he said quietly.

“Oh.” She reached out a hand, placed it on his arm. “I’m sorry.”

He swerved off the highway to the shoulder, braking hard. The Jeep’s tires crunched in the dirt and gravel. Sienna tried to catch her breath as she was jostled in her seat.

“Let’s get a few things straight.” Cole’s voice was as jarring as fingernails on a chalkboard. “I don’t need or want your pity.”

“I wasn’t—” she began, but he held up a hand.

“We’re not friends,” he continued. “We’re not going to be friends. You were a mess this morning and I was taking care of my friend by taking care of you. If the ex-boyfriend is any indication, you need serious help with your taste in men. Maybe you need help in general.” He jabbed a finger toward her, then back at himself. “I’m not going to be the one to give it. I’m dropping you off at the rental car agency, and we’re done. Is that clear?”

“Crystal,” she said, feeling as if she had ice forming inside her veins. She straightened her skirt, wishing it were a few inches longer so her legs weren’t exposed to Cole’s gaze. She could feel him watching her, although she refused to make eye contact.

She sat tall, shoulders back, her posture impeccable—the way she’d been taught in the five years of ballet classes her mother had wrenched out of her after Dana had married Craig Pierce and had the money to reinvent herself. To recreate both of their lives—a do-over of monumental proportions and one Sienna had never wanted.

Eventually Cole blew out a long breath, then started driving again. Sienna didn’t so much as twitch until he pulled into a rental car parking lot that was part of a strip mall a mile past the Crimson city limits sign. The rental car place shared the space with a grocery store, a hair salon and a sandwich shop.

As soon as the Jeep stopped, she unfastened her seat belt and opened the door.

“Thank you for the ride,” she mumbled over her shoulder, because along with perfect posture, good manners had been drilled into her. Oddly, she felt almost as angry with Cole as she was with Kevin, which was stupid because the sheriff didn’t owe her anything. He’d done her a favor this morning, but they weren’t friends. He was nothing to her, so why had her chest ached when he’d told her exactly that?

“Sienna.” He reached for her arm but she shrugged away from his touch.

“We’re done, Sheriff.” He winced slightly, as if he didn’t appreciate having his words thrown back at him. “I can handle things from here.”

She slammed the door shut and walked toward the building, telling herself she was glad to be leaving behind Sheriff Cole Bennett and this whole humiliating morning.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Cole pushed through the door of the mayor’s office on the second floor of the county courthouse. “Where’s Jase? He’s not answering his phone.”

“Good morning to you, too.” Emily Crenshaw inclined her head, then turned her attention to the computer screen. “Help yourself to fresh coffee. Not sure what’s got your boxers in a bunch today.” Her gaze flicked back to him. “Or is it boxer briefs? You look like a boxer brief type of guy, Sheriff. Definitely not tighty-whities, something for which we can all be grateful.”

“Emily.”

“Either way, grab a cup of coffee, then come back and I’ll give you a do-over on this conversation.” She lifted a brow. “I learned that trick from my job at the front desk of the elementary school. Some kids need help learning how to appropriately greet people. I guess you didn’t get that lesson or you’ve forgotten.” She flashed a wide smile. “I’m here to help.”

Cole felt his mouth drop open and quickly closed it again. What was it about this day and sassy blondes? But Emily Crenshaw was a force to be reckoned with and currently sat in the computer chair normally occupied by Jase’s sweet-tempered secretary, Molly.

Cole was developing a new appreciation for sweet-tempered.

He grabbed a mug from the cart positioned along the far wall and poured himself a steaming cup of coffee. “Good morning, Emily,” he said as he took a drink. “You’re filling in for Molly today?”

“Just for the morning.” Emily pushed away from the computer and smiled. “She had to take her mom to a doctor’s appointment, and Davey is in a Lego camp this week. It’s always a challenge to keep a first-grade boy occupied during the summer.”

“I can imagine,” he said even as he thought of how he and his brother, Shep, had run wild through the various army bases around the world where his dad had been stationed back in the day.

“Thank you for the pleasantries,” Emily told him. “Jase had a meeting with the city finance director, so I doubt his phone is on. They’re on the first floor, so he should be back soon.”

“I’ll wait.”

“What’s going on, Cole?” Emily’s big eyes narrowed. She looked a little bit like Sienna, now that he thought about it. Blond hair, blue eyes, beautiful with that certain shine that time spent in a big city gave to women. Sienna was a couple inches taller, her face more heart-shaped with delicate features.

Emily was a Crimson native who’d moved away, then back with her young son early last year. She was different from Sienna in one major way—Emily radiated happiness. It had been hard earned, he knew, and was glad that she and Jase had worked out their issues.

She stood, and he was reminded of another significant difference between the two women. Emily was seven months pregnant, which made her seem somehow more intimidating than usual. Give Cole a bar fight to break up or even an underground drug bust rather than be stared down by a heavily pregnant woman.

He shrugged and gave her his don’t-mess-with-me law enforcement face. “I need to talk to him. Sheriff’s office business.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, resting them on her round belly. “Do I look stupid?”

So much for intimidation. “Um...no.”

“It seems like somebody’s in trouble with my better half.”

Cole turned, profoundly grateful to see Jase Crenshaw standing in the door to the outer office, one side of his mouth curved as he looked between Cole and Emily.

“The sheriff wants to talk to you,” Emily told her husband.

“Okay,” Jase answered and walked forward, leaning over the receptionist desk to kiss her, while gently placing a hand on her baby bump.

Cole quickly turned and refilled his coffee mug, uncomfortable with the easy show of affection.

“But he’s acting suspicious.” Emily frowned at Cole. “Something’s up and I want to know what it is.”

“It’s nothing,” Cole insisted and flicked a help-me glance to Jase.

“You might as well say it.” Jase shrugged. “If she doesn’t find out now, I’ll have to tell her later.”

“What if it’s confidential?”

Emily sniffed. “I’m his wife. He tells me everything.”

Jase nodded. “It’s true. I’m not an expert on marriage, but I do understand that honesty is a pretty important foundation.”

Anger spiked in Cole’s chest, familiar to him as his face in the mirror. Not at Jase or Emily but at memories of his own father’s lies and deceptions—the ones that had torn apart his family.

He blew out a breath, forcing his emotions under control. “I clocked a woman driving twenty miles over the speed limit coming into Crimson this morning.”

“An out-of-towner, I assume?” Jase asked.

Emily scrunched up her nose. “What does that have to do—?”

“Her name was Sienna Pierce,” Cole interrupted.

Emily immediately placed a hand on Jase’s arm, almost the same way Sienna had done with Cole in the car earlier. He’d overreacted to the gesture but couldn’t seem to stop himself from freaking out any time he was forced to talk about his family.

It was one of the reasons he’d first applied as a sheriff’s deputy in Crimson five years ago. No one knew him here and it was easy to keep his conversations about his past vague—just the way he liked it.

“You gave my sister a speeding ticket?” Jase asked, his tone almost unnaturally calm.

“Not exactly,” Cole answered. He’d planned to share with Jase the details of his morning run-in with Sienna but now the words wouldn’t come. As reserved as she pretended to be, he knew Sienna had been humiliated by her cheating ex-boyfriend. He doubted that was information she’d appreciate being used as her calling card in Crimson. “More like a warning.”

Emily raised a brow at Cole as her hand tightened on Jase’s arm. “Is that what this is?”

“I thought you’d want to know she was here,” Cole told his friend. “I got the impression she hadn’t called first.”

“Hardly,” Jase said with a small laugh. “I haven’t talked to Sienna since the night my mom drove away with her.”

“Because she refused to see you when you visited your mom last Christmas.” Emily came around the desk and laced her fingers through Jase’s. “She made it clear she wanted nothing to do with you.”

“I wonder what changed,” Jase murmured, almost under his breath.

Her whole world from the looks of it, Cole wanted to answer. It’s what he should have shared. But instead he only shrugged. “I don’t know her plans but thought you’d want to know, and your dad...”

Jase groaned. “This is going to rock his world.”

“She has no business showing up out of the blue.” Emily reminded Cole of an Amazon warrior getting ready for battle or a grizzly mama standing between a pack of coyotes and one of her cubs. “If she upsets Declan—”

“I’ll take care of it.” Jase wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Don’t get riled up, Em.”

Emily only rolled her eyes. “I love you, Jase Crenshaw, but you know me better than that. Telling me not to get riled up is like telling a retriever not to fetch the ball.”

Cole laughed, then tried to cover it with a cough when Emily gave him one of her looks. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “But you compared yourself to a dog.”

“No more free coffee for you,” she said, but her lips twitched as she said it.

“Thank you, Cole,” Jase said. “I appreciate the heads-up.”

“You bet. I’ve got to check in at the station. Call if you need anything.”

He placed his mug on the cart and walked out of the office, rubbing a hand over his jaw as he stepped into the warm June sunshine. Several people waved and Cole forced himself to smile and greet them in return, even though the sick pit in his stomach was growing wider by the second.

He didn’t owe Sienna Pierce a thing. So why did he feel like she was the one who needed protecting in Crimson? Jase had Emily and his dad and the whole town in his corner. From what he could tell, Sienna had no one.

Cole could relate, and the strange connection he’d felt to her this morning had somehow taken root inside him and refused to let go.

Ten kinds of trouble, he’d told her, but wondered if he’d underestimated even that.

Chapter Three

Sienna stared at the house tucked amid the pine trees, then checked the GPS on her phone one more time. She’d made a reservation at The Bumblebee Bed and Breakfast at 1 Ivy Lane on a whim after picking up an adorable business card at the counter of the grocery store next to the rental car agency.

Normally Sienna stuck to luxury hotel chains. She gravitated toward sleek decor and modern conveniences. But something about the colorful flowers and cheerful bees drawn on the card appealed to her. She needed some color and cheer in her life.

But she also wanted a hot shower and a toilet that flushed. Nothing about the plumbing van sitting in the driveway of the dilapidated house at the end of the long, winding drive gave her confidence she’d find either at The Bumblebee.

If her mother were here, she would have been happy to enumerate the ways Sienna had managed to mess up her life—all of them in one day. Dana Pierce loved making lists.

The only thing on Sienna’s to-do list right now was getting back in the compact car she’d rented and finding a decent hotel.

“Sienna!”

She turned back toward the house, surprised to hear her name shouted out like a long-lost friend had just spotted her.

“You’re Sienna, right?” A tiny pixie of a woman ran toward her, appearing from the trees like a woodland sprite. “I’ve been waiting for you.” The woman stopped, clasped a hand over her mouth. “Scratch that last part. It sounds like the start of some creepy horror movie.” She waved her hands in the air as dark curls bounced around her face. “I’ve been waiting for you,” she repeated in a deep, melodramatic voice. “You know what I mean, though. I’m excited you found us...me, rather...The Bumblebee, that is.”

“You must be Paige,” Sienna said, reaching out a hand.

“Who else?” the woman asked, bypassing her outstretched hand to give Sienna a tight hug. The innkeeper might be small, but she was strong, practically squeezing all the air out of Sienna’s lungs. “You’re my first guest. We’re going to have the best week.”

“This isn’t summer camp,” Sienna said quietly, making Paige laugh.

“I know, silly. But I just got the sign up today.” She pointed behind her to a hand-painted piece of cardboard that read The Bumblebee B&B. It leaned against the edge of the porch rail. “Not quite up,” Paige admitted. “But you still found me.” She scrunched her winged brows, emerald green eyes zeroing in on Sienna. “How did you find me anyway?”

“The business cards you left at the grocery.”

“I remember now.” Paige nodded. “I picked them up from the post office on my way to buy food for dinner. I told Rodney—he’s the manager at the Shop & Go—not to put them out until next week.”

“Apparently he did anyway.”

Paige squeezed Sienna’s arms like they were best friends. “Lucky for both of us.”

“Are you sure?” Sienna inclined her head toward the plumbing truck in the driveway, then pointed to the various pieces of furniture sitting in the front yard. “It looks like you might need a bit more time to get ready.”

Paige gave her a brilliant smile. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

Terrifying, Sienna thought to herself.

“Then why the plumber?”

“A leak in the first-floor bathroom,” Paige said, spacing her first finger and thumb a tiny width apart as she held them up to her eye. “But your bedroom is upstairs.”

“That’s good.”

“Only now,” Paige said, wrinkling her nose, “I’ll be sharing it because mine is downstairs.”

“Not so good.” Although Sienna had a brother right here in Crimson, most of her life she’d been an only child. Her mother liked to tell her she wasn’t good at sharing, and Sienna had no reason not to believe it because she’d never had to.

“It will only be for a day or two.” Paige flashed a bright smile that only wavered slightly. “Maybe.”

“I don’t mind finding a normal—I mean regular—hotel in town.”

“Good luck with that. The rodeo’s at the county fairgrounds this weekend. Everything’s booked from here to Grand Junction. Unless you want to stay in Aspen.”

Sienna shook her head. “I don’t.”

“Huh. No offense, but you look like the Aspen type. Other than the mustard stain on your blouse.”

“Why would I take offense to that?” Sienna picked at the dried mustard on the front of her shirt.

“Did you get a hot dog at the Shop & Go?” Paige asked instead of answering the question. “They’re yummy.”

“It was tasty,” Sienna admitted. The hot dog had been the best thing she’d eaten in ages. Normally she stuck to a high protein, low-carb, all organic and very little fun diet. The hot dog had been another small act in the process of reclaiming her life. Or claiming it for the first time, since it had never truly felt like hers.

“Do you have luggage?”

“Yes, but not here.” Sienna had left her suitcase with the hotel’s bellman in Aspen this morning. She supposed it was still there and figured she’d have to drive back over at some point to retrieve it. But she wasn’t ready for another potential confrontation with Kevin. “I picked up toiletries at the grocery store.”

“I can lend you some clothes.”

“That would be interesting.” Paige was at least four inches shorter than Sienna and curvy like some throwback pinup girl from the forties. “Since you’re new at this whole innkeeper thing, I should tell you that in normal circumstances you wouldn’t offer your clothes to a paying guest.”

“Not to assume too much,” Paige said, inclining her head, “but do you think these are normal circumstances for either of us?”

Sienna blew out a breath. “No.”

“Please stay,” Paige said, then gave a nervous laugh. “That sounded desperate. I don’t mean it like that.” She laughed again. “Except I sort of do. This was my grandma’s house.” She gestured to the ramshackle but still charming lodge with faded rough-sawed logs notched together and deep green shutters bordering the windows on the front. “My mom inherited it when Grammy died last year, and I convinced her to let me get it up and running again.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Sienna said automatically.

“Thank you,” Paige whispered. “It’s beautiful out here...but also quiet.”

Sienna nodded, looking around the cul-de-sac. There were a few houses at the top of the street, where she’d turned onto Ivy Lane, but The Bumblebee’s property was clearly the largest and most private.

“Grammy had five acres,” Paige said, as if reading her thoughts. “It borders the old ski resort in back. We even have a view of the main chairlift. It hasn’t operated for years, although some developer bought the property recently. My grandma fought like crazy with the old owner about selling this place and making it part of the resort. I’m hoping the new owner will be more friendly and that The Bumblebee will be in the right place to cater to skiers or families vacationing in Crimson.”

“Smart move,” Sienna murmured.

Paige beamed at her. “Thank you for saying that. My family thinks I’m crazy. I’m not exactly following the path they expected me to take.”

There was something in the woman’s gaze—a combination of hope and fear with a healthy dose of uncertainty and pride mixed in—that Sienna imagined she might see in her own eyes when she looked in the mirror.

“I’ll stay,” she said. If Sienna was going to forge her own way in life, she had to start taking some risks in order to figure out what she wanted that life to be. Somewhere between Kevin’s butt and the ride in Cole’s Jeep, she’d decided the time had come to take charge of her life on her own terms.

And Colorado, far away from her mother, seemed like a better place to spread her wings than in Chicago, tethered by the constraints of her regular life. Maybe she’d actually forge a relationship with her dad and brother instead of the awkward face-offs she imagined. The thought made panic spike in her belly, and she pressed a hand to her stomach. One step at a time.

Whether a risk or an adventure, coming to Crimson as the inaugural guest at The Bumblebee B&B seemed like the right move on her new journey. It would be interesting to see where it took her.

* * *

“One more refill.”

Sienna grabbed the red plastic cup from Paige’s hand and filled it to the brim.

“Too much.” Paige grimaced, shaking her head. “You could put a Russian under the table with the amount of vodka in that.”

“It’s mainly lemonade,” Sienna argued, then hiccuped. “I swear.”

Paige rolled her eyes but took a sip. “It’s good.”

“Told you so.” Sienna took a long drink from her cup. “An added bonus is that it makes this place look a lot better.”

“True,” Paige agreed and both women turned from the long butcher-block island in the kitchen to survey the house.

The kitchen opened onto a cozy family room in which all the furniture was shoved up against one wall. Half the wood floor had been ripped up after the plumber found a slow leak that had caused damage to the foundation. The Bumblebee’s minor plumbing project now looked like it would stretch out at least a week, if not longer.

Paige had immediately started hyperventilating when she’d been given the news this afternoon. Sienna had shoved the novice innkeeper into a chair, found a paper bag for her to breathe into, then gotten a contractor recommendation from the plumber.

“You’re the guest,” Paige had said, wheezing into the bag. “You shouldn’t be—”

“I’ll manage,” Sienna assured her. Besides, the more she focused on Paige’s problems, the less time she had to think about her real reason for this impulsive trip to Crimson—confronting her dad after twenty years of no contact between them.

Plumbing issues were way less trouble than family drama.

Once Paige had calmed down, she’d insisted on making dinner, which consisted of an array of surprisingly delicious frozen appetizers heated in the oven. Sienna had searched through the cabinets until she’d found a decent bottle of vodka.

“Grammy liked a little nip before bed,” Paige explained.

Sienna had concocted a hard lemonade drink, and no matter how much vodka she added it still seemed to go down far too easily.

They’d watched a few episodes of a reality TV show about pampered pets, then Paige had pulled a disco ball strobe light out of a closet.

“Dance party!” she’d shouted and Sienna had been too blissfully numb to argue.

They’d danced for what seemed like hours, avoiding the caution tape that roped off the hole in the floor. When Sienna realized she was a sweaty and thirsty mess, she made another pitcher of hard lemonade. She smiled as she watched the bright flashes of color on the bumblebee wallpaper in the kitchen.

“This has been the funnest night ever,” Paige said, then yawned.

“Ever,” Sienna agreed without hesitation. She’d never had a night like this, one filled with laughing and dancing and ignoring all of her worries. Paige had asked a few subtle questions about what brought Sienna to Crimson but hadn’t seemed to mind Sienna’s vague answers.

Both women jumped when a loud knock sounded on the front door.

“Stupid neighbors,” Paige muttered, stumbling a little as she hopped off her stool. “I bet they called the cops again.”

“The cops?”

“The grumpy couple down the street has the local department on speed dial. If I so much as put my trash out too early, they report me. I’m guessing they think colored lights from a disco ball are the devil’s handiwork.”

A sinking pit opened in Sienna’s stomach. It was highly unlikely Cole would be the one to respond to a call like this but with the way her luck was running...

“I’m going to head upsta—”

She got up from her stool just as Paige turned toward her. Sienna’s arm jostled the cup Paige held, and vodka lemonade splashed all over the front of Paige’s pajamas.

“Yuck,” Paige cried. “I’m going to be a sticky mess. You get the door while I change.”

“I can’t—”

Paige’s eyes widened. “Don’t make me answer it when I’m practically bathed in vodka. A plumbing problem is bad enough. Who wants to stay at a B&B where the lady who runs it is a stinking drunk?”

The knock sounded again, more forcefully this time.

“It’s not like potential guests will hear about it,” Sienna protested, shaking her head.

“This is Crimson.” Paige threw up her hands. “Everyone will know.” She made a kissing sound toward Sienna. “I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

Sienna sighed as Paige disappeared into her bedroom. She turned down the music, flipped off the disco light and padded to the door, trying to ignore both her hammering heart and the fact that she was wearing a set of Paige’s tie-dyed pajamas.

She wet her lips with her tongue, said a silent prayer that some low-level officer had gotten stuck with this call and opened the door.

Cole Bennett stood on the other side.

Chapter Four

“Seriously?”

Sienna’s blue eyes burned like the center of a flame as she glared at him.

“The neighbors called,” he said, like he owed her some sort of explanation. “Mrs. Morrison saw lights flashing through the trees while she was walking her dog before bed tonight. She was convinced they were a result of some sort of unlawful activity.”

“I heard about the neighbors,” Sienna muttered. “Paige and I were having a dance party.” She glowered at him like he’d put the older couple up to making the complaint. As if he didn’t have anything better to do than show up to check out the situation—like he’d been looking for an excuse to see her again. The latter might be slightly true, even though he’d never admit it.

“Don’t you have deputies or something?” she demanded, crossing her arms over the faded tie-dyed tank top she wore. She had matching pajama pants, and with her blond hair tumbling over her shoulders and the pink glow to her cheeks, she was even more beautiful now than she’d been earlier that morning.

“I wanted to check on you.” The fact that he admitted it obviously surprised her as much as it did him.

“How did you know I was here?”

She moved back and he stepped into the house, gently closing the ancient screen door behind him. He didn’t bother with the front door. It was a perfect Colorado night, about ten degrees cooler than it had been when the sun was out, and Cole needed the fresh air to remind him to keep his self-control in place.

“Rodney mentioned you picked up one of the business cards for The Bumblebee. There aren’t many open rooms in town because of the rodeo, so I assumed this is where you ended up. Once the call came in, I had no doubt you were here.” He inclined his head. “You and trouble and all that.”

“I don’t get into trouble,” she insisted, narrowing her eyes.

“Other than speeding and stealing a car and—”

“I didn’t steal the car.”

“You stole a car?”

Cole looked up as Paige Harper rushed into the room. “That’s crazy in an awesome Thelma and Louise kind of way. Hey, Sheriff.”

“Evening, Paige.”

“Sorry about the music.”

“It was more the lights this time. They worried Mrs. Morrison.”

“Of course they did. She’s probably jealous that she has no reason to turn on disco lights.” Paige nudged Sienna. “If you want to be Thelma, I can be Louise. Or we can trade roles. I’m more of a Thelma anyway, I think. Sheriff, do you have an opinion on that?”

“Uh, no,” Cole admitted, not sure what the bubbly innkeeper was talking about. But it didn’t matter because he saw the start of a smile curve Sienna’s full mouth and felt suddenly grateful for Paige Harper and her ramshackle inn.

Even though she seemed tough, he had a feeling Sienna was more vulnerable in Crimson than she’d ever let on. If Jase’s wariness and Emily’s underlying temper were any indication, she might need a friend during her time in town. Paige would be the perfect ally.

“I’m not Thelma or Louise,” Sienna said. “I borrowed a car from my ex-boyfriend this morning and then I returned it. The sheriff was a witness. I’m not planning on causing trouble. Pierce women don’t do trouble.”

“You’re a Crenshaw here in Crimson,” Cole felt compelled to point out. “And the Crenshaw family has a long history of trouble in this town.”

“Jase Crenshaw is the family you’re in town to visit?” Paige asked, wide-eyed.

Sienna nodded tightly. “Jase and my dad.”

“Why didn’t you say so in the first place? Jase is a great guy. I’m new enough to Crimson that I don’t know much about anyone’s past history, but I can almost guarantee Jase isn’t involved in any kind of trouble. He’s too good for that.”

“How do you know my brother?” Sienna asked quietly, shifting away from Paige and closer to Cole. He had the ridiculous urge to wrap an arm around her shoulder but managed to keep his hands at his sides.

“Well, he’s the mayor so everyone knows him. But I met him personally at a town council meeting when I first started working on The Bumblebee. He was really helpful and supportive of my ideas for the inn. Everyone in Crimson loves Jase.”

“Of course they do.” Sienna’s shoulders sagged.

Cole realized she had no reason to know that her brother was the town’s favorite son. Jase had been through plenty—overcoming his family’s less-than-stellar reputation and taking care of his father during the years Declan couldn’t pull himself out of the bottle. But now Jase was universally liked and well respected, both in Crimson and throughout the network of high-country towns in this part of Colorado.

Cole wasn’t sure why this knowledge seemed to affect Sienna like the sharp point of a pin to a balloon, but he could almost see her deflating before his eyes.

“You should invite Jase and Emily to the inn for dinner. They can bring Davey, too. He’s a sweet kid.”

“Davey?”

“Emily’s son,” Paige clarified. “You haven’t met him?”

Sienna shook her head.

“What about Emily?”

“His wife?” Sienna asked Cole.

“They got married last year,” he confirmed.

Sienna looked at Paige again. “Jase and I aren’t exactly close.”

“When was the last time you saw him?”

“Um...about twenty years ago.”

Paige whistled softly. “We’re going to need more vodka for this story.”

“No more vodka,” Cole said at the same time as Sienna.

“Or disco lights,” Cole added, pointing at each of the women.

Paige pressed two fingers to her forehead. “Probably a good idea. I can already feel a headache brewing. I’m going to go to bed. Sienna, you can give me the fascinating details of your family history over coffee and muffins in the morning.”

“There’s nothing fascinating about me.”

Paige darted a glance toward Cole, as if she knew he wanted to argue.

“I’ll get going then,” he said instead. “Keep the music down and pull the shades if you want to turn on the disco lights.”

“Sienna will walk you to your car,” Paige offered. “’Night, you two.” She turned, then looked back over her shoulder. “By the way, there’s something fascinating about everyone. Some of us just need to figure out what it is.”

“Let’s go,” Sienna said, starting to move past him.

He placed a hand on her arm, not surprised to find her skin hot to the touch. As much as he might want to deny it, it seemed neither of them could ignore the flame of attraction that burned between them. “You don’t need to walk me.”

“Come on, Sheriff,” she answered, shrugging off his touch.

He followed her onto the porch, the light above the doorframe casting a pale glow. He was used to people calling him Sheriff, and normally he liked it. At times his job felt like the only thing that defined him. But coming from Sienna, the word was wrong. He wanted to hear his name on her lips, preferably whispered over and over as he drove her crazy with desire.

No doubt he should have had a deputy answer this call tonight.

“I’m guessing you didn’t contact Jase or Declan yet,” he said into the silence.

She grabbed the porch railing, as if to steady herself—a result of the alcohol or the mention of her dad and brother, he couldn’t tell which. “I wanted a day to get settled. Today wasn’t exactly filled with shining star moments for me.”

“Except maybe a pajama dance party. That’s the stuff of shining moments, not to mention male fantasies everywhere.”

She laughed softly, and once again he felt it all the way to his toes. The sound was low and husky, like she was as out of practice with laughter as he was. Holding out her arms, she spun in a small circle on the gravel driveway. “This outfit isn’t the stuff of anyone’s fantasy.”

“You have no idea.”

“How long have you lived in Crimson?” she asked suddenly, a variation of the line of questioning he’d reacted to so badly earlier.

He wanted to keep it together tonight. They’d made it to his Jeep, the Crimson County Sheriff’s emblem emblazoned across the side and illuminated in the moonlight.

“I came here a few years back for a deputy position. There were some shake-ups within the department and Jase convinced me to run for sheriff in the last election. That was two years ago.”

“You and Jase are close,” she whispered.

“Yeah. Your brother is a good man, Sienna.”

“My brother,” she repeated as if she couldn’t quite grasp the meaning of the word, then turned so she was facing Cole. “Did you tell him I was here?”

“Yes.”

She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and bit down. Cole’s knees went weak.

“I should probably leave in the morning. Coming to Crimson seemed like a great idea when I was all fired up this morning, but now—”

“Don’t go.” He reached out, tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

“I can’t believe Jase would want me here. He came to visit our mom last winter. I wasn’t exactly...cordial.”

“Emily mentioned that.”

“The wife. Is she going to be a problem for me?”

“Emily is protective of Jase. He’s sometimes too nice for his own good. His dad...your dad has needed a lot of caregiving through the years. There were some dark days, most of them before I got to town, but Declan has stumbled even recently. Sobriety is a harsh mistress for him sometimes.”

“I remember the drinking.” Her eyes closed, and he watched her chest rise and fall as she sucked in a deep breath. “I don’t remember much, maybe because that’s the way Mom wanted it. We barely spoke about Jase or my dad once we left Crimson. But the smell of whiskey brings back snippets of memory. Most of them I should probably forget. My parents weren’t exactly kind to each other when they drank.”

“That’s fairly common. Alcohol doesn’t bring out the best in anyone.”

She blinked, her blue eyes clear as a mountain lake as she looked up at him. “My mom hasn’t taken a drink, not even a sip of champagne at a wedding, since she left here. Even though she wouldn’t talk about it, I always got the impression she blamed the town for her downward spiral as much as she did my dad.”

“I’m sorry she had to break ties with Colorado so dramatically, but this town isn’t to blame for the troubles she had. It’s a great community.”

“You’re the sheriff,” she said with a smile. “Of course you think that. Everyone has to be nice to you. They’ll end up in jail otherwise.”

He laughed. “Not exactly.”

“Do you have a girlfriend, Sheriff?”

Cole, he wanted to shout, suddenly desperate to hear her say his name.

“Nope. Work keeps me too busy.”

“Lame excuse. I bet there is a line of women hoping you’ll notice them.”

“Hardly.”

“How many times a week does some generous citizen...” She leaned in closer and he caught the light floral scent of her shampoo. “Some female citizen,” she clarified, “bring fresh muffins by your office?”

“Only on Fridays,” he admitted, then shrugged when Sienna looked confused. “Our office manager went low-carb last year. Marlene limits the baked goods to once a week.”

Sienna shook her head, another smile playing around the corners of her mouth. “My mom only referred to Crimson as ‘that place,’ but I always imagined it as some sort of high-altitude version of Sodom and Gomorrah.” Her smile widened. “It’s more like mountain Mayberry.”

“I’m not Andy Griffith,” Cole argued, annoyed by the implied comparison.

“If you start whistling—”

He leaned in and kissed her, somehow wanting to prove that he wasn’t the easygoing, small-town lawman she presumed him to be. At least that’s the reason he gave himself. The truth was he couldn’t resist her one more second. Her smart mouth and sassy attitude. All the ways she tried to pretend she wasn’t hurting.

The fact that he recognized the loneliness in her gaze because he saw the same thing in his own eyes every time he looked in the mirror.

She stilled for a moment, then sighed and sank into the kiss. It wasn’t the reaction he’d expected and the surprise of it made his body burn. He’d figured she would snap at him or give him a swift punch to the gut. But she seemed to need the touch as much as he did.

He moved closer, still touching her with only his mouth, but close enough that he could feel her heat. Her mouth was soft under his, sweet and pliant. She made another sound, a soft moan, and swayed closer. Cole reached out a hand and gently gripped the graceful column of her neck.

The contact was enough to break the spell between them. Sienna stepped back, away from his grasp, her fingertips pressing against her swollen lips.

“Why did you do that?” She seemed more confused than angry, which was a small victory in Cole’s mind.

“I needed to know if your mouth was as soft as it looks.”

She gathered her long blond hair and flipped it over her shoulder, rolling her eyes at him. “I don’t think I’ve ever been described as soft.”

“You’re soft,” he assured her. “At least when you’re not being disagreeable and argumentative.”

“I don’t argue and I can be agreeable when I want to.” She no longer looked dazed. Instead the spark had returned to her gaze. He liked it there. “I don’t need to prove anything to anyone.”

He shrugged. “Except maybe yourself.”

“You shouldn’t kiss me again.”

“Do you want to argue about it?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Good night, Sheriff.”

“Call me Cole,” he said, unable to stop himself from making the request.

She stared at him so long he wasn’t sure she’d answer, then whispered, “Good night, Cole,” and turned for the house.

He watched her walk away until the front door clicked shut behind her. Crickets chirped from the bushes and an owl in a tree at the edge of the forest gave a mournful hoot.

Cole had come to Colorado as an escape, running from the scandal and tragedy that surrounded his parents’ deaths.

He’d found refuge in small-town life and in serving and protecting the people who made this town their home. But he wasn’t a part of the fabric of Crimson’s community in the same way as Jase. Growing up an army brat, Cole had become an expert at making connections without truly allowing himself to bond to anyone or anything. Hell, he’d never even owned a dog, which was practically a requirement in Colorado.

Sienna made him feel different. Maybe because she was also so obviously alone. He could allow himself this connection with her—but whether it was real or imagined he couldn’t quite say.

Did it really matter? Cole knew that along with emotional ties came the very real possibility of someone getting hurt. He’d had a ringside seat to watch his mom unravel after his father’s death until her heart had literally given out. He didn’t want any part of that kind of pain, either for himself or anyone around him.

Marlene down at the department liked to tease him about the parade of women who made excuses to stop in. But Cole wasn’t interested in getting close to a woman, even to an almost irresistible blonde who took his breath away every time he looked at her.

At least that’s what he tried to convince himself of as he climbed in his truck and drove through the quiet streets of the town he’d made his home. Attraction was one thing, but he wouldn’t let it go any further.

Chapter Five

Sienna couldn’t have said how long she’d been sitting in her rental car outside the tiny brick duplex the next morning, but her backside was numb and her throat had gone dry from the air conditioner blowing through the vents in the dash.

She’d turned the car on and off at least a dozen times, psyching herself up for approaching the modest home. Within those walls lived a man she hadn’t seen in two decades but who was never far from her mind, no matter how hard she tried to forget him.

A knock on the driver’s side window made her jerk around so fast she banged her forehead into the glass. She let out a sound somewhere between a scream and a groan, blinking away tears of fear, frustration and pain. Her gaze focused on the gray-haired man standing next to the car, and her stomach dipped.

The years hadn’t been kind to Declan Crenshaw, but Sienna knew the signs of age had as much to do with the choices he’d made as the passage of time.

She looked at him through the glass, half tempted to throw the car into Drive and speed away from everything this moment represented.

For his part, her dad looked like he could wait all day for her to decide whether to acknowledge him. It was that air of serene patience that made her punch down the window button.

“I thought you might run out of gas idling at the curb so long,” he said conversationally.

“It seemed like a good idea to sneak up on me?” she shot back, pressing her fingers to the goose egg quickly rising on her forehead.

He ran a hand over his face, where at least a day of salt-and-pepper whiskers shadowed his jaw. “Figured you’d drive off if I came at you through the front door.”

She wouldn’t tell him he’d been right. There was no way she’d admit that he had any sort of insight into her behavior. “You don’t seem surprised to see me.”

“Jase called yesterday.” He inclined his head. “Damn, you look like your mother.”

“So I’m told.”

“You have softer features, though. And straighter hair.”

Sienna huffed out a small laugh. It was the second time in less than twenty-four hours she’d been described as soft, after a lifetime becoming reconciled to her hard edges.

“How’s your mother doing?”

“You can’t expect me to answer that,” she said, not bothering to hide the snap in her tone. No matter the issues Sienna had with her mom, Dana was the one who’d chosen her at least. She owed her mother some loyalty.

Declan stared, as if weighing her answer...as if weighing her. Then he asked, “How are you?”

He had no right to know anything about her life after all these years. Except she was the one who’d sought him out.

Sienna and her mother had left Crimson years ago, and not once had her father contacted her. He hadn’t so much as sent a birthday card. How was she ever supposed to put aside the pain of rejection that was woven into every inch of the woman she’d become?

“I can’t do this,” she whispered, glancing up at him.

Something flashed in his blue eyes, but he didn’t argue. There was no fight, no begging her to stay. He simply stepped back from the car as she rolled up the window, and watched her drive away.

Tears streamed down her face as she turned the corner. Had she really expected him to fight for her? Did her arrival in town mean anything to him? Jase had told him she’d come to Crimson, but neither man had sought her out. They had their lives here, and Sienna had stopped being a part of them a long time ago.

Why should that change now? Growing up without a real father might have defined her, but it clearly had very little impact on the man who’d let her go.

When her vision blurred to the point she couldn’t see the road in front of her, she pulled off to the side, jolting as the car’s tire scraped the edge of the curb. Where had these tears come from? Declan Crenshaw wasn’t worth crying over—that’s what her mother would say.

She took several deep breaths, took a wad of napkins from the glove compartment and wiped her face. Grabbing her cell phone from the passenger side seat, she punched in a number and hit the speaker button.

“You’ve been avoiding my calls.” Her mother’s crisp tone fairly dripped with censure.

“I have bad service up here,” Sienna lied and heard Dana’s disapproving tsk across the miles. Felt the subtle reprimand to her core.

“Kevin spoke with your father this morning. He mentioned you had a spat.”

“It was more than a spat.” Sienna drummed her fingers against the steering wheel. “I broke up with him.”

A soft hiss from Dana.

“I found him in bed with another woman,” Sienna added before her mother could tell her she was making a mistake.

“These things happen,” Dana said quietly, her lack of emotion communicating far too much for Sienna’s taste. “You’d do well to give him a bit of warning when he isn’t expecting you.”

“You can’t be serious,” Sienna said through her teeth before remembering that her mother was always serious. “He cheated on me and somehow it’s my fault because I surprised him at the hotel?”

“I didn’t say that,” Dana insisted in her usual measured tone. “Not exactly. Kevin is important to your father’s business, Sienna. Especially with him heading up the merger. You know it’s scheduled to go through in a month. He can’t afford to have you disrupting the status quo. Remember your place.”

“My place.” Sienna raised a hand to her head, pressing fingertips against the bump there and trying to pretend that the headache was the reason she felt like crying again. “Craig Pierce isn’t my father, Mom. Let’s not act like—”

“He raised you from the time you were a girl.”

“He tolerated me because he wanted you,” Sienna clarified. There had never been any question as to her value with her stepfather. Mostly she hadn’t minded. Dana had made sure she understood they were to be grateful for Craig’s largesse and the opportunities being part of the powerful Pierce family opened to them.

“You never wanted for anything,” Dana insisted, the words coming out fast and with traces of the Alabama accent she’d tried so hard to erase. As far as Dana was concerned, she didn’t have any past before meeting Craig Pierce. It was as if she’d been sprung fully formed as a society wife out of the mold Craig created.

But Sienna remembered the months before her mother had met Craig, when she’d managed to secure a job as a hostess in one of the toniest restaurants in Chicago. It was the type of stuffy, wood-paneled spot where local businessmen came for power lunches and drinks after work. Dana had spent hours with old magazines and CDs she’d borrowed from the library, studying Jackie Kennedy and Grace Kelly, modeling her appearance, the way she dressed and even her mode of speaking after the two women.

Within weeks, all traces of Dana Crenshaw, hard-living party girl had been wiped away. Sienna remembered being mesmerized by her mother’s transformation. Back in Crimson, she’d always been vaguely embarrassed by her parents—Declan and Dana were too loud, hanging all over each other when they weren’t fighting in a way most parents didn’t. Plus they’d lived in the shabbiest trailer in the trailer park, when Sienna’s classmates came from town or the outlying ranches around Crimson.

So it had been true that she’d never wanted for anything material once her mother met and quickly married Craig. But love and acceptance were another story, one Dana had shoved onto a high shelf to gather dust in the pristine mansion they’d moved into with Craig. Out of necessity, Sienna had quickly forced herself to forget where she’d come from and anything else but that gratitude she was meant to feel for her new life.

“I saw him today,” she said suddenly.

From her mother’s sharp intake of breath, she knew Dana understood whom she meant.

“You need to come home,” her mother said after a weighted pause. “You don’t belong there.”

“That’s kind of the problem.” Sienna swallowed against the emotion that threatened to choke her. “I don’t belong anywhere.”

* * *

She drove around for hours, up and down the streets of Crimson and out toward the mountain pass and the farms and ranches that surrounded the town. There was the turnoff for Crimson Ranch, a property she knew was owned by some famous actress. She’d read about it in a magazine a few years ago, and the casual mention of her hometown had been the thing to reawaken her curiosity about where she’d come from and the father and brother still there.

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