Most Eligible Sheriff

Sam stood and clapped Cliff on the shoulder. “Take it from me, don’t rush into anything. I married the first time for the wrong reasons, and we spent a lot of years making each other miserable.”

At that moment, Sam’s new wife Annie entered the kitchen. Cliff watched his friend’s eyes light up and his smile grow wide. That never happened when Cliff looked at Scarlett. At least, not to the same degree.

It could, though. They might fall in love. Eventually.

Scarlett walked in behind Annie. Cliff ran a hand through his hair and did his best to flash her a smile as wide as his friend’s. It froze, then waned. Judging by her wary expression, she wasn’t at all happy to see him.

Damn. What was going on with her?

Annie greeted him with a warm, “Morning, Cliff,” then winked at her husband. “Let’s get out of here and leave these two alone.”

Sam hesitated, his brows raised in question. Cliff shook his head. He didn’t need backup. If he was going down in flames, he preferred to do it without an audience.

Once they were alone, he waited for Scarlett to speak. After a lengthy and awkward pause, he muttered, “Hey.”

“Hi.”

“Coffee?”

“Sure.” Rubbing her palms together, she went to the counter and helped herself to a mug from the stack.

Cliff had been going to fix her the coffee. Instead, he watched, completely captivated. Scarlett glided across the room with an elegant—and subtly sensuous—grace he hadn’t noticed before. As if she were wearing heels and not cowboy boots.

She took her coffee black. That was different. Maybe he and his cowboy tastes were rubbing off on her. The leather belt was also different. She usually didn’t wear one. He found himself wishing she had. The belt accentuated her trim waist and ample curves, which were only hinted at before.

She raised the mug of coffee to her mouth, pursed her lips and blew on the liquid, then took a sip. A jolt Cliff hadn’t felt in Scarlett’s presence before arrowed through him. He’d always thought her to be attractive but not necessarily sexy. The sudden revelation unnerved him. He generally kept a firm grip on his emotions, a necessary skill in his line of work.

Picking up the bouquet, he said, “These are for you.”

“Thanks.” She accepted the flowers and, with both hands full, set them back down on the table. “You didn’t have to.”

“They’re a bribe. I was hoping you’d go with me to the square dance Friday night.”

The community center had finally reopened nearly a year after the fire. The barbeque and dance were in celebration.

“I...um...don’t think I can. I appreciate the invitation, though.”

“Are you going with someone else?” He didn’t like the idea of that.

“No, no. I’m just...busy.” She clutched her mug tightly between both hands.

“I’d really like to take you.” Fifteen minutes ago, he probably wouldn’t have put up a fight and accepted her loss of interest. Except he was suddenly more interested in her than before. These slight nuances in her were intriguing. “Think on it overnight.”

“O...kay.” She took another sip of her coffee. As she did, the cuff of her shirt sleeve pulled back.

He saw it then, a small tattoo on the inside of her left wrist resembling a shooting star. A second jolt coursed through him, this one of an entirely different nature. He hadn’t seen the tattoo before.

Because, as of seven days ago when he and Scarlett ate dinner at the I Do Café, it wasn’t there.

“Is that new?” He pointed to the tattoo.

Panic filled her eyes. “Um...yeah. It is.”

Cliff didn’t buy her story. There were no tattoo parlors in Sweetheart and, to his knowledge, she hadn’t left town. And why the sudden panic?

Before he could question her further, his cell phone rang.

“Tom Welch just called,” his deputy Iva Lynn said. “Seems some of his chain saws disappeared overnight from his garage. Though, knowing Tom, he probably lent it to a friend and can’t remember.”

“What’s his address?”

“140 Matrimony Lane.”

“Tell him I’ll be there shortly.” Cliff disconnected. “I’ll call you later,” he told Scarlett. And he would, if only to get to the bottom of her strange behavior and new tattoo that really didn’t look all that new.

“All right.”

Any other time, he would have given her a kiss. It felt strange under the current circumstances, so, instead, he opted for a brief, one-armed hug—which she tolerated more than returned.

The top of her head came to just under his nose. Cliff inhaled, only to pull back and stare at her.

Scarlett averted her face as if shy. Or she was hiding something. His police instincts told him it was the latter.

Leaning down, he took another whiff of the scent that had triggered his internal alarm. She smelled delightful, reminding him of the flowers he’d brought for her. It also wasn’t at all how Scarlett normally smelled.

Something was seriously wrong.

He scrutinized her face. Eyes, chocolate brown and fathomless. Same as before. Hair, thick and glossy as mink’s fur. Her lips, however, were different. More ripe, more lush and incredibly kissable.

He didn’t stop to think and simply reacted. The next instant, his mouth covered hers.

She squirmed and squealed and wrestled him. Hot coffee splashed onto his chest and down his slacks. He let her go, but not because of any pain.

“Are you crazy?” she demanded, her breath coming fast.

Holding on to the wrist with the new tattoo, he narrowed his gaze. “Who the hell are you? And don’t bother lying because I know you aren’t Scarlett McPhee.”

Chapter Two

“Don’t hurt me! Please.”

Ruby had made the identical plea eight days earlier when she was accosted in her condo. The stalker hadn’t listened and instead had increased his choke hold, starving her body of oxygen as he whispered vile things in her ears.

This man, Cliff, did listen. He released her but planted himself directly in her path, his stance and demeanor that of a linebacker. If she tried to run, she wouldn’t make it three feet before he dropped her in her tracks.

“Who are you?” he repeated.

She wavered, forcing herself to concentrate as her heart banged against the side of her rib cage. He was the local sheriff. Sworn to serve and protect, yes? And Ruby, God help her, needed protection.

He was also someone her sister had liked well enough to date. Ruby should be able to trust him, only she didn’t.

She cradled her wrist, the response more reflexive than anything else. He hadn’t hurt her. Not really. But the kiss, and its suddenness, had startled her, releasing a flood of harrowing memories she’d give anything to forget.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“No, I’m not.” She’d never be okay again.

He reached for her wrist. “Let me see.”

Alarmed, she retreated a step. He was already too close for comfort. “I’m fine.”

“Tell me your name.”

Ruby considered her answer. Lying, as he’d pointed out, was useless. He might arrest her. Probably would anyway. Either way, he’d find out very quickly she wasn’t Scarlett.

“Ruby,” she finally whispered. “Ruby McPhee.”

“Scarlett’s sister?”

She nodded. “Twin sister.”

His eyes bore into her, noting, she supposed, the resemblances and very tiny differences that only their parents and close friends could distinguish. She averted her head and prepared herself for the onslaught of questions.

He asked only one. “Why?”

She instinctively knew her answer would decide his course of action. She settled on the truth, the lesser of two evils.

“I needed a place to hide out for a week or so.” When he said nothing, she continued. “The detective on my case recommended it. At least until after the arraignment. So, Scarlett and I decided to trade places.”

“Where is she?”

“San Diego. Visiting—” Ruby swallowed. Revealing that her sister was off reconciling with her old boyfriend probably wasn’t a good idea. “A friend,” she finished lamely.

“Who’s arraignment? Yours?”

“Absolutely not!” He thought she was the criminal? Of all the nerve. “I was attacked last week. By a stalker. He was arrested and charged, then released on bail within hours.” Ruby had barely left the station before an army of attorneys secured Crowley’s freedom.

“Where did the attack take place?”

“My condo. He broke in and ambushed me when I came home.”

“A former lover?”

There it was again, that accusatory tone. “No. We met at the casino where I work.”

“A dealer?”

“I’m assistant manager of the VIP lounge. Crowley was a customer. Well, his father, actually. He’s a regular and started bringing his son a few months ago after Crowley graduated college.”

Ruby didn’t tell Cliff more than that. She’d been advised to keep her mouth shut. The senior Crowley was a local politician with considerable clout. His lawyers had contacted Ruby twice, pressuring her to drop the charges in exchange for compensation.

It was yet one more reason she’d decided to leave Vegas until after Crowley’s arraignment and why she would feel safer going home afterward. Once Crowley entered his plea, his attorneys would stop pressuring Ruby.

“Which casino?” Cliff asked.

How many questions was this guy going to ask? “The Century Casino. In Vegas.”

“Did you encourage this guy? Why’d he pick you?”

Ruby frowned. Suddenly, their conversation had become an interrogation. She felt as if she was back at the police station, wanting to cry out that she was the victim, not the perpetrator.

“Contact Detective Dorell James of the Vegas Metro P.D. You can ask him the rest of your questions.” She squared her shoulders. “Am I free to go now, Sheriff? Or are you taking me in?”

“I’m considering it.”

An indignant gasp escaped her. “I haven’t broken any laws.”

“That remains to be seen. Your sister’s missing.”

“I told you. She’s in San Diego. Call her if you don’t believe me.”

“I will. After I verify your story.” Removing a satellite phone from his belt, he punched numbers into the keypad and offered no greeting to whoever answered. “I need you to locate a Detective Dorell James, LVMPD. Patch me through once he’s on the line. Tell him it’s regarding Ruby McPhee. Yes, that’s right. Ruby. Not Scarlett.”

He watched her while he waited, like a predator studying its prey in the seconds before pouncing. Ruby tried not to squirm and observed him in return through lowered lashes.

The sheriff—it was hard to think of him as Cliff—was one of those men who did justice to a uniform. Tall, broad shouldered, rugged features. She’d noticed his short cropped blond hair before he donned his hat and it disappeared beneath the brim. His eyes, pale blue when he looked into the light and gray when he looked away, were disarming. She doubted they missed the smallest detail, which must account for how he’d so easily discovered her ruse.

Under different circumstance, Ruby would find him attractive. She didn’t blame her sister for dating the sheriff in Demitri’s absence. He was certainly better boyfriend material than a nomadic marine biologist. Not that Ruby was in the market for a boyfriend.

She caught herself fidgeting and immediately stopped. The sheriff, for his part, hadn’t so much as blinked.

This would be over soon, she told herself. Once Detective James explained her situation, surely the sheriff would release her...and probably go straight to the owner of the ranch.

She should have chosen a different town, gone to stay with her father in North Dakota. Not agreed to Scarlett’s harebrained scheme. Too late now. She and Scarlett were both going to suffer the consequences—Scarlett losing her job and Ruby enduring a grueling visit to the station.

“Detective James. This is Sheriff Cliff Dempsey from Sweetheart, Nevada.”

Ruby straightened.

“I have a woman here claiming to be Ruby McPhee. She’s been impersonating her sister, Scarlett McPhee.” After a pause, he handed the phone to Ruby. “He’d like to speak to you.”

Ruby accepted the heavy phone, its weight and solid form oddly comforting. “Hello.”

The detective’s rich baritone filled her ears, also comforting. “Are you okay?”

How often had she been asked that question in recent weeks? Fifty? A hundred? Twice in the previous two minutes. “Yes.”

“What happened? You only arrived in Sweetheart an hour ago.”

She couldn’t very well tell him that the sheriff had kissed her and instantly concluded she wasn’t Scarlett. “I think my tattoo tipped him off.”

“You’re going to have to be more careful if you intend to pull this off.”

“Yeah.” It was a stupid mistake.

“Might be to your benefit if I fill him in.”

Detective James didn’t need to spell it out. Crowley had easily found the address of Ruby’s condo. With his father’s powerful connections and a full week at his disposal, he could possibly discover where she was hiding.

“Your call, Ruby.”

“All right. Tell him.” She handed the phone back to Sheriff Dempsey, looking away but listening raptly to his side of the conversation. Thankfully, it didn’t last long. From what she gathered, reports and a photo of Crowley would be forwarded to the sheriff’s office.

“I’ll keep you posted.” Cliff disconnected from Detective James and immediately placed a second call. “Your sister isn’t answering,” he said after a moment.

Ruby’s head snapped around. “Why do you want to talk to her? Detective James confirmed my story.”

“To verify that she’s all right.”

“She’s fine.”

Deep vertical creases formed between his brows. “Where is she?”

“I told you. San Diego.”

“With a friend.” He said the last word as if he knew darn well boy should be in front of it.

“Are you going to tell Sam and Annie about the switch?”

“Yes.”

Worry seized her anew. “What if they fire Scarlett? She needs this job. And the fewer people who know about me, the better. I’m in danger. From the stalker and his family.”

“Call your sister.” His expression was all hard lines and uncompromising angles. “I want to speak to her.”

Left with no other option, Ruby removed her cell phone from her shirt pocket and dialed.

“Put the call on speaker,” Cliff said.

She did as told, refraining from rolling her eyes in exasperation. Scarlett answered on the fifth ring.

“Hi,” Ruby’s voice shook with relief.

“Sorry I didn’t pick up sooner. Demitri was showing me the baby Beluga whale. It’s so cute.”

“Listen, we have a—”

“Oh, sis,” Scarlett cut in. “Everything is just perfect. Demitri’s being a dream.” There was a wistfulness about her that even the speaker’s tinny quality didn’t distort. “He says he loves me and that he’s sorry.”

The sheriff’s eyes darkened. He’d figured out Ruby wasn’t her sister in a matter of minutes. He was surely connecting these dots at lightning speed. Was he hurt? Angry? Feeling betrayed? No one wanted to be the rebound.

Ruby dismissed an unbidden rush of guilt. Why did she care? She was hardly responsible for her sister’s complicated love life.

The bouquet of flowers lying on the table caught her eye, and the guilt returned. The gesture was sweet. Thoughtful. That of a man who held affection for a woman.

If she hadn’t asked for Scarlett’s help, her sister might have stayed in Sweetheart.

Fat chance. The sheriff was history the second Demitri crooked his little finger. Ruby’s appearance changed nothing.

“Scarlett,” Cliff said into the phone. “Are you all right?” Each word was delivered with an icy undertone.

There was a long, awkward pause. Ruby half expected her sister to hang up. No matter. Cliff knew Scarlett was alive and well. That had been the whole purpose for the call in the first place.

Or, did he have an ulterior motive? He might have insisted Ruby call her sister in order to confirm the friend was indeed a boyfriend. Maybe he was retaliating by embarrassing both Scarlett and Ruby.

Anger prompted her to blurt out, “He knows about us. He saw my tattoo.”

The pause that followed was considerably shorter. “I’m sorry, Cliff,” Scarlett said. “I didn’t mean for you to find out this way. I’d have told you, but everything happened so fast.”

“Are you all right?” he repeated.

“I’m great.” She sighed. “Look, maybe we can talk about this when I have more time. Then, I can explain.”

“Not necessary.” Turning on his heels, he snatched his half-finished coffee off the table and carried it to the sink where he rinsed out the mug.

Ruby removed the phone from speaker before continuing the conversation with her sister.

“For crying out loud, Scarlett, why didn’t you tell me about him?”

“I thought it was over.”

“You thought?”

“All right, I wanted it to be over. When Demitri contacted me last week, I blew Cliff off. Sort of.”

“Sort of? Really?”

“I avoided him. Didn’t return his calls. I figured he’d get the message.”

“He obviously didn’t. He brought you flowers.”

“Oh.”

“You should have leveled with him.” Ruby found it difficult to keep the disappointment from her voice. Her sister thought first of herself, then others.

“How’s he doing?”

Now she suddenly cared?

“I have no idea.” Ruby stared at Cliff’s rigid back, then at the flowers on the table, and her heart cried a little for him.

“How are you doing?” Scarlett asked.

“Well enough, all things considered.” She returned to the subject of Cliff. “Detective James says Sheriff Dempsey is someone I can trust. A straight-up guy.”

“He is. And he’s really sweet. If not for Demitri, I’d still be going out with him.”

Second choice. Ruby decided to spare Cliff that tidbit of info.

“He’s gorgeous, as I’m sure you’ve noticed,” Scarlett continued, talking more to herself than to Ruby. “And I liked the attention. Demitri was being his typical indifferent self, and I needed a distraction.”

Ruby gnashed her teeth together in frustration. How many times would her sister keep returning to that loser before she wised up?

The “gorgeous” guy in question stood at the sink, staring out the window, the muscles in his neck corded with tension.

Whatever Ruby did next, stay or leave, was partially up to him. She wasn’t reassured. There was nothing yielding or compassionate about him as far as she could tell. Even his kiss had been hard. Void of emotion. She was nothing more to him than a lead in a possible crime.

And he was definitely not the person in whose hands she cared to place her fate.

A click alerted her there was a call waiting. “I have to go,” she told Scarlett. “Someone’s buzzing in.”

“Sorry about Cliff.”

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.”

“Call me later.”

“I will.” Ruby checked the display, aware of Cliff’s intense scrutiny. The incoming number wasn’t one she recognized.

“Who is it?” he demanded.

“I’m not sure.” Her new number was only a few days old.

Normally, she’d let the call go directly to voice mail. If it was important, they’d leave a message. But Cliff’s intimidating presence threw her off balance.

She swiped her finger across the phone’s screen, accepting the call. “Hello.”

“Hey, baby. Miss me?”

Terror froze her bones. For a nanosecond. Then, fury took its place, just like it had that night in her condo. A fury that had ultimately saved her life.

“How did you get this number?” she rasped.

“You should know you can’t hide from me forever. I’ll always find you.”

Her arm shook so violently, the phone started to slip. Using both hands, she held it in front of her mouth and screamed into the receiver, “Leave me alone!”

Cliff materialized at her side. Grabbing the phone from her, he barked, “Who is this?” Empty silence answered him, and the display returned to the home screen.

Crowley had hung up.

Ruby’s legs went out from under her, and she leaned against the nearest solid object, which happened to be Cliff.

* * *

“HERE, SIT.” CLIFF LOWERED Ruby into a seat at the table, then fetched her a bottle of water from the fridge. He held it to her mouth. “Drink this.”

She complied, and the water seemed to restore her strength. “The bastard,” she muttered.

Cliff couldn’t agree more.

She pressed her palms to her cheeks. “I don’t understand. How did he find me? I changed my number three days ago.”

“He may not have found you, only your new number. Let’s assume for the moment you’re still safe.”

“I’m not assuming anything.” Her hands fell, and she lifted her gaze to him. Tears shone in her eyes, making them large and luminous. “That’s what got me in trouble in the first place. I assumed his creepy attention was a harmless crush. When he started cornering me at work and outside my condo building, I assumed complaining to my manager would resolve the problem. I also assumed I was safe inside my own home.”

“Detective James said you fought him off.”

“I never guessed for one second anyone could make it past the locks on my door or my security system.”

“It’s easier than you think.”

“He came out of nowhere and grabbed me.” Her hand drifted to her throat. “I couldn’t breathe. Felt myself passing out. Then something snapped inside me. I got angry. How dare he intrude into my home! Violate me. I drove the heel of my stiletto into the top of his foot. Luckily, he was wearing shorts and sandals and my aim was good. He loosened his grip.”

“You ran?”

“That would have been the smart thing to do.” She chuckled mirthlessly. “Instead, I turned and kicked him square in the center of his man parts.”

Cliff kept a straight face. Inside, he cringed, thinking of her pointed-toe shoe. Crowley deserved no less.

“He sank to his knees. That’s when I ran into the hall as fast as I could. I went from door to door, screaming at the top of my lungs and ringing bells.”

“You were brave to take him on.”

“I was stupid. He could have killed me. I’m lucky he didn’t.”

“What did he do?”

“Got the hell out of there. By then, two or three of my neighbors had called 9-1-1. Another one of them took me inside her place to wait for the police. When Detective James arrived, I ID’d Crowley. They picked him up at his home a short while later. He denied attacking me, of course. But my neighbor saw his face when he pushed past her and was able to pick him out of a lineup. And then there was the injury to his foot.”

Ruby shuddered.

Cliff put a hand on her shoulder. She’d been through a lot. He didn’t tell her that this was only the beginning. A long road lay ahead of her. Opening the back of her phone, he removed the battery and SIM card.

“What are you doing?”

“Disabling your phone so he can’t trace the signal. Don’t reassemble it whatever you do.” He set the phone on the table near her elbow.

She glared at the components as if they were Crowley himself. “I shouldn’t be surprised he found my number. He learned everything else about me. My schedule at work. My friends. My route home.”

“Is he connected?” In Cliff’s experience, only someone with extensive resources or a computer hacker could find a newly issued cell-phone number.

“The mob? No. But his father’s a congressman. The family is as rich as Midas.”

Money. That explained a lot. Cliff was more anxious than ever to read the reports.

“Finish your water.” He pushed the bottle toward her.

She’d stopped trembling but was white as a ghost. He probably should have been easier on her. She didn’t deserve to bear the brunt of his anger at her sister.

Anger or hurt?

Fine, he’d admit it. Scarlett dumping him for an old boyfriend had dented his ego. Which beat the heck out of broken heart, he supposed. If anything, Cliff had dodged a bullet. He should be grateful to the slob.