Need You for Keeps (Heroes of St. Helena, #1)(10)

Blue lights flashed as Deputy Warren’s cruiser pulled into the lot. He approached the group, his eyes narrowing when he spotted Jonah. “What are you doing here?”

“Following up on that missing persons report,” Jonah said, returning the look evenly. “The missing senior Valley Vintage called in earlier today that you promised you’d look into.”

“I did look into it,” Warren defended in a tone that implied none of this mess was his doing. “I opened his file, saw that he goes missing at least once a month, and figured it was a waste of city funds to send out a search party when the guy obviously needs some space.”

“Protocol says we respond to every reasonable call, not just the ones we feel like responding to,” Jonah countered.

Warren put his hands up. “The missing person was found. All is good.”

“You had a senior with a breathing condition who was reported as missing without his proper meds,” Adam cut in. “Which means this all could have ended a whole hell of a lot differently.”

“But it didn’t,” Warren said.

Adam sent Jonah a can you believe this a-hole? look. And sadly Jonah could believe it. This was typical Warren—lazy, entitled, and always thinking his shit didn’t stink.

It was no secret that Warren, wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps, had his sights set on mayor. The title of sheriff was the next logical step in his quest to climb the public service ladder. Problem was, St. Helena deserved a sheriff who was in it for the right reasons.

“You’re right.” Jonah stepped between the two because Adam looked ready to punch Warren in the throat. “We got lucky. This time.”

“You’re right. My bad,” Warren said, not looking sorry at all. It was as though the entire situation were completely out of his grasp. “Won’t happen again.”

“Then let’s clean this up. Because I’d really rather not explain to the sheriff how our missing-person issue turned into a handful of irate grannies threatening to press loitering charges.” One of whom had her camera poised in their direction.

“Agreed,” Warren said, because the kid might be lazy but he wasn’t stupid. And getting caught having a pissing contest over who was in charge in front of Nora Kincaid would look bad for the entire department. Especially since she’d have it all over Facebook in a matter of seconds.

“How about I finish up with the statements and you handle Giles?”

Warren looked at the swim-cap mob, still steaming mad, and back to Jonah. “You sure?”

“Yup.” He wanted to get this done right. He could just see Warren somehow managing to rile up the grannies, Giles winding up behind bars for loitering and invasion of privacy, and Jonah spending his morning explaining to Sheriff Bryant how this whole f*cked-up situation started to begin with.

“Let me know when you’re done and I’ll give Giles a ride back to the home,” Adam said as if his offer had nothing to do with Nurse Nikki.

“Why not.” Jonah rolled his eyes and headed toward the flock of flowered caps. “Wouldn’t want my investigation to get in the way of you getting laid.”



A few days later, Jonah stood at the edge of the community park with two coffee cups in hand, telling himself to get back in his car and head out. Due to the triple-digit heat, the park was empty.

Except for Shay.

He didn’t know what to make of the fact that she was still there. She had been sitting under a tree on a park bench for the better part of the morning. He’d first seen her when he’d stopped by the hardware store earlier that morning, only she’d been sitting with her three-legged mutt—waiting. For what he didn’t know, but she had looked eagerly expectant.

It was now lunchtime and she was still there in the same denim skirt and summery top that tied around her neck and floated around her curves, but the smile was gone—so was the dog.

In its place was a half-eaten bag of minidoughnuts.

“I know it’s not raining,” Jonah said, extending her a paper cup, “but I believe I owe you one of these.”

Shay looked up at the cup and eyed it skeptically, then eyed him skeptically, as if waiting to see what the catch was. Oddly enough, today Jonah didn’t have any ulterior motives. He’d seen her sitting alone, remembered that he’d promised her coffee, and acted. Not his usual MO.

The suspicious way she was glaring only had him rethinking things more.

“Mind if I have a seat or do I need to stand to enjoy my cup?”

“By all means.” Shay picked up what was left of her bag of doughnuts, dusted a few crumbs off the wood, and patted the bench in welcome. “But I’m not sharing my doughnuts, Sheriff.”

“Never expected you to, Trouble,” he said, not bothering to correct her that he wasn’t sheriff yet, then sat before she changed her mind, and placed her cup between them.

She picked it up and took a tentative sniff, watching him over the rim of the cup the entire time. “Salted caramel?”

“As promised.”

Her expression went from surprise to sheer bafflement, but for a brief moment he’d caught a flash of something that was raw and vulnerable and—

Oh, crap. Say it wasn’t so.

Beneath the bite-me attitude, those big brown eyes of hers were red-rimmed and vulnerable and a little too misty for his liking.