A Wedding Worth Waiting For (3 page)

He moved to the back counter, where the milk replacement powder and bottles were kept. “You know, if we're going to eat pizza together, maybe you could tell me your first name? It seems a bit formal to keep calling you Officer.”

She bit her lip, obviously more comfortable with that layer of formality between them, before nodding reluctantly. “It's Sam, Sam Finley. I guess I didn't get around to introducing myself before.”

“No worries.” He knew when to back off, when to stop pushing. She was as skittish as the fawn, more so really. The little deer had already started bonding with him. She, however, was doing that one-step-forward, two-steps-back thing that he often saw in the animals they took in. Better to let things lie for a bit, rather than scare her off.

He mixed up the powder with warm water, then screwed the top on the bottle. “Want to try feeding him?”

She looked up, eyes wide. “Me?”

“Sure. It's not hard, and he might appreciate a woman's touch. He certainly seems taken with you.”

She looked down to where the fawn was practically wrapped around her legs, then reached for the bottle. “Just tell me what to do. I don't want to hurt him.”

He handed it to her. “You won't. Just tickle his lips with it a bit, and hold on tight.”

She started to crouch down to the fawn's level.

“No, up high. Remember, the mama deer would be standing up.” He guided her arm up into the right position, surprised by the firmness of her biceps and by the heat that shot through him at the casual touch. She was stronger than he'd realized, and more potent, too. Like aged whiskey, she packed a quiet punch.

Leaning against the counter, he watched as she coaxed the deer. Her smile was back, and when the hungry baby head butted her clumsily she actually laughed out loud. “Careful, or I'm going to start think you're a nice person.”

She looked up, startled. “Excuse me?”

“First you bring pizza, now you're helping out and enjoying it. Laughing even. What happened to the by-the-book wildlife officer that held me at gunpoint?”

Chapter Three

S
am turned back to the deer, her shoulders stiffening. “You're right. I'm on duty, I should let you do this so I can do what I need to do. Then I can get out of your way.”

“Hey, I'm just teasing.” He motioned for her to stay where she was. “I mean, you do seem different, but in a good way. No offense, but you were giving off a very different vibe out there in the woods.”

“Maybe because it was a crime scene?”

He shook his head, rejecting her defense. “No, I mean, sure, that explains some of it. But you're doing it again right now, putting up some kind of virtual keep-out sign. Which, hey, if that's the way you want it, is fine. We can go back to the cops-and-robbers routine if you like that better.”

No, damn it, she didn't like that better. Keeping people at a distance was exactly the opposite of what she was supposed to be doing. Old habits died hard, but if she was going to learn to connect to the citizens here, to earn the kind of trust she needed for her job, she needed to find a way to be more approachable. Too bad she had no idea where to start.

Realizing he might be mistaking her silence for agreement, she said the first thing that popped into her head. “I'm kind of out of practice when it comes to making friends.” Pathetic, but true.

But he didn't laugh, or question her statement. Just shrugged. “I'm out of practice when it comes to following orders, if that helps. Not a lot of perfect people walking around. But I think you might be better at making friends than you think.” He pointed at the fawn, who had finished the bottle and was now curled up on the floor, his head on her foot, fast asleep.

“It's easier with animals. They don't expect you to know about the latest fashions or which pop singer is divorcing which reality star.”

He laughed, and her breath caught in her chest. Energy and beauty radiated from him like warmth from the sun. He was everything she wasn't. And he didn't even know it.

“I think maybe you've been hanging out with the wrong crowds of people, if you think that's what they want to talk about.”

“I haven't been doing a lot of hanging out at all. Work keeps me pretty busy.”

“Uh-huh.” He moved in closer, then bent and scooped up the sleepy fawn. “Most people, at least the ones worth knowing, are looking for the same things the rest of the living world wants. Someone to stick by them, someone they can trust and, yeah, someone to have fun with.”

“It's that last part that I need to work on.” Why was she telling him all this? He obviously had no idea what it was like to be on the outside looking in.

“Maybe you just need a bit of practice. Having fun, I mean.” He moved toward another door, across the room from where they'd come in, somehow managing the knob and the deer at the same time. She followed him out onto a mulched path leading to a set of enclosures. He stopped at one of the smaller ones, empty except for a thick layer of woodchips and a bucket of water. “Your room, sir.” The spindly-legged fawn sniffed around the small fenced area, then curled back up and closed his eyes.

“No insomnia for him,” Sam commented, with no small amount of envy.

“Nope. He's got a belly full of food and a safe place to sleep. He'll be fine.”

“Thanks to you.” She looked up at Dylan, daring to make eye contact in the dim starlight. “I'm glad you didn't listen to me, that you went after him. Sorry I gave you such a hard time.”

“No worries. You can make it up to me by catching the lowlifes that shot his mother.”

Her shoulders dropped. “I'll try. Trust me, there is nothing I'd like more than to put handcuffs on them. But your friend didn't get the license number, and there are a million tan Ford pickup trucks in this part of the state. My best chance at catching them is for someone to turn them in.”

“Does that happen often?” He locked the gate on the pen, then headed back to the main building, motioning her to follow.

“Actually, it does. There are some pretty big rewards for tips that lead to an arrest. One of the secrets to being a good wildlife officer is having a personal connection with the community. If you have enough people that know you and trust you, then they can be an excellent source of information. That's why I was assigned here, in Paradise. I was born here, so the brass assumed I'd have a natural connection with the townspeople.”

He led them back to the office area and flopped down in a chair. “That makes sense.”

Sitting across from him, she opened the pizza box and grabbed a slice. “On paper, yes. In real life, not really.” She took a bite and let the flavors roll across her tongue. If heaven was a food, it would be pizza. Chewing, she debated how much to share. “I actually only lived here until I was ten. After that I went to boarding school, and then college. Other than a few school vacations, I haven't been in Paradise in over a decade.”

“Have you been able to connect with any old friends from back when you lived here?”

She shook her head. “When you're a kid, it's out of sight, out of mind—I lost touch with everyone years ago. So now I'm starting from scratch, unless you count the town librarian. I spent a lot of time hiding out there the few times I did make it home.”

Dylan swallowed the last of his slice. “Bookworm, huh? Remind me to show you my bookshelves sometime.” He waggled his eyebrows in a parody of seduction. “But I can see how that would make things awkward. Making friends in a new place is hard enough. Making friends in a place where everyone already knows you, that's a whole different thing.”

“Exactly. I'm the new girl in town, except I'm not.”

“What about your family? Are they still local?”

The bite of pizza in her mouth was suddenly hard to swallow. Folding her hands in her lap, she forced herself to answer the question; her family history wasn't exactly a secret in Paradise. “My mom died when I was a kid.”

“I'm sorry.” The words were ones she'd heard many times, but she could tell he was sincere.

“Yeah, well, after that Dad just kind of shut down—hence the boarding school. He's actually with the FWC as well, but when she passed he took a desk job. He spends pretty much every waking hour holed up in his office in Ocala. Not much time for friendships.” Or his daughter. “I know that sounds like the pot calling the kettle black, but at least I'm trying to put myself out there.”

“You'll figure it out.” He helped himself to another slice.

“I'm going to have to. I can't do my job properly otherwise.” Something her boss had made very clear to her during a private meeting last week. “I've got an evaluation coming up, and basically, if I don't create some ties to the community, I'm going to be looking for another line of work.”

* * *

Dylan coughed, nearly choking on the bite of sausage in his mouth. “What? They can fire you for not being social enough?” She seemed competent, had tracked him and the deer like a pro and was a natural with animals. So what if she was a bit awkward with the two-legged variety?

“Pretty much. There's a big push in the Fish and Wildlife Commission to be what they call community partners. And my boss is spearheading the effort. If I can't make myself a part of that, then I'll be reassigned to an administrative role.”

“I'm guessing that's not a step up, careerwise.”

She shook her head, her nose wrinkling. “Definitely not. It would be a sign of failure.”

She certainly didn't seem like someone accustomed to failure. “So what, you just have to make some friends, get to know the locals, that kind of thing?”

“Pretty much. The Outdoor Days Festival is coming up, and my boss will be here for the opening ceremonies. My plan is to be able to mingle well enough by then to impress him.”

“Okay, that sounds like a good plan.”

“Yup. And if I had any idea how to make it happen, I'd be doing okay. As it is, I think this is the second-longest conversation I've had since I moved back here months ago.”

“I'm flattered. But I've got to know, who beat me out?”

“My cat.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah, well, like I said, it's easier with animals. But this is definitely my longest human-to-human interaction.”

“Well, that's something, anyway.” He grabbed two bottles of water from the case stashed next to his desk and tossed her one. “But technically, this is work-related. What you need is a social life.”

She grimaced and took a swig of water. “I've heard of those.”

He shook his head. She had a dry wit he hadn't expected—what other surprises was she hiding? “It's not so bad, you know. Some people even find socializing fun.”

“Fun is hiking in a forest at dawn or figuring out who did it in the middle of a mystery novel.”

“Sure. But fun is also seeing a movie and then talking about it with friends over ice-cream sundaes. Or picnics on the beach, or a pickup game of volleyball.”

She shrugged. “It's not that I don't like people, but a full college course load, plus a part-time job, didn't leave much time for a social life. Now that I've got the time, I don't have the connections. I can't exactly walk up to someone I don't know and ask them to go see a movie.”

“Maybe not, but you could go with me.”

Her jaw dropped open. “Wait, what?”

“I said, you could go with me. I could even bring a few friends, make it a group thing.”

“But why would you do that?”

Because you're smart, sexy and I like hearing you laugh.
“Why shouldn't I? I mean, besides the fact that you nearly shot me.”

Sam chewed her bottom lip; the simple move sent his blood southward. Not good—just making friends was hard enough. If she realized he was attracted to her, she'd probably bolt. Giving her time to think, he grabbed the new animal intake forms and set them on the desk next to the pizza box. He could fill one out for the fawn while she asked him whatever questions she had. By the time he sat back down, she had a determined set to her shoulders and a gleam in her eye.

“Okay. I'll do it. But nothing too crazy, okay?”

“Fair enough, we'll ease you into things.” He looked down at the nearly empty box between them. “How about pizza? I'll bring a few friends, totally low-key.” He'd rather it be just the two of them, but that would defeat the whole point. “I'll handle everything. You just need to show up.”

She shook her head, but there was a smile on her lips. “Never let it be said I turned down a chance for pizza. Just let me know when and I'll be there. In the meantime, I really do need to ask you a few questions about tonight.”

And just like that she was all business again, her smile giving way to lines of concentration.

“You said Jason called you a little before five. Were you here at the center when you got the call?”

“No, I left work early today, so I was driving home by then.”

She raised an eyebrow at that. No doubt Ms. All-Work-and-No-Play never left early. “I had been working on the roof all day, in the rain. I was filthy and soaking wet. I thought I'd run home and shower, and then do some work on my laptop later.” He was being defensive, but darn it, he didn't want her to think he was a slacker. He got that enough from people. Usually it didn't bother him, but with her it rankled.

“Okay, so when you spoke with him, what did he say?”

Dylan repeated what he remembered of the short conversation.

“And what was your advice to Jason?”

“I told him to stay put and call the Fish and Wildlife hotline.”

“Thank you for that. Not everyone would have known whom to contact. For that matter, a lot of people wouldn't have wanted to get involved at all.”

Dylan deflected the praise. “Jason's a good kid. He wanted to do the right thing.”

“I could tell. Of course, that doesn't explain why you drove over there yourself, rather than just letting the authorities handle it.”

He shrugged. “He asked me to come and try to find the deer. He was worried about it. I was, too, once he told me. Given how thin the FWC is spread, I wasn't sure how long he'd have to wait for an officer to get there. And if I hadn't come, he might have tried to go after it himself. I didn't want him wandering around in the woods at dusk—not with poachers in the area.”

She rolled her eyes. “And yet you had no problem doing exactly that yourself.”

“I'm not some teenager. And it all turned out good in the end. The deer is safe, Jason's safe and I got to have dinner with a beautiful woman.”

* * *

Sam adjusted the rearview mirror in her truck and took a hard look at herself. Staring back at her was the same pale skin, brown eyes and oversize mouth she'd always seen. Beautiful? He probably just meant it in some casual, meaningless way. The kind of compliment he gave to everyone.

But it was a first for her.

She stuck her tongue out at herself and moved the mirror back in position before starting the car. No one, other than her father, had ever called her beautiful. She'd spent her teen years hidden behind thick glasses that only amplified the bushy eyebrows she'd inherited. Before college she'd switched to contacts and set up a standing appointment for an eyebrow wax. But she never quite managed the art of makeup, or fashion, for that matter. The few dates she'd gone on had been with boys as nerdy and driven scholastically as she was.

In comparison to them, Dylan was in a whole different league. One she couldn't hope to play in.

Except he'd specifically invited her to see him again, socially. Which was terrifying. Not because he was scary in and of himself—after her initial bout of nerves had worn off, he'd been surprisingly easy to be around. Maybe that was why the animals liked him so much. But he'd be bringing other people, strangers, and this time she wouldn't have work to talk about. She'd have to make actual conversation. Small talk. With people she didn't know.