The Accidental Sheriff by Cathy McDavid Page A

use a coach to help him choose what to say. “Lynne’s dead because of me.”
    “It was an accident.”
    “Call it whatever you like, my lack of judgment triggered a chain of events that ended with her dying. Afterward, I promised myself I wouldn’t put the people close to me in danger. It’s the reason I sent Zoey to live with her grandparents. It’s the reason I took a job in a small town when I couldn’t stand being separated from her.”
    “How is shutting yourself off from a relationship with me going to protect me?”
    He blinked away an image of Lynne in a pool of blood. “If we’re not together, you’re less likely to wind up in the path of a killer’s bullet.”
    “There are no killers lurking in the shadows, Neil,” she said, her voice gentler.
    “There could be.”
    “This is Gila County. Hardly anything bad ever happens here. You said so yourself.”
    “Ten years ago Sheriff Herberger’s house was torched by the brother of a man he’d arrested.”
    “That’s one incident. And if I remember correctly, no one was home at the time.”
    “One incident is all it takes.”
    “You’re willing to risk Zoey’s life.”
    “Yes, and I live in constant fear for her safety. It’s gotten worse since I was appointed acting sheriff. I’m suddenly more visible. More people know who I am. Who my daughter is.” He laid his head against the seat back and closed his eyes. “Zoey’s my only child, and I’m her only parent. I tried giving her up. My life wasn’t just incomplete without her, it was unbearable.”
    “But you can give me up.” Disappointment more than anger tinged her voice.
    “Today I can.” He turned to look at her. In the semidarkness, her features were soft and sweet and achingly lovely. “What scares me is that if we keep seeing each other, keep doing what we just did, I won’t be able to give you up. Ever.”
    “It’s hard to tell, but did I hear a compliment in there somewhere?”
    “You did.”
    She studied him, her gaze critical. “Are you sure you’re not overreacting just a little?”
    “Not everyone in Payson supported the county commissioner’s decision to appoint me acting sheriff.”
    Her eyes widened. “Has something happened?”
    “I received a minor threat the day of the interview, and someone’s been calling my home and private cell phone and hanging up. The same type of thing happened after Lynne died.”
    “Pranks?”
    “Not all of them.” A chill coursed through him. “Twice I was accosted outside my home. The perpetrators got away.”
    “What about Zoey?”
    “Fortunately, she was at her grandparents’ then. I’ll do whatever’s necessary to safeguard her until Sheriff Herberger’s well and I can go back to being just a deputy.”
    Or back to hiding in a hole, as Neil referred to it during those rare moments when he was honest with himself.
    “What about us? Can we…keep doing what we just did when Otis is well?”
    He didn’t respond immediately.
    Her laugh this time was bitter. “Boy, I just keep setting myself up, don’t I?”
    “I can protect Zoey better than I can you. She’s five and has to do what I tell her to.”
    “And I don’t,” Carolina stated.
    “You won’t. You’re very much your own person. I like and admire that about you, but it makes protecting you damn near impossible.”
    A range of emotions flickered across her face. Neil began to think he was finally getting through to her.
    “I don’t believe you, Sheriff Lovitt, and I’m getting tired of your excuses.” Wrong again.
    “Carolina.”
    She wrenched the handle beside her, flung open the door and stepped outside. “Sounds to me like you’re trying to protect yourself. Not Zoey and certainly not me.”
    “Even if you’re right, which you’re not, it won’t change anything. I have a duty and a responsibility.”
    She sniffed. “I need a man who isn’t afraid to get involved.”
    “I understand.”
    “I think you’ll regret this one day.” She