"That would be--" Vaughn hesitated, considered his words, and sighed deeply. "--quite an achievement."

"Lighten up, Sheriff. You're going to go prematurely gray for nothing." Grey suddenly grinned and opened the box of doughnuts. "Doughnut?"

Vaughn smiled and declined with a slight shake of his head. Grey maintained his grin and waved the box of freshly baked, colorful doughnuts before him.

"Come on," he teased, "you know you want one. Everyone knows cops love their doughnuts."

Vaughn snorted a laugh and took a pink doughnut with sprinkles. "Thanks."

Grey shut the box and nodded. "Thanks for stopping by, Sheriff."

Sheriff Holt got into his blazer, backed up to the barn, and then drove down the driveway. Grey watched him drive away then sneered. He turned and headed for the porch where Dina sat with Casey. His relatively charming smile again returned as if on cue. He walked onto the porch and set down his doughnuts on the table next to Casey.

"Guard those while I get my coffee," Grey said firmly.

Dina suddenly jumped up from her chair with a little too much enthusiasm. "I'll get you some coffee."

"That's not--"

Dina hurried past him and into the house. He watched her hasty retreat, collapsed into the vacant chair with a disgusted moan, and smirked.

"She saw Diesel without his shirt, didn't she?"

Casey grinned. "Yep."

"Great," he groaned. "Now I get to hear Diesel banging her all night long."

Grey opened his box of doughnuts, s.n.a.t.c.hed one, and ate it with disgust.

"What did our ill.u.s.trious sheriff have to say?" Casey asked while raising a curious brow. "I a.s.sume it was about me."

Grey casually nodded. "He said you've got a great a.s.s and asked if he could throw you over the hood of his cruiser and bang the s.h.i.t out of you," Grey casually replied. "I said, 'sure, why not'. He seemed pleased. I don't think we'll need to worry about him after you close that deal."

Casey sneered at Grey and folded her arms over her chest. "If I thought you were serious, I'd probably have to kill you."

Grey chuckled. "He suggested you play nice."

"With him?" She snorted a laugh. "Yeah, right," she scoffed. "Like that's going to ever happen. For me, playing nice with Sheriff Holt would be kicking him everywhere except in his boys. What did you tell him?"

Grey shrugged, again without looking at her, and took another bite from his doughnut. "I told him I'd make sure you played nice." He glared at her with his brows raised. "And you're going to play nice."

She glared back at him and smirked. "You're dreaming."

Grey smiled deviously at her. "Oh, we'll see about that, my darling sister."

Chapter Fourteen.

Later that morning, Vaughn walked across the small bullpen toward his office. There appeared to be no one around, which was good, since he appeared to be in a foul mood as he entered his office. He stopped just inside the doorway. Ernest sat in the chair before his desk and flipped through a folder that had been lying on top. Vaughn approached, s.n.a.t.c.hed the folder from Ernest, and walked behind his desk. He tossed the folder down as he collapsed into his chair and looked at the man across from him.

"Come in, Ernest," Vaughn scoffed lowly. "Won't you have a seat?"

Vaughn leaned back in his chair, folded his hands across his abdomen, and stared at Ernest with little expression. Ernest grinned and leaned forward.

"And I thought Wiley lacked manners," Ernest remarked. "You really should work on your disposition."

"What do you want?" Vaughn now demanded with limited patience.

"Casey Remington behind bars would be nice for a start," he snapped.

"Sorry, Ernest," Vaughn announced. "It was self-defense. I saw the video myself."

"Along with half the town," Ernest scoffed. "That girl is a menace and needs to be put in her place."

"You're absolutely right," Vaughn replied. "These d.a.m.ned women today think they have the right to keep men from pawing their bodies. What the h.e.l.l kind of world are we living in? Next they'll be speaking their minds and then the whole world will just go to h.e.l.l."

Ernest sneered at Vaughn.

"G.o.d," Vaughn continued with a sigh, "I miss the good old days when we could just club them over the head and drag them into our caves."

"You're a real p.r.i.c.k, you know that?"

"So I've been told," Vaughn scoffed. He leaned across his desk, glared at Ernest, and turned serious. "You tell your boys to stay away from Casey Remington. She and her brother have been through enough."

"She didn't exactly strike me as being traumatized," Ernest remarked. "I don't think she learned anything from what happened to her and her family."

Vaughn straightened without taking his eyes off Ernest. "I'm curious, Ernest. Was that a confession or a threat?"

Ernest appeared annoyed then smirked. "Does this have to do with Melanie?"

Vaughn looked stunned and shook his head while marveling at Ernest's candor. "This has nothing to do with your niece, so stop pretending that is does."

"You're awfully defensive over Casey," Ernest said firmly.

Vaughn suddenly raised his brows and nodded. "You're right; I am," he snorted. "Someone tried to murder her two years ago and nearly succeeded. I'm a little cranky knowing there's a murderer running around my town. And you better believe if he tries to finish what he started two years ago, I'm putting a bullet between his eyes."

Vaughn and Ernest stared at each other a long moment in silence.

"My boys are innocent," Ernest finally scoffed. "We've been through this a thousand times."

"Yeah?" Vaughn sneered. "So let's make it a thousand and one."

Ernest stood with disgust. "Just watch yourself, Sheriff," he snapped. "I helped put you behind that badge, and I can make it all go away."

Vaughn casually stood and placed his hands on his hip and gun handle. He looked at Ernest with no emotion. "No, Ernest," he said flatly. "Shooting a cold-blooded killer three times in the chest put me behind this badge, and nothing short of putting me six feet under is going to remove it from me. Keep your boys away from Casey Remington."

"Or what, Sheriff?" he remarked while sneering.

"Or I'll let her finish what they started in the tavern last night," Vaughn firmly replied.

Ernest glared his annoyance, turned, and left the office. Vaughn watched him leave, sneered with disgust, and shook his head. He flopped back down in his chair and groaned while looking at the ceiling.

"I should probably up my life insurance policy," Vaughn muttered.

It was nearly noon later that day. The town had not changed in two years. The banner across the street appeared almost exactly the same but it now read, "100th Annual Fair". Casey rode her gray horse through town and received several stares followed by smiles and waves. People saw her and begin collecting and clucking with one another. Casey wondered if they were happy to see her or surprised she'd returned. She casually glanced at a few of the familiar faces; recognizing her parents' supposed friends. They were the same people who gossiped endlessly about their murders. She wondered which ones betrayed her parents with their callous remarks and finger pointing. The more she thought about it; the less she cared. She loathed them all. Casey rode up to a parking meter just outside the police station. She dismounted the gray horse, tied it to the meter, and placed money in it. As she walked onto the sidewalk, Abby suddenly appeared and approached her. Abby seemed enthusiastic to see her. She really couldn't understand why. Mrs. Mayor had to know how she really felt about her.

"Casey," Abby announced cheerfully while smiling. "I heard you were back. You look great. How have you been?"

As Casey stared at Mrs. Mayor, a thousand thoughts raced through her mind. She wanted to lash out at the loathsome woman but buried her hatred deep inside. A strange, almost disturbing smile crossed Casey's face as she attempted to be polite.

"Mrs. Mayor," she responded almost as cheerfully and wondered if the woman knew how much she wanted to punch her in the face. "Grey and I are doing well. How have you been?"

Abby appeared almost surprised by her politeness and began her usual, long-winded answer to an insincere question. "I can't complain," she replied. "We're getting ready for our 100th annual fair. It's going to be spectacular. The best ever. I hope you and Grey will attend. You missed a lovely memorial service held in your parents' honor two years ago. Perhaps we could do something special in their honor this year now that you're back."

Casey was regretting having been so polite to Mrs. Mayor. She knew she should have started out by punching her in the face. Now, if she did it, it would just seem rude.

"You remember my Melanie?" She suddenly laughed. "Of course you do. It's only been two years. She has this amazing routine for the talent show this year. I do hope you can attend." She suddenly gasped and appeared excited. "You and Grey should partic.i.p.ate at the fair. I'm sure we can find something for the two of you to do in order to contribute. Everyone will be thrilled if you partic.i.p.ated. You could collect tickets or something."

Casey maintained her smile while screaming in her head. How long did she have to stand here and listen to this woman drone on? Could she punch her in the face? She was suddenly curious if punching Botox would be like punching play dough. The thought of Mrs. Mayor with a fist print permanently embedded in her face was actually quite humorous. As Abby continued to talk with no letup in sight, Casey realized she needed to leave before something unforeseen happened to the woman.

"You know," Casey suddenly announced, interrupting her, "I'll talk to Grey about it and get back to you. If you'll excuse me, I need have words with our sheriff."

Abby nodded and remained enthusiastic. "Yes, of course. Let me know. It was great seeing you again. Stop by the house some time."

"Yeah, I'll do that," Casey replied and silently snickered to herself. As if that would ever happen.

Casey turned and hurried into the police station. She entered the bullpen and looked around. With all her run-ins with Vaughn, she'd never actually been inside the police station before. Surprisingly, she wasn't impressed. Several deputies' desks lined the bullpen and the dispatch desk. Casey sought out the sheriff's office and approached. The door was closed, but Melanie was seen talking to Vaughn beyond the gla.s.s. Jeannie sat behind the dispatch desk before Vaughn's office. She looked up, saw Casey, and appeared surprised.

"Oh, my goodness, Casey Remington!" Jeannie announced excitedly.

"Hi, Jeannie."

The former tavern waitress turned police dispatch appeared giddy. "If you're here to rip the sheriff a new one, you'll need to take a number."

"Yes, I see Melanie in there," Casey teased. "The sheriff looks p.i.s.sed."

"Melanie has that effect on him."

"She has that effect on a lot of people," Tucker announced from across the room Casey turned to see Deputy Tucker a few feet away. She'd caught a glimpse of him at the tavern last evening, but she'd almost completely forgotten what he'd even looked like. She didn't know how she could forget Dina's fantasy man. Actually, Deputy Tucker was a lot of women's fantasy man. Even Casey couldn't deny he was handsome.

"Good to see you out of those handcuffs for a change. It agrees with you," Tucker remarked while grinning.

"I thought the sheriff might enjoy cuffing me once, you know, for old times' sake," Casey teased.

"Same old Casey," he said with a chuckle. "You really know how to push his b.u.t.tons. Come to my office. I'll show you around."

Casey walked with Tucker to the next desk over.

He collapsed behind his desk, clasped his hands over his abdomen, and grinned. "Well, what do you think?"

She looked around and nodded. "Very roomy. Nice airflow, but some curtains would probably brighten it up."

He chuckled in response. "What brings you to Darwood Falls' finest?"

"Just wanted to talk to the sheriff," she announced and attempted an embarra.s.sed smile. "We sort of got off to a bad start yesterday." That was a lie. Their bad start didn't bother her in the least.

"You mean you kicking Harford a.s.s?" Tucker teased. "Wiley sent me the video. That was pretty amazing how you handled all four of them. Are you a black belt?"

"Unofficially, I suppose," she replied and appeared disinterested in the subject. "I heard Wiley is tending bar at the tavern. I didn't see him there last night."

"Just Tuesday, Friday, and Sat.u.r.day nights. He's dying to see you," Tucker said with a grin. "Not that I blame him. You are a sight for sore eyes."

Casey laughed and shook her head. "And you're still as charming as ever." She appeared curious. "What happened with Melanie? You two were quite the couple two years ago."

He shrugged with disinterest. "When Vaughn became sheriff, she jumped ship--and him. What can I say; the girl likes men in power."

"I don't understand how Vaughn became sheriff," she remarked and appeared curious. "I thought you were next in line. What happened?"

"When he saved you, he became a hero," he informed her. "The town wanted him for sheriff, so Wiley appointed him. End of story."

She considered the comment and appeared curious. "So if I had died, he wouldn't be sheriff?" She suddenly laughed. "There's some irony to that."

Tucker chuckled softly. "He's my best friend, so I'm required to be happy for him."

The office door opened, and Vaughn's voice was heard. "Please don't come here anymore, Mel," Vaughn announced from his office doorway.

Casey and Tucker now stared at the sheriff's office. Melanie placed her arms around Vaughn's neck and smiled l.u.s.tfully while looking into his dark eyes.

"We both know this isn't over," Melanie announced playfully. "You'll come crawling back. They all do."

Vaughn removed Melanie's arms from his neck and showed no emotion. "Stop it."

"Oh, I forgot," she playfully pouted then grinned. "No public displays of affection. Always professional. Last of the true Boy Scouts."

As Casey stared at Melanie, something twitched inside her. There had never been any animosity between them, but her presence somehow bothered Casey. Perhaps it had something to do with Vaughn's cruel reference to Casey being the town darling and needing to be spanked, yet he somehow ended up s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g the mayor's spoiled, little girl. The more she thought about it, all her problems seemed to begin and end with Vaughn. As satisfying as it was kicking all four Harford boys' a.s.ses last night, maybe she'd be more satisfied if she struck Vaughn again. Casey dismissed her inappropriate thoughts. Kicking his a.s.s wasn't her reason for calling. She wished it had been. She casually approached Jeanie's desk. Melanie saw Casey and her face lost all expression. She immediately tensed. She attempted a smile and looked at Vaughn while smirking.

"I guess someone's right hand will be getting a workout tonight," Melanie boldly announced.

Vaughn rolled his eyes with disgust.