Part One. The story is finished but if no one likes it I won't bother posting the rest.
It had been a while since she broke off her engagement with Drake. She never wanted to date or even meet another man. She was happy just being alone. It took a long time to get past the hurt and deceit that was Drake. She was still young and fully ready to enjoy life in the city. Until she got the call.
Mr. Redmond was a tall man in his early sixties. He was handsome once but time hadn't been good to him. He looked after everyone and never met a stranger. Rachel had come to work for him soon after she met Drake. Rachel knew Mr. Redmond never approved of Drake and kept that part of her life private from work. At least she thought she did. Mr. Redmond knew everything but never told her. He called her into his office.
"Rachel, may I have a word with you?"
"Be right there, Mr. Redmond."
As she walked into his office , she felt nervous. The kind of nerves you get when you are about to get bad news.
"Rachel, you know I've appreciated the work you've done here. But I've noticed that in the last year, you have not been happy. Haven't been able to find yourself after your breakup with Drake. While I didn't approve of him, I'm deeply saddened you have not bounced back"
"I only tried to keep that separate from work. I'm sorry if it affected my work". She was holding back tears, was he firing her. Had her work really suffered so badly since her break up?
"Oh it's nothing that bad Rachel. I only wanted you to know that I noticed you were having a hard time here with the memory. That's why I thought of you first when this position came available. It's a management position at our warehouse in Tamersville. It's a raise and a fresh start. I thought you might like a change. "
Rachel stared at him in shock. She wasn't sure what to make of his offer. Was she ready to move to a small town and start over. "How much time do I have to think about it? It's not something I can decide right now. I have my dad to think about too. I can't move that far from him."
"I know it's a big decision Rachel but the opening goes public in a few days. Take the weekend and let me know on Monday"
"Thank you. Thanks for believing in me"
She had made up her mind before she left Mr. Redmond's office. All she had to do was convince her dad they were moving to the sleepy little town of Tamersville. Her dad didn't need much convincing, he had always wanted to get out of the city. A nice retirement in the peaceful sleepy town would be perfect.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A week later she was in Tamersville, staying in the boarding house with Ms Netty. Her new position at the warehouse was her dream job. She loved it there and had started making new friends. Housing was scarce in this small tourist town but she was still happily searching for a place she could bring her father and make her own. The boarding house was nice but not her home. She was after all trying to start over.
Her luck was about to change. Today she was looking at an older home on the lake. She never thought she'd be able to afford such a house but the seller was a friend of Mr. Redmond.
The house was new on the market and Rachel would be the only one to get a chance at it. It was perfect. It was an amazing house with a separate apartment type suite for her father. They could live peacefully on the lake. She made an offer. Within minutes, the house was basically hers.
Several weeks late, she was all moved in and settling in nicely to her new town and home. How she ever found happiness in that big city she would never know. She found her happy again and Drake was no longer even a part of her dreams. She was finally over him.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jason Monroe was the sheriff of Tamersville. He was a tall rugged country man. Broad shoulder, chiseled chin with the perfect amount of scruffy beard. He wasn't everyone's type of handsome but he did well with the ladies. He was a strong man who knew what he wanted and wasn't afraid to tell people what that was. He was confident in himself and he was good at his job. Yet he wasn't arrogant and pushy. At just 32 years old, he was the best sheriff Tamersville had ever had. A fact he was very proud of.
He saw her when she first drove into town. Her beat up old car was out of place among the pristine tourist town. The beautiful brown haired beauty was hard to forget. He didn't know why yet but he knew he had to meet her.
He had already started trying to figure out who she was. She was staying at the boarding house but He couldn't ask Ms. Pretty for information. Small towns have eyes and ears all their own and he knew the rumors would start and scare her off before he had his chance. He knew she was working at the warehouse, the new manager. When he heard she was looking for a house, he knew the perfect one. His parents had left it to them when they died. It had been vacant for several years because he wasn't sure what to do with it. He couldn't live there alone, it had always been a family home. A family should live there. Until, she needed a house of her own. He didn't know why, but he wanted her to live there. Maybe one day, he would live there with her and have that family. He sold it barely reading the offer. He knew it was fair, below market but fair.
He noticed she would often leave work late and in the quiet night she fails to completely stop at the stop sign near her house. Tonight, he decided to stop her.
She saw the lights in her rear view mirror and immediately started swearing to herself for being so foolish. She knew she should be stopping, but it was so late and she only want to go the few more blocks to home and rest. Slowly she pulled over and waited for the ticket she knew was coming.
He strode up to her window and gently tapped on the glass. She rolled down the window and felt an instant stirring in her tummy and surprisingly lower. She hadn't had these feeling since Drake and even then it wasn't this strong.
"You do know that a stop sign means stop, right?" He asked her in a scolding tone.
"Yes, officer I do. It's just late and I wanted to get home". She handed him her license and insurance card. She wasn't trying to be grumpy but she was tired and just wanted to get it over with and get home. She thought the butterflies were from nerves and not a reaction to him.
"There's no reason for attitude Mrs. Smith. I was just going to give you a warning, since you're new to town but I might just change my mind". He felt something he had never felt before with any woman. He wanted to hold her, protect her and love her. How could he feel like this from only one meeting.
"It's Miss and I'm sorry. I must just be really tired tonight". Why did she tell him that. She let him know she was single. She didn't know why but she knew she would see more of him around. She just didn't know how much more.
"Well Miss Smith" he said emphasizing the miss. "You are good to go tonight but remember those stop signs are there for a reason. I'll be watching and next time I won't be so friendly"
She thanked him and drove away. A warmth growing in sex and soaking her panties, she didn't know why but she would dream amazing dreams of her sheriff.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It would be several weeks before he would try to meet her again but he couldn't shake the thought of the brown haired beauty with bright green eyes and a smile the lit his soul on fire. He had dreams of her, their life together, their kids. How he wanted to think of anything else, but he was smitten as his father would say. The old man was a genuine romantic. Always telling him how the right girl would just fall into his lap one day and he would know.
It was a dark stormy night and he was on patrol near the warehouse. He'd hope to just catch a glimpse of his dream girl. He would make sure she got home safe. This storm was rolling in fast and the tourists would be frantic to get to their cars and bungalows as fast as possible. Too many accident he had witnessed on nights starting off like this one. Soon she was there, getting into her car but not alone. She was with Emily Smart. Her name may be Smart but that girl was trouble. He'd known her since they were kids. They had grown up in this small town and he had even once tried to date her. He was older than her and it just didn't work out. To see Rachel with Emily sent red flags through his mind. What were these two up to. He watched as they drove away from the warehouses headed out of town and away from Rachel's home. He knew instantly Emily would have talked her into going to the bar down the highway for a little drinking and dancing. Maybe show Rachel what small town bars had to offer.
"Do you see that? Everywhere I go, it seems that sheriff is there". Rachel felt uneasy noticing him, yet felt safe knowing he was there.
"Oh that's Jason. He always watches out for the girls getting off shift late. Likes to make sure we are all safe"
"Well that's good to know. A real life knight in shining armour."
"For sure. This one time, he noticed I had a flat tire. He changed my tire before I got off work, then left me a scolding note about how I shouldn't leave my car unlocked. And to be careful because there are consequences for not always being safe". Emily smiled at the memory of Jason keeping her safe.
"What did he mean consequences?"
"Well he believes in his women doing what they're told. He used to tell me when we were younger, if you behave like a spoiled child, I'll spank you like one"
Rachel wasn't sure if she was serious or not. Surely the sheriff of this small town didn't go around spanking women just because they didn't do something they were told.
"Don't look so surprised. It happened a long time ago and I realized that he only meant for me to be better at taking care of myself. I learned a lot that summer we dated. I was so young, just out of high school. We had known each other our whole lives. He only spanked me once and believe me, it sent the right message. I knew he cared about me and only wanted what was best for me."
"So you dated him? What happened?" Rachel asked feeling a bit of jealousy though she wasn't sure why. She hadn't even been formally introduced to Jason yet. 'Jason' she liked the sound of his name in her head. She smiled.
"I was young, he was already in college and wanted nothing more than to stay here in this small town and live his life. I was 18 and wanted to see the world. Small time life wasn't what I wanted back then."
"What changed? You came back"
"My dad got sick and died shortly after. I came back to take care of my mom."
"Oh I'm sorry. I take care of my dad for the same reasons. Mom died suddenly. Dad is all I have left."
"Well let's get to this bar and have some fun. No more sad memories tonight"
"Agreed".
Rachel continued to feel as though she were being watched. Couldn't shake the feeling but knew it was Jason and that made her feel safe and warm in all the right places.
He wanted to follow her, to make sure she was safe but it would have to wait until his shift ended. He had wait to a few more hours for his deputy to take over.
The hours seemed to drag by. The storm wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. The rain was constant but the wind had died down. Finally, he was off shift and able to drive out to the bar just past the city limits. He hoped she would still be there and he could offer to drive them home if the girls have been drinking.
He saw her car in the lot and wondered why she was out so late. It was almost 2 in the morning. The bar should be closing soon. He walked in and found Rachel and Emily playing pool with some guys who were obviously drunk.
"Hey Emily. You're out late"
"Hey Jason, just showing Rachel a little fun"
"I've seen first hand your kind of fun Emily." Jason said as he kept an eye on the men standing a little too close to Rachel. One guy was even rubbing his hands over her arms as if he were trying to teach her to shoot pool. Jason had seen that move before and he didn't like the idea it was being played on her. He wanted to punch the guy, run away with her and keep her safely his forever. He had to shake these thoughts from his mind. First things first. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your new friend?"
"Sorry, I heard you'd already met her" Emily grinned thinking maybe she would set them up. They would be good together. Rachel was shy and needing to find a nice safe guy to love. Jason needed a good woman, a friend, a life partner. "Jason, this is Rachel. She is new to town. Rachel, this is Jason. He's Tamersvilles sheriff."
Jason walked around the pool table where Rachel was standing, held out his hand. She grasped his hand and an immediate jolt of electricity shot through her. She had never felt something so energized and confusing. Why did he affect her like this?
Rachel snatched her hand away. "Nice to meet you Jason"
"Nice to meet you too". Jason thought how lame could he be. He'd already met her, already knew her name, where she lived, worked. That jolt of electricity, did she feel it too? He was hoping she had. He had never felt that with anyone else.
"Look buddy, these girls were here with us first. What makes you think you can just walk in here and start talking to them". The guy with the tattoo on his forearm stepped between Rachel and Jason.
"I'm not here to cause trouble." Jason turned to Emily trying to shield both girls from what might happen next. "Emily, it's time for you to go home."
Emily saw a flash in Jason's eyes that told her just do as I ask please. "Rachel, let's go."
Before the girls had a chance to move, the guy swung his pool stick at Jason. He missed. Jason was able to grab him, spin him around and was able to restrain and cuff him over the pool table.
It happened so fast, Jason didn't see what went on in those seconds behind him.
"RACHEL!" Emily screamed in panic. "Oh my God, Rachel". Emily was crying in panic and shock.
There was blood on Rachel's face. Jason tried to stay calm. "Emily, what happened"
Emily was unable to talk. She was hysterical from crying and panic. She wanted to tell him but couldn't make the word come out.
Tom, the bartender and owner of the Over There Bar, was coming around the bar with a first aid kit. It wasn't much, but he didn't get too many brawls in his bar. Everyone knew everyone in the small town, so there was never any real concern. "When he missed you, Rachel just happened to step up at the wrong moment and take the cue in the face. She stumbled back and hit her head on the bench there. Jason, I came out as fast as I could."
"Thanks Tom. You did great. Can you call Brody and have him come and take care of these two. I'll take Rachel over to the hospital. I'll call Connie and have her come over right away and we'll take her to the hospital"
As they both made their calls, Jason did his best to try and calm down Emily and stop the bleeding from beneath Rachel's eye.
The approaching sirens made Emily a lot more panicked. She felt this was all her fault. She had wanted to go to the bar. She had wanted to stay a little longer. Ok a lot longer. Now her friend was hurt and it was her fault.
Deputy Brody arrived and finished arresting the guy with the tattoo handcuffed and lying half on the pool table. The second guy made no trouble and Brody saw no reason to arrest him too.
The ambulance sirens could be heard. "Looks like Connie made good time getting here."
Brody said trying to break the tension. Brody loaded the arrested man into his cruiser and left. He would call Jason later to see if it all worked out ok. He'd never seen his friend look so distraught over an injured girl.
Once Connie made her way inside with the stretcher, she made quick work getting Rachel ready to be transported to the hospital. She noticed there was a gash on the back of her head as well as the one on her face. Soon they were ready to leave.
"Get her loaded, I'm coming with you guys". Jason said matter of fact. Connie knew better than to attempt to argue. Jason usually got what he wanted, no use wasting time.
"Tom, can you get Emily home? She's in no condition to drive or be alone. I'll call you as soon as I know what's going on. Can you stay with her?"
"Sure, no problem Jason. I'll stay as long as she lets me". Tom would do anything for Emily. He'd had a crush on her for years but has always been afraid to tell her. Tonight wouldn't be that night either. She was too drunk and upset for her to make those kinds of decisions.
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