Sheriff Daddy (Montana Daddies Book 10) by Laylah Roberts (good book club books txt) 📗

Ed found her number and called her.

“Hello, you’ve reached Georgina James,” her formal voice came through the phone. “I can’t come to the phone right now but please leave a message.”

“Hello Georgina, this is Ed. If you could call me back, I’d appreciate it.” He ended the call and looked over at Kiesha. “Sorry, I tried.”

“Drat, she’s totally dodging your calls.”

“She’s not dodging my calls. She’s busy. She could have gotten called back to work.”

“But she said she was here for the week.”

He frowned. “Why would she come here for a week? I thought she only came to talk to me about the case we worked on together.”

She gave him a pitying look. “Men. So dense.”

He straightened up. “What does that mean? Why do you think she came here?”

“Not telling you. That would break the bestie code. I’ve got things to do. If she calls, ask her about giving me her phone number then text it to me straight away.”

What the hell was the bestie code?

Before he could ask, Kiesha was gone. He shook his head. He should just concentrate on his work. Women were a mystery to him. Maybe he was just better off on his own.

8

He was an idiot.

What was he doing?

He had take-out on the passenger seat of his truck, getting cold. He’d finally finished his paperwork. So why, instead of heading straight home, was he now sitting in the parking lot of the local motel, staring at her room?

Kiesha had sent him no less than ten texts all day. Each one more frantic than the last. Finally, she’d started making noises about filling out a missing person’s report.

He wanted to tell her that Georgia was long gone. That’s what she did, after all. Made you think that you were special to her then she bailed.

He groaned. He wasn’t here as the guy who’d kissed her. He was here as the sheriff, doing a welfare check. Even though she was likely far away from Wishingbone.

After all, what reason would she have to hang around?

Turning off his truck, he reached back for his jacket and grabbed it. When he climbed out, he hastily donned it.

He already knew what room she was in, having driven her home last night. It had to be his imagination, but he swore he could still smell her scent in his truck.

Fuck, he should just walk away. Get back in his truck and leave.

But she had been frightened last night. She’d tried to hide it, but he’d seen it. And if she was still here and not answering the door . . .

Aw, fuck it.

Welfare check. Just doing his job. Nothing more than that.

Moving to her door, he knocked. There were no lights on. Just as he’d thought. She’d high-tailed it out of here.

Another knock. No answer.

Turning, he headed towards the motel office. Kiesha had to be mistaken about Georgina staying a week. He still didn’t understand why she’d come all the way out here just to ask him about a case when she could have called or emailed.

Made no sense.

“Hey, you looking for the lady in the room next to mine?”

He turned around as a big man stepped through the open doorway of the motel room next to Georgina’s. This had to be the guy that Kiesha was talking about. He had wide shoulders and was several inches taller than Ed, with a trimmed dark beard.

“Yeah, I am. Do you know where she is?”

“Why? She in some kind of trouble?” the other man asked.

Ed didn’t like his interest. “That’s not really any of your business. What’s your name?”

“Remy Madison.” The big man folded his arms over his chest.

“What are you doing in Wishingbone, Remy?” Ed asked.

“There’s no crime in coming to Wishingbone, is there?” Remy countered.

“Nope, there isn’t. Still like it if you answered my question.”

“Here interviewing for a job at Sanctuary Ranch.”

Okay, that surprised him. Sanctuary Ranch didn’t hire very often. Most people didn’t leave their jobs there. And there were special requirements to working there that meant that the Jensens were very picky about who they hired.

“Didn’t realize Clint was hiring.”

Remy just gave a chin nod in response. He’d need to make a call to Clint tomorrow. See what was up with this guy. He seemed to have a chip on his shoulder. Ed couldn’t see him fitting in at Sanctuary. All the men who worked there were in the lifestyle. Most were Daddy Doms, and all of them were very protective of the women who lived on the ranch.

“You seen Georgina today?” Ed asked. “She might have gone home, but she’s not answering her phone so I’m here to check on her.”

Remy looked him up and down. “So she’s not in trouble with the law?”

“Would it matter to you if she was?”

Remy leaned against the doorway. “I don’t like to see women being harassed.”

Ed narrowed his gaze. “Not in the habit of harassing people, especially women. And I’d take a dim view of anyone who did harass a woman in my town.”

“Hmm. We’ll see. The little bit sure is popular, first thing this morning she had some woman banging on her door and demanding that she come for pancakes. I went out for a bit after that. But when I got home, there was another woman in a dress and cowboy boots, which ain’t exactly gonna keep her warm in this weather. She was knocking and telling her how Loki was sorry he tried to kidnap her last night . . . you see now why I might be worried?

Ed grimaced. “Yeah.”

“Hour after that, another woman starts calling through her door, telling her to stop hiding and put on her big girl panties and come confront Loki for scaring her.”

Fuck. He was starting to understand how that might all sound bad.

“Now, the sheriff of this fine town turns up, demanding to know where she is.”

“She’s likely gone home,” Ed muttered, almost to himself.

“Not unless she was planning on running home,” Remy told him. “Was about to go