Destined (The Rangers of Ridge County #1)

Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

EMMETT

T o say my day had been strange would be an understatement.

It started before dawn.

With a dead body.

We had identified the woman as Roxy Sanders—a well known sex worker from Bozeman. Though, how her body ended up on the side of a highway in Ridge County was still unclear.

One of my deputies in Lower Ridge Valley found her during his end of shift patrol. The coroner on scene quickly identified several stab wounds and ligature marks around her wrists and ankles consistent with homicide.

Things like this didn’t happen in my county.

On my way back to Ranger Ridge, I came upon a vehicle with an out of state license plate in the emergency lane. Which immediately had my hackles rising. After shifting my cruiser into park, I realized there was a person underneath the car.

What the fuck was going on around here?

I went ahead and radioed dispatch with the plate number and an order to send any available information associated with the car and its owner.

Everything deteriorated from there as I let my frustration seep into my actions as well as my words.

My day just continued to devolve, and now all I could do was stare at the woman who had hijacked my entire afternoon. An afternoon that should have been spent working this morning’s case.

One of my deputies could have handled the situation with Millie Rushing. But I thought an opportunity would arise for me to prove to her I was not the brute I continued to present myself as. Though, I wasn’t sure why I cared so much.

Since winning the election, I’ve had a difficult time finding any semblance of work-life balance—which shouldn’t have been surprising. The pressure to live up to the precedent set by the previous sheriff was intense.

It was just my luck that I would meet a gorgeous woman only to act like an absolute asshat before introducing myself.

She was frowning up at the Bennett farmhouse and hadn’t moved to exit my cruiser in the few minutes we’d been idling here. I couldn’t fathom why she would pay to live in this dump. It’d been vacant for years.

The fact that she seemed surprised by its state was puzzling, though. Almost as baffling that of all the places she could have been destined for, she ended up in my cruiser—for the second time today.

Rentals around Ranger Ridge were scarce, especially this time of year. So she was likely stuck in this farmhouse. Especially with Frank overseeing the lease.

But I didn’t say that.

Instead, I watched as emotions played across her features.

Millie Rushing was stunning.

That was the first thought to pop into my mind when she slid out from under her car hours ago. That reckless stunt had left her shirt and pants a little dirty, and I would be damned if it didn’t add to her appeal.

At some point, she put a hat on to cover her rust colored hair. And it left her blue eyes in shadow but made the countless freckles dotting her nose and cheeks stand out, reminding me of constellations .

She was attractive, and I reminded myself not to get distracted.

“Do you need help carrying anything inside?” I asked nonchalantly. “I really need to be getting back to the department.”

This lit a fire under her. She frowned then reached for the door handle. As we climbed out, I grabbed one of the boxes she’d snagged while at Tim’s. It had the word snacks scrawled across the top.

It made me smile for what felt like the first time today. Snacks were a priority I could easily get behind. My stomach growled at the thought, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. But I followed Millie up the worn porch steps.

She reached into the mounted mailbox hanging askew beside the front door and produced an antique key.

“Fuck my life,” she muttered as she slid the key into the lock and twisted.

I watched from behind her as she took a steadying breath then turned the handle and pushed the door open.

As the door swung in, dust rushed out to greet us.

Millie coughed and batted a hand in front of her face. My hands were full, so I was left rapidly blinking away the filth from my eyes.

“You have got to be kidding me,” she murmured while tentatively stepping inside and looking around.

“I am sensing this might not be what you were expecting,” I voiced.

“WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD RENT THIS PLACE FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR?” she shrieked.

You, evidently —I thought but didn’t say.

She was visibly distraught and spinning in circles which was understandable given the state of this house. Not to mention the thick layer of grime that coated every surface.

“Now you understand why I was shocked when you told me where you were staying,” I retorted as I steered us toward the back of the house .

Millie mindlessly followed, her blue eyes wide as we entered the kitchen from the hallway.

“This isn’t so bad,” she said as if trying to convince the both of us.

“I’m sure after a good scrubbing, this house might be livable again,” I offered. Though I wasn’t entirely convinced as my eyes landed on countless cracks spidering the walls.

Was this house structurally intact?

A loud groan emanated from somewhere within the walls, as if the house sensed my concern.

Millie glowered but said nothing.

We spent the next few minutes trekking back and forth from my cruiser until all of her things were unloaded in the kitchen and main living area.

I rose from depositing the items in my arms then clapped my hands—only to rub them down the front of my khakis as she bent over in front of me, setting down the box she’d brought in.

I cleared my throat and prepared to make my exit when Millie twisted to face me.

Her cerulean blue stare stole the words from my throat as well as the air from my lungs.

This woman was a fucking enchantress.

“Today has been stressful, but I appreciate you sparing the time to help me with my things,” she said as she stepped around me in the direction of the door.

“My furniture should be arriving early tomorrow morning,” she continued while glancing around, “not that I will be able to uncover any of it.”

She was politely trying to tell me to get out, and I could take the hint. In fact, I was grateful she took it upon herself to coordinate this awkward goodbye. It saved me from butchering another conversation between the two of us.

“I hope today is no indication of how your stay in Ranger Ridge will be,” I said jokingly, but it fell flat even to my own ears.

Before I dug myself any deeper of a hole, I waved my hand in farewell.

She slowly lifted her hand in response as a slight frown pulled her pouty lips down .

I took that as my cue and turned on my heels. Millie followed and switched on the porch light even though there was still plenty of daylight to see by.

I appreciated the gesture, nonetheless.

I jogged over to my cruiser then glanced back for one last look. Emotion stirred in my chest, but I smothered it—not having any more time to waste here.

At the end of the driveway, I turned my attention in the opposite direction. Toward the route that would take me even further from town.

I tightened my hands on the steering wheel and navigated my cruiser toward the department, accepting the long night ahead of me.

I had work to do.