The muffled thud of a fist on her front door gave her a mild start before she remembered that it was most likely her dad. Instead of hauling around the dozen keys he’d need to gain entry, Gabe just knocked and waited for her to open the doors for him.
Daisy grinned as she hurried to the entry. He’d been gone for four days, and she’d missed him. She also had a mile-long grocery list. If she was going to start hosting training parties, she’d need snacks and beverages. Sports drinks, maybe? Daisy hoped that Gabe would be able to hit a few estate sales before he left for his next job, too. She was getting low on inventory.
Just before she pushed the unlock button, though, she caught herself. What if it wasn’t her dad? She moved her finger to the intercom button instead.
“That you, Dad?”
“No.” The unfamiliar voice sent a shiver through her, a mix of relief that she’d checked and horror at the thought that she’d almost let a stranger into her sanctuary. As soon as her dad returned, she was going to ask him yet again to install a camera on the porch. Maybe this time he’d actually do it. “Sheriff Rob Coughlin.”
“Oh!” She’d met the Field County Sheriff once before, when she was sixteen. Most of that horrible day was blurry, thankfully, so she couldn’t bring his face to mind.
Her pause must have gone on too long, since he spoke again. “Deputy Jennings mentioned that you witnessed some suspicious activity early this morning. I wanted to talk to you about it.”
Once again, her finger hovered over the unlock button, but the uneasiness in her gut wouldn’t let her push it. Instead, she spoke through the intercom as she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. “I’m just going to call and confirm your identity with Dispatch.”
“That’s fine. Do you need the nonemergency number?”
“I have it, thanks.” Chris had made sure it was one of her few preset numbers, and she tapped the contact. A woman with a squeaky cartoon voice answered and confirmed that Sheriff Coughlin was following up on a suspicious-activity call at 304 Alpine Lane.
Thanking the dispatcher, Daisy ended the call and pushed the unlock button. Despite the reassurance that the sheriff really was who he said he was, her stomach still churned. It was one thing to be visited by Chris, since she thought of him as her friend first and a law enforcement officer second. The sheriff, though, was just a cop. Taking a deep, bracing breath, she unbolted the interior door.
The sheriff stepped inside, making her scurry out of his way. His size and serious expression made him even more intimidating, and Daisy was relieved to be able to look away as she relocked the door.
“Ms. Little,” he greeted when there were no more locks to secure and she had to turn around to face him.
“Sheriff.” She gave an awkward bob of her head. “Would you like something to drink?” Instantly mortified that he might think she was offering him something alcoholic, like in a flirty way, she hurried to clarify. “Water, I mean. Or coffee, although it might be kind of late for that, since I don’t have any decaf. Unless you’re on the night shift?”
“No, thank you.” She had to give him points for the way he didn’t even blink at her awkwardness.
“Okay. Did you want to come in and sit?” Daisy didn’t know the etiquette for a regular visitor, much less an official visit by a law enforcement officer who wasn’t Chris.
“Here is fine.” He looked around the kitchen. “This shouldn’t take long.”
“Okay.” Hoping to put some space between her and Mr. Looming Cop, she moved to her usual spot, leaning back against the counter by the sink.
“Why don’t you tell me what you saw this morning,” he suggested in a way that made it more of a command than a request.
“Didn’t Chris—I mean, Deputy Jennings—fill you in?”
“He did, but I’d like to hear it from you directly. Sometimes third-person reporting can turn into a game of Telephone.” His smile was slight, but it still made Daisy relax a little.
“Okay. It was about three thirty this morning—”
“How did you know what time it was?”
“I looked at the clock in the training room before I went upstairs.”
The way he watched her intently, as if he was memorizing every word that came out of her mouth, was unnerving. “You weren’t sleeping?”
“No. Sometimes I have insomnia.” Despite her nerves, she had to smile. “Plus, I was dying to try out Max.”
“Max?”
“The department’s old grappling dummy that Chris brought me. Thank you for letting him do that, by the way.”
The sheriff’s eyes widened slightly, as if in surprise. “Of course,” he said, sounding more like he was talking to himself than responding to her thanks.
Daisy eyed him curiously, which seemed to shake him out of his thoughts.
“So, you and Deputy Jennings are dating?”