Long Shadow (Veiled Intentions #2) - Elle Keaton Page 0,22

buzzing sound so Mat wouldn’t misunderstand what she meant.

Mat groaned. He’d been exhausted—he was still exhausted—and instead of bringing his phone upstairs with him, he’d forgotten it on the set of shelves just inside the front door. Way to be a responsible sheriff. Sitting up, he pushed the covers aside and swung his legs out of bed.

“I like your jammies,” Riley commented.

Mat looked down at himself. He was wearing the flannel lounge pants Ella had given him for Christmas. They had tiny robots, spaceships, and aliens decorating them.

“Thanks, kid.” Mat reached out and ruffled her hair.

“Uncle Maaat!” Riley shrieked, dancing backward. “Don’t mess up my hair!”

He pointed to his head. “You can mess up my hair.”

“You have boy hair, and it’s short.”

Mat smiled at her words. “Look, kiddo, I need to check my phone, okay? Thanks for letting me know it was buzzing.”

“I brought it to you.” Riley pulled her left hand from behind her back, showing him the phone she had clutched in her fist.

“Thanks, sweetie.”

Mat took the phone and swiped the screen to check what he’d missed. The first thing that registered was that it was only seven thirty in the morning. No wonder he felt like he had a hangover. Secondly, no calls had come through. The notification was a text from Niall.

“Who’s Nail?” Riley asked, her head cocked to one side.

“It’s Niall, honey, and it’s complicated. Go find Grandma or your mom. I need to get ready to go to work.”

As quickly as possible, Mat showered and dressed in his uniform. Then he stopped in the kitchen to fill his to-go cup with coffee.

“Somebody was up bright and early today,” Mat said to his sister, who was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and an e-reader in front of her.

Ella smiled. “Someone wanted to see her uncle even though Grandma and I both told her you were sleeping.”

“I need to get to the station anyway, and Riley is a much nicer alarm clock than my usual one. Where is she now?”

“Mom’s helping her with her bath. I needed just a second to myself after the flight and everything yesterday. Let’s not talk about that right now; Mom said you’ve been busy.”

Mat pulled his fancy stainless steel to-go cup out of the dish drainer. “It has been ridiculous. Maybe it’s because people have been cooped up all winter, I don’t know, but it can stop anytime.” He poured coffee into his cup and twisted the lid on tightly. It held just enough to get him to the station.

As he passed his sister at the table, he bent down and hugged her. “I’m glad you two are here.”

“I’m sure your tune will change if she keeps waking you up,” she grumbled, leaning against him for a second. “Go be sheriff before she gets back down here, or you’ll never escape.”

Mat chuckled. He didn’t mind Riley waking him up in the morning. His niece was one of his favorite people—and, he mentally corrected, technically it was Niall who was responsible for waking Mat up. And, if Mat was being really honest, he didn’t mind Niall texting at any time of day or night, although he would prefer if they communicated in person and not about some random camper Niall was fixated on.

As he drove back in to Hidden Harbor, a thought occurred to Mat that both thrilled and saddened him.

Nine

Niall

Five minutes passed with no response from Mat. Niall spent the time alternating between checking his phone and pacing up and down the tiny beach. Looking out across the choppy gray water, he spotted the ferry making its way to the dock, appearing to grow larger as it drew closer. A few islanders were lined up to load on. Most were in cars, but there were a few pedestrians waiting as well. Niall recognized Stu Dennis, an old-timer who was likely on his way to meet up with his “girl” in Anacortes. Stu nodded toward him and raised a hand in greeting, and Niall nodded back.

He checked his phone again. Several dots were running back and forth across the bottom of the screen. Finally. It seemed to take forever for Mat to respond. Then the dots at the bottom of the screen stopped moving, but there was still nothing. Impatiently, Niall started to text Mat again, when a response appeared.

On my way to the station now.

Niall watched the ferry dock and disgorge its meager load of early passengers before the waiting cars and pedestrians loaded on.