hold of yourself. This young woman needs a job. She doesn't need you to leer at her.
“What would you like me to do in this room?” she asked.
“Just the basics.”
She nodded. “I'm happy to do the basics, but that means different things to different people.”
She had a good point. “I'm not too picky. As long as it looks presentable I'm fine.” Maybe it was a mistake to be that honest. My sister would have said I should never admit that my standards were low.
Next, I pointed at my office. “I work from home in there, so don't touch anything except the floor. You can vacuum that.”
She didn't ask any more questions, so I pointed out the sunroom and then took her upstairs.
I was impressed by her no-nonsense manner. She didn't make a lot of small talk, but she listened to every word I said. She also didn't try to ingratiate herself with me, which was nice.
That was an unexpected consequence of becoming Sheriff -- people in this town were always trying to get in my good graces.
I'd had a problem with the women in town pursuing me too. I know that made me sound like I considered myself a playboy, but I really didn't. I tried to be a gentleman, like my father had taught me. But apparently that encouraged certain women. My sister said that they mistook my friendly ‘hellos’ as interest. Nothing was further from the truth. I had no interest in dating right now. Before I could date, I was going to have to get a handle on the insomnia and the nightmares. There was no way I would rope a woman into dealing with that.
I told her what the pay would be and the hours that I needed her. “If you want the job, you're hired.” I’d run a background check later this week.
A beautiful smile passed over her face. “I do want the job, thank you. I can start as soon as you're ready.”
“I'm ready today.”
“Do you have any allergies?” she asked.
I wonder why that mattered. “No.” I needed to get back to the office and finish some paperwork. I tried to communicate that to her without using words, but she didn’t leave.
Then she spoke again. “Sheriff, do you know of any places that are renting rooms for a reasonable price?”
So that’s why she was hanging around. She didn’t have a place to stay. “You can live here,” I said.
Dammit. The words that just rolled out of my mouth. I had never intended to hire a live-in maid.
She could be completely crazy. But hell, I’d lived in a war zone on and off for years. Surely I could handle my 110 pound maid living in my house. It wasn’t like she posed any type of threat to me.
“That would be wonderful,” she said. “I just moved here today and I haven't gotten a chance to get to know the town yet.”
“I'll show you around,” I said. Once again, the words just spilled out of my mouth.
“I really appreciate that.”
I started walking to the front door and she followed me. “We'll take my truck.” There was no way I was going to drive her around in the sheriff's vehicle. As it was, plenty of people would have questions if they saw me with a beautiful young woman in my car. I didn't care though; I'd already made the offer and I wasn't going to take it back.
Ava climbed into my truck, hoisting herself up into the passenger seat. I kept my eyes focused straight ahead of me. I drove her around town, pointing out the grocery store, the veterinarian's office where I took Sadie, the hairdresser that most of the women in town use, the post office and the cafe where most people ate.
The entire time I drove, I was very aware of her, and how good she smelled, and how pretty she was. I even like the sound of her voice.
I wanted to know what brought her to Pine Hills, but I didn't ask. She might be moving into my house, but there was no reason for me to get overly familiar with her.
I had a feeling she wouldn’t be here too long.
Chapter Seven
Ava
After our awkward ride around town, Tyler took me back to his house.
“Do you have any luggage stashed somewhere that I need to help with?” he asked.
“No, everything I have is in the trunk of my car.” I realized how sketchy that made me seem. But Tyler didn’t ask any questions. He