Angel's Hero

Chapter 5

Conner entered the coffee shop a little after nine-thirty.
He had a free day, and decided to get to know the locals, and get a feel for his new home.
Dressed in a pair of jeans he'd spent years wearing in, his workman's boots, and a white T-shirt under an unbuttoned grey chambray shirt rolled to the elbows, he felt comfortable. The peak cap he had pulled on at the last minute in his hands as he entered the store.
The heat of the day hadn't set in yet, but it was promising to be another warm one.
He'd hoped for some relief after seeing some of the clouds yesterday, but they'd rolled out during the night, and he'd awoken to a clear blue sky this morning.
Eyes from all over the store turned in his direction.
He was used to it.
He knew he was large, and people tended to do a double-take when he walked in, sometimes whispering to each other and guessing how tall he was.
He was six foot eleven, and topped the scale out at two-forty-two.
He was a big guy, he knew that.
It didn't bother him usually that people liked to speculate about him.
All they needed to know now though, was that he was Sherriff of this town, and that he'd sworn to protect them.
He bore the responsibility heavily, but happily. He enjoyed helping people. Always had.
"Hi there, sir. How may I help you today?" The girl behind the bar looked up at him with confidence, not letting his size intimidate her.
Huh, spunky kid. Good for her.
"Just a regular coffee, please," he reached into his back pocket for his wallet.
"Your money is no good here, Sherriff Grayson."
Conner turned his head to the woman leaning against the doorframe leading to the kitchen space behind the coffee bar. "No, no. Please. I insist." He smiled.
She returned his smile easily, and said, "And I insist to let you have your first Winters' Brew on the house."
Nodding, he stuffed the bills into the tip jar instead. "Fine," he smirked, lifting one corner of his mouth and eyebrow cheekily.
The woman rolled her eyes and shook her head as she laughed softly. She pushed away from the door and indicated with a nod for him to join her over to the side.
He moved to where she stood, to the part of the counter where a sign said Collection.
"So, you're the new Sherriff?" She held out her hand to shake. "Sienna Winters."
"Conner Grayson. Nice to meet you, ma'am," he gripped her hand and showed his pleasure openly at her firm grip.
"How'd your first week go? I expected to meet you before now." She handed him his coffee in a take away cup, and lifting the partition, stepped through and walked with him to a nearby table, gesturing for him to take a seat. "You're just a five-minute walk away from here."
He sat opposite her, with his back to the door, stretching his long legs out into the walkway past their table.
"I arrived the night before my first day, and I have been so focused on getting the team used to me and familiarizing myself with the layout of the area, that I haven't had a chance to get around to meeting the locals yet. I intend to make the most of my day off today, though. Know any good tour guides to show me the highlights?"
Her eyes lit up. "Actually..."
He'd been joking, fully intending to take himself around and furthering his knowledge of the roads to the town he was now responsible for. He opened his mouth to say just that, when Sienna held up her hand and stopped him.
The bell above the door jingled behind him, and the woman opposite him waved to whoever had just entered.
"Hi darling! Come say hello, would you?" she called behind him.
He smelled something light and fresh, a delightful springtime scent, before the person Sienna had waved over appeared to his side.
He looked up, and hid his surprise better than the woman did.
He almost laughed at the way her mouth dropped open, and color flooded her face.
"Hi there, Miss Lew. You get your lights fixed?"
"I, uh, yes," she cleared her throat. "I just got them done." She gestured vaguely over her shoulder to the yellow Jeep perfectly in view through the large windows that encompassed the front wall of the building.
"Angel, would you by any chance be available for a sight-seeing tour for our new Sherriff?" Sienna's voice pulled the woman's attention away from him.
Conner was amused.
He liked the way she stumbled over her words, using her hands as she spoke. And her accent, the subtle British lilt, smoothed out the huskiness of her voice.
"No, I, uh, what I mean is, Bo needs me," She kept her eyes away from him in a way that was obvious to him, and focused on Sienna rather intently, hooking a thumb at the wall between the coffee shop and bakery next door.
"I'm sure he could manage today without you? I know you don't have any big orders for this weekend, and the small ones would have been completed by now already." Sienna sat back and folded her arms across her chest.
Miss Lew frowned at the older woman.
"Sienna, I have to work."
"Well, alright then, lets go and speak to Bo, and see if he can do without his boss for the day." Sienna jumped up and moved to the front of the shop.
Conner was thoroughly enjoying himself at Miss Lew's expense. He believed he'd figured her out the previous evening.
Bossy, quick-tempered, sweet. Controlling in a sense that said she was used to getting her way.
Miss Lew gaped at the woman's departing back, opening and closing her mouth a few times.
When Conner unfolded himself and smiled down at the pretty woman, she pursed her lips, turned on her heel and quickly followed Sienna.
Conner took the opportunity to take in her appearance. He'd seen her in her plain outfit the day before, her long legs encased in black leggings, but the rest of her obscured underneath a large sweatshirt.
She'd been so jumpy the night before that he'd been convinced she was hiding something, and that nervousness she'd exuded had triggered his cop curiosity involuntarily, and he'd noted all the finer details of her appearance and the way she moved in his notebook. Attractive, yet not intimidatingly so, and fidgety in a way that suggested she didn't like being the center of attention.
When she'd asked to see his badge, Conner had been surprised, but the wariness and the trickle of fear on her face had caused him to take into consideration their location and how he was presented.
Maybe he'd better start wearing the uniform when on duty, again.
He'd been on his way home, and hadn't wanted to stop the Jeep on account of the busted taillights. He knew in small towns that sometimes it took longer to get things done, but they eventually did.
When he'd seen the vehicle swerve though, he'd had no choice.
If the driver was drunk, they were endangering lives, and he'd pulled it over, relieved he didn't have to chase them down.
The woman behind the wheel had been a pleasant surprise though.
He'd expected a burly man, someone who would have given him a hard time and challenged his manly instincts, but the pretty woman sitting stiffly had tweaked other senses.
He'd been stunned again when she'd stood in front of him, and he'd seen how tall she was.
Those other senses had tweaked again.
The dinging of the coffee shop doorbell brought his attention to the here and now, and the woman he was following, and the coffee in his hand, folding the bill of his cap into his back pocket.
She was wearing some sort of smock over a T-shirt. The shapeless garment a deep red, hung in a straight line from her shoulders to just above her knees.
Her smooth exposed legs flowed down in a wonderful shape, until the hiking boots she wore. The brown lace-ups were scuffed and he could see the white socks she had on underneath.
What an odd, yet pleasing outfit. He couldn't make out her figure beneath the baggy outfit, and like a good puzzle, it intrigued him.
The wide sleeves of the white T-shirt underneath the smock exposed her arms until mid bicep.
She had some muscle.
Hmm. More and more intriguing.
Enjoying himself as he followed her, he continued to note the different aspects of her appearance.
He liked the shoulder length hair, cut and styled roughly to fall softly around her face.
The color reminded him of freshly varnished wood.
Well, he wasn't a poet, that was for sure, he thought, laughing internally at the way he likened her hair to building materials.
"Sienna, wait!" Miss Lew caught up with the older woman as they entered the bakery next door, and unsuccessfully pleaded her case.
The scent of the delicacies baking set a rumble in his stomach, and made him realize he was more than ravenous.
Miss Lew's voice drew his attention again. "I need to work! He can find someone else to take him sightseeing."
He didn't think he'd want anyone else now.
"No, Angel, you're perfect! You've been here less than a year, and explored the area extensively. You can show it to him just like a newcomer would, but as a local! Perfect!" Conner suspected there was an ulterior motive here, and tried to hide his smile. He knew a set up when he saw one.
Normally he would have been annoyed, after years of his mother trying and failing, but he was fascinated by Miss Lew, and found the idea of spending the day with her rather appealing.
"Bo!" Sienna shouted as she went around the counter, and the young man stacking delicacies into the glass display case, whose head swiveled following first his boss, then Sienna, then Conner one by one they passed him into the kitchen at the back. "Hey, Bo!"
"Hey there, now. Missus Winters, what can I do for ya?" The middle aged man stepped into view, wearing chef whites, black trousers, and an apron. There was a chef's hat on his head, and he was wiping his hands on his white apron.
His forearms were exposed by the short-sleeved jacket he wore, his smooth black skin seeming to shine against the clean white of his jacket.
"Angel is going to spend the day with the new Sherriff. You don't need her do you?" Sienna gestured with her open palms.
"Of course not! I've got it all under control," his smile creased his otherwise flawless skin. It was the only indicator that the man may be older than he appeared.
"Excuse me! Last I checked you worked for me, not the other way round." Miss Lew rocked onto one hip and clamped her hands to her sides, closing her fingers over her hips.
His gaze automatically fell to her feet, where he expected to see one tapping.
He let slip a small choked sound when one foot gave three very clear taps.
The attention shifted from between Bo and Miss Lew to Conner. He took that moment to step forward.
"Conner Grayson, nice to meet you, Bo." He gripped the hand extended to him.
"Lord, you're a big'un," Bo looked up into Conner's face, and responded to the smile he saw there. "Pleasure, sir." He nodded.
Conner detected an accent in Bo's speech, but couldn't quite place it. Figuring it wasn't important at that moment, he released the man's hand and stepped back to the counter.
"Ah, that's nice. Make friends with everyone," Miss Lew huffed.
He heard the sarcasm and ignored it. He shrugged. "I'm friendly."
Sienna laughed, the sound pulling a responding smile out of him.
Miss Lew stared at him, her face growing red again.
"What?" the word had her jumping, shifting her gaze away from his face again.
Spinning back to the other two, she folded her arms, and grunted at Bo and Sienna.
They'd moved to stand shoulder to shoulder, blocking the way out of the kitchen.
"Ugh, fine!" She threw her hands up. Her hair and the smock fanned out as she spun around to point at Conner. He'd glimpsed some of her upper thigh as she'd turned, and some ink. A tattoo? Nice.
"You," she walked towards him, clearly over her earlier nervousness. "Meet me at my Jeep in half an hour. I just want to make sure I can actually leave here without it going up in flames."
"Sure. I'll just grab some food next door." He left quickly, happy with the prospects for the day. He glanced back to the kitchen as he came around the counter, and bumped into a man standing behind him and had to steady the other man by placing his hand on his shoulders.
The black eyes underneath the plain black cap opened wide as he took in the size of Conner.
"Whoa, didn't see you there. You good?"
"Yeah," Conner couldn't make out the guy's face. His cap was low over the top half of his face, while a bushy, black beard obscured the bottom half.
He released the other man and left the bakery.
Stepping out into the sunlight, he smiled to himself, pulling his own cap from his back pocket.
It would appear that he'd scored a date with a very pretty girl in a funny dress.
Maybe moving to this small town wouldn't be so bad after all.

*

Going back into the coffee shop, Conner took a seat at the same table as before, only this time, facing the door. He liked to keep an eye on everything.
Over the next half hour, he met a lot of people. Word had spread quickly that the new Sheriff was seated in the coffee shop, and many of the neighboring business owners, plus more, had come to meet him.He knew he would struggle to remember them all, but he was determined to get to know as many of the locals as he possibly could. In time, he knew he would be able to address everyone by their names. He looked forward to that day.
Seeing some familiar faces in his fellow volunteer firemen, Conner relished in the sense of familiarity brought on by being greeted by people who knew him.
Checking his watch, he saw he was due to meet Miss Lew soon, so he cleared his table himself. He made use of the trashcan near the entrance to throw away the wrapping from the delicious Italian meat and salad sandwich he'd enjoyed with a second cup of coffee, and headed to the door. The large container stood behind the strange horse statue. He'd studied it while seated, and now seeing it up close decided he really quite liked it. It looked very powerful, and like it would always be out of place, no matter where it stood. Sometimes just how he felt.
Once back outside, he moved casually over to where the yellow Jeep was parked.
Nice wheels, he thought again. He'd said the same to himself the previous evening as he'd walked up to the driver's side, before forgetting about the vehicle completely at the sight of Miss Lew at the wheel.
That woman was a complete mix and match, and he couldn't completely pin her down beyond what he'd already thought earlier. He knew there was more to her.Conner supposed that was probably why he found her so appealing.
"Hi there!" A silky voice flitted over to him. Its owner was a small red-haired woman making her way over to him determinedly, interest lighting her face.
Beautiful, petite, with laughing blue eyes, a pert nose, and full lips, Conner found himself interested in her, too.
"Hi there, yourself." When she reached his side, she took his outstretched hand, and shook it limply.
Oh, no. He couldn't stand a weak handshake. Being a woman was no excuse in his opinion for such a thing.
His interest disappeared.
"Sheriff Grayson, ma'am," he touched a finger to his forehead.
"Jenna. I'm Jenna Percy," She smiled brightly at him. He'd enjoyed the company of many women in the past, so he recognized a flirt when he saw one.
And this one was definitely a flirt. She had game, he could tell.
"Hi Jenna, how are you doing this fine day?" He liked the flirting. It was harmless, at least on his side.
"Oh, just fine, Sheriff. Just fine," she smiled demurely. "How would you like a taste of the best pastry in town?" The way she said 'pastry' brought other images to mind. Uh, what?
"Well, I just did, I think." Ignoring the innuendo, he gestured behind her to the coffee shop, forcing the words out around the incredulous laugh caught in his throat. "I had their pistachio crème-filled croissant and a sandwich. They were incredible."
Her face fell. "Oh no, you shouldn't eat there! You should come to my bakery in town. This place steals my recipes, but in my opinion, they just can't get it right. That's what happens when you have someone who doesn't know what they are doing in the kitchen."
"I'm sorry, Jenna," a voice came from behind the smaller woman, making her jump guiltily. "I wasn't aware I had stolen your ideas. Please do accept my humblest apology!"
Miss Lew pressed a hand to her chest, her tone of voice overly dramatic. "I must have somehow managed to read your mind, because I know I haven't seen any of those items on your menu before." She stepped around to stand next to Conner and look at the other woman.
"How dare you!" Jenna stomped her foot. "You're nothing but an outsider, and you've ruined my life. You've stolen all my business. You're a thief!"
The petulance in Jenna's voice grated on Conner's nerves.
"Now, now, ladies. I'm sure we can work something out. Perhaps we could set up a meeting of sorts?" He offered. Scowling at Miss Lew, Jenna huffed, stomped her foot again, before sauntering off, straight into Winters' Brew. Conner shook his head. Releasing her breath, Miss Lew turned to him, but wouldn't meet his gaze.
"Sorry about that. She hasn't been happy with me since I arrived into town. The truth is, her business is just the same as before. I suspect she's pissed because she's not used to competition." Miss Lew reached into the satchel that hung at her side and pulled out her glasses case. She whipped her sunglasses on quickly, before lifting her chin. He wondered if she felt safer looking at him with her eyes protected like that?
His gaze dropped a little. He wondered how her lips tasted.
Whoa, slow down there. Get to know her first.
"Alright, shall we get the show on the road?" She raised an eyebrow. He mimicked her, and raised one of his own.
"Well, fine then. Get in. Let's start at the top and make our way down."
He went round to the passenger side, opened the half door, and climbed in. He watched her pop a plastic picnic basket into a cooler on the backseat, secure it, before jumping in herself.
He really liked her car, he admitted to himself for the third time. He wasn't cramped like he normally would be in most other vehicles. He wondered if she knew how completely out of place her car was; that is was better suited to carrying soldiers, not bakers? He suspected that she knew that exactly.
He was liking her more and more.