“Mitch is a nice guy who adores Gwen. Gwen is a lucky girl.”
Becky gave Mia a sympathetic look. “Just because Frank turned out to be an asshole doesn’t mean all men are, honey. My marriage may not have worked out because we were both too different, but plenty of marriages do. Donald and I parted without any bad feelings. Look at my brother and his wife. Thirty years and still going strong.”
“I know.” Mia sighed, feeling a little down despite the good news she had just received. She briefly thought of the town sheriff. He came in periodically for coffee, but he was so polite it broke her heart. Sometimes she would feel his eyes following her around but he never said a word besides discussing the weather. Why was she so attracted to him when obviously he didn’t feel the same? “I am going to give the single life a try for now. I’m only twenty-five. Why rush into settling down?”
“That’s right.” Becky smiled. “I dated a few men after my divorce and it was nice, but I got used to being my own boss at work and at home.”
Mia laughed. “See, being single is good. Now let’s go to the park and feed the ducks. The shop is closed and we have the whole day to ourselves.”
“We can have lunch at Fiona’s Diner after that. They make the best chocolate shakes ever,” Becky said, grabbing her car keys.
Mia was determined to relax and enjoy her day. The sheriff would be locked away at the back of her brain, she told herself. And there he would stay.
* * * *
“So that makes four women mugged so far?” Lincoln asked, looking at the paperwork on Abel’s desk. “Not good. We need to find him before he gets brave and heads into town.”
“I know,” Abel said with frustration. “All we have is dark clothes, dark hair. Stands about six feet tall and is a white male.”
“Half the population in Missouri.” Lincoln snorted with a frustrated look. “He could start feeling smug that he is getting away with it and head closer to the businesses here. That would be bad news. Thanksgiving is around the corner, then Christmas, which means people shopping.”
“Luckily Mia wasn’t successfully robbed. She screamed and caught the attention of others. That saved her,” he said, wishing he could see her. He had purposely avoided going into the coffee shop to see her for the last week or two and now he missed her. Wild horses wouldn’t drag that confession out of him though. “The other women weren’t so successful and got their purses and phones taken. They were frightened but unharmed.”
“We need to catch him before he uses violence,” Lincoln stated. “Kramer agreed to put one of his bouncers outside with one of our men. We can bring Kyle back here to patrol town.”
Abel leaned back in his chair, liking the good news. He needed to occupy his mind on something else besides a curly-haired witch. “That’s good. Mayor Young finally gave me the approval to hire three more officers. I had Linda put the want ads out this morning for the national paper. Keep your fingers crossed, bro. I want some good dependable men or women.”
“Will do.” Lincoln set the file down and grinned with joy. He looked so relaxed these days and Abel was happy for him, but it made him more aware of his own loneliness. “A few more weeks and I will be a married man lying on the beach with my beautiful wife.”
“Lucky dog.” Abel smiled feeling, happy for his brother. Jessy was a good-hearted and beautiful woman who loved Lincoln with honesty. It made Abel think of Lydia and his broken dreams. He had a lucky break discovering what a liar she was before the marriage took place, but it didn’t diminish the pain he felt by her betrayal and lies. Although he had not been in love with her when she announced her pregnancy, he had been thrilled with the idea of being a father and offered her marriage. No one in his family had liked her, but Abel had ignored all their protests. He longed to be a father, and if he had to take Lydia, too, so be it. She was a wild cat in bed. All of his dreams had blown up in his face when her former boyfriend waltzed into town and told him Lydia was lying. She wasn’t six weeks pregnant like she claimed. She was ten weeks along and the baby was his. She wanted Abel because he had a good job and let her run all over him. He had felt devastated and ashamed. Lydia had thrown temper tantrums, but he let her get away with it because she was pregnant. After that debacle, he vowed to stay alone. Women were liars and he didn’t need that chaos in his life. Mia was just a passing fancy, he told himself. Maybe if he dated her and slept with her, his obsession would end.
“You’ll meet the right woman, Abel,” his brother stated with optimism, interrupting Abel’s cynical thoughts. “Mom is trying to throw you together with Jane. She is attractive and young.”
“And a gossiper, and vain and—”
Lincoln laughed and held his hand up, cutting Abel’s complaints off. “Okay, maybe she is. Jessy doesn’t like her and she likes everyone. Hey, how about Mia, Becky’s niece? Jessy loves her. I met her twice and she is shy but seems really sweet.”
Abel was caught off guard. Had his brother read his mind? “Um she’s cute, but I hardly know her, besides the fact that she was almost mugged.”
“You checked Jessy out before I even started dating her. Check Mia out and see what she is all about.” Lincoln shrugged, not seeing the problem. Why did men settle down and suddenly want those around them in the same position? Some were just unlucky in love, and Abel was one of those people.
Abel still felt guilty about getting Jessy in trouble. A loan shark had been after her and her little sister because of a loan their dad had left behind. Abel’s search had alerted the criminals who had almost killed Jessy. “Um no, that’s okay. I will not use my powers for ev
il, remember?”
“I am sure Becky’s niece has no criminal record or dangerous loan sharks after her.” Lincoln chuckled. He checked his cellphone before looking at Abel. “Well I promised Jessy we’d go out for dinner. Go home early, Abel. You might as well bring a pillow and blanket and sleep here.”
“Don’t give me any ideas,” Abel muttered, looking at his dark leather love seat against the wall. He stood up and stretched. “But I have to feed Roscoe. He’s waiting for me and he is loyal.”
“Pathetic.” Lincoln gave him a mournful look, making Abel laugh. Roscoe was all the responsibility he needed.
Chapter Five
Mia held up a rust colored dress against her body and looked in the long mirror. “You sure it’s not too dark for my pale complexion?”
Melanie Ramirez, the store clerk, smiled at Mia and shook her dark head. “I like it, Mia. The material is so soft and will mold to your thin frame perfectly.”
Mia sighed. She hated making decisions when it came to fashion. She liked being comfortable. Gwen usually helped her shop for clothes, which wasn’t often. Mia wasn’t much into shopping.