I shook my head, tears burning my eyes. “No.” My voice cracked. “Stop. You have to stop. We’re over. I’ve moved on. I’m sorry you’re hurting, and I’m sorry you haven’t let me go, but you have to stop.”

His hands dropped to his sides, and he took a step away from me.

“I still care about you Joe. I do. But we can only be friends.”

He laughed. At first I thought it was a bitter sound, but after several seconds, I realized it was genuine.

“What’s so funny?”

He put his hand on his stomach and caught his breath. “You just friend-zoned me.”

I shook my head. “And why is that funny?”

He gave me a wicked grin. “It’s the exact same position Mason Deveraux was in three months ago.” He studied me for several seconds, and I could tell he was calculating something in his head. “Do you mean it? About being friends?”

Good heavens. What can of worms had I just opened? “Yes.”

“Then I accept,” he said with an air of confidence. “I want to be your friend.”

“Okay.” How was Mason going to take this? How was I going to take this? While I’d only thrown out the offer as a way to get him to back off, I had to admit there were parts of Joe I missed. Still, this was probably a disastrous idea. “But you have to stop putting the moves on me every chance you get. If you persist, we can’t be friends anymore.”

He pushed his bottom lip out in a smirk. “Okay.”

This was never going to work. But then I suspected Joe was counting on that.

Chapter Seven

“I like your new house, Rose,” Joe said, wandering over to the office off the living room. Mason’s paperwork was stacked into piles on the desk. “It really suits you, although I have to confess that I was surprised to find out you were living here. The entire time we were together you never once expressed an interest in even seeing the place, let alone living in it.”

“I didn’t. I was about to sell it to help pay for the nursery expansion, but Jonah suggested that I see it first.” I stood in the doorway, leaning against the doorjamb. “But when Mason and I used it as our safe house, I was surprised by how much I felt I belonged here. Plus, Mason thought it would be a good idea for me to live outside of the Henryetta city limits. He suggested that the sheriff’s department might be more receptive to my 911 calls.”

“Mason was right about that,” he said, checking out the bookshelves. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was referring to himself and his own willingness to help me.

Mason’s voice interrupted him. “Glad to know you think that I’m right about something,” he said good-naturedly from behind me. But there was a slight edge to his voice. Something most people wouldn’t catch.

I spun around in surprise since I hadn’t heard him come in. Joe must have oiled the hinges on the front door too. “Mason. You’re home,” I said, happy to see him.

He rested his cane against the wall and smiled down at me. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me in for a soft kiss. “Finally. The sheriff can be quite chatty when he wants to be.” He glanced up, leveling his gaze on Joe. “But then Chief Deputy Simmons must know that, don’t you?”

“I’ve only been with the department for a couple of weeks. I suspect you know him better than I do, Deveraux.”

Mason ignored him and turned his attention back to me. “Did you have any luck with the mug shots?”

I shook my head. “I went through them twice without seeing him.”

“What about a sketch artist?” Mason asked, dropping one arm, but keeping the other around my waist.

“I’m going to see what I can do.” Joe stared at us for a moment before leaning his arms on the back of the office chair. “The problem is that Rose never officially saw his face. So if we bring in a sketch artist, we’ll be asking for trouble. I’m going to see if there’s a way around it.”

“Keep me informed,” Mason said. There was no mistaking the fact that it wasn’t a request but an authoritative demand.

“I will.” Joe nodded, then gave me a smile. “Thanks for the tea, Rose. I’m going to go collect the photos and head home.” He walked past us as he left the room and headed into the kitchen.

Mason’s face lowered toward my ear. “Are you okay?”

I smiled up at him. “I’m fine. I think we’ve come to an agreement. At least for the time being.”

“And what’s that?” he asked in surprise.

“We’re going to be friends.”

Mason’s expression froze for several seconds before he asked, “Do you really think that’s possible?”

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “But it’s bound to be better than his full-on alpha dog behavior.”

Mason tensed, his eyes hardening. “What did he do?”

I patted his chest. “Not what you’re thinking. Just a few digs at you. He’s trying to reinsert himself into my life while making his intentions toward me perfectly clear. If he’s gonna be around, it would be better to keep things positive between us. Hopefully being friends will do that. Maybe he’ll see how happy you and I are and decide to leave me alone.”

“I think you’re deluding yourself, but if that’s what you want…”

Joe emerged from the kitchen, clutching his folder. “Let me know if you have any problems with the toilet or faucet, and I’ll be more than happy to come out and look at them again for you.”