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It had been Nedley’s idea for them to grab a table at Shorty’s and familiarize themselves with the locals and newcomers, and he’d left Nicole perched on a stool at a high top to get them some drinks at the bar.
The red-haired cop removed her Stetson and let her gaze wander across the myriad of customer’s faces—all newcomers to her, since she’d been in Purgatory for barely three weeks—and tried to log the suspicious glances, friendly smiles, and assess friends and foes.
Her eyes paused when they reached the bar, unable to move past the luminous smile on the face of the young bartender pulling a glass of cold beer from the tap for Nedley. Nicole usually prided herself on having a fairly high level of confidence, especially when it came to women she found attractive, but the one presently in her gaze had thrown her off her game and all she could do was stare.
It wasn’t just the well-muscled torso peeking out beneath the “Shorty’s” crop-top that caught her attention; the woman laughed at something Randy said and her eyes crinkled, her face exuding a warmth and sincerity Nicole had rarely seen from anyone. The brunette flipped her long hair behind her shoulder, inadvertently displaying more of her neck to her secret admirer. Nicole scolded herself for becoming so easily distracted, but there was just something about the way this girl greeted the world with an exuberance that felt out of place in this oddity of a town. She was more than beautiful; there was a radiance flowing from her that Nicole couldn’t easily explain away, but she wanted nothing more than to stand in its light. Magical seemed like a cheesy way to describe this woman, but it was the only world that really fit.
Nicole was suddenly flush with jealousy that Sheriff Randy Nedley of all people had been able to make this captivating woman laugh, and she felt an insatiable need to do whatever it took to coax that adorable smile from her over and over.
Rookie move, Haught, she chastised, her eyes blinking in an attempt to rouse her from this trance. Smitten with a total stranger.
“That’s Waverly Earp,” Nedley stated, interrupting Nicole’s reverie, plopping down on his stool and setting two glasses of beer on the table.
“Who?” Nicole asked, trying to steady her thoughts, watching as her boss slid across a glass of alcohol she probably shouldn’t drink while on duty.
“The bartender. One of Wyatt Earp’s great-great-grandkids,” Nedley explained, his eyes continuing their own surveillance around the room. “Come on, Deputy, drink the beer; it’s in the Purgatory Sheriffs Department rulebook.”
Nicole scoffed out a laugh but took a reluctant sip, her eyes drifting back to watch Waverly greet another customer with a wave and a heart-stopping smile.
“She’s a smart kid,” Nedley continued. “Super smart. Takes a lot of them online courses on all sorts of history and ancient languages. Been through a lot, too. A bit of family drama, to put it mildly.”
“I feel that,” Nicole muttered, watching Waverly’s smile fade, her façade cracking ever so slightly when she thought no one was looking.
“Her Uncle Curtis, bless his soul, passed away recently,” Nedley told her, and then lowered his voice. “The rumor is that Waverly’s sister, Wynonna, might be making an appearance at the funeral in a few days. That one is trouble, so keep your eyes peeled if that happens, Deputy Haught.”
Nicole nodded and sucked in a breath as Waverly smiled again. “So who does she have now?”
“Well, her Aunt Gus, Curtis’ widow. They’ll get through this together.”
Nicole smiled, her heart happy for a woman she had never even seen before today.
“Plus, she’s got Champ,” Nedley continued, angling his head toward the bar.
Following his eye-line, Nicole watched as a beefed-up kid with full sleeve tattoos and a slicked-back hairdo squeezed in behind Waverly and manhandled her into a hug. Nicole’s heart jumped into her throat and she tried to school her features as Champ kissed his girlfriend’s face. Waverly giggled and pushed him away to attend to a customer.
“Champ’s kind of an idiot,” Nedley said plainly, making Nicole chuckle. “One too many falls off a bronco. If you hadn’t taken the job, I would have had to deputize him and spend all my time explaining that it’s against policy to put a stripper pole in the office. I give ‘em a month, tops, before that girl comes to her senses.”
At that very second, Waverly glanced beyond the bar and caught Nicole’s gaze. The Deputy’s heart stuttered, adrenaline lighting up her veins, but she managed to keep eye contact, flashing a smile in acknowledgment. A shy but definite smile echoed across Waverly’s lips before another customer pulled her attention away, and the spell was broken.
Nicole cleared her throat, remembering where and who she was. “Good thing I took the job, then,” she finally said, smiling to herself as her eyes continued to scan the room.
fin.