âNo.â April twisted her fingers together. âYou donât understand.â
âYouâre right. I donât. And, honey, at this moment I donât really want to.â There was a lot of lust in the look he settled on her.
âAnd I donât really want to tell you. But, like I said before, you set a high bar for full disclosure. So whether you want to or not, you have to hear this.â
âOkay, then. If I agree to listen, can we pick up where we just left off?â
âTrust me. Youâre not going to want to do that.â When Will found out she was a scheming, underhanded, devious witch, he wouldnât want anything to do with her.
âLet me be the judge of that. Because right now I want to kiss you more than anything. And unless you tell me youâre a man, which I know for a fact isnât true, thereâs not much you could say to change my mind.â His blue eyes turned darker and focused a lot of intensity on her mouth.
* * *
The Bachelors of Blackwater Lake:They wonât be single for long!
Chapter One
Will Fletcher would rather face an armed felon than have the conversation he was about to have with his ex-girlfriend. But, as the saying went, this town wasnât big enough for the both of them. For better or worse, this summer he was the acting sheriff in Blackwater Lake and she was a freelance photographer who occasionally did work for the department. She also had a studio on Main Street across from his office.
There was no way he wouldnât see her and the sooner this confrontation was behind him the better.
Heâd been watching the Photography Shop all morning, waiting for her to be alone, and now stood on the sidewalk in front of the sheriffâs office ready to head over. Hesitation was costing him a hell of a lot of time when there was work to do. He looked left, then right before crossing the street. Her window had big, fancy letters telling the establishmentâs name, then smaller print in the right hand corner proclaiming April Kennedy, Photographer. There was a list of services in the right cornerâPortraits, Family Sittings, Weddings and Special Occasions.
Will stared at the displayed dance-hall girl and gambler forms with cutouts where the tourists put their faces for a fun souvenir picture of a visit to Blackwater Lake, Montana. Technically he was a visitor but definitely not a tourist. Born and raised in this town, he was only here to help out and would go back to being a detective for Chicago PD in three months when his dad, the real sheriff, got a clean bill of health to resume his job.
âMan up, Fletcher,â he muttered. âWhatâs the worst that could happen?â
She could cry. The thought made him cringe.
Heâd seen her do that and it ripped him up. But that was a lot of years ago. He didnât know whether or not sheâd still be angry but the first face-to-face since then was no doubt going to be awkward.
Will braced himself and pushed open the glass door. The bell above it rang as he walked inside. There was no one in the front but a familiar female voice called out, âIâll be right with you.â
It was cheerful and sweet and the sound echoed inside him, stirring the cobwebs of tucked-away memories. It was impossible not to notice the framed photos displayed on the walls, examples of her skill as a photographer. There were individuals, families, babies. Some were black-and-white portraits, dramatic and really good. Thereâd always been something about April that people responded to, something that made them relax and allowed the camera to capture a special look or smile. The only black-and-whites he usually saw were cop cars, so this was a pleasant change.
âIâm so sorry I kept you waitingââ April Kennedy came through the open doorway and froze in her tracks when she saw him.
âHi,â he said.
At one time theyâd practically been engaged, but Will felt as if he was seeing her for the first time. Her shiny long brown hair was pulled into a ponytail with wisps coming loose around her face. She was wearing jeans and a purple Photography Shop T-shirt that clung to every sweet curve. Big hazel eyes stared back at him and right now they were more green than brown, which meant she wasnât happy to see him. He couldnât blame her.
âWill.â
âYou look really good, April.â
âThanks. So do you.â
âIâm pretty sure you didnât want to tell me that, so Iâll take it as a compliment.â