Chapter 1

Sofia

The police station smelled like coffee and rubber as I leaned against the same desk I'd been leaning against for a year.

The secretary infuriatingly ignores me, taking a sip of her coffee and instructing me to take a seat as she did every morning.

I looked at the clock and saw it was seven twenty in the morning, and I groaned. "Chelsea; just let me back, please. Sheriff Garett knows I'm here."

"Sheriff Garett will be with you as soon as he's available," she replied monotonously.

"Good morning, Sofia," sheriff Garett waved me over, not looking up from the file in his hands, "No, I haven't heard anything, yes, I've checked with the detective, and yes, I am concluding the search before I am replaced. Anything else?"

"That's what I needed to talk to you about. Please encourage him to keep looking. Zander and my mom have been gone for over a year, and until we catch the actual murderer, they aren't coming back."

"Yes, Miss. Phillips, you remind me every day. You know I feel bad about what happened, but we still don't have any hard suspects. Now, you and your dad need to sign the restraining order again; it's going to expire on May thirtieth, so be sure to come in next week," sheriff Garret looked deflated.

I wanted to feel sorry for him, I was a constant thorn in his side, but I couldn't.

He was the one who announced Zander as the culprit in the Cedric Ashton murder when he was innocent.

He hyped the town about how dangerous he was and us by association.

He was the one who forced mom and Zander into hiding.

My only hope was that Sheriff Oliver helped us, but if he decided to ignore me too, I'd never see them again.

"If there isn't anything else, go home and wait. Do your homework, bake, and do everything that keeps your mind occupied. I keep telling you that coming here every day, looking at his case file, and hounding me to do a job I'm already doing is taking its toll on you." sheriff Garett sat behind his desk.

"I'll see you at five," I huffed, stomping out the door and to my car.

The sheriff letting the Ashtons rule the town was taking a toll on me; I wasn't even allowed to go to school because of my restraining order on Hugo Ashton.

I lay across the hood of my car, too frustrated to drive when I spotted the new sheriff walking toward me.

"Sheriff Oliver?" I sat up abruptly, "May I have a word, sir?" I jumped to the ground in time to see a boy with curly blonde hair and an A7X band tee come up behind him.

"I'm afraid I'm not technically sheriff until next week; you can call me Roland, but I do like the ring of that, don't you, James?"

James and I locked eyes, and I instantly became self-conscious.

"James?" Roland nudged him.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure," he answered, still staring at me.

"What can I do for you, Miss..?"

"Sofia, Sofia Phillips," I broke away from James's hypnotic green eyes. I held my hand out to shake Roland's hand, "I have some business I'd like to discuss with you if you have the time."

"I'm due to meet with sheriff Garett now, but can you come back after school?" Roland firmly shook my hand and jostled James's shoulder, "Unless my son ends up scaring you off." I giggled as red crept up his neck to his face.

"Sorry," James mumbled apologetically, "You're just really pretty," he admitted, turning even redder.

I felt my face get hot and I looked back to Roland. "I can come in earlier. I don't go to school, sir."

"Well, how does noon sound?" he offered, and I nodded enthusiastically.

"I'll be here."

"Why don't we meet at Ginger's diner? I find it more appealing to discuss business when food is involved. My treat."

"Much appreciated, sir, but please don't mention our meeting with sheriff Garrett. I'm afraid of what he would say to deter you."

They both looked at me quizzically, "Now I'm even more intrigued. See you at noon, ma'am." Roland tipped his head and turned to James as I headed back to my car.

"Um, hey," James called, walking to me.

"Hey," I shyly returned his greeting.

"I didn't mean to sound so lame earlier. I couldn't think of anything else to say."

"You didn't sound lame," I smiled at him, "I liked it. And for the record, I think you're really pretty too."

"Thanks," he chuckled, "What are you going to do since you don't have school?"

"I was going to hang around town until eight and go to the library before meeting your dad for lunch; why?"

"Well," he hesitated, leaning against my car to face me, "I was hoping you could show me around town. I haven't seen much of it since we got in yesterday."

My stomach did a backflip as I imagined him next to me in my car.

"I don't know, showing the sheriff's son around seems like a big responsibility. Are you sure I'm qualified?" I smirked, realizing I was flirting with him.

I'd never flirted with anyone, but this was definitely flirting.

We stared at each other for another long moment until he finally nodded, "Definitely."

"Get in," I motioned to the passenger side, frantically smoothing out my yellow tank top and fighting with my hair which I hadn't brushed since yesterday.

I drove aimlessly, listening to James sing the songs on my Spotify.

He knew them all and didn't complain about the screaming, which was a first.

"Do you want a drink or something?" he asked, pointing at the gas station.

"Yeah, but I can't go there," I admitted, "Let's go to the one in Sloan instead."

He turned the music down and turned toward me, "Why not?"

"It's complicated," I shrugged.

"It must be to have to drive twenty miles for a soda," he commented, still staring at me, "But hey, I'm not complaining. I get to hang out with a beautiful girl with hella good music taste, and your A/C works.

"Where are you from?" I attempted to change the subject; afraid I'd say something embarrassing.

I wasn't as confident as James appeared to be.

"Kansas City, Missouri. Dad got the job here, and we moved. It was all pretty quick," he shook his head.

"Going from such a big city to Crossville Arkansas," I gestured at the infinite pastures surrounding us, "seems a bit extreme. But I hope you find something here that you like. The quiet is sometimes suffocating."

"I already found someone I like; it's all downhill from here," he announced proudly.

I bit my lip to keep from smiling too wide.

It was nice to be admired so much after the hell I'd endured for so long.

We stepped inside the gas station in Sloan, and the smell of pizza made my stomach growl.

"I'm hungry too," James grinned, leading me to the counter.

Ignoring my protests, he paid for our pizza, monsters, chips, and gummy worms.

"We're not going to be hungry for lunch at this rate," I laughed, taking a bite of the bacon, egg, and cheese pizza.

"It's only nine-thirty," he reminded me, folding his slice.

We finished the food and inspected the side of town we were on.

"What is there to do around here?" James looked at me expectantly.

"Well, there's a park, a rock-climbing place, movie theaters, restaurants, and a grocery store."

"That's a short list," he leaned his head back against the seat, "The closest thing we have to civilization is three hours away in Kitesville. They have a skate park, an arcade, a pool, and a mall. My friend Kacie and I used to go all the time with her sister."

"Bet. We should go soon. I need a cityscape."

"I'm afraid if you want a cityscape we'll have to go to Little Rock; all Kitesville offers is entertainment."

"Bet, it's a date. Maybe we can go to concerts. I hear Five Finger Death Punch and Disturbed are playing this summer."

"July fifteenth!" I replied excitedly, "I've been waiting for those tickets to go on sale for months!"

James stared at me again and I smiled, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he shook his head softly, "I never imagined I'd meet anyone like you here. I was so pissed when dad told us we were moving, but now I'm glad we did."