needed to be done around the hotel the next day or during the course of the coming week. Knowing she was organized and prepared for the coming few days calmed the growing anxiety that always made itself known by day's end. Usually, she tried not to think about herself. There was nothing interesting or productive there to think about.
Tonight, though, Rachel's thoughts wandered away from her duties at the hotel and to the new sheriff. A fter hearing Eustace's account of his time with Mr. McCall, now Sheriff McCall, it was perfectly understandable that they would. What would their new sheriff be like? How would she describe him to someone else?
Well, to begin with, he looked like someone who would be comfortable with his authority. He had an air of easy confidence about him. It was in the way he held himself, she decided; back straight, but not rigid; relaxed, but aware of his surroundings. He was tall and well-built. Men would find his size impressive and women would see it as a sign of virility, though Rachel wasn't sure if that was true. Tourists would see him as the perfect image of a Western Sheriff, tall and rugged, and looking like he could handle bank robbers and cardsharps and outlaw gangs or whatever else a Wild West town could throw at him.
He wasn't quite handsome, though he was attractive enough with his lo ngish face and firm jaw, and gray eyes under straight and even brows. His nose was just a nose; not too big, not to small. It wasn't entirely straight and there was a small hump by the bridge where it had been broken, more than once, she suspected. He had a dimple in one cheek when he laughed, though why she'd noticed such a silly thing, she wasn't sure.
His hair was longish, falling past his collar and was pretty much cut to one length. It looked like he combed it back in the morning by running his fingers through it and he used none of the oils or pomades offered at the Tonsorium or the 'products' she'd heard the tourists speak of. All in all, he seemed to be blessed with plenty of the animal attraction all wolver males were born with.
Rachel was glad he wasn't pretty as she didn't favor pretty males. They were too full of themselves and couldn't pass a mirror without stopping to preen. Jack Coogan was pretty and she didn't favor him at all.
While looking the part and playing the role of sheriff were all well and good, being the real thing was quite different. What was this Mr. McCall really like? Rachel assumed he'd been involved in a scandal of some sort involving his Alpha's daughter. That did not bode well for his strength of character, and yet, he'd championed Eustace and called him friend when for all he knew, such a gesture could have cost him his employment. He hadn't come to her aid while she whacked Jack Coogan, yet it was his foot that sent the cad sprawling in the dirt. What was it Mr. McCall said to her?
"You looked like you were doing fine without me."
He saw her as capable and that made her smile. He'd also called her a hot redhead and that made her blush.
She sighed and it was then she realized she was clutching a wet cloth to her chest. What was wrong with her, standing there daydreaming when there was work to be done? She hung the cloth using four wooden pegs and reached for another.
And that was when she was grabbed from behind and spun. She was crushed to someone's chest and her lips mashed by a mouth that tasted of hard liquor and salt. She screamed into the open mouth covering hers and kicked at his ankles, but her thin leather shoes had little effect on the hard leather of his boots. She thrashed with her shoulders since her arms were pinned to her sides. Finally, her assailant let her go.
"It's time we settled it, Rachel," he said, letting her go.
"And this is how you expect to do it?" She wiped the taste of him from her mouth with her sleeve. " There is nothing to settle. Get away from me," she snapped. "You're acting like an animal."
" I am an animal and so are you," he
Tonight, though, Rachel's thoughts wandered away from her duties at the hotel and to the new sheriff. A fter hearing Eustace's account of his time with Mr. McCall, now Sheriff McCall, it was perfectly understandable that they would. What would their new sheriff be like? How would she describe him to someone else?
Well, to begin with, he looked like someone who would be comfortable with his authority. He had an air of easy confidence about him. It was in the way he held himself, she decided; back straight, but not rigid; relaxed, but aware of his surroundings. He was tall and well-built. Men would find his size impressive and women would see it as a sign of virility, though Rachel wasn't sure if that was true. Tourists would see him as the perfect image of a Western Sheriff, tall and rugged, and looking like he could handle bank robbers and cardsharps and outlaw gangs or whatever else a Wild West town could throw at him.
He wasn't quite handsome, though he was attractive enough with his lo ngish face and firm jaw, and gray eyes under straight and even brows. His nose was just a nose; not too big, not to small. It wasn't entirely straight and there was a small hump by the bridge where it had been broken, more than once, she suspected. He had a dimple in one cheek when he laughed, though why she'd noticed such a silly thing, she wasn't sure.
His hair was longish, falling past his collar and was pretty much cut to one length. It looked like he combed it back in the morning by running his fingers through it and he used none of the oils or pomades offered at the Tonsorium or the 'products' she'd heard the tourists speak of. All in all, he seemed to be blessed with plenty of the animal attraction all wolver males were born with.
Rachel was glad he wasn't pretty as she didn't favor pretty males. They were too full of themselves and couldn't pass a mirror without stopping to preen. Jack Coogan was pretty and she didn't favor him at all.
While looking the part and playing the role of sheriff were all well and good, being the real thing was quite different. What was this Mr. McCall really like? Rachel assumed he'd been involved in a scandal of some sort involving his Alpha's daughter. That did not bode well for his strength of character, and yet, he'd championed Eustace and called him friend when for all he knew, such a gesture could have cost him his employment. He hadn't come to her aid while she whacked Jack Coogan, yet it was his foot that sent the cad sprawling in the dirt. What was it Mr. McCall said to her?
"You looked like you were doing fine without me."
He saw her as capable and that made her smile. He'd also called her a hot redhead and that made her blush.
She sighed and it was then she realized she was clutching a wet cloth to her chest. What was wrong with her, standing there daydreaming when there was work to be done? She hung the cloth using four wooden pegs and reached for another.
And that was when she was grabbed from behind and spun. She was crushed to someone's chest and her lips mashed by a mouth that tasted of hard liquor and salt. She screamed into the open mouth covering hers and kicked at his ankles, but her thin leather shoes had little effect on the hard leather of his boots. She thrashed with her shoulders since her arms were pinned to her sides. Finally, her assailant let her go.
"It's time we settled it, Rachel," he said, letting her go.
"And this is how you expect to do it?" She wiped the taste of him from her mouth with her sleeve. " There is nothing to settle. Get away from me," she snapped. "You're acting like an animal."
" I am an animal and so are you," he
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