Healing Her Spirit (Serenity Springs Book 2) Read Free Page B

beginning of their relationship.  Sighing deeply, Lacey leaned forward and kissed Clint gently on the lips.  Her heart ached when he whispered her name softly in his sleep.  After brushing her lips across his forehead, she stepped away from the bed.  “I’ll be back tomorrow,” she promised quietly. 
    Glancing at her watch, Lacey saw that it was almost 2 p.m. and she still needed to eat lunch.  She had a bad habit of forgetting to eat, which caused her to feel faint and to sometimes get migraines.  Leaving the room, she quickly made her way out to her car.  Stopping at Mac’s Diner, a small diner in town, Lacey ordered a turkey, bacon, and ranch sandwich to take back to her office.  She would eat while she worked on paperwork. 
    Later, after her lunch was gone and the paperwork was finished, Lacey decided to stop in the police station on the first level of the building.  Locking up her office, she made her way down two flights of stairs and smiled when she heard Sheriff Creed Caldwell bellowing from behind the station door.  He was obviously pissed about something, and did not care who knew it. 
    Pushing open the door, Lacey walked into the middle of chaos.  The receptionist, Claire, was on her hands and knees picking up papers that had evidently been thrown all over the place.  Katy Caldwell, one of the deputies, stood glaring at one of the town councilmen, hands on her hips.  Creed stood by his office door, listening intently to someone on his cell phone. 
    “Look,” the councilman, Wesley Wallace, said as he backed slowly away from Katy.  “This is a unanimous decision made by the council.  It is not just me.  Now, you have two months to get this problem fixed, or we will find someone who can.”
    Turning, Wesley walked past Lacey, making her skin crawl when he made it a point to brush her shoulder with his. “Ma’am,” he said as he leered hungrily down at her breasts before opening the door in front of him and leaving the station.
    Shivering in disgust, Lacey turned to Katy when he was gone and asked, “What’s going on?”
    “I don’t give a shit!” Creed yelled into his phone.  “I am handling it on my end.  You get that council under control, Clayton, or find yourself a new fucking sheriff.”  Hanging up on the town mayor, Creed swung around to look at Katy.  “I don’t know who those little pissants think they are, but nobody threatens me,” he growled through gritted teeth.   Turning around, he walked into his office, slamming the door shut behind him. 
    Looking at Katy, Lacey grinned.  “Trouble in paradise?” she joked as Katy slowly smiled back.
    “Give my brother a break,” Katy laughed as she motioned for Lacey to follow her to her office.  “He hasn’t gotten laid since Sloane was shot.  He’s a bit…frustrated.”
    Sitting in the chair in front of Katy’s desk, Lacey waited until Katy sat down in her own chair before responding lightly, “Sucks to be him.”
    Raising an eyebrow, Katy asked with smirk, “Does that mean you and that nurse at the hospital are getting hot and heavy?”
    “Carl is an x-ray technician, and no, it does not,” Lacey replied as a blush stole over her cheeks.  “We actually aren’t seeing each other anymore.” 
    “You aren’t?” Katy questioned incredulously.  “But he’s such a nice guy.  At least, that’s what I’ve heard.”
    Wondering what her friend would think if she admitted that her relationship had never gone beyond friendship with Carl, Lacey shrugged.  Picking at an imaginary piece of lint on her dress, she said, “He is nice.  Carl is a wonderful person, very sweet and caring.  He’s just not the man for me.”
    “Oh, really?” Katy pushed, her eyes sparkling with mirth.  “And just who is the man for you then?  Maybe a certain sexy teacher?”
    Blushing furiously now, Lacey tried to change the subject, “What did Wesley the weasel want?  He sure had Creed upset when I got