The Sheriff's Plus One - Marquita Valentine Page 0,2

code word is happy when you’re ready to leave.” She started for his truck. “Or dopey. Or sneezy. You pick.”

“Are you comparing me to one of the dwarfs?” he asked, incredulous, yet at the same time, he wanted to laugh.

“No, I’m comparing you to all of them, because you’ll literally go through all the emotions before you become the Archer I’m used to.”

“Gee, thanks,” he muttered, matching his stride to hers so he could open the door for her. “Didn’t know there were seven Disney themed stages of grief instead of five.”

Molly climbed inside his truck, getting settled before she gave him a look. “Don’t mock me. I’m on your side, but I’m not going to let you wallow over Liz. She doesn’t deserve that kind of placement in your brain.”

He leaned against the truck and blew out a breath. “It’s been less than a month.”

“I know,” she said softly. “Breakups suck. I can’t imagine combining that with a wedding.”

Like her breakup with Travis about three months before Liz changed her mind. Molly’d been tightlipped about it. He hadn’t pressed her to share either, mostly because he figured she’d talk when she was ready, but now he felt guilty for not being a better friend.

But from now on... “How about we make our rounds at the party and then head to the lake?” He stepped back. “I can wait while you get what you need, and then we can swing back by my place.”

She patted the large bag at her feet. “I prepared for whatever decision you made.”

“You knew I’d pick the lake?”

“No, but I figured the more you thought about it on the way over, then more likely you were to want to go there instead.” She shrugged. “Your brothers and little sister are already at the lake. I mentioned we might stop by later.”

Of course, she had. “So, no couples.”

“Besides your parents? No.”

“Are Plus One’s supposed to be this bossy?”

She made a mock face of outrage. “How dare you!”

Archer shook his head, a ghost of a smile pushing his lips up at the corners. “Have it your way.”

“It’s not my way. It’s…” She brushed back her ponytail, her brow furrowed. “Obviously, you are not ready to go out yet. So why force yourself when it’s not an official county event? Liz can’t win if you’re not playing the game in the first place, you know.”

Molly was right, but it still burned bright inside of him—the pain, the humiliation… anger. “I hate not winning.”

“I know.”

He clenched his jaw, getting hold of his anger as he closed her door and joined her in his truck. He wasn’t the type to go off half-cocked, hadn’t gotten elected because he was ruled by his emotions either. Archer was calm; he listened to reason and logic, and sometimes to people who were neither… he studied facts to make wise decisions.

“How long does it take to get over an ex?” he asked, and Molly blinked at him.

“I think it’s different for everyone. Take me, I’m not still over Travis.” She gave him a small one-shouldered shrug. “It’s been four months, and I still get upset. There’ll be a song on the radio, or the movie we went to see will pop up on Netflix, and it’ll set me off. We were together for a long time, so I’m going to assume that it’s going to take a long time to get over him.”

The cold air of the a/c washed over him. His favorite country music station was on in the background. The day was sunny and hot, perfect for the lake or a party. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to move.

“Maybe not. Maybe if you meet the right guy, you won’t have to wait a long time to get over him.” But when he tried to picture the guy who could take Molly’s pain away, he drew a blank. Then again, they knew all the same people and most of them were married.

He frowned. In a county of seventy thousand people, that didn’t seem right. They should really expand their social circle.

“Says the man who has sworn off women for a year,” Molly countered. Her green eyes were pretending to smile, so he went along with it, sensing she didn’t want to talk about meeting a new guy, much less the right one.

“We were together for a year before I proposed, so… mathematically that works out.”

Molly snorted. “You think math has anything to do with this?”

“Not really, but it’s a hell of a lot