The Sheriff's Plus One - Marquita Valentine Page 0,3

easier to have an end date than to live in limbo.”

“You can say that again,” Molly muttered as he put the truck in gear and eased out of her drive. “Here’s to end dates.”

For the first time in weeks, he grinned. A real one. “And to bossy Plus One’s.”

The entire Kincaid family was at the lake by the time Molly and Archer arrived. She sneaked a peek at Archer, noting the tightness of his mouth had eased since they left his place so he could change and grab a few other essential items.

Good. This would do him some good. He’d rarely been out in the past month for anything other than job related. Heck, he’d even forgone his honeymoon to return to work. She guessed she could understand his thought process behind that—the returning to normal and pretending nothing had happened plan. Only, she didn’t see where that had worked very well.

Molly wouldn’t press him to deal with Liz’s abandonment, but she still wanted to help him get over the women. She’d like to say that she knew something was off with Liz, but she couldn’t. Liz Evans had fooled everyone, including her own parents. And if her own parents had no idea, then how could the rest of them?

“Not too crowded,” Archer said, scanning the area. She watched as he looked for bad guys, good guys, family, places to park, and places that could be potentially dangerous. Such was the life of a sheriff, and cops in general. “But I bet in a couple of hours, the lake will be full.”

“I’ll take that bet,” she said as he found a shady spot on the parking lot. “I brought dessert with me, but I don’t know if it’ll be enough for your family.”

Archer put the truck in park. “I thought you were prepared for either situation.”

“Har. Har.” She rolled her eyes at him, unbuckling the seatbelt and grabbing her bag. “I am prepared, but your brothers eat like it’s the last thing that will ever touch their lips.”

“A compliment to the cook.”

Molly shook her head. “I’ve watched them eat gas station sushi.”

Archer winced, then held up his hands. “You got me there. I can’t defend that.”

“That’s because you’ve eaten it, too,” she pointed out with a laugh. She opened the door and hopped out of Archer’s truck. He got out of the truck and shut the door, going around to meet her on the opposite side.

His dark eyes roamed over her. “You do look good, Parrish.”

“Thanks.” His compliment warmed her more than it should. Archer was her friend, not a potential anything. Mentally, she got herself together. “I thought you’d appreciate the effort.”

“I appreciate you.” He ran a hand over his jaw. “Thanks. Okay. Thanks.”

She laid a hand on his arm, so not noticing the muscles there. “You don’t have to keep thanking me. Just stop altogether unless it’s for something normal. When you thank me for weird stuff, you make it weird. We haven’t been weird since eighth grade.” She’d gotten her period for the first time but was too embarrassed to tell Archer that was the reason she didn’t want to go to the lake. Instead, she’d started crying and slammed the door in his face, then didn’t talk to him for a full week. “I don’t want it to be weird between us.”

Could she stop saying weird because she was totally making it weirder.

“Worst week of my life.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts. “At least you stopped slamming doors in my face.”

“But, you can handle me crying?”

He sliced his gaze her way as they walked to where his family was waiting. “You don’t cry, Parrish.”

“Sometimes, I do,” she protested. “I am girl. Woman. Oh my gosh. I have feelings.”

“Now look who’s getting all dwarfed out.” He smirked at her, and she punched him in the shoulder. He let out a grunt. “Violence is never the answer.”

“Depends on the question.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Touché.”

“Archer! Molly!” Archer’s little sister shouted, waving her arms at them. “Over here!”

Archer pretended he couldn’t see her, shouting, “Banner! Where are you? I hear your voice but—”

“Bro, we’re literally starving. Molly, did you bring dessert?” Archer’s little sister Banner asked as she rushed them, throwing her skinny arms around Molly. “Please tell me you brought dessert.”

Molly hugged her back even tighter. Banner had such a special place in her heart. Mostly because she always wanted a sister. All she had, which wasn’t a bad thing, was