Falling for My Crush

FALLING FOR MY CRUSH A SINGLE DAD SMALL-TOWN ROMANCE FALLING HARD BOOK 7 DAKOTA DAVIES SAVAGE CREEK PRESS CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Acknowledgments Also by Dakota About Dakota Copyright © 2023 by Dakota Davies. All rights reserved. Publisher: Savage Creek Press Genre: Contemporary Romance, Western Romance All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the expressed written permission of the author. This is a work of fiction. While, as in all fiction, the literary perceptions and insights are based on experience, all names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Cover Design: Coverluv Cover Images: iStock Editing: Jana Stojadinović 1 NOAH The rusty Suburban flashes past my hiding spot going 71 in a 55 MPH zone, so I hit the gas and flash the lights. I recognize the vehicle but can’t determine which Morgan is behind the wheel. If it’s my friend Wyatt, I’m going to enjoy handing him the $303 ticket. If it’s his little sister Vonnie, I will enjoy it in a different way. I clench my teeth to stop this train of thought. The Suburban quickly slows and turns into a pullout. I park behind the vehicle and step out, the sandy ground gritty under my boots. Though the threat is low, I approach the driver’s side of the car with my usual caution. It’s a habit leftover from my time in the military. Never let your guard down. Shit. It’s Vonnie. She wrinkles her nose in a wince that makes her sea-blue eyes even brighter. “I’m so sorry, Deputy Tucker.” I force down a swallow. “Any special reason why you were driving sixteen miles over the limit today?” She opens her mouth, but it’s like she thinks better about replying. “No.” I wait for her to elaborate, but she just sits there with her freckled cheeks turning pink. “License and registration, please,” I say. Dutifully, she digs in her purse and plucks out her license, then lunges for the glove box and rummages through the contents—folded papers, receipts, wrappers, gum containers, baseball cards. “It’s in the owner’s manual,” I say, wishing this didn’t sound so unprofessional. Welcome to life in a small town. “Oh,” Vonnie says, and snatches the worn booklet from the mess, then slides out the registration card. “Thank you.” “Be right back,” I say, and take the two forms of ID back to my rig. A car whizzes by, sending a gust of tar and sage into my face. I run the plates, which come back clean. I enter her driver’s license, expecting the same, but the results load with a surprise. I frown and read the results again, then sit back and stare at the Suburban. I have the urge to call Wyatt, ask if he knows about this. But that would be a breach of Vonnie’s privacy. She’s not a kid anymore, and though Wyatt has been her guardian since their dad died, she gets to decide what to share. I’m tempted to ask Vonnie why there’s a record of mediation in her files, and if this Owen Broderick is still in the picture. However, it’s not relevant to her driving infraction, so technically, I can’t. Mostly, I just want to know if she’s okay. Before I can get out of the car, my personal cell buzzes. I have it set to block anyone but my babysitter, Lisa, while I’m on shift, so I already know who it is. “Everything okay?” I ask, keeping my voice neutral. “I’m so sorry to call,” Lisa says. “And I’m sorry to do this, but I am going to need some time off. My mom fell and broke her hip today.” “I’m sorry to hear that,” I say while my gut fills with dread. “Is she going to be all right?” “Yes, I just got off the phone with the doctor. She’s going into surgery tomorrow. I’d like to be there.” I shut my eyes for a long moment, cursing the universe for what this means. I’m out another nanny. “Of course. Take all the time you need to be with your mom,” I say. “Oh, thank you,” Lisa says with a giant sigh of relief. “I feel just terrible about this.” “Can you stay until I’m off shift?” I ask as my mind flips through my emergency babysitting rolodex. My mom loves Kenzie, but she moved back to Montana a couple of years ago with my sister Cora. My impatient father can’t handle Kenzie for more than a few hours. I have a brother, but he’s on an aircraft carrier somewhere in the South China Sea. “Definitely,” Lisa replies. I end the call and allow myself one groan of frustration before stepping out with my booklet and Vonnie’s ID and registration. I’ll have to start calling the minute I cut Vonnie loose. The sand crunches beneath my boots as I approach. I offer her items. “I was beginning to think you were going to arrest me,” she says with a nervous laugh. I can’t resist the urge to tease her a little. “Something you want to confess?” She smiles, which wipes the tension off her face. “Not unless being a broke nursing student counts.” I scoff. “If you’re a nurse, why are you broke? You probably make more money than I do.” She drops her hands from the steering wheel to her lap. I shouldn’t let my gaze follow, but it takes me a split second to steer my attention elsewhere. In that split second, I notice a constellation