Cullen took his time going to Leigh’s office just in case she wanted to have a private word with her dad. Apparently though, she hadn’t, because Jeb had already left and Leigh was on the phone.
“Rocky, I don’t want you leaking any more info about the investigation,” she snapped. She glanced up at Cullen, who stopped in the doorway, but she continued her conversation. Or rather the dressing-down of her deputy. “Yes, leaking details to my father or anyone else. Any info that needs to be doled out will come through me. Got that?”
Cullen couldn’t hear how the deputy responded, but he doubted Rocky would like having Leigh go at him like that. But Rocky deserved it. It showed disrespect, going behind her back by talking to Jeb.
Leigh stabbed the end call button and shoved her phone back in her pocket. She groaned softly, pushed some wisps of hair from her face.
“How much grief did Jeb give you after I left?” she asked.
“I gave him grief right back,” Cullen settled for saying. He went closer and tapped her badge. “Do you wear that because of Jeb or in spite of him?”
Leigh shook her head, and he thought she might be annoyed with the shift in conversation. Or maybe she was just annoyed. Period. She certainly had a right to be.
“I’ve wanted to be a cop for as long as I can remember. Not a cop like my dad,” she emphasized. “I always disapproved of punishing enemies or playing favorites when it came to justice.” Leigh stopped, gave a hollow laugh. “Which is exactly what Jeb thinks I’m doing now.”
Cullen studied her a moment. “No, you’re not doing that. If the evidence had pointed to me killing Alexa, I’d be in a holding cell right now.”
She studied him, too. Then nodded. “You would be. The badge means something to me, and if I’d been Jeb’s son instead of his daughter, he would have given me his blessing about becoming sheriff. And he’d put a stop to Rocky undermining me every chance he gets.” Leigh paused. “But I’m not Jeb’s son.”
She didn’t sound bitter about that. Just resigned. And in that moment Cullen despised Jeb even more than he already had. Damn the man and his backward way of thinking. Damn him, too, for hiding whatever health problems he had from Leigh and trying to make Cullen part of that secret.
“You were elected sheriff,” Cullen reminded her.
“Barely,” she muttered and then quickly waved that off.
Cullen didn’t wave it off though. He took hold of her chin, lifting it so their gazes met. “You were elected sheriff,” he repeated. “And what you said to Jeb wasn’t lip service. Youarehandling this investigation.”
She turned away from him. “If I fail at this, if I don’t get reelected, I’ll have to move. Dark River’s my home, but I’ll have to move so I can get another job in law enforcement. I couldn’t just go back to being a deputy. Plus, whoever beats me in the next election wouldn’t want to keep me around anyway.”
Cullen understood the “home” roots. He had them. Ironic, since his life was often calmer and easier when he wasn’t in Dark River. It would probably be the same for Leigh, but she was as grounded here as he was.
“We have more in common than you think,” he reminded her. “That’s why we became lovers in the first place.”
She looked back at him, the corner of her mouth lifting into a smile. “That was hormones along with the thrill of being star-crossed lovers.” Leigh made air quotes for “thrill.”
No way could he pretend that the heat hadn’t played into her being in his bed that night. But there was more, and Cullen was certain he wasn’t the only one who’d felt it. He would have reminded her of thatmore, too, but the phone on her desk rang, and the moment was lost.
Leigh hit the answer button. The speaker function, too. “Sheriff Mercer,” she said.
“Sheriff Mercer,” the man repeated. “I’m Tyson Saylor.”
It took Cullen a couple of seconds to remember that Saylor was the PI his father had hired to follow Alexa.
“Thank you for getting back to me,” Leigh told him. “I have some questions for you.”
“Well, let’s hope I have the right answers,” Saylor replied. “In fact, I believe I have something that’s going to help with your investigation.”