“Sheriffs are always on duty.”

“Let me rephrase. You’re not officially working today, are you?”

“No. But I wasn’t supposed to be working last night, either—until one of my deputies had a family emergency. Odd hours and an unpredictable schedule go with the job.”

Her frown deepened. “I hate to infringe on your day off. Besides, like you said, there’s probably nothing on the car.”

“I’ll be happy to take a look anyway. While I’m at your place, I can also nose around for any evidence of your trespasser from two nights ago.”

She caught her lower lip between her teeth. “I don’t know . . .”

He made the decision for her. “I have your address. I’ll swing by the office for supplies and meet you at your house. Or do you have other places to go first?”

“No. I was planning to head home and finish the autopsy paperwork.”

“Expect me in forty-five minutes.” Without waiting for her to respond, he unlocked his Jeep and slid behind the wheel.

She was still standing there, expression puzzled, when he pulled out. As if she couldn’t figure out why he was going to all this trouble.

That made two of them.

The truth was, barring a miracle or a very careless vandal, there weren’t going to be any usable prints on the car. And the chances of finding evidence of the knob-rattler’s visit were also slim to none.

He’d volunteered for extra duty with one goal in mind.

To extend his time with Grace Reilly.

And that was wrong. Not just because it bordered on unprofessional, but because of Becky.

A stab of self-reproach skewered him, and he clamped his jaw shut. Tightened his grip on the wheel. Dodged a pothole in the road.

Why did life always have to be complicated?

Why couldn’t he have met Grace Reilly a year ago?

Why did he have to have such a finely honed conscience?

He tossed the questions to the heavens, not really expecting answers. So it was no surprise none appeared.

Since it was too late to retract his offer, he’d have to do the job at warp speed and get out of there as fast as he could.

After that, there’d be few excuses for them to interact. Near as he could recall from what Russ had told him about Grace early in his tenure, she’d been under contract with the county for three years. If this was their first encounter in his four months on the job, it was doubtful they’d run into each other often. And reading her clinical autopsy reports wasn’t going to juice his libido like an in-person meeting would.

All he had to do was complete his fruitless search for fingerprints and evidence of a trespasser and make a fast escape.

Even if he’d much prefer to linger.

3

SHE WAS WASTING HIS TIME.

Grace peeked through the blinds on the kitchen window as Nate Cox nosed around her backyard after dusting for, and lifting, a few prints from her car and the knob on the back door.