In this clip from chapter one of The Sheriff’s Son, the town’s new deputy sheriff is reunited with his high-school sweetheart after a run-in with her young son…who is also his own child, though he won’t discover that for a while…

“That’s some son you’ve got, Sarah.”

The words stopped her in her tracks.  After a long moment, she turned and faced him, her body blocking the desktop.  “What do you mean?”

He nodded toward the bulletin board.  “Drawings up there, looking good.  He shows more talent with a couple of crayons than we ever managed to do in Art.  He take after his dad?”

The blood rushed from Sarah’s head.  Her face felt chilled, her mouth frozen.  She didn’t want to answer Tanner.  Couldn’t.  But he stood looking at her, waiting for an answer.

She forced her response between stiff lips.  “No, his father doesn’t have any artistic skill, either.”  It wasn’t a lie.  Tanner had just made that clear.  Still, the half-truth seemed to twist in her heart.

He stepped closer.  “I say something wrong?”  He reached up, as if to stroke the stray curls that tumbled against her temple.

Time stopped.  Turned back.  Raced away.

She stood, held in place by the look in Tanner’s eyes.

His hand hovered near her head, a breath away from touching her, until he clenched his fingers and lowered his arm to his side.

She whirled to face the desk, scooped the row of bills into an untidy pile, and flipped it over.  Hands shaking, she struggled to line up the edges of the papers.

The crazy thought occurred to her that she should tell him everything right now.  Reveal her money troubles.  Confess the truth about Kevin.

And request eight years’ worth of child support.

But of course she wouldn’t.  She didn’t want anything from Tanner.  Except his rapid departure from her life.

The Sheriff’s Son was my first published book and is now also available in e-book format. Find out more here:

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Thanks for reading!

All my best,

Barbara