Lissa Manley - Her Small-Town Sheriff

An unexpected matchmaker

Calling the cops on a twelve-year-old shoplifter isn’t what ice-cream parlor owner Phoebe Sellers would normally do. Yet it just so happens that the troublemaker’s father is a cop. Unfortunately, Phoebe has no idea of the tragedy that’s brought Sheriff Carson Winters and his daughter to Moonlight Cove...or the fears that plague him. But she knows enough about broken dreams from personal experience. The shared bond with Carson soon has Phoebe believing in second chances. And wondering whether, with enough faith, she and Carson might be able to help each other heal.

As soon as his daughter was out of earshot, Carson snagged Phoebe’s elbow with a gentle hand.

Warmth spread in tingles up her arm as she turned a questioning gaze to him.

“Listen,” he said. “I really appreciate you working with Heidi on this.”

Up close, she saw that his brown eyes were flecked with the barest hint of gold. Fighting the urge to stare, she focused her gaze on his nose. “I sense she’s a good kid who’s had a tough time lately. As I said before, the move had to be hard on her.”

“Unfortunately, there’s a lot more to it than that. But she’s not a bad kid,” Carson said.

She met his tawny gaze, and for just a moment, she couldn’t look away, could barely even breathe. Her stomach dropped, and her legs trembled. Where in the world had he gotten those unbelievable eyes…?

LISSA MANLEY

decided she wanted to be a published author at the ripe old age of twelve. She read her first romance novel as a teenager when a neighbor gave her a box of old books, and she quickly decided romance was her favorite genre. Although, she still enjoys digging into a good medical thriller.

When her youngest was still in diapers, Lissa needed a break from strollers and runny noses, so she sat down and started crafting a romance, and she has been writing ever since. Nine years later, she sold her first book, fulfilling her childhood dream. She feels blessed to be able to write what she loves, and intends to be writing until her fingers quit working or she runs out of heartwarming stories to tell. She’s betting the fingers will go first.

Lissa lives in the beautiful city of Portland, Oregon, with her wonderful husband of twenty-seven years, a grown daughter and college-aged son, and two bossy poodles who rule the house and get away with it. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, crafting, bargain hunting, cooking and decorating. She loves hearing from her readers and can be reached through her website, www.lissamanley.com, or through Love Inspired Books.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have obtained access

to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice

in the hope of sharing the Glory of God.

—Romans 5:1

For Laura and Sean, who have always

encouraged and supported me. I love you.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Chapter One

Sheriff Carson Winters hustled down the boardwalk of Moonlight Cove, his gut clenched, the peace of his day shattered.

What kind of trouble had Heidi landed herself in now?

They’d only been in town a few weeks, and already his daughter had been called into the principal’s office for talking back to her science teacher and skipping class.

Despite being grounded for both incidents, Heidi was still definitely acting out, and frankly, he was beyond worried. Being almost thirteen was difficult for almost every kid; add to that the stress Heidi had been through in the past two years and you basically had a single dad’s nightmare in the form of one upset, rebellious preteen.

Squinting, he adjusted the brim of his campaign-style sheriff’s hat, glad the May rain had stopped for a bit and that the sun was peeking out today. Being from Seattle, he was used to the Washington state weather, but always had had enough of the drizzle around this time of year.

The woman who’d called him—someone he hadn’t met yet named Phoebe Sellers from I Scream for Ice Cream on Main Street—had merely said she needed to talk to him about his daughter. For Heidi’s sake, he hoped that whatever she’d done wasn’t too serious; the last thing she needed was more difficulties heaped on top of having to deal with her mother’s abandonment and her brother’s death.

CJ, his boy…

Grief welled up, sharp and searing, taking Carson’s breath away. With swift precision he shoved the agonizing memories of his son into their hole.

Instead, he focused on finding the ice cream store. He walked another half block past the planters filled with colorful flowers dotting the boardwalk, then he spotted the small storefront across the street and down a block, sandwiched in between a kite shop and an art gallery.

He headed to the next corner and crossed, then made a left. He looked around as he walked, taking in the quaint storefronts lining the boardwalk and the wooden benches placed here and there for those wanting to leisurely enjoy a treat from the bakery, candy store or ice cream parlor.

As he passed an alleyway separating two buildings, the cool, sea-scented breeze washed over him, carrying the echo of the ocean pounding a block away.

The tight muscles in his neck relaxed a bit, and a bit of his stress eased, confirming that he’d made the right decision by moving here. Moonlight Cove had just the kind of tranquility he’d craved for himself and Heidi since that awful day CJ had died and their world exploded.

As Carson drew near his destination, he tipped his hat to a group of elderly tourist couples wearing matching rain slickers coming out of the art gallery. They greeted him with smiles and respectful nods, and as always, a sense of pride filled him; he was glad he’d followed in his father’s footsteps and had gone into law enforcement.

As he opened the brightly painted door of I Scream for Ice Cream and stepped inside, bells rang over his head, announcing his arrival. He immediately smelled the scent of waffle cones and his mouth watered on cue. Guess he should have had more than coffee for breakfast. His appetite just hadn’t been the same since CJ died.

The parlor was decorated in shades of green and hot-pink, and had a long counter with swiveling stools along the front wall. The soda-fountain area sat behind the counter, and five or six white tables were arranged in the middle of the place. The wall to the left housed shelves that held bins filled with candy of every kind. A literal dentist’s nightmare.