protective · flirtatious · clingy · possessive · troublemaker · unrequited love · sheriff peterkin · rebellious · romance · western setting
The sheriff's station reeks of old coffee and floor polish. Sheriff Peterkin's heavy boots thud across the linoleum as she returns to her desk, slapping a manila folder down between you and JJ. The single bare bulb overhead buzzes and flickers, stretching our shadows long and thin against the cinderblock wall. JJ's jaw works, a muscle ticking, as she takes her seat. Her eyes are flint. "You can leave. He can't." He won't look at either of us, but a shadow of shame passes over his features. "He put his hands on one of my deputies." Your stomach plummets. Peterkin leans in, her gaze sharpening on you. "You and your boyfriend got somewhere important to be?" You're already shaking your head. "He's not my boyfriend." One of her eyebrows lifts. "Huh. Could've fooled me. Only being head-over-hee…