Smitty’s Sheriff, a sexy, heart-warming MM romance by Cardeno C. is available now!
Todd is too flakey. Richard is too stubborn. Together, they’re perfect. A May-December couple get a second chance at love.
Retired soldier Richard Davis wants a stable life in a quiet town with a forever man. Becoming the sheriff of Hope, Arizona, accomplishes two of his three goals, but instead of finding a serious partner, he falls for too-young-to-be-committed and too-flakey-to-be-serious Todd Smitty. Richard won’t find the right man if he’s obsessed with the wrong one, so he walks away from Todd.
It’s lust at first sight when Todd meets his sister’s army friend. He sets his sights on the worldly, strong, stable older man, and the more time he spends with Richard, the harder he falls. But after three years together, Richard cuts off all contact with no explanation.
When a mutual obligation requires Todd to move into Richard’s house, he’s thrilled at the opportunity to earn a second chance. Ignoring Todd from across town was hard enough. Can Richard resist temptation under his own roof?
“Thank you,” Todd said when Rich sat down. He stared at the food, willing the heaviness in his chest to go away. Bringing down the mood when he was with Rich was counterproductive. He could be upset later, when he was alone.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Todd said quickly.
“You’re not eating.” Rich looked pointedly at Todd’s bowl.
“Sorry.” His stomach would rebel if he put the spicy stew in it, so he reached for the bread instead.
“No butter? You always use butter.”
Flicking his gaze from the bread in his hand to the butter dish on the cutting board, Todd internally rolled his eyes. He had to get it together. “Forgot.” He picked up the butter knife. “Sorry.”
“That’s two apologies in under a minute. What’s going on?” Thankfully, Rich’s tone was worried, not angry. Not that he wanted to worry Rich, but the alternative was worse.
“Nothing.” Todd smeared the butter on his bread and then forced himself to take a bite.
“What have I told you about honesty?”
One of the things that drew Todd to Rich was his character. The man didn’t play games or abide them. Not that Todd was playing a game, but if he refused to answer or didn’t answer truthfully, then he would be or Rich would think he was or—
“Todd?”
“I’m being dumb.” Gaze still focused on the bread in his hand, he rubbed his lips together. “I was worried that I’d made you mad by going in the kitchen after you said I wasn’t supposed to and then I got caught up in my head because I promised myself that I’d do what you said and I already messed up and now I’m ruining lunch.” He let out a deep breath. “Sorry.”
Rich didn’t respond for much longer than was comfortable, and when Todd finally darted his gaze toward him, he noticed that his forehead was lined and he was rubbing his palm over his bearded cheek. That meant he was thinking. Angry was usually flared nostrils and narrowed eyes. Pleased was the lines next to his eyes being more pronounced and his lips curled up into some version of a smile. Horny was… Well, Rich was damn near always horny. He’d heard guys say libidos dropped off after thirty so they didn’t bother going out with men Rich’s age, but in Todd’s experience, that was absolutely not true. He’d been screwing around since he was fourteen, so he liked to think he had a decent comparison base, and he’d take sex with Rich over sex with a guy his own age any time. Hell, he’d take sex with Rich over sex with any guy any time.
Or he would take that if he had the option, which he didn’t. Sex with Rich wasn’t on the table. Lunch, however, was. And Rich cooked it, so Todd picked up his spoon and dug in.
“You didn’t ruin anything. You’re being very good, Todd.”
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About Cardeno C.
Cardeno C.—CC to friends—is a hopeless romantic who wants to add a lot of happiness and a few awwws into a reader’s day. Writing is a nice break from real life as a corporate type and volunteer work with gay rights organizations. Cardeno’s stories range from sweet to intense, contemporary to paranormal, long to short, but they always include strong relationships and walks into the happily-ever-after sunset.
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Blog: http://caferisque.blogspot.com
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