Officer Charming and the Prince Who Wooed Him

Chapter 1-2

Earlier that morning

Chad Charming had been looking forward to his first glimpse of Apple Grove’s Annual Fairy Tale Parade ever since he’d first heard about it. The town was known for the big event—sort of its crowning glory—and it had been eagerly talked about ever since he made the town his home just three months ago. The citizens of Apple Grove were certainly proud of it, and after a while, he’d become swept up in the excitement as well.

Since Chad had come from a big city, a small town had appealed to him in many ways. Last year, on the day of his twenty-ninth birthday, after working yet another gang-related shooting, he realized how burnt out he was and how desperately he wanted something more peaceful. But he’d still wanted to remain a police officer, so the very next day, he’d begun applying to forces across the country.

His sister Mandy, his only living relative, had recently moved to Hawaii with her new husband. She’d tried to get him to join them, but he really had no desire to move there, even though he had always been close to her. Besides, with her husband’s job, there was a good chance they would be moving every couple of years and he was looking for someplace he could make a permanent home. Someplace less urban, less gritty, less…violent, and he had certainly found it in Apple Grove.

He’d wasted no time in sinking most of his savings in a cute three-bedroom bungalow with a huge front porch that wrapped around the east side of the house. He particularly loved the large attic. It needed a lot of work—like the rest of the house—but it had one window that gave him an incredible view of the trees in his front yard. A bluebird had recently started building a nest on a branch just outside the window, and Chad planned on picking up a bird feeder and seed today after the parade.

When Chad arrived at the station, his sergeant gave him the news. “Murphy’s got the flu. I need you to cover his section of the parade.” Sergeant Miller told him the particulars—Chad was being stationed at the corner of Main and Fuji, in front of the drugstore. “Just keep the crowd manageable and watch for teens misbehaving.”

Afterward, Chad strode down the hall toward the locker room, in search of his partner, Grant. When he didn’t see him, he asked Cynthia, the older woman manning the front desk, to pass along the message he’d been reassigned for the day.

She promised she would and wished him luck as he headed out the door and down the sidewalk. That was one of the things he loved about Apple Grove. Everything seemed to be within walking distance, including his home, the diner he frequented, and the small family-run grocery store where he shopped.

For mid-April, the day was a little cool, but he breathed in deeply and smiled at the scents wafting from the diner. Apple Pie. His favorite. Of course, with a name like Apple Grove, the town went a little gaga over apples. Streets bore names like Gala, Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, and Delicious. Even his new home was on McIntosh Lane. He’d chuckled at that. His mom had collected apple items—her whole kitchen had been done in apples when he and Mandy were kids. When he’d moved to Apple Grove, he’d wondered what had happened to all that. Nobody to really ask, though. Once she’d passed and their dad moved them, all traces of her had been erased from their lives as if she’d never existed.

His dad had recovered from the loss with a lot more ease than Chad and his sister. In only several months, he’d remarried and even had the audacity to order them to call his new wife “Mom,” but Chad had put his foot down. There were some lines he wasn’t willing to cross. It didn’t matter that his stepmother was a nice enough woman—she wasn’t his mother.

Now, judging from the line of people snaking out the drugstore and down the sidewalk, Chad assumed they’d already started selling their legendary apple cobbler smoothie. This was a line he would have to cross, as he needed to get inside.

Chad found the owner, Russell Graham, behind the old-fashioned ice cream counter that ran along one side of the store. The polished metal counter curved at one end with an opening to allow staff to work behind it. Large black-and-white vintage photographs of the town, framed in red, decorated the walls. Round black leather stools on metal poles stood at attention along the front of the counter, but nobody was sitting in them. Everyone wanted to get their smoothie and head outside to find a good spot to watch the parade.

Since the parade was one of the biggest events in town every year, even schools were closed, which apparently brought out the mischievousness in the teens, at least according to his captain and sergeant. Local organizations—women’s leagues, kids’ troops, lodge groups, as well as schools, businesses, and the town council—had worked for months to put together elaborate floats with a storybook theme.

When he’d asked why the storybook theme, someone had told him the tale of Ralph Garner, the founder of Apple Grove. Back in the spring of 1946, Garner had been trying to court a woman named Aurora, but she wouldn’t give him the time of day. World War II had ended that winter and many families had lost loves ones. Businesses were floundering and people were struggling. Garner had decided the town needed a distraction, something to pull the community together. As the legend goes, he’d felt that love couldn’t grow in Apple Grove until people found something to unite them. Because Garner was an English Professor partial to fairy tales—and the woman he loved was named after Sleeping Beauty—he figured, why not celebrate Happily Ever After?

Garner had worked tirelessly for months to convince the town counsel to hold a parade, and they’d finally given in, even though most of them had felt it a waste of money and resources. Apparently they’d gotten tired of him pushing for the event. So Garner and his best friend, a florist, had combined forces and worked together for weeks to create a beautiful float with roses and lilies and a variety of other flowers. It featured a huge spinning wheel and an oversized rose, with Garner dressed as a prince. When the float had rounded the street corner, Garner went down on one knee while the float stopped directly in front of Aurora. He proposed, and to his complete surprise, she’d said yes, joining him on the float for the rest of the parade. Of course, as legendary romances tend to go, the couple had lived happily ever after.

There had been only three floats that initial year, along with the high school marching band, but the parade had become a tradition—now the second biggest annual event held in Apple Grove. Each fall they also held the “Apple Grove Festival” that ran Friday through Sunday. For that event, the main square shut down and tables and tents went up with crafts, goodies, contests of all sorts, and, of course, carnival games.

Chad was excited about the parade and loved the romance of the story, although in his storybook romance, he would have proposed to the prince instead of Aurora.

Now, Russell handed him a smoothie and Chad accepted it gratefully. He had skipped breakfast, and the frosty treat looked and smelled delicious. He slid a five across the counter and told Russell to keep the change before he headed out the door, scanning the growing crowd. The parade wouldn’t start for about forty-five minutes, so he hoped they wouldn’t get too rowdy as they waited.

He chuckled at that thought. If he’d been back at his old precinct, he would have been worried about drugs, gang fights, guns, and looting. A little rowdy he could handle.

Some people shot him strange looks, but he was used to it. He knew he cut an imposing figure in his uniform. At six-foot-four, with broad shoulders and chest, large, muscular arms, a trim waist, and solid thighs, he was the epitome of strength. Years of hard work during the summers on his grandparent’s farm had helped him develop into a tower of strength.

He smiled at the crowd and didn’t take it personal when some people frowned. He knew there were a lot of emotions bouncing around the country about cops, and he was determined to show people he was a good guy. He took a sip of his smoothie and smiled again. Goddamn, it was good. Like apple pie ice cream, with chunks of crust. He knew his straw wouldn’t be able to suck up the large chunks, so he pulled off the lid and used his straw as a makeshift spoon.

He quickly finished the treat and crumpled the cup before tossing it into the trash can at the corner. More people were arriving, looking for the perfect viewing spot.

Soon, both sides of the street were full of families, couples, teenagers, and elderly. It seemed the entire town, small though it was, had turned out for this event. From what he’d been told, visitors from surrounding towns also made a day of the parade. Band music could be heard in the distance, indicating the parade was getting ready to start. The Apple Grove High School marching band would be leading the parade.

He spied two men, probably in their mid-twenties, holding hands, and a pang of jealousy hit him. But he wasn’t a fool. He knew that love wasn’t in the cards for everyone. There were times he even wondered if love was real or something manufactured by humans to convince themselves they belonged with someone. Chad had never really given much thought to ever settling down, but he did like to date.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t had any luck with dating since arriving in Apple Grove—the one drawback of living in a small town. His former city had gay bars all over, and even if he hadn’t found his Mr. Right in any of them, he had sure found his Mr. Right Now often enough.

When he’d moved to town, he’d been upfront with his boss about his sexuality, unwilling to hide who he was. He’d been relieved to find out that the Apple Grove PD had no issue with that. As a matter of fact, his boss’s brother was gay, so the man had barely batted an eye when Chad had made his disclosure.

Now, the music grew louder and people crowded closer to the street, craning their heads to see if the parade was coming. Chad made his way around them so he could patrol the street, in front of the onlookers, rather than behind them. It was the best way to see everyone and ensure the crowd stayed back from the parade. A breeze whipped across his face and he shivered as he zipped up his jacket.

Music blasted around the corner as the high schoolers marched their way onto Main Street and kids began cheering. The band stepped in time, swinging their instruments from side to side as they moved as one, and Chad’s heart kicked up at the memories of high school…

To say Chad was the star receiver of his football team would have been an understatement. Scouts had watched him since he’d played varsity in his sophomore year. He’d broken multiple school records. Hell, he’d crushed records, with the most touchdowns and all-time leader in receiving yards. The future had been laid out in front of him as a bounty for his taking. He had lived and breathed football most of his life, and he’d lived for Friday nights on the field, listening to the coach pump up the team as the band played through half-time. By the time he was a senior, he’d been offered multiple full scholarships from some great colleges and basically had his pick of what he wanted to do with his life. Which was football.

When the last game of the year came around, he was ready. More than ready. Which might have made him a little cocky. A little too sure of himself.

The sound of a crowd had always pushed him to do his best, so he was furious when a player from the other team rammed him. Purposefully. The guy was immediately pulled from the game, but not before he had whipped off his helmet, stalking over to stand only inches from Chad. The guy was massive. And hot as hell. He had emerald green eyes that sparkled under the field lights. Chad froze, his feet refusing to move. He gaped as the guy gave him a slow once-over and smirked before he whispered a sultry, “See you around.”

In that moment, Chad knew. Knew why he had never really cared about the girls in his school. Or why kissing a girl sucked for him. It had never occurred to him that he was gay. Well, at least that’s what he’d told himself through the years.

The rest of the game was a disaster, his mind being somewhere else. He made mistake after mistake until the coach finally pulled him. A glance toward the other team confirmed that the hot guy with the green eyes was watching his every move.

God, his c**k reacted faster than his brain. He wanted that guy like he had never wanted anyone in his life. And his game suffered, but he was powerless to do anything. He grunted at the coach when asked a question, pretending to listen, but couldn’t remember anything the man said.

That night changed his life in more ways than one. He played his worst game ever, making his coach unhappy. Later, when he finally made his way to his car, he was shocked to see “Hot Guy” leaning against his door.

They stared at each other for a moment before Hot Guy spoke. “I’m Michael.”

That was all it took for Chad’s mind to make the decision. “Get in the car.”

Michael gave him a slow, sexy smile before he slid into the passenger seat.

They took off for the lake and some privacy. No words were needed.

That night, he learned what a man’s kiss did to him…and so much more. Michael stroked them together in his hand until they exploded, overwhelming Chad with the intensity of it.

On his way home, lost in his thoughts, he didn’t see the truck run the red light, smashing into his car, breaking his right hand and arm, crushing his football dreams in an instant.

In the months that followed, he had a hard time working through what had happened, but he did it. With football over, he rededicated himself to finding what would fulfill him…

And now, he was here. In Apple Grove. Watching a fairy-tale parade come to life. Shaking his head, he chuckled. Life was never easy, and it had thrown him some curves, but for the most part, he was enjoying it, so he didn’t dwell too much on the past.

The music grew louder as the band marched closer and the first float appeared behind it. Chad c****d his head and tried to figure out what it was supposed to be, but he was stumped. Maybe he should have researched fairy tales.

“It’s Snow White,” someone from the crowd hollered.

“That’s my daughter,” a mother exclaimed proudly.

Chad looked again and felt like an i***t. Of course it was Snow White. The floor of the float was covered in green—probably tissue paper, he assumed—and a large fake tree stood about fourteen feet tall, decorated with papier-mâché apples. Next to the tree stood a woman dressed in black with an apple in her gnarled hand, while a young woman, apparently belonging to that mother in the crowd, wore a pretty blue, red, and yellow dress that definitely resembled Snow White. Seven shorter kids, dressed as the dwarves, sat under the tree, waving at the crowd. It was a cute float. Nothing to get too excited about, but cute.

Something started moving into view behind the float, but before Chad could see what it was, a small child—maybe three years old—ran into the street.

Chad reacted on instinct. He darted forward and scooped up the little boy, handing him over to his frantic mother just in time to hear a scream.

He turned and found himself facing an unruly white horse, working hard at trying to buck off its rider. A rider wearing satin finery and a crown. A prince?

Chad slowly spread his arms, not wanting to frighten the horse even more, and reached for the reins, speaking in soothing whispers.

But the horse was having none of it. Just as Chad reached to pet him, the animal bucked again, twirling around and landing a shoed hoof smack in the middle of his stomach.

The kick lifted Chad from the road, sending him back a few feet before he landed with a thud on his ass. A bone-crunching sound bit through the loud music, and his arm twisted under him at a precarious angle. Pain shot through him just as the horse reared up again, the rider sliding down its back and onto the street.