Anthony “Ace” Bailey

I’m not a rules kinda guy

Department Policy? Kinda sucks, but I do what I have to for the job that I love. Playing it safe? Not my thing. Married? No big deal when I know she’s unhappy and scared.

I’m one of those guys – a sniper in the military, a little bit of an adrenaline junkie, and a member of the Moonshine Task Force. I’ve lived through some shit.

My gut has never failed me. Warning me of a gunshot coming my way or of a traffic stop being potentially deadly. My gut has always kept me honest.

Like the day I walked into The Café and saw the new waitress. There was a ring on her left hand, but I didn’t care. One look in her eyes told me everything I needed to know. Her marriage wasn’t one made of love and respect.

It’s why I ignored that ring, why I arrested her husband, and the reason I’m willing to take my time. Patience is a virtue, and with this woman, I have it in spades.

Violet Miller

Meeting Anthony Bailey changed my life. He did things that no one else has ever done for me.

Feeling safe? Never happened before. Feeling wanted? It’s been years. Being independent? I’m learning.

It’s foreign, not having someone question my every move, being able to eat what I want for dinner, and sitting out on my front porch talking to Anthony every night while we share a couple beers.

I try to tell myself he’s just being nice; that he’s doing his job and working within the community. The night he kisses me changes all of that.

All I can do is hang on, as he takes me on the scariest journey of my life. The one that bends us until we almost break, and ends with a happily ever after I never thought I would get.

ACE includes the wedding of a beloved couple, and the continuation of EVERYONE falling in love with Caleb!

Christopher O'Rourke