I nod. “I’m going to put my name in the hat for the sheriff’s race.”
Mack slaps me on the back. “That’s great, man.”
I dip my chin, feeling suddenly overwhelmed. It’s not that I’m not excited about running for county sheriff. I am. It’s been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. It’ll just be…a lot. I’ve got to get through the next three months in a new-to-me day job as manager of the telecommunication center in Cashmere Cove and then figure out the ins and outs of campaigning.
But one thing at a time, I guess, and right now, we should not be talking about me. “Enough about that. You’re engaged. That’s what we should be focusing on.”
Mack grins, pivoting his gaze to his fiancée. “Ten out of ten would recommend this, dude. I’ve never been happier.”
“Okay. I’ll be sure to grab the next single woman I see and put a ring on her.”
I laugh, and Mack joins in. He knows me well, and that’s why he understands that this sort of thing—marriage, a long-term partnership—is not what I’m looking for.
Not after watching my parents’ dysfunctional relationship all these years.
Besides, I don’t have time for the commitment of a relationship. I’ve got a town to keep safe and an election to win.
2
A Rat and a Snake
Noli ~ Three Months Later
It’s always the hysterical ones that get themselves into the most trouble.
I wince against the shrieking coming through my earpiece.
“Ma’am. Ma’am.” I raise my voice ever so slightly, trying to get the attention of the woman who called 911 because of a rat loose in her house. She’s currently screaming at her children.
“Get up off the ground. Get on the couch! Marin, hop up on the table. Oh,Lordy,that’s a big one.”
“Ma’am,” I say again. “I need to get some information from you. I have the fire department on the way. They should be to your house in under five minutes. Is the door unlocked?”
“Yes! Tell them to hurry. I’m afraid it’s going to bite me. It looks like a vicious little sucker. Beady eyes, long tail.” She screams then. “Look out!”
Something crashes over the phone.
“Mrs. Willis, is everything okay?”
“Son of a— You stupid rodent! You’re not welcome here.”
Her voice is distant, like she doesn’t have the phone to her ear. I’m trying to keep my patience with this woman. Truly, I am. It’s my job to be patient—to be steady in a crisis.
Even if that crisis is a rat on the loose in a single-family home.
I’m trying to ignore the barrage of incoming calls the rest of the center is receiving while I deal with this one, but I know the second I hang up, I’m going to have to jump on another line. Our small team of dispatchers is slammed. Must be a full moon. I have no idea what disaster is waiting for me next. It could besomething ridiculous, like Mrs. Willis’s plight, or it could be a matter of life or death.
I track the progress of the fire engine I dispatched. It’s four blocks away. Thank goodness. I key in the information I have for the crew, giving them as much as I can to help them handle what they’ll find when they show up at 135 Coveside Drive.
“I tell you what, young lady. I ought to sue Disney.”
“Pardon me, ma’am?”
“Disney. They made those rats inCinderellaout to be the cutest, cuddliest creatures ya ever did see.Liars.Liars one and all. This rat is not cute or cuddly. He’s satanic! Possessed, I tell ya.”
I look to the ceiling tiles and close my eyes. “Mrs. Willis, the firefighters should be outside your house to help you right now. Do you see them?”
“Tell them to watch their step.”
