“For what it’s worth, I didn’t tell her about you being naked.” She sounds guilty. Just a bit.
I take the coffee and donuts. “Doesn’t matter. Someone else will.”
With that, I walk out, smacking the door on the way—accidentally—and finding a few curious looks thrown my way by nearby people. After meeting my stern eyes, they scatter.
By the time I reach the station, my mood plummets. When Jennica notices me walking in, she says something into her phone and puts it down. Leaning back with a smug look on her face, she says, “I heard you were doing the horizontal tango in your front yard this morning.”
I send her a death stare, making her cackle.
“What happened, Boss? Have you thrown your back out in the process? I bet your age is getting to you.” She interlocks her fingers over her stomach.
I raise the plastic cup in my hand and shake it in the air. “I’m trashing this.”
She smiles smugly. “I don’t think so. You need me to cover for you tonight.”
I pause. “What’s tonight?”
“Your night off.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” She nods enthusiastically. “I’m going to cover for you so you can cover,” she looks me over, “whatever wasn’t covered. I don’t know what happened, but you had a woman in your place, Boss. That part I believed.”
“And what?” I walk to my office, sipping my coffee on the way and hoping she’ll leave me alone.
She doesn’t. She follows me inside with her coffee and a donut and takes a seat on my leather couch, crisscrossing her legs. “I spend a lot of time with you, Boss. More than your family does.” She takes a bite from the sugary donut, dropping white powder on her lap. “And I’ve noticed you being funky for the past couple of days.”
“You have funky days too.”
“Yeah,” she shrugs, “and they’re usually funky because I fought with my hubby or just want to kill him because he pissed me off.”
I watch her with emotionless eyes. “Does your story have a point?”
“Yep.” She takes another bite and talks without chewing all the way. “You’ve gotten all nervous since this new designer from the big city showed up here.”
“Josie has nothing to do with it.”
“Yeah?” She raises a dark brow, daring me to continue.
“Yeah.” I cross my arms over my chest and lean back in my chair.
“Whatever you say. The offer to cover for you still stands though.” She stands up and points at the stack of papers on the corner of my desk. “Check the candidates, would ya?”
When she leaves, I glance at the couch, suppressing the urge to go and clean the white mess she left.
No matter what I say, I respect Jennica and her opinion. She’s been my right hand almost from the moment I started as sheriff. Without even seeing me around Josie, she knows something is up. If she sees it, others will too. Another reason to stay away from her. I meant what I said—she’ll leave, and I’ll stay to pick up the pieces of my life. She’s not meant for small-town life with a small-town sheriff on a small-town paycheck.
At eleven-twenty, I receive a call from my mom.
“Kenneth Benjamin Benson!”Here we go.“I did not raise you like that!”
“Like what?”
“Participating in frivolous activities on the roof of your own house! And not telling your mother about it!”She uses the same voice she used on us when we majorly fucked up in school.
I groan. “You know what the scariest part is, Mom? I’m not even sure what you’re more upset about.”
“You stop that right away, Kenneth! You know how much I want grandchildren.”Her tone turns sad, almost on the verge of crying.“Bring this amazing lady to dinner.”
