As we turned to leave, Daisy whined from inside the car. I glanced over at her. “You should bring her in with you.” People around here were dog lovers whether it was their house dog, yard dog, or hunting dog. Daisy would steal their hearts.
“You sure?”
When I nodded, he gave me a happy smile. “Can you really help him?” I asked Garrett while Dylan was busy putting the leash on Daisy.
“I guess we’ll know soon. I’d take him back to the Chicago PD without hesitation, but he seems to love it here.” He eyed me with a smirk on his face. “Now I know why.”
Heat traveled up my neck to my cheeks, but before I could think of a response, Dylan joined us. Obviously Dylan had told Garrett that we were seeing each other, and I wondered what had been said about me.
Dylan eyed the door to town hall, letting out a long breath. “Let’s do this.”
I wanted to pull him back to his car and take him away so that he didn’t have to walk inside that building. Instead I slipped my hand into his, squeezing his fingers. No matter what happened next, I wanted him to know that I thought… What did I think? I wasn’t sure anymore.
How could I get on a plane and leave this beautiful man behind? Even the idea of doing that made me question my sanity. I missed the first step leading up to the door.
“You okay?” he asked when I stumbled.
No, I wasn’t okay. I would be leaving him in a little over a week, and I wanted to plop my butt on the floor and have a good cry. “I’m fine,” I lied. Tonight wasn’t about me, though, so I put aside my misery.
Conversations stopped midsentence as soon as we walked in. Dylan held his head high, his posture perfect, and he looked so good in a dark charcoal pinstripe suit, a white button-down, and a red tie. Like the CEO of a billion-dollar conglomerate. Although I wasn’t sure how many CEOs had a dog as their faithful companion. As if Daisy sensed the importance of this night, she held her elegant head high as she pranced along beside him. But her ears were laid back, signaling her displeasure at the tension filling the air.
Dylan squeezed my hand before letting go. Once again I had the urge to pull him out of the room so that he didn’t have to go through this. Instead I walked with him toward the front, proud to be at his side. When we reached the first row, I slipped back into my seat. Dylan walked to the front where the mayor stood. Garrett moved behind them, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets.
“Who’s that?” Gloria asked.
“He’s a captain with the Chicago Police Department, Dylan’s former boss.”
She leaned close. “I’ll need to interview him, too.”
Like I had any control over Dylan or Garrett. I didn’t answer her, mostly because Dylan glanced at me, and all other thoughts flew right out of my head. Without thinking about what I was doing, I tapped my chest, right over my heart. The way one side of his mouth quirked up in a lopsided smile brought tears to my eyes. How was I supposed to walk away from this man? But I would. I had a promise to keep.
Jim John banged on a block of wood with his mayoral gavel, the same one my father had used when he held the office. I’d always thought that was Jim John’s favorite part of being mayor, being able to make enough noise to get everyone’s attention onto him.
“There have been some concerns expressed about our new police chief, Dylan Conrad. He’s agreed to answer any questions you might have.” He stepped off to the side.
That was all he was going to say? What a toad. He knew the truth, and he should have shown more support for his police chief. But he was putting a protective wall between them. A just-in-case one should Dylan fail to win over the town. Maybe I’d talk my dad into running again in the next election. Hell, I’d run to make sure Jim John didn’t get reelected.
Dylan kept his face carefully blank, but Garrett narrowed his eyes at our mayor. Maybe he’d go over and punch Jim John in the face. One could hope. I glanced back at Dylan as he stepped forward. He appeared to be relaxed, but I knew him. The tension lines at the corners of his mouth and eyes gave him away.
“For those I’ve not met yet, I’m Dylan Conrad. To give you a little of my background before I open the floor to questions, I began my career in law enforcement with the Chicago Police Department after obtaining a degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Illinois in Chicago. I spent a little over two years on street patrol before moving to vice as a detective, heading up that department for the past year.”
I wasn’t sure, but it seemed like he’d moved up the ranks pretty fast. That didn’t surprise me, though. Dylan was a highly intelligent and focused man. If the people of this town didn’t realize how lucky we were to have him, then they didn’t deserve him.
“Now I’ll take your questions.”
The man was definitely smart. I’d expected him to say something about his wife and what had happened, but he was going to force others to bring that up. He darted a glance at me, and I saw the question in his eyes. I gave him a little nod of approval. Yes, he was perfectly handling what was an unfair situation.
“I have a question, Chief,” Connor said, standing.
What was he doing? I frowned at my friend. We were here to support Dylan, not give him a hard time.
Dylan nodded. “You have the floor, Mr. Hunter.”
“We are…unfortunately, I have to say, called out too often to rescue a tourist who has fallen from the top of a waterfall or gotten lost while hiking. We’re experienced at handling those operations, but I’d like to see an advanced training program put in place for these kinds of rescues. For the police department and fire department personnel, along with volunteers like Adam and me. Do you have any plans for something like that?”
If I were sitting next to Connor, I would have kissed him. I should have known to trust him.
The first real smile I’d seen from Dylan tonight formed on his face. “Actually I do. A few days ago I talked to a friend who runs a training program like that in Denver. He’s agreed to help us develop one for our town as soon as we get approval from the town council.”
