“Idon’t work for you, Sheriff,” Wade said. “You can order Jay around, apparently, but not me. If I, out of the goodness of my heart, decide to use my local contacts to find some useful information for your investigation, I’ll give it to the department through whichever officer I choose.”
Kayla shook her head at Jericho. “If there actuallywasany goodness in his heart, he’d give us the information without a bunch of conditions. And if he actually cared about you rather than about himself, about his ego and the thrill he gets from showing up the sheriff’s department, then he’d stay away from you and let you get on with your life.”
Jericho felt like the angel and the devil on his shoulders were about to get into a no-holds-barred brawl. Apparently the family atmosphere was over. “Okay, enough,” he said. “Jesus. Wade, you haven’t evengotany information yet, so don’t go getting worked up about who you’re going to share it with. And Kay? I’m going to assume you’re talking to me as my friend, because it would be pretty damn unprofessional for my boss to say any of that with a civilian in the room. So, as my friend—thank you. I hear you. Now, let’s get back to work.”
Kayla frowned at him. “Goddamn it, Jericho . . .” But she didn’t go any further. Instead, she jerked to her feet and turned to stare at Wade. “If that’s all you’ve got for the moment, I’ll show you out.”
Wade smiled peacefully up at her. “You’re like a momma bear, aren’t you? Growly and fierce, protecting your cub.”
“Wade,” Jericho said firmly. “Did you have anything else to tell us?”
Wade stood and stretched languorously. “Not right now. But I’ll get in touch when I have something more.” He smiled at Kayla and said, “I’ll be dealing with Jericho. But if you ask nicely enough, maybe we’ll let you watch.”
“Okay,” Jericho said quickly. It was already too late to find a more professional outcome, had probably been too late when he asked Kayla to join them, or when he came back to Mosely, or, hell, when he was born. But he wasn’t quite ready to give up on appearances entirely. “Thanks for coming in, Wade. I do appreciate the information.”
And then, in a sign that a true compromise was reached, Wade and Kayla both left unsatisfied. Jericho sank back into his desk chair. Wade was being annoying, but had something important to offer. Kayla was suspicious and reluctant, but couldn’t completely shut Wade down. And Jericho? Jericho was stuck in the middle. Just another damn day in Mosely, Montana.
