“Huh, you Hart boys must have made your family proud,” she said before she remembered what happened to Wesley’s parents.She remembered how the town reacted to their sudden and tragic deaths in a car accident.It was their senior year, and Dalton had been withdrawn until graduation then left town right away.
But before Wes could respond, the deputy slid to a stop in front of the hospital and another large Hart brother opened the door.
“Hi there, were you in the crash too, miss?”Dalton said, then recognition dawned on his face.
“No, she’s just trying to catch pneumonia,” Wes said from the front seat.
“Shelby Shepherd?”
“Hi, Dalton, it’s nice to see you again.Um this woman ran her car into a dump truck.She’s been unconscious, but she squeezed my hand,” Shelby said trying not to get emotional about the poor woman or Wes’s clear disdain for her.
“That’s a good sign.I’m just going to scoop her out of the back seat.”
Shelby nodded and watched Dalton lift the older woman like she was a child.Then she grabbed the woman’s bag and moved to follow them.
“Nope.Stay in the car.The deputy will drive you back to my house,” Wes said.
“What about you?”
“I need to check in at the office and work on getting these roads cleared now that the storm has passed.”Finally, he met her eyes.“I’ll be back later.”
She handed Wes the woman’s bag and he rattled off the code to his house for her, then she got back into the cruiser.She needed to figure out how to get her truck out of that ditch and find a ride to her parents’ house.If she was going to be unwelcome somewhere it may as well be with her family.
CHAPTER FIVE
Wes
Only the Lonely
It took fourhours to get Main Street and the two primary crossroads in town plowed.They weren’t prepared because it was so rare to get even a light snow in Sandy Point, much less two feet.But Wes had developed a plan over the years for several freak-type emergencies, fires, winter storms, hurricanes, mass casualties, or active shooters.He was of the mind the more they were prepared the less likely they’d ever need to use the plans.
“Sheriff, the mayor is on line one again for you.He said if you don’t take his call this time he’s going to cut your budget this year,” one of his eight deputies said with a smirk.
“I’d like to see him try.Thanks, I’ll take it.”The deputy closed his office door, and he peeled off his glasses.He’d been staring at the map of town, trying to make sure he’d chosen the best route to clear the roads.The wealthy residents out on Beach Boulevard will expect their access to town to be cleared first, but in reality, most of the population lived in the area surrounding town, so it made more sense to clear their roads first.
The blinking light on his phone reminded him the mayor was still waiting, and he begrudgingly picked up the line.
“Mayor, I don’t appreciate you threatening my deputies’ salaries.”
“Wesley Hart, you haven’t taken any of my calls and we’re in a state of emergency here,” William Shepherd barked through the phone.
“Actually, I don’t think a snowstorm counts as a state of emergency.”
“Do you even have a plan to plow these roads?”
“I know you treat the mayor’s office and all your duties like you’re some sort of local celebrity, but you do know you have actual responsibilities.The maintenance and safety of our roads doesn’t fall to the sheriff’s department.If you paid any attention to the running of this city, you’d know that.Have you called and yelled at the Chief of Public Works, or is your friend still on his European world tour?Do you even review the annual plans for each department?”
“Now you listen to me, you disrespectful upstart—”
But Wes hung up before the mayor could finish; he didn’t have any bandwidth to listen to a man who had never worked an honest day in his life.William Shepherd only got elected because he’d thrown money into his absurd campaign and smeared the sitting mayor’s reputation.Almost immediately the phone started to ring again but a flourish outside his office caught his attention.Then he spotted Shelby, wearing his coat, shoes, and hat.Even in the oversized gear she looked attractive.Her cheeks were flushed, and she was laughing at something one of the deputies doting over her said.It took total focus to resist getting up and going out to see what she was thinking, leaving the house and hiking through the snow to his office.
“Sheriff, mayor line one again.He said if you don’t answer he’ll fire me,” the newest deputy to join the force said after opening the door without knocking.
“Relax, he doesn’t have any authority to fire you, but I do.Next time knock.”
“Yes, Sheriff.”The deputy started to back out and close the door.
“Leave it open, and why is she here?”Wes said pointing to Shelby.
