“How long will you be out?” she asked. I wanted to say “the rest of the day,” but I knew that wasn’t possible.
“Shouldn’t be long.” I lifted the folder I was holding. “Going to drop these in Amy’s office and maybe grab an early lunch.”
It was walking distance to the mayor’s office where my sister-in-law worked. Amy had taken the job as the mayor’s assistant when she first moved to town after marrying Luke. She was currently handling both her duties and most of the mayoral ones with the mayor out on sick leave. It turned out that Mayor Bob Lumley had been ignoring his increasing heart issues until he collapsed at the town carnival a few months back.
Mayor Bob was currently recuperating in a rehab hospital in Aurora, and no one had the heart to talk to him about retiring. At least, not yet. So, Amy was not only doing both jobs, she’d also been the one to organize the rodeo and she was doing a damn good job at keeping everything on track. I admired her tenacity and dedication.
I nodded to folks as I walked down Main Street. Laughter erupted outside Bite and Brew, and I could see that the monthly Cattlemen’s Association meeting had let out and the members were standing outside the diner. Shannon Cafferty was there talking to her fiancé, Declan, one of the town’s vets, and Doug Stanley, who owned Sweet Valley Ranch. I raised my hand in greeting and kept walking.
Entering the dim interior of the town hall, my boots echoed across the tile floor as I made my way to Amy’s office. I shouldn’t have been surprised that she wasn’t here. She’d set up a bunch of promo opportunities to get the word out about the charity rodeo, and I knew that she and Cal were going to be spending a lot of time together attending the different interviews and press events.
Somehow, I’d have to find a minute when she was on her own so that we could really talk. I wanted to find out how she was doing, spending so much time with the spitting image of the husband she’d lost. Jake and I were still reeling after meeting Cal, I couldn’t imagine what she was thinking. No one would’ve blamed her if she’d decided to step back from some of her duties.
In the foyer, there was a table housing a 3D model of the proposed plans for the town’s new community center. The old one had burned down after being struck by lightning, taking out both the elementary school next door and a small park and play area. Because the fire had been deemed “an act of God,” the insurance company in all its wisdom, had denied some of the insurance coverage.
It was all bullshit.
The town council and mayor’s office had jumped into action, but at first, there’d been a whole lot of talking and not much else. Finally, thanks to Amy’s tireless efforts, they’d already broken ground on the new elementary school and play area for the kids. Fundraising efforts had been continuous, but they hadn’t been enough to rebuild the community center.
Hence, the charity rodeo. It was a risky undertaking, but if we managed to pull it off, the funds raised should cover the cost to rebuild and potentially pave the way for annual rodeos, which would be good business for all the local ranchers who raise livestock for sale along with all the other businesses eager to capitalize on the increase in tourism to our part of the state.
“Can I help you, Sheriff?”
I smiled at the young woman and set the file down in front of her and tapped it. “I’ve signed off on everything. As far as I’m concerned, it’s all good at my end.”
She took the file and flipped it open, scanning the Post-its I’d attached to the forms and nodding as she read. “Thank you, I’ll make sure Amy sees this when she gets back.”
“Where is she? I’d been hoping to talk to her and…” The woman was already shaking her head before I finished my sentence.
“I can put you on the calendar but it’ll be awhile before there’s an opening. It might be easier to catch up with her on your own time.” She pursed her lips at that. Lydia was Lois’s oldest daughter, and she was a dedicated proponent of work-life balance or whatever the current influencers were calling it today. She rarely talked about work outside work, preferring to keep it separate.
The idea of it sounded good—both for my stress levels and general BS factor—but in reality, it rarely worked. Like now.
“Good idea.” I tapped the counter again. “Thanks for your time.”
I stepped back out into the sunshine, at a sudden loss as to what to do next. Truth was, I was feeling restless. Caitlin was on my mind, and I was kicking myself for not getting her number. Not that it would be a good idea to call her after the way she practically ran from the motel room. It seemed pretty clear that she regretted us getting together.
I needed a distraction. I was about to radio in that Iwastaking that early lunch when I heard Lois’s voice crackle on the radio. “Sheriff, you there?”
I answered the call and was striding toward my SUV while she filled me in on the trailer that overturned on the main turnoff from the highway into town. With all the vehicles coming and going, the road needed to be cleared. While traffic jams were rare around here, it wouldn’t do for trailers loaded with livestock to get stuck for too long.
I hit the roof lights on my SUV but skipped the siren and pulled out onto Main Street headed for the accident. It didn’t sound as if there were any injuries, which was good. I was also grateful for the much-needed distraction. Directing traffic and getting the vehicles moved would keep my thoughts away from Caitlin and how good it felt being inside her once again. She was an addiction I couldn’t afford to have, especially if she didn’t feel the same.
FOUR
BRIAN
“Brian!” I turned at my name and grinned when I saw the Caffertys sitting at a long table inside Magiano’s Pizza. I was planning on ordering one of their spicy peppers and sausage subs to go, but they waved me over to them.
“Caffertys,” I greeted with a nod before exchanging handshakes with Josh Cafferty and Eli Carter, and giving Josh’s sisters, Shannon and Fiona, kisses on the cheek. “Where’s everyone else?”
“Declan’s back out at the emu farm helping out Chad and Tory, and Zoe has the drone out taking aerial photos of the rodeo prep for Amy to use in advertising,” Shannon said. “Join us?”
“Don’t mind that I do.” I sat down and ordered a sweet tea and my sub while the others ordered a mix of pizza and sandwiches. The restaurant smelled of homemade tomato sauce and fresh garlic, and my mouth was already watering.
Much like the Thorne family, the Caffertys were some of the earliest residents to Poplar Springs. They’d been horse breeders from way back but now they split their business betweenbreeding and trail rides that’d become incredibly popular. They were also the first folks to reach out after Luke and my dad died, making sure we were all doing okay, and we’d done the same when they’d suffered their own tragedy when their parents’ plane went down with no survivors. Luke and Josh had actually been in the same grade together and on Pop High’s football team, but despite all that, I could never say they’d really been friends.
Jake and I, on the other hand, were in the same grade with Fiona and Eli and had always gotten on well with both of them, even when they hadn’t been known for getting along with one another. Their pranks on each other had been epic throughout school. At first, it had surprised me when those two had gotten together, but it hadn’t taken long to see how happy they made each other. Watching them now had me thinking about Caitlin and how she was doing.
