Allie excuses herself before he has chance to spot her with us.
The Mayor has made a beeline straight for us and I groan. He descends the steps at the front of the building, his chin held high the way he always does.
“How good it is to see you, gentlemen,” he greets, his words lacking any sincerity while he pats Myles on the shoulder. “I hope you’re as pleased with today’s result as I am.”
Myles forces a smile. “Ecstatic.”
“Just what this town needed, some fresh blood. Collins is a good man who will no doubt do this town a service, afterall thetroublethese past months, we need a sheriff who will make a difference, a sheriff free from external influences.”
“I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re referring to,” Myles replies.
Mayor Watson studies Myles for a beat. “Hm. For a man as smart as yourself, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
“Might have to spell it out for us, Mayor, we’re not all aswell-educatedas a man such as yourself,” I say, taking a deep drag on my cigarette.
His eyes flick across to me and they harden, his jaw clenching. “Well that goes without saying. Killian Hunt, a pleasure as always.”
“The displeasure is all mine.” I blow out a cloud of smoke that engulfs the mayor, but his poker face remains undisturbed.
“Nice to see you on the right side of the bars, let’s hope it stays that way, hm?” He turns and walks away without another word.
I flick my cigarette onto the grass verge beside me, taking a step forward to chase after the prick, but a firm hand wraps around my arm, Myles giving me a warning stare. “Kill, stand down. He’s not worth it.”
“Oh, I’d make it worth my while. I’d enjoy it very fucking much.”
“We know you’ve got beef with Watson, have done for years but I need you to keep your anger under control. We need to figure out how to play this. With Walker out, we need to be careful. Last thing I need is you back in prison.”
I take a deep steadying breath and exhale slowly out through my nose, feeling a little of the tension ease. I nod, giving Myles the green light to take his hand away.
He turns to Cruiser. “Cru, find me whatever you can on Barry Collins. I wanna know everything there is to know about our new sheriff.”
“And Watson?”
“I want skeletons, as many as you can find.”
“On it, Prez.”
“What’re we gonna do?” I ask.
“Watson’s made it clear he wants to play dirty. So we play dirtier.”
3
After my conversation with my father yesterday, I haven’t seen him. When I got back from my walk last night he still wasn’t home and I made sure to keep out of his way when he finally returned from wherever he disappeared to. I’ve spent most of the morning doing the dreaded job of unpacking my things, and it’s only after my father left for work this morning that I braved stepping foot outside my room.
I’m not scared of him, but I’m in neither the mood or have the energy to go another round with him when it will be me who loses. No amount of pleading my case or fighting my corner will change a thing, because when my father’s mindis set on something, he doesn’t let it go. He’s like a dog with a bone, he holds onto it and only relents when you give in to him and he ultimately gets his own way. But no matter what he says, I’m not going back to law school.
I decide to head into town rather than mope around in my bedroom all day and go in search of the one person I know will be excited to see me, the one person I can guarantee will make me feel better about being back in town.
Sofia. My best friend.
I haven’t told her I’m back yet. I wanted to leave it as a surprise because seeing me will be the last thing she expects.
The main strip that runs through the centre of Stillwater Falls is surprisingly quiet for a midweek afternoon, only a few other people besides me milling around, drifting from store to store.
I’ve always loved this town, spending the better part of a year in a city as big as Boston wasn’t for me. You can take the girl out of a small town, but you can’t take the small town out of the girl.
I’m much better suited to a town of a population of a few thousand people, all the necessities you’ll ever need at your fingertips and quaint independent family-owned stores full of heart and character.
