“It’s a good way to get to know someone,” Archer argued.
“It is not.”
“You say not, I say is.”
“How long’ve you two been married?”Brantley asked, interrupting the banter.
“Sorry about that.I asked him to be on his best behavior,” Simon said with a smirk.“He’s not, so it must be a day that ends in ‘y’.”
Reese snorted a laugh from behind him.“I’ve got one like that.”
“Now thatthat’soutta the way…” Brantley grinned.“I thought maybe we could talk briefly this mornin’, then reconvene this afternoon when I can get Sebastian Buchanan—we call him Baz—here.We’ve recently promoted him.He handles caseloads and whatnot.Runs the office.Or he will once he’s back from paternity leave.JJ’s in the hospital—bed rest until the babies are born.”
“So shewasright?”Simon asked, grinning as he glanced at Archer.“JJ was havin’ contractions at the wedding but was adamant she was not in labor.”
Brantley laughed.“That’s JJ.She’s stubborn enough to hold off until she’s ready.Or she likes to think she is.”
Archer glanced between them.“So you’re not in charge?”
“Technically,” Reese drawled.
“Don’t listen to him.We tried that whole thing with me runnin’ the show,” Brantley admitted.“I’m not a fan of bureaucracy and red tape.Workin’ for Sniper 1 Security means there’s a shit ton of that.I leave that shit to Baz and Reese.I prefer to work cases.”
“I know the feelin’,” Archer said.“I’ll do what needs to be done, but I like to get my hands dirty.”
Yeah, Brantley liked this guy.
Since Reese was still working on the sandwiches, Brantley opted to jump right into it.
“If you’re still workin’ on the…” He circled his finger in the air.“The thingy cast.”
“Podcast,” Reese corrected.
“Yeah.Thatthing.How much time would you have to dedicate to the task force?”
Archer looked at Simon, and a silent question passed between them.A second later, Simon nodded.
Archer met Brantley’s gaze.“I think the question is, how much time will you need me on the task force?”
“We’d prefer someone full-time, but there’s some leniency in there when we’re not workin’ an active case.”Brantley looked at Simon.“Do you have an idea of how much time you’ll need him on a weekly basis?”
“Depends on the story I’m workin’ on.If I keep ’em local, I do a lot of the investigatin’ myself when Archer’s off doin’ other things.”
“What’s local?Like state level?”
“I was thinkin’ more along the lines of keepin’ it closer to home for a while.”
“Home being…?”
“Here.Coyote Ridge.We’ll have a permanent address on October thirty-first.”
Brantley looked at Archer.“And you?”
“Same.I’m movin’ in with them.”
“No roots, huh?”
“Temporary ones,” Archer said with a smirk.“I’m hopin’ to shift that to more permanent in the future.”
