“How much do you actually need to live well in this town?”
His shrug told me that he agreed, but his grimace said caveat, and I was pretty sure I knew what it was.
“Lydia is a Cahill, and they have a different quality of life than the rest of us.”
“Sure,” I agreed.
“And Emery, he has Darrow Holdings, and that’s what her father is interested in, and I know she still has feelings for me, but she’s also going to do what her father wants, but also, let’s face it, with the merger of the two companies, she won’t have to change her lifestyle in any way.” He finished in a rush, trying to meet my gaze but having trouble. It had to be really awkward for him, discussing this with me, of all people. I was a stranger and I worked for the guy who had stolen his girl.
“Have you spoken to Lydia about your feelings about the wedding?”
“No, I… it’s inappropriate.”
I winced, feeling a pang of sympathy for the man. “Don’t you think you should maybe say something to her?”
“I don’t. She’s very invested in her father’s company, and soon she’ll be taking over the day-to-day management of the company, so even if we were together, I would have to find another job, and there simply aren’t many of those in Ursa.”
“So you’re gonna do what?”
“Well, Mr. Cahill is backing me for sheriff. There’s an election coming up. I don’t know if you knew that.”
“I didn’t, no. Is Sheriff Thomas retiring?”
He nodded. “He is, and it seems like a logical transition from him to me.”
If Reed would make a decent law enforcement officer, then yes, but as it was, I had no trust in his ability at all. And as far as I could tell, from the few things people had said, no one else did either.
“Are you quitting the logistics job, then?”
“If I get the job as sheriff, yes,” he informed me, like it made all the sense in the world to have his plan B for his life be nothing remotely similar to his first choice.
“You know, I’m not trying to be a buzzkill here, but it seems to me that you should want to serve the people of Ursa, and if you can’t be sheriff, that you would want to remain as deputy.”
“Yes, but the new sheriff would certainly replace me. The deputy is the sheriff’s choice.”
I refused to stand there and argue with him over something he should have felt in his gut. The fact that he didn’t, did nothing to fill me with confidence in his ability.
“But anyway,” he rushed on, “I wanted you to know that whatever happens with me getting the top cop spot in town, or not, I won’t treat Emery again how I did yesterday. It was the first time I’d been around him since the wedding was announced, and I think I was perhaps more distraught than I realized.”
A dozen quips came to mind because, clearly, it was the understatement of the year, Lydia being the love of his life and all, but I plastered a smile on my face. “Well, as long as you treat Emery well going forward, you and I won’t have any trouble.”
“Great,” he said, returning my smile and making like he was going to turn and leave.
“But you should make time to apologize to the man himself,” I suggested with a shrug. “You wouldn’t want your constituents to think you weren’t a good guy.”
“No,” he conceded. “I don’t, and I want Lydia to see that I bear Emery no ill will as well.”
“Well, they’re all having brunch after church, so maybe you could see them there or even in the parking lot once the service concludes.”
“Excellent idea,” he said cheerfully. “Thank you. I appreciate your candor and your advice, Calder.”
I had a terrible urge to punch him just to see what he would do, but I squashed it down, gave him a nod instead, and watched as he walked away.
“God help this town if he becomes sheriff,” I muttered under my breath, turning and heading back to the house.
Ursa really needed another candidate.
Ten
I called Huck on my way over to the sheriff’s station to see if he’d found anything new. He hadn’t, but he was more on board with coming to see me. He didn’t like me being all alone in town, and even though I explained I had Emery and the girls, he wasn’t convinced.
“You need someone who can actually put himself between you and danger,” he explained. “And that’s not your sweet English teacher client; that’s another SEAL.”
I couldn’t very well argue. He made a lot of sense.
At the sheriff’s station, I sat with Thomas in his office until it was time for him to go out on a call. He insisted I go with him, and that part was fun, meeting new people, in need, like Mrs. Velasquez who had locked the punk kid trying to steal her car into her tool shed. He was screaming about black widow spiders when we got there.