Light Me Up

THEO

Ah fuck.My head throbbed to the beat of my cell phone alarm. I opened one eye and my fears were confirmed as I took in the unfamiliar bedroom. I hadn’t meant to spend the night at Ashley’s place. Or was is Ashlynn? Whatever her name was, this whole thing was supposed to be a little late night fun after a long ass work week. Not a sleep-in-her-bed-and-have-breakfast kind of deal.

Turning off the alarm, I chanced a look over my shoulder and saw that the blonde was sprawled on the other side of the bed, mouth open and a thin string of drool dripping onto her pillow. I carefully turned my head forward again to get sights on my clothes.

Luckily, it seemed drunk-me had the fortitude to strip down in a fairly neat fashion. Only eight feet away, my jeans and T-shirt sat on a chair by the door. My boots, on the floor below. No sign of my socks, but I had plenty more of those. If I was careful, I could make a clean escape.

I eased from the bed and grabbed my gear, not looking back. I dressed as I walked down the hall, stopping only briefly by the front door to slip my feet into the boots. The house was still quiet. Thank god.

As I left, I made sure the door was locked behind me, and then bolted to my truck. Only to remember it wasn’t here. We took an Uber after having a few too many. Fuck. My ride was at the Anchorage Bar downtown. Ashlynn’s place was on the south side of Moon Harbor. Not exactly out of the way, but farther than I had wanted to walk in sockless boots at oh-six-thirty.

Nothing like the town’s new sheriff doing the walk of shame. But I had no choice. Sticking around any longer was pretty much a guarantee I’d have to field questions from the town gossips, so I headed out.

As I walked, I shot off a text to Ashlynn. “Had a great time. Thanks for everything.” I cringed but hit send and shoved my phone back into my pocket. She knew the score. I didn’t lead anyone on.

I’d happily go out and have some fun after a hard work week, enjoy some drinks and flirtation, enjoy a good fuck if a woman was game. But I always told them I wasn’t interested in anything else. No strings attached. But I hated the awkwardness of a morning goodbye. It was always easier to leave after making a woman come. A good hard fucking, a little break, round two, and then boom. They’d be blissed out and tired. I’d thank them, say something witty they’d laugh and roll their eyes at, and then I’d be on my way. It was a system that had worked well for me.

But ever since becoming sheriff eight months ago, my workload has gotten intense and I’m more tired than I used to be. I don’t remember falling asleep last night. I don’t actually remember much at all.

I didn’t resent the work. I loved being sheriff. It wasn’t a position I ever really coveted but when the opportunity came after old Sheriff Olsen retired in shame, I took it all seriously and have been doing a lot to overhaul the operations of the Sheriff’s office. It seemed that the more I streamlined or fixed, the bigger the problems got. Almost as if the old establishment’s ignoring the town’s problems kept the bullshit away. Funny how that works.

Now that I’m making changes and our officers are paying more attention, people are complaining about every little thing. Stuff that never seemed to bother them before. More solutions led to more issues. But my job was to fix the system.

We didn’t have a lot of crime here in Moon Harbor, but there was always something. Lots of DUIs come tourist season, drug use and burglaries here and there. Plus, our office patrolled the whole county. Speeding tickets were our bread and butter. I admit, I underestimated how much work would be involved in the new position, but I’d be damned if I did a poor job or gave it up now. This was my town and I was determined to protect it.

Finally, I saw the lighthouse peeking up from the horizon ahead of me. It was on the South end of Harbor Street, so I still had some walking to do to get to my truck, but at least I was out of the residential zone now. Just as I turned left, a horn blared behind me.

“Lookin’ good for a walk of shame, there.” My best friend Sam barked from the open window of his pickup truck.

“Fuck you, man.” I said with a chuckle. I turned back around and kept walking, knowing he’d follow.

“You want a coffee?” His truck rolled on at a snail’s pace next to me.

“Always. What are you doing up this early on a Saturday, anyway?”

“I gotta get some stuff dropped off at McClintock's.” He gestured with his thumb over his shoulder. The bed of his truck was filled with furniture, new pieces he made by hand and sold out of various shops here in town. Sam was an expert carpenter and his work had gotten even more ornate and impressive the past year. Seeing him follow his passion was inspiring. Not that I’d ever admit that out loud. But I was proud of the guy.

“I guess I’ll help you unload,” I said, rounding the front of the truck and hopping in the passenger seat. “You can buy me a coffee as payment.”

“Sounds fair to me.”

We made quick work of it, unloading a massive china cabinet and a pair of end tables into the back door of McClintocks.

“Damn, this is pretty nice work, man.”

“Of course it’s nice, Sam is the best specialty carpenter in the state,” old man Gus chimed in, slapping Sam on the back. He probably wasn’t wrong, but I suspected he was such a fan because Sam’s work brought in lots of cash from tourists.

“Yeah well you keep talking like that, he’s gonna demand a bigger cut, Gus.”

“He’d never.” Gus’s white eyebrows shot up into his hairline, but he schooled his features as he assessed Sam.

“I don’t know about that, the bigger his name, the more power goes to his big head.”

Gus guffawed and Sam elbowed me in the ribs.

“Alright, gentleman, you can knock that off,” Sam said.

“Say, Theo, what’s the word about that fire out by the Dugan’s property? I heard it was arson.” Gus looked at me with an all-knowing stare.

“Well if you know, then why are you asking?”

“I want the official details. You know I like to be in the loop.” And that he did. Gus was as big a town gossip as any of the church ladies. He’d never admit it though. To him, he was just keeping his ear to the ground. His town, his business.

“Well the new fire marshal is starting this week so I guess we’ll get some answers soon.”

“You be sure to stop back here and fill me in.”