“Thanks, Addy.”
“Don’t worry about. Enjoy yourself.”
They did. At least, she did. Rick’s color stayed up, red blotchy patches creeping up the side of his neck. He definitely didn’t like to be the center of attention. She was used to it and, honestly, she enjoyed it. Just maybe not when she was on a date.
Luckily, there was one good thing about the gossips in town having already spread the news about the two of them. From what she gathered, it seemed as if everyone thought it was a good match. Well, she found out later, not everyone. But the ones who did? They left them in peace so that the two could spend the time alone.
They ordered some of Gus’s Sunday special—meatloaf with glazed carrots and scalloped potatoes—and bowed their heads over the white DC&C coffee mugs, speaking quietly to one another about everything you could think of. Even surrounded by a good amount of people, it was cozy. It was nice.
Until a shadow fell over their table and someone interrupted them by clearing their throat.
She was unfamiliar to Grace, and that surprised her because she figured she should know a person before they could be allowed to give her such a nasty look of loathing. The girl was younger, probably about twenty, twenty-one, and she had blonde hair that she wore in a sheet down to the middle of her back. She revealed white, even teeth when she smiled at Rick before she side-eyed Grace and it turned into a grimace.
“Natalie. Hi.” Rick glanced over at Grace, making introductions. “Grace, this is Natalie Newton, one of the deputies at the HSD.”
She figured. She already met Bev’s mother when she came to pick her up from their ballet class. Since there were two female deputies out of the four who worked under Sly, it was a safe bet that this was Natalie.
And she hated her on sight. It seemed as if the feeling was mutual.
“You busy?” Natalie asked Rick. “Off duty, too?”
Grace bit her tongue. Of course, he was. The blonde was standing there in full uniform while Rick looked rugged and delicious in his t-shirt and jeans. And since she was sitting across the table from him, it was pretty damn clear that he was busy.
In her time in Hamlet, though, Grace learned not to rile
up the locals. Though most of the people she came into contact with on a daily basis no longer looked at her like she was an alien, she hadn’t forgotten in the time since she’d been in town that she was an outsider. She would always be an outsider.
“I am.”
Natalie wrinkled her nose. “And this is how you’re spending your downtime? With her?”
“Excuse me?”
Natalie ignored her. She had big green eyes that were narrowed shrewdly on Rick. “I know you’re hard up, Ricky, but come on. Catching a drink down at Thirsty’s has got to be more entertaining than this.”
Grace knew better than to rise to the blonde deputy’s bait. Didn’t make it any easier to swallow. By now, she was getting pretty good at self-defense. Maybe it was time she got to practice on someone a little closer to her size.
She started to rise.
“Grace. It’s okay. I’ll handle this.” Facing Natalie, he said, “Deputy, you’re still on duty. Don’t make me buzz Willie to find out where you’re supposed to be patrolling. I doubt it’s the coffeehouse.”
Pale pink spots formed on the height of her cheeks. “I saw your truck outside. Maybe I was just checking in with a fellow deputy.”
“Or maybe you were butting your nose in on a private engagement. Go back to the station house, Nat. And hope I don’t find the time to buzz the sheriff about your behavior.”
“Yeah, well, don’t say I didn’t warn you, either.”
“Warn me?”
“Don’t tell me you forgot what happened the last time one of us took up with an outsider.” She let out a hollow laugh that didn’t fit. “Of everyone, I thought you’d be one of the last to forgive.”
Grace’s thoughts immediately turned to Maria’s confession, of the outsider male who tried to assault her only to end up a victim of the gulley. But that didn’t make sense. Maria made it clear that she was never interested in Mack Turner. What happened between them was all him and he paid the price for it. Plus, Sly was the one who supported Maria then. Rick wasn’t even a deputy yet when that happened.
As she sat there, waiting for Rick to handle Natalie like he said he would, the whispers started up. In front of her, behind her, all around them. She heard one name, an almost reverent murmur.
Caitlin.
Rick visibly reacted. Whether it was the name or Natalie’s tone, Grace wasn’t sure, but his face went hard. He grabbed the edge of the table with his fingers. Only then did Grace realize that the table had been wobbling slightly due to the restless bouncing of his knee against the bottom.