“If somebody likes one, they usually come back for more.”
The bell rang again as their pharmacy tech, Jessie Applewhite, strolled in. “I come bearing mail.”
“Early for that,” Riley noted.
“I ran into Otis as I was crossing the green. He passed it off.”
“I’ll trade you for a muffin.” She nudged the box toward Jessie.
Jessie handed over the bills—because what else would they ever get here at the business?—and pounced on the baked goods. As more customers came in, Riley passed that duty off to Molly and retreated into the office to see what the damage was.
She did the math, feeling anxiety creep up as she compared the total of the bills and the balance of the business account. Payroll was due next week. She checked the due dates on the bills and started figuring how well she could manage her personal accounts to take a pay cut so everyone else could get paid in-full and on-time.
Molly stuck her head into the office. “Everything good?”
Riley offered a sunny smile as she shoved the bills into a drawer and closed the balance sheet on the computer. “Everything’s just fine.”
~*~
Liam’s fist connected with Judd’s chin. The impact sang all the way up his arm. He checked his instinct to immediately press the advantage, hesitating long enough for his friend to stumble back toward the ropes and shake off the blow. A friendly sparring match wasn’t the battlefield he’d lived on for more than a decade. This was all about exercise. And a little bit of payback for his torture about Riley.
From outside the ring, Reuben Blanchard shouted, “Keep your hands up, Hamilton! Montgomery’s a sneaky son of a bitch. You’ve gotta protect your head.”
Judd had barely reset his stance and lifted his gloved hands when Liam lunged forward, driving him back. Judd bounced off the ropes and ducked under Liam’s jab, but not before catching a second body shot to the ribs.
“Break!” Reuben shouted.
Liam tugged off a glove and spit out his mouth guard. “What is up with you, man? Your head is not in the ring.”
Judd slid down to a stool in the corner. “Lot on my mind. They finally opened the search for the new Chief of Police.”
“Yeah?” Liam tugged off his other glove. “Bet Chief Curry’s happy about that. Didn’t he announce he was ready to retire back in January?”
“Yep. I’m gonna throw my hat in.”
Reuben climbed through the ropes and handed both of them bottles of water. “You got much competition?”
“Locally, no. But they’re openi
ng it up to a nationwide search. I don’t know how much of a shot I’ve got. They’ll probably go with somebody older, more experienced. But pulling somebody in from outside…no guarantee they’ll stay for the long haul. So that’s in my favor. We’ll see.”
Liam envied him. It might be a long shot, but at least Judd had a vision for his future, for what he wanted to do with his life. That was more than Liam himself had managed since he left the Marines.
“Good for you, man. I’ll be rooting for you.”
Judd offered his fist. “Hey, if I get it, that’ll leave a hole open in the department. You could always trade your desert camo for blue. You’d make a helluva cop.”
Reuben snorted. “SWAT maybe. Not local PD.”
Liam bumped the offered fist. “He’s right. I’d be bored out of my mind. Rematch soon?”
“You know it. And next time you won’t get in so many lucky shots.”
“Lucky my ass.”
Judd grinned. “See y’all at poker night.”
“We look forward to taking your money,” Reuben assured him.