Our Time (Baytown Boys Book 11)

by Maryann Jordan

  Carrie held his gaze and nodded. She needed the overtime, and he always threw it her way. Working a ten-hour day was no big deal, considering she often worked double shifts of sixteen hours at a time.

  Pushing thoughts of Colt from her mind, she hurried back over to check her tables, making sure the customers were happy.

  2

  Standing in his office, Colt looked out the second-floor window, another cup of coffee in his hand. One of the things that he was proud of was the new Sheriff’s Office that was part of the government building complex in Easton. Set back off the main road, the buildings formed a large square with a parking lot in the middle. One side held the county offices and the Courthouse. Opposite was the Sheriff’s Office, and on the back was the new Regional Jail.

  He walked down the steps to the first floor to the large meeting room where the morning report would be given. His sergeant, Bud Sinton, was in charge of the meeting, but Colt always made sure to be there if possible. He hated that so much of his job was administrative, but he refused to be tied to his desk. Standing with his back against the wall, he looked out over the men and women in the room. North Heron County was one of the poorest in Virginia, but with grants, he had been able to upgrade the sheriff’s department.

  Now, besides just deputies in the room, there were two canine units, a drug task force, one deputy who specialized in the older population, and another deputy who worked hand-in-hand with the social services department. Besides the deputies, several more detective positions had now been filled.

  Bud was currently reviewing the information the deputies would need for the day. “Pearl’s Pawn Shop reported a break-in early this morning. Detective Simmons is over there now and will be compiling a list of what Jonas Pearl says is missing. Once we have that list, we’ll get it out to everyone so you can be on the lookout for any of these items. Some of you may have your suspicions of who might be involved, and if so, please talk to Detective Simmons. The school rotation list is on the board outside. Please check to see when it’s your day and times to rotate through the schools.”

  “Sergeant, do you have any idea when that might become a permanent position?”

  Colt looked over as one of the new deputies asked the question.

  Bud answered, “Not at this time.” He looked over at Colt and lifted an eyebrow.

  Pushing off the wall, Colt drew the deputies’ attention to him. “We can’t fill that right now. There isn’t money to have full-time deputies in the elementary, middle, and high schools. That’s in the budget for next year, and I’ve got someone pushing at the state level for that funding. As you probably know, studies are proving that having an assigned deputy on a full-time basis in each school can reduce teen crimes, gang activity, and give the younger students another person to turn to with their problems at home. It’s important, and I promise that I’m working on the funding.”

  Bud continued down the list, and he listened with interest. There had been a small building set on fire, which made everyone nervous, considering they had recently had an arsonist in the county. It’d turned out to be the owner who wanted to save on the demolition costs to get rid of an outbuilding, so he set it on fire. Eye rolls and chuckles made their way through the room, and he dropped his head, a grin pulling at his lips as well.

  Bud finished with the assignments, giving several of the deputies traffic duty. The main road cutting from one end of the Eastern Shore of Virginia to the other was a four-lane, straight highway, the speed limit clearly marked at fifty-five miles per hour, slower near towns. But many drivers who were used to using the road to get from New England to the southern states by bypassing the busy Washington D.C. area tended to fly down the road. Many of them grew angry when they were pulled over for speeding, but the deputies did not care, ticketing them anyway. It was a source of revenue for the county, but more importantly, with so many stores and houses on the road, speeding was dangerous.

  Bud dismissed the meeting, and Colt watched as the gathering of deputies stood and left the room, prepared for their day. He and Bud walked out together, Bud following him up to his office. They had formed a habit of talking after the morning briefing.

  He finished his cup of coffee and decided a third cup would make him too jittery, but his secretary, Loretta, got a cup for Bud.

  Settling into the chairs, Bud asked, “What’s on your mind?”

  “Who reported the theft at Pearl’s Pawn Shop? Harvey or his son Mickey?”

  “Mickey, but Harvey was there this morning when Hunter got there. Why?”

  “Mickey’s always been careful to stay clean, but I wonder. This makes two thefts in two years. Maybe for a pawn shop that’s not too much, but I thought Harvey put in a better security system.”

  Bud nodded. “It seems the new person working there didn’t follow all the procedures.”

  He lifted an eyebrow, stating, “That seems kind of suspicious.”

  Bud chuckled and said, “It’ll be interesting to see what Hunter reports when he gets back in.” Finishing his coffee, Bud left, and Colt spent the next two hours completing paperwork and reading over the reports from his detectives and deputies.

  Glancing back out his window, he saw Hunter’s pickup truck pulling into the parking lot. Needing some exercise, he left his office and headed downstairs. Meeting Hunter, the two of them walked toward the back where a large room held several detectives’ desks. Organized chaos was the best way to describe the room, with files, papers, and two whiteboards on the walls, filled with information from open cases. Hunter sat at his desk and Colt settled in the chair next to it.

  Hunter, like him, was a big guy, but kept his light brown hair long, almost brushing his shoulders. Having been an undercover officer with the Virginia State Police, Hunter had come to the North Heron Sheriff’s Department a year ago. A natural leader, he assisted the gang task force as well as taking charge of the other detectives.

  “What did you get this morning?”

  “Supposedly, the new girl they hired followed almost all the security procedures, except she forgot to pull down the metal shades on the front windows. She said she was so busy setting the alarm correctly that she completely forgot about it. She was in tears, a total mess, terrified she was going to lose her job. Someone busted one of the windows, and of course, the alarm went off, but not before they had cleaned out what was in the front display area.”

  “Kids?”

  Shaking his head, Hunter said, “I don’t think so. Whoever it was parked just outside the range of the security camera. They wore black clothes and ski masks, making it premeditated unless people just happen to have a ski mask in their cars during the summer.”

  “You checking out the girl?”

  Nodding, Hunter said, “Yeah, that’s my first line of inquiry. I’ll find out exactly who she is and who she knows.”

  Colt cast his eyes up at the whiteboard, thinking about the new rounds of theft in the county. The men and women of the sheriff's department had a large area to patrol. Unlike the police force of a much smaller town, sheriffs had an entire county to be responsible for. In North Heron this included a lot of farmland, back roads, several towns, and neighborhoods that had million-dollar homes as well as those that were below the poverty level. Many homes below the poverty level.

  Feeling Hunter’s burning gaze, he turned and looked back at the grin on his friend’s face. "You want to tell me what that shit-eating grin is for?”

  Chuckling, Hunter said, “You go into Joe’s Place every single morning for breakfast. Half the time you pop in to get a sandwich for lunch. And I don’t have any doubt that you occasionally stay for dinner, especially if Carrie is pulling an evening shift. What I want to know is when are you finally going to get your head outta your ass and ask her out?”

  “What makes you think I want to ask her out?”

  Eyebrows raised, Hunter said, “She’s a nice girl. Why wouldn’t you want to ask her out?”

  He grimaced as he replied, “I
went down that road once before, and it didn’t turn out too good. Figure now, I’m just best going out of the county when I have an itch that needs to be scratched.”

  “Just because you had a bad marriage years ago when you were younger doesn’t mean you can’t ask a nice woman out on a date. Hell, I’m not saying you need to marry her, nor use her to scratch an itch, but I hate to see anybody pining as hard as you do for her.”

  “I don’t pine for her,” he huffed, hating the peevish sound in his voice. “I just like looking at a pretty woman, that’s all.”

  “Well, if that’s true, then I don’t guess you’d mind if anyone else takes a look at her either, do you? Although I could have sworn you wanted to choke Mark this morning when he was flirting with her.”

  “Carrie is not the type of woman who needs somebody making a mistake with her,” Colt said. “I figure life’s been hard enough on her, and she doesn’t need anyone else’s baggage. As busy as we both are, it’s just not the right time.”

  Hunter was quiet for a moment. “There’s something about her that reminds me of my wife, Belle. You know, the kind that’s had it rough, but they don’t go under. They get up every day fighting to make life better for them and those around them. That’s a damn fine trait in anyone, but you wrap that in the package of a pretty woman, and it’s something to be able to claim that for yourself.”

  He did not have a response to that sentiment, knowing that Hunter’s wife was exactly as he described. Hunter was lucky to have Belle and knew it, but then, Colt figured, Belle felt the same about her husband.

  Not wanting to continue down the road of discussing Carrie anymore, he stood and said, “Keep me up on the theft case.” He glanced at the clock on the wall as he walked out of the room and saw that it was almost lunchtime. He hesitated for just a moment and then thought, Fuck it. There’s no reason why I have to avoid Carrie, and anyway…I’m hungry.

  The lunch rush had started, and with spring getting ready to roll into summer, the seasonal crowd had picked up. There were not a lot of vacationers on the Eastern Shore, although the quaint town of Baytown, just south of Easton, had a public beach and lovely inns. But Joe’s Place sat right off the main road that ran through the Eastern Shore, making it a perfect stop for families who needed to get something to eat and have a bathroom break for their kids. The fact that there was a gas station just down the road did not hurt.

  Carrie could not help but look up every time the bell over the door rang, secretly hoping that Colt would walk in. He came in often for lunch, although not as regularly as he did for breakfast. Sometimes he just ordered a sandwich to go, and other times he would have a seat and eat in. Regardless, Joe and Mavis always kept the last stool at the counter next to the wall free in case he wanted it.

  Already today she had had to make sure that two different groups had not taken that seat, one of them grumbling mightily, and she felt sure it would cut into her tip. But no matter, it always made her feel better to know that with the heavy weight of the sheriff’s job on his shoulders he would always have a place to sit down when he came in.

  The bell over the door rang again, and she looked up, seeing Colt walk in. A smile lit her face, and she walked up to him, patted his shoulder. “Welcome back, Sheriff. Are you in a hurry today or can you visit a bit?”

  He looked down at her and smiled widely, and she hoped her knees were locked so that she would not go down on the floor. His smile was just that beautiful. His teeth were straight and white, his jaw square, with a touch of dark shadow forming even though he had shaved that morning. His nose was almost perfect, except she could tell at some point it had been broken, but she only thought that made his face more interesting. She noticed he always smiled at her, and it made her feel special, even though she knew he was just being friendly.

  “I got some time to sit down.”

  She blinked for a second, forgetting what she had asked. “Well, good, because we kept your place open. Have a seat, and I’ll be right there.” Her gaze stayed on the back of him as he walked away, heading toward the far stool at the counter. He was the only man that she thought the back view of him was almost as good as the front, and she sucked in a quick breath before letting it out slowly.

  “You’d better stop drooling,” BettyJo said as she walked by, a sparkle in her eyes.

  Wondering what on earth was wrong with her, she gave a mental shake, fetched a few more plates to deliver to tables, and headed behind the counter. Giving Joe the order for Colt, she caught sight of the big yellow school bus pulling into the parking lot.

  Colt must have seen her staring because he swiveled on his stool and looked out the window as well. “Already?”

  Nodding, she replied, “The kids have some half days here at the end of the school year.”

  They both watched as the door to the school bus opened, and a dark-haired boy hopped down. He shifted his backpack around, then waved to the bus driver and his friends. He then turned and hustled to the front door of the diner, and she could not help but grin as the bell rang and the boy walked in.

  He looked around, met her gaze, and grinned widely as well. He walked straight over to the counter and called out, “Hi, Mom!” The boy hopped up on the stool next to Colt and said, “Hey, Sheriff Hudson.”

  “Hey, Jack. You’re out of school awfully early.”

  “It’s almost the end of the school year! Yesterday we had a field day. Today we had a party. And tomorrow, we help our teacher get the room ready for the summer cleaning.”

  “When are you going to get any learning done?” Colt asked, lifting an eyebrow, pretending to scowl.

  Carrie watched as Jack threw his head back and laughed. “We’ve already had our state assessments, and I passed them with flying colors. I think I’ve had enough learning for one year, don’t you think?”

  She rolled her eyes. “If you’re so smart, how come you haven’t given me a hug since coming in?”

  Jack got up on his knees, balancing on the stool, and leaned over the counter, and she bent forward. She felt his arms wrap around her neck, and she closed her eyes, knowing that was the best feeling in the world. She also knew that the day when he would want to hug his mom in public was soon coming to an end.

  With his arms still around her, she opened her eyes and was surprised to see Colt’s face so close, his gaze penetrating as he stared at the two of them. Not being able to read that look, she pulled back after giving Jack a quick kiss on his forehead. That must have pushed the limit because he wiped his forehead and complained, “Mom!”

  Soon, she delivered Colt’s lunch to him, also setting a plate in front of Jack. Mavis and Joe had called out to him from the back, and he waved with excitement.

  “Just so you know, Jack, Grandma is taking her neighbor to the library this afternoon, and she’ll come by and pick you up when she’s finished. Until then, you’re stuck with me.”

  Jack cut his eyes toward Colt and said, “There are worse places I could be stuck. At least here, I get to have some of Mavis’ apple pie when I want to.”

  Colt chuckled. “Sounds like you’ve got quite a deal going on here.”

  “It’s great! I get as much food as I want, and they love me here.”

  Placing her fists on her hips, Carrie said, “Boy, you might get Mavis’ apple pie, but you’re going to work for it. As soon as the lunch crowd thins, you’re going to help wipe down tables and see what else you can do.”

  Jack shook his head and looked at his mom before cutting his eyes back over to Colt. “Sheriff, isn’t there something about making kids work for their food?”

  Colt adopted a serious expression and said, “I think we can trust your mother to make sure you're not overworked.” Leaning in closer, he whispered loudly, “But, Jack, if you ever think I need to investigate your mom, you let me know.”

  Rolling her eyes again, she tried to ignore the thrill that shot through her at the idea of Colt investigating her. Deciding to walk away before she did somethi
ng foolish like ask him to frisk her and pull out his handcuffs, she headed around the room, checking on her customers, determined to get her mind back on her job. The only problem was that she kept looking back over to the corner of the counter, seeing the best man she had ever met, laughing and talking with her son, who was her favorite person in the whole world. And she smiled.

  3

  A little later, after waving goodbye to Colt, she sent Jack around with a spray bottle of cleanser and a cloth, letting him wipe down some of the tables and seats. She moved into the kitchen where she gathered trays of washed and dried silverware and headed to a booth where she sat down and began to roll the silverware into napkins.

  After a few minutes, she was joined by BettyJo and Mavis, who slid into the booth opposite her. BettyJo’s hands automatically moved to the silverware tray and napkins, starting to roll them like she had done for so many years.

  Mavis, on the other hand, glanced around to see where Jack was before softly asking, “When are you going to let Colt know that you’ve got your eye on him?”

  Her gaze shot up to Mavis. “I’ve known the man for five years since he first rolled back into town. If he hasn’t shown any interest in me by now, I hardly think he’s going to.”

  “He might show interest in you if you gave him any encouragement. But you treat him just like you do everyone else.”

  “What’s wrong with how I treat him?”

  “I didn’t say there was anything wrong with it. You’re friendly with everybody. Everyone who meets you likes you. You’re easy to talk to, and you're easy on the eyes. But you also give off a vibe that says you’re busy, your life is busy, so no one even asks you out.”

  Huffing, she glanced around to make sure Jack was out of earshot. “I am busy. I’m a mom. I’m a working mom. A full-time mom and a full-time waitress. I don’t have time to get gussied up and go trolling for a man in the local bar.”