Searching in the freezer, he found leftover chicken casserole from one of the women in the county who figured a single man was a good catch and would sometimes come by to offer him a cooked dish. Often it appeared they were offering more than the food so he generally turned them down, but this time it was left at the station for him so he did not have a chance to refuse. Now, he was glad. Nuking it, he carried it and his beer into the dining room.
Unlike the sunroom, this room still held his grandmother’s table, complete with six chairs and her now-empty china cabinet. He ate quickly, glad that the casserole was in a plastic container that did not need to be returned to its owner. Rinsing it out along with his utensils, he left them in the sink and grabbed another beer, deciding to watch the ballgame on TV.
He walked through the foyer, past the half-bathroom and the door leading into the study, making his way into the family room. Hardwood floors covered the entire first floor of the house with the exception of the kitchen that had ceramic tile. His grandmother had had a full rug that covered the center of the family room, but it was also long gone.
The family room only contained a sofa, a recliner and end table where he could set his beer, and an entertainment table with a flat-screen TV perched on top. No more lamps, knickknacks, or pictures on the wall were present.
After an hour of TV, he clicked it off, walked back into the kitchen to toss the empty bottle into the recycle bin, and double-checked the security of the house. Climbing the wooden stairs, he walked to the master bedroom, ignoring the three other bedrooms that were completely empty.
The master bedroom contained a king-sized bed, matching dresser and chest of drawers, and two nightstands with matching lamps. A dark blue and grey patterned comforter was on the bed, along with a dark blue rug on the floor. It was the only room in the house that looked complete. It was not that he spent a lot of time in the master bedroom, but sleep was often elusive, and he found that having the room comfortable seemed to bring him a modicum of peace.
He walked through the bedroom into the master bathroom. After a shower, he wrapped the towel around his hips and stared for a moment into the mirror, not seeing his reflection, but looking at the bathroom.
Full soaking tub, wide shower, double sink, separate toilet, walk-in closet, and a separate linen closet. It had not looked like this when his grandparents lived in the house, but his grandfather had the foresight and his grandmother had the dream that Colt would one day be able to bring his bride to this house and live here. That had been their dream, and honestly, his too.
Well, that dream was shot all to hell. His grandparents died before they ever had a chance to meet his wife, but, in his opinion, that was a good thing. If she hated being a military wife, she sure as fuck would have hated being the wife of a rural sheriff, living in the middle of nowhere.
Frustrated with where his thoughts were going, he brushed his teeth, whipped off the towel and pulled on boxers. Climbing into bed, he read for several minutes before flipping off the light and sliding under the covers.
Closing his eyes, he saw the image of Carrie, with her friendly smile and sexy curves, and how she made every room come alive. A flash of her in his house hit him, and he squeezed his eyes tight. Thinking of what would never be was a surefire way to spend a restless night, and Lord knows he had had enough of those.
Colt looked around the room, proud to be part of this close group. Once a month, the heads of the other law enforcement departments on the Eastern Shore of Virginia met to discuss concerns, share information, and simply enjoy the camaraderie. The group consisted of him, Mitch Evans, the Police Chief of Baytown, Hannah Freeman, the Police Chief of Easton, Liam Sullivan, the Sheriff of Accawmacke County, Wyatt Newman, the Police Chief of Manteague, and Dylan Hunt, the Police Chief of Seaside.
Today, the topic of conversation centered around a string of robberies in the two counties.
“I’ve had one break-in recently,” Mitch reported. “It was mostly small electronics, some cash, and some jewelry that were taken.”
Hannah nodded and said, “I’ve only had one in the town limits, but I heard some people in town talking about friends that live in the county.”
Wyatt shook his head and said, “I’ve had no reports in Manteague, but honest to God, don’t know that anybody in my town has much worth stealing.”
Colt looked over at Dylan and Liam, his eyebrow lifted in silent question.
Dylan also shook his head but said, “No reports so far. But the couple of hotels we’ve got will soon be filled with vacationers and weekend fishermen. I’ve already talked to the two hotel managers to make sure they increase security.”
Liam, the sheriff of the county just north of North Heron, had a much larger area to police like Colt did. “The reports I’m getting are from the southern area of the county, which may mean that it’s someone in North Heron who’s crossing the county line to do their robberies.”
Colt added, “It concerns me because there is a directness and purposefulness to it. They’re too similar to be unrelated, and yet dissimilar enough not to point to the same person doing the robberies.”
“Are we looking at gang activity?” Mitch asked.
“What are you thinking?” Hannah asked.
“Well,” Mitch continued, “it seems random and yet organized. What’s being taken is something that younger people could take, but maybe they have someone who’s behind it all.”
“You all know that we’ve got several Blood gangs in my county that we’re dealing with. It’s only a matter time before it moves into North Heron if it hasn’t already,” Liam noted.
Colt nodded. “I suggest we all send some of our officers out to start questioning anyone who might have an idea of what’s going on. We’ve got to do some digging on this. I’ve got Hunter on the pawn shop robbery, and I’ll go out there this afternoon with him. I want to stay on top of this.”
Their conversation moved into discussing budgets and upcoming events as well as the local politics that affected their jobs and districts. As the meeting came to an end, the gathering left the Sheriff’s Office, deciding where to go for lunch, since that was their tradition.
“It’s no debate for me,” Mitch said. “It’s got to be Joe’s Place.”
Liam agreed, saying, “You can’t beat Joe’s cooking.”
“I wouldn’t want to miss the pretty smile of Carrie,” Dylan said, grinning.
Colt scowled at Dylan’s comment, jealously shooting through him, then cast a quick glance toward Hannah. Her smile was tight, not reaching her eyes. He wondered how Dylan could be so blind, not seeing Hannah’s subtle interest. Hell, considering he had been interested in Carrie for years, he had no business trying to analyze anyone else’s love life…or lack thereof.
He pushed through the door first, the bell ringing over his head, immediately drawing Carrie’s eyes. Her smile lit her face as it always did, then her eyes moved to the side as she watched the others walk-in.
She exclaimed, “Joe and Mavis! You’d better watch out, it’s not only the long arm of the law, but a whole lotta arms walking in!”
Joe and Mavis called out their greetings from the kitchen, BettyJo waved from behind the counter, and once everyone had greeted Carrie, she showed them to a table. Colt found that he hated not being able to take his single seat at the end of the bar, instead having to be at a big roundtable in the middle of the restaurant. Taking their drink orders, he felt Carrie’s presence standing right next to him. The others gave their orders first, then her hand landed on his shoulder as she asked, “Sheriff Hudson? What would you like?”
All he could think of was, ‘You. I want you.’ Instead, he coughed to clear his throat and ordered sweet tea. She turned to leave, and he looked up, seeing the others smiling at him.
“What?” he all but growled.
Dylan shook his head and said, “If you don’t get in there, you’re a fool…and Colt, I know you’re no fool.”
“I’m not the only one,�
� he muttered. Scowling at the others, he hoped it would shut them up. The last thing he wanted was for Carrie to hear them joking about the two of them. Soon, she and BettyJo brought over their plates. Carrie held on to his until last, once again placing her hand on his shoulder as she set the plate in front of him. Her fingers gave a little squeeze, and she said, “Hope you all enjoy.”
As she came back around later to check on them, Hannah asked, “How’s Jack?”
Carrie’s face lit as it always did when she talked about her son. “It’s the last day of school, and he’s excited. I can’t believe he’s starting middle school next year.”
“He’s a fine ballplayer,” Mitch said.
Colt could have sworn a concerned look crossed her face, quickly hidden behind another bright smile. The group finished eating, and Hannah, Dylan, Wyatt, and Liam said their goodbyes first. As he and Mitch stood, Mitch shook his hand, lowered his voice, and said, “Colt, we’ve been friends for years. I wouldn’t blow smoke up your ass. Carrie is a good woman, worthy of a good man.”
“Mitch, she’s friendly to everyone. She’s never given me any reason to think I’m different.”
Mitch cocked his head to the side. “And why do you think that is?”
“Probably because she doesn’t care anything about a man with a heavy job, an empty house, and baggage.”
Shaking his head slowly, Mitch said, “You’re a better detective than that, Colt. I’d say it’s probably because she thinks she doesn’t deserve you.”
“Why would she think a fool thing like that?”
“Asking why about a woman is a dumbass thing to ask, Colt. You ought to know that.” Mitch paused for a second, his eyes darting over Colt’s shoulder to see Carrie in the back with Joe and Mavis. “All I know is you could be missing out on the greatest thing that could ever happen to you if you don’t get in there and let her know that she’s worthy.”
Mitch walked out the door, and Colt stood rooted to the floor, watching him leave. Still stunned from Mitch’s words, he gave himself a shake and headed for the door, but a hand on his arm stopped him. He turned around, looking down into Carrie’s face.
“I need to talk to you, Sheriff Hudson...um…as a coach.”
“Sure. What can I do for you?”
“I know everyone is saying that Jack is a good baseball player for his age, but he mentioned that you said he should have a pitching net. I don’t know if that’s something that I can afford—”
“I already looked into them, and I can get one for about twenty dollars at Walmart.”
He watched as she blinked, her mouth opening slightly, a blush hitting her cheeks. “Oh, I thought they were much more expensive than that. I’m sorry. I should have checked into it first. That’ll be easy for me to—”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m getting him one for his birthday.”
Her brows lowered in confusion, and she repeated, “His birthday?”
“He’s got one in a few weeks, right?”
Nodding, she said, “Yes, but you don’t have to get him anything. I can get—”
“I wouldn’t have mentioned it to him if I hadn’t planned on getting it for him. I just figured his birthday was a good time since it’s near the start of summer vacation.”
She finally seemed to come out of her shocked stupor. “Seriously, Sheriff Hudson, you don’t have to get him anything—”
“Aren’t I invited to his party?”
This seemed to shock her once again, and her eyes widened. He discovered he loved the fact that he had her off balance.
“Well, he’s just having a small party. Some friends and a few others.”
Grinning, he said, “Okay. I count as both a friend and an other.” He looked down and saw her hand was still on his arm, and she snatched it back as though burned.
“Um…okay. If you want to come, that’s fine. I’ll let you know when it’s going to be, but you don’t have to bring a present—”
“Don’t worry about it, Carrie. I’m coming to the party, and I’ll bring him the pitching net as my gift to him.” With that, he walked out, a smile on his face, deciding that his friends were right. Maybe it was time to let her know that he wanted to be in her life.
5
Carrie stood behind the counter at the diner, still trying to process how she went from questioning Colt about the net, concerned about its cost, to him informing her that he was not only going to buy it for Jack but planned on showing up to Jack’s birthday party. She was so caught up in her own thoughts, she did not notice Belle walk in until she slid onto the stool right in front of her.
Carrie had met her when Belle came into Joe’s Place with Hunter one day and they struck up a conversation. Belle was extraordinarily pretty, her dark hair pulled back from her face, tied with a colorful ribbon that matched the nursing scrubs that she wore. She was also extraordinarily sweet, with a soft voice, caring manner, and it was not hard to imagine her excelling in her chosen profession of working with the aged.
Since Belle worked at a nursing home not too far from Joe’s Place, Carrie saw her often, and they had become friends. Through their many conversations, she discovered that Belle had not had an easy upbringing, growing up desperately poor in a mobile home park in Baytown. During the previous summer, Belle had met Hunter, their romance had moved fast, and they had married last fall.
Belle waved her hand in front of Carrie and laughed. “Hello? Are you in there?”
Blinking, she greeted, “Hey! Sorry…I was lost in thought.”
The afternoon crowd had thinned out, and Mavis and BettyJo sidled up to either side of Carrie. “What were you and the Sheriff talking about?”
Sighing, she said, “I needed to talk to him about a pitching net.”
Obviously not what the other women were expecting, she caught their scrunched-nose questioning gazes and chuckled. “Jack loves going to the AL baseball practices and games, and the coaches tell him that he’s really good. He goes outside almost every afternoon after school and practices throwing an old baseball against our fence. Last night, he mentioned that Sheriff Hudson told him that he should get a pitching net.”
“What on earth is that?” BettyJo asked.
“I didn’t have time to look it up last night, but according to Jack, it’s a special kind of net that you can pitch into. It gives someone a chance to practice their pitches, is soft enough to not mess up the ball, and has a target on it so they can practice their accuracy.” Her gaze held no acrimony when she said, “I had no idea how much was going to cost and seeing Sheriff Hudson today reminded me that I wanted to check with him. If it was going to be expensive, then I was going to need to let Jack down easy so that he wouldn’t expect it.”
“God, pinching pennies is so hard, isn’t it?” Belle asked, sighing heavily.
Carrie knew that Belle understood and nodded.
“What did Colt say?” Mavis asked.
“He told me that I can get one at Walmart for only about twenty dollars. That was much less than I thought, so I breathed a sigh of relief thinking that I can get it for Jack’s birthday, but then Colt told me he was getting it for Jack’s birthday.”
“Well, good,” BettyJo said. “That way you’ll know he’ll get a good one.”
“I don’t know why he’d get it for us at all,” she said, throwing her hands up to the side. “I know he’s a coach, but he doesn’t buy all the kids something like that. On top of that, he informed me that he’s coming to Jack’s party.” The other three women shared a smile and glances. “What?”
Mavis nodded. “I knew that boy had been interested in you for a long time. I just can’t believe it’s taken him this long to do something about it.”
Rolling her eyes, she said, “It’s hardly like he asked me out on a date. He likes my son and knows I can’t afford a lot for baseball. He’s just helping out, which I admit makes me feel weird. But since I know the nets don’t cost that much, I won’t worry about it.”
“If h
e’s just helping out, why is he coming to Jack’s party?” BettyJo asked, tapping her red painted fingernail on the counter.
“Do you like him?” Belle asked, her voice soft, and her eyes kind.
She looked down at the counter for a moment, pulling all the thoughts slamming into her together. “What’s not to like? He’s handsome. Has a good job. Works with kids.”
Just then, the front door opened with a bang and Jack came running in, having just gotten off the school bus. Throwing his hands into the air, he yelled, “That’s it! I’m done with elementary school! I am officially a middle school student!”
Laughing, she walked around the counter as Joe, Mavis, and BettyJo clapped for Jack. She was thrilled that, given the occasion, even her son did not mind a huge hug in public on his last day of elementary school.
“Remember what you promised, Mom. Joe is supposed to fix me the greatest ice cream sundae of all time to celebrate.”
“Already working on it, boy!” Joe called from the back.
BettyJo ruffled Jack’s hair before moving on to serve a few of the afternoon customers, and Mavis went into the kitchen, saying she had some apple pies to bake.
Jack climbed up onto a stool where he could see Joe working on the sundae in the back. In a moment, Carrie set a gigantic bowl in front of her son, wondering if he would be able to finish it all. Chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream. Strawberry syrup, chocolate syrup, and whipped cream with a cherry on top. He immediately dove in, and she smiled before walking back down the counter toward Belle.
“Carrie, I asked you earlier if you like Colt, and you gave me a litany of some of the things about him that anyone would like. What do you really see?”
Our Time (Baytown Boys Book 11) Page 4