"You'll be the best mayor ever."
She meant that. He would do an amazing job.
"Let's not get crazy. There are things I need to learn about the job."
He underestimated himself.
"You know most of it because you've dealt with mayors throughout your career. Anything else I'm sure you can learn."
Laughing, Tanner pushed away the empty dessert plate. "Maybe this old dog will learn some new tricks."
"I'm rather fond of your old ones."
He leaned forward; his lips close to her ear. "If you're thinking what I'm thinking, let me pay the bill and we can get out of here."
Well...they did vow to keep to themselves.
"Ravish me, cowboy," Maddie whispered. "We've got one more night in The Big Easy. And I'm not playing hard to get."
Living life to the max.
Election Day...
Tanner couldn't believe all of the people that had come out to support his campaign for mayor. Not only local friends, but loved ones from miles away as well. His son Chris was there with his lovely girlfriend Ella, along with Logan Wright and his wife Ava. Jared and Jason sent their well wishes but unfortunately couldn't make it because of work. Dare Turner and his wife Rayne had also stopped by.
His daughter Emily was sick with the flu, but Tanner had spoken to her earlier in the day and she was sending out strong positive vibes for his win. Amanda was home asleep - cuddled with her new puppy Foster - and with a sitter, but she'd wished her daddy good luck and given him the thumbs up sign. She'd made him promise to wake her up if he won.
Everyone had gathered at the local sports bar as they awaited the voting results. There was a huge banner hanging from the ceiling that said "Tanner Marks - Springwood's next mayor." He was positive that Maddie was responsible for that. She'd taken to calling him mayor these last few weeks. That's how sure she was that he was going to win.
He wasn't as convinced.
Could it be this easy? Hopping from one career to another? A few months ago, he would have told anyone that suggested he run crazy but here he was, hoping to win an election. The last election he'd won was captain of the football team in high school, and that was a damn long time ago.
Maddie kept telling him that he was extremely popular in Springwood and that every person she talked to was going to vote for him. But what if they were only saying that because they didn't want to seem rude and hurt her feelings? What if he lost...in a landslide?
"You look like you're about to lose your lunch."
Those sentiments came straight out of Logan's mouth. The ladies had gathered around a table waiting for the election results and the men had gathered near the bar and the televisions.
"It's a possibility," Tanner admitted, taking another gulp of his ice water. They'd ordered several appetizers but he was far too nervous to eat. "I could lose badly tonight."
Chris laughed and shook his head. "Are you being serious? You're a shoo-in to win. The straw poll over at the barbecue place has you way ahead. You're not going to lose. You're going to win, Dad."
"But if you do lose, you can always come work with me," Logan said, tongue in cheek. "Drown your sorrows in a cold case, for example."
Logan had taken the news that Tanner wasn't going to accept the job offer with his usual good grace, but that didn't stop him from busting his friend's balls every now and then.
"Dad's moved on and up," Chris said. "I think he's done with law enforcement."
"When you do win, what's the first thing you're going to do as the new mayor?" Dare asked. "Run that old weasel of a mayor out of town?"
That had crossed Tanner's mind more than once. He was sure that not all of Pete's business dealings were on the up and up.
But he had more important items on his list. The very first...
"Hire Sam as the sheriff," Tanner replied. "And pay him what he's worth. In fact, pay all of the deputies and other first responders a decent wage. That's what I ran on and that's what I'm going to do."
"He'll do a great job," Chris said. "Maybe you could hire Ken Smith as a deputy. He might be ready to leave all of that Florida sunshine."
"Very funny, son. I doubt that Ken would ever want to move someplace where it gets below seventy degrees on a regular basis. I did talk to him a couple of days ago. He's decided not to run again for sheriff. He's going to look for a computer programming job. He says that law enforcement isn't for him."
"He's probably made the right decision," Dare said.
"I feel for him," Tanner replied. "He was thrown into the job with no training. I think he'd be okay if he had someone to guide him."
"Like Sam," Logan said with a grin. "He's good with young deputies."
"Like Sam," Tanner agreed. "He's a born leader. He'll be a great sheriff for Springwood."
He was happy to pass the baton. That was the way of life and it was time. He couldn't go on forever, and frankly, he didn't want to. He'd had a great career and accomplished so much but there were other ways to help his community.
"Did Smith say anything about the case against Leo Gordon and Randy Knight?" Logan asked, popping a cheese fry into his mouth.
"He did. The DNA from the skin under Bibi's fingernails belongs to Gordon. He, of course, is saying - or his lawyer is - that there's nothing unusual about a husband's skin under a wife's fingernails. Because of...you know...sex."
"He might win that argument," Dare said, his expression fierce, but then he was always in a state of general grouchiness. His wife even called him grouchy bear. The guys had never let him forget it, either. "I'm always shocked by the twisted logic of criminals. Sometimes they even get away with it."
"It's a possibility," Tanner agreed. "So far his strategy seems to be pointing the finger at Randy Knight. If they were friends before, they aren't now. They're each blaming the other. It just might work to put enough reasonable doubt into a jury. Leo is also insinuating that Ashley Monroe could be behind the murder. A woman scorned thing."
Ashley Monroe had eventually been found in Palm Springs staying with friends. She steadfastly maintained that she’d never argued with Bibi and that she wasn’t having an affair with Leo. Tanner believed her. There was no evidence that she’d had anything to do with Bibi’s death.
"I'm guessing that's their plan," Chris said. "They might still be friends and working together, if you know what I mean. I've seen crazier things."
Now that Tanner had some distance from the case, he was convinced that Leo had planned to kill Bibi that night. The story he’d given Randy about simply wanting to tell her about the divorce didn’t hold water. It wouldn’t be a stretch to think that Randy also knew what Leo had planned for his wife and was an active participant.
Chris's cell rang and he pulled it from his pocket. "It's Annie. I want to tell her goodnight. I'll be right back."
Tanner's son headed outside to get some quiet, leaving Tanner with Logan and Dare.
"So are you okay?" Logan asked, tossing a glance over his shoulder to be sure that Chris was out of earshot. "No more mid-life crisis?"
Dare's brows shot up. "You were having a mid-life crisis? Aren't you a little late for that?"
Shit, these guys would be the death of him.
"I'm planning on living a very long life," Tanner replied, sarcasm in his tone. "And I wasn't having a mid-life crisis, asshole. I was just in flux as to what direction to take my career."
"It sounds like a mid-life crisis to me," Logan said with his patented grin. "But I guess I could be wrong."
"You were wrong."
Logan didn't need to know that both Tanner and Maddie had been at crossroads in their lives. But they'd hiked through the rough patch and were firmly on the other side. He knew what he wanted and didn't want, and Maddie was living more in the moment than he'd ever seen her.
It was damn fun to watch, too. They were even putting together a joint bucket list. Things they wanted to do together, and as a family.
Dare rolled his eyes. "Can
you imagine Logan having a mid-life crisis? He's already a major pain in the ass. He'd be completely intolerable."
"Fuck you," Logan replied with a smirk. "I am not intolerable. Just ask Ava."
"That poor woman," Dare lamented. "I can't imagine what she goes through on a daily basis putting up with you. She's a saint."
"All our wives are saints," Tanner corrected. "They're way too good for us, but luckily they don't see it that way."
Chuckling, Logan raised his longneck to his wife, who was deep in conversation with Ella.
"Speak for yourself. Ava tells me that she's a saint all the time."
Now that he was thinking about it, Tanner had heard Ava do just that on a few occasions. He did think that Logan was exaggerating about the all the time, though.
He felt a tug on his shirtsleeve and looked down to find Maddie at his elbow.
"Look on television," she urged. "The returns are in."
The bartender zoomed up the volume and the entire place seemed to get quiet almost immediately. The local news anchor was speaking, saying that the turnout for the election was record-breaking. The votes flashed onto the screen and Tanner had to concentrate to be able to comprehend what they meant. There was his name with a number and Pete's name with a number as well.
"You won," Maddie crowed, throwing her hands in the air and then around Tanner. "You won. You're the new mayor."
A roar swelled up from the crowd and a bewildered Tanner found himself the recipient of many handshakes, hugs, and slaps on the back. He kept craning his head to look at the television screen, which had turned the vote count into a news crawl at the bottom.
He'd won. By a landslide. It wasn't even close.
Tanner was the new mayor of Springwood.
"I'm so proud of you and I love you so much," Maddie whispered as she pulled him down for a kiss. "You're going to be the best mayor this town has ever seen, Tanner Marks."
He was going to try.
Logan lifted his bottle. "A toast to Tanner and his new job. Springwood is a lucky town. And when he's done here, it's on to the state legislature and then Washington."
A cheer went up from the crowd and Tanner shook his head to try and take it all in. Mayor? State legislature? Washington D.C.?
Well...why the hell not? Springwood wasn't the only place where people needed help. If this mayor thing worked out...
As long as he had the love of his life by his side anything was possible. His beautiful Maddie. She was a wonderful mother and wife. He loved her more each day and he was fucking glad that he'd been given a second chance at love with her. He'd never take it - or her - for granted.
Together they'd savor every moment.
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed Bitter Justice. There will be more stories in the Cowboy Justice Association series. Coming soon.
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About the Author
Olivia Jaymes is a wife, mother, lover of sexy romance and cozy mysteries, and caffeine addict. She lives with her husband, son, and two spoiled dogs in central Florida and spends her days typing on her computer with a canine on her lap.
She is currently working on a new cozy mystery series – A Ravenmist Whodunnit - in addition to her other ongoing romance series.
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Bitter Justice (Cowboy Justice Association Book 12) Page 18