Out of a Texas Night

by Phyliss Miranda

  If he could do it all over again, he would have never agreed to Deuce’s interrogation of Tommy.

  Brody saw the men’s room sign and went inside to wash his hands.

  When he returned to the vending machine area, for one of the few times in his life, he was pleased to see Sylvie. He would be able to get back to the office in time for whatever asinine ceremony the commissioners wanted to hold but it was his job to be there. He also needed to change into his dress uniform. The weight of his longtime friendship with Deuce was on one shoulder while his responsibilities in the political scene of the sheriff’s department weighed down his other shoulder.

  If Danny Scott wanted to throw his newly found authority around and make sure everyone knew who was the new boss, likely Brody would be back working undercover before the sun went down.

  “Oh, Lieutenant VanZant, I’m so happy to see you,” Sylvie said in a velvety, Southern voice. She rushed out of her seat, circled the table, and threw her arms around his neck, then retreated like she’d done something wrong. “I’m so sorry, I’m just glad to see you.” She glanced down at her iPhone.

  Other than the black mascara accenting the tears in her eyes, Sylvie looked like she always had when he’d seen her with Thelma . . . June Cleaver style.

  “Don’t worry about it. I can use a hug from just about anybody right now.” He smiled for her benefit, certainly not his. After knocking lightly, Brody held Deuce’s door open for Sylvie.

  “Thank you. I brought some clothes.” She took Rainey’s hand and looked up at Brody. “I’m sure you know that she’s rented a hotel room near the hospital, but I don’t think she’s spent a night there. If it wasn’t for the ladies from Kasota Springs, including your sister, coming over and sitting beside Sheriff Cowan, Rainey would never get any rest.” She patted Rainey’s hand. “Isn’t that right, honey?”

  Staring into space, Rainey nodded.

  Brody didn’t want to touch Rainey, fearing Sylvie would pass the friendly gesture along the rumor mill that he was trying to make a pass at Deuce’s wife.

  To hell with the rumor mill!

  Slowly, Brody walked around Sylvie, patted her on the back, and said, “Thank you. Your friendship means a lot.” When he reached Rainey, he put his hands on her shoulders and leaned over and kissed the crown of her head. “Please don’t hesitate to call me or anybody in the sheriff’s department if you need anything. I mean anything at all.”

  Brody rounded the bed, looked at Sylvie, smiled and said, “You, too, Sylvie. I know you’re under a lot of pressure.”

  She got up and hugged him again then stepped back. “Good luck to you. I heard that your meeting today is to announce the interim sheriff. Heard it was Danny Scott. Well, I personally heard it was Danny, and the only deputy with that name is the chief deputy, which makes sense. Where does that leave you, Brody?” Her eyes looked like a poor little puppy wanting a doggie treat.

  “Let’s go out in the hall to talk,” said Brody.

  With his back against the hall wall, he said, “I guess exactly where I’ve been all along. I’ve always been with Bonita County, although I was on loan to the joint task force. I promised Deuce I’d return full time to Kasota Springs, so I presume I’ll continue unless Scott doesn’t need me.” He bit his lower lip. “I’m sorry I have to leave, but I have to get back. If you don’t mind, Sylvie, I’d like to take a minute to go back into Deuce’s room.”

  He’d only taken a couple of steps when Rainey appeared. She nodded then said, “Thank you for being such a loyal friend to Deuce and to me. He may not respond, the doctor said, but they believe he can hear and his brain possibly gets the information but just can’t process it. They truly believe there’s a chance he’ll come out of the coma, but the damage that was done is a coin toss. Thank you for coming, Brody.” She addressed Sylvie more than Brody then bit her lip. “If Deuce could talk, he’d tell both of you how much he loves you guys.”

  A thought hit Brody just as he opened Deuce’s door. He turned back. “Hey, Sylvie, where did you hear about what the doctor said today?”

  Rainey spoke up. “From me. Why?”

  “I was just wondering how it got to Danny Scott so fast.”

  Then it was time for Sylvie to speak up. “He’s really concerned about Deuce. You can tell by the amount of calls he makes to me to check on how Deuce is doing. Everybody needs a friend like that.”

  “You are right about that.” He looked from the teary eyes of Rainey back to the somewhat cheery face of Sylvie. “I’m gonna go in and say good-bye to Deuce then get back to Kasota Springs.”

  He slowly walked to Deuce’s room with several additional thoughts stacked on those already piled high in his mind.

  It took everything in him to go back in to see Deuce, but building up courage, he pushed the door open. He took the chair next to the bed, pulling it as close as possible and still allowing for his long legs.

  “Hey, pard,” he said as if he expected a return greeting. “I guess all cards will be on the table this afternoon when I get back to the office. I’ve been hearing for weeks now that Danny Scott will be your replacement until you get off your lazy butt and back to work.” He took Deuce’s limp hand. ”You know I like Dan—well most of the time—but I might not be able to keep my promise to you to work out of Kasota Springs. I’ve been on a leave, so today is the day I have to let the captain over special crimes know whether I’ll work out of there or stick around here. I’m afraid if you don’t wake up or give me some sign that I need to stick it out here, I might well have to return to the big city.”

  Brody closed his eyes and said a prayer for Deuce and added a line or two for his own needs, never letting go of his friend’s hand.

  “Amen.” Brody squeezed Deuce’s hand. To Brody’s surprise, as he opened his eyes, he would swear he felt a light squeeze from the sheriff.

  Brody squeezed again, just in case it was a knee-jerk reaction, but to his disappointment there was no response.

  As much as he wanted to step outside and scream to both women that he had felt movement, he knew it could be as little as a nerve reaction that meant nothing or it could be a sign that Deuce was unconsciously responding to things around him. He didn’t want to give Rainey false hope.

  Stepping to the nurses’ station, he motioned for Deuce’s nurse to walk with him out of view of the vending machine area. He told her what had happened and that it might well have been his own reaction or prayers Deuce responded to but he felt it was real. Like an idiot, he explained that as a peace officer he had EMT training. She smiled nicely, as if to say, Duh, then thanked him for not getting everyone in an uproar and their hopes up too much. She ended by saying she’d notify the doctor immediately.

  After thanking the nurse, he looked back over his shoulder.

  Rainey sat with her head resting in her folded arms on the table.

  Sylvie was texting to beat the band.

  Exiting the elevator, he headed toward the hospital parking lot and then turned into the closest Quick Stop. After purchasing a bottle of water, he began his trek back to Kasota Springs.

  The return trip gave him plenty of time to think.

  By the time he pulled into town, a zillion thoughts had gone through his head. Brody decided it all boiled down to the fact that just the thought of any type of response from his friend made it possible for Brody to find the internal answer to the question that had been bothering him.

  A friend was a friend to the core and a friend would do what was necessary to help the other one, regardless of the discomfort and inconvenience that might get in the way of the promise.

  True friendships came with unwritten promises, and by damn he’d keep his to Deuce.

  When Brody crossed the railroad tracks leading into town, he had made a decision. All that needed to be done was a call to let everyone know he would continue to be employed as a detective
by Bonita County. He checked the time. If he hurried, he could catch a cup of coffee at Pumpkin’s Café then head to the locker room to change into his uniform so he’d be on time for the meeting at the sheriff’s department. He’d never had to wear his dress uniform except for a parade or a formal event. As a detective, he typically wore regular street clothes, which consisted of a suit, white shirt, and dark tie. Of course, when he was undercover, everything from his hair to his shoes had to fit in with what he was investigating.

  Something was up, because he’d never had to wear his uniform for a departmental meeting.

  No doubt the decision had been made, and he had to get all dressed up for the world to know that Danny Scott had been selected the interim sheriff—and he and the other deputies were being used as a nice backdrop, all dressed up in brown for the announcement.

  Chapter 12

  Avery sat in the corner of Pumpkin’s Café and watched the front door screen. She’d been home from Houston not long, and the majority of her time had been spent stowed away in her father’s study or his law office conference room, drinking hot tea and cussing and discussing the sometimes not mutually agreeable aspects of her new job.

  The café screen slammed, and she looked up. A couple of workers came in and slipped onto stools at the lunch bar.

  She glanced back at the café door and wished she could have had time to find Brody VanZant before the formal meeting at the sheriff’s department. Her shoulders slumped.

  If only she could have had the opportunity to explain why she had been gone and what job she’d accepted and the reason.

  She’d even called the sheriff’s department but didn’t dare leave a message.

  One thing Avery didn’t want was for him to learn all or part of the truth from the gossip and the media. Typically, they were never accurate, but just the main part that would be true likely would sever their friendship forever. He’d never trust her again.

  In addition, there was the reason she had deliberately kept her last name a secret. He’d likely understand why she’d do it to the public, but not him. She didn’t know his background except he was a deputy and his sister and family owned the BBQ café. That was all she knew about him. As far as her reason to be reluctant to give her last name, first off if he was really interested in her, he could contact Mesa and find out.

  Secondly, and most likely, he wasn’t interested in her beyond a few kisses at a festival. Oh, and she didn’t want to forget she’d brought him down with a rather difficult hold that led to some fantastic kissing that made the ones in the park child’s play.

  All of her thoughts boiled down to one. She’d been used too many times because she came from one of the affluent, founding families of Kasota Springs.

  Avery stared out the window and watched every parking space around the square fill up.

  Gossip lines and news media weren’t what she wanted. But from the looks of the TV station vans and other vehicles with the logo, every news organization within three hundred miles had come to town. News representatives with mics and cameras were standing everywhere although it would be a while before the press conference.

  Unfortunately, the dress uniforms in Bonita County were tan shirts, black ties, and black pants, while everything she had in her closet was just the opposite. Earlier when she went by her house, a package awaited her with an authorized dress uniform for Bonita County. It hung in a locker in the dressing room.

  As hard as she tried to focus on today and not the time since she had left for Houston, she could only think about the past. Much of it way beyond the time she’d been gone, much of it back to when her partner had been killed and her part in it, but all of it ended up with Brody.

  When she left for Houston and told her dad that if he found a job for her that’d be good, she didn’t care even if it was at one of the cafés, the DQ, or his office. Avery just needed a job when she returned. Nowhere in her imagination did she ever believe the job would be in the sheriff’s department, although she was more than qualified.

  She noticed Brody’s county vehicle drive up and park at the side of the courthouse. It was about a half an hour before the meeting of all of the sheriff’s department employees with the county commissioners and her father.

  VanZant walked directly toward Pumpkin’s Café. Avery looked around to find a back exit out of the cafe when she realized he had opened the screen door and walked in.

  The thought of leaving vanished as she looked up, mesmerized by Brody in his uniform. Up to now, she’d only seen him in his running clothes and costume as a pirate.

  As hard as she tried, her gaze remained on the strappingly built, clean-shaven man. She’d recognized he worked out and was well built, but his long hair and unshaven look had masqueraded much of his awesome looks.

  Pulling her hands to her cheeks, she prayed he didn’t see her because they didn’t have time to clear the air before they had to go into one of the hardest meetings she’d ever been to in her life. Luckily, she was in street clothes, but that created another problem, because she had to get to the sheriff’s department ladies’ restroom and change clothes before the meeting.

  Her mouth dried and her heart beat faster as he noticed her and walked directly toward her.

  “Good morning, Avery. Could I sit and have a cup of coffee with you?”

  Avery swallowed hard and barely nodded as he slipped into the seat across from her.

  The owner, Miss Clara, was right on the spot with a mug of coffee. “Can I get you anything else, Mr. Hunk of Burnin’ Love?”

  “This will do me fine, darlin’.” He slipped her a five. “This should cover our tab.”

  Clara lowered her head, probably to cover her smile, and scurried her round little body off to fill other customers’ cups.

  “I’m glad to see you, Avery.” He sipped at his coffee. “At least we’re in a place you’re not likely to try a takedown on me.” A jovial laugh came from deep inside. The words were strong and sexual. How could two weeks make such a difference in a man?

  “I’m glad to see you. I’ve tried to contact you, but—”

  “I never got a message.” A frown crept over his eyebrows.

  “I didn’t leave a message. It was kinda an afterthought.” She twisted her cup. “I mean, I thought if you weren’t busy, we might have coffee and talk. Now here we are.”

  Brody’s phone rang. “I’m sorry,” he said as he answered.

  Avery tried not to listen to his conversation and let her mind wander to her feeling stupid and insecure, which typically wasn’t one of her problems—or at least not until she had let her partner get killed to save her. Why today? Likely because Brody and the whole Panhandle would know she had joined the Bonita County Sheriff’s Department, and not everyone would be happy, especially Danny Scott.

  Being that just about everything was available on the internet, there was little doubt that her becoming a part of the department would bring up her past with her previous job. There’d be questions she’d prefer not to answer. Whether they were asked today or later, she must tell Brody the full truth before he got shards of the truth, which never pieced together as the full and reasonable fact.

  She must tell Brody first. She owed it to him.

  After sliding his phone back into his pocket, he said, “I’m so sorry, Avery, but I’ve got to get over to the office right now. Danny Scott wants to talk to me because he’s sure he’s being named the interim sheriff and I’m sure he wants to make certain I’m on his side. We’ve worked together a long time. I would have thought by now he’d know that although I don’t always like his approach to things, I’ll respect him as the interim sheriff.”

  She wanted to stand up and scream, “No, don’t go yet! You need to know the truth!” but she knew she’d wasted too much time and it was much too late to explain anything to him.

  Brody scooted from his bench seat, laid his
hand on hers, and said, “Hey, maybe when this circus is over, we can have coffee. Even dinner?”

  She gave him a weak smile.

  His fingers squeezed hers. “See you later.”

  Pulling to his full six-foot, four-inch height, he shot her a final sexy-as-hell smile and headed for the door.

  Avery ducked her head and rested her forehead in her hands.

  Was she ready for professional rebellion?

  She couldn’t watch him walk away and only whispered into her hands, “I doubt if you’ll want to even talk to me by dinner time.”

  * * * *

  Brody headed for the courthouse, although he could barely work his way through the crowd of reporters, photographers, and live news media trucks and setups. He couldn’t remember the last time he had had microphones thrust at him with questions flying around.

  “Lieutenant VanZant, do you know the purpose of today’s press conference?” asked a local reporter who Brody actually trusted, but in fairness he couldn’t answer her truthfully.

  “Gail, I have no idea, but if I did, you know I couldn’t divulge it.” He deliberately shot her a smile that might suggest forgiveness.

  Brody squirreled through the crowd and made it to the open space around the side to the back of the building and went directly up to the hall leading to the back conference room of the sheriff’s department where all of his cohorts were gathered around the two six-foot tables.

  After taking or giving a fist bump, handshake, or slap on the back from nearly everybody there, he took a seat between Chief Deputy Danny Scott and Deputy Eddie Jessup, who typically worked dispatch along with Thelma and Raylynn, aside from other office duties.

  Once settled in, Danny leaned into Brody and said, “Well, it’s time, so get used to this, VanZant. I promise I’ll give you any case you want because you’ve always had my back.” He twisted the cap off the pen laid out for each person. “Hey, there’s Thelma Crawford over there,” Scott said as if Brody didn’t know her. Then Scott said, “It’s just unusual that she’d be here.”