“Rocky.” Conner’s voice snaps out of my haze, and I let the asshole go, taking a step back.
“Maybe I should finish this one off? Especially since you’re one of the victims,” Abby suggests, and I angrily nod.
I walk Conner into my office and pace around while he sits down on my couch.
“None of this makes sense.”
“I know.” He sounds dejected. “There are some fucked-up people in the world.”
“But to do all this because they’re bored? That is beyond stupid.”
“People are stupid, too.”
I turn on him. “How are you so fucking calm right now?”
“I’m not calm, but you’re so worked up that I look Zen compared to you.”
I plonk down next to him, trying to compose myself. Something doesn’t feel right about all this.
“There is more to this. They look so fucking smug, like they got away with something. But we have them arrested! We caught them red-handed! What the hell could they have gotten away with?”
Conner rests his head on my shoulder. “Maybe they’re not right in the head?”
“Clearly, they’re not. But … I just have this niggling feeling that we’re missing something. There is more to this than boredom. Why target you? Why come at you so aggressively? Why did they want you to leave? I mean, if they were toying with you for fun, why try get you to leave Midsummer?”
“I don’t know. Maybe after the harsh reality of prison time sets in, they’ll have a better answer for us.”
I shake my head, still unable to work out what I’m missing, and it’s driving me crazy.
“Rocky, you need to relax. I can practically hear the gears in your head turning right now.”
“I’m fucking pissed.”
“Then try to get un-pissed because, as far as I’m concerned, this is finally over. I’m no longer in danger, and there is no reason for me to leave now.”
I take a deep breath, needing to force myself to relax. Conner is right. If there is one silver lining to this, then it’s that.
“Love was pretty excited about our trip, so maybe we can still take a few days to travel.”
And now I’m frowning.
“But it doesn’t have to be next week,” he promises, lifting his head from my shoulder then kissing me gently on the lips. “Thank you for saving me again.”
“Again?”
“Yeah, you saved me that first night I stayed in Midsummer when King Alder tried to carjack me.”
“Shit, that feels like a lifetime ago now.”
“It does, doesn’t it? But that night, you were an asshole to me. So, my thanks was pretty simple. But I can promise you a better thank you tonight once we get back to yours.”
I chuckle, liking where this is going. “Now that, I can get on board with.”
I kiss Conner back then get to my feet, grabbing my badge from on top of my desk where I had thrown it earlier. “Let me call Bell to check on River, and then I need to get cleaned up before River sees me.”
“I need to get back to the carnival. I promised Mayor Full—”
“You need to help me get cleaned up first, and then we’ll both head back there.”
He slowly smiles. “Okay, you’re the boss.”
Liking the sound of that title from Conner, I lean over and give him another kiss, relief slowly taking some of that pressure weighing down over my shoulders, despite that nagging feeling still itching along the back of my mind that I’m missing something.
Chapter Thirteen
“What are you doing?” I tiredly mumble as I come downstairs to find Conner sitting at the dining room table with his laptop open in front of him.
I woke up alone and immediately worried that something was wrong. After everything that’s happened lately, I’m not surprised that he’s having trouble sleeping. However, I am surprised that I didn’t awake when he left the bed. Most of the time, I’m a light sleeper.
“River was right.”
“About what?” I ask, moving behind Conner and looking over him to see footage of the Sunshine Carnival paused on the Ferris wheel. Probably some of the last footage he got before the incident.
By the time we made it back, the sun was almost setting, and we got there right in time to enjoy the fireworks with River before we suffered her excited chatter for the entire car ride home as she gave us a step-by-step report of her day.
I place my hands on his shoulders and massage the tense muscles there.
“Shit, that feels good,” he moans as he leans into my touch.
“What was River right about?”
Digging into a particularly stiff knot, I smile when he practically melts under me.
“Fuck! Your hands are magic.”
“Conner,” I growl, pausing my motions and eliciting a new moan from him now, one made in frustration.
“She was right about you snoring! I’ve never heard it before, but I guess you finally let yourself fall into a deep sleep or something last night. I thought there was a train station nearby.”
I laugh, kneading his back again. “Is that a problem?”
“Not unless your small town doesn’t sell earplugs.”
“Funny,” I grumble, giving him a friendly shove as I move away from him and head into the kitchen to turn the coffeemaker on.
Seeing it already made and hot is a strange feeling. I’ve never had someone else turn it on before, but each time Conner has been up before me, he’s done it. It’s a nice feeling to realize I’m not alone anymore.
“I’m heading back to the carnival today with Love for the final day. There isn’t as much going on, since it doesn’t even open until after lunch so everyone can go to church, but I need more footage if I’m going to make a decent video.”
“You’re going back?”
“Well, yeah. This was the whole reason Mayor Fuller wanted me here. Though, I think she really wanted me to showcase the artwork and the presentation that I totally missed.”
“The art initiative?”
“Yeah, she wanted people to know about it since that was what started the Sunshine Carnival in the first place.”
“According to many people, that is the boring part of the carnival.” I’m certain if Mia and River had continued on expressing their love of the carnival the other night, the art initiative would have been one of the last things on their list.
“I love artwork, and it would have been nice to showcase some indie artists from here. Pretty sure they would have loved the exposure, too. I think I can guess your answer to this, taking into account your sparse walls, but are you an art lover?”
I sit next to him and take a sip of my black coffee. “I can appreciate that a lot of people get joy out of artwork, and I think it’s great that some who express themselves that way can make a living. But I don’t understand how you can figure out how much art is worth. It’s all just paint on a canvas to me.” I shrug.
“Midsummer boasts some incredible canvas artists. Mayor Fuller sent me a list of them. Just googling them hurt my bank account.”
I snort while shaking my head. “I prefer photography.”
“Yeah, photography of Midsummer,” Conner says with a laugh.
“What’s wrong with that?”
“You can just look out your window and get the views you have on your walls.”
“But now I don’t have to go to that effort,” I point out, not caring that he thinks this is funny.
Conner shakes his head and shifts his attention back to his laptop.
“You heard anything about Bevis and Butthead on whether or not they explained what the hell they were thinking?”
I grin at the names he’s come up with. Fitting.
“Yeah. On a hunch, Abby ran their DNA through the system. It came back to a shooting a few towns over. Those assholes robbed a convenience store and also shot and killed the owner, as well as an innocent bystander. They left behind a few drops of blood when Joel cut himself in their haste to
leave. I guess they figured it was only a matter of time before they were found out.”
“So, they decided to come home and terrorize me?”
“Yeah, I’m not sure what their thinking on that was. It doesn’t make sense to me, but I suppose criminals rarely make a lot of sense.” I shrug, taking another sip and waking up a little more.
“Well, it’s good that two bad people are off the streets. They can’t hurt anyone else now.”
“True.” I think back to the call I took from Abby before I went to sleep last night. She said the parents had been notified and that neither one had expressed a wish to see either boys. “I’m thinking their family is a little torn on how to feel right about now.”
“Meaning?”
“Well, on the one hand, two of their family members have been arrested on serious charges. Yet, on the other hand, their daughter won first prize yesterday in that art competition. Meaning she gets that scholarship to the Art Institute of Chicago.”
“The Art Institute of Chicago? How the hell does Midsummer even have something like that here? No offense, but it just seems really random.”
I give him a half-shrug, moving my arm to rest over the back of his chair. “A previous resident was quite well off. His wife loved art. Apparently, they traveled the world just to visit museums. Anyway, when she died, he set up this scholarship. He wanted it here in his hometown, to benefit locals who otherwise wouldn’t have the chance to go to such a prestigious school. They get a gallery owner, who used to be some big art hotshot a while ago, to judge.”
“Then, how did the carnival come about?”
“I think it was just a way to make some money off it and make it more family-friendly. They put it at the start of summer to mark the change of season, and it’s always popular because school is out.”
“Well, it definitely was popular. Every bit of footage I shot or photo I got is full of people. I thought your Founder’s Parade was a busy time for the town. Not even close.”
“It’s Midsummer’s pride and joy.”
“Hopefully, I can give it justice and send some tourists over this way in time to make it next year.”
I finish my coffee and place the mug on the table, my eyes catching on the screen in front of Conner. “Looks like you got some good photos.”
“These are my favorite shots,” he tells me, pulling up three photos. Two are the ones I took of us on the Ferris wheel, and the third is the one of me that Conner took. I’m somewhat surprised by how happy and natural we look. I’ve never been good in photographs, usually because I seem to blink at the wrong time or end up looking away. But these shots are simply … beautiful.
“I look good. Shame you’re blocking the view,” I joke, laughing when he pokes me in the side.
“Hey, I happen to think we both make a cute couple. Can I post this to my social media accounts?”
I shrug. “Sure. Why not?”
“I don’t know … I have a lot of followers. It means your picture being blasted to a lot of people.”
I consider his words, figuring that, to have Conner in my life, it sort of means having them all, too.
“I don’t have any social media accounts, so they can’t exactly annoy me.”
He’s quick to shake his head. “I still don’t get that. I mean, I know you act like you’re eighty sometimes, but no social media footprint? Who even are you?”
“What do you mean I act eighty sometimes? Pretty sure you weren’t complaining that I was getting old last night when we shared our shower.”
“Last night, you were a young, hot stud with a huge cock and the knowhow on what to do with it,” Conner says with a smirk. “But the night before that, when River asked you a question, you got out a freaking encyclopedia book to look the answer up!”
“So?”
“So that is what the internet is for! I mean, the fact that you own an actual encyclopedia book says it all!”
“Actually, it’s a set of books. They belonged to my mom. And I know how the internet works, Conner! But if we don’t use those books, then what’s the point of them?”
“You do get that half the information in them has probably been proven wrong by now, right?”
I shake my head, not bothering to keep arguing this point.
“Do you need me to drop you off at the hotel so you can meet up with Love?”
“That would be great. Also, don’t think I didn’t notice you changing the subject since you know I’m right.”
I sigh heavily, as though being put out. “Get ready, Conner. I need to leave in half an hour. Although, with how long it’ll take to wake River up …”
River is not a morning person. For school days, I set five alarms to make sure she gets up. During the holidays and summer break, it’s even worse, since she deems every event unimportant compared to sleeping in.
“In that case, feel like having another shower with me, old man?”
I grin, my lips not the only part of me to perk up. “Only so I can prove I’m no old man.”
***
On Monday, I come home after a quiet day of watching the dismantling of the carnival and its rides. It always looks so sad to see it being pulled apart that way. And it’s also kind of amazing how quickly they manage to do it.
Mayor Fuller has always hoped we could sustain something long-term through the summer, but so far, the costs have been far too exorbitant. Maybe after Conner makes and posts his video, then that could be a reality in the years to come.
I think it’s a lot of pressure to place on one person and one video, but I guess, if it attracts just a few more people, then it would have been worth it.
I still can’t believe how quickly something can go viral, or how much people care online.
Conner showed me the response of his post about dating the town sheriff. He posted both photos of us together, and already there has been over a million likes or hearts or whatever it’s called. Not to mention the thousands of comments, many of them either friendly or congratulatory. Although, that’s not to say I didn’t see many that were disturbing or judging.
I do understand why so many people enjoy being part of Conner’s life. He’s an amazing man, and there is definitely a magnetic pull that I feel toward him. I can only imagine everyone else feels that same pull, too. Still, it’s going to take some serious getting used to.
What concerns me more is the fact that Mayor Fuller went off at us for the post. And I mean, she totally freaked out in a good way. She loved what Conner posted, the fact that he tagged—or whatever that’s called—the town, and that she believes we are now a power couple. I still have no idea what she means by this. Nevertheless, she thinks it’ll be good for Midsummer. So, as long as she’s happy and off my back, I’ll take it.
My phone rings while I’m still in my driveway. I answer it as soon as I see Tyson’s name pop up.
“Hey.” I turn off the engine and settle back into my seat.
“Hey, how’s the head?”
I rub the back of my head, feeling the bump still there. Last night, I rolled over onto it a couple of times and woke from the sharp pain, but it’s already not feeling too bad.
“Still as pretty as it always is,” I joke, smiling at the chuckle on the other end.
“Oh, good. I was worried you might have lost your looks. Listen, what are you up to tonight? I was thinking we could meet up for a beer. Bell can look after River.”
I glance at my house, imagining the likely liveliness going on inside. Love’s car is parked on the street, so I know it’ll be hectic, loud, and no doubt fun in there. Conner was kind enough to pick up River from Bell’s house already, and he’s promised me a home-cooked meal that he said River would help make. I already can’t wait to see how much of a disaster that turns out to be.
“I can’t. Having a quiet one at home tonight.”
“Oh, come on; just a couple drinks.”
“Sorry, Ty. Raincheck? Conner and River are waiting for me, so I gotta go anyway
.”
“Conner? I thought he left?”
“He was only leaving because of the harassment. I arrested those two asshole after they attacked us. It’s over with.”
“Yeah, but that guy is a hassle. Just look at all the trouble he’s gotten into since he arrived. You don’t need that shit in your life, Roc.”
As annoyance builds inside me, I attempt to squash it down, knowing he’s just worried about me. “Didn’t realize I needed your permission, Ty.”
“I’m not saying that. What I am saying is: do you really want this guy around River?”
Okay, my annoyance is quickly shifting into anger.
“Look, I don’t know what the fuck you’re trying to say here, and I don’t care. I’m going to hang up, and because of our many years of friendship, I’m going to forget this conversation happened. You’ve obviously had a shit day, and you’re not thinking clearly. Go home, Ty.” I hang up then take a couple of calming breaths.
What gives him the right to question my relationship with Conner? And to bring River into it? I’ve always done what’s best for her, put her first as much as I can, and then he throws something like that in my face? Actually believes I’d let my dick rule and put River in danger? How fucking insulting!
Clenching and unclenching my fists, I try to think about something else, but then my thoughts land again on the Evans brothers. After they both made confessions to not only the crimes against Conner, but also killing two people, they were taken to the county jail. They’ll remain there until their arraignment before a judge where they’ll be handed down their sentencing. Since they pleaded guilty, everything has been expedited.
They got one chance to see their family before they were moved, yet their parents didn’t bother to see them. Their younger sister did, though.
While they were mostly quiet and their sister Missy cried, I couldn’t help thinking she looked at them both like they hung the moon and stars in the sky. I don’t at all understand the hero worship, but I guess all siblings act differently in different families.
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