The Sheriff's Son

by Barbara White Daille

  “Do you think he might come after dinner?” he asked later.

  She gave him the same answer.

  “Maybe he’ll want to play ball after supper?” he said hopefully as they finished their evening meal.

  Same answer.

  Again, as on Saturday morning, she couldn’t fault him for his restlessness. Still on house arrest, of course he would look for any diversion. But what was her excuse?

  As the hours passed, she found herself peering through the bookstore’s front window, or through the living room curtains.

  By early evening, she didn’t know when Tanner would show up on her doorstep again. How she would act when he did. And why she let those trivial matters worry her, when she had so many more important problems to occupy her mind.

  Monday morning passed, and then Monday noon, with still no sign of him.

  By the time she’d left the late-afternoon meeting with Kevin’s principal, she felt like one of the characters in the thrillers she loved to read, waiting with bated breath for the villain to make his next move.

  At supper, Kevin pushed his peas into his mashed potatoes, trying to hide them, and moved his meatloaf around his plate without eating it. He sat with his head down, long-faced as if he’d lost his best friend.

  “How do you feel about the chore Mr. Porter’s given you?” she asked, keeping any sympathy from her voice. Sam had assigned him the job of helping to paint the school fence. Lord only knew, Kevin had gotten off easy with that as his punishment.

  He shrugged.

  “He said you wouldn’t have to do the work all by yourself, you know. You’ll have lots of help.” Evidently, there were plenty of students who, for one reason or another, met the requirements of Sam’s unusual form of detention.

  For the first time in hours, evidence of interest showed in his face. “Do ya think Tanner will help me?”

  She put a stranglehold on her fork.

  Tanner, Tanner, Tanner.

  She couldn’t handle much more of Kevin saying the man’s name. Worse, she couldn’t take much more of hearing herself think it.

  The truth was, no matter what she’d done over the years to bury her feelings, no matter how strongly she denied them now, she still cared about Tanner.

  Gently, she set down the fork. Just as gently, she said, “I don’t know Tanner’s plans.”

  And wasn’t that the truth?

  “But he’s my baseball buddy.”

  “He’s also a busy man, Kevin.” Too busy to worry about us. “He may not have another Saturday to give up.”

  “But maybe he will.”

  “Maybe.” She rose from her seat. “Billy’s mom said you can stay with her tonight while I’m busy. We’ll walk over there as soon as I finish the dishes.”

  “If Gary’s grounded again, me and Billy can’t watch TV.”

  “You can’t watch television this week, anyhow, remember?” She frowned. “Why was Gary grounded?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Oh. Well, I’ve checked your homework—put it in your backpack, and then get washed up.”

  As he left the room, she carried their plates to the sink and quickly washed their few dishes. She would have to find out what had happened with Gary, who often kept an eye on Kevin while he watched his own brother. His mother refused to let Sarah pay him, and for that, she was thankful—she couldn’t have afforded a babysitter. But she also couldn’t afford to leave Kevin with a bad influence. He was in enough trouble of his own.

  With both hands, she rubbed her temples. Please, not another headache. She’d never had as many headaches as she had in the time since Tanner’s return. And she didn’t want one now.

  Once she’d left Kevin at Billy’s house, she would have a long enough night, taking her turn for the citizen’s watch. She didn’t need the throbbing in her head to match her footsteps pounding the pavement.

  A moment later, Kevin clattered down the stairs and pointed to his chest. She reached for her temples again when she saw what he had pinned to his T-shirt. A gold tin Sheriff’s star.

  “I look just like Deputy Jones, don’t I, Mom?”

  Her throat closed, and she couldn’t speak.

  “I’m gonna be just like him when I grow up.” He grinned at her, then headed down the stairs into the store.

  The headache she had hoped to avoid slammed into her as she realized, to her horror, what Kevin’s obvious hero worship could mean.

  That he’d taken to Tanner as more than just a baseball buddy.

  That he looked to him as the daddy he didn’t have.

  SARAH TURNED ONTO Main Street near the corner of Delia’s Diner. She’d spent an uneventful evening trudging up and down the quiet streets.

  Time to call it a night. She would make one more sweep along Main, past the bookstore, and continue to Billy’s house to pick up Kevin.

  Gary had answered the door when she’d dropped Kevin off. When she’d asked him about being grounded, he’d shrugged and muttered, “Didn’t do my chores this weekend.”

  The confession had made her feel better about leaving Kevin there. Gary’s deed seemed minor, compared to her own son’s mischief.

  As she neared The Book Cellar, her steps slowed. There was a car parked outside the house. A dark-colored car with the County Sheriff’s decal on its side.

  Tanner had finally made an appearance.

  Had he deliberately teased her with his absence until now? Had he really meant to taunt her with actions on Saturday? Or, heaven help her, had she talked herself into those crazy ideas?

  When she reached the front of the property, Tanner stepped from the shadows.

  She swallowed a startled gasp.

  “You alone?” he demanded.

  “Yes. Why?”

  “Where’s the boy?”

  “At Billy’s. Why?” she repeated.

  “Come with me.” He took her elbow.

  Seeing his set jaw and narrowed eyes, she fell into step beside him. He led her along the walkway to the store. “What’s wrong, Tanner?”

  He stopped and gestured toward the front of the building, at one of the wide windows. Or what was left of it. A gaping hole with jagged edges yawned in the center of the glass.

  She shook her head in disbelief. “I just passed here a little while ago.”

  “Hear anything? See anything?”

  “Not a whisper. There was nothing wrong with the window any time I went by. I would have noticed.” She reached into her dress pocket and pulled out her key ring.

  He plucked it from her fingers. “I’ve canvassed the side yard and the rear, both clear. Front and back doors, secure. Windows all okay. But I haven’t checked the interior yet.”

  “If nothing else seems disturbed—”

  “I’m not taking any chances. Could be thieves.”

  “In Dillon?” She shook her head. “Most likely kids, and more of the pranks and petty vandalism we’re facing.” Petty? Not this time, not for her. A replacement pane would cost a fortune. And though she couldn’t have risked canceling the insurance on the property, she had raised the deductible so high, it made no sense even to think about submitting a claim. Her shoulders slumping, she tried not to sigh.

  Tanner started down the steps, focused on the job at hand.

  Good.

  His all-business attitude put hers right back where it belonged.

  She followed closely at his heels, waiting as he turned the key in the dead bolt, then eased the door open.

  For the first time, she noticed he carried a flashlight. He swung it in an arc, highlighting the bookcases, the conversation area, the cash register on the far counter. Nothing looked out of place.

  When he sidestepped into the store, she followed.

  He trained the beam toward the broken window. Pieces of glass had sprayed across the deep ledge and spilled onto the floor.

  Light bounced dizzily as he moved the flash back and forth. Nothing showed in the sweep of bright light but glit
tering shards of glass.

  Until he shifted toward the bookcase in the far corner, and the beam picked up a fat, round, white object.

  “What the hell—?”

  She sighed in relief. “It’s a baseball. And I can tell you for certain, it wasn’t there when I left this evening.” Thank the lord, Kevin had gone to Billy’s house and couldn’t get the blame for this mischief. “It must have been kids, after all.”

  He grunted. “Maybe. I’m not leaving until we check everything out.”

  Knowing that he would only point to his badge if she protested, she moved to the front door again and flipped the switch beside it. The room flooded with light.

  They walked up and down the aisles between bookcases, spotted nothing suspicious.

  At the doorway into the still-dark office, Tanner stepped past her and thumbed the wall switch.

  The overhead fixtures bathed the small area in a white glow. Not the greatest illumination to work by, but she always had the accountant’s lamp for close paperwork.

  Paperwork—oh, no.

  Too late. Feeling overwhelmed earlier, she had simply dropped the overdue notices from today’s mail onto the desk. She should have rushed ahead of Tanner, should have grabbed the pile out from under his nose.

  When would she learn? This was—what? The third time she had left the bills where he might see them?

  Third time unlucky?

  He couldn’t miss them tonight.

  Heart sinking, she closed her eyes and curled her now useless fingers into fists.

  “Let’s head on upstairs.”

  Startled, she popped her eyes open to find he had already moved toward the doorway again. Without a word about the stack of bills.

  Tanner must not have seen the notices. If he had, he’d never have been able to stop himself from giving her the benefit of his advice.

  She followed him, thanking her lucky stars and swearing that, from now on, she’d file her private papers under lock and key.

  And keep a firm grip on her emotions.

  Chapter Nine

  Tanner concentrated on the road in front of the cruiser’s headlights, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kevin eagerly inspecting the instruments on the dashboard. The lights reflected off the tin star on his chest, and Tanner smiled.

  “This is fun, Mom!”

  Beside the kid, Sarah sat about as relaxed as a new recruit in front of an angry drill sergeant. Tanner’s smile widened.

  “Can I drive this sometime?” Kevin asked.

  “You’ve got some growing to do before you can reach all the controls. It’ll take a while.”

  “Oh.”

  Tanner glanced over the boy’s head at Sarah.

  After they’d left her office, he’d insisted on checking out the upper floors of the house, then nailing a sheet of plywood from the backyard shed across the front window. Temporary measure, till he got someone in to replace the pane of glass.

  Finally, he’d insisted on driving her to pick up Kevin. To his shock, she’d given in to both his demands without a word of protest.

  Come to think of it, she’d acted subdued all night. Except when he’d suggested they ask Kevin about the baseball.

  He was at Billy’s house, under supervision, she’d said flatly. And I’m not going to scare him with your stories of vandals.

  Seeing the frustration in her expression, he’d backed off. Another temporary measure.

  Maybe the broken window worried her more than she wanted to admit. Or maybe she’d got something else on her mind. Like that pile of overdue notices he’d seen in her office when—

  “Hey, Deputy, can you put on the siren?”

  “Kevin,” Sarah warned.

  Tanner chuckled. He’d told Sarah the boy would get a kick out of riding in a sheriff’s car. “No siren tonight, kid. You want me waking up all your neighbors?”

  His face fell. “I guess not.”

  The minute Tanner eased the vehicle to a stop at the curb, Sarah had the door open.

  They all climbed from the cruiser, and he followed the pair of them up the walkway and down the steps.

  Sarah unlocked the door and ushered Kevin inside.

  Before she could shut him out, Tanner put his hand high up on the doorframe. He tilted his head slightly in Kevin’s direction, knowing she wouldn’t want to talk in front of him. When they’d gone to pick him up, she hadn’t said a word to him or to anyone else at the friend’s house about what had happened. And so far the kid hadn’t noticed the boarded-up window.

  “Got a minute?” he asked.

  She glanced at Kevin. “You go ahead up, honey.”

  He edged around her to face Tanner. “You gonna stop by tomorrow?”

  “If I can, you bet I will.”

  “After school?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “All right!” He slapped Tanner a high five. “Night.”

  “Good night.” Smiling, Tanner waited till they heard sneakers on the stairs, then he pointed overhead. “Keep the light on.”

  “I planned to leave it burning. Logan’s due in.”

  “Yeah. Right.” When he’d canvassed the rest of the house with her, they’d seen the flashing light on her answering machine. She’d checked the message right away, worried in case it had something to do with her son. Logan Kincaid’s voice filled the room, telling her he’d hit a snag, and she could expect him around ten.

  He wished she’d look up at him, instead of standing with her head tilted and the light casting deep shadows on her face.

  “Right,” Tanner said again. “The man sounded awfully confident he’ll find you waiting up for him.”

  “He doesn’t have a key. Would you rather I leave the door unlocked?”

  That sounded more like the Sarah he knew.

  Swallowing a grin, he said, “Not advisable, though I do think you’re okay for the night. But you’ll hear me drive by once in a while, anyhow, until I go off duty.” That ought to set up a protest for sure.

  But she only nodded and stepped back a pace.

  “Sarah…”

  He didn’t want her to go inside. He wanted…something. And he’d be damned if he could put it into words.

  The overhead light emphasized a tiny crease that had formed between her eyes. He reached up and brushed his fingertip against her skin. “You keep frowning like that, you’ll get worry marks.”

  “That’s not your concern.”

  “Look, Sarah—”

  “Good night, Deputy.” She paused, took a deep breath and added in a lower tone, “Thank you for your help tonight.”

  And then she closed the door in his face.

  By the time he got his wits about him, he found himself standing in front of the dark bookstore. At least she’d left the outside light on. She’d finally smartened up and decided to start heeding his advice.

  Going back to the cruiser, he climbed into the front seat, then put his seat belt on and just sat there. Reminded him of all the nights he’d gotten back into his old clunker after walking Sarah to the door at the end of a date. He missed that.

  Hell, what he missed was standing under that porch light and stealing a few of Sarah’s kisses. And even she would have to admit, he didn’t have to work very hard to get them.

  They’d never go back to those days again. He’d have to live with that.

  Only, judging by the overdue notices he’d seen strewn across her office desk earlier tonight, he was living a heck of a lot better than she was. He, at least, could pay his bills.

  As he’d gone through the rest of the house, boarded up the front window, and went with her to pick up Kevin, he’d found those red-stamped bills had stamped their image into his memory.

  No wonder she’d had those tables out on the sidewalk, trying to sell her pecan loaf.

  No wonder she’d jumped to rent out an extra room. He suddenly felt a whole lot better about Logan Kincaid staying in her spare bedroom. It helped, too, knowing she hadn’t given
him a key to come and go as he pleased.

  Of course, Sarah’s problems were no concern of his. No matter what she’d thrown up to him about leaving right after graduation, he’d done what he had to do. She didn’t waste any time making plans of her own, did she?

  She could carry just as much blame as he could for them ending up like they had.

  Things might’ve worked out different, if only…

  If only she hadn’t hung up on him when he’d called before he left for boot camp. If only she hadn’t left town herself. If only she had waited for him, so they could get married, the way they’d always planned.

  Indignation filled him…then trickled away.

  How could he blame Sarah?

  Young, naive and just plain stupid as he’d been, he’d done exactly what she’d accused him of—going into the army, and expecting she would stay home waiting for him. The knowledge swept a hot blush of shame through him.

  He started the cruiser, pulled away from the curb and began the slow rounds that would take him through town and past the bookstore again and again.

  He’d keep an eye on Sarah’s house till ten, at least, when he’d have Logan around to relieve him of that duty.

  Then he’d only need a way to ease the guilt churning inside him. A way to take care of Sarah, just as he’d always planned.

  ON TUESDAY, TANNER pulled another disappearing act, leaving Sarah’s meeting with the Bookies as the only break in the monotony of her day. When Tanner didn’t show up after school, Kevin moped around the house all evening. His mood carried over to her, and she brought it with her into the store on Wednesday.

  The weather, at least, started out bright and sunny. She spent more time than she should have staring at the early morning sunlight streaming into the room through the east-facing display window, emphasizing the streaks from little fingers she couldn’t prevent, the dust motes she couldn’t control, the racks and cases and piles of books she couldn’t live without.

  The books provided escape, a full-time occupation, lately. But denying reality, like burning her bills, was something she couldn’t afford.

  As the day wore on, the sky grew more and more cloudy. A perfect match to her emotions.