Just Jenny

by Sandra Owens

  I wanted to pull him back to his car and take him away so that he didn’t have to walk inside that building. Instead I slipped my hand into his, squeezing his fingers. No matter what happened next, I wanted him to know that I thought… What did I think? I wasn’t sure anymore.

  How could I get on a plane and leave this beautiful man behind? Even the idea of doing that made me question my sanity. I missed the first step leading up to the door.

  “You okay?” he asked when I stumbled.

  No, I wasn’t okay. I would be leaving him in a little over a week, and I wanted to plop my butt on the floor and have a good cry. “I’m fine,” I lied. Tonight wasn’t about me, though, so I put aside my misery.

  Conversations stopped midsentence as soon as we walked in. Dylan held his head high, his posture perfect, and he looked so good in a dark charcoal pinstripe suit, a white button-down, and a red tie. Like the CEO of a billion-dollar conglomerate. Although I wasn’t sure how many CEOs had a dog as their faithful companion. As if Daisy sensed the importance of this night, she held her elegant head high as she pranced along beside him. But her ears were laid back, signaling her displeasure at the tension filling the air.

  Dylan squeezed my hand before letting go. Once again I had the urge to pull him out of the room so that he didn’t have to go through this. Instead I walked with him toward the front, proud to be at his side. When we reached the first row, I slipped back into my seat. Dylan walked to the front where the mayor stood. Garrett moved behind them, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets.

  “Who’s that?” Gloria asked.

  “He’s a captain with the Chicago Police Department, Dylan’s former boss.”

  She leaned close. “I’ll need to interview him, too.”

  Like I had any control over Dylan or Garrett. I didn’t answer her, mostly because Dylan glanced at me, and all other thoughts flew right out of my head. Without thinking about what I was doing, I tapped my chest, right over my heart. The way one side of his mouth quirked up in a lopsided smile brought tears to my eyes. How was I supposed to walk away from this man? But I would. I had a promise to keep.

  Jim John banged on a block of wood with his mayoral gavel, the same one my father had used when he held the office. I’d always thought that was Jim John’s favorite part of being mayor, being able to make enough noise to get everyone’s attention onto him.

  “There have been some concerns expressed about our new police chief, Dylan Conrad. He’s agreed to answer any questions you might have.” He stepped off to the side.

  That was all he was going to say? What a toad. He knew the truth, and he should have shown more support for his police chief. But he was putting a protective wall between them. A just-in-case one should Dylan fail to win over the town. Maybe I’d talk my dad into running again in the next election. Hell, I’d run to make sure Jim John didn’t get reelected.

  Dylan kept his face carefully blank, but Garrett narrowed his eyes at our mayor. Maybe he’d go over and punch Jim John in the face. One could hope. I glanced back at Dylan as he stepped forward. He appeared to be relaxed, but I knew him. The tension lines at the corners of his mouth and eyes gave him away.

  “For those I’ve not met yet, I’m Dylan Conrad. To give you a little of my background before I open the floor to questions, I began my career in law enforcement with the Chicago Police Department after obtaining a degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Illinois in Chicago. I spent a little over two years on street patrol before moving to vice as a detective, heading up that department for the past year.”

  I wasn’t sure, but it seemed like he’d moved up the ranks pretty fast. That didn’t surprise me, though. Dylan was a highly intelligent and focused man. If the people of this town didn’t realize how lucky we were to have him, then they didn’t deserve him.

  “Now I’ll take your questions.”

  The man was definitely smart. I’d expected him to say something about his wife and what had happened, but he was going to force others to bring that up. He darted a glance at me, and I saw the question in his eyes. I gave him a little nod of approval. Yes, he was perfectly handling what was an unfair situation.

  “I have a question, Chief,” Connor said, standing.

  What was he doing? I frowned at my friend. We were here to support Dylan, not give him a hard time.

  Dylan nodded. “You have the floor, Mr. Hunter.”

  “We are…unfortunately, I have to say, called out too often to rescue a tourist who has fallen from the top of a waterfall or gotten lost while hiking. We’re experienced at handling those operations, but I’d like to see an advanced training program put in place for these kinds of rescues. For the police department and fire department personnel, along with volunteers like Adam and me. Do you have any plans for something like that?”

  If I were sitting next to Connor, I would have kissed him. I should have known to trust him.

  The first real smile I’d seen from Dylan tonight formed on his face. “Actually I do. A few days ago I talked to a friend who runs a training program like that in Denver. He’s agreed to help us develop one for our town as soon as we get approval from the town council.”

  I shifted in my seat to see the reaction to that, pleased to see quite a few people nodding their heads in approval. Gloria raised her hand, and I wanted to grab it and pull it down. The wariness returned to Dylan’s eyes, but before he could call on her, my dad stood.

  “Chief, it’s my understanding that our police officers haven’t received a raise in over a year. These men and women are dedicated to protecting and serving our community. I know you are bound by budget restrictions, but have you looked into a way to scrounge up a little money to give our officers a much deserved raise?”

  “Yes, Mr. Nance, that issue has already been addressed.”

  “We got a raise last week,” someone in the back yelled. Applause broke out, and I leaned around Gloria to see a line of cops standing against the wall, all of them clapping. My father had already known the answer to his question when he asked it. It had come up at our strategy meeting at his house.

  Gloria raised her hand again, but Autumn beat her to the punch when she stood. “Our police department’s uniforms have to be the ugliest ones in the world. They look like baby poop.” Laughter broke out in the room. She grinned. “I know, right?” She glanced around, getting nods. “Anyway, can you do something about that?”

  Another question that had been answered at our meeting. I had never been so proud of my family and friends.

  “We found a little money to spend on new uniforms, Miss Archer,” Dylan said. “In about three weeks, you’ll see them for yourself.” That got another round of applause from the cops lining the wall.

  “Well, I hope they’re cool ones.” Autumn looked over at the officers, raising a brow.

  “They’re awesome,” one of the female cops said.

  It struck me, listening to Dylan answer the questions that he never said I did this or I did that. His answers had a way of including his whole department, as if they were a team who’d accomplished these things together. He was such an amazing man.

  Having learned her lesson, instead of raising her hand, Gloria stood. My heart thumped hard in my chest. If that was my reaction, I couldn’t imagine what Dylan was feeling.

  34

  ~ Dylan ~

  Although I appreciated what my self-appointed support team was doing, the question hanging in the air wasn’t going to be avoidable for long. As soon as the woman from The Valley News stood, I knew the time had arrived to talk about Christine. I hated that I had to. Jack should be glad he wasn’t standing in front of me right now. I’d expected him to be here but hadn’t spotted him in the crowd. The place was packed, though, so he might be nearby.

  Jenny had shown me photos of the two women from the paper so I could memorize their names. The one standing was Gloria Davenport, and I nodded at her. “Ms. Davenport, you have the floor.”

  �
��Mr. Conrad, while your background is impressive, if the rumors—”

  “This is bullshit!”

  Gasps sounded from the crowd as everyone craned their heads to watch Moody storm down the aisle. I glanced at Jenny, needing her to ground me before I lost my cool. Our eyes locked, and as she’d done earlier, she put her fingers to her chest, right over her heart. Calmness settled over me, and I held her gaze a few more seconds before turning my attention to my enraged captain.

  Still standing, Gloria Davenport snatched the phone her boss handed her and started snapping pictures. I was actually glad she was doing that. It reminded me that my actions, along with Moody’s, would be plastered on the front page tomorrow. Moody wasn’t going to look real pretty in his with that red face and fire blazing from his eyes, but mine would show nothing but professional behavior, even though there was a storm raging inside me.

  Garrett slipped up beside me in a show of support. It would have been nice if the mayor joined me at the front, but that obviously wasn’t going to happen. It was disappointing that the man who’d hired me couldn’t be depended on when it counted.

  No matter what happened, I had accomplished some good things in my short time here, along with making friends I could count on. And although I’d never tell her, I’d also fallen in love with a redheaded mountain girl, learning that there was life after Christine after all. It was a good thing to know.

  “Captain Moody, did you have a question?” My composure seemed to enrage him even more.

  “You’re goddamn right I have a question.”

  It was tempting, but I decided not to remind him that there was no cursing when we’re in public. That would only infuriate him more. “And your question is?”

  “Why don’t you tell everyone how you killed your wife?”

  You could have heard a pin drop as everyone in the room waited for my answer. “Captain Moody, that is a question I can’t answer because I did not kill my wife. Do you have anything else you want to ask me? If not, I believe Ms. Davenport from The Valley News was about to ask a question.”

  His face turned so red that I thought he might have a heart attack. “You’re a fucking liar, Conrad.”

  “That cost him 50,000 points,” I murmured to Garrett, one of the few who knew about my point system. When the room quieted again, I decided it was time to introduce Garrett, letting him explain about Christine.

  “I have a witness,” Moody said before I had a chance to let Garrett take over. Moody looked to the right, and from the middle of the seats, Jack stood.

  And…showtime. I stuck my hands into my pants’ pockets to hide my fists. No matter what came next, I was determined to keep my cool. Garrett bumped my shoulder, reminding me that he stood beside me. I hadn’t asked him to interrupt his schedule to come support me, but as soon as he knew what I was facing, he’d jumped on a plane.

  “Hello, Jack,” I said to the man I’d once loved like a brother. “Heard you were in town.” Suddenly I felt like I was in some kind of western movie, about to have a shoot-out at the O.K. Corral. An absurd laugh bubbled up inside me, which I managed to morph into a cough.

  “I got this,” Garrett said. “Introduce me.”

  I could do that as soon as I found my voice. I cleared my throat, then cleared it again. “You’ve probably been wondering who this is.” I put my hand on Garrett’s shoulder, while at the same time staring hard at Jack, not wanting to miss his reaction. His eyes darted between us, anger on his face at seeing Garrett standing by my side. Jack leveled his gaze on me with a hatred that was beyond anything I’d ever thought to see from him.

  “So you’re going to lie for him?” he said, his eyes focusing back on Garrett.

  I held up a hand. “Before I was interrupted, I was going to introduce my former boss, Garrett Caulder, my captain at the Chicago Police Department. Since he headed up the investigation, Captain Caulder will answer any questions you have about the death of my wife.” I stepped back before I said something I shouldn’t.

  Jack came forward, his furious gaze never leaving my face. The Jack I’d known, the one who’d been my best friend, had never had a hair out of place or a wrinkle in his shirts. This Jack was disheveled, his hair in dire need of a cut, and I wondered when he’d last washed it. His eyes were wild, as if he were losing it. Suddenly all I felt was sadness. For me, for him, and for Christine.

  “I can make this real simple and short,” Garrett said. “Christine Conrad was severely depressed and took her own life. End of story.”

  “Because he refused to give her a divorce.” Jack lifted an accusing finger toward me. “He drove her to it.”

  Moody frowned. “You said he killed her.”

  “Well, he might as well have. She loved me, Dylan, and you wouldn’t let her go.”

  Not true, but I didn’t think it would serve any purpose if I tried to tell him again that I’d wanted a divorce and she’d begged me to reconsider. As I scanned the faces in the room to see their reaction, I was surprised by the way everyone was staring at Jack with displeasure. I’d forgotten we were in the Bible Belt, and it seemed they didn’t approve of a man having an affair with a married woman. That was my guess, anyway.

  “Bah,” Moody grunted before stomping out.

  He also got frowns as he stormed toward the exit. Garrett went to Jack, slipped an arm around him, whispered something to him, and then led him out. Well, that felt rather anticlimactic. To be honest, I’d half expected Jack to shoot me.

  I wasn’t sure what to do. Grabbing Jenny and hauling her out with me probably wasn’t a good idea, no matter how much I wanted to do exactly that. Excited conversations buzzed as everyone talked about what had just happened. I glanced at Jenny and got a big smile. I smiled back.

  Yeah, it had turned out okay. Unless Jim John figured I’d caused too much drama and decided to fire me. Since I didn’t want to stand here all night, I took a step toward the mayor, intending to ask if we were done.

  “Well, that was entertaining,” Mary said from her seat near the front. “Come by in the morning, Chief. I’ll have a bag of hot doughnuts waiting for you.” Tonight her hair was bright orange with black streaks, and her eye shadow was sparkly orange. If I got to stay here, I might marry her after all if she promised unlimited access to hot glazed doughnuts and apple cinnamon muffins.

  Adam stood. “Chief, I just want to say that from everything I’ve heard the last few weeks, you’re just the man we need. Welcome to Blue Ridge Valley.”

  “Hear. Hear,” someone said, and I glanced toward the voice to see that it was Freddie Barnes.

  I guess all those boiled peanuts I’d forced myself to eat paid off. Jenny’s parents, Connor, Brian, and Autumn all stood, clapping their hands. Jenny popped up to join in the applause, a brilliant smile on her face. Others began to stand, and once it seemed the residents of Blue Ridge Valley had decided I was worth keeping, Jim John walked over and slung an arm over my shoulder, grinning like a damn politician who’d just won the election. It was a close call, but I managed not to roll my eyes.

  Someone—I think Jenny’s father—had gotten us the private room at Fusions to celebrate the success of our plan to save me. The people sitting around the table owned tonight’s victory more than I did.

  I raised my glass. “To good friends you can count on to have your back.” They were all here—Jenny, her parents, Brian and Autumn, and Adam and Connor. The only one missing was Daisy since I’d dropped her off at home before coming here. She’d won over her own admirers as I’d tried to make my way out of the meeting, everyone wanting me to stop so they could pet the town’s new police dog.

  “That’s us!” Autumn exclaimed.

  “Sure is.” Grinning at her enthusiasm, I clinked glasses with my friends. The lump that had been sitting in my stomach like a lead ball for the past two days was gone, and I was definitely up for some celebrating.

  Jenny leaned into me, and I smiled down at her. “Thank you, Red. I think tonight would have gone south
without you marshaling the troops.”

  She put her hand on my thigh and squeezed. “Nah. You would’ve pulled it off. We just made it easier.”

  I wasn’t so sure I would have, but it was over and done with. My plans for the night were to enjoy drinks and dinner with my new friends, then figure out a way to get Jenny alone. Garrett was spending the night at my place, was actually supposed to join us for dinner, but I hadn’t heard from him since he’d left the meeting with Jack.

  Our waiter came and took our orders, and after he left, Jenny’s father said, “Not to throw a damper on the party by bringing this up, but you need to get Moody out of your hair. As long as he’s around, he’s going to do his best to make your life miserable.”

  “Don’t I know it? It’s number one on tomorrow’s to-do list.” My phone buzzed with an incoming text. It was from Garrett, asking me to meet him outside. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  Garrett stood by Jack’s car when I came out. “Gonna have to pass on dinner.” He flicked a thumb toward the window, and I glanced inside to see Jack sitting in the passenger seat, his chin on his chest and his hands cuffed in front of him. “I’m driving him home tonight.”

  “Does he really need to be handcuffed?” It wasn’t a picture I’d ever expected to see—my former friend and partner wearing a pair of cuffs.

  “I decided it was a good idea when he went for my gun, saying he wanted to be with Christine.”

  “Jesus,” I whispered. “He needs help.”

  Garrett nodded. “And I intend to get him help, but he’s done as a cop. I can’t have someone I don’t trust on the force.”

  “Of course not. It’s just… I mean, how the hell did it come to this?” Had I failed both my wife and my best friend? What should I have done differently so that she wasn’t dead by her own hand and he wasn’t sitting handcuffed in a car with his head hanging down in defeat?

  “Stop it.”

  I jerked my gaze to Garrett’s. “What?”