Town Darling

by Copella, Holly

  Dina took a clean rag from the box and began dusting a nearby chair. She appeared oddly curious about their last visitor. “What did the mayor want?”

  “The usual,” Grey replied with little reaction. “Attempting to get others to volunteer so he’ll look good.” He appeared defeated, sank into thought, and sighed softly. “What I really need is for Casey to volunteer.”

  “I could talk to her,” Dina replied without hesitation. “What do you need?”

  “Her in the kissing booth.”

  Dina looked at Grey and appeared almost horrified. “You’re kidding? That’s asking a lot,” she remarked. “Last year, I had to kiss all four Harford boys twice.”

  Ruger attempted to hide his smirk. “Considering one has a fractured jaw, that’s one less,” he teased. He seemed a little too proud of the fact.

  †

  It was nearly one o’clock by the time Casey and Vaughn left the diner together while Casey carried a large take-out bag. As they paused on the sidewalk just outside, Vaughn casually turned to face her and smiled gently.

  “Thanks for lunch, Casey,” he said. “I appreciate the effort even if you were pressured by your brother.” There was a moment of hesitation. “It would be nice if things could be civilized between us for a change.”

  Casey shrugged. “I give it a week.”

  He snorted a laugh. “I figured three days, but I appreciate your optimism.”

  Casey hid her smile and met his gaze. As she stared into his dark eyes, she saw flashes of him holding her as he lowered her to the kitchen floor while she bled and sobbed. Casey suddenly looked away while fidgeting. She had to keep those memories suppressed. If she let her emotions get the best of her, the consequences could cost her dearly.

  “I’d, uh, better get food to my guys before Diesel eats the weaker one.” As she turned away from him, she wiped a tear from her eye then hurried for the antique shop.

  Vaughn watched Casey hurry along town toward the antique store then frowned. Someone was standing over his shoulder. Vaughn glanced behind him and saw Mayor Lance watching Casey as she disappeared into the antique store. Lance shook his head and hid his smile.

  “There’s just something about that girl,” Lance remarked and added a soft groan.

  Vaughn rolled his eyes and focused his attention on Lance. “Something I can do for you, Mayor?”

  “I heard you had a little disagreement with my brother-in-law this morning,” Lance remarked.

  “Oh, that,” Vaughn snapped. “No, no disagreement. He was in the wrong. Would you like to threaten my badge as well?”

  “What?” he suddenly announced then chuckled. “Heavens no! The people of Darwood Falls respect you. If anything, I want you to beef up security for the fair this weekend. I mean, I want everything patrolled.” He sighed with defeat. “I’ll be honest with you, Sheriff. My nephews are out of control, and I don’t want any of those jug heads doing anything to ruin the fair. It’s too important. I don’t care if you have to knock them on the heads and ship them to Siberia. It’s an election year coming up, and I don’t want those boys ruining this for me.”

  “Everything is under control,” Vaughn reported while appearing skeptical of the mayor.

  “Good, I’m glad to hear,” he announced and began walking past Vaughn. He suddenly stopped and gave him a firm look. “And, uh, don’t tell my wife we had this discussion.”

  Vaughn smirked and nodded.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Ruger stood by the front desk in the antique store and ate a sandwich while casually watching Casey and Grey across the room in a heated exchange. Their conversation was loud and clearly heard by everyone. Casey was wild and animated while Grey pursued her persistently.

  “Are you out of your mind?” Casey lashed out. “No, absolutely not!”

  “You’re being unreasonable!”

  Diesel approached Ruger at the desk and poked inside the food bag. He removed a sandwich and indicated the exchange with little interest.

  “What’s with Bonnie and Clyde?” Diesel asked.

  Ruger casually shrugged. “Grey just asked Casey to volunteer for the kissing booth.”

  Diesel glanced across the room and appeared more interested now. “Huh? She’s handling it rather well.”

  “Yeah, I thought so too.”

  “Come on, Casey,” Grey pleaded while dancing around with frustration. “This is so important to me.”

  She glared at him with her arms folded across her chest. “If it’s so damned important then you do it!”

  “The guys don’t want me in the kissing booth, they want you,” he informed her sternly while wildly gesturing then turned more sincere and lay on the puppy dog eyes. “Think of Mom and Dad.”

  Horror crossed her face, and she immediately became defensive. “Oh, no you don’t!” she cried out while pointing a warning finger at him. “I’ve done everything you’ve asked up until now. I even made nice with Sheriff Holt, but this is asking too much. Don’t hold Mom and Dad over me!”

  Grey looked at Ruger across the room and pleaded with his eyes. “A little help here, please.”

  Ruger appeared innocent and held his hands in the air. “I can’t even stand her kissing this one,” he said while indicating Diesel. “Why would I condone her smooching half the men in town?”

  “You’re absolutely no help, you know that?” he snapped. “We need the people in town to see we’re one of them.” Grey looked back at Casey. “This is why we’re here, Casey. I’m making an unbelievable sacrifice.” He gave her his best sorrowful eyes. “All I’m asking is to let a few old guys kiss you. You kiss Ruger and Diesel like that all the time.”

  Ruger looked at Diesel and appeared curious. “Did he just refer to me as old?”

  “I think he did.”

  Dina dusted some trinkets on a shelf and appeared to ignore the conversation, but she was obviously listening with great interest. Grey looked at Dina and practically lunged for her. Dina jumped with surprise.

  “Help me out here, Dina,” Grey pleaded.

  Casey groaned lowly while shaking her head. “Yes, Dina, tell Grey I would not be a good choice for the kissing booth.”

  Grey looked at Dina and clutched her elbows, forcing her to look into his sorrowful eyes. “Come on, Dina; tell her it’s just a quick peck.”

  Dina uncertainly looked between both, appeared uncomfortable, and fumbled over her words. “That’s usually how it works,” she said timidly. She hesitated a moment then appeared more confident. “Want me to demonstrate?”

  “If you must,” Casey groaned while rolling her eyes.

  Ruger and Diesel suddenly looked up from the desk with surprise and appeared interested.

  “Is she going to kiss Casey?” Diesel suddenly whispered to Ruger.

  “Shh--” Ruger hushed him and stared at the women with anticipation.

  Both men watched in complete silence and with great interest. Dina turned to Grey and kissed him quickly on the lips then looked back at Casey. Ruger and Diesel both frowned with disappointment. Grey was rendered momentarily speechless.

  “Like kissing your grandmother,” Dina announced.

  Casey wasn’t convinced then muttered, “You and your grandmother must have been real close.”

  Dina frowned and appeared disgusted. “I’m determined to beat that bitch Melanie at something just once,” she scoffed. “Apparently, I’m the only women in town brave enough to take her on. I’m sick and tired of her treating me like a second-class citizen just because my father abandoned me and my mother is the town whore.”

  There was an odd silence around the room. Casey stared at Dina and felt sympathetic. Her best friend had been tortured with her mother’s less than respectable reputation from a young age. Casey had been so consumed with her own tortured existence; she couldn’t feel her friend’s pain.

  “You want to take her down? I’ll help you,” Casey announced firmly then looked at Grey and groaned. “Sign me up.”


  Grey appeared excited. “Yeah, that’s my sister!”

  Dina hugged Casey. “Thank you, Casey,” she said softly then pulled away and appeared excited. “I’ll spread the word at the tavern.”

  “I’ll post it on the fliers in the store window,” Grey announced as he hurried across the store.

  Ruger rolled his eyes. “And I’ll just stand here feeling nauseous,” he muttered.

  “I think I need to find some extra cash,” Diesel remarked. “This fair sounds expensive.”

  Dina excitedly took Casey’s hand and led her to the back of the shop. “We have to decide what you’re going to wear. We’re going to be so hot.”

  “Don’t I just need a breath mint and lip balm?” Casey protested as Dina pulled her away.

  All three watched Dina guide Casey into the back then appeared oddly silent.

  “Dina could be a problem,” Diesel informed them.

  “What if we gave her a job here at the shop?” Ruger suggested with a curious tilt of his head.

  “Do we really want to include her?” Diesel asked while poking through the paper bag for another sandwich.

  “She’s been Casey’s best friend since kindergarten, and she loved my parents,” Grey informed them. “We can trust her.”

  “Someone’s got a hard on for Casey’s friend,” Diesel remarked while grinning.

  Grey glared at him and wasn’t impressed. “That was a long time ago. Things have changed since then,” he remarked. “We have more important things to do.”

  “More important than you doing Dina?” Diesel teased.

  Grey sneered at him and appeared to be losing his patience. Ruger rolled his eyes and stepped between the two before Diesel started tossing Grey around like a ragdoll.

  “We’re obviously losing focus here,” Ruger announced firmly then eyed Diesel. “And you need to cool it with the sexual references.”

  “Says the moral fiber that holds us all together,” Diesel snorted while wearing a cheap grin.

  Ruger wasn’t impressed. His look was cold and serious. “Tread lightly, my friend.”

  Diesel snorted then walked away.

  †

  It was early Saturday morning and just one week before the town fair. All seemed peaceful within the small town of Darwood Falls, but it wouldn’t stay that way long. Small pockets of vendors would start filtering into the town to setup for opening weekend. By late week, the town would be a madhouse with vendors attempting to move into the fairgrounds and setup trailers, equipment, rides, and games. Most locals were enjoying the calm before next weekend’s storm of visitors. The police station bullpen was quiet and void of life, as it was most Saturday mornings. Jeannie was off on most weekends and the deputies patrolled the town but weren’t required to hang around the office. Emergency dispatch would contact them if there were any calls. It was a nice setup, which kept a police presence without unnecessary personnel. Sheriff Holt was the officer on duty this particular weekend, even though next weekend all three officers would be working long hours. Vaughn sat behind his desk with his booted feet propped on top. He leaned casually back in his worn chair and read from Catherine Remington’s journal. He had his temple propped against his hand as his brows knitted with concern to what he read.

  “No sooner had Brandon left the store,” Catherine wrote, “when Wayne Harford dropped in. I knew he wasn’t there to ‘look around’ as he reported. Ernest would sometimes make purchases, but his sons never just stopped in. I kept an eye on him and rightfully so. He approached me at the desk and asked about the settee in the back. He claimed Ernest had sent him to inspect it, but I knew it wasn’t true. Ernest never looked twice at that old sofa. I couldn’t exactly call him on this, since I prided our shop on being professional. Instead, I went into the back room with him and indicated the antique couch. I knew better than to turn my back on Wayne. It was a mistake many women in town had made, and I’d heard the horror stories. He pointed out a tear in the cushion. There hadn’t been one before, so, naturally, I looked. I’d made the mistake and turned my back on the bastard, but I didn’t realize what I’d had done until he was already tackling me to the settee. He was like an animal pawing at me, groping my body, and trying to pull off my clothes. I couldn’t believe he’d go this far!”

  Vaughn stared at the journal in his hand as his mouth hung open. The look of shock on his face was indescribable. He held his breath, turned the page, and continued to read.

  “I knew his intentions, and I had to stop him! Being on top of me, he had me at a disadvantage. I had only one action of recourse to stop him, and I took it. I wasn’t sure which of us was more surprised by my hand clamped on his testicles through his pants. It wasn’t a place on the man I’d wanted to touch, but my hand was there now, and I had every intention to rip them off! He wanted to hit me; he tried to hit me, but I gripped even harder and twisted my hand. I’d never seen a man drop so fast. I made a conscious effort to release him as he fell to the floor. Something inside me screamed to keep ahold of him, but I just wanted my hand off his filthy body. As he clutched himself while writhing around the floor, I considered running out the back door and screaming like a crazy woman, but something snapped inside me. He was a Harford, and there was no justice against a Harford. There was just me. As he writhed on the floor crying like a little boy, I did the unthinkable. I grabbed his arm, twisted it away from him, and I kicked it with all my anger. It snapped with the most hideous sound. He now screamed and begged me to stop. I released his arm and watched him clutch it while crying as he lie on the floor. I still wanted to kill him. From where I stood, I could just as easily snap his neck, but I suppressed those urges. I’d made my point without killing the monster.”

  Vaughn shut the journal, tossed it on his desk, and ran his fingers through his hair. He uncertainly sat forward and stared at the journal with his brows knitted. He snatched the journal, leaned on the desk, and continued to read.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The fairground was busy that afternoon. Locals and out-of-towners had volunteered to scrub the buildings and prepare the grounds for the upcoming fair. The parking field was being roped off and signs were pounded into the ground to help direct traffic flow. Former sheriff Wiley played with the sound system at the stage furthest from the main entrance. It made an ear-piercing screech that caused everyone within earshot to grimace and turn. Abby stopped her luxury golf cart and glared at Wiley. He grinned his apologies. Ernest and Mayor Lance stood on stage and shook their heads while pointing at Wiley at the sound system toward the back. Abby drove up to the stage and joined her husband and brother. Wiley continued to fiddle with several switches. When his sound check didn’t shatter any eardrums, it was obvious he’d gotten in right. Vaughn approached Wiley and the sound system from across the fairgrounds. Wiley glanced at him, grinned, and returned to his duties.

  “What brings you out this way, Vaughn?” Wiley asked. “Pre-bachelor auction jitters?”

  “You’re a funny man,” Vaughn scoffed. “Don’t quit your day job.”

  Wiley looked at him and uncertainly sat on the table. “You look a little distracted. I’m guessing it’s something more than putting your butt on the auction block.”

  “I’m way beyond distracted,” Vaughn informed him sternly. “I’m disturbed and possibly sickened by something I’d just read in Catherine Remington’s journal.”

  Wiley stared at Vaughn with a look of surprise. “Catherine Remington’s journal? I don’t remember anything about a journal.”

  “Casey gave it to me,” he replied and waved his hand. “We’re getting off subject.” Vaughn tensed while staring at Wiley. “She filed an assault report against Wayne Harford six months before she was killed.” He was unusually silent then raised his brows and continued. “I searched every file we have, and I didn’t find any report.”

  Wiley stared at Vaughn and appeared frozen. Vaughn stared back and didn’t blink.

  Vaughn slowly nodded and appeared to understand the sile
nce. “You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? What happened to that report, Wiley?”

  Wiley took a deep breath, uncertainly looked around, and then took Vaughn by the arm. “Let’s walk.”

  The two men walked away from the stage area and into a large clearing void of activity. Vaughn continued to cast glares at Wiley, who appeared reluctant to speak as they walked.

  “Yes, Catherine filed a complaint against Wayne for attempted sexual assault,” he reluctantly remarked. “I took down every word she said, believing every word she said.”

  Vaughn stopped and forced him to face him. His look was stern and harsh. “What happened to that report, Wiley?”

  There was a long silence. Wiley frowned. “Ernest happened.”

  Vaughn looked up, shook his head with disbelief, and almost laughed. He looked back at Wiley and glared his annoyance. “You let Ernest bully you into burying a sexual assault complaint against his son? The bastard intended to rape Catherine Remington. The only reason he didn’t succeed is because she stopped him. How could you allow something like this?”

  “I didn’t allow it, Vaughn,” Wiley protested then fell silent and appeared ashamed. “I buried the report to protect her; to protect the Remington’s.” He took a deep, shaken breath and stared across the fairgrounds at nothing. “There had been a lot of talk going around town that year. Rumor had it Brandon Remington was going to run for mayor. The powers that be didn’t like it.” He finally looked back at Vaughn. “Ernest came to me with Wayne’s side of the story. His version would have caused such a scandal; it would have destroyed any chances Brandon had to win an election.” Wiley appeared exhausted. “Yes, Ernest wanted me to bury the complaint, but I didn’t do it to keep my job. I buried Catherine’s complaint so Brandon would be angry enough to run for mayor.”

  “That’s wrong, Wiley,” Vaughn scoffed. “You manipulated the law. That’s what we’ve been trying so hard to put an end to. Brandon was going to run anyway.”

  Wiley shook his head with a defeated look. “No, he wasn’t,” he replied softly. “I had to turn him against me, it was the only way.”