Romance in Color

by Synithia Williams

  Fling? That’s what she called this thing going on between them? He huffed out a breath, biting back words. “Of course,” he finally managed. “I’m a different person now.”

  “Good.” She settled into the covers and brought the sheet to her chin. She closed her eyes, patted him on the shoulder, and said, “Get some sleep.”

  Fuck sleep.

  He watched her, musing over his life, his past, his future.

  Fling? He didn’t know what it was, didn’t know what the future held for him, but he knew Winona was the only person who could take his mind off the fact he had a lonely and miserable future ahead of him if he didn’t do something about it.

  Exclusive? Of course he expected exclusive. He hadn’t even considered another woman since the first moment he’d eyed Winona behind the bar, serving cocktails he couldn’t, shouldn’t imbibe.

  He wanted her with him tomorrow. He wanted to spend the day with Amy and Winona. Winona would keep him grounded, and he worried about the dependence he might be forming with her. She felt safe; a habit that kept him thinking on the reality of what was really going on in his life.

  The feelings he had for her weren’t unlike the need for alcohol or the excruciating pain he’d experienced before, or after.

  • • •

  A loud bang on the door jolted Winona awake. Eyes wide, she glanced at Jake, fearing the worst. She grabbed a robe from the closet and approached the door, peering out the peephole.

  “Winona!” Reagan called. Unsure of what to expect, Winona opened the door. Reagan bounced in, halting as soon as she saw Jake.

  “I’m sorry. You didn’t answer your door, so I thought you might be here.”

  “No worries. What’s wrong?”

  Garret bounded in after her, his gaze wide and uncertain. Jake was sitting up on the bed and donning a shirt, the covers still secured tightly around his waist.

  “What’s going on?” he asked.

  “Sorry to disturb you.” Reagan had the grace to flush and avoided looking at Jake. Instead, her fierce brown eyes focused on Winona. “But I just found out my husband has been offered the job of chief of police and has even been asked to run for sheriff. Something I didn’t know. Something his own brother didn’t know. But something you obviously did.”

  Winona’s gaze met Garret’s for a split second before deflecting to Reagan. Garret had told her one night at Air Dog that he had been offered the chief of police job. He’d wanted her opinion and never said it was a secret, but he’d asked her to keep quiet about it until he made the decision. Apparently he’d chosen tonight to make the announcement to his wife.

  Winona shrugged. “He mentioned he was considering it, but wanted to discuss it with you first. I didn’t know you didn’t know.”

  “Well, I didn’t know.”

  “I’m … sorry.” What else could she say? How was she supposed to react to this news? Did Reagan think there was something between her husband and Winona? “I think he was worried about how you’d react.”

  “Oh, you mean like I’m reacting now?”

  “I guess he thought his wife’s friend’s perspective would help him decide what to do.”

  “And I’m sure you told him you thought it was a great idea.”

  “Of course I didn’t. I told him it was something you both needed to talk about. That he needed to discuss it with you. It was … weeks ago. I thought …” Her voice trailed. She never should have said weeks ago. That only made things worse, confirmed by the furrowing of Reagan’s eyes as she whirled on Garret.

  “Weeks ago? You’ve been considering this for weeks and you’re just now telling me? When you promised life with me would be all the adventure you needed? We haven’t even been married a year and already you’re bored with life? You thought you needed to talk to another woman about it first?”

  Jake hung his head and shook it before tightening the covers around him and standing. The maneuver made everyone turn to look. “Excuse me. I’m going to change,” he said before disappearing into the bathroom.

  Garret didn’t look at Winona for back-up. Which was a good thing, considering his wife was already thinking whatever thoughts she was thinking about the two of them, worsened by the fact she’d asked Garret to help her interview Lillian.

  “Reagan, please,” Winona said. “It was never anything like that. He was at the bar having a drink and I was working. He asked me what I thought of the idea and told me he was scared you’d be unhappy about it. Which, obviously, you are. He hadn’t made his decision yet and I told him it was definitely a decision he couldn’t make on his own. He didn’t even want to tell his brother, because he knew how Chayton would feel.”

  “Oh, but I guess you would understand so he felt perfectly fine telling you.”

  “And Naomi,” Winona added. “Naomi was sitting there, too.”

  “Oh, isn’t that wonderful.” Reagan threw her arms in the air and spun in circles, a perfect rendition of drama overemphasized.

  “He made Naomi promise she wouldn’t tell Chayton until he had a chance to talk to you.”

  Tears filled Reagan’s eyes. Her chin quivered. Jake opened the bathroom door and stood propped against the frame as if he didn’t know what to do with himself.

  Reagan acted like she didn’t know what to do with herself either until she squared her shoulders and stalked out the door, slamming it behind her. Garret was about to follow when Winona stopped him with a hand to his arm.

  “Don’t go after her. She’s too upset to speak with you right now. Leave her time to sort through this mess. I’ll go. We’ll have a drink at the bar or something.” She glanced at Jake and he nodded.

  “We’ll be right here,” Jake said.

  “I’ll just … change first,” she said, laughing, blushing as she indicated the robe she wore. Jake moved out of the door and let her pass into the bathroom. In an awkward moment of what-to-do-next, he glanced at her. She smiled and rubbed his cheek. If no one knew they were an item before, they would now.

  “I’m sorry about all this,” she heard Garret say when she shut the bathroom door.

  “No worries,” Jake said.

  “You need your rest. You meet with Amy tomorrow.”

  “Yeah. I had hoped you planned on coming. You seem to know how to deal with Lillian.”

  “I’ll be there if you want me to be.”

  “Not if it’s going to create a problem with Reagan.”

  Winona didn’t hear the rest. She tugged on her clothes and washed her face, then kissed Jake, tousled Garret’s hair, and clomped out the door.

  She found Reagan at the bar, nursing a green drink.

  “Hey,” Winona said as she slid onto the seat beside her. “Everything okay?”

  Reagan sighed. “Not really. I mean, I know I’m supposed to be supportive of my husband and I don’t want to be the wife who tells him he can’t chase his dreams. But, sheriff? I didn’t know that was his dream.”

  “If it makes you feel better, he doesn’t plan on running for sheriff. He wants to stay in Tanyon and the Sheriff’s Department is somewhere else. Not sure where. Twenty miles out or something. He wasn’t considering that, just an offer by some of the locals. And he never applied for chief. But as you know, they haven’t been able to find a good replacement since the one who tried to kill you.”

  Reagan’s shoulders rose as she downed her drink and indicated to the bartender she wanted another. “You want something?” she asked Winona.

  “No. Just water.”

  “Oh,” Reagan said, looking contrite. “I guess you don’t really drink around Jake, do you?”

  “No.”

  The bartender set the drink on the counter and Reagan pushed it away. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay. I don’t think he expects everyone to quit because he doesn’t drink.”

  “No, but I feel horrible now. I mean, first I ruined your evening.” She peeked at Winona and smiled shyly. “And I know Jake must be anxious about this whole ordea
l and seeing Amy tomorrow and he probably just wanted a peaceful night. And now here I am, drinking. He probably thinks I’m a drunk.”

  “He does not. You can have a drink or two without being a drunk. His problem became a problem when he was always drunk and always drinking and it affected his everyday life. He got pretty bad at one time.”

  Reagan grabbed the drink. “Okay. If you’re sure he wouldn’t mind, I could use this.”

  “Go ahead. And as far as our evening, we were sleeping.”

  Reagan cocked an eyebrow. “Sleeping.”

  “Sleeping,” Winona said, giggling. “After a magnificent afternoon. But you didn’t interrupt anything.”

  They sat in silence a moment, the dark bar offering a perfect backdrop for what remained unsaid. Two other couples sat in the corner of the room, murmurs of conversation spreading across the room in a low hum.

  Winona rested her arm over Reagan’s shoulder and leaned into her. “By the way, Garret only told me because he was obviously stressing over it. I’ve worked in the police field, sort of, and I was tending the bar that night. So I probably seemed to him the best candidate to listen. He couldn’t talk to you or Chayton.”

  “Yeah, that’s the problem. He felt like he couldn’t talk to me, his own wife.”

  “It wasn’t like that. He just didn’t want to worry you. He wasn’t ready. He wanted to think about it first. I don’t know that he’s even considering it.”

  “He wouldn’t have said anything if he wasn’t considering it.”

  “Well, I’m sure he’s considered it. But I mean I don’t know that he really wants to.”

  “Then why consider it?”

  “Maybe because he likes to keep people safe and he knows Tanyon needs a good police force?”

  “The interim chief is a decent guy, I think. Why would Garret want to be police chief? I wanted to be enough for him.”

  “You are enough for him. You’re the perfect couple. But, I don’t know, I think he wants to feel like he’s doing enough for the community. He has a strong sense of character. Like everything he does matters. Not just for one person.”

  “Not just for me.” Reagan’s voice was quiet, hushed. Winona understood what she meant, but didn’t understand how to make her feel better. She shot down her drink and nodded at the bartender for another. “I like the interim chief, Keith something-or-other. He seems like a good guy. He wasn’t involved in all that jewel heist crap. And I think he really wants it. So why would Garret even consider taking his place?”

  “He’s considering all angles.”

  The bartender set her drink on the counter and Winona stole it to take a sip. She screwed her face at the sweetness of it and gave it back to Reagan.

  Reagan wrapped her hands around the glass and sighed heavily. “You’re probably right. You’re a lot like him. So observant and smart. I swear you are more blood related than he and Chayton. Or even you and Chayton.”

  Winona laughed and sipped her water. “I guess Naomi told you her news?”

  Reagan turned to her, eyes wide as anger melted out of her. “About their engagement? Isn’t that wonderful?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Reagan bowed her head into her drink and studied the ice clinking against the sides. Her smile faded, eyes narrowed. “That’s why I’m so worried. Things have been so great. So perfect. It doesn’t seem possible to be this happy. I’m afraid something is going to come along to fuck it all up.”

  “You know, a lot of people create drama where there is none for that reason.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, people expect their world to fall apart at any moment, so they do what they can to make themselves unhappy or create their own problems so when the worst does happen, they expected it and feel they can deal with it. It’s no less traumatizing, by the way. You’ve all been through so much. I mean, you were almost killed, Garret was kidnapped at his own wedding. You have plenty of reasons to worry, but you’ve got to enjoy every moment of the good stuff.”

  Reagan pushed away her drink. She stood and nodded her thanks to the bartender. “Can you charge this to my room?”

  “Sure. Just need you to sign your ticket.”

  “You’re right,” Reagan continued as she waited on the bartender. “I can’t ruin the good moments.” She signed the ticket, looped her arm through Winona’s, and pulled her from the barstool. “Let’s go back to our men.”

  • • •

  “God, I need a drink,” Garret said as he opened the wet bar and grabbed a bottle of whiskey. “Do you mind if I take this? I’ll pay for it.”

  “Of course not,” Jake said. Yesterday, it would have posed a problem. He was stronger today, and attributed that fact to Winona. “Go ahead, but don’t worry about paying for it. As far as I’m concerned, you deserve it after dealing with Lillian.”

  “And then Reagan,” he said, laughing as he twisted off the top and plopped into the hotel’s cushy chair. He looked at Jake and his face fell. Scooting forward on the seat, he sat the drink on the floor. “Oh man, I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry for what?” Jake asked. He knew what Garret felt sorry about. He’d had to endure contrition from people over the years when they realized they were drinking around an alcoholic.

  “For …” He gaped at the floor.

  “For wanting a drink after a tough day? Don’t be sorry. I choose not to because I know I have a problem. You don’t have a problem. You know when to quit. So don’t feel guilty about enjoying life’s little pleasures.”

  “But—”

  “No buts,” Jake interrupted. “I’ve learned to control myself. Like a smoker who has quit smoking.”

  He noticed and appreciated that Garret had set aside his drink and left it untouched, but a deep part of him resented that Garret felt he had to make a sacrifice.

  “So you’ve been offered the job as police chief?” Jake asked, moving on to the subject that brought Garret here in the first place.

  “I’ve been asked to consider it, so I’m considering it. I mentioned it to Winona and Naomi, getting their take on what to do and how Reagan and my brother would feel.”

  “Why didn’t you ask Reagan how she would feel?”

  “I did. She went ballistic.”

  “Yeah, but you didn’t ask her first.”

  Garret sighed and swiped a hand over his face, leaning back in his chair. “I don’t think it would matter. She wouldn’t like it even if she did know first.”

  “And how do you think Chayton will feel?”

  “He’ll hate it. He’ll hate me. Our father was killed on the job. My partner was killed during an investigation. Hell, I can’t tell you how many times my life was on the line. But I think the chief of police of Tanyon is a relatively safe job. Besides the fact the last one was crooked.”

  Jake leaned down and collected the bottle, handing it to Garret. “Drink. It won’t bother me. And besides, it’s a good bottle of whiskey.”

  “Yeah, well, a good bottle of whiskey isn’t going to solve my problems.”

  “Very true.” Jake set the bottle on the table and leaned back, propping his feet on the table and resting his hands behind his head. “When I first started my program, I’d never be able to make it around that open bottle. Wouldn’t even be able to stay in this hotel, with a minibar. Couldn’t go to a restaurant that served alcohol. Brandon threw out any cough syrup or medications with alcohol in them. And pills. Lord, he even threw out my aspirin. It was hell for months, but nothing like the hell I’d been through with my addiction, and I’m a better person now.”

  “You should be proud of yourself,” Garret said. “You’re a huge influence on people. On kids. The fact you haven’t hidden that part of your life speaks volumes about who you are.”

  Jake nodded. “Yeah, that’s what Brandon always said.”

  “And he was right.”

  Jake stared at the table until the lines started moving. He shook his head and refocused, refusing to dwel
l on Brandon and the pain his death had caused. Refusing to relapse into gloom. He hated to feel anything when others were present and make them feel awkward, like they needed to offer condolences or something.

  He’d had his first drink the other day—one vodka—and it hadn’t affected him. He didn’t crave it any more or any less than he had in the past. But Winona had a lot to do with that, he was sure, because now he only found himself craving her.

  “You’re tired.” Garret stood. “You need rest. The girls will be back later, I’m sure. Or maybe I’ll go to the bar and see if I can find her. But you should rest for your breakfast tomorrow.”

  Jake stood and shook Garret’s hand. “I want you and Reagan there. If you want to be.”

  “Of course. We’ll meet you in the lobby in the morning.”

  “Thanks. Take that open bottle with you, will you?”

  Garret laughed, winked at him, and grabbed the whiskey. “Good night.”

  “Oh, and Garret?”

  Garret stationed his hand on the doorknob and turned to look at Jake. “Yeah?”

  “You’d make one hell of a police chief.”

  Chapter Ten

  Winona bustled around Jake’s hotel room, straightening the bed and pillow and clutter as she waited for Jake and Garret to return with Amy. They’d decided the men would collect Amy and meet the girls back at the hotel, where they’d find a place to eat breakfast.

  Reagan sat on the bed with a pillow in her lap, watching as Winona shuffled from one task to another, often repeating a task.

  Doubts plagued Winona. Would Amy like her? Would she like Amy?

  Her nerves seesawed back and forth between what difference it made and how important it was. Winona wanted Amy to like her, even if she wasn’t sure where she fit into Jake’s life.

  Reagan punched the pillow and hugged it tighter as she drew her knees inward. “Why in the world are we staying here hiding and letting our men manipulate this woman? Or is this woman manipulating our men? Should I be concerned?”

  “Absolutely not. I’m positive she’s not Garret’s type.”

  “How can you be positive?”

  “She’s … unnatural. Too much makeup. Too much hairspray. Dark purple eye shadow and thick eyeliner. I don’t think Garret cares for her type.”