Need You

by Stacy Finz

“Nope,” Delaney lied. “We’re just friends.”

  Deb continued to measure her, then sighed. “You’re better off. Colt never got over Lisa.”

  Delaney suspected that she was right.

  * * *

  That had certainly been interesting. If Colt hadn’t known better, he would’ve thought Pond had run the entire search and rescue operation on his own.

  “What a nut sack,” Jack whispered as the two of them walked inside the building together.

  “Hey, at least the boy’s safe and sound. Let Pond get his rocks off talking to a bunch of reporters. Anyone with a lick of sense knows how these rescues work. I’m just happy he gave credit to the volunteers.”

  “Who was that guy with him?”

  Colt had never seen the man before, though he had all the telltale signs of a cop. The posture, the aviator sunglasses, and the Marlboro Man mustache. He’d shown up with the mayor at the press conference and had stood on the sidelines, observing the crowd, his right hand resting near his hip, where he would’ve carried his duty weapon. Call him paranoid, but Colt had a sneaking suspicion the guy was here interviewing to be his replacement. Pond was probably putting him up for the weekend so he could check out the town.

  “Don’t know. Possibly your new boss.”

  “Nah,” Jack said. “Pond talks a good game but he’d never fire you.”

  Colt wasn’t so sure about that.

  Carrie Jo was sitting at her desk, flipping through the local stations on the office TV. “That was it? Where were you guys? It was like the Pond Scum hour.”

  Jack chuckled.

  “Hey, a little respect.” Colt needed them to stop with the Pond Scum crap. It was getting out of hand.

  He wasn’t in his office five minutes before his phone pinged with a text from Win.

  That was bullshit, it said.

  TJ called on Colt’s cell. “What the hell was that?”

  Josh yelled in the background, “The mayor’s a douche bag.”

  “Who cares?” Colt was more concerned with Pond’s mystery friend. “The important thing is the kid’s all right.”

  “Still,” TJ said, “you’re the one who found him. Everyone else thought he’d drowned in the river.”

  “I don’t need a pat on the back for that. It’s my job. Besides, finding the kid . . . that’s enough.”

  “Drinks tonight at Old Glory?” TJ asked.

  “Yeah. I’ll ask Jack and Carrie Jo if they want to come too.” Colt would’ve liked to invite Delaney but needed to cool things down with her. By Halloween she’d be gone, returning to her real life in Los Angeles.

  When he got off the phone he went out to the bull pen to talk to Carrie Jo. The mayor and his buddy were wandering through the office, talking in hushed tones. Yep, the guy was Colt’s replacement, all right. Carrie Jo thought so too, because she caught Colt’s eye and mouthed, “Shit.” He signaled for her to keep her lips zipped.

  “Colt,” the mayor called. “I want you to meet a friend of mine.”

  Colt walked over to where they were standing. The man wore a cheesy grin and stuck his hand out. Colt took it and introduced himself.

  “This is Brian Dooney,” the mayor said. “He’s a captain at the Fremont Police Department and loves Glory Junction.”

  “It’s a good place,” Colt said, trying to sound amiable. “I was raised here.”

  “Oh yeah?” Brian sounded like he couldn’t care less; he was too busy checking out Carrie Jo.

  “Colt’s family owns a little adventure tour company on Main Street.”

  Little? It wasn’t so little. But Colt didn’t correct Pond.

  “That must be fun,” Brian said.

  “Yep. Fun. You up for the weekend or are you looking for a job?” Colt couldn’t help himself.

  The mayor suddenly looked uncomfortable.

  “Up for the weekend, but I wouldn’t mind making it permanent if the job was right. Who’s the big blonde?”

  Colt clenched his fists at his sides, just thankful that Carrie Jo was too far away to hear the conversation. He’d take her with him to Garner Adventure before he’d leave her to this asshole.

  “That’s Carrie Jo Morgan. She’s the department secretary,” Pond said.

  “Executive assistant,” Colt corrected. “How do you know Mayor Pond, Brian?”

  “Brian used to work off duty doing security for my startup before I sold it.”

  Interesting, Colt thought. Captains didn’t usually take off-duty jobs, but maybe Brian hadn’t been that high up in the ranks back then.

  “It was nice meeting you,” Colt lied. “Enjoy your stay in Glory Junction.”

  “Maybe I’ll stop by your family’s company. I do a little motorcycle racing; you got anything like that?”

  “No. Most of our stuff is for the seasoned adventurer. BASE jumping, cave diving, hang gliding, ice climbing, extreme skiing. Probably nothing you’d be interested in.” Colt walked away.

  “What’s going on?” Carrie Jo whispered as he passed her desk.

  “Not now.” He went inside his office, shut the door, and called his old partner at SFPD.

  Even though Colt had been gone a while, he was still tight with the friends he’d made on the force in San Francisco. Still regularly went on ski and camping trips with them and had them up to Glory Junction for GA’s special events.

  “Yo, Garner, what up?”

  “You know a Brian Dooney? He’s a captain at Fremont PD.”

  “Not off the top of my head. Why?”

  “He’s looking to get hired here and I wanted to know what the off-the-record rap on him is.”

  “I could ask around. How soon you need the information?”

  “Soon.”

  “Let me see what I can do.”

  “Thanks, buddy.”

  As soon as Colt got off the phone Carrie Jo and Jack rushed into his office, their expressions panicked. If Colt’s job was at risk so was Jack’s. Whoever became chief would want to bring in his own command staff. People loyal to him, not his predecessor. That’s just the way it was in any department.

  “They’re gone,” Carrie Jo said. “What the hell, Colt?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  “No way is he getting rid of you.” Jack plopped down on the couch. “The city council won’t stand for it.”

  “Look at the city charter. The mayor has the ultimate say in these situations. If he wants to dump me, he can.”

  “He doesn’t have the balls. The whole town will turn against him.”

  “I don’t know about that. Have you looked around lately? This isn’t the same Glory Junction it was ten, fifteen years ago. Lots of new residents. Remember, Pond won by a landslide. People have faith in him.”

  “That Brian guy gave me the willies.” Carrie Jo sat next to Jack. “He thinks he’s Thomas Magnum, PI, with that mustache.”

  “I agree with Carrie Jo,” Jack said. “The dude made my skin crawl.”

  Colt didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want his people to be unhappy but he had no power over the situation. “Let me talk to Ben, see if Pond has a contractual obligation to keep me on. But, guys, I’m pretty sure I’m an at-will employee.” Meaning he could be terminated at any time. “I’m meeting my brothers at Old Glory. You two in?”

  “Let me get my purse and lock up.”

  Jack said he’d meet them at the bar. Since he was on call tonight, he needed to brief the watch commander. Colt and Carrie Jo walked over together. The place was packed, as it usually was on a Friday night. He spotted TJ and Josh at their regular table and went to the bar to get a pitcher of beer.

  “Missed you at the press conference,” Boden said. “It looked like the Carter Pond hour on my TV.”

  “No comment.”

  Colt brought the pitcher back to the table with a couple of pint glasses and put it next to TJ and Josh’s half empty one. He started to pour a glass for Carrie Jo but she shook her head.

  “Too fatte
ning. I’d rather take my calories in chocolate.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  His brothers finished their pitcher and topped their glasses off with his. A few minutes later Jack came in the door with Pond and Brian on his tail.

  “Don’t look at me,” Jack said once he got to their table. “I didn’t invite them.”

  The two men sat at the bar, far enough away that they couldn’t hear Colt and the rest of the gang, especially with the music from the jukebox blasting. In a couple of hours, a live band would take the stage. The Racketeers. Colt had seen the poster on the door advertising them, but had never heard of the group before. He probably wouldn’t be staying long enough for the band anyway. Tomorrow was a workday.

  TJ and Josh played Jack and Carrie Jo in a game of pool. Win eventually showed up and challenged Colt to a game of darts. He kept one eye on the mayor and the Fremont police captain, who was scoping out every woman in the place. Colt was pretty sure he’d seen a ring on Brian’s wedding finger.

  Boden came over with a fresh pitcher on the house. “Who’s the steroid head with the mayor?”

  “I’m getting the feeling that he’s my successor,” Colt replied.

  Win immediately turned his head to check out Brian at the bar. “What are you talking about?”

  Colt told them about his suspicions.

  “No way,” Win said. “Pond can’t just fire you without cause.”

  “He can do whatever he wants. All he has to say is he wants to take the department in a new direction and that he and I couldn’t come to terms on the mayor’s vision for the future. It happens all the time.”

  Jack and Carrie Jo had obviously filled TJ and Josh in, because the four of them came over to the dartboards. His brothers looked furious.

  “That’s the guy?” TJ cocked his head at Brian.

  “Yup. Try not to be too obvious, people.”

  “I’m going to talk to Dad about this,” TJ said. “Pond is messing with the wrong people.”

  Colt shrugged. “It is what it is, TJ. The mayor has the right to handpick anyone he wants. The voters put their faith in him.”

  “The voters didn’t know what a jerk off the guy is,” Josh said.

  Colt’s family was a loyal lot and he loved them for it. But sometimes they had an inflated view of their influence in town. A lot had changed since his parents had left the Bay Area to put down roots in Glory Junction, back when it was still a cow town. Since then, a whole crop of wealthy baby boomers and Gen Xers had become residents. To them, Gray and Mary Garner were the old guard.

  He stayed for one set of the Racketeers and went home, feeling more dejected than he had in a long time. Being Glory Junction’s police chief was a big part of who he was. TJ was the businessman in the family, Josh the war hero, and Win the charismatic charmer. Law enforcement had given Colt an identity separate from the family business. He supposed he could always apply for a position somewhere else, but this was his town, his home, the place where the people he loved lived.

  Turning up the easement, he noted that Delaney was charging her Tesla and parked at the top of his driveway. He got out of his car and checked Delaney’s studio windows to see if the lights were on and if she was still up. New shades made it impossible to tell. But as he got closer to her deck, he heard female laughter.

  “Hey,” she called to him. “Saw you on TV.”

  He walked closer and saw that his sister-in-law and Deb were there, drinking wine. “Yeah?”

  “You looked good,” she slurred slightly. Clearly, she’d had a few.

  “Thanks. You having a party?” He waved to Hannah and Deb, who waved back.

  “Sort of. Deb came over so I could take her measurements for a pair of cargo pants. Hannah decided to come over, too. You want to hang out with us?”

  They looked pretty happy to have their girl thing going. He didn’t want to intrude. “I’m gonna call it a night, but thanks for the invite.”

  “Sure. You okay? You look kind of down. Is it because Pond hogged the press conference?”

  “Nah,” he said. “Just tired.”

  “Okay. ’Night then.”

  “Good night.” He started back across the road, stopped suddenly, and pulled Delaney aside, out of earshot from the others. “You want to have dinner at my parents’ house Sunday?”

  She seemed surprised by the invitation. “Me? Why?”

  He was a glutton for punishment, that’s why.

  “Josh is having surgery next week and my mom’s having everyone to the house.”

  “Of course,” she said, pleased to have been asked. “I’d love to go.”

  “Good. Hannah could use the support of her friends.” God, he was such a dick.

  Chapter Fourteen

  On Sunday, Delaney rode over to the Garners’ house with Colt. It was easier than taking two cars, but he’d made it plenty clear that this wasn’t a date.

  Their house, a two-story chalet reminiscent of the older style cabins popular in the area before modern mountain architecture had taken over, was larger and homier than she’d expected. Despite the home once housing five men, there were feminine touches everywhere. A cute wooden welcome wreath on the door and vases of fresh-cut flowers. Big, overstuffed, upholstered couches and chairs anchored the spacious great room, which had a spectacular view of the mountains and lake.

  Two Labrador retrievers—Lucy and Ricky—slept on dog beds by the hearth of an enormous stone fireplace. Colt crouched down and scratched the labs behind their ears.

  There were family pictures everywhere. Photos of all four brothers at various ages, skiing, snowboarding, rafting, rock climbing. Delaney especially liked the portrait of Colt graduating from the police academy with his parents by his side, and a similar photo of Josh as an army ranger. She stopped to admire a wedding picture of Hannah, gorgeous in her white sheath gown.

  Mary came out of the kitchen with her apron on. “Everyone should be here soon. Gray just called to let me know that he dropped off his group and is on his way home. Would you like something to drink, Delaney? A glass of wine or a soda?”

  “Wine would be great.”

  “I’ll get it, Mom. You go finish getting ready.”

  “Thanks, Colt.” She kissed him on the top of the head, which she wouldn’t have been able to reach if he wasn’t on the floor playing with the dogs. For the mother of four very tall boys, she couldn’t be more than five-foot-five. And adorable.

  “Your parents have a beautiful home,” Delaney told Colt as she followed him into the kitchen.

  “Tell my mom. It’s her pride and joy. We were forever tracking through it, building forts under the dining room table, using her best linens—turning the place into a pigsty.”

  “It couldn’t have been easy with four boys. She was completely outnumbered.”

  “Yep. Dad wasn’t much help either. Before building a workshop, he used to work on his projects in the house. He spent an entire winter crafting a canoe in our living room. That was the year Mom threatened to divorce him.”

  Delaney laughed and gazed around the kitchen. A big center island, butcher block countertops, and a potbelly stove. It wasn’t up to date like her kitchen but it oozed warmth and charm and family.

  Colt moved in front of her to get a wineglass from one of the upper cabinets. He had on the most recent version of her cargo pants, the ones she’d made using his recommendations. They rode low on his hips and hugged his perfect backside.

  “You want red or white?” he asked, and turned around just in time to catch her ogling his ass.

  She quickly flicked her glance away. “Whatever everyone else wants.”

  “No need to stand on ceremony,” he said, impatient the way men get when women are trying to be polite. “There’s plenty to go around, just pick one.”

  “Red then. The pants look good.” Let him think she was admiring her own handiwork.

  “TJ’s going to bug you about them. Feel free to tell him to screw off.”

&
nbsp; “I’m still thinking about it.” She’d worked on Deb’s pair all day and was pleased with the progress. Instead of baggy and shapeless, like the other pants on the market, hers were form fitting.

  “Whatever floats your boat,” he said, and handed her a glass of pinot noir, their hands brushing, sending tiny tremors up Delaney’s arm. “But don’t do something you’re not into.”

  “I won’t.”

  He looked at her, holding her gaze, like he wanted to kiss her. Then the moment passed and he squeezed by her. “Let’s go in the living room.” They carried in their drinks and sat together on the couch.

  Someone came in the front door and Colt got up to see who it was, returning a few seconds later. “My dad. He went upstairs to shower and change. No one told me we were starting later than planned. Sorry.”

  “No problem. I’m enjoying myself.” She held up her glass of wine. “What did you do today?”

  “Took a group river rafting for Win. He had plans in Tahoe.” Colt never got a day off and it was starting to show. He seemed on edge, not himself.

  “How about you?” he asked.

  “Not a lot.” She’d spent much of her day trying to figure out how she’d make the deadline for fashion week. By now, she should be planning a runway show.

  They sat there quiet for a few minutes until Colt got up and turned on the radio, which reminded her of his upcoming concert.

  “You ready to play next weekend at Old Glory?”

  “Yep.” He sat back down next to her but didn’t say anything more. Something was clearly bothering him. Perhaps Josh’s upcoming surgery, which had to make the whole family anxious.

  She didn’t get a chance to ask him about it because Hannah and Josh came in.

  “Hey, where is everyone?” Hannah bussed both of their cheeks with kisses.

  “Jack has to hold down the fort and Carrie Jo’s babysitting her sister’s kids. Everyone else is running late,” Colt said. “But we’re here. You guys want a drink?”

  “I’ll get it.” Hannah started for the kitchen. Delaney began to follow her but Hannah told her to stay put.

  Josh sat in the recliner and put the chair back.

  “Your leg hurting you?” Colt sounded concerned.

  “A little too much exercise today. I’ll be fine. I’m looking forward to getting this operation over with. How you doing, Delaney? Thanks for coming.”