by Stacy Finz
“Nowhere. Tired I guess.”
“How was Josh’s shindig?”
“Good. He and Hannah left this morning for San Francisco. My parents are going Tuesday so they can wait with Hannah while Josh is in surgery.”
“I’m keeping him in my thoughts.”
“Thanks, Jack.”
Chip came into the restaurant and Colt nodded his head in greeting. There was a time when they hadn’t been so civil to each other, mostly when Colt had to scrape Chip’s drunken ass off the floor. No telling how many times he’d been called out on one of Chip’s benders and had to arrest him for being drunk and disorderly in public. It had been awkward because Chip had grown up with the Garner brothers. And poor Hannah had been so humiliated.
But Chip had gotten sober and it seemed to be sticking, thank goodness.
“He’s doing good,” Jack said as they both watched Chip leave with a take-out order. “I’m glad Fish and Wildlife stuck by him.” Chip and his new wife both worked for the department, formerly known as Fish and Game. Some of the folks there had staged an intervention and Chip had gone into a residential rehab program.
“Yeah, me too.”
“He and Josh talk anymore?”
“It’s still pretty strained between those two.” Stuff about Hannah, but that wasn’t for public consumption, even if Jack was almost family.
Jack nodded like he understood. “You ready for this weekend?”
Colt wasn’t sure if Jack meant the kayak race or his show at Old Glory. “You do know that we’re getting our asses kicked, right? The sooner you come to terms with that the better you’ll feel when we lose.”
“Oh ye of little faith,” Jack said. “What do you think of me asking Carrie Jo to your concert?”
“Are you asking my permission or whether she’ll go? Because I know for a fact she’s planning to be there.”
“With me. Go with me. Like a date.”
Ah, dude. “You think that’s a good idea, Jack? You two work together.”
“I was wondering about that, but it’s not like I’m her boss. Besides, Carrie Jo can hold her own.”
“Yep, she sure can. It’s up to you.”
“You think she’ll say yes?”
No. “I never know what’s in that woman’s head. You prepared if she doesn’t?”
Jack hitched his shoulders. “It might be awkward, especially around the station.”
“That’s why I personally would steer clear of work situations.”
“Colt, you steer clear of any romantic situation, period. You can’t get much hotter than Rachel Johnson, who has all but screamed her interest in you. Yet . . .” He considered his next words, then just put it out there. “It’s time to get over Lisa.”
Why did everyone keep telling him that? He was as over her as a man could get without being dead. He just wasn’t over what she had done. That continued to be a festering sore, especially when he was forced to hear her on the radio every day.
“I’m interested in someone!” He practically yelled it, and a few diners a couple of booths over turned to stare. “Does that make you feel better?”
“Who?” Jack folded his arms over his chest as if he thought Colt was lying.
“Delaney Scott, that’s who.” Jesus, why’d he open his mouth? Jack, unlike his brothers, could at least keep a secret.
Jack leaned over the table. “Seriously? You think she might be a little out of your league?”
“I know she’s out of my league.”
“Shit. What are you going to do?”
“Nothing. That’s what I’m going to do.”
Carrie Jo came over his radio. “They found Finkelstein’s car.”
Colt jotted down the address, they finished their lunch and paid the bill. Jack drove Colt to Morris’s house to get the car keys, then followed him back to drop the Buick off. Finkelstein made them wait while he checked the sedan over for damage to report to his insurance company.
Colt didn’t bother to tell him that there wasn’t anything wrong with the car. That it had sat all night at the Starbucks parking lot, where he’d left it. The life of a country cop. Yet, he wouldn’t trade it for all the money in the world.
The rest of the day wound up being uneventful. Before leaving, Colt checked in with Josh to wish him luck the next day. Then he drove home.
He thought about hiking to the lake for a swim and quickly nixed the idea. Nothing wrong with a quiet night at home. The luxury of it was short lived when TJ showed up with a few take-out containers of Indian food.
“Where’s your neighbor? I thought we could invite her.”
“I don’t think she’s home,” Colt said, and got down plates.
TJ gave him a look. “You guys seemed pretty cozy last night.”
“This isn’t like with Josh and Hannah.” The brothers had spent the winter playing matchmaker. “She’s leaving, TJ. She’s moving back to LA as soon as she sells her house there and can buy another one. So knock it off.”
“LA isn’t that far away, you know? From what I can tell, she’s nothing like Lisa.”
“And you would know this because of all the time you’ve spent with Delaney? You used to think Lisa was great, which shows what a great judge of character you are.”
“I didn’t think she was so great. None of us did. But you loved her ... and we love you. What she did was about as messed up as you can get. But you can’t judge every woman by Lisa.”
“TJ, why don’t you work on your own love life? When was the last time you had a date, huh?”
“Don’t make this about me. I watched you last night. You like her.” He jerked his head toward Delaney’s house. “All that arguing over parking ... You two were like kids discovering the opposite sex for the first time. Why don’t you just freaking go for it and quit depriving yourself of something good for a change?”
“Why don’t you shut the hell up?” Colt shoved a piece of naan in TJ’s face and abruptly changed the subject. “I’m going to need a full-time job when I get fired. I want my pick of assignments.”
“Why should I give you that?”
“Because I’m the oldest and the best.”
TJ rolled his eyes. “You won’t get fired. Rita and the others will go ballistic.”
“I think you overestimate my popularity and importance. Haven’t you heard the saying that no one is indispensable?”
“You’re good, Colt. Best police chief Glory Junction has ever had. You’re tough but fair and Lord knows you’re dedicated. What does Jack think?”
“Jack doesn’t know what to think. Pond’s a prick.”
“Yup, Pond’s a megaprick.”
They ate their Indian food in silence while Colt thought about just how dispensable he’d been. First with Lisa, now as chief. And if he let Delaney get too close, she’d replace him in a Los Angeles minute. When all he wanted was to be a forever kind of guy right here in Glory Junction.
Chapter Fifteen
Other than the crowds, the day was perfect. Mild, bright, and as clear as the eye could see.
Delaney finally found a strip of grass to spread her blanket. The finish line was even more popular than the starting point for Glory Junction’s famous End-of-Summer kayak races. She’d promised to save everyone a place on the packed riverbank.
A lot of the attendees had turned the event into a picnic. Ice chests, folding tables, and wicker hampers dotted the landscape as children competed for the best place to view the race from the river’s edge.
Because it was Delaney’s first End-of-Summer weekend, she planned to take in as many events as possible. Pie-eating contests, horse and carriage rides, and a diving contest at the lake were just a few of the festival’s offerings. And of course, live music at Old Glory, including Colt’s band.
She hadn’t seen him since dinner at his parents. It seemed to her that he was intentionally making himself scarce. Perhaps he was embarrassed about the phone call, but she doubted it. Colt didn’t strike her as the
self-conscious type. He was just staying true to form: vacillating between flirtation and disinterest, the way he had the entire month of August. Maybe he’d found someone in another town to toy with.
She saw Hannah and Foster wending their way through the crowd, stood up so they would see her, and waved.
“This is great, nice and close to the river.” Hannah plopped down on the blanket while Foster went to say hi to someone he knew. “Carrie Jo’s coming too. And Win is around here somewhere.”
“Have the kayakers started yet?”
“They took off twenty minutes ago. I followed along the bank, and from what I could tell, Josh and TJ were in the lead with Deb and Felix not far behind.”
According to what Colt had told her, pro kayak races covered many miles and went for several days. One of the largest was a thousand-mile race in Canada that took more than a week to finish. Glory Junction’s was a short course, only four miles on a relatively wide stretch of river without many rapids. Participants were encouraged to give their teams funny names and to wear goofy getups.
“What about Colt?” she asked.
Hannah grimaced. “He and Jack got off to a rocky start. Their kayak seems to have a mind of its own.”
Uh-oh. Delaney knew how competitive Colt could be. And who knew whether the mayor kept score? It sounded like he looked for any reason to give Colt a hard time, though she couldn’t imagine how the mayor could hold it against Colt if he lost an amateur race involving the whole town. That would be too petty even for him.
“I’m worried about Josh’s leg,” Hannah said. She and Josh had come back from San Francisco, hailing the surgery as a huge success. “He’s really supposed to be resting for a few weeks, and even though he’s using mostly his upper body, it seems reckless to race. But you can’t talk that man out of anything.”
Hannah loved her husband so much that sometimes when she talked about him Delaney felt a jab of jealousy. Not a pretty side of herself, but she couldn’t help it. At one time, she and Robert had adored each other, but they had never shared the kind of powerful love Hannah and Josh had. She suspected that Garner men were intense about everything, including their relationships. Case in point: look how long it was taking Colt to get over Lisa.
“Hopefully TJ will stop him from doing anything that could hurt his recovery.”
Hannah snorted. “Yeah, right. The only thing they care about is winning, especially against Colt. They love each other like crazy but, man, are they competitive.”
Foster came back with a box of sandwiches and sodas. “A kid from Tart Me Up is selling them. That Rachel is one smart cookie. I wish I would’ve thought of it myself.”
“Thank God, I’m starved.” Hannah grabbed one of the sandwiches.
Foster eyed her closely. “You eating for two?”
“Nope. Not yet, anyway.” She sounded disappointed. “Josh wants to wait until his leg is better.”
“You’re not getting any younger, honey.” Foster threw Delaney a sandwich.
Carrie Jo and Win spotted them and came trotting over. Win saw the sandwiches and plucked one out of the box while Carrie Jo perused each and every one, studying the ingredients.
“You think any of these are made with whole-grain bread?”
“No,” Foster said plainly. “Just eat half of one and you’ll be fine.”
Carrie Jo seemed to take Foster’s word as gospel and unwrapped half a turkey, cranberry, and goat cheese. “Colt and Jack are getting their asses kicked. The only ones doing worse are Rachel and the kid from her shop. I probably would’ve skipped the giant foam-rubber cupcake costumes.”
“It’s good for Colt to get creamed every now and again,” Win said between bites. He’d already commandeered the other half of Carrie Jo’s sandwich. “Builds humility, something Colt is greatly lacking. Besides, it’s still early. Anything can happen.”
“I saw Pond with some skank wearing booty shorts. Not a good look on a fifty-something with varicose veins.” Carrie Jo stuck her finger in her mouth and made gagging noises. “They were watching Colt and Jack and were laughing.”
“Yeah?” Win jumped to his feet. “I’ll go stand behind him . . . let him know I’m watching.”
Carrie Jo grabbed Win’s arm to stop him. “Don’t make it worse for your brother. The whole race is supposed to be a joke. The Garners are the only ones who take it seriously.”
“Carrie Jo is right,” Hannah said. “Let it go.”
Delaney admired Win’s loyalty, but it wouldn’t serve any purpose to get in the mayor’s face. “When is he up for reelection? Because when he is, you can work for the opposition and make sure he’s voted out of office.”
“He just got elected,” Win said, and sat back down. “He has enough time left in his term to make Colt’s life a living hell.”
In the distance a kayak bobbed on the water. It was too far away to make out who was in it. Win pulled up the pair of binoculars hanging around his neck and took a long look. Others started to notice and rushed to the water’s edge to join the kids. Soon, Delaney couldn’t see anything but backs and legs. Win got up and continued to train his field glasses on the lone boat.
“Who is it?” Hannah asked.
“Can’t tell yet.”
The rest of them stood as well, shielding their eyes from the sun, trying to make out the winner. Delaney thought it would be a while before the kayak got close enough to distinguish whom it belonged to. It didn’t stop bystanders from getting excited and yelling words of encouragement.
“Uh-oh, it’s Boden and one of his bartenders.” Carrie Jo pointed to the shore where the bartender, dressed in lederhosen, and a woman in a St. Pauli Girl outfit walked, carrying an upside-down kayak on their heads, defeat written across their faces.
Win aimed the binoculars at them. “Looks like Oktoberfest bit the dust.”
“What do you think happened?” Delaney asked.
“They either got disqualified or sprung a leak. I better give ’em a hand.” Win jumped down a small embankment and jogged toward them.
“Why would they have gotten disqualified?” Delaney went up on tiptoes to get a better look.
“If a competitor gets out of his kayak during the race, it’s an instant disqualification,” Hannah explained.
The crowd cheered Boden and the St. Pauli Girl as they hiked—not paddled—toward the finish line. Mary and some of the other volunteers dragged coolers filled with drinks to the landing area and a couple of kids ran toward Team Old Glory with bottles of water. Win helped hoist their kayak onto the official race trailer and returned to the picnic blanket.
Delaney spied Gray Garner standing there with a stopwatch in his hand, craning his neck to see who paddled the kayak in the lead, a huge smile splitting his face. He was one of the head organizers and, according to Colt, founded the End-of-Summer races.
As the kayak got closer, Delaney saw a logo on the side of the boat but couldn’t make out what it said.
“It’s them ... Josh and TJ!” Hannah shouted and pointed. “See the GA?”
“Shocker.” Foster covered his mouth, feigning surprise. “They win every freaking year.”
“This is the first time they won without Colt,” Hannah reminded him. “Josh wasn’t even here last summer.”
“That’s true,” Foster conceded.
A few feet from the finish line, TJ and Josh began tossing things at the cheering crowd. A kid in front of Delaney caught a Garner Adventure Frisbee. There were T-shirts, ball caps, and headlamps.
“They’ve got the best swag,” she overheard two boys say as people climbed all over each other to catch the prizes.
As Gray announced Garner Adventure as the first-place winner, Delaney took in Josh’s and TJ’s Hawaiian-print board shorts, rash guards, and helmets with the GA symbol. The fashion designer in her was more interested in the costumes than the actual race.
“Where are they? Where’s GJPD’s kayak?” Carrie Jo stared out over the horizon.
Delaney did the same and saw two small objects bobbing in the water. From this distance, they could just as easily be tin cans as kayaks. A dozen kids ran up the shore to get a closer look. Win peered out over the water with his binoculars.
“Is it them?” Carrie Jo asked.
Win continued to scan the river. “It’s Sasquatch.”
“What?” Delaney thought she might’ve heard him wrong over the noise of the crowd.
“Big Foot.” He hung the field glasses around his neck and squinted in the direction of what now was clearly two kayaks racing neck and neck. “And is that a fish?”
“Let me see.” Carrie Jo tugged on the binoculars and tried to look through them.
“Hey, you’re choking me.” Win took them off and handed them to Carrie Jo, who zoomed in on the boat.
Foster narrowed his eyes. “What on earth are they wearing?”
“Not Big Foot, but a bear,” Carrie Jo said. “The other one is definitely a fish.”
The mystery contestants stood up in their kayak and waved as spectators cheered. Hamming it up, the bear began to dance with the fish but caught his foot in a strap, tipping the boat to one side.
“Uh-oh,” Win said. And the rest of them held their breath.
In their zeal to right the vessel, the bear overcompensated and the kayak tipped over, dumping both of them into the river. The fish went down first but managed to hang on to the bottom of the boat. The bear, weighed down by yards of wet fur, began to sink like a stone, flailing his arms just to keep his head above the surface.
“Oh my God!” Hannah cried. “It’s Chip.”
Two men on shore began to wade out, but the water was deeper and the current stronger than it looked. By the time they reached Chip it would be too late. Out of the corner of her eye Delaney saw someone from the second kayak hold out a paddle and yell something. Encumbered by hairy paws, Chip’s hands kept slipping off the oar. And the heaviness of the costume continued to drag him down.
“He’s going to drown.” Hannah covered her mouth.
“You think he’s drunk?” Foster elbowed his way between Delaney and Hannah as they all watched helplessly.