When I finish with the art room, I lock up behind me and leave for some lunch. I drop by The Place, pick Bryce and me up some burgers and fries, and take everything to the station.
“Look who’s back,” Claire says when I walk in.
I smile as I approach the counter. “Hey, how’s everything going?” I ask, pausing by her for a quick chat.
“Good. How’s everything with you and Mr. Hottie in there?”
I laugh. “Amazing. Hey, the grand opening is next week,” I start, but she cuts me off.
“I’ll be there.”
“Is he busy? I brought him some lunch.”
“He’s in a meeting right now.” She points toward his office.
I peek around the corner and see him at his desk with a man I don’t know sitting across from him. “Who’s in there with him?” I whisper back to Claire.
“His name is Dan Carter. He said he is the Chief of Police back in Denver.”
“I wonder what he wants,” I say mostly to myself.
“Rumor has it he’s here to beg him to take his job back in the city, but who knows?”
Dread fills me. If he wants Bryce back, will he go? I want to say no, but part of me wonders if he’d want to. I mean, no doubt there’d be more money, a bigger office, and a nicer car in it for him. City stations go all out, unlike our little station here. They have the best money can buy while we have hand-me-downs from the school or things the state sent over. Worry consumes me.
I leave the food on the counter. “Claire, will you give Bryce his lunch when he’s finished in there?”
“Sure, no problem.”
Without another word, I turn and walk out, suddenly scared of losing Bryce to a whole new threat. Many times over, I’ve worried about his job taking him from me, but that would’ve been involuntary. If he gets an offer he can’t refuse, his job will still be taking him from me, but it would be voluntary. He says he loves me, and we’ve been planning out our house, but nothing has been done yet, and it’s not written in stone.
I climb behind the wheel of my car and take a deep breath. I tell myself to calm down. Bryce will explain everything when he gets home tonight. If he tells you, you’ll know he’s not planning on going anywhere. But if he doesn’t tell me right away, I know I’ll be a nervous wreck. I mean, waiting will only mean he’s not ready to break the news to me yet or that he doesn’t know how to go about it.
I push the thoughts from my mind as I head back to the center, more than ready to keep my head down, immerse my work, instead of worrying for no good reason.
Fourteen
Bryce
“It’s good to see you again, Dan,” I say, shaking his hand as he sits down across from me. Dan was my boss back in Denver. He’s one of the best men I’ve ever known. He was there visiting me every day in the hospital—every day for a month. When I told him I could no longer take the city, he understood completely and pushed me to find what would make me happy. That’s when I took this job and met the love of my life.
“I’m glad to see you’re doing well for yourself around here,” Dan says, unbuttoning his jacket as he sits.
“Yeah, it’s not much compared to your precinct, but it’s all mine. I like it. It’s quiet here. I can actually hear myself think, you know?”
He laughs and nods. “Listen, I’m just going to cut straight to the point here.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to do anything else,” I reply.
“Bryce, you were the best officer Denver had ever seen. You know when to be tough and strong, but you also know when it’s time to be soft and caring. The world needs more people like you.”
“Thank you, sir.”
He nods. “Which brings me to my next point. I’m retiring next month, and I’d love it if you came back and took my spot. I mean, surely you’d make way more than what you’re making here.” He gestures around the room.
“That’s a pretty big promotion, sir.”
“It is, but there’s no one else I’d rather leave it to. I know I can trust my city in your hands. What do you say?”
I sit back, thinking everything over. “I don’t know what to say. I mean, this comes as a shock.”
He laughs. “I thought you’d think so. I mean, what do you have here besides that old cruiser out there?”
“I have a life here, sir. I met a woman, and I plan on asking her to marry me.”
“Well, bring her with you. If she’s as great as you think, surely she’d move, right?”
I bite the inside of my cheek. “I’m sure she would if I asked her to, but I won’t ask that of her. She’s a week away from opening a youth center in town that she’s been working on for years. This is her dream. Her big accomplishment. I won’t ask her to leave it behind before it even gets going.”
He presses his lips together and makes a “hmmm” sound. “Well, Denver isn’t that far. You could stay there during the week and come home on the weekends.”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to be away from her that much. We’re going to get married one day. We’re going to start a family, and no offense, sir, but I’d rather raise them here than in the city. Not only that, but I came here to get out of the city. It’s too dangerous, too loud. With all due respect, sir, I like where I’m at. I like my life now.”
He nods his head, clearly upset. This was supposed to be a big surprise, something I’d take in a heartbeat. He’s always been like a father to me, and here I am, turning down what he considers to be his legacy. “Do me a favor, will ya?”
“Anything,” I say with a nod in return.
“Just think about it. If you’re as serious as you say about this woman and starting a family, you could really use the extra money coming in. And once you get used to it, you won’t even realize you’re missing time with them. They’ll be well taken care of with your income. Don’t turn it down yet. Just think about it. Can you do that for me?”
I nod. “I will think about it, sir.”
He stands and holds out his hand to shake. I clap my hand against his before pulling him in for a hug. As I walk him out, I say, “It was good to see you again. Don’t be a stranger.”
“Call me next week, Bryce. I can’t sit on this for too long.”
“Okay, sir. Safe travels.”
“Sheriff Moore?” Claire says from behind her desk.
“Yes?” I spin in her direction.
“Nina left lunch for you. She didn’t want to interrupt your meeting.”
“Okay, thank you,” I say, taking the bag back to my office.
Upon opening it, I find two burgers and two fries. Clearly, she was going to sit and have lunch with me. I wonder why she left so abruptly. That meeting wasn’t anything formal, and I would have loved to introduce her to Dan. She had no way of knowing that, though.
I kick back and eat my lunch, thinking about his offer, but not seriously. I like my job. I like my life. And I especially love being with Nina. And we’ve been talking so much about planning our future together. I never once considered going back to the city. But he is right. Taking that job would pay a lot more, giving us more money to expand the house and raise the kids we want to have. It could help pay for their first cars, college, weddings, even a down payment on a house when they’re grown up. I know Nina comes from money, but she’s never given me the specifics. I know she’s put a lot of it into the youth center, but I don’t know how much she has left. Plus, I’m a man. I want to pull my own weight, support her and our children.