“I’ll answer the door,” I tell Mom before they start another all-day argument.
“What if it’s someone here to rob us?” Mom calls out.
“I’ll call out a warning to you before he kills me,” I yell back as I reach the door.
“That’s not funny Josephine Jones!” Mom yells, making me wince. I always know I’m in trouble when she pulls out my full name.
When I open the door my stomach stinks. There, standing in front of me, is Sheriff Larson. “Morning Jodie”, he says.
I take a breath, wishing the floor would swallow me up. “Morning,” I whisper, feeling uncomfortable.
“I was wondering, if I might have a word with you.”
“What’s up?” I ask, trying my best to make the words sound like I don’t have any concerns or any idea why he’s here. It’s silly, because we both know I do.
“I wanted to talk to you about Deputy Littleton,” he announces, looking extremely uncomfortable.
“Sheriff, I’d really rather not talk about Deke.”
“I think we need to address it. Especially since my best dispatcher didn’t show up for work this morning.”
“I called in sick,” I feel compelled to point out. “Plus, I made sure there was someone there to cover for me.”
“You’re entitled to a sick day. I’m sure you’ve got several stored up since you never take a day off,” he says, and I shrug. “I’m just wondering if you are planning on coming back to work.”
He stares at me with this impenetrable stare. I don’t really know how to answer him, so I just decide to tell him the truth.
“I don’t really know. I want to be honest with you, Sheriff Larson—”
“Graham,” he corrects me.
“I just don’t know if I want to come back to work. It doesn’t make me feel great to know that the men I work with every day have been talking about whether or not I’m having sex.”
“I had a talk with my men. Jodie, you have to—”
“That doesn’t really help, Sheriff. I mean, you talking to them makes it sound like I’m just being a big baby. I’m sure these things happen in other places of work. It’s just that it happened to me.”
“Jodie, what do you want me to do? You tell me. I don’t want to lose you as an employee. You’re the best dispatcher I have, and you outwork anyone. You’re important to our team.”
“I’m not sure you can do anything. I’m trying to sort it out, Sheriff. That’s why I took today off. I’m not sure how I feel about working there and I’m really not sure about switching jobs.”
“Listen, I’ve got a new girl hired. She’s young and she’s green, but she seems eager to learn. Would you consider coming in and training her? You’ll just have to work three mid-day shifts a week and I’ll pay you as if you were working the full week.”
“Sheriff, Cherry Falls Police Department is on a shoestring budget. You can’t afford to pay me if I don’t work for it,” I breathe. I really wish he hadn’t showed up this morning. I mean, it’s flattering, but it just confuses me more. I like Sheriff Larson. I know he tells me to call him Graham, but I can’t make myself. Still, because I like him so much and know he wants me to keep working at the police department, it makes my final decision even harder.
“You let me worry about the money. I just need you to come in. Maybe if you see that people aren’t treating you differently and don’t act like dicks…” He shrugs and gives me a small smile. “Maybe you’ll stay.”
“That’s a lot of maybes,” I laugh, not really finding humor in any of this, but not wanting him to feel bad. After all, this is not his fault.
“Jodie, I think you’ll find that Deke is full of himself. The guys at work don’t take part in his crap.”
“Sheriff—”
“I’ve also placed him on administrative leave. You won’t have to face him when you come back to work. If my mind doesn’t change, he’ll never be back in a Cherry Falls uniform.”
“You can’t fire someone for talking about another employee,” I tell him.
“He not only talked about an employee, but he also talked about a respected member of this community. Faith Bridges has had a hard life. The last thing she needs is someone that wears a uniform that represents our town to be saying stupid crap about her. I think we can both agree on that.”
“We can,” I admit. I stare at him a minute and swallow nervously. I really was honest when I said I don’t know what I’m going to do. Yet, I can see the importance of training a new employee. The sheriff’s office is shorthanded as it is, and I truly owe Sheriff Larson a lot. I don’t want to leave him in the lurch. “I need a couple days off. I can come and train your employee Thursday. But if I’m not comfortable or if it bothers me, I’m going to have to leave. I just don’t need that kind of stress in my life.”
“That’s fair enough,” he says with a smile. “I’ll look forward to seeing you back in the office.” He tips his hat. I roll my eyes, but I return his grin. Then, I turn and go into the house. I close the door as I hear his police cruiser start up.
On one hand, it makes me feel good that they need me at work, and that the sheriff was concerned enough to come out. I’d be lying if I said I was anxious to go back to work, though. Honestly, I’m kind of dreading going back into town, period. I decide that I’m not going to think about it today. I’m going to take the day off from everything, including worries about my explosion at the Fireside last night and thoughts of Deputy Dickhead and Lincoln Locke.
That’s the only plan I have right now.
6
Linc
“If it isn’t the old virgin slayer himself,” Jake says as he walks up to the bar. I’m working outside again today, thank God. I need to clear my mind. It’s been three days since Jodie’s blow-up at the Fireside and three days since I’ve decided to just let it go. The problem is, it’s also been three days in which I’ve done nothing but think about Jodie. I don’t understand it, and I sure as hell can’t explain it.
I’m starting to think my Uncle Dragon was right when he said that some women just have voodoo pussy. He swears up and down that his wife Nicole’s is. He says it snared him from day one. I didn’t really need to hear that, but Dragon usually says whatever is on his mind. He’s the president of a motorcycle club in Kentucky. I didn’t always live in Cherry Falls. I actually grew up in Tennessee. I’ve been on my own since I was seventeen and stumbled upon the Savage Brothers MC chapter there. The Vice President, Crusher, took me under his wing. He and his wife Dani are really the only parent-like people I’ve ever known. Dani couldn’t have kids, so they fostered quite a few and adopted several. They’re good people and maybe I’d have had a good life back in Tennessee. Crusher urged me to become a prospect—basically training to become a patched in member of the Savage crew. I thought about it, but while I love being on the back of a bike. There was no place for my surfboard in Tennessee. Still, there are parts about that life I miss. Crusher asked me if I’d be interested in helping a friend of his start an MC in North Carolina. He’s been looking for men he trusts. I told him I was pretty settled in Cherry Falls, but I didn’t rule it out entirely. There are beaches oceans in North Carolina where Beast lives—Beast being the friend of Crusher’s. I have met him a couple of times. Beast is definitely an apt description. I definitely wouldn’t want to end up on the wrong side of him.