Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Gavin
I pull into the diner’s parking lot, gravel crunching under my tires as I shut off the engine. More people are out and about today, all huddled in groups talking.
Something big must have happened. It seems Hicks Creek gossip is at an all-time high.
I thought I’d bring Lena lunch, a little break in the day, and do something nice for her outside of the norm.
When I push open the door to the diner, the familiar ding of the bell rings overhead. The place is buzzing, packed with people hunched over their tables, leaning in close and talking in low voices. It doesn’t take long to catch bits and pieces of their conversations.
“SWAT teams, I’m tellin’ you,” one old-timer at the counter mutters to his buddy. “Never seen anything like it in my life. They had armored trucks, helicopters… the whole nine yards.”
Another voice chimes in from a nearby booth. “Heard they swarmed Jerry Cooper’s place out by the country road. Took him and two of his boys out in cuffs.”
“Yeah, well, what about the sheriff?” the server pipes up from behind the counter as she pours coffee. “Whole damn department’s under investigation now. I saw them pull three deputies outta there this morning in cuffs. Can you believe it? The sheriff, too.”
I guess David finally finished his job.
I grab the cup of coffee waiting for me at the counter and shake my head. It’s the same all over town. People are buzzing about the raid, about how the sheriff’s office was swept up, and how all of this has finally come to a head.
Seems we were all clueless.
“Gavin,” Marge, the server, calls out as she shuffles over with the bag of food I ordered for Lena and Tatum. “Here you go, hon. Anything else you need today?”
“No. This’ll do, Marge,” I say, offering a smile. “Thanks.”
She nods, but her eyes narrow slightly. “How’s Lena holdin’ up?”
I pause, adjusting the bag in my hand. “She’s good,” I say, trying to keep my tone light. “But you know her—strong as ever.”
“Well, you tell her we’re all pullin’ for her,” Marge says, leaning against the counter. “Half the town’s talkin’, but we know who’s real and who’s just tryin’ to stir the pot. Keep away from the general store, though. That old bat is feeding off this chaos and looking for as much dirt as possible.”
I nod, appreciating the sentiment. It’s true. This town can be ruthless with rumors, but good people like Marge still see past the noise. And Miss Turner at the general store has always been one to have her nose in all of the business in town.
As I step out of the diner and head back to the truck, the conversations linger in the air, bouncing around in my head. SWAT teams, the sheriff in cuffs, and deputies hauled off too. It’s like the whole town’s been turned upside down, but now... now it’s over. Whatever threat was looming over Lena and Jayla is gone. I hope it’s true, but part of me is still on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
By the time I get to city hall, the sun’s baking the sidewalk, and the old brick building stands like a monument to everything that’s gone down. I take a deep breath and push through the doors. The air inside is cool but charged with energy. People are moving around fast, papers in hand, and everyone is talking in clipped tones.
I’m making my way toward Lena’s office when I spot David coming down the hallway from the other direction. He looks as worn out as the rest of us, but there’s something lighter in his expression. He stops in front of me.
“Gavin,” he says, giving a nod. “I was just heading to see Lena.”
“Got lunch for ’em,” I reply, holding up the bag. “You, uh... got news?”
“I’ll tell you both at the same time.”
I follow him into Lena’s office. She stands and gestures for us to sit down on the other side of her desk.
“Everyone has been apprehended. They’ll remain in custody and await sentencing. The threat is gone right now.”
“Can you tell us what the charges are?”
“At this time, no. They will be part of the public record soon. The sheriff and three deputies were taken into custody this morning. It will get out soon that Aaron was a part of this.”
“The guys in the department will start talking in hopes of clearing their name.” Lena sighs.
David nods. “I’m not telling you what to do, but you’ll need to put an interim sheriff into place, and you’ll need to make a statement to the public before it gets out about his involvement.”
“Which means I need to talk with Jayla immediately,” she murmurs as she stares out the window.
“I need to get back to the department for questioning and paperwork, but I wanted to tell you in person,” David says.
“It’s the talk of the town,” I say dryly.
“I have no doubt. A lot of prominent businessmen in town also went down today.”
Lena lets out a long, exaggerated sigh as she scrubs her face. “What a mess.”
“Indeed.”
“Am I good to go down to the station to see who is left?”
“Absolutely,” David replies as he stands to leave. “I’ll be around if you need a law enforcement statement to go along with yours.”
“Thanks.”
David gives a small wave and heads out of the office. I sit there for a moment, trying to process what he just said. The threat’s over. That should be a relief, but now Lena’s in the middle of a political storm, and it’s going to get messy.
“Is that food you brought us?” Tatum asks me, breaking the silence in the room.
“It is.” I grin back at her.
“You’re a lifesaver,” Lena says, running a hand through her hair.
“Coffee and sandwiches,” I reply, setting the bag on her desk. “Figured you two could use a break.”
Tatum snatches up her coffee immediately, her eyes lighting up. “Bless you, Gavin. You don’t know how badly I needed this.”
I chuckle as I sit down in one of the chairs across from Lena. “What can I do to help?”
Lena sighs, leaning back in her chair. “I don’t know. We have quite the mess to clean up.”
Tatum nods, pulling out a notepad and jotting something down. “We need to make a statement,” she says. “People are already talking, and if we don’t get ahead of it, Lena’s name will be dragged through the mud.”
Lena frowns, wringing her hands together in her lap. “I just want this to be over,” she says quietly. “But I know we have to be careful. A statement needs to be clear, but we can’t say too much. Not until everything’s sorted.”
I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “What can I do to help?”
Both of them look at me, and there’s a shared silence for a second. Then Tatum breaks it. “We need to appoint an interim sheriff and then prepare for a vote for the new one. Lena, you need to distance yourself from everything that went down with the department. People need to see you as someone who can fix things, not part of the problem.”
“I know,” Lena says. “But it’s going to be hard to change the narrative.”
I glance between the two of them. “So we focus on what you can control,” I say. “Get the statement out first. You need to show everyone you’re on top of things and that you’re part of the solution. Then we deal with the election.”
Tatum gives a firm nod, scribbling notes as she talks. “We’ll draft a statement today. Make sure it’s polished. Then we’ll get you in front of the press. Control the message before anyone else can spin it.”
Lena rubs her temples, the weight of it all clear on her face. “Okay,” she says softly. “Let’s do it.”
I lean back in my chair, watching them dive into the details, discussing who to contact, what to say, and how to frame it all. Everything is chaotic, but there’s a sense of purpose and of moving forward.
I’m not much for politics, but I know one thing: Lena’s not alone in this. Not while I’m around.
As the afternoon drags on, I help where I can—organizing papers, making calls, even running down to the printer when they need something in hard copy. Lena and Tatum work like a well-oiled machine, but I can see the toll it’s taking on them both. Every minute feels like a new battle as people call for updates, rumors fly around, and the press sniffs for any scrap of information they can twist.
“I need to go to the school and talk to Jayla before any of this gets out,” Lena interjects. “If I wait until tonight after basketball practice, it might already be too late. I just…I don’t want some random kid or parent telling her about what Aaron did.”
“I can go with you,” I offer.
She shakes her head and reaches out to squeeze my hand. “It’s better if I do this alone, I think.”’
I nod. “Okay, I can respect that. Is there anything you need me to do here?”
“No, you’ve been phenomenal. It’s been nice having you here. I’m not…I’m not used to that.”
I smile back at her and pull her into a hug. “Well, get used to it.”
She reaches up on her tiptoes and kisses me softly before she grabs her stuff and walks out of the office. I turn around to grab my phone and can feel Tatum staring at me.
“She’s not just saying that, you know?”
“Saying what?”
“That she’s not used to having someone here for her. I mean, obviously, she means a partner here for her. Aaron was never around when she needed him for anything, but if she wasn’t around for him, she was the worst human on earth.”
At this point, when the irritation as another realization of the reality of my brother is thrown at me, I take a deep breath and blow it out. I hate that I spent so long thinking he was a good person and better for her than I was. The guilt, the anger, the shame are enough to swallow me whole.
“You don’t know, what you don’t know,” Mom always used to say.
It’s the truth and what I need to focus on right now. I can get mad at my brother, but it’s not doing any good. And if I want to give Lena a better life, I can’t beat myself up over the past.
“Sounds like him,” I growl. “I’m not like him.”
“I had my doubts at first. I do remember you a little from high school, but…you’re right. You’re not like him. He was not good to Lena, but you treat her like a princess, and that’s what she deserves.”
“We agree on that.”
“She’ll never ask you for help, and it’s nice that you anticipate that.” Tatum smiles. “I’m glad you’re back in town.”
She smiles and then goes back to flying around the room, getting everything situated. I leave and climb into my car, calling Nate as I do.
“I guess we’re on the same page about what went down here.”
“Yeah.” He chuckles. “What a wild story you got dropped into.”
“That’s for sure. It just goes to show that sleepy little towns can have big-city drama,” I joke. “I never imagined my brother would be smack in the midst of it all.”
“Yeah, I bet. I have the information on the woman Aaron was engaged to. I sent it to your email. That woman wasn’t the only one he was seeing. He used your name and was dating another woman a few towns over.”
“Don’t these people research their dates before they go?” I ask with a laugh.
“Apparently not. You would think women would with how unsafe the world is for them. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“I will. Thanks, Nate.”
I let out a long groan and grip the steering wheel of Dad’s truck. I have a lot of unsettled emotions going through me right now, and I also know that I have to feel them and work through them. Maybe all of this was Dad’s way of fixing what he broke between Lena and me.
I go to the grocery store and pick up a few things for dinner tonight. I’m going to make a big meal and take care of Lena and Jayla, making sure they’re able to rest after the mentally and emotionally exhausting day.
I walk into my old bedroom back at the farm, into my closet, and take out the lockbox on the top shelf. Eighteen years ago, when I came home for Thanksgiving, I had put the engagement ring I’d bought for Lena in this box and stuffed it under my letterman’s jacket and some other things so no one would find it and ruin the moment. It’s been here ever since.
I open the lockbox and find the teal box from Tiffany’s. When I open it, it’s like I’m pulled back in time to the moment the sales lady pulled the solitary princess-cut engagement ring out for me. I knew it was the one then like I knew Lena was the one then and now.
Maybe it’s bad timing, but I don’t want to waste any more time.
By the time evening rolls around, the statement is ready, a polished, concise message that does exactly what it needs to—distances Lena from the scandal while positioning her as someone who’s committed to fixing what’s broken. Tatum sends it off to the press, and we all sit back for a moment, the tension in the room finally easing just a bit.
“How did Jayla take everything?” I ask her.
“Surprisingly well. That could change later, though. She has an appointment on Friday with her counselor, and Pastor Will is available at any time. Her school counselor was going to check on her throughout the week too. She has plenty of resources if she doesn’t want to talk to me about everything. It’s a lot, but she’s really handling it like a champ.”
“She’s a good kid.”
“She really is.” She smiles. “I am exhausted. Would you be opposed to pizza for dinner tonight?”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? I have dinner ready at the farm for us already. It’ll just need to be heated when we get there.”
“You did what?” She giggles as she leans forward and grins.
“I have dinner ready.” I smile back at her. “It’s been a rough few weeks for both of you, and I wanted to take care of my two favorite girls.”
She makes a sad face in a way before she stands and walks over to me.
“You’re seriously the best, most thoughtful human in the world.”
“Aw shucks, I do what I can,” I say playfully.
She sits on my lap and wraps her arms around my neck before leaning in and gently kissing me. “I am so grateful for you.”
Tonight might not be the best time, but it’s the right time for what I need to do.