Chapter Twenty-Five
Rocky sauntered up the road to Mrs. Hooper’s store, his mind brimming with possibilities. He imagined that they could very easily get a small room built on the back of the sheriff’s office that had a doorway from Rocky’s office through into it. It would still allow Rocky to conduct the meetings Mal believed he needed the space for, although Rocky snorted at the very idea.
He was sure he’d held a total of two meetings in that office since becoming sheriff. One time with an out-of-town lawyer who needed reminding that Arrowtown was a shifter town, and once when two council guards came into town on the same case.
Rocky didn’t need stuffy people in his office. I wonder if I can tell Mal I’m allergic to them, although he quickly discounted that idea. Mal had enough on his plate at the moment, something Rocky was doing his best to help with.
The way Rocky saw it, most of the people who came into the office were friends. They didn’t stand on ceremony any more than Rocky did. Simon was a lawyer, yes, but Rocky didn’t count him among the stuffy people he preferred not to deal with. In truth, Arrowtown was a very small town, and very few outsiders came into town for any reason. So it wasn’t as though Rocky had to deal with many strangers in his official capacity. Unless they were campers. That still made Rocky grin.
Mal was getting really tired. Rocky worried that it had taken Mal so long to bring up the discussion on what would happen once the babies were born. He genuinely thought that Mal was going to say he’d be staying home with the babies, and Rocky had already decided that if Mal was at home with the babies there was no way he was going to be able to concentrate on any work he was meant to do. He’d be useless.
Yes, both Liam and Joe worked as deputies and left their babies while they were doing it, but Beau and Trent had a baby area set up in Trent’s workshop office and Liam was there more often than not when there were no calls to attend to. Joe was often on call from home. Between him and Doc, they managed their childcare between them.
So Rocky had already decided if Mal left the sheriff’s office, then he would too. That’s why he’d already had a serious talk with Simon about his and Mal’s financial situation. He knew they could afford to live comfortably for a very long time if they were careful. And Mal was the most careful person Rocky knew. It was who he was.
So Rocky didn’t have any worries about it. But now Mal had said he wanted to keep working, and Rocky understood that was probably because of Mal’s insistence on feeling useful, not only to Rocky and the babies, but to the community as well. But now he’d said it and made his wishes known, having a dedicated space for their babies at work, to Rocky, seemed like the best idea. I’ll just have to make sure Mal doesn’t overdo it , he thought, as he went into the store, nodding at Molly and Nancy, who were shopping together along one of the aisles.
Well, that was a development I didn’t think coming , although Rocky was pleased. With luck the friendship between the two women would stop two young boys from getting into any further trouble.
He beamed his best smile at Mrs. Hooper, who was standing behind the counter, her arms folded across her ample chest. “Sheriff,” Mrs. Hooper said. “What brings you in here today? You’ve already got a freezer full of my pre-cooked meals.”
“I know, and we enjoy them almost every night, thank you,” Rocky said. He could be nice when he needed to be. “Mrs. Hooper, I need your help.”
“Has this got anything to do with finding space for the babies in the sheriff’s office after your poor Mal gives birth to that bulk he’s carrying around his midriff?”
Rocky nodded. “Yes, indeed. I know we’re cutting this close, but as soon as Mal came to me with this problem, I knew that the best person to solve it would be you.”
He flattened out the piece of paper that Mal had given him and pointed to the spot behind his office. “I think we could build something here, with a door through into my office, but I’m open to suggestions,” he added because Mrs. Hooper seemed to know everything. If she thought there was a better way, Rocky knew that Mal would accept anything Mrs. Hooper said because she genuinely did seem to know best.
“I don’t know that you need a room just for your babies,” Nancy said, coming over, Molly following her. “I’m thinking that you’ve got enough space behind that precinct of yours to build a big enough daycare to solve more than one baby problem here in town.”
“What do you mean?” Rocky said, although he could see Mrs. Hooper was nodding. “I just needed somewhere where we could put the babies down for a sleep while Mal was working. I mean, we’ll feed and play with them when they’re awake, of course we will. And we will continue to do our duties diligently the way we’re supposed to.”
“You mean Mal will.” Mrs. Hooper laughed, which was an unusual enough sound at the best of times. “But yes, we don’t want to lose Mal at the sheriff’s office, and no, we don’t want to lose you as sheriff either, Rocky, so don’t feel we’re bruising your ego. But Mal is the one that keeps this place orderly, and you know it. You, Liam, and Joe are just the muscle.”
Mrs. Hooper had a point. Rocky could concede that. “I don’t know what you mean about other babies,” he said. “We’re only having two. I just thought a small room off here with a door through into my office.”
“Think bigger, Sheriff,” Mrs. Hooper said, tapping the paper. “There’s a whole big space at the back of the office. Even at it’s busiest time, it’s parking for three cruisers, since you’ve started driving one now Mal can’t get on his bike. And you know there’s no way you can put your babies on the bikes either, so it will stay at three cruisers. That’s all the parking you need. Anyone else can park on the street, and most people do.”
She pointed at the piece of paper where Rocky thought the baby room could go. “Your three cruisers, they can be parked there. But this space here would be the perfect place for a daycare center.”
Rocky remembered there was quite a big empty lot at the back of the sheriff’s office, but he was dumbfounded. “You mean paying people to look after babies? I really think Mal wanted to do it himself.”
“Then your Mal’s an idiot, but he gets a pass this one time because he’s pregnant, tired, and probably not thinking straight,” Mrs. Hooper said. “Think about it logically. There are mothers all around town, and fathers too, let’s not get sexist about this, but there are parents who would give their eye teeth to pay for somewhere where they could drop their babies off for an hour or so.
“You’ll know when your babies arrive that just having five minutes to get some peace and quiet, to do their shopping without their little Johnny tugging on their legs every five minutes wanting to go to the bathroom is a blessing. Maybe enjoy a coffee with friends, all that sort of thing, during the day. And if it was right on the back of the sheriff’s office, it would be the safest space in town.”
“It would.” Nancy was nodding madly. “I’ve been thinking of something like that. After what happened with my two, I’ve cut back my hours, but as my husband can’t be trusted to keep an eye on my boys, I’ve told him he has to get off his ass and get a job. Goodness knows what he’s going to do, but if he wants new brewing equipment or other crap that doesn’t benefit the house, he’s going to have to get a job.”
“I don’t know if it’s relevant, but I’ve got qualifications that could be useful,” Molly said. “I used to run a kindergarten before I came to Arrowtown to be with my late Harry.”
“Oh, my goodness,” Nancy clapped her hands. “I used to work as a teacher’s assistant until my boys came along. We could do it together and bring in some of the younger people and mothers if they wanted to volunteer sometimes. That would be perfect.”
“There you go,” Mrs. Hooper said, and Rocky realized she was actually talking to him. “All you needed to do is ask and you’re problem’s solved.”
“It all sounds very good in theory,” Rocky said, “but won’t we have to get permission from the mayor’s office? You know, for funding for wages, getting the place built and stocked up, and everything else? I was thinking we could just take a bit of money out of the sheriff’s budget and just tack on an extra room, but this sounds like a major undertaking. A good idea, but a bit more of a project than could be funded with the sheriff’s budget.”
“Not if you ask the right people,” Mrs. Hooper said. “In this instance you get kudos for using the one brain cell you have, and you’ve come and spoken to me. We can do this. Are you telling me that you don’t think Seth or Simon, or any of your other friends, wouldn’t be grateful for somewhere to drop off their babies once in a while.
“Your two would be well-looked after as well. Mal can pop in there any time he likes, it’s not even a full minute away. So he can do the feeding and changing and put them down for a nap if they want.”
“We’d probably need two rooms because we’ll need a sleeping area,” Nancy added, and Mrs. Hooper nodded.
“It would be a play area and safe space that is right in the heart of the Arrowtown community, and your babies would be a part of that from the start. It would be so handy for anyone coming into town for a few hours. Even Doc and Joe would probably appreciate an hour or two to themselves every now and again.”
Mrs. Hooper leaned on the counter. “Look, I know you guys are pretty good about all babysitting for each other and everything else like that, but when was the last time you actually had some quality adult time to yourself?”
Rocky looked to the left and then to the right and said, “Well at the moment Mal and I have that anyway,” he said. “But no, I understand, I understand, I’m not disputing what you’re saying. But the thing is, Mal is due in, well the doctor says he’ll be lucky if Mal goes another two weeks. And then, okay, we were thinking of taking some time off. Mal was talking two or three weeks afterward, you know, just so we can get the babies into a routine and things like that.”
Rocky had no idea why the three ladies all broke into laughter.
“But anyway,” he added quickly, “we would have a bit of time, but not a lot. Can we do all this in all this time?”
“Ra won’t have a problem with it, especially when Seth tells him it’s a good idea,” Mrs. Hooper said. “You leave that to me. I’ve already got guys on standby who can do the building. If you remember we got Joe’s house completely stripped out and rebuilt in next to no time and if you recall, the sheriff’s office was rebuilt in a matter of days after it was bombed.
“I don’t know why you think we can’t do this. Do you think the community’s not going to get together if we decide to put a daycare on the back of the sheriff’s office? It’s another community building project and this town thrives on that sort of thing. People love helping each other and working together – and in this instance Cam’s is just down the road for those who need a boozy incentive. It’s perfect I tell you.”
Rocky looked at the older woman and then at Nancy and Molly. “Well then,” he said, tapping the paper and pushing it at Mrs. Hooper. “I’ll just leave this in your capable hands, shall I?”
“Maybe you’ve got two brain cells after all,” Mrs. Hooper said with a laugh. “You get on out there and go back to keeping these people safe. You leave everything about this to me.”
Feeling a lot happier, Rocky sauntered out of the shop again, tipping his hat to the ladies before he left. He stood on the sidewalk, looked down toward the sheriff’s office, and then he looked across at the bakery.
His nemesis.
The scene of his greatest shame.
Rocky hadn’t been inside the bakery since that fateful night. As he stood there, he could smell that someone, probably Brutus, had made some bear claws. While he didn’t have that clawing need, and then Rocky snickered to himself because he thought that was funny. But he genuinely didn’t have any desire for anything sweet.
Mal had never mentioned wanting anything from the bakery – he never had, and yet Rocky knew that Mal used to love sweet things in his diet. But, as if he was worried about Rocky relapsing, Mal never had anything sweet in the house. If Rocky offered to get him anything from the bakery, he’d just shake his head and ask for a sandwich from Cam’s or the diner instead.
However, Fergus had said, back when he had come back into town, that they were doing savory items. And Rocky was hungry. I can do this , he thought. I have to prove this to myself and Mal, but I know I can do this.
Checking for traffic, Rocky crossed the road, and after a moment’s hesitation, he walked inside, again doffing his hat at two ladies with two small children who were just on their way out. Fergus was behind the counter, his belly was almost as big as Mal’s, although Rocky knew that Fergus would be pregnant a lot longer than Mal would be.
“Sheriff, it’s lovely to see you.” There was no worry at all in that genuine smile and Rocky relaxed.
“I want to get something nice for Mal,” he said. “He’s almost due, you know, and I think he’s struggling with his appetite a bit. Have you got something he can eat in small doses? Like maybe some small fudge squares or something like that?”
“Good choice,” Fergus said, reaching for a bag. “I can make him up a selection of small treats he can pick at when he’s peckish.”
“Thank you.” Rocky swallowed hard. “You mentioned last time we spoke that you were adding some savory treats as well. Maybe you could make up a bag of some of those new treats for me. I’d really appreciate it.”
“No problem at all.” Fergus reached for a second bag.
And just like that, within two minutes, Rocky had made the purchase, tipped his hat at Fergus this time, and walked back out of the door.
He stood there for a moment, waiting to see what would happen, waiting to see if there was any shred of the devil that had sat on his chest for so long. He needed to be sure that the need to go in and grab all of the delicious delights that Fergus had displayed and keep them all to himself wasn’t going to happen.
Rocky waited, he then he waited some more. And then, resettling his hat on his head, Rocky casually strode back down the road to the office, swinging his bags of goodies that he was sure that Mal would enjoy.
My mate’s going to be so proud of me. I’m free of it. I finally know for sure that I’m free of it.