Chapter 20
twenty
MADDOX
Last night with Reindeer was fun, even if I was helping her put together thank-yous for her wedding … to another man. I will always regret walking away from her but at the end of the day, I want her to be happy and it seems Joel is the man who makes her happy.
It’s my turn to get coffees so I park my car and walk into Sips. Waving to the locals, I head to the counter and place my order with Syd. While I’m waiting, I hear “…they had a fight over the phone and then she was crying, in Sheriff Maddox’s arms.”
“Are they having an affair?” a feminine voice asks, pretty sure it’s Ina, Stan’s wife. She’s currently nine months pregnant and due to give birth any day now. She’s just as much of a gossip as the G-team, so I’m not surprised Delivery Dan is gossiping with her.
“If you ask me—” Delivery Dan speaks, but I interrupt him.
“It’s none of your business.” The sound of my voice causes Delivery Dan and Ina to turn toward me, shock written all over their faces. “You two should know better than to spread rumors like that. Reindeer is a family friend, and I was consoling her when she was upset.”
“But why was she upset?” Ina excitedly asks, she waddles closer to me, resting her hand on her bump.
“That’s between her and Joel.”
“Are they splitting up? Is the wedding still on? Is he cheating? Or is she?”
“Yes, it’s still on, and I’m not answering the rest because I don’t gossip. But for what it’s worth, couples argue all the time, don’t they, Ina? And just because they do, it doesn’t mean they are splitting up.” Her face blanches at my words. The other day, I caught her and Stan arguing over names. They can’t decide on a baby name and it was getting heated. I diffused the situation by telling them they should call the baby Cletus if it’s a boy, or Wilma if it’s a girl. Stan was not impressed but I personally think Wilma Wolensky has a great ring to it, if it’s a girl. My interfering worked because the two of them got over their tiff and before Ina left, they made out like teenagers on prom night … Stan later informed me orgasms help bring on labor, so I’m guessing they did more than just kiss.
“I better be going,” she offers, and she quickly, well as quickly as you can when you’re nine months pregnant, waddles out of Sips, and Delivery Dan gets back to his deliveries.
“You sure put them in their place,” Sydney states, handing me my tray of to-go coffees.
“The gossiping here is one thing I will never get used to.”
“I hear it all but sometimes the gossip is actual fact, and other times, it’s so farfetched you’d think it was part of a television comedy. The one time, Sheila was convinced Mayor Sanchez had been replaced by a cyborg robot is a favorite of mine.”
“What on earth made her think that? ”
“Who knows, and I didn’t ask. It’s best that I just stand by, listen, and serve, otherwise, I’d never get any work done.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me, have a great day, Syd.”
“You too, Sheriff.”
With my coffees in hand, I wave bye and head out to my car. A shudder racks through me when I stare at my rental. Being a small town, all the rental company had was a Kia Soul, a soccer mom’s car and I’m no soccer mom. I cannot wait to get mine back. Which reminds me, I need to call Chris and follow up on when it’ll be ready. Climbing in, I place the coffee tray on the passenger seat. Starting the car, I put it into gear and drive around to the station. Walking in, I deposit the drinks on everyone’s desk and take a seat in my office, just as Stan arrives late, again. That man will be late to his own funeral.
He marches into my office. “What did you say to Ina? She just called me in tears.”
“I didn’t say anything to her.”
“Clearly you did. She’s distraught you told them she and I were fighting.”
“I did no such thing,” I defend myself. “And if you must know, she and Delivery Dan were speculating about Reindeer and Joel breaking up ’cause they had an argument. I just reminded her that couples fight from time to time.”
“But why is she crying?”
“Stan, she’s nine months pregnant with your sixth child.”
“What’s that got to do with it?”
“She’s hormonal and emotional, didn’t you say she cried the other day because when she sliced up the pie, it wasn’t even and she didn’t want to upset anyone?”
“Well, yeah, I guess. I just hate seeing, well, hearing her upset.”
“Why don’t you swing by home when you head out on patrol and make sure she’s okay? ”
“Are you sure?”
Nodding, I smile at my deputy. “Of course. Family always comes first.”
“Thanks, Mad, appreciate it.”
Stan grabs his coffee from his desk and heads back out, leaving me alone and wondering where Drew is. Calling him on the radio, he tells me he’s investigating another flaming poop incident and he’ll be back soon.
Leaning back in my chair, I sip on my coffee and chuckle when I think about our flaming poop offender. It has to be a kid because no adult would do that, but then again, if they’re on drugs, anything is possible.
My cell rings and I pull it out. It’s a local number I don’t recognize but I answer it. “You’ve got Maddox.”
“Maddox, it’s Chris, your truck is ready.”
“That was quick,” I tell him.
“I knew you’d want it back ASAP after I saw you driving through town the other day in your soccer mom car.” He chuckles. “I definitely think your truck is more suited to you.”
I laugh too because he’s right. “I’m on shift till four, can I swing by then?”
“I can drop it to you just after lunch, if that suits you?”
“That would be perfect, Chris. Send me the invoice and I’ll fix you up.”
“Will do. Catch ya later.”
Smiling, I lean back in my chair. It’s going to be a good day because I get my truck back and tonight it’s Wi-ook club.