Chapter Nine
“Are we boring you, Sheriff?”
The question was innocent enough, but given that it was from the mayor, his sister at that, it didn’t exactly make him feel all that bad that he had been caught daydreaming out the window.
He didn’t look a bit contrite as he returned his attention to the four people around the meeting table.
“Sorry all, but my mind was on another problem. And even then, I did hear your argument against the budget for the new drainage ditch along the east side of the football field, Mr. Walters. But given the amount of time my department alone has put in trying to redirect traffic around that part of the school and the adjacent neighborhood each time we get even a regular amount of rain, it will save money on that score alone. Plus, the fences along Mr. Jeffers’ pasture go down with the onslaught of runoff and that allows his cattle to get to the stadium grounds, which again needs my office to become cowboys and round them up before anyone gets hurt or any damage is done to the field or to cars in the lots.
It’s a regular nuisance that has cost this county already several thousand dollars with no end in sight. ”
Tori smiled at her brother. Nice save on that one.
But she secretly hoped his mind might be on other things…
like Ally Jones. It wasn’t a meeting that had kept him from picking Ally up at the hospital and taking her to Primrose.
She had a feeling her brother had figured that out by the way he shot her a look when he walked inside the door of her office for the meeting they were in at the moment.
But she wasn’t contrite either. She knew her brother better than most and there was something in the way he looked at and spoke to Ally Jones.
She couldn’t put her finger on it, but it was there.
So it was up to her to help matters along if she could.
The discussion continued with the group agreeing to reconvene the following week and make final arguments and take a preliminary vote. “In a hurry, Sheriff? If you wouldn’t mind staying for a minute or two?”
“A minute or two is about all I have, Mayor.” He waited for the others to leave and then spoke up.
“Yes, Ally Jones is settling into Primrose as we speak. She loved the house, and the cookies were a hit. She has the schedule and is studying it and will call with any questions. End of report. Now, I really do have work to do.” He moved toward the door, but she was faster and stood in front of it.
“Thank you for handling that today…helping her get settled and all. She is really a sweet girl and Jillie seems to really like her, too. Maybe she’ll like it so much here in Destiny’s River that she’ll want to stay even longer. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
“You know why we never liked playing poker with you…my brother and sister and I?”
“Well, that was an unexpected response but I’m game. Why? I figured it was that you all were afraid I would beat you.”
“We didn’t want to beat you, big sister. You have a rotten poker face. We could tell in a heartbeat what you had in your hand and what you were up to—just like now.”
“What do you mean? Now? I have a very good poker face. I’m a politician after all.”
“Nice try. You, just like most other women around this town, are trying to push me or pull me or otherwise hog-tie me to one or another. Ally Jones will be gone after your maternity leave is done. And you need to help me to help Jillie remember that. I don’t need my daughter’s heart bruised when that happens.
People come and go in life and this will just be another example.
There is no future in thinking a big-city girl could ever be happy here in small-town Texas.
Now, I do have work to do, and I would think so do you.
” He did stop long enough to plant a swift kiss on her forehead.
She could infuriate him to no end sometimes, but she had raised him and their siblings when there wasn’t anyone else. He would never forget that sacrifice.
*
Ally put away her clothes in the huge closet, set out her toiletries in the large bathroom, and then helped herself to one of the homemade oatmeal cookies and a glass of the milk that had been supplied along with a wealth of other items according to the list…
or Volume One as Matt had aptly named the list. It was certainly thorough and very helpful.
Tori had highlighted each place that might be of more importance to Ally, including the vet’s office and location for the GPS.
That was the first thing Ally hoped to accomplish.
She needed to see Teddy for herself and let him know she had not left him for good like his mistress had done them both.
After a shower and change of clothing, it felt good to put on some light makeup and run her own brush through her curls.
She sat in front of the makeup mirror on the vanity in the dressing area of the walk-in closet and noted that the bruise was turning from a garish purple to an even more sickening brownish mustard.
She worked to get some of the longer strands of hair to smooth over most of it.
Not for the first time in her life did she look at her reflection.
Her pluses were the sapphire-blue eyes and thick dark lashes—at least that’s what people complimented her on.
Some said they envied her the abundance of feathery golden-wheat blonde curls that was often unruly in her estimation, bouncing happily when she walked fast, and never seeming to change even when she ran her hand through them to try to tame them.
She’d given up trying to subdue them and have a sleek hairstyle like so many other girls her age did.
She had a nose referred to as ‘pert’ and a complexion Annie called peaches and cream.
Probably trying in her sweet way to always be uplifting and kind.
At least she had a petite figure with suitably comment-worthy curves in the right places.
“It is what it is,” she told her image in the mirror.
She chose a pair of slim-fitting brown slacks and a long-sleeved sweater with a cowl neck in a mixture of browns and greens.
The tiny gold studs were in her ears where they had been since the birthday two years ago when Annie had presented them to her.
The tiny gold cross with a wreath of gold flowers around it hung on a fine chain at her neck.
It was with her always also. She had been called sentimental a time or two in her life and she had no problem with that.
She didn’t have much of anything to claim as her own, but what she did have was very meaningful to her.
And more cherished to her than others felt about their jewels and fancy clothes or trips or ornate houses.
It was the people, notably Annie, who were worth all of that to her and more.
She found her purse in one of the boxes gathered up from the wreck site.
And she had quickly checked to make certain that the carved box was still sealed and intact that she was entrusted in delivering to Destiny’s River.
That brought a sigh of relief when she found it in another box.
Gathering her notebook and key fob, she went into the garage and found a small red SUV that looked to be almost brand new.
In fact, it barely had two thousand miles on it.
And it drove like a dream. She was going to be spoilt when she got her old car back…
if she did. That was a conversation and visit for tomorrow with the mechanic.
Traffic was nothing compared to the city she came from.
And there was a wonderful absence of blaring horns and people yelling at each other and getting nowhere in the gridlock.
It took her all of fifteen minutes to locate the vet’s office on a side street down a block or two from the courthouse and center of the town.
Pulling her bag over her shoulder, she pushed through the door of the building and immediately was welcomed by the light barks and meows of a veterinary office.
They were only overshadowed by the smiling welcome and greetings from the two vet techs at the front desk.
She told them who she was and explained that she was there to see her dog.
“Oh, you’re Teddy’s person,” one of the girls piped up with a huge grin. “He is such a little love. I’ll take you back to see him.”
The cleanliness of the place was a surprise.
And she was surprised by the number of people working in the back, moving quickly here and there and animals that were also moving…
some in cages, some in arms, but everywhere there seemed to be people and animals on a mission.
A tall man in blue scrubs came out of one of the doors and he nodded.
“Hello, I’m Dr. Adams. I bet you’re Ally Jones? ” He shook her hand.
“Well, yes, I am.”
“You are just as Matt described you. He told me we would probably be seeing you if not today, first thing in the morning.”
“I wanted to check on Teddy and let him know I didn’t abandon him.”
“Well, he has had a very thoughtful visitor each day like clockwork. And I am expecting to see her come through that door in the next ten minutes. So why don’t we get you situated in one of our free rooms and bring Teddy in for a reunion?”