Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Nick strolled into the office early after a restless night of sleep. All he could think about was the kiss he and Kate shared. “Good morning, Meg.”
“Hello, Sheriff. You’re here early.”
“Couldn’t sleep. Too much on my mind.”
“Or maybe . . . someone?” Meg’s eyes twinkled as she placed a hand on her heart.
What was up with the women in this town?
They thought everyone should find their soul mate.
If Meg knew how he’d taken advantage of Kate last night, she’d lose all respect for him.
Kate trusted him, and he’d kissed her when she was inebriated.
She may have kissed him back, but he’d enjoyed it way too much.
“Earth to Nick.” Meg smiled knowingly.
“I need coffee.” He stomped his boots on the rug by the door and hung his jacket on the coat rack.
“I have paperwork, and I don’t want to be disturbed.
” Without a backward glance, he made his way to the break room, pulled a black mug from the shelf, and poured his coffee.
Thankfully, the coffeepot was full, and Meg always made it strong.
He closed his office door and set his mug down. Before he could sit, there was a rap on his door. What part of do not disturb did Meg not understand?
He flung the door open with a scowl on his face.
“Hey, grumpy bear.” Chloe pushed past him and sat in the chair across from his desk.
He closed the door and sat. Picked up his coffee and took a few swigs. He had to rein in his attitude. “Why are you up so early? I thought you’d be hungover after last night’s party.”
“Nah, I didn’t drink that much,” Chloe said. “Besides, I’m always up by this time. What’s making you so grouchy this morning? I thought for sure you’d stay at Kate’s last night.”
Nick set his mug down; coffee sloshed over the edge. He pointed at Chloe. “That right there.”
“What?” She smiled and crossed her legs.
“Everyone in this town. For the last time, Kate and I are friends. That’s it.”
Chloe held up her hands in surrender. “Okay, fine. Jeez.”
“What are you doing here, Chloe?”
“We’ve already asked too much of Kate, so can you order Mom and Dad’s fortieth anniversary cake from All About Sweets in Bemidji? You mentioned you were headed that way after the wedding for a training exercise.”
“I agree, and yes, I’ll take care of it.”
He’d forgotten about his parents’ anniversary. They’d gotten married on Christmas Eve, so it shouldn’t be that hard to remember.
“Cool beans.” Chloe stood. “Stay safe,” she called out before closing the door.
An instant message appeared on his computer screen. Nick rolled his shoulders and dialed Meg. “I’m being summoned by the mayor. Call me in an hour if you don’t hear from me.”
“You got it.”
He took off down the hall. The city administrative offices were at the other end of the building through a keypad-secured door.
On the police side, the gray carpet had seen better days.
He punched in the code and stepped into a decorated and well-lit space.
The watercolor prints were done by a local artist, and the carpet and walls were neutral, new, and clean.
The mayor’s office door was open, with raised voices coming from inside.
“I don’t care what you have to do. Get it done.”
The town clerk scampered out with her head down. She didn’t notice Nick standing there. He rapped on the door. “You wanted to see me?”
Mayor Benson motioned for him to come in, not bothering to look up. “Sit. Sit.”
When he finally glanced at the sheriff, Benson’s face was beet red. Nick didn’t have time for his angry snits. He waited silently.
“Sheriff, it’s been brought to my attention that a cute brunette is taking up your valuable time.”
Nick sat straighter. Now he was seeing red. “Excuse me?”
The mayor pointed a finger at him. “I want to remind you that you work for me.”
“Technically, I work for the people of this town. And what I do on my personal time is none of anyone’s business. Did someone file a complaint?”
Benson leaned back in his chair. “Not exactly. It seems you took Sawyer’s Taser from him and haven’t given it back.”
Shit. He had forgotten to set up a re-qualification course. “One has nothing to do with the other.”
“Except you’ve failed to do your job and train my nephew.”
Nick sucked in a deep breath and clenched his fist. “He’ll be re-qualified by the end of the week.”
“See to it, or the fine people of this town will find out you care more about playing with our newest resident than being their sheriff.”
“Is that all?” Nick seethed.
“As long as we understand each other, you’re dismissed.”
“Jealous much?” Nick mumbled under his breath.
“What’s that, Sheriff?”
“Have a nice day.”
Nick suspected there was more to the mayor’s grievance than not re-qualifying Sawyer.
It had to do with Kate. Morty had always wanted what Nick had, ever since high school, and Kate Davis was on his radar.
Never in a million years had he thought Mortimer Benson would become mayor and he’d be working with him directly.
Although the mayor was right about the fact he had neglected to re-qualify Sawyer, he didn’t deserve to be called out for not performing well.
He’d given his all to this job since he returned to town, both as a deputy and now as sheriff.
Yes, he’d spent time with Kate, but he’d done so on his scheduled time off.
Maybe he needed to re-examine his friendship with Kate.
He couldn’t afford to have feelings for her if it affected his job.
Apparently, being friends with a woman had the same consequence as dating, and that was exactly what he’d tried to avoid before Kate arrived in town.
His goal had always been to be the best sheriff this town had seen in a long time.
He needed to take a step back and focus on his career.
* * *
Sawyer was at his desk when Nick returned from speaking with the mayor. “Sawyer, do you have a minute?” Nick asked.
“Yes, sir.” The deputy followed him to his office and stood in the doorway.
“Meet me at the training center at the beginning of your shift tomorrow morning.” Nick wasn’t in the mood to work with Sawyer today. He was a good kid, just really green, too green to be left alone.
He needed to do right by Sawyer and see that he became the best officer he could be. Nick had signed up for the responsibilities of sheriff, and he’d put aside his personal life if he had to.
“Will do.” Sawyer nodded and left.
Nick’s cell phone rang. Kate. His gut churned. What would he say? Sorry. I didn’t mean to kiss you. Although it was amazing and I can still taste you, and I lost sleep because I envisioned your lips on mine.
He couldn’t let their kiss affect his work. He needed to stay sharp. Nothing, not even Kate, could distract him from protecting and serving the citizens of the town he loved.
“Hi, Kate.”
“Hey, Nick. I hope you’re not in the middle of anything. I wanted to invite you to dinner, maybe a movie tonight?”
The fact Kate knew his schedule proved he needed to step back from this relationship to avoid it turning into more. He ran a nervous hand through his hair. “I can’t tonight,” he said, even though he had nothing to do except relax and watch mindless television.
“Okay. That’s fine. Just thought I’d ask.”
He felt like an ass for lying, but he had to stop seeing Kate daily. His mom had asked him to bring Kate to the family dinner on Sunday. Clearly, she assumed more than friendship had blossomed between them.
“Thanks for asking. Maybe another time?” he said.
“Sure. I’ll let you get back to work.”
“Enjoy your evening.” Really, Reid? Enjoy your evening? That’s the best you could come up with? Kate sounded disappointed, and he didn’t like that he was the cause.
Nick guzzled his now-lukewarm coffee and started on his paperwork.
After sheltering in his office for over an hour, he was interrupted by his phone ringing. He dug it out from under a pile of papers. “Hey, Ethan. What’s up?”
“A bunch of us guys are going snowmobiling. A moonlight trail ride. You want to join us?”
“Who’s all going?”
Paige’s voice was audible in the background. Ethan said, “One sec, Nick.”
Nick shuffled papers on his desk.
“Sorry about that,” Ethan said. “Owen, Pete, me, and hopefully you. Cole and Zeke can’t make it tonight. If you can join us, meet us at my house. You can use my trail sled.”
The thought of avoiding Kate and hanging out with his friends made Nick relax back into his chair. “I’m in if nothing major happens around here.”
“Great. Hope to see you at five.”
* * *
Nick had a stop to make before heading home to change into his snow gear and grab his helmet.
He pulled up in front of his family’s century-old white clapboard farmhouse. The old homestead sat on a small wooded lot overlooking the Deer Creek Lodge and Balsam Lake. After his grandparents passed, back when he was in high school, his parents took the home down to its studs and remodeled.
He parked his truck in the driveway, knocked on the door twice, and entered. “Dad, you here?”
“In the den!”
Nick followed the smell of freshly baked bread into the kitchen. He stopped and confiscated a slice of cranberry orange bread before entering the cozy and masculine den. His dad sat relaxing in his favorite leather recliner.
“Hi, Dad.” Nick popped the rest of the bread in his mouth and sat down opposite his dad.
“This is a nice surprise,” his dad said. “I see you found the bread Mom made. It’s one of Kate’s recipes. Supposed to be healthy.”
“It’s good.”
“I agree. But I’m guessing you don’t want to talk about my dietary restrictions. What brings you by? Your mom didn’t send you over, did she?”
“No. I haven’t talked to her today. How are you doing?”
“Besides your mother hovering and eliminating all sugar from the house?”
Nick chuckled. “Yeah. Besides that.”
“I’m feeling stronger every day. I can’t wait until I’m cleared for work again.” Jim picked up the television remote and shut the TV off. “What’s on your mind, son?”
Father radar. At least that’s what Nick’s siblings called their father’s intuition. He always knew when they had something on their minds.
“This somber mood of yours doesn’t have anything to do with a certain brunette, does it?” his dad asked.
“Yes, and no,” Nick said. Where did he start? “I got chastised by the mayor this morning.”
“That’ll do it. For what?”
“I took away Sawyer’s stun gun and forgot to re-certify him.”
“I suppose Sawyer cried to his uncle.”
“I don’t know, maybe. He’s right, I had forgotten.”
“What else did that twerp say to have you so upset you come visit your old man on your night off?”
“He questioned my abilities as sheriff. He thinks my head is somewhere else, not in my commitment to serve this town.”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it. Don’t let him get under your skin.”
“But—”
“But nothing. Your job is not your life. With responsibility like yours comes the need for balance. Don’t let your career impede your personal life.
Your mom and I are in the service industry, yet we have raised four successful and well-adjusted children while making time for each other.
If you like Kate, which I think you do, don’t waste any more time. Tell her how you feel.”
“We’re just friends.”
His father relaxed back in the chair and stared out the window. “Past hurts have a way of sneaking back into our lives.”
“It’s not that—”
Nick stopped talking when his dad raised a hand.
“Look,” Jim said, “I don’t know what happened with Greta, and you don’t have to talk about it.
I think friends is a great place to start.
Just don’t deny your feelings because of your job or some perceived notion of not being able to have a family because of your profession.
The right woman will understand the risks and will love you no matter what. ”
Sitting forward, he looked pointedly at Nick. “You, son, need to decide if Kate is worth the risk. Answer this: do you love her?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Love always is.”