Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Anthony
Sweetwater Point
Sheriff’s Office
“A fine predicament you’ve gotten yourself into,” Anthony said.
The holding cells were basic: damp brick walls and matching cold brick floors. The mattresses on the cots were thin and the blankets threadbare. Fortunately, he never had to spend time in the place. Unfortunately, the woman he loved was currently locked up behind bars.
Nina leapt up from the cot. “Anthony!”
“You’re free to go, Sheriff,” a brown-skinned deputy said, unlocking the cell.
“Thank you, Pierre,” she said, stepping free of the cell.
She stood in front of him, head tilted back to look him in the eyes. Her clothing was rumpled, she had circles under her eyes, and hair had worked its way out of her normally tidy braid. Exhaustion had drained the vibrancy from her. He didn’t like it.
“Stop by the desk on your way out for your things,” the deputy said, then left them.
“Three days!” She lightly hit his arm. “Where the blazes have you been?”
“Mind the shoulder,” he said, flinching.
“Oh, that was miles away from where you got shot. Don’t be so fussy.”
“Fussy? Asking not to be punched where I have a bullet wound is not being fussy.”
She grinned, eyes sparkling and looking more like herself. “Three days, though? Explain yourself, Pearson.”
“I paid a visit to General Mansfield,” he said.
“To call in a favor. I recall.”
He explained how he asked the general to help him retire quietly, to push the paperwork through without alerting his commanding officer, General Harper.
He shared his fears that Harper would never approve the retirement once he learned of the monstrous condition.
Harper had done it before, finding reason after reason to defer discharge and keep his monsters in active duty.
“As it happens, a medical discharge is not something that can be done in an afternoon. It took a few days,” he said.
“You’re retired? Officially?”
“No longer active duty and I receive a pension.”
“Do you have to report back to the base or collect your belongings?”
“I can request them to be sent to me, wherever I end up.” He held his breath, wanting her to say that his place was in her house.
Instead, she put a hand on her hip and asked, “And you couldn’t send a message?”
There she was, the woman with a commanding presence and general air of disapproval that made him question every decision he ever made. How she filled him with delight.
Anthony couldn’t bear not touching her for a moment longer. He gathered her into his arms for an embrace. “I’m sorry. I did not think.”
She buried her face into his chest. “I was worried that something happened to you.”
Worried. About him?
It was a peculiar sensation. He never had to consider that another person would worry about him.
Perhaps his nanny. She had been a compassionate woman.
As for his parents, it was unfair to claim they never cared for him, but he had no strong memories of affection or worry.
Indifferent was more accurate. If he failed to report for muster, his commanding officer disciplined him. They did not worry for his safety.
Was this what it was to be loved? The suffocating realization that the task of considering the effects of his actions on others was never-ending. He was no longer an individual. He was a we .
“I am truly sorry,” he repeated. “That was inconsiderate of me.”
Nina pulled away, tears on her face. She wiped at them with a knuckle. “You always do this to me.”
“Make you cry?”
“Make me irrational. No one gets under my skin like you do.”
“Just your skin?” He pulled her back, playing with the collar of her shirt.
She pushed his hand away. “I’m furious with you and I think we should get married.”
“Pardon? You did not propose to me as… retribution?”
She sighed and tilted her head back, like there were instructions written on the ceiling.
There weren’t. He checked. It was simple plaster in need of a fresh coat of paint.
“That came out jumbled,” she said. “I’ve had three days to think it over, and the only way to get my family to accept you is to make you family.
Marry now and ask forgiveness later. We could apply for a special license and have the ceremony done at the courthouse.
We won’t be able to keep it secret, not entirely, but I could apply some pressure to the clerks and have them keep it confidential.
What do you say? Will you marry me in secret and use the element of surprise to force my family into acceptance because you’re not going anywhere? ” She finished with a gasp.
Anthony waited a moment before responding. “Is that the entire proposal?”
“In a nutshell, yes.”
“Yes. Absolutely.”
He pulled her into a crushing embrace, claiming her lips with his own. The ache in his shoulder vanished. The world vanished. There was only them, him and his bonded, anchoring him to the moment and to the world.
When cooler heads prevailed and he regained his breath, he said, “I suppose you should do the honorable thing if it’ll stop your father from dissecting me.”
She smiled. It drove away the exhaustion from her face. He wouldn’t say it transformed her into a beauty because she had always been lovely, as radiant as the stars. Better, because she was in his arms.
“Hey, Sheriff,” an unseen person called down the hall. “If you want to elope in secret, maybe don’t shout about your plans.”
A second person added, “Congratulations!”
“Fucking deputies,” Nina muttered, pushing away. “The front desk has my belongings. Let’s go.”
Anthony had retrieved wayward soldiers enough times to be familiar with the process.
The desk clerk presented the items taken from Nina at her arrest and an inventory sheet.
The list included her two daggers, the holsters, her badge, her scarf, a pair of leather gloves, her greatcoat, and the contents of the many pockets therein.
She efficiently stowed away the items and put on the coat.
“Sheriff, don’t forget this.” The deputy slid a silver badge across the counter.
Nina
Wychwood House
“What happened to dereliction of duty?” Nina asked.
“In an astonishing turn of events, your letter informing the station of your delayed return was found. Seems it was sitting on your desk, unread,” Pierre said. “You’re back on duty.”
“Who put it there?”
“We’re working on that.”
She stared at the badge. The temptation to walk away from her job with its responsibilities, politics, long hours, uncomfortable chairs, and no budget for coffee was undeniable.
Her life would be a lot simpler if she quit.
She could have a proper holiday, one with beaches and lounging, not shipwrecks, murderous relatives, and housefires.
She could travel and see the southern isles and visit her mother’s side of the family.
Anthony would be there, of course. Even if they weren’t bound together, she’d still want him there.
“Nina?” Anthony asked, his voice soft.
Her hesitation was causing a scene. She felt all the eyes of the station on her, watching her struggle. Walking away would give her freedom. It also meant Mayor Kelley won.
“Have you ever swum in the ocean?” she asked.
“Several times, though I do not recommend the North Coast for recreational swimming,” Anthony replied.
“How about around the Southern Isles?”
“No. Have you? Can you swim?”
She huffed with amusement. “No, I have not, and it’s a little late to inquire about my ability to swim considering you threw me in the river.”
Anthony tilted his head and a lock of his hair fell to the side, revealing the tip of his ear. “Nina, tell me what you are thinking.”
She wouldn’t let him win.
This was her town. She had dedicated her career to defending it and no crooked politician was going to run her out.
She grabbed the badge. “I’m thinking Pierre is going to find out who tampered with the mail and fire them.”
“Will do, boss.”
She pinned the badge to her coat. “I want a good meal, a hot bath, and to sleep in my own bed. Let’s go home.”