Cowboy Famous: Book 4 (Cowboy Justice Association) (9 page)

Normal? Like everyone else?

“Most people wouldn’t have been as honest as you are. They would have done it.” It was all she could think of to say and it sounded pretty awful. Maybe she needed to re-think the people she surrounded herself with.

“Hell of a way to live,” he said briskly, picking up the file and holding it out for her. Apparently their conversation was at an end. “I’ll talk to Tony and Gordon again and make it clear. Will you be around later this evening? We can go through the evidence if you have time.”

It seemed sort of surreal. She’d just had an honest conversation with a man and he didn’t get all bent out of shape or anything. Griffin Sawyer had acted like a bona fide adult. A real man. She could get used to this. Apparently she’d dated way too many baby-men in Hollywood. Griffin was setting a brand new standard and he wasn’t even her boyfriend.

“Th–Thank you, that would be great,” she stuttered, still overcome by his straight shooting honest attitude.

She took the file and stood ready to make her getaway. She didn’t need him to see how much he affected her. It would only make them both uncomfortable. “I’ll be at the hotel studying my handbook later. Do you want to call me there and I can come here? Wait. They took the phone out of my room.”

“I know the manager of the hotel. I’ll call the office and they’ll knock on your door. How does that sound?”

“Sounds perfect. I’ll see you then.”

Griffin nodded, his attention already moved from her to the paperwork on his desk. She slipped out of the door and headed back to the interrogation room.

She would look through the evidence with Griffin tonight and get a feel for this new case. And it wasn’t a date. He wasn’t interested in the least.

All she had to do was keep telling herself that over and over again.

Chapter Eight

G
riffin was almost out of the door to head to his meeting with the other nearby sheriffs when Dare flagged him down.

“Got a minute?”

Griffin took a quick look at his watch and nodded. “If it doesn’t go much longer. I’ve got a meeting with the guys at the roadhouse. What’s up?”

For the first time since he’d known Dare the deputy didn’t look pissed off. Instead he looked lost, as if he didn’t know where to go or what to do. He had Griffin’s full attention. He’d never seen Dare look that way and honestly it worried him.

“It’s…well…shit, Griffin. It’s a family thing. I got a call this morning and my dad had a heart attack. He remarried after he and my mom divorced and she passed away from cancer a few years ago. He doesn’t have much family.”

Dare paused as if he’d run out of words. Griffin remembered when Dare’s stepmother had died. He also remembered that Dare had some tension with his father which might explain why Dare wasn’t at the man’s bedside. Either way it was none of Griffin’s business how his deputy dealt with his family and Dare sure as hell wasn’t coming to Griffin for advice. He probably needed time off and was afraid to ask for it with everything going on.

“Of course you can have some time off–” Griffin began.

“That’s just it,” Dare cut him off. “It’s not just time off. I need to resign.”

Griffin inwardly reeled as if he’d been slugged with a two by four. “Resign? What the hell for?”

Dare scraped his hand through his hair, his lips a grim line. “Dad’s not doing well and my stepsister doesn’t have anyone to watch over her. She’s a teenager, and according to the social worker that called me, if family doesn’t take over they’ll put her in foster care until she’s eighteen. That’s months away.”

“Then take a leave of absence until your dad is better. Shit, don’t resign,” Griffin argued. Dare was one of the best deputies in Montana. Griffin would hold the job open as long as it took. “I don’t want to lose you. I’ll wait, man.”

Dare’s shoulders lifted. “Sheriff Barkley wants to retire, Griffin.”

Sheriff Lionel Barkley had been the head lawman in Dare’s hometown for at least the past thirty-five years. Rumor was that Barkley was planning to die with his boots on so to speak and it looked to be true. The man had to be at least seventy years old, hunchbacked and mean as a snake.

“Retire, huh? Didn’t see that one coming.”

Griffin was helpless to stop this train from flattening him. There was no way he would get in the way of Dare getting his own town. Shit, he deserved it and then some.

“No one did. He’s been talking about it for months. Called me last fall but I was happy here. But with dad and everything…”

Dare’s voice trailed off as if in apology but he didn’t have anything to be sorry for. Griffin appreciated that the deputy had stayed on as long as he had, especially if he’d been courted by his own town.

“Aw, fuck. I understand. You’ve got some pay coming for unused vacation time. Let’s sit down and talk about this when I get back. How long do you think you can give me? A week?”

Dare nodded. “I’m sorry about this. I know it’s the absolute worst time this could happen.”

“There would never have been a good time so it might as well be now.” Griffin shrugged as if it didn’t matter but his mind was already whirring as to how they were going to cover shifts. “I’m happy for you although I’m sorry about the circumstances. I hope your dad pulls through.”

“I’m hopeful. As soon as I’m off the clock for today I’m going to go visit him, but I’ll be back in tomorrow. The doctor said he’s stable but unconscious so my sitting by his bed wouldn’t change anything.”

Griffin never doubted Dare’s dedication to the job, but his words underlined that there were indeed issues in the Turner family. “If you need more flexibility let me know. Family comes first.”

As close to a smile as Dare ever allowed himself crossed the deputy’s face. “You’ll just be covering those shifts yourself, boss. We’re stretched as thin as ice in April.”

Griffin slapped Dare on the back and grinned. “My dad always used to say that idle hands do the devil’s work. He always respected a man who put in an honest day’s work and then some.”

“Your dad would know. How many brothers and sisters you got again?”

“Nine. Four brothers and five sisters.” Saying it out loud never ceased to amaze Griffin. They should have put his family on a reality show but thank god they never did. “And we grew up in a three bedroom house with one bathroom.”

Dare pushed the brim of his hat up and chuckled. “Holy shit. That explains a whole bunch about you.”

“It explains why I don’t mind taking a piss outside. Now I need to get on the road. I’ll be back by dinnertime. Can you pull the evidence for the Casey Charlock case, by the way? Jazz chose it as her cold case and I want to review the evidence with her.”

“Will do. And thanks for not blowing a gasket.”

“Wouldn’t have made any difference now, would it?” Griffin turned on the heel of his well-worn cowboy boots and made straight for his truck. His day was turning out to be a real doozy. He couldn’t help but long for a quiet lazy afternoon on the lake.

But he sure as shit wasn’t going to get it.

*   *   *   *

The smell of stale beer and sweat coiled around Griffin as he walked through the now quiet roadhouse. In just a few hours the place would be filled with people stopping in for a cold one after working all day. The jukebox in the corner would be rocking and the air would be filled with cigarette smoke but at the moment the only sounds were the other men laughing and popping open a soda can. The roadhouse wasn’t allowed to serve alcohol outside of business hours, not that the men would have drunk it anyway. They were on duty.

Griffin pulled out a chair, sank into it with a sigh, and caught the cold can that Seth slid down to him.

“What did I miss?” Griffin asked with a smile. Just being around his friends made him feel better. He trusted these men more than anyone else in the world, and he knew they trusted him. They’d seen some rough times but they’d always pulled together.

“I was just giving Logan some shit.” Reed laughed and took a swig of his soda. “He’s too fucking happy. It gives me the creeps.”

Reed Mitchell was the slickest, coolest son of a bitch Griffin had ever known. He made everything look easy – the job, women, fishing. Fuck, Griffin had never seen anything Reed wasn’t good at. And the kicker? Reed didn’t give a shit either way.

He didn’t care if women chased him. Although they did.

He didn’t care if he was the best shot of them all. But he was.

Reed was also the most mysterious. Griffin had known him for over five years and yet didn’t know a damn thing that was truly personal. Reed played it close to the vest without being an asshole about it. The men knew that was what he wanted and they all respected it. Once Griffin had been having some drinks with Jared and Logan and they’d speculated about Reed’s past, coming up with ever increasingly outlandish tales. Logan had postulated that Reed had been some sort of spy and Jared thought Reed might be a genius on the run from foreign governments. Or several ex-wives.

They’d probably never know.

“You hate familial happiness,” Seth Reilly countered with a grin. “You should talk to a shrink about that. It’s a flaw in your character.”

“One of many, I fear,” Reed mocked and then shuddered. “All this conjugal bliss makes me break out in hives.”

Jared Monroe sat back and stretched out his long legs, a smile playing on his lips. “As long as it’s not contagious I’m fine with it.”

“Not looking to find a good woman and settle down? Man wasn’t meant to walk alone.” Tanner Marks nodded as he studied the men around the table. “A good woman can be the making of a man.”

“And a bad one can be his undoing,” Griffin replied. “But then you’re so happily married you can’t even think straight. It’s all that sex. It messes with your mind.”

Tanner chuckled and popped a potato chip into his mouth. “I’ll go to my grave crazy but well laid, thank you very much.”

“A man can have sex without marrying a woman these days, Tanner.” Jared snagged the bag of chips from the middle of the table and pulled them toward his end. “Trust me on this one. I know.”

Jared certainly did know. His story was serial monogamy. He’d date one woman until she started to squawk about marriage and kids and suddenly Jared would have a new one on his arm. Generally the ladies lasted twelve to twenty-four months tops. All of them beautiful and all of them successful. Jared’s standards for perfection were way too high for anything else.

“Can I interrupt with a little bit of business?” Griffin queried. “Dare resigned today. He’s moving back to his hometown, Valley Station. He’s going to take over for Sheriff Lionel Barkley.”

The whole room seemed to erupt in talking all at once until Tanner pounded his fist on the table to bring them back to order.

“Hell, that’s a surprise. Never thought I’d see the day Barkley would retire. I figured he’d go at his desk wearing a gold star.”

“I think we all thought that but the town will be much happier having Dare,” Logan said. “He’s going to have a mess to clean up just like I did, God help him. And I know you’re going to be sorry to see him go. That puts you in a real fix doesn’t it?”

“You have no idea,” Griffin groaned. “We’re already short resources. I’m fucked.”

“Dare or no Dare I heard you’re screwed. Is it true about the television crew? Come on, you can tell us the truth,” Seth cajoled, wearing a shit-eating grin.

Swearing under his breath, Griffin took another drink of his soda. He should have known that this wouldn’t stay a secret. He carefully explained the reasoning of the town council, adding that he hadn’t really been given a choice.

“So maybe you’ll get a decent deputy out of this.” Jared shrugged. “I may be able to help you though. I got a call from an old buddy in the Army. He’s been a cop in Chicago but wants a more small town life. I don’t have the budget to hire anyone but I can have him call you if you’re interested. I can vouch for him. Hard worker and honest. He’d be a good addition I think if he can get used to the slower pace.”

“Have him call me,” Griffin replied immediately. “What’s his name?”

“Trace Hadley and I’ll call him tonight.”

For the first time today Griffin thought things might be looking up for a change. He cleared his throat to get their attention. “I brought up Dare leaving for a reason. He’s getting his own town and it’s within the hundred and fifty mile radius of here. What do you think about inviting him to join the group?”