The City PI and the Country Cop (23 page)

“But without you…”

“Bull, to put it succinctly. It might have
taken longer, but you’d have figured it out. I just sped things
up.” She rested her chin on her closed hand, studying him. “Now for
the real question. How are you handling the fact you’re here and
Teague isn’t? How are you two going to make this work?”

Hoyt shrugged. “He’s planning on coming here
for Thanksgiving and if I can get the time off, I’ll go out there
again for Christmas week.”

“So…” Carolyn paused so she and Hoyt could
give the waiter their drink orders. When he was gone, she
continued. “So it’s going to be holidays only?”

“Probably,” Hoyt admitted. “I can’t afford to
fly out there too often and I doubt he can really afford to come
here that much either, even though he sort of suggested he’d
try.”

She nodded. “Then one of you is going to have
to bite the bullet and move, aren’t you?”

“He can’t. He’s got his business there. One
he worked hard to build into what it is now.”

“And you?”

“Carolyn…” Hoyt sighed. “I love my job. I
love this town.”

“More,” she said quietly, “than you love
him?”

“God. How can I answer that?”

“Honestly?” she replied, patting his arm.
“But before you answer, think about this. Could you, would you be
willing to try to get a job with the police force out there?”

“I’m not sure I could. Not with this.” He
touched his shoulder. “You told me yourself it would never be
one-hundred percent. I’m sure that would present a problem as far
as they were concerned.”

“You won’t know until you ask. And if you had
a job there, it might, mentally and emotionally, make moving there
easier. Right?”

“It would,” Hoyt replied pensively.

When he didn’t say anything more, she asked,
“What’s going through that head of yours?”

“I was just thinking. I don’t know if he was
serious, but Jake, Teague’s second in command as Teague calls him,
asked me if I would be interested in working for the agency. They
just had someone quit. I said no, but…”

“
Are
you interested?”

“I’m not sure I have what it takes.”

“Teague’s company does private
investigations, from what you told me. You’re a detective. It seems
to me you’d be perfect for them. And it most ways it probably
wouldn’t be that different from what you’re doing now except you
won’t be going after killers or thieves or drug dealers.”

“I’m pretty sure they do try to stop thieves,
in terms of embezzlers or employees who steal cash or goods from
their company.”

“That makes sense. So, one problem solved.
You
would
have a job if Jake
was
serious. How did
Teague react to his suggestion?”

“He didn’t, other than to tell Jake that he’d
start looking for a replacement. Of course I think I made it clear
I wasn’t interested.”

“So he probably wasn’t willing to push it.
Especially since he knows how you feel about your job here.”

“Yeah.” Hoyt’s shoulders slumped. “I made it
fairly obvious I was glad to be getting back into the field come
tomorrow.”

“Now to the question I asked originally.
Which do you love more, this town and your life here, or
Teague?”

Straightening, Hoyt replied firmly, “Teague.
Hands down.”

“Thought so.” She picked up the drink their
waiter had set down in front of her, taking a sip. “My suggestion
is that you think about it all for the next day or so. You have to
be very, very certain you want to make the big break from here to
be with him. If you have any doubts it will kill your relationship
before the two of you have a chance to settle in to your being
there and with each other on a permanent basis.”

Hoyt smiled, sipping his beer. “You know, you
should have become a psychiatrist.”

“Believe me; a physical therapist has to be
half shrink if we’re going to help people recover from traumatic
injuries.”

“I can see that, given how you handled
me.”

Their waiter returned at that moment to take
their orders. From then until Hoyt and Carolyn left the restaurant
an hour later, the pair chatted casually, as two friends do,
avoiding the topic of Hoyt’s possibly move to be with Teague. It
wasn’t until they were outside the restaurant that Carolyn brought
it up again.

“Remember what I told you, Hoyt. Think about
every aspect of your decision before you call Teague to let him
know you’ll take him up on his job offer.”

Hoyt nodded. “Jake’s offer actually, but I
will.” He looked around at what he could see of downtown Faircrest.
“This is my town. It’s where I grew up and for better or for worse
I’ve spent almost my whole life here. But…”

Carolyn smiled, giving him a hug. “Maybe it’s
finally time to expand your horizons, now that you have a real
reason to?”

“Yeah. I think so. Now it all hinges on
whether I
can
work at the agency. And more importantly, am I
rushing into things when it comes to me and Teague? Maybe…” He
rapped a knuckle on his lips. “If they hire me, I’ll find an
apartment since—” he smiled wryly, “—at no point while I was there
did Teague even hint about my living with him.”

“Again, I’d say he’s not pushing you, as much
as he may want to. He knows this is your decision and only
yours.”

“Another reason to love him.”

Carolyn smiled, kissing his cheek. “As if you
needed another one.”

“True. Thank you. For listening. For talking
to me. For…everything.”

“You’re welcome. Now off with you. Go home
and get some sleep. You have to talk to Chief Davis tomorrow and
you need to have a working brain.”

Hoyt snorted. “I’m not talking to him until I
find out if I do have a new job. After all, without that I’m back
to square one.”

* * * *

“You have a call on line one,” Teague’s
secretary told him over the intercom late Monday afternoon.

“Did they give you their name?” he asked.
Sometimes potential clients were reluctant to reveal who they were
until they were talking personally to him or one of his
investigators.

“Yes. It’s a Mr. Newman. He didn’t say why he
was calling but Pam said he asked for you.”

“Thanks.” Teague picked up the receiver on
his desk phone, his pulse racing. “Hoyt?”

There was a soft chuckle. “I take it you know
more than one Mr. Newman.”

“Actually, no. How are you? Okay, stupid
question since you only left yesterday.”

“I’m fine, but I have a question.”

“Okay.”

“Are you still looking for someone to take
the job that you and Jake were talking about?”

“Yes. I’ve only just started going over the
information from potential applicants.”

“Anyone who looks interesting?”

“There are a couple with the right
qualifications,” Teague replied.

“Would you…?” Hoyt hesitated. “May I submit
my resume for consideration?”

Teague swallowed hard. “Are you serious?”

“As death. I’m going to need a job when I
move out there and I think I’m reasonably qualified to be a private
investigator. It’s that or try to join the police department, but
I’m not sure I can pass the physical. Of course I could flip
burgers or sell shoes but I don’t have the training for either of
those jobs. Besides which…” Hoyt paused then chuckled. “I’m
rambling, aren’t I?”

“Just a bit,” Teague agreed, taking a deep
breath. “You’re really thinking about moving here?”

“If it’s all right with you. I sort of
figured it would solve this problem we seem to be having. You
know—the commuting one?”

“Good Lord. Of course it’s okay with me.”
Teague couldn’t keep the elation he was feeling from spilling out
and he pumped his fist.
What am I? A teenager? But damn, right
now I feel fifteen, not forty-five.

There was a long pause before Hoyt said,
“I’ll send the resume. Not that it’s long. I’ve only had one job.
But I’ve got a couple of references if that helps.”

“How soon can you get out here? We need you
like yesterday. And more to the point, I need you. Here. In
person.”

“I have to give the chief my official notice.
And pack up my house. And find an apartment. And…You’re
serious?”

“Yes!” Teague drummed his fingers on the
desk. “Okay. I’m coming out for Thanksgiving, which is a week from
this Thursday. We can rent a truck while I’m there, for whatever
you’re bringing back with you. Do you think the chief will be okay
with you’re taking off that soon? Never mind. If you resign today
that will pretty much give him your two weeks’ notice or whatever.
And now I’m rattling.”

Hoyt laughed. “It’s catching.”

“It’s excitement. I can’t believe you’re
willing to do this.”

“Teague,” Hoyt said softly, “I love you. I
know you can’t move. You’d have to give up your agency and it’s too
important to you. Me? Yeah, I’m giving up my job but I’ll have one
that’s just as good, or better.”

“You’re also giving up your home and the town
where you’ve lived your whole life. Are you sure you’re ready to do
that?”

Teague could imagine Hoyt’s smile when his
lover replied, “As I told Carolyn, after all these years maybe it’s
time I broadened my horizons. No wait, that’s what she told
me.”

“You talked to her about this?” Teague felt a
brief flare of what he knew was unwarranted jealousy.

“Yeah. She pulled it out of me when we went
to dinner last night. And before you go all green-eyed on me, you
know she’s just a friend. Strangely enough, given how short a time
I’ve known her, probably one of the few friends I have here. I
suppose,” Hoyt said, sounding pensive, “that’s another reason it
won’t be as hard to leave as it could be. I have lots of
acquaintances, but damned few real friends.”

“You have one here.”

“You? I know.”

“No,” Teague replied. “I think, I hope, I’m
more than just a friend now. I meant Keir. You’ll make more, too,
once you start working here. We’re sort of family. At least those
of us who have been with the agency for any length of time. Like
you are with the chief and probably some of the guys you work
with.”

“Yeah, I’ll miss the chief but—” Hoyt
laughed, “—I told him he’d be welcome to come visit once I find a
place.”

“So he’ll…Wait a minute. He already
knows?”

“Yeah. I spent an hour with him this morning
talking about it. I owed him that much. I just haven’t officially
resigned yet. I had to talk to you first. I mean if the whole idea
of my moving out there was more than you anticipated. It
means—”

“I know exactly what it means,” Teague said
firmly. “If you were afraid I might have second thoughts, forget
it. I want you here. Never doubt that. Personally and
professionally.”

“Then I guess I’d better tender my
resignation, get boxes, and start figuring out what I can live
without, as far as my furniture and what have you goes.”

“Yep. The sooner the better. But before you
hang up, I’ve never quite said it but I do love you. Not halfway,
but the full-blown thing.”

“Love you, too. Maybe the quote is true,
because it’s only been a little more than twenty-four hours since
we’ve been together, but I miss you and then some.”

“What quote?” Teague asked, trying to think
of one.

“One my mother used, though I’m sure it
wasn’t hers originally. Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens
it.”

“That it does,” Teague said fervently. “Okay,
you go talk to the chief and I’ll let Jake know we have a new
employee starting in two weeks.”

* * * *

Teague spent the following week and a half
vacillating between excitement and fear. The anticipation of seeing
Hoyt at Thanksgiving, and then Hoyt’s returning to the city with
him was the reason Teague was psyched up. The fear that Hoyt might
change his mind between his call and when Teague arrived in
Faircrest was frightening.

Finally it was the day before Thanksgiving.
Teague had called Hoyt the previous evening to confirm when he’d be
arriving at the county airport. They had talked for a while, Hoyt
telling Teague he had finally managed to narrow things down to the
point they’d only need a small truck for the move.

“And I bought a turkey, sweet potatoes,
cranberry sauce, potatoes for mashing and…Damn, I forgot the
pie.”

“You’re going all out,” Teague said, smiling
to himself.

“Yeah, well it is Thanksgiving and I’ve got a
lot to be thankful for, starting with you. So I figured why not
celebrate the way we’re supposed to.”

“I like that idea. If I was there I’d give
you a hug and kiss to show how much.”

“Hold that thought and do it when you arrive
tomorrow,” Hoyt replied, chuckling.

“Oh I will, I will.”

Now, with his bags packed and at his feet,
Teague was waiting for Keir, who had volunteered to drive him to
the airport, even though it was what Keir had termed “Too damned
early for any sane man to be up and moving.” When Teague had
pointed out his flight was due to leave at nine-thirty, Keir had
replied, “See, what did I tell you? Way too early.”

Teague smiled, remembering the conversation,
as Keir pulled up in front of the building and jumped out of the
car, dashing to the lobby door. Keir obviously intended to help by
carrying one of Teague’s two pieces of luggage. Not wanting to
disappoint him, Teague handed the younger man his laptop case,
although he did say, “I’m really capable of lugging these to the
car on my own.”

They were halfway to the car—Keir talking
animatedly about Hoyt’s moving to town as they did—when two shots
rang out. One grazed Teague’s arm. The other one…

* * * *

Hoyt glanced at the caller ID, wondering why
Teague was calling when he’d be arriving in just over an hour.

“Hoyt,” Teague said the second Hoyt answered,
“Keir’s been shot.”