"How about I look at them after dinner?"
"Great." He set the cards on the counter. "I have to make a trip to the hardware store tomorrow anyway so it all works out."
From what Maddie could tell, Tanner had made a trip to the hardware store every single day since he'd been fired. Okay, maybe not that first day but every day after that.
"Can I see, Daddy? I want to help pick out the colors."
Amanda's plaintive tone pulled Maddie from her reverie. Her daughter was a girly-girl and loved to look at colors, and pillows, and fabric. She was going to be disappointed, however, as Maddie was planning on painting their beige living room...beige. If she was feeling wild? Perhaps a taupe. The furniture, pillows, and rugs had lots of color and anything else on the walls would be far too busy.
"Of course, you can look," Maddie assured her daughter. "But we're not going to paint the living room pink. That's a special color just for your room."
It looked like a princess and a unicorn had exploded in there. Pink, purple, and glitter. Every little girl's dream. Maddie's own childhood bedroom had been very much like it.
"How about you soak in a nice hot tub after your day at work?" Tanner suggested. "I'll clean up what I was working on and finish up dinner."
"I can help–"
"I got it. Go relax. You've had a long day."
He never accepted her offers for help in the kitchen. She didn't blame him; she really sucked at cooking and he was so good at it. Still, it didn't seem fair.
"Then I'll do the dishes after," she said, setting her purse on the little table by the door along with her keys. "Give me twenty minutes."
"Take all the time you need. I've got plenty to do here. Amanda's going to help me."
Tanner was going to need more than a five-year-old to clean all of this up. He was going to need a magic wand.
And magic and miracles were in short supply these days.
"When were you going to call me?"
Logan Wright's blunt question was the first thing Tanner heard when he answered his phone. No hello. No greeting. No polite pleasantries. But that was Logan. Tanner considered it one of his friend's better qualities as the man could always be counted on to tell it like it was.
"Nice to hear from you too, Logan," Tanner laughed. He poured Amanda a cup of juice and set it on the table where she was working on a coloring book while he finished fixing dinner. "It's been awhile."
It had been about six weeks. They tried to keep in touch as much as possible but it wasn't easy with their crazy schedules and family commitments.
"Why didn't you call me?"
It wasn't a complex question but Tanner wasn't sure how to answer one of his best friends in the entire world. It wasn't that he was ashamed and didn't want Logan to know. If anyone understood small town politics it would be Logan Wright. It was...
Dammit, it was that restlessness again. That feeling of not being quite comfortable and not sure what he was doing or even why he was doing it. Tanner had always been a decisive man, so this whole phase he was going through was really beginning to piss him off. If this was a mid-life crisis, it sucked. Could he just buy a red convertible and be done with it?
"I guess you heard the good news then."
"I should have heard it from you." Logan sounded peeved. Too bad. "Why didn't you call me? We can have your paperwork done and have you back on the job in less than a week."
That's exactly what Tanner was afraid of. For some reason that he couldn't quite fathom, he wasn't sure he wanted to be a lawman anymore. Even in the consulting capacity for Logan's firm.
He wasn't sure of anything and that was the problem.
"I'm not in a hurry to go back to work," Tanner finally replied, keeping his tone neutral. "I have a million projects around the house and frankly, I wanted some damn downtime. I'm not getting any younger and I didn't want to turn around and go straight back to work."
Not that Tanner had been letting himself rest. Since he didn't know what he wanted to do, he'd been riding himself to keep busy so he wouldn't sit and brood about all the questions swirling in his head.
"Shit, you can take all the time you want," Logan said. "We can set your start date any time in the future. We're just so fucking glad that you're available now."
Logan, Jared, and Jason had been busting Tanner's balls for the last few years, trying to get him to resign as sheriff of Springwood and come work for them. They'd basically promised him anything he wanted and he could name his price. He'd been sorely tempted but his responsibility to the town had kept him from accepting. Then there was Maddie and Amanda. He didn't want to travel and be away from home too often. He'd already blown Emily and Chris's childhoods, and he didn't want to do it again. He'd vowed that this time he'd be present and sober.
And speaking of Chris... He wasn't too sure that his son would welcome having his old man working at the same place.
His sweet Maddie had always said that she'd support whatever decision he made. She wanted him to be happy and that life was too short to work at a job he didn't like. But he still hadn't pulled the trigger and made the switch. Something had kept him where he was.
So he could get fired by that rat faced mayor.
Realizing that he hadn't responded to Logan, Tanner tried to be diplomatic. Don't burn any bridges, but don't make any commitments, either.
"I just want to enjoy myself for now and figure out the future when it's time. I don't want to rush into anything."
There was a small silence before Logan spoke again.
"That's wise, actually." Another pause. "Are you thinking of retiring?"
Was he? It wasn't out of the question. He was fifty-five years old and he hadn't planned to do anything of the sort a few weeks ago. He'd assumed that he'd work another ten years but clearly the universe was telling him to make other plans.
"It's something I'm thinking about. I'm not getting any damn younger."
Logan laughed. "None of us are. But I have to be honest with you, I can't imagine you retired. You're just not the type. Shit, you don't even play golf. You'd go crazy within a few months."
"Not having enough to do would be an interesting problem to have. Right now, I'm keeping busy with some projects around the house."
Every time Tanner looked around his home, he saw something that needed to be done. He'd been negligent in maintaining their house for too long and he intended making up for that.
"I wouldn't mind spending some time with my wife," he added. "It seems we never have enough time together."
"That's what you should do. Take Maddie on a tropical vacation," Logan urged. "Somewhere, just the two of you. Get some sun, sit on the beach, maybe go parasailing or some shit like that. Just relax. I bet by the time you get back you'll know if you want to retire or not. Even if you don't, you'll be rested and refreshed. You should do it. Isn't Maddie's birthday coming up? That would be a hell of a surprise present."
Maddie was turning forty-one, not that she seemed to be bothered by that. She looked ten years younger, so why would she be?
They'd also never really treated themselves to a big vacation since their honeymoon. Jobs and then family always seemed to take priority. Perhaps Logan was right and he'd be in a much better frame of mind when he came back as well. Then he could make all the decisions that needed to be made.
"For a man as dumb as a rock, that's not a bad suggestion," Tanner joked. "A week away, just the two of us, may be just what the doctor ordered. I can talk to her friend Sherry and see what she suggests."
Sherry knew Maddie almost as well as she knew herself. If she thought Maddie wanted a surprise trip for her birthday, she'd say so. If she thought it was a lousy idea, she'd say that, too.
"Every now and then I get a little wood on the ball," Logan said with a chuckle. "Women love romantic shit. And there's nothing more romantic than sweeping her off of her feet and taking her on a trip she didn't have to plan, right?"
This just might be the answer to two pro
blems. Maddie's birthday and Tanner's restlessness.
One romantic, carefree getaway coming right up.
6
"Do I get a lollipop if I don't make a fuss?" Sherry asked with a nervous laugh as she settled onto the patient's table in Maddie's office. She was here for a flu shot. "I think I should get a cocktail instead."
Sherry hated needles. Flu shot needles. Knitting needles. She didn't care which, she just hated them. Every year she and Maddie did this dance where Sherry would come in for her shot and Maddie would have to calm her down. What should take about two minutes usually took a good half hour of Sherry moaning and groaning and generally being a fraidy-cat. She always came alone because she didn't want anyone to witness her fright.
"It's nine-thirty in the morning," Maddie reminded her friend, pulling on a pair of gloves. "A little early for hard liquor but I don't judge. Do you want to do some of those imaging exercises we tried last year?"
It hadn't really helped, but then the only thing that really had was the year Sherry was already taking pain pills for a broken ankle. Then she hadn't cared about the needle, and she probably wouldn't have cared if Maddie had sawed off her leg, to be honest.
"No, I want you to just do it fast and get it over with. Don't draw this out. Just do it."
"This is a new approach," Maddie observed. "What brought this wave of bravery on?"
"Watching my kids get their shots," Sherry replied. "I tell them that the quicker it happens, the quicker they can get over it. I do it with band-aids, too."
"It is the best way. Get it done and move on. Is that really what you want me to do?"
Sherry nodded, her teeth sinking down into her bottom lip. She squeezed her eyes shut as Maddie swabbed down the area with alcohol and as quickly and gently as possible administered the shot. It was over in seconds.
"Shit, that hurt." Sherry's eyes filled with tears and her lips trembled. "God, I hate getting shots. It's archaic. Why can't medical science find a better way? There has to be a more humane way to give the flu vaccine."
"Modern medicine is working on it. You did great, though. I think this new approach is the way to go. Very efficient. I expected this to take much longer."
"Then do you have time for a cup of coffee?"
Maddie checked the clock on the wall. "My next patient shows up in twenty minutes."
They slipped into the kitchen where there was a full pot of coffee, cheerfully made by Maddie's amazing office admin Cheryl.
"So how is Tanner doing? Still on the home improvement bandwagon?"
Rolling her eyes, Maddie groaned. "He's pulled the baseboards off of the living room walls and now he wants to repaint as well. And the faucet in the kitchen is still in pieces, too. If he doesn't go back to work soon, I'm not sure what will be left of the house. He can't sit for more than ten minutes at a time."
"Did you say anything to him about it?"
"Absolutely not. He's acting like getting fired doesn't bother him but I think that it really does. I think he wanted to go out on his own terms. I've encouraged him to rest and relax but he doesn't seem to know how after all these years."
"So what are you going to do?"
That was an excellent question. If only Maddie had the answer.
"I don't know," she confessed. "I want him to be happy but I don't think that he is right now. I've never told you but even before he lost his job, he would wake up really early and come downstairs. He thought I was asleep but I knew. He's been doing it for months and I don't know why. Something has to be bothering him but I have no clue what it is. He didn't have any complaints about work - at least no new ones, his kids are fine, he's fine, I'm fine, and Amanda is great. So why is he getting out of bed early every morning?"
Sherry shrugged. "Maybe he just wants a few minutes of peace and quiet before his day starts. It doesn't seem like a big deal to me."
It wouldn't. But there was a time when waking up early meant that Tanner and Maddie could have a morning lovemaking session. Special time for the two of them. Now it seemed he wanted his time alone. Without her. It hurt. More than she wanted to admit.
"And you're feeling restless and like things are moving too fast," Sherry went on. "Maybe he is, too. He's older than us, remember? I would imagine he'd love to slow down time a little bit. Maybe in those early mornings it all feels better."
That...made sense. She'd assumed that Tanner wouldn't be bothered by all of that - he was always so calm and mature - but perhaps she'd assumed wrong.
"I'm just going to give him the space he needs," Maddie replied. "And encourage him to relax a little bit."
Sherry's eyes went wide and she was practically bouncing up and down. "You two should go on a second honeymoon. It would be so romantic and then he'll have to relax, right? I can watch Amanda while you're gone. It would be no trouble at all. In fact, the twins are better behaved when she's there than when she's not, so you'd be doing me a favor."
A trip with only the two of them. It would be lovely, and something they hadn't done in years. But...
"I can't just dump my child on you and leave."
"You're not dumping her. You're leaving her with Aunt Sherry who adores her. And let’s face it, she adores me. We'll have fun. It will be fine. It's one week out of her life. You're not abandoning her."
Still...
"I'm not even sure Tanner will go."
"Make him go. Tell him that you need the time off, too. Make it happen. You need a can-do attitude here."
"It would be nice," Maddie sighed. "I'd love to get away. But where?"
"Does it matter? You'll be together. But if it were me, I'd go somewhere tropical and warm. No wait...maybe back to Las Vegas. We had such a good time there."
Sherry and Dan had been married in Vegas. Maddie and Tanner had attended and it had been their first trip together.
But Sherry still wasn't finished. "No wait...New York City. You could take in the sights and see a Broadway show. No, hold on, you should go to Europe. Maybe London or Paris or Rome. I'd go to Paris with Dan in a heartbeat."
The world was their oyster, so to speak. A romantic vacation for two sounded like exactly what they needed.
Could she convince Tanner to go?
Tanner was only trying to get a hot cup of coffee after a trip to the hardware store but it simply wasn't to be. He'd gathered a crowd in the diner and couldn't get to the door to get the hell out of there.
"I told Pete Carlisle that he's lost my vote in the next election," Ted Simpson griped, slamming his hand on the counter. "What was he even thinking?"
Archie Walls nodded his head up and down in agreement. As a matter of fact, all the heads in the group were nodding and there was about a dozen people there complaining. He'd heard it all before, though. The residents of Springwood were not happy about the changes. Tanner was trying to be as neutral as possible, not wanting to seem bitter about being let go.
He didn't want that little peckerhead Pete Carlisle to think that he'd upset him in any way. What an asshole.
"That's what I told him, too. He's made a big mistake and is going to pay the price come voting day. I had a break-in at the store two days ago and it took his low-budget deputy eight hours to get there. When I asked where the hell he'd been, he said he was the only one on duty. Can you believe that? What in the hell is Pete spending my tax dollars on, anyway? It ain't on the cops, that's for sure."
"Mark my word," Ted Simpson said with another slap to the counter to punctuate his statement. "When one of the buildings or houses in town burns down or somebody gets hurt, he's not going to be able to explain what the hell he was thinking. The man's an idiot, and a dangerous one."
After seeing the effects of what Pete had implemented, Tanner wouldn't be arguing with Ted and Archie. The mayor had cut the police and fire departments to the bone and no one in Springwood was better off or safer for it. It was a foolhardy and stupid thing to do and something bad was bound to happen eventually.
And just what was P
ete spending all their tax dollars on? That was a question that had been rattling around in Tanner's head for the last week.
"We're going to get an election recall," Archie declared. "And kick him out of office."
Taking a gulp of his coffee, Tanner rubbed at his chin. He'd always tried to be the voice of reason in any room but even his patience was running short these days.
"Have you talked to Pete about it yet?" he asked. "Told him your concerns?"
Ted and Archie exchanged a glance and the others that had been silent were now all staring that the floor.
Shit. He knew how this turned out.
"We were hoping you would talk to him," Ted finally said. "Make him see reason."
That was about the last thing Tanner wanted to do.
He cleared his throat. "About that, I'm not sure he's going to listen to me much. He did fire me, after all, so I don't think he's looking for my opinion about anything. Can't you call a town meeting? If you have enough signatures, he has to hold one. It's in the town charter."
From the expression on the men's faces, they'd all forgotten that little tidbit. It hadn't been used in over a decade as far as Tanner could remember, but it was there for situations just like this one.
A grin spread across Archie's face. "This is why we need you to be sheriff, Tanner. I'd forgotten about the town charter. It has provisions in it to recall the mayor, if I remember correctly and the ability to do it in a speedy fashion. That's what we need. Get a new mayor and get you and your men back to work."
Tanner should have been joyous at those words but he didn't feel the expected rush of happiness. This mid-life crisis crap really sucked. What was happening to him?
The bell over the door rang and Sherry walked in. Perfect timing. He needed to talk to her and he also needed to remove himself from this clearly pissed off group of town residents. Everyone was coming to him with their complaints and there wasn't a damn thing he could do to fix it all.
"Excuse me, I need to speak to Sherry."
Tanner sidestepped Ted and Archie and was able to intercept Sherry as she accepted a to-go cup of coffee and a Danish.
Bitter Justice (Cowboy Justice Association Book 12) Page 4
