by Amy Shannon
“Thanks, for everything,” Jake said as they walked out to the lobby.
“Jake, hold on,” he put his hand on Jake’s shoulder. “You know, we could always use a good man like you here in the Sheriff’s office.”
“Thanks, but I’ll stick with what I’m doing. They already asked me if I wanted to run for Chief, take over for Lutz, but no, it’s not what I wanna do. I left the Rangers for a few reasons, but I’m staying where I am and doing what I do, because I like it. I’m comfortable.”
“Good to know,” Nels shook his hand. “See ya round.”
“Definitely,” Jake headed out of the sheriff’s building, toward his truck.
35
One week later
Jake walked into the agency, unlocking the door, when Ralph came up behind him. “I already got breakfast, sir,” he said.
“Good, Aggie said she may stop by before she heads to work,” Jake hung up his jacket, now patched on the left arm covering the hole, and set his Stetson on his desk.
Ralph set the paper bag from the bakery on Jake’s desk. “I’ll make the coffee,” he said.
“How’s the arm?”
“Sore, but the doctor said I could remove the sling. I do haveta go to physical therapy once a week, but I do that early in the morning, so I won’t be late.”
“If you need to take time off, let me know. It’s the first day we’re back open, so it may be a little slow for a while. This town is still recovering from the serial murders.”
“Any update on that?”
“The states attorneys from five states are trying to decide in what order to try Robinson.”
“What about Morrison?”
“He only helped here, and he mainly watched so he could learn and do it himself. He was gonna try on Mary Leroy. Anyway, the cases are in the hands of the states. Now, we can get rid of this,” he walked over to the wall and stared at the two maps. “I’ll start packing all this up, and you can get settled in. I had a few open cases, but everything got set aside. Please, put those files on my desk, while I take this down,” he opened the closet and pulled out an empty paper box. He started taking down the maps, photos, and sketches, removing each pin as he pulled down the maps. He placed everything in the box, including the red and blue pins. When the wall was bare again, he pulled down the screen that used to cover the contents. “Did I miss anything else on this case?” he asked out loud.
Aggie walked into the agency, “Oh, you brought breakfast?”
“Brennan got my order at the bakery,” he kissed her cheek. “You, too?”
She handed him the bag, “Well, your order, and I got a Danish for myself.”
Ralph put a pile of folders on Jake’s desk. “I’ll get your coffee. Sir, this is all the files from the case. You want them in the box?”
“Yes, please. And the other pile?”
“Your current cases,” he said. He picked up the tall pile of folders and put them in the box with the rest of the case paperwork, and then walked over to the coffee pot, which now had three mugs on the tray, and poured them each a mug of coffee. He handed Jake and Aggie a mug of coffee, and then he sat at his desk, focusing on his laptop.
Jake led Aggie to his chair, and he sat on the desk in front of her. “So, I’m glad you stopped by. I missed you last night after I went home.”
“I’ve been thinking about what you said before,” she smiled.
“What’s that?”
“You said you loved me, right?”
“Yes, and I meant it,” he set his mug on the desk, and took her hand in his hand. “I did mean it. I do mean it. I love you, Doc.”
“Well, I love you, too,” she smiled. “And ...”
“And?” he leaned forward, kissing her mouth softly.
“I’d like to meet Patches,” she grinned.
“Good, then in two months, I’ll bring you to Austin to meet her. I called Jarod, he’s her owner now, and he said she’d probably be ready to foal by then. We could see her give birth, and meet her new little one.”
“I’ve never seen that before. I’d love that. It’d be a nice change from all this death,” she smiled.
“I do miss riding,” he sighed. “I do miss her, too. I talked with Jarod, and he said he’d be glad to have me buy her back, and he would continue to keep her there ‘til I get her stabled here somewhere. I haveta look into it, and it would haveta be after her foal was born.”
“Do you miss Austin?” Aggie stood up.
“No, I miss Patches, and I missed Sully when he was there, but I like my life. I like where I live, what I do for a living, and I like sharing it with you. Doc, do you doubt me?”
“No, but you had all those job offers. I thought you’d wanna move or somethin’.”
“Nope, no cop job for me, and no fed job either. I like being a PI and I like doing security. Security mostly. I’ve got you, and Brennan,” He looked over at Ralph, who was still looking at his laptop, but curled a quick smile on his lips. “I’ve got us.”
“What about Sully?”
“He’s still recovering and hasn’t made up his mind. If he stays, good, and he can always get a job around here, or even work here with me. If he goes back, then he goes back. It’s his life.”
“I like our life, too,” she kissed his mouth softly. “Now, I do haveta get to the morgue. Judge Willis died last night and I haveta do my post before I get bombarded with law clerks and judges wandering my halls.”
“Supper right?” he smiled.
“Definitely,” she said. “I’ll meet you at the diner. Bring Ralph, I’m sure Lorraine would love to see him,” she winked at Ralph as she left the agency.
Jake sat down behind his desk and looked over at Ralph. “Just these cases, right?”
“Yes, sir,” he said. “Uh, maybe not,” he looked toward the door as it opened. Ralph stood up. “Sir, how can I help you?”
The older man, removed his Stetson, and nodded to Ralph. “I’m lookin’ for Jackson Dalton.”
Ralph pointed to Jake, who was reviewing his files of current cases. “Sir?”
Jake set his files on the desk, and stood up. “Sir?”
“I’m Lloyd Demming. I’m looking to hire an investigator. The Sheriff, uh, Nels Olsen recommended you to me. I wanna find my daughter before I die.”
“Please, have a seat. Tell me about your daughter.” Jake pulled the yellow legal pad out of his desk, and began to write. “I’ll do whatever I can to help you. Sheriff Olsen sent you my way?”
“He said you were the best at what you do.”
“I do my best,” Jake said. “I do my best.”
Thank you for reading Fettering Shadows. Do the author a favor and leave a review where you bought this book.
Other Books by Amy Shannon:
Books listed on Amazon.com at https://www.amazon.com/Amy-Shannon/e/B00EFZD5NU
Book Series:
Passionate Retribution (3 books)
Profiler Series (2 books)
Sars Springs Saga (62 books in Saga and 6 groups of series within saga)
The District (4 books in series, spin-off from Sars Springs Saga)
Stand Alone books
Shattered Pages
Unbroken Souls (a collection of poetry)
Unlawful Identity
Smashed: A Savvy Macavoy Story
Tattered Words (a collection of poetry)
Chains
Contrary Measures (listed under Amy Witkowski) https://www.amazon.com/Contrary-Measures-Amy-Witkowski-ebook/dp/B00QFVE3PQ
Amy Shannon
Author of Suspense, Crime/Police, Family/Romance Dramas/Thrillers.
Email: [email protected]
Websites:
http://writeramyshannon.wix.com/stories
http://writeramyshannon.wix.com/amyshannonblog
http://www.facebook.com/amyshannonnovelist
https://twitter.com/amyshan_author
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3273610.Amy_Shannon
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AmysBookshelfReviews
Bio:
Amy Shannon (1972 - Present) is an American Storyteller. She is also a writer/author and poet. Amy Shannon runs the book review blog "Amy's Bookshelf Reviews," which has become extremely popular for Indie authors and their books.
In 2004, Amy was a cancer survivor. In 2005, she survived a domestic violence assault, which resulted in her spouse going to prison, and lifelong headaches. Amy doesn't let that get in the way of taking care of her four boys, who are very supportive of their family, and her passion. In 2015, Amy received her Bachelors of Arts in English, and is currently working on her Masters of Arts in Adult Education and Training.
All of Amy's stories are about inner strength, as sometimes no one realizes how strong they truly can be ‘til they think they've reached their limit. Her latest collection of her work categorizes these stories in one collect, called "Empowerment" ad it's due for release Nov. 1 2016.
Amy Shannon is the author of about 100 stories, with more than half as part of different series or sagas. Once she falls in love with her characters, it's hard to let go of them. Her first novel "Unwritten Life" started off the Sars Springs Saga. Other series, have several books within a series, and they are slightly open-ended in case of a new idea for the series. "Fractured Tears: A Struggle for Justice" is a fictionalized version of her own experience with Domestic Violence. "Chains" was just released to show the inner strength when all hope seems lost.
Amy Shannon also has a book review blog called “Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews” where she reviews books of all genre, and any type of author, especially Indie or self-published authors.
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[1] In the myth Icarus, he was the Son of Daedalus, who made wings of wax so he could fly. His ego got the best of him, and he flew too close to the son, and the wax melted, causing Icarus to fall to earth to his death.
