by Mary Leo
“Is that a promise?” he asked, throwing the covers off her. He hoped they had time for more lovemaking before they had to leave.
As the colorful quilt fell from the bed, he noticed that the cell door was shut. “Wait a minute. When did that door close?”
“What door?”
“The cell door?”
“I don’t really know. Why?”
“It has an automatic lock on it.”
She leaned over him. “Does that mean we’re locked in, Sheriff?”
“It might, if I left my keys in my coat pocket.”
She paused and looked at him. “Wait. Is this sexual banter or are you really saying we might be locked in?”
“As much as I would like this to be sexual banter, I’m saying we might be locked in.”
She sat up.
Jet sat up.
“Maybe it just looks like we’re locked in,” she said, almost pleading.
Jet stood, hoping against hope that she was right. The jail suddenly felt freezing cold and he remembered that the temperature in the station was set to lower to sixty-two at night. He reached out for the metal door.
Solid.
He raked a hand through his hair. “Okay, but one of us has a phone, right?”
“Mine’s in my purse out on the desk.”
“And mine is in my coat pocket along with my keys.”
Coco stared at him and then burst out laughing.
“This isn’t funny,” Jet said, trying to think of how they might get out of there. Looking around he realized there wasn’t even a barred window they could scream out of for help.
“Oh, come on, this is very funny. The town sheriff has locked himself and his lover in the one and only jail cell and they can’t get out.”
Feeling the absurdity of it now, he allowed his barriers to come down and play with the moment. After all, here he was, locked in for the night with Coco Grant. Could life get any better?
“You planned this, didn’t you? Getting back at me for all those tickets I’ve given you?”
Soon he was loving her once again. Nash would just have to let them out later in the morning when he came in.
Still, a pesky notion poked at his thoughts, and he hoped that tomorrow wasn’t the morning when the members of the Briggs Historical Restoration Association were scheduled to visit the station. He never could keep those kinds of things straight unless he wrote them down, which he had, on his phone. But his phone wasn’t at hand and at the moment, smothering himself in the delights of this fine woman, he had a hard time focusing on anything else.
* * *
“THIS PLACE COULD use a complete overhaul,” Coco heard a voice say. It sounded like Deputy Sheriff Nash Young, but she couldn’t be sure. Her mind was still a little foggy as she slowly opened her eyes. There was the sound of footsteps fast approaching the jail...many sets of footsteps.
“It hasn’t been upgraded in well over fifteen years,” a woman said. Coco knew the voice, but couldn’t quite put a face to it, probably because shock had crept under her skin and threatened to shut her brain down completely.
She stared over at Jet, wide-eyed.
“Oh, boy,” Jet said in a whisper, as he leaped off the bed and tugged on his pants. “Cover up.”
“You knew about this?”
He handed her the panties and bra from the floor and she quickly slipped them on under the quilt. Then she pulled the blanket tight up to her chin. A myriad of voices suddenly erupted inside the jail, laughing and talking in fast-paced clips.
“Um, I didn’t know when they were stopping by exactly, and I didn’t want to needlessly panic you last night. I didn’t have my phone to check on the actual date and time.”
“So this is better? I’m beyond panicked, I’m mortified!”
Bile crept up her throat. This couldn’t be happening.
“I’m so sorry. I never thought—”
“Is that the sheriff?” Coco heard a woman ask.
“And Doctor Grant?” a male voice confirmed with a snicker.
“Well, I’ll be doggoned,” a husky male voice chided. This time Coco recognized the speaker as Hank Marsh, owner of From The Ground Up Building Supply.
“But, Russ, I thought you and the doctor were a couple?” Sammy Hastings’s baritone voice bellowed through the jail. Sammy owned Sammy’s Smokehouse and was on several town committees. Darn that Sammy for being so civic-minded.
She winced.
Yep, Coco felt completely and utterly mortified down to her bright pink toenails, which were now sticking out of the bottom of the quilt.
She quickly pulled her feet under the colorful blanket, wishing she could simply disappear...or die. At this point, she’d welcome either one.
“Apparently not anymore,” Russ Knightly said loud and clear. “It seems our sheriff has no morals when it comes to wrecking other folks’ relationships. What does that say about him doing his job...using the jail as his own private motel?”
Yep, death would be welcomed, Coco mused. Swift and absolute.
“Now, hold on! I can explain,” Jet said, standing, wearing his pants but still shirtless. “Nash, can you grab a key and let us out of here, please?” Deputy Sheriff Young didn’t move at first, the deer-in-the-headlights phenomenon, Coco assumed. “Nash! The keys!” Jet shouted.
Coco wasn’t ready to leave the cell, she realized. If she remembered correctly, her dress was on the other side of the jail...on the floor...with her coat...and possibly her shoes.
“Yes. Sure. Keys,” the deputy repeated, pulling an overloaded key chain from his pocket, unlocking the door and swinging it open.
Jet bolted out of the cell, and frantically picked up the trail of clothes as he went, trying his best to slip on his shirt and button it. From what Coco could see, everyone followed him, except for Cindy Whipple. She stepped forward with Coco’s much-needed dress.
“You might want to put this on, dear,” she said, handing Coco her missing clothing. “Huh. There’s not much privacy in these cells, is there, dear?” She leaned over to whisper to Coco, “The mister and me did it in a public place once. We were outed by a real busybody, we thought we’d never live it down, but we did. So don’t feel bad. These things happen...although, we were smart enough not to get ourselves locked in overnight. But hey, who am I to judge? It still makes me blush, though. Must have been pretty exciting being locked in.” Cindy nudged Coco in the arm, as if they were old friends.
“Thanks for bringing in my dress,” Coco said without acknowledging Cindy’s sisterly comment. She was simply too embarrassed to see the humor at the moment.
“Figured you might be needing it. I put your coat and purse over by the back door if you want to sneak out before all the questions start.”
“I can’t leave the sheriff to take all the heat. And for the record, I’d broken up with Russ before last night happened.”
“He’s a brave man, our sheriff. I’m sure he can handle the situation and I’m also sure he wouldn’t want you to stick around. Okay, you’ve broken up with Russ, but his ego must not have gotten the message. He’s madder than a hornet caught in a net. No telling who he’s gonna sting next.”
“He’s been humiliated. I can’t really blame him.”
“I can. He’s just a blowhard. Nothing coming out of that mouth of his but wind. I don’t think you two were ever meant to be together. You’re much too smart for him. Never could see the attraction, but then I never liked the man, myself. Too uppity for his britches. Likes to look down on people, especially if they don’t agree with him. The sheriff’s a good man, a little too reclusive sometimes, but I suspect that’s due to his upbringing. Raising Lily will change all that, believe you me.”
“But we don’t know for sure if Lily’s his baby.”
> “Either way, I know he’ll do the right thing by her, and by you.”
“How can I ever thank you?”
“You brought back a memory I had long since forgotten. That’s thanks enough in my book. Now skedaddle before Phyllis shows up and starts asking questions you don’t want to answer.”
Coco gave Cindy a tight hug and left out the back door, feeling as if she’d done something wrong, and secretly happy she had.
* * *
“GOT WORD THAT my apartment is livable again,” Jet said as he stood in Coco’s living room. He’d packed up most of his things, except for the air mattress, while she’d been out with Lily. He hadn’t been able to face her all day, so he’d waited until she’d gone out to collect his belongings. He had hoped to have left by the time she returned, but she’d come back sooner than he’d expected. “Under the circumstances I should be moving back into my place.”
Coco stood by the open doorway to her apartment, carrying Lily in her car seat.
“Now? Tonight? Shouldn’t we talk first?” Coco asked, her voice breaking. He had the distinct feeling that she was about to lose it emotionally, and he didn’t want that to happen. He’d made a huge mistake, several to be honest, and he didn’t want to compound the issue.
“There’s nothing to talk about. I should have never brought you to the station. There was no excuse for it. I’m sorry, and I’m sorry about this morning with the town council and Russ.”
“Thanks. I accept your apology, but I’m a grown woman and I knew exactly what I was doing last night. It was an unfortunate accident to have gotten locked in. That wasn’t anyone’s fault. Now, can we sit down and talk about what this all means? Besides, I wouldn’t change anything about last night, and I can’t believe that you would, either.”
“What happened between us probably shouldn’t have. We come from two different worlds. I don’t stay in one place for very long. It never works out for me, and if Russ gets elected the first thing he’ll do is take my badge. Heck, after this morning, I wouldn’t be surprised if Mayor Hickman asked me to resign.”
“She would never do that. I know she thinks the world of you, and so do most of the people in this town. Don’t leave. Let’s talk.”
But if Jet had learned anything in his life, it was when it was time to cut his losses and move on. He only wished he hadn’t fallen so hard for Coco Grant. Then his leaving would be easy.
“If you could, please take care of Lily for a few more days until someone from Child Protective Services can pick her up. It might be easier for them to collect her, rather than me driving her over there. I can’t seem to get around to doing that.”
“But you still don’t know if she’s yours. You wouldn’t put her in foster care if she’s yours. I know you couldn’t do that.”
“You don’t know what I’m capable of doing.”
It was tearing him apart to be so cold, so seemingly uncaring, but it was for Coco’s own good, and it was especially for Lily’s own good. He’d make a lousy dad, and obviously he wasn’t very dependable or they would never have been locked in that jail cell. He deserved to be fired, and if he wasn’t, he was thinking of handing in his resignation.
“Yes, I do. I know you’re a loving man with a heart that’s probably breaking right now, but you’re also a stubborn man. I wish there was something I could say to change your mind.”
“There isn’t. Thanks for taking care of Lily. It would be better if she stayed with you. No telling what might befall her if she stays with me.”
Secretly, he knew it would kill him to give her to the authorities, so he would do anything to avoid participating in that transfer.
He picked up his bag and backpack, and headed for the door.
As he came closer to Coco, she said, “Sure, I’ll take care of Lily. But, Jet, you need to know one thing. In that jail, I fell in love with you, and for what it’s worth, I’ve had more fun with you in the last few days than I’ve had with any man in my entire life. If you want to throw all of that away because of some misguided notion that you don’t belong anywhere, let me say that you belong with me and with Lily. We want you to stay.”
His throat tightened, and for a second or two he thought about dropping his bags and taking her in his arms.
But then he remembered the humiliation he’d caused her that morning, and the retaliation from Russ and possibly the entire town that was bound to come his way, and hers, for that matter.
“I can’t,” he told her, moisture filling his eyes.
He walked right past her, and Lily, then he was out the door, once again leaving behind everything he loved.
Chapter Ten
Of all the complaints Sheriff Wilson could get, he certainly didn’t want to hear about the disturbing noise level coming from the Knightly estate. He thought he could merely call over to Russ’s mansion and remind him that Briggs had a noise level ordinance after midnight, and this would be his second violation in six months. He hoped that phone call would be the end of it, but no. It was now almost 1:30 a.m. and it seemed as if the neighbors were upset en masse now.
He’d had his fill of Russ Knightly and for the past day and a half had been brooding about the embarrassment at the jail. He and Coco had exchanged a few text messages about Lily, but other than that, they’d kept their distance. He simply didn’t know what his next move should be, and apparently, neither did she.
He and Nash would have no choice but to drive themselves over to the estate, a task he dreaded.
“Look at it this way,” Nash told him as the two men hiked up to the front door of the sprawling estate. “This may be your very last duty as sheriff.”
The estate sat on several acres of good open ranch land, with a view of the Teton Mountain Range. The house itself was a modern two-story gray-and-white brick-and-mortar monster that never fit into the surrounding landscape. No doubt purposely constructed to stand out in a town of mostly redwood-cabin-type homes and a few late-nineteenth-century Victorians. Although Jet had never seen the inside of the Knightly mansion or been on the property, he knew it had both an outdoor and an indoor swimming pool, six bedrooms, a full-size bar, a movie theater that sat fifty people and a two-lane bowling alley.
The only good thing about the place was that its black metal fence only went around the back of the property. The front door had access to the street, so Jet and Nash didn’t have to wait for some massive gate to open before they went in.
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Jet asked, obviously missing the irony of the situation that apparently Nash could see.
“Yeah, gives you that short-timer’s attitude. By tomorrow night, we’ll know who the new mayor will be, and if it’s Russ, we can both probably kiss our jobs goodbye.”
He had a point, but Jet wasn’t in the mood to adopt it.
“Believe me, I know all about that attitude and all it does is get you into trouble,” Jet said.
Nash chewed on that notion. “Okay, let’s change this up. Are you committed to the town of Briggs and all those who live here? And as such, do you want to hang on to this job?”
“Yes,” Jet responded without giving it any thought, an honest reaction that came from his very soul. He really did want to keep his job and stay right here in Briggs.
“Even if Russ wins?”
“I don’t want him to win. I’m hoping this town comes to its collective senses and votes for Mayor Hickman.”
“Then you need a new strategy.”
“What’s that?”
“What’s that adage? If you give someone enough rope he’ll hang himself? I’m thinking we need to take that approach tonight. Russ is arrogant enough to do his own hanging if we provide the rope. He won’t see it coming.”
Jet stared at Nash for a few seconds, thinking that this young man might be on to some
thing.
“Follow my lead,” Jet told him.
“I’m right with you,” Nash said, adjusting his cowboy hat on his head as if he was getting ready for a physical battle and didn’t want to worry about the hat falling off.
The two men were decked out in their dark brown uniforms, but both wore black cowboy boots and their own favorite hats. Nash had his black cowboy hat with the blue beaded band, and Jet wore his chocolate-colored handmade hat, one of the very first ones he’d purchased once he was on his own and making money. The hat symbolized his independence, and never was that more important to him than right now.
After ringing the bell several times, the door finally opened and the blonde Jet had seen kissing Russ while he was over in Jackson Hole stood on the other side. She wore a short, slinky purple dress and no shoes, her long hair draped her shoulders, and bright red lipstick accentuated her thin lips. “Can I help you?”
The music was deafening now that the door had been opened.
Jet nodded. “Got a call from the neighbors. Is Mr. Knightly in? We’d like to talk to him.”
“He sure is. Come on in!” she said, her voice high with excitement. From what he could see, the Russ Knightly for Mayor gang was already celebrating the man’s victory. Signs and banners were everywhere. A hundred or so people mulled around the big open room that soared in front of Jet, decorated with modern white furniture against pure white walls.
At the far end of the room, standing next to the floor-to-ceiling bank of windows, was the man of the hour, Russ Knightly, looking ready for bear when the Jackson Hole blonde was whispering news of the sheriff’s visit.
Russ, dressed in a striped brown shirt and brown dress pants, immediately made his way to the door, after he scooped up a woman on either side of him. The Jackson Hole blonde being one of them. The other woman looked like a carbon copy of the blonde only with auburn hair.
Russ began talking as he approached. “If you’ve come to wish me well on the election tomorrow to try to butter me up so you can keep your job, Sheriff Wilson, you’re too late. I’m already drawing up the paperwork to terminate you. I have several candidates in mind to take your place, candidates who I know for certain will do a much better job than you ever could.”
