Chapter 20

SETH

Felicity hesitated as she looked at Seth, her blue eyes dark with concern. He smiled his gratitude and nodded at her.

She patted his arm as she turned to leave him with Denver and slowly closed the office door.

Burnsley sank heavily into his chair behind his desk, and Seth realized that his old friend was tired.

He knew that this time of year was hard on the law enforcement agencies and that the chiefs got quite a bit of flack from the politicians.

Seth wondered if there was more going on in Denver’s life.

He started to step forward but remembered that the sheriff had called him to attention, and he had not been released from the position.

He looked around the sheriff’s office and studied the photos on the wall behind the desk.

He knew each one by heart because he was in two of them—the last picture of their unit before Burnsley retired from the marines.

There was also a photo of Seth and Burnsley when Seth graduated from the academy. He kept his eyes fixed on that photo as he waited for the inevitable outcome of his actions.

“At ease, sergeant.” With relief, Seth relaxed his position and waited for Burnsley to ask for his badge. “Have a seat.”

He took a chair in front of the desk and carefully looked at Denver. “I’m sorry I put you in a shitty position, Sheriff.”

“Thank you for the apology, Sergeant. You will most definitely feel the consequences of your actions.”

Seth nodded in acceptance. He twisted his fingers together and winced at the sharp pain shooting through his cracked knuckle.

“The mayor and I had a lengthy discussion about your actions, Marshall, and if it wasn’t for your exemplary performance so far, you would be in a shittier situation.

“I couldn’t say much because I’m biased, so he did most of the talking.”

He tapped his fingers on his desk as he looked at Seth.

“Sheriff, I’m sorry—” Seth started.

“So you’ve said, Seth. But what the fuck is really going on?” Burnsley speared Seth with a sharp look.

“Has this got anything to do with the calls that have been coming into the department from El Dorado?”

Seth bit his lip as he rubbed his sweaty palms along the thighs of his black uniform pants.

He had fucked things up with Indie because of not want to give life to his past by speaking about it. And here he was, in the same position with his friend and boss.

If he couldn’t trust Denver—who had been there when his life imploded the first time—who could he trust?

“Yes.”

“Damn it, Seth! Why didn’t you say something?”

He shrugged. “I wanted it to stay gone, Den.”

“By ignoring it?”

Seth shrugged again.

“How is that working out for you, son?”

He swallowed the sudden tears constricting his throat as he remembered Indie’s face before she walked away from him. “I’ll admit, not too great.”

“How is Miss Dawson taking the whole thing?”

Seth looked up at his boss in shock.

“Hell, son, I am the sheriff of this damn county, I know all kinds of things! And I cornered Rhodes about your happy mood over the last few weeks.”

Seth shook his head as he chuckled. “You make a damn fine detective, Sheriff.”

“You know it.” Denver tilted his head as he looked at Seth. “You still haven’t answered me, though.”

“She doesn’t know.”

“Why not, Seth?”

“I didn’t want her tainted by my past, Denver.” He rubbed a hand through his hair as he blew out a sharp breath. “And it’s still fucked up anyway.”

“Surely you can fix it?”

“I’m not sure, Den. I can’t and won’t drag her into this mess.”

“Shouldn’t you maybe give her the choice? Let her decide whether or not she wants to get dragged into this mess ~with you~?”

Seth got to his feet, walking to the tiny window in the corner of Denver’s office and looking out at the department’s snow-covered parking lot.

He rested his hands on his utility belt as he turned back to Denver.

“Do I also give her this choice before or after I ask her if she’ll stay with an unemployed sheriff’s deputy?”

“Don’t be dramatic, Seth, you’re not being fired.” Seth sighed in relief, only to choke on the breath as Burnsley continued.

“You’re being put on the graveyard shift until further notice. This will also be paired with a twenty-four-hour standby until after the holidays.”

“Graveyard, Sheriff? That means Rhodes will have to do that shift as well!”

“Now, Marshall, don’t get dramatic—”

“Dramatic?” Seth interrupted.

“—You’re still patrolling partners. You’ll just be training your own cadets on these patrols.

“So ~you~—” Denver stabbed Seth in the chest with his finger, “—better behave as a sheriff’s deputy sergeant should.”

“I’m not going to argue, Sheriff,” Seth said, holding out his hands in surrender. “It’s just…”

“Just what, Marshall?”

“I feel that I’m getting off lightly with this incident, Sheriff.”

“Oh, you’re not. The mayor’s decision is that his office will pay for the guy’s medical bills. And the mayor will be compensated for this by you.”

“Seriously? How?”

“You will volunteer hours to the city that total the cost of his medical bills.”

“So basically, I will be working hours that I won’t get paid for.”

“I don’t have to explain it to you.” Denver sank back into his chair. “This is your first assignment.”

Seth picked up the memo that Burnsley pushed across the desk, but started shaking his head as he read the missive. “Nononono—”

“You asked for it when you went into that alley, so suck up your drama, Sergeant Marshall, and polish your buttons.

“You’re going to the mayor’s ball tomorrow night to represent the sheriff’s department.”

INDIE

She sighed as her phone rang again. She had not left her workshop since she’d walked away from Seth in the shop.

Her machines were drowning out the sound of her disappointment. Grace had, uncharacteristically, left her alone, and Indie knew that Sarah must have convinced her to do so.

It didn’t stop her from calling, though.

Later, someone knocked on the workshop door. Indie pulled her finger guards off as the polishing machine came to a standstill.

She turned at the sound of the door opening as a blonde head appeared.

“Felicity?”

“Hi, Indie. I’m sorry to disturb you. I tried and tried to call you, but you didn’t pick up.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, glancing at her phone and seeing Felicity’s number. “I just needed to be alone for a while. What are you doing here?”

“I think the better question is, what are ~you ~doing here? It’s after eight.”

“Eight?!” Indie gasped. “Wow! No wonder I’m hungry. Can we get something to eat?”

“Um…sure.”

“Great.” She gathered her jacket and bag and led Felicity out of the store. “Why are you still in uniform? Didn’t you guys finish at four?”

“We were supposed to, yes. But something happened, and I needed to be sure that I was doing the right thing by speaking to you.”

Indie frowned at Felicity as she locked the shop’s door. “What happened?”

“Let’s get somewhere warm first.”

Indie nodded, pointing to a diner not far from the shop. “Okay.”

Felicity looked around the cozy restaurant as they waited to order, fascinated by the 50s-style decor and still-working soda fountain.

“This place is amazing! I need to bring my wife here.”

“She’ll love it.” The server placed their food on the table and both women took a moment to savor the burgers they had ordered. “So? What has you so confused?”

Felicity took another bite and chewed it slowly as she avoided Indie’s gaze. “Can I ask what happened?”

“Felicity—”

“I’ve known Seth since the academy. He’s the one that kept me going when I wanted to quit. He took the extra time to help me train and get better.

“Even now, when I’m pushed aside for an assignment, he’s the one who challenges them. He’s my brother. Not just in uniform, but in bond.

“And seeing him so happy the last few weeks had me believing that he would get the happy ending he deserved…with you.”

“I still don’t understand, Felicity.” Indie looked at the woman she had struggled to dislike, but for whom she now had so much respect. “Why are you here?”

“I need to know what happened this morning,” Felicity’s blue eyes went dark as she pleaded with Indie.

“He sent me a selfie of the two of you this morning, saying he had found heaven…And he’s now being disciplined by our boss for beating up a perpetrator.”

Pieces of burger Indie had just bitten dropped back onto her plate as she stared at Felicity. “He did ~what~?”