Page 38 of The Devil on my Chest

“You’ll know when your babies arrive that just having five minutes to get some peace and quiet, to do their shopping without their little Johnny tugging on their legs every fiveminutes wanting to go to the bathroom is a blessing. Maybe enjoy a coffee with friends, all that sort of thing, during the day. And if it was right on the back of the sheriff’s office, it would be the safest space in town.”

“It would.” Nancy was nodding madly. “I’ve been thinking of something like that. After what happened with my two, I’ve cut back my hours, but as my husband can’t be trusted to keep an eye on my boys, I’ve told him he has to get off his ass and get a job. Goodness knows what he’s going to do, but if he wants new brewing equipment or other crap that doesn’t benefit the house, he’s going to have to get a job.”

“I don’t know if it’s relevant, but I’ve got qualifications that could be useful,” Molly said. “I used to run a kindergarten before I came to Arrowtown to be with my late Harry.”

“Oh, my goodness,” Nancy clapped her hands. “I used to work as a teacher’s assistant until my boys came along. We could do it together and bring in some of the younger people and mothers if they wanted to volunteer sometimes. That would be perfect.”

“There you go,” Mrs. Hooper said, and Rocky realized she was actually talking to him. “All you needed to do is ask and you’re problem’s solved.”

“It all sounds very good in theory,” Rocky said, “but won’t we have to get permission from the mayor’s office? You know, for funding for wages, getting the place built and stocked up, and everything else? I was thinking we could just take a bit of money out of the sheriff’s budget and just tack on an extra room, but this sounds like a major undertaking. A good idea, but a bit more of a project than could be funded with the sheriff’s budget.”

“Not if you ask the right people,” Mrs. Hooper said. “In this instance you get kudos for using the one brain cell you have, and you’ve come and spoken to me. We can do this. Are you tellingme that you don’t think Seth or Simon, or any of your other friends, wouldn’t be grateful for somewhere to drop off their babies once in a while.

“Your two would be well-looked after as well. Mal can pop in there any time he likes, it’s not even a full minute away. So he can do the feeding and changing and put them down for a nap if they want.”

“We’d probably need two rooms because we’ll need a sleeping area,” Nancy added, and Mrs. Hooper nodded.

“It would be a play area and safe space that is right in the heart of the Arrowtown community, and your babies would be a part of that from the start. It would be so handy for anyone coming into town for a few hours. Even Doc and Joe would probably appreciate an hour or two to themselves every now and again.”

Mrs. Hooper leaned on the counter. “Look, I know you guys are pretty good about all babysitting for each other and everything else like that, but when was the last time you actually had some quality adult time to yourself?”

Rocky looked to the left and then to the right and said, “Well at the moment Mal and I have that anyway,” he said. “But no, I understand, I understand, I’m not disputing what you’re saying. But the thing is, Mal is due in, well the doctor says he’ll be lucky if Mal goes another two weeks. And then, okay, we were thinking of taking some time off. Mal was talking two or three weeks afterward, you know, just so we can get the babies into a routine and things like that.”

Rocky had no idea why the three ladies all broke into laughter.

“But anyway,” he added quickly, “we would have a bit of time, but not a lot. Can we do all this in all this time?”

“Ra won’t have a problem with it, especially when Seth tells him it’s a good idea,” Mrs. Hooper said. “You leave that to me. I’ve already got guys on standby who can do the building. If you remember we got Joe’s house completely stripped out and rebuilt in next to no time and if you recall, the sheriff’s office was rebuilt in a matter of days after it was bombed.

“I don’t know why you think we can’t do this. Do you think the community’s not going to get together if we decide to put a daycare on the back of the sheriff’s office? It’s another community building project and this town thrives on that sort of thing. People love helping each other and working together – and in this instance Cam’s is just down the road for those who need a boozy incentive. It’s perfect I tell you.”

Rocky looked at the older woman and then at Nancy and Molly. “Well then,” he said, tapping the paper and pushing it at Mrs. Hooper. “I’ll just leave this in your capable hands, shall I?”

“Maybe you’ve got two brain cells after all,” Mrs. Hooper said with a laugh. “You get on out there and go back to keeping these people safe. You leave everything about this to me.”

Feeling a lot happier, Rocky sauntered out of the shop again, tipping his hat to the ladies before he left. He stood on the sidewalk, looked down toward the sheriff’s office, and then he looked across at the bakery.

His nemesis.

The scene of his greatest shame.

Rocky hadn’t been inside the bakery since that fateful night. As he stood there, he could smell that someone, probably Brutus, had made some bear claws. While he didn’t have thatclawingneed, and then Rocky snickered to himself because he thought that was funny. But he genuinely didn’t have any desire for anything sweet.

Mal had never mentioned wanting anything from the bakery – he never had, and yet Rocky knew that Mal used to love sweet things in his diet. But, as if he was worried about Rocky relapsing, Mal never had anything sweet in the house. If Rocky offered to get him anything from the bakery, he’d just shake his head and ask for a sandwich from Cam’s or the diner instead.

However, Fergus had said, back when he had come back into town, that they were doing savory items. And Rocky was hungry.I can do this, he thought.I have to prove this to myself and Mal, but I know I can do this.

Checking for traffic, Rocky crossed the road, and after a moment’s hesitation, he walked inside, again doffing his hat at two ladies with two small children who were just on their way out. Fergus was behind the counter, his belly was almost as big as Mal’s, although Rocky knew that Fergus would be pregnant a lot longer than Mal would be.

“Sheriff, it’s lovely to see you.” There was no worry at all in that genuine smile and Rocky relaxed.

“I want to get something nice for Mal,” he said. “He’s almost due, you know, and I think he’s struggling with his appetite a bit. Have you got something he can eat in small doses? Like maybe some small fudge squares or something like that?”

“Good choice,” Fergus said, reaching for a bag. “I can make him up a selection of small treats he can pick at when he’s peckish.”

“Thank you.” Rocky swallowed hard. “You mentioned last time we spoke that you were adding some savory treats as well. Maybe you could make up a bag of some of those new treats for me. I’d really appreciate it.”

“No problem at all.” Fergus reached for a second bag.

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