Page 3 of Chasing Fireflies

“You should put your sandals back on,” I tell her.

“I don’t like shoes,” she says. I roll my eyes.

“I saw that.” She smacks my arm, and I try not to smile.

“You complain too much,” I say, looking over at her piled-up curls. She wears a short summer dress that says something about Woodstock, peace, and love.

“Oh, yeah?” She lifts her brow and pokes her lips out at me.

“Absolutely,” I confirm. She lifts her feet and slides across the bench seat, moving closer.

“What are you doing?” I ask as she leans into the crook of my neck, and I feel her sweet breath against my skin.

“Nothing,” she whispers into my ear before I feel her tongue running along the side. I move my head away. “I don’t think so.” She puts her hand on the other side of my face and presses it closer to her. She spreads kisses down to my collarbone and laughs lightly.

“Sara,” I breathe out because her other hand is rubbing at the crotch of my jeans. She sucks on my skin and lets out a noise that goes straight to my hardness. “Baby,” I say as she keeps kissing and sucking. My eyes grow lazy, and my foot gets heavy on the gas. I don’t even notice that we pass by a cop, but I do when I see blue lights. “Shit. Baby, get back to your side.” She laughs as she hurries to her side of the truck. I pull over and wait for the cop to get out. She stifles a laugh as he makes it up to the door, and I shake my head at her as she puts her hand over her mouth and clears her throat. Her eyes look down at my jeans, and I adjust myself before I look over when the cop taps on the glass, signaling for me to roll the window down. It takes a minute because the damn handle needs some grease.

I clear my throat. “How can I help you, officer?”

“Son, do you know you were speeding back there?”

“I didn’t realize it,” I answer. He looks over at my wife, and I see his eyes move downward. I look over, too. Her dress is riding up from where she moved so quickly. She notices and tugs it down. She sucks her lips in, and her cheeks turn pink. Looking back at the cop, I see he is the chief.

“Okay, you two. How about we pay better attention to driving when we are on the road and less on…” He clears his throat. “Less on each other.”

“Yes, sir,” I reply.

“You folks have a nice day.” He tilts his hat, and as he turns to walk away, I get an idea.

“Hey, chief,” I say, sticking my head out the window and looking back at him.

“Yes, son?”

“You doing any hiring?”

He looks me over for a moment and then asks, “You got any experience?”

“Worked under my dad one town over since I was sixteen,” I say. “He’s been the sheriff for going on thirty years.”

He nods in approval. “Well, you come on down to the office tomorrow then. We’ll see what we can do.”

“Thank you.” I smile before I turn back to Sara. She has a look of disappointment on her face, and I sigh inwardly, waiting for the battle I know is coming. I grab the gear shifter and put the truck in drive before pressing the gas.

“You’re leaving me,” she pouts.

“Baby, please don’t start this.”

“Oh, I’m starting?” she says sarcastically. She’s really pissed, but I can’t do anything about it.

“Yes, you are. I have to work.”

“No, you don’t. We can get by with my disability check and savings for a little while.”

“No, we can’t, Sara. We don’t have any savings. We only have money to fix up that house. You know I have to work.”

“You just want to leave me. I’m too much for you, and you can’t deal with me all of the time. Just tell me, Cash. Tell me the truth.”

“Stop this bullshit, now, Sara,” I say, pulling into town. She huffs, and I shake my head when she crosses her arms and looks out her window. We pass by the small-town square with a white gazebo in the middle and sidewalks leading in different directions. Beds of flowers are laid out in different areas, and people are walking everywhere. I notice a few small shops, and I see a sign that readsChief’s Office. I park the truck in front of the hardware store and look over at my pouting wife. “You coming in with me?”

---