Page 44 of Callahan

The man in the John Deere hat from yesterday was sitting at a table in the middle of the diner with a group of older men, and observed, “Glad to see you’re walking around better, although it looks like you might be having some trouble seeing.”

“I’m on the mend,” I replied with a smile as I sat down and flipped over my coffee cup. “I didn’t get a chance yesterday to thank you for your help. I appreciate it.”

He chuckled. “I didn’t do much; just made sure you didn’t fall down.”

“Well, it was plenty, so thank you.”

“Of course.”

The waitress appeared right away with a pot of coffee in hand and filled my cup with a welcoming smile.

“Rumor has it you’re going to be Haven Springs’ newest law enforcement officer.”

“Well, I haven’t taken the job yet.”

“But you’re going to, right?”

I gave her a flirty smile, which I knew probably didn’t have the same effect as it would if I didn’t have two black eyes.

“Still weighing my options.”

I glanced down at the menu, hoping she’d take the hint I didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Thankfully, she disappeared to refill other patrons’ coffee cups.

I had to admit, Chief O’Shaughnessy was right. The people in the town were ready to welcome me with open arms.

But I knew if I stayed, the temptation to get Lainey in my arms—and bed—would be too great. And it’d be both our downfalls.

While Lancastle may have stoplights, I still knew how small towns operated. The only way you recovered from a scandal likethat was if you moved out of town. Which would be easy for me to do, but her whole life was here. That wasn’t an option for her.

No, it’d be better if I went home and left her alone. Maybe a man worthy of her would step up and deal with all the “O’s” in her life. Although I had hard time believing any man deserved her.

I wondered what she looked like when she came. I bet she would be beautiful—flushed cheeks, mussed hair, dreamy smi—

My cock moved and my conscience screamed,Knock that shit off!

My waitress reappeared, pad and pen in hand this time.

“You ready to order, hon?”

I hadn’t really looked at the menu, I’d been daydreaming about giving Lainey Beaumont an orgasm. Fortunately, I remembered that I’d enjoyed my breakfast from the other day and decided to have it again.

“I’ll have the Dad’s omelet. Whole wheat toast, and hashbrowns.”

“You ordered that the last time you were here. You must have really liked it.”

“You remember my order?”

She gave me a wink. “That’s my job, sugar,” then with a smirk, sashayed toward the kitchen window. This place was so old school that she slid her ticket on a metal spinning wheel and announced my order to the cook.

Yeah, there was no chance I’d get away with giving Lainey an orgasm without the whole damn town finding out about it.

After breakfast, I was going to head to the bus station and see about getting a ticket to Lancastle, Massachusetts, on Tuesday. That should be long enough time for me to have healed, and hopefully a short enough time to have not gotten myself into trouble.

Chapter Nineteen

Lainey

The bakery closed at noon, and my employee, Marie and I made quick work of cleaning up before she left. After locking the doors behind her, I headed to my apartment hoping to get a littleCandy Crushtime before Conor woke up.

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