Page 137 of Outcast
“Dad, let’s go,” I said. “He’s not going to do anything. That’s why I never reported it.”
Dad turned to me, eyes red-rimmed. An anger that I didn’t recognize twisted his features. “That’s unacceptable! He’s the goddamned sheriff, and he should act like it.”
“I can slap cuffs on you anytime you want,” the sheriff shot back.
“Let’s all calm down,” Deputy Harvey suggested, earning him a glower from his boss. He was a brave man to wade into the middle of this mess. “Emory, take your dad out of here, okay? Let’s not let this escalate.”
“What about Dallas?” Dad insisted. “He can’t just run around harassing people.”
“I’ll talk to Dallas and put an end to it,” Harvey said firmly.
The sheriff huffed. “Now, just a minute! Don’t tell me you’re listening to these lies.”
“They’re not lies,” Gray spoke up behind me. “I caught Dallas roughing up Emory weeks ago. And back in high school, he hooked up with me. Got me outed with my foster dad and run out of town.”
A vein in the side of the sheriff’s temple bulged. The man was going to pop a blood vessel if he wasn’t careful. “Bullshit!”
“I have some evidence on my phone of the harassment.”
I pulled up some of the texts and photos Dallas had sent before I’d blocked his accounts. I handed the phone over.
The sheriff stared down at the phone, face going from red to purple. He thrust it back at me.
“Disgusting.” He shook his head. “No, it can’t be…” He picked up the receiver without looking any of us in the eye. He stabbed buttons with his index finger. Clack. Clack. Clack!
“Dallas,” he barked after a pause. “I’m hearing some nasty rumors about you, and they better not be true. Youtoldme you were done with this shit!”
Harvey ushered us out of the office as the sheriff laid into his son, angry homophobic slurs pouring from his mouth.
My stomach twisted with guilt. We’d outed Dallas—although, based on the shouting, the sheriff wasn’t totally unaware. He’d tried to force the gay out of Dallas. That always turned out so well for everyone.
Harvey escorted us out of the building, nicely but firmly asking us not to return anytime soon.
Dad looked him in the eye. “Make sure I don’t have any reason to return.”
“Yes, sir,” Harvey said. “Dallas won’t be a problem for Emory anymore. You’ve got my word.”
“We’ll hold you to that,” my dad said. “Either way, it might be time to find another candidate for sheriff.”
Harvey’s brow creased. “Sheriff Hale has held office a long time. He’s run unopposed for years.”
“He sure has,” Dad said. “Time for a change, maybe? If we found the right man?”
Gray clapped a hand to Harvey’s arm. “You’ve got my vote.”
Harvey stuttered out, “Oh, well, I don’t know…”
“Think it over,” Dad told him. “Change is hard, but it’s not always a bad thing.”
He looked at me, his eyes so full of love that made my heart squeeze. “Sometimes, we don’t even know we need that change until it’s kicking us in the ass.”
I threw my arms around my dad, hugging him tight. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t ever apologize for being who you are,” Dad said, patting my back. “We should have seen something wasn’t right. We let you down.”
Harvey discreetly returned to the building, leaving us on the sidewalk outside.
When I pulled back, Gray held out his hand to my father. “You’re a good man. I apologize for my part in getting Emory into trouble.”
