Page 14 of The Proposal Pact
He throws out his arms, exasperated. “I have no idea why you and Luke keep refusing all of my brilliant ideas! What good is it to have connections in both the fire department and the police when you two won’t listen? It’s not like I’m trying to makemylife better.” He huffs, folding his arms.
Yeah, because having a new uniform sewed for the police department in a baby blue with glitter is exactly what we need. Oh, and it’s fucking stretchy.
Fucking hell…
The only reason Mr. Colson hasn’t been thrown out of my station yetisbecause he has those connections.
The man practically raised me seeing as I spent as much time in Luke’s house as I did in mine and Griffin’s growing up.
But I’m drawing the line at the uniforms. “No uniforms! Am I clear?”
“Fine, I can see you’re not in a mood today,” he says, snatching the fabric from my table.
“I’ll be back tomorrow!” Mr. Colson shouts before the doors shut behind him.
I slump back into my seat with a low groan. A killer headache is brewing in my head and it’s only nine thirty AM. I haven’t even had the chance to have my coffee yet because as soon as I pulled up to the station, Fanny was already waiting.
I’ve been in this position for three whole weeks, and I still can’t get through the huge stack of files on my desk leftover from the previous guy.
My eye twitches. I fucking hate messes, clusters, things out of order and place. It makes my stomach churn but apparently my predecessor ran for his life after realizing what town he ended up in before he could deal with it all.
Smart man.
I was smart too, sixteen years ago, but I guess I took one too many hits to the head in the Navy that I decided to come back to my hometown. Luke and Griffin as well, I guess, because all three of us swore to leave after high school and never come back.
Look how that turned out.
But unlike my two best friends, I am not interested in settling down here. I’m not interested in finding a wife and making two-point-oh kids. I don’t even want a fish tank.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy for my friends and that they’ve found the love of their lives. I’m happy they are living out their dreams.
I simply don’t have any. Mine drowned seventeen years ago.
So, as nice as it is of Granny Gang to meddle in my love life, it won’t work. Nothing will work. I made sure of it during all these years in the Navy. I’ve desensitized myself to the world, to all that is soft and precious. To all that can hurt when it gets ripped away from you.
And that’s part of the reason I didn’t want to come back. I don’t need anybody digging into parts of me I buried long ago. I don’t want to see the silent questions in their eyes if I’m over what happenedthat day. I just don’t want anything but peace and quiet. Which is the one thing you’ll never find in Loverly Cave.
They are complaining about having quiet hours because they want to party all night long, for crying out loud. What peace and quiet are we talking about.
The only upside to this shocking turn of events is that I get to see Mom, Dad, and Jules every day.
Okay, fine, and I get to see those two fuckers too. I did miss them, but once again, you’ll never get me to admit it. Luke and Griffin already have big heads. Another stroke of their ego and they might trip under the weight of it.
I just make myself some coffee and decide to tackle this stack of paperwork when we get a call.
“Boss,” our dispatcher, Leo, calls out. “There’s a fight inside Fifi’s Goods. Fifi called it in.”
I look up at the yellow ceiling, gritting my teeth. Yes, a bright, cheery, yellow ceiling inside a police station. You are in Loverly Cave now, better get used to this shit.
Nine forty-five. Nine-fucking-forty-five AM and there is a fight.
I’ll be surprised if it’s the last one of the day.
It’s almost four PM when I finally make it back to the station, my cold, morning coffee still sitting untouched at my desk, and Leo is heading out for the day as Marsha starts her shift. She’s the longest standing employee around here, having started fresh out of school some forty years ago and just never left.
Loverly Cave is a relatively small town, and we don’t have a very large task force. Two rotating dispatchers, six deputies who work two at a time and then there’s me. And not for the first time do I think that we need to triple that number.
“Evening, Marsha.” I tip my head her way.
