Page 14 of Tempting Frey
Morris, our volunteer fire chief who also oversaw the infrastructure maintenance, barged in a little breathless.
“Am I late?” he blurted, looking us over.
“No,” Jesse said, and turned to Chickie. “But where’s your kid?”
“Not a kid anymore,” Chickie replied. “He’ll be here. He’s looking at an apartment two doors down from here.”
“An apartment? Is he already fed up with you?”
My friend snorted. “Ollie’s a grown man. ’Course he wants to live on his own. He’s been taking care of himself in the city for four years. I told him the place above the post office was for rent, so he went to look at it.”
Jesse glanced at his watch, letting out a displeased grunt. But it wasn’t nine yet.
Oliver burst into the meeting room one minute before nine. He looked around, his gaze pausing on my face for only a split second. Then he pulled out the nearest chair and sat down.
“Good morning,” he said cheerily.
We replied in a chorus of hellos.
Jesse cracked his knuckles. “So. The start of a new era, huh?” He raised his eyebrows at Oliver, whose smile grew tense.
Then Monty came in late, but nobody expectedhimto be on time. Our parks and recreation officer took his job to heart—in a truly recreational manner.
“What did I miss?” he asked as he plonked down onto the last remaining chair to Chickie’s left.
I took a deep breath, and Jesse brushed his fingers over the keyboard, ready to take notes. Except with the deep breath that was supposed to calm me, I drew in a hint of a smell. I was so used to the dull scents of my coworkers that I barely noticed them anymore. But this was Oliver. My mind got dragged back to a summer night ages ago, when this very scent filled my living room.
With all the scientific discoveries we’d made, why hadn’t we learned to erase certain memories? I’d pay a fortune to get rid of the images in my head.
The intricate lace pattern over pale skin.
My skin prickled, and the hair on my neck rose. I wanted nothing more than to burst into fur and run out of the meeting room with my ass on fire.
I cleared my throat.
“Morning, everyone. The first thing on the agenda today is an important addition to our team. I’m very happy we were able to recruit this amazingly talented young man. Let’s hear it for Oliver Klondike, our new treasurer.”
There. That sounded welcoming, but not too personal. My mouth was dry. I should have brought a glass of water.
The guys clapped, and Monty stomped his feet. “Go Ollie!”
Chickie was smiling like the sun. When the noise died down, Oliver spoke up.
“Thank you. I’m happy to be back in Beauville and excited to work here. I spoke with Mr. Hughes, and he agreed to come to the office a few times this week to help me get a smooth start.”
Damn, I should have thought of that myself. Jesse looked at me expectantly.
“That’s great. Thank you, Oliver. Um. What’s next?”
Morris dove under the desk and pulled something out of his backpack. “I got a couple of these again.”
He threw two papers into the middle of the table.
Jesse groaned. “Should we add them to the stack?”
I grabbed one sheet and read.
To Whom It May Concern,
