Page 33 of Hers to Call
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Simon woke before Calita the next morning, and quietly left the bed. He left a quick note on the dresser so as not to worry her and got dressed. He walked the short distance to the sheriff’s office and marched passed the deputies quietly working at their desks, straight back to Nate’s office. He gave a cursory knock before walking into the small space. There was room enough for the large teak desk his cousin sat behind, as well as a metal filing cabinet that had seen better days. Another relic from their uncle, no doubt, along with the carved wooden figures that adorned the top of it. The curtains were open, flooding sunlight into the room.
“Alpha,” Nate said, sipping his coffee.
He frowned and sniffed, smelling the overly sweet latte. “Why are you drinking that crap?”
Nate set down his cup. “You’re asking why, I, a bear with a sweet tooth, would drink this?”
Simon shrugged, conceding his cousin’s point. He sat down in the leather bucket chair in front of the sheriff’s desk. “Any word on Calita’s car accident?”
Nate sat back in his chair and intertwined his fingers on his chest. “There are marks on the back of her car that confirms she’d been hit. Whether accident or on purpose remains to be seen. There are skid marks from her car, but only one set, so clearly whoever hit her didn’t stop.”
Simon growled. “How bad was it?”
Nate was quiet for a moment, as he considered his answer. “She’s lucky.” He said finally.
Simon stood and paced the small office. “What are you doing about it?”
“We’re canvassing the town for blue cars with front end damage. If we don’t find anything here, we’ll check the next town. I’ve also put out a bolo to the other sheriff stations. Hopefully we’ll hear something back.”
He nodded, relaxing marginally. Nate was good at his job, so yelling at his cousin wouldn’t help anything. With the way gossip moved through their town, no way would someone miss a dented car. They were already buzzing at the drugstore when he went yesterday. He sat down and went over his thoughts for a moment.
“The other day, she was almost hit with a satellite dish falling from Selena’s roof.”
Nate nodded. “Selena told me.”
“Do you think the two could be related?”
He hummed and sat up, clasping his hands together, elbows on his desk. “I’ll go look around myself.”
“While you’re looking into that, Miranda brought a bear into our territory without proper paperwork.”
“Really?” Nate froze. “Name?”
“Charles Rossel.”
He’d assigned a couple of his enforcers to keep a general eye out for both Miranda and Charles, but so far, they hadn’t done anything to warrant him kicking them out of town. He thought about the trespassing from the night before.
“I’ll run him and put some feelers out.” Nate said calmly.
“They’ve been lurking around the property and you know how I am about that.”
“No doubt. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”
Satisfied that Nate would look into it, he headed back to the hotel. He stopped in the restaurant and grabbed breakfast for Calita, answering more questions about her health. She was still sleep by the time he slipped into her room. He set the breakfast tray on the bedside table. He walked through the sitting area and pulled back the curtains to let in a little light. She rolled over and groaned. Walking back to the bed, he picked up and shook her pill bottle.
“Body sore?” he asked.
Another groan was his answer. He tapped out two pain pills and held out his hand. She grabbed them gratefully, grabbing the orange juice from the tray. He waited a beat until she’d swallowed them down.
“I brought you breakfast.”
“Thank you.” Her voice was hoarse and gravelly.
He kissed her temple. He didn’t want to leave, but he’d volunteered himself to give a trail ride to allow one of his bears a day off. “I need to get to work, will you be okay today?”
She hummed, in answer.
