Page 12 of All You Want
Todd’s phone rings, and he answers it without excusing himself. How rude. If I didn’t know we were keeping our kisses a secret, I would be miffed. But I know it’s all part of pretending we’re not into each other, so I give Linx a “see what I mean” look to let her know Todd no longer affects me anymore.
“What?” Todd barks. “She’s right here. Okay. I’ll let her know. Fire department called? Sure. I’m on my way.”
He hangs up and pushes from the table.
“What happened?” Linx and I ask at the same time.
“There’s a garbage fire at your boarding house. I thought you told me last night you were having it cleaned up.”
“I have a crew there.” I rise from the table and dig into my purse for money to cover the tab.
“That’s the other thing. The foreman says tools and construction material have been stolen.”
“Oh, no, that’s not good.” I follow him to the doorway of the diner.
“Which is why you shouldn’t have attracted all that attention last night before you were ready for your grand opening,” says the careful sheriff as he opens the door to the town’s new Chevy Tahoe PPV, or Police Pursuit Vehicle, allocated by funds I asked my daddy to donate. “I told you what would happen without proper security.”
“But you were there,” I protest as I get into the gleaming PPV. “Besides, not everything is planned.”
“Exactly my point. Without planning, you’re planning to fail.”
I hate it when he lectures me, and I hate it even more when he’s right. But as long as he kisses me under the covers, I’ll put up with his gruff exterior.
“Sure, Toddkins,” I simper sweetly once he’s inside the large vehicle. “Let’s plan on another hike this evening. I’ll bring a picnic basket.”
One side of his mouth lifts in a crooked grin. “I’ll bring the wine. Make sure we’re not followed, but don’t call me Toddkins.”
“Toddkins is our secret password.” I tickle his forearm and snuggle closer to him on the bench seat.
“Sheriff Colson,” a voice on the radio barks. “We have an injury on the site of the Bee Sting Bordello. A worker fell off the scaffolding. Ambulance dispatched.”
All thoughts of Toddkins and our picnic are submerged. I should have been on-site to supervise and not on cloud nine because Todd kissed and felt me up last night. I have a business to run, so I call Evan on my cell phone.
He apprises me of the situation. “Juan broke a leg. He was reaching for a suspension wire for the flying angel ghost. Ambulance is on the way.”
“Anything suspicious?” I ask on behalf of Toddkins. “Do you still need the police?”
“Don’t think so. No evidence of foul play or anything,” Evan says with his expert voice. “Simple accident.”
“What about the supplies that got stolen? I got charged twice for the bricks that went missing.”
“We fixed a broken lock in the basement,” Evan says. “That’s probably how they got in. Made off with some tools, but we found a stack of bricks and pipes near the coal bin.”
“Didn’t you say you heard suspicious sounds coming from the basement?” I remember him discussing it with some of the workers claiming they’re ghosts.
“We had a few dead animals in the basement,” Evan says, which is why we’re sealing off the side with all that old coal and debris.
“Okay, then let’s plan on a walkthrough of all the exhibits and schedule a dry run before grand opening,” I say with an authoritative boss’s voice.
From the side of my eye, I spot Todd giving me a thumbs up. And that’s all it takes for my boundless optimism to soar to the sky.
Everything will be okay, and I’ll be the happiest belle of Halloween with spooks and frights and a bewitching hour to be remembered—especially with Sheriff Toddkins at my side.
Six
~ Todd ~
Having Tami in my police SUV is another experience I’m not supposed to enjoy. If I didn’t think she was so cute and fluffy, I would be annoyed with her touching the buttons and running her fingers across the dashboard dials. But her perfume and chattiness stir up all the hots I have for her. I shouldn’t have kissed and touched her, because now that I’ve tasted the sweet goods, it’s harder to control my stone-cold sheriff’s demeanor.
