Page 63 of When You Got a Good Thing (Misfit Inn 1)

“Dad.” Never in a million years would he have expected this.

“The letter’s in the top drawer of my desk. I want you to go find it. Read it.”

“Why?”

“Because I wanted you to know I was planning on turning it in before this shit.” He waved a weak hand toward the IV and other assorted tubes and wires. “Doctor tells me I gotta retire anyway unless I wanna end up in the ground sooner rather than later. That’d really piss your mama off. I been promising her for twenty years that we could do some traveling when I retired.”

Xander felt his lips twitch. “I’ll find it. What do you want me to do with it after?”

“That’s up to you. I’d rather publicly retire for health reasons, if only to save your mother from the gossip and backlash the other would bring. But that’ll be your call. Either way, I think you should replace me. You’ve got more honor and integrity in your little finger than anybody else I know. And I’ve known some fine men and women. You deserve the job.”

Him as Sheriff? Xander had never even considered it. He’d just kind of assumed his father would live forever. But he found he didn’t hate the idea. Did he really want to run for Sheriff? That was not something to ponder on this little sleep. “I expect that’ll be up to the people of Stone County.”

“Expect it will. Your girl still here? Marilyn said she came.”

Xander tensed. “She’s in the hall.”

“Bring her in. Please.”

“If you upset her—” Xander let the threat hang between them.

“Not trying to upset anybody. I’m just trying to make amends.”

When Xander got back to the ICU waiting room, Kennedy rose from her seat beside his mother. “You okay?”

“Working on it. He wants to see you.” At the look of outright shock, Xander took her hands. “Yo

u don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s fine.” Squaring her shoulders, she followed him back inside.

From the bed, Buck watched them, eyes skimming over their linked hands.

“How are you feeling, Sheriff?”

“Like I got hit by a Mack truck. But they tell me I’ll live.”

“That’s good. You gave everybody a scare.”

How could she stand here and have a conversation with his father, as if they didn’t have all this toxic shit between them?

“Seems I’m right good at that,” Buck said. His head drooped a bit, but the old man strained to keep eye contact with Kennedy. “I want to apologize to you. I was wrong. Completely. I know that’s not worth anything at this late date, and nothing I can say or do will make up for what I took from you both. But right now apologies and regrets are all I’ve got.”

Kennedy angled her head in acknowledgment. “I appreciate that. And, for what it’s worth, I forgive you.”

Buck’s head dipped, his gaze dropping to somewhere around his toes. “I don’t deserve that.”

“That’s the thing about forgiveness. It’s not something you earn. It has to be given freely or it’s not really forgiveness at all.”

God, this woman. She had more compassion and wisdom in her little finger than most people learned in a lifetime. That she could stand here and honestly mean everything she’d just said—and Xander had no doubt she meant it—left him absolutely in awe and so proud of her, his chest felt fit to burst.

“You’re a far better person than I ever gave you credit for.”

Kennedy offered a rueful smile. “I get that a lot.”

Xander drew her into his side and pressed a kiss to her temple. This woman would never cease to amaze him. “For what it’s worth, I’m not quite there yet. But I’m working on it.”

“Better than I can expect,” his father said equably.

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