Page 24 of Awakening the Sheriff

His smile faded. “Small towns can be harder than big cities, I reckon. Everyone knows each other here, and people have their established circles of friends. I’m not saying they’re closed off to outsiders, but it can be a challenge breaking into deeply rooted friendships and connections.”

“You have a solid group of friends, but you seem open to making new ones.”

He scratched his beard. “My friends are… Yes, we go way back, but I’ve only recently reestablished a friendship with Tomás and Tiago. We never had a falling out, but with the lives they’ve led, it was hard to stay in touch. Since Tiago impulsively decided to move back, things have changed.”

“And Marnin?” Marnin’s warning about Auden had been possessive, as if he’d wanted to stake his claim.

“Marnin and I have always been close. He was my best friend growing up, spent a lot of time at our house. His dad was… Let’s just say the man wouldn’t win awards for Dad of the Year, and Marnin often preferred my house over his own. But he moved to Seattle years ago, so we don’t see each other as often as we want to either.”

Sadness filled his eyes, and he was quiet for a few beats. “He used to stay with me whenever he was in town for the weekend, but now that Tiago and Cas have this big house…” A deep sigh, and then he waved his hand. “It doesn’t matter. All I was trying to say is we’re not as close as you might think. But even if we were, that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have room for one more friend.”

I wanted nothing more than to hug him—I’d always been a tactile person—but I didn’t think we’d reached that stage of friendship yet. “I’m glad we’re becoming friends. You have no idea how much it means to me.”

Too corny? Maybe, but I was still expressing only a quarter of what I was feeling. If the man had even an inkling of how much I wanted to latch onto him, he’d haul his butt in the other direction. Better not to say anything.

“Wanna come over to build LEGOs again sometime?” Auden asked. “Or we can do something else, something you like.” He frowned. “What do you like to do in your free time? I know you love poetry, but how does that translate into what you do for fun?”

“I go to poetry readings. There’s one in Seattle this Friday evening that I plan on attending.”

Auden blinked. “A poetry reading. I assume that’s pretty self-explanatory?”

“Sometimes they have a theme, like twentieth-century poets, but most of the time, it’s an eclectic mix of poetry, some well known and others obscure.”

“I don’t mean to sound dumb or be offensive, but what’s fun about listening to someone read aloud?”

I wasn’t offended at all. On the contrary, I appreciated him asking rather than jumping to the conclusion it was boring without seeking clarification. “Poetry is meant to be read aloud, to be heard as much as read. Often when you hear someone else read it, you discover new things, new meanings or a fresh interpretation, even of familiar lines.”

“Where’s that reading?”

“In the Elliott Bay Book Company, a bookstore.”

“And it’s Friday evening, you said?”

Why was he asking for details? Oh, wait. Did this mean he wanted to…? “It starts at eight.”

“I’m off Friday. All day. And my deputies have made it clear they don’t want to see my face. Apparently, I’ve been working too much. So if you’d like some company, I could go with you.”

I blinked. “You want to go to a poetry reading?”

“With you, yes. You built LEGOs with me, so I figured we could do something you love.” He shrugged. “Isn’t that how friendship works?”

It was how it was supposed to work, but no one had ever shown any interest in my hobby. And I had always understood it because, well, it was a bit of a boring hobby, wasn’t it? “Are you sure? It may not be your thing.”

“It’s worth a try, right? Even if I hate it, at least I’ll have tried something new. Can’t hurt.”

“In that case…” I couldn’t hold back the smile blooming on my face. “I’d love for you to join me.”

9

AUDEN

On a cold Friday evening, the roads cleared after a snowstorm that had deposited five inches of snow, Keaton and I drove off in his blue Subaru Forester to a poetry reading at the Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle.

Poetry wasn’t something I was familiar with, but Keaton’s excitement had piqued my curiosity. When he mentioned driving to the city for this, I figured I’d offer to accompany him. After all, he’d helped me with my LEGO set, so it was only fair we now did something he enjoyed. Seeing the huge smile on his face as he accepted my offer to join him had been worth it. Something told me this man wasn’t used to people doing things for him.

The kids were taken care of—mine with my parents and his home alone for the night—and both my deputies had assured me they had everything covered, so we were all set for what would hopefully be a fun evening. Though how fun poetry could be remained to be seen, but I was willing to keep an open mind.

“Thanks for coming along tonight, even though it’s not really your thing.” Keaton shot me a sideways glance.

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