Page 37 of Awakening the Sheriff

And Byron must’ve felt that, and instead of adapting, he’d doubled down on his tough-guy attitude. I could see that. “Thanks, sweetheart. That helps me to get a better understanding.”

“I don’t think he’s an asshole, Dad.”

“No?”

“It’s like he sometimes forgets that he has to pretend. Gabe said that the other day in social studies, Byron said something smart, and everyone was shocked. Of course then he realized what he’d done and went back to being a dick again.” She sighed. “Why are boys so stupid?”

I grinned. “No idea, but I can confirm that they are. All of them.”

She slapped my shoulder. “You’re just saying that ‘cause you don’t want me to date.”

Date? Hell no, I didn’t want her to date. She was fourteen, for fuck’s sake. Not that I was stupid enough to say that out loud. “Nah, sweetheart, just helping you manage expectations. For all I know, you could be lesbian or bi.”

She widened her eyes, and then the sweetest smile bloomed on her face. For a moment, she looked so much like Marnin that it took my breath away. “Thank you for saying that, Dad. I don’t think I am, but I love that you said that.”

With a warm flutter in my chest, I linked arms with my daughter, and we continued our stroll. Dani rejoined us half an hour later, stating that Jillian had to leave ‘cause her brother had a soccer game.

We were watching the final judging for the igloo competition when we bumped into Keaton and Milton. Keaton’s face lit up, and I smiled at him. “Keaton! What a pleasant surprise.”

“Sheriff Frant. This is my son, Milton.”

I shook Milton’s hand. “Nice to meet you, buddy. You know my daughters, of course.”

“Hi, Mr. Perry,” my girls chorused. “Hi, Milton.”

Keaton smiled at them. “Hey, girls. You having fun?”

Dani nodded. “The Winter Festival is my favorite. The student-teacher snowball fight especially.”

Keaton winced. “Don’t remind me. They conveniently forgot to mention that when I applied for a job here.”

I snorted. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little snow.”

Keaton put his hands on his hips. “A little snow? From what I understand, we’re talking about a vicious fight to the death, gladiator-style.”

That had us all in stitches, the kids laughing out loud.

“Don’t be scared, Mr. Perry,” Dani said. “My dad will be the referee, and he doesn’t tolerate any funny business, as he calls it.”

Keaton looked me up and down. “What are you going to do if the students disobey? Arrest them?”

We both froze for a moment, undoubtedly because of the same association, but my girls giggled, breaking the tension. “That’s silly, Mr. Perry,” Dani said.

I checked my watch. “We’d better head to the sports fields. It’s starting in a few minutes.”

We headed toward the school, the girls and Milton in front of us and Keaton and me falling in line. “Where’s Byron?” I asked softly.

Keaton shrugged. “Walking around somewhere. He didn’t want to hang out with us, but Milton said he was planning on showing up for the snowball fight, so we’ll see.”

My heart was heavy with what I knew about Byron, but I couldn’t tell Keaton. Not yet. I needed Byron’s permission to share that part, but even if I did, I wouldn’t know how to deal Keaton that devastating blow.Hey, Keaton, sorry to tell you, but your son is homophobic.

“I had a conversation with Mandy about Bryon,” Keaton said softly, even though the kids weren’t paying attention.

“You told her about the shoplifting? How did that go?”

“Not well. She downplayed it, and then we got into the whole move here. She said some things that…” He shook his head. “Now’s not the time to get into it, but she made me question everything.”

I didn’t like the sound of that at all. “Do you have anything planned for tonight?”

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