Page 24 of An Unfinished Memory

“Right. Have a good weekend, Kaplan.” I got behind the wheel and drove away. I had somewhere else to be.

Kaplan’s little revelation niggled at my brain. What would Ray think? He’d been grooming me for the office since I’d started with the department. I would be interim sheriff. We all knew it. I could win the election in a clean sweep. Unless…

Unless I was running against a family man who’d also been a part of the community for years. A candidate whose wife worked and volunteered and whose kids I high-fived in the halls of the school. Kaplan was a staple of Buffalo Gully. He’d be a worthy opponent. Running against Kaplan would be a challenge even if I was already interim sheriff.

I worked over the problem all the way to my house, but once I parked and was officially offduty, I tabled the worry. I had a night with Sutton. One night, and I’d have to leave in the morning. Everything else could wait for once.

Sutton

It was finally Friday, and excitement coursed through me, kicking up my heart rate and getting me tingly in all the right places. I wanted to jump up and down like I won the grand prize and that big win was a night filled with Wilder’s talented tongue and fingers and his magnificent dick.

All week, I’d been asking myself if I should cancel. Should I be the adult and do the right thing and tell Wilder we couldn’t continue? Or should I do what I really wanted and shave everything and put on the shortest shorts that Wilder said made my legs look a mile long? I’d pair the shorts with a camisole top and no bra. Because he’d be stripping me down right away.

If I went with the latter decision, I wouldn’t put on underwear either.

I tugged the shorts down and wandered through my house. Berry stared at me through slitted eyes. She was used to me being busy or doing paperwork on the couch. She wasn’t used to my restless wandering. Neither was I, but I also wasn’t accustomed to waiting for a booty call to arrive.

My phone buzzed, and my stomach dropped. Was that Wilder? Was he telling me he couldn’t make it?

I should’ve known he was working late— Oh. Aggie’s name was on the screen.Are you busy tonight?

My heart thudded once. Twice. I didn’t have to lie. I would tell her the truth.I’m heading to bed. What’s up?

Nothing. Just—The phone rang. I nearly dropped the damn thing.

I fumbled to answer. “Is everything all right?”

“Yeah.” She sighed. “I don’t know. I’m restless, that’s all. Ro’s sleeping, and Ansen’s at his dad’s with his brother.”

“Is Allan all right?” Aggie’s father-in-law lived in a trailer on their property.

“He’s fine. They’re having a guys’ night.”

“Did you ever think guys’ night would be two brothers hanging out with their dad?”

She laughed, letting out a soft snort. “They’re probably spoiling the cats he just adopted.”

I’d checked both kittens and fixed them last fall. The two little fur bodies had been all of five months old and were probably dumped once the owner realized they had a male-female pair that were reaching sexual maturity. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine. Really. I was just roaming the house, not quite tired, and realized it was Friday night. You work at the clinic tomorrow, don’t you?”

“For part of the day. That’s the plan anyway.” I endedup staying much of the day with walk-ins. I was glad for the work, but I also didn’t want to open my own clinic only to be as tied to the job as my ex was to his. Besides, I had vacations planned. So, I limited my Saturdays to twice a month and narrowed my hours to the morning.

Closing the clinic for my short camping excursion was a test run. My clients would get used to me being out for the weekend, and I could assure myself that I wouldn’t return to an empty schedule because everyone had abandoned me.

Dr. Jake was the other vet in town, and he wasn’t the most well-liked by many people who’d been burned by his playboy ways or didn’t appreciate his flirtations. Still, he was another vet in town. Clients had options. But I also wanted to travel and do all the things I’d waited on while waiting for other people.

Like I was waiting for one of those people now. In doing so, I was leaving Aggie alone. “I can come by tomorrow when I’m done.”

“We’re going to look at a horse. It’s fine. I just saw you at dart night.”

The rumble of the garage door came through the wall. I jumped. He was here.

Wilder was at my house. Again. And I was on the phone with his sister. Ugh.

“Dart night is different.” I lived for my Thursday nights out with Aggie, Tova, and Vienne. Hanging out as a group was different than one-on-one. “You know people are trying to listen in at the bar.”

“One hundred percent.” She sighed. “I really want some wine and gossip. I can’t have the wine while I’m nursing, but I thought I’d go for a good girl-talk sesh. I can try Tova and Vienne, but it’s getting late.”

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