Page 23 of Counter Attack

“No.” Carson blinked his eyes open. “I haven’t been feeling well for a while now, and this heart attack confirms what I need to do...” He gripped his granddaughter’s hand. “I want to hire you as my chief deputy.”

Alexis opened her mouth to say something, then closed it and stared at her grandfather. She shook her head. “Did I hear—”

“You heard me right.” Carson gave her a gentle smile. “I need you, Alexis. I can’t handle the job anymore on my own, especially after this.”

Alexis lost what little color she had. “Nathan would be a much better choice if you retire.”

“Pearl Springs needs him as police chief. Besides, I’m not retiring. Not yet, anyway. Probably would if you could step into my job, but since you haven’t lived in Russell County for a year, I can’t get you appointed as sheriff.

“What I can do is hire you and make you my chief deputy. You’ll be running the office—in other words, you’ll be the sheriff in everything but the title.”

“What about the chief deputy you already have? Harvey Morgan,” Alexis said.

Carson shook his head. “Harvey isn’t the man for the job. I think he’ll be happy if I move him to chief of staff.”

Wise move on Carson’s part. Nathan liked the chief deputy, but Harvey tended to let things slide. And maybe he wouldn’t think being moved to chief of staff was a demotion, depending on the way Carson handled it. No need to worry about that—the sheriff had been handling touchy situations for years.

14

Alex stared at her grandfather. He couldn’t do this to her. Before she could protest, a nurse hurried into the room.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to leave for now. Mr. Stone needs to rest. You can come back during regular visiting hours at five.”

Her grandfather grasped her wrist. “Stay.” Then he turned to the nurse. “You have to let me talk to her.”

The nurse eyed her patient. “Two minutes. And just you,” she said, pointing at Alex.

Once they were alone, Gramps loosened his grip. “I know you don’t want to stay in Pearl Springs, but I need you to do this.”

Her heart sank. How could she refuse to do what he asked? “But I have a job in Chattanooga. Why can’t your chief deputy take over until you’re better?”

“Like I said, Harvey’s not right for the job.” He rested a minute then squeezed her hand. “I need you, Alex.”

Her heart hitched. Gramps rarely called her that, usually preferring Alexis—like Nathan.

“I hear they’re putting you behind a desk in Chattanooga for a while. I think you’d like being my chief deputy a whole lot better than riding a desk.”

“But the psychologist won’t release me to work out in the field.”

“She’s in Hamilton County and has no authority here.”

He’d thought it through. But when? Alex glanced up at the monitor. His pulse had jumped to a hundred. “Let me think about it.”

A slow smile broke the tension in his face. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“I didn’t say that.” But she knew in her heart she couldn’t turn him down. She owed him too much. “I better get out of here before your nurse gets back.”

“Yeah...” He sounded drowsy.

Alex bent over and kissed his cheek. “We’ll talk later.”

He was snoring softly by the time she reached the door. She looked back. His age had crept up on her, and for the first time ever, he looked every bit his seventy-five years and more. The thought of losing him paralyzed her. Alex brushed the thought away. It wasn’t happening today.

When she joined Gram and Nathan in the waiting room, her grandmother handed her a cup of coffee. “I figured you might need it.”

Alex shot her a wry grin. “Did you know he wanted to hire me?”

“When you live with someone as long as I’ve lived with your grandfather, you know things you don’t voice. And he might have mentioned in the last few days that he was getting too old for the job. It’s one reason I was worried about his health—couldn’t see him saying that unless he felt he couldn’t do the job. I didn’t know he planned to ask you to be his chief deputy, but it’s a sound idea.”

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