Page 24 of Counter Attack

She turned to Nathan. “How about you? Did you know?”

“I’m as surprised as you are.”

Was that disappointment etching his face? Maybe Nathanthought he’d have a shot at the sheriff’s job when her grandfather stepped down. “Why didn’t he choose you? You’re more qualified, knowing the county the way you do.”

“I can tell you why,” Gram said. Both of them turned to her. “It’s because Nathan’s done such a good job being police chief.”

“But that would be all the more reason—”

“Hear me out.” Her grandmother smiled gently. “Carson thinks he’s too valuable to the town.”

“So he’s done too good of a job to be sheriff?”

“Sort of. Nathan here has whipped the Pearl Springs police department into something it’s never been, and I’m not just talking about the way he’s got them exercising.

“His officers are highly visible now instead of spending half their time at Pete Harrel’s restaurant and the coffee shop ... or the hardware store. And Nathan’s always available. He goes into the schools, he’s started an afternoon program for the teenagers, and he gives talks at the senior citizen center about phone scams and gun safety. And—”

Nathan laughed. “I need to hire you to do PR for the department.”

“Carson is very proud of the job you’ve done,” Gram said. “And with the mayor’s new initiative to promote the lakes and waterways around here, Carson figures the town and county will get an influx of visitors, maybe even new residents. We’ll need a good man as police chief if that happens.”

Nathan shook his head. “Heaven help us if the mayor is successful. More people means more crime, and neither the police department nor the sheriff’s office have enough manpower as it is.”

Alex had always heard life could turn on a dime but until now hadn’t known exactly what that meant. She had her life planned out. If she did what her grandfather wanted, it could possibly change everything—especially if he wanted her torun for sheriff if he retired. She blew out a breath. No need to cross that bridge until she came to it.

She turned to her grandmother. “You do think this is only temporary, right? Once he’s feeling better, he’ll go back to being sheriff? I mean, he’s only seventy-five and, until now, in good shape.”

“It’ll depend on how much damage the heart attack did.”

But the uncertainty on her grandmother’s face told her all she needed to know.

“You’ll do this for him, won’t you, Alexis?” Gram’s eyes pleaded with her.

Did she have a choice? They’d given up a lot for her. If it hadn’t been for her grandparents, there was no telling where Alex might’ve ended up after her mother died in a car wreck when Alex was six. Her father had been stationed in the Middle East, and Gramps and Gram had taken her in. They were all she had.

“You know I will.” She chewed her thumbnail. “But what if Dr. Hudson won’t release me?”

“You don’t need her release to take the job,” Nathan said.

“I know, but taking the job while under the care of a psychologist might come back to bite us. I’d rather get her to release me.”

“Good point,” he said.

Gram took both her hands. “I’d like for you to tell Carson you’ll take the job when we go in to see him at five. Why don’t you call and see if you can see the doctor this afternoon?” Gram said. “Nathan, you’ll take her, won’t you?”

Gramps had nothing on his wife when it came to getting people to do what she wanted. Alex turned to him. “Do you have time?”

“Yep. I’d already arranged for Jared to cover for me this afternoon while we were in Chattanooga.”

Jared Westbrook was Nathan’s second-in-command. While she remembered that, Alex had totally forgotten their afternoon outing. “Thanks. Let me check and see if I can see her.”

She dialed Dr. Hudson’s number, and after Alex explained how important it was to see the doctor, the receptionist put her in as Dr. Hudson’s last patient of the day, provided she could be there in the next half hour. Alex relayed the information to her grandmother and Nathan.

“I’m ready,” he said.

Nathan drove her the short distance across town to Dr. Hudson’s office that was located next to the Chattanooga police department. She opened the truck door. “Thanks. This shouldn’t take long.”

“Text me when you’re ready. I’m going to drop in and see Ken Parker.”

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