Page 28 of Keeping Happily Ever After

“It’s no secret, I’m winding down and—”

“No one is rushing you out the door, Chief. You have as much time as—”

He cut him off with a wave of his hand and a chuckle. “Truth is, I’m done and everyone knows it. I’m ready to spend my days fishing and watching my granddaughter grow up. I haven’t announced it yet, Jeremy, so keep it quiet for now, but I’ll be retiring in the spring. And unless you don’t want it, I can’t think of anyone better to replace me.”

The last thing Jeremy had expected when he picked up the shift was to hear such a proclamation, and even though it was everything he’d been hoping to hear, he was caught off guard. He sat back in his chair and inhaled deeply, sucking the air in through his nose before releasing it with a grin. “Wow, I…”

“Don’t want it?”

“Hell yes, I want it.” He all but hollered, catching himself at the last moment to keep his voice in check. “Yes,” he said again, calmer. “I want it. It would be an honor, sir. Really, I…” He shook his head, unable to find the words.

“I know that’s not what you expected when you came in here tonight.”

“To put it mildly.”

Ed chuckled. “Honestly, I didn’t expect to spring it on you either. In fact, that’s not what I wanted to talk about right now.”

Jeremy caught the edge of seriousness in his voice, and sat up as the chief shifted gears.

“I got in touch with a fire hall in Halifax, down the street from your sister’s coffee shop. They’re going to help us out.”

All of Jeremy’s nerve endings cracked to life at the mention of his sister. It had only been a few days since he’d discussed the problem with Ed, but he’d promised to help as much as he could and Jeremy had trusted that. Even so, he hadn’t been able to stop worrying about his sister in such a situation.

“If there’s anything she needs to bring with her, keeping in mind it shouldn’t be much, she can bring it to the coffee shop on her shift. Joe Black is the chief out there. He’s going to make a point and check in on her every time she’s working. He’ll hang onto her belongings, if she has any she wants to bring with her, and then we’ll have a plane ticket ready for her next week. The plan will be for her to go to work as normal.”

Jeremy nodded. So far, it was a good plan.

“Good. Because Billy checks on her.”

Ed nodded. Jeremy had filled him in on all the details about the controlling asshole of a boyfriend. “Two hours into her shift, she’ll go on break and walk down the street to the fire hall. Joe will personally take her to the airport and stand guard until the plane takes off. Where you’ll be waiting to pick her up. Safe.”

Jeremy exhaled and felt some of the stress he’d been holding leave his body. But only some. He still needed his sister home safe.

“I’ll call her and—”

“No.” Ed cut him off. “With everything you’ve told me, we did a little more digging and Joe had his buddy on the force look into this guy. Everyone agrees it’s best to move slowly and not give him any idea that Charlotte is planning to leave.”

Jeremy nodded.

“So it’s probably best if you let Joe communicate with her casually at the coffee shop. He’ll order a dark roast and let her know she can trust him. Is there something that only she would know that will help?”

Jeremy instantly didn’t like the idea of being cut out of therescue mission. Char washissister. She’d askedhimfor help. But he wasn’t so hardheaded that he couldn’t see the need to be discreet. Billy might get suspicious if all of a sudden he was calling more. Logically, he knew it was for the best. Still…

“Tell her that he’s a friend of Mittens’.”

Ed tipped his head, his lips twitching up in a smile. “Mittens? Is that…”

Jeremy nodded. “She’ll remember.” He dropped his head and breathed in deeply. “Thank you,” he said when he looked up. “You have no idea what this means to me.”

The older man sat back in his chair and nodded once. “I do know. And I know you’d do the same.”

After leaving the chief’s office, Jeremy splashed water on his face before returning to the lounge and the others. There was so much he couldn’t tell his crew about. He also couldn’t let them see anything was going on. That was part of being a good leader.

Which apparently was what he would be.

Brought back into the present, he looked over at Natalie, who watched him strangely.

“You good, Davis?”

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