Page 12 of Need You
“Sometimes.” Like when he had Pond making his life miserable. Otherwise, Colt loved being the police chief. He loved the town, he loved the residents, and he wanted to keep them safe. Call it corny, but that’s the way he rolled. “You invite Josh?”
“He and Hannah had something going on. What’s the deal with the chick next door?”
Colt kicked off his tennis shoes. “What do you mean, what’s the deal with her?”
“She’s hot. What happened to her husband?”
“They’re divorced . . . I think.” That’s what Carrie Jo had told him. But she’d probably heard it from someone else and people in Glory Junction tended to talk out of their asses.
“Really? She seeing anyone?”
“How the hell would I know?” Colt took the cereal box and poured himself a bowl.
“Maybe I should go over there and say hello.”
He reached for the milk. “Do me a favor and don’t.”
“Why not? It’s the neighborly thing to do.” Win grinned and Colt had a sudden urge to wipe the smile off his brother’s face.
“You’re not her neighbor, I am. And she and I aren’t exactly on amicable terms.”
“See, that’s the difference between you and me. If I lived next door to a beautiful woman we’d be on extremely amicable terms.”
Colt snorted. “She’s out of your league, bro.”
Win looked affronted. “What makes you think that?”
“She’s some big-name fashion designer, like Ralph Lauren or Calvin Klein. Her real home is in LA and she’s probably not interested in a ski bum.” Or anyone born and raised in Glory Junction for that matter.
“Hey, who are you calling a ski bum? I own a sixth interest in an excellent adventure company. I’m a businessman.”
“Who’s a businessman?” TJ walked in without bothering to knock, which was standard operating procedure for the Garner brothers.
“Win,” Colt said, and he and TJ both cracked up. Seeing the look on Win’s face, he added, “Oh, Winifred, we’re laughing with you, not at you.”
Of all of them, TJ was the businessman. Their brother Josh liked to say that he was Garner Adventure’s chief bean counter, hiring director, and marketing guru rolled into one. He was eighteen months younger than Colt, but people always thought TJ was the eldest—and the smartest, which he probably was.
TJ took one look at their bowls of cereal and grimaced. “If I knew that’s what you were serving for dinner I would’ve gotten takeout at the Indian place.” The name of the downtown restaurant was Zaika, but everyone just called it the Indian place.
“Blame Win. This is his party. I didn’t even know you guys were coming over.”
TJ picked up the box of cereal and shook it. “There’s nothing left.”
Colt went in his pantry, pulled out another box, and handed it to him with a bowl and spoon.
TJ reached for the milk and joined them at the breakfast bar. “I heard someone upchucked on you,” he said between bites.
“Yeah. Long, boring story.” Apparently enough people saw the incident that the whole town was talking about it. “What’s going on at Garner Adventure? Win says Mom and Dad are buying new equipment.”
“Yep. But I wish we could find more guides. The summer is killing us, though it’s good for our bottom line. You’re still doing the river-rafting trip tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah.” Though Colt wished he could have the day to himself. He hadn’t done laundry in a week, the lawn needed mowing, and after tonight he’d be out of groceries. And beer.
“You on call?” TJ asked.
“I am. Brewster isn’t back from his fishing trip until tomorrow, and Saber’s wife just had a baby.”
“How come your patrol car is at the top of the hill?”
