Page 31 of Need You
“I shouldn’t be talking about this here.” He glared at Carrie Jo, who’d stuck around to eavesdrop.
“Meet us for drinks at Old Glory after work,” TJ said.
“All right. See you later.”
Carrie Jo sat in the seat the mayor had vacated. “Pond Scum really said that? He wants to fire you over one silly picture? It wasn’t likeyouwere naked.”
“The man’s looking for any excuse.”
Colt spent the rest of the day working on reports, fielding e-mails, and setting up an emergency response training for a couple of the rookies. When he finally got around to glancing at the clock, it was nearly seven. His brothers would be waiting for him at Old Glory. He changed into a pair of jeans and a Henley.
Carrie Jo was gone for the day, so he locked up his office and drove to the bar. Boden, the owner, greeted him. About the same age as Colt, he’d bought the bar a few years ago and had added thirty local microbrews to the tap. The guy was really into craft beer and knew a lot about it.
“Hey, Chief. How you doing?” He wiped the bar down and filled Colt a pint glass of an IPA. “Try this and tell me what you think.”
Colt took a drink. “Nice. Herbal and citrusy.”
“Yup, exactly. That one’s on the house. So, when you gonna play for us again? Good crowd we got last time.”
If Colt survived Bachelorettegate, he suspected it would be best to lie low for a while. “I got a lot going on right now, Boden. Maybe sometime this fall I can schedule something. You see my brothers?”
“They’re over at the pool tables.”
“Thanks. And thanks for the beer.”
It was packed for a Wednesday night and he had to squeeze through the crowd to get to them. When he finally did, Josh and TJ were playing a game of eight ball and Win and Deb a game of darts.
“Hey,” Josh said. “You just get off work?”
“Yeah.” Colt grabbed a chair at his brothers’ table. Boden may as well put a Garner plaque on it, they sat at it so much. “What’s going on at GA?”
“Nothing. But your picture is making the rounds. Dad thought it was hysterical.”
“It’s been great for business,” TJ chimed in. “We got a couple of bookings today with guys wanting to sign up for the topless white-water trips.”
“Glad everyone is amused. Pond wants me to resign over it.”
Josh and TJ stopped their game and came over to the table. Win and Deb wandered over too.
“I thought you were kidding earlier,” TJ said. “He can’t be serious. It was a couple of women screwing around. How did that hurt anyone?”
“It’s not exactly a good image for the Glory Junction Police Department. Please tell me, TJ, that the girls were all legal.”
“Of course they were. We get parental consent for anyone under eighteen. We have photocopies of their licenses if you need to show them to Pond.”
“I may have to show them to the council.”
Win pulled a face. “That’s messed up, man. Everyone in this town knows you wouldn’t do anything to hurt Glory Junction’s reputation. The girls were just having fun. It’s no different than Rita’s calendar, for God’s sake.”
Deb gave Colt a hug. “Screw Pond Scum. Everyone knows he’s a carpetbagger.”
That wasn’t the point, but Colt appreciated the sentiment anyway. “I’m sure it’ll be fine,” he said, not necessarily believing it. There was no question the mayor wanted a more malleable chief, someone who wouldn’t stand up to him the way Colt did. This was exactly the kind of excuse Pond could use to jettison him.
Hannah showed up and they wound up ordering food. He played a game of pool, whupped Win’s ass at darts, and went home, feeling grateful for his family and friends standing by him. The easement parking space was open, so he nabbed it. As he walked to his kitchen door, he spied Delaney on her deck, pacing back and forth with her cell pressed to her ear. He couldn’t hear what she was saying, but could tell the conversation was heated.
He started to let himself inside, quickly darted another glance over at Delaney’s deck, and saw her crying. His instincts shouted for him to go over to make sure she was okay, but he fought them. Colt didn’t have much room to screw up with Pond watching his every move, and as far as Delaney was concerned, he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t.
