Page 45 of Wild Card
“Hopeful, I guess. It makes me feel like I’m disappointing everyone. But I can’t pursue that job. I’m not ready. Not after—” I stopped short, swallowing hard.
Camille rubbed my arm. “I know. Mom and Dad just want to see you put that behind you. They want to know you’re here to stay, too.”
I blew out a breath. “I don’t know if I am. I came back because this place felt safe. But eventually…”
“I know,” she said quietly. “But youcanbring a boyfriend home to us, Dalton. You don’t have to live somewhere else for that.”
Leave it to my sister to cut right to the issue. I liked it here. Liked being close to my family. But it limited my romantic prospects.
I wasn’t closeted, but I never dated either. I wasn’t sure that Elkhorn County could handle seeing their sheriff’s deputy with a boyfriend. My life was a hell of a lot more compartmentalized now than it had been in Phoenix.
In the city, I could be anonymous when I wasn’t in uniform. That would never be the case here.
This whole mess with Axel had shown me one thing, though. Maybe I wasn’t as content with my occasional trips to Omaha and my Miami sex-cations as I’d thought I was.
We finished clearing the dishes, and I let Mom pack me up three containers of leftovers. I was too greedy to offer to share with Camille, even though she had two kids.
Mom hugged me goodbye. “We’ll always be in your corner, Dalton. Whether it’s as sheriff or not.”
“I know, Mom. Sorry I got snappy. This whole sheriff mess has stressed me out.”
She nodded, forehead creasing. “If you’re not ready, then of course we support that. But if this is some sort of atonement, well, you have nothing to atone, sweetheart. Your dad and I just want you to forgive yourself and move on from that tragedy.”
I nodded, eyes burning. “Yeah. I know.”
Shane would never get to move on, though. It didn’t seem fair that I could.
“Good luck on your game, Bodie!” I called as I crossed the living room. “I’ll be there if I can.”
“Awesome!” Bodie hopped up and approached me. “You know, it’s cool if you don’t want to be sheriff. I bet there’s lots of paperwork, anyway.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, there is.”
“What you do is really cool. I’m thinking of going into criminal justice when I graduate.”
My heart dropped. “I didn’t know you were considering that.”
“Well, yeah. Protect and serve. It’s the noblest profession, right?”
All I could see was Shane’s young face superimposed over Bodie’s features. “Not always.”
He looked confused, and I’d snapped at enough family members for one night, so I squeezed his shoulder. “Just do your research before you decide on anything. You’ve got great grades. There’s a lot of noble professions that pay a heck of a lot better.”
He cracked a smile. “Money is cool.”
By the time I said the rest of my goodbyes and got over to the Stag Pub, I was fifteen minutes late to meet Hunter. He was there with Clark and their friends Wes and Beckett.
Two married couples…and me. The joys of being single.
Hunter kicked out a chair for me, and I dropped down beside him. “Sorry I’m late.”
“It’s cool. We’ve got nowhere to be for another hour,” Hunter said. “You remember Clark?”
“Of course. How could I forget the guy who turned you?” I said with a wink. “Though now I feel a little inadequate. Why was my gay ass never enough to turn your head?”
Wes and Beckett laughed, while Clark blushed. “Guess he likes the nerdy type.”
“No, I like the adorable type,” Hunter said, leaning over to kiss Clark.
