Page 13 of All I Need (Hearts of the South)
“Beck.” Calvert’s deep voice pulled him from the musings.
He straightened. “Yes, sir.”
“Come on down to my office.”
He followed the older man along the hall and took the chair Calvert indicated in front of the desk. Calvert shifted a stack of papers to a basket and rested his clasped hands on the blotter. “I can’t offer you the jail administrator’s position.”
Damn. Disappointment slammed into his chest, and he nodded. “I understand.”
“And I can’t give you the title of chief deputy because you can’t fulfill the roadwork requirement yet.”
Chief deputy? Hell, he hadn’t even known that was a possibility. A spark of anger spurted under his skin and heated his neck. Nice of Calvert to rub his face in what he wasn’t qualified for. The disappointment was huge. Apparently, he’d wanted this more than he’d thought.
“But I can offer you a non-road lieutenant’s position. You’d be working directly under me, assuming administrative duties—”
“Sir?” He wasn’t sure he’d heard all that correctly, with anger and frustration pounding in his ears.
Calvert’s mouth twitched with a slight smile. “Lieutenant’s rank, basically eight to five, no road duty, unless at some point you’re cleared for it. Chief Singleton speaks highly of your skills there, so if road work becomes a likelihood, we definitely want you in a patrol car too. Maybe half-administrative, half-road then. For now, you’ll be in charge of scheduling, maintaining reports, submitting payroll—”
“You’re offering me a job.” A breath he hadn’t known he was holding whooshed out. “A lieutenant’s job.”
“I’m trying to, if you’re interested.”
“Yes, sir.” He swallowed hard and straightened in the chair, attempting to get his scattered thoughts under control. “I mean, I’m definitely interested.”
“Great.” Calvert rubbed a hand over his mouth, and Emmett got the impression he was hiding a full-fledged grin. “We’ll let you fill out some paperwork, and then we’ll go over your duties, decide on a start date, like maybe tomorrow, but more likely Monday. I’m drowning here.”
An hour and a half later, Emmett emerged into a fall day so bright and beautiful it hurt. In his truck, he laid the sheaf of paperwork aside and tugged his phone from his pocket. He scrolled halfway through his contacts before realizing he’d gone past Troy Lee’s and Clark’s numbers and straight to Savannah’s.
He paused. What was he doing? They didn’t have that kind of thing going on. They weren’t about sharing triumph and anticipation. Shoot, he still wasn’t quite sure what they were about.
Ah, hell. He had to tellsomeone. He swiped his finger across to dial her number and waited.
Chapter Three
In her car, with the AC dispelling the heated stuffiness, Savannah stared at the missed call and voicemail icon on her phone screen. The manners drilled into her by her mother warred with self-protection. Shereallyshould call Emmett back, especially since she’d been free when he’d called and had simply silenced the phone rather than answer.
The emotional disconnect of a text reply lured with a siren’s call.
She slumped in the seat and swiped to unlock the screen. None of it—the admiration in his eyes, the electricity that sparked out from his gentle touch, the dreams that had followed in the night—was his fault, not really. He was simply being himself.
All the issues belonged to her.
She brought up the voicemail screen and his easy tenor filled the air around her. “Hey, Savannah, it’s Emmett. I got a job offer and wanted to… Well, I thought I’d see if you wanted to get a bite to eat. Sorry I missed you. Give me a call when you get a chance.”
Her eyes burned a little, and she blinked hard, then brushed a finger under her lashes. Damn it, he was sexy and smart and funny and everything she didn’t want or need.
And this was ridiculous. She was bad as Rob had been, sinking deeper into isolation, and she didn’t intend to let that happen. Before she could think better of it, she pressedcalland lifted the phone to her ear.
He answered on the third ring. “Hello?”
“Emmett, hi. It’s Savannah.” Her voice emerged more breathless than she liked. She swallowed. “I got your message and was returning your call. Congratulations on the job.”
“Thanks.” His deep chuckle tickled her ear. “It’s actually a different position than the one I interviewed for, but I’m kind of excited about it.”
“That’s great.” She let the silence stretch, her gaze on the couple—a nurse and one of the local cops—sitting close together on the bench near the hospital chatting.
He cleared his throat. “So did you maybe want to grab something for dinner?”
