Page 10 of Forever Never
She’d always been a night owl, always been on the forgetful side. She’d never really had to deal with the consequences since there was always someone walking along behind her to turn out the lights.
But his instincts were telling him this wasn’t just a case of Remi being too lost in paints and adventure to pay attention. Something was off.Shewas off. He’d seen it in the shadows under her eyes, the way she startled when he’d caught her outside the grocery store.
The snow-covered road stretched out in front of him, woods to the right, glimpses of water views through the trees to the left. The little downtown where most of his adult life had played out was straight ahead. He’d made this place home. Carved out a spot for himself. He wasn’t going to upset the balance by getting too close to her. Not again. He had his reasons, not the least of which was the fact that Remington Ford had been born with wings, not roots.
It was better, simpler if it was just him, Cleetus, and Magnus, the stray cat. He had his house. Work that he loved. Good friends. And a place at the table of a family he’d often wished was his own. Wanting more was greedy. And in his experience, greed greased the road to hell.
Cleetus picked up the pace when the white clapboard stables came into view. His hefty hooves were muffled by the few inches of snow on Market Street.
Brick did what he did best, focused on the tasks at hand and let all the what-ifs and what-could-bes go. With his mount fed and tack stowed, he shouldered the saddlebags—his version of a briefcase—and headed up the street. He ducked into the coffee shop conveniently located halfway between the stables and the station where he picked up the usual, a box of assorted pastries.
The small talk between the staff and the two other customers reminded him that no matter where he went on the island, he wasn’t going to escape mention of the troubled redhead.
Yes, he did hear that Remi Ford was back.
No, he didn’t know how long she was staying.
Yes, he supposed she did look just as pretty as the last time she’d been home.
While he’d made a place for himself here, she’d been born into one. The entire island looked forward to her visits because everything was just a little bit brighter, a little more fun with Remington around.
She was the kind of girl that when she gave a guy a nickname, the entire town was still using it over a decade later.
He kept his shoulders hunched against the gusts of wind that funneled between buildings and hurried the final few hundred feet to the station.
The white, two-story building on Market Street always reminded Brick of a church. However, instead of Sunday sermons, it was home to the Mackinac Island Police Department, town hall, and town court.
Slipping in the side door, he took off his hat and coat, hanging them both on designated pegs. There was only one other parka on the rack so far that morning. In season, the tiny department swelled to include dozens of cops policing the streets of Mackinac on foot, bikes, and horseback. But off season, only a handful stayed on to serve the full-time residents.
He took the pastries into the break room, where he found the boss pouring a fresh cup of coffee into herIt’s Called Snow, Get Over Itmug.
“Morning, Brick.”
Chief Darlene Ford was a formidable woman. A lifelong resident of the island, a windchill of eight degrees didn’t faze her. Not much of anything did. She was tall and athletically built. Her auburn hair, streaked with silver, was scraped back in its usual short, serviceable tail. Her eyes were a cool, assessing green. The rangy build came from a rigid adherence to daily weight training. She could do more push-ups in one shot than most of the rest of the small force.
Brick excluded, of course. He made it a point to be able to out-work, out-ride, and out-shoot any other officer.
“Morning, chief.” He poured his own mug.
“What did Duncan do this time?” Darlene asked, perusing the pastry selection. She selected a bacon-topped bear claw then offered him the box.
He shook his head, heading for the fridge instead, where his protein shake waited. “Ramped his brand new Polaris into a fence and took out the stop sign on Huron Road.”
“Dang fool is gonna get himself killed one of these days,” she said.
“Anything happen overnight?” Brick asked, taking a hit of coffee.
“Remi’s home.” She glanced down at the protein shake and didn’t bother hiding her shudder.
“I heard. She okay?”
Those green eyes landed on him and held. “Seems to be. Surprised us on the front porch yesterday morning. Got herself a broken arm from some fender bender. Looks tired, but who isn’t this far into winter?”
Brick grunted, swallowing the questions he had.
“That reminds me. Family dinner tonight. Seven o’clock. Be there.” Darlene started for the door. “And don’t bother telling me you’re too busy or you don’t want to intrude.”
Damn it. There went both his best excuses.
