“Let me guess,” he said when he reached her.
“You’d guess right.”
He shook his head. “You don’t listen well.”
“Not when it’s important.”
From a storefront just up the street, facing the square and just behind the sheriff’s office, she saw a man peer out from a window. She hadn’t been up there yet. Keeping up the pretense, she waved. He didn’t wave back.
Gage turned to look. “That’s our crisis hotline office,” he said.
“I wouldn’t have expected to find one here. Part of your department?”
“We started it when the semiconductor plant came. A lot of new people, and the move wasn’t easy for them. Then it turned out to be more useful than we could have thought. Grants keep it going, and, yes, the staff are under my purview, but the hotline has its own director. I mostly stay out of the way.”
She hesitated. “I don’t suppose I have a legitimate reason to go in there.”
“They keep the doors locked. When you’re dealing with a family dispute, there’s plenty of reason to fear backlash, even later. But I can give you an excuse. Come on.”
She noted again his limp, but it didn’t seem to slow him down much. They covered the distance quickly, and he knocked on the door, then stood back so they could see through the window. The only window in town that had bars on the inside.
The door opened, and a middle-aged woman with graying hair looked out, smiling. “Sheriff. What can we do for you?”
“Hi, Dory. I was just bragging to Ms. Denton here about you all, and I thought I could show you off. You’re high point in this town.”
“Well, that’s nice to hear. We’re quiet tonight, so it’s okay to bring Ms. Denton in.”
“Just call me DeeJay.” DeeJay smiled, pulling off one glove to offer her hand. “I promise not to keep you long.”
* * *
Calvin watched from his console, headset firmly in place. When he’d looked out the window earlier and seen DeeJay, he’d immediately started wondering if he should hurry out for coffee in the hopes of running into her.
Now he could stay put and meet her anyway. As she entered, he saw the brilliant light around her, the light that meant she was chosen. His mouth grew a little dry from excitement.
Dory introduced her with a smile. “The sheriff is bragging about us, Calvin. Maybe you can get your picture in a magazine.”
DeeJay spread her hands, one with a glove on and one off. “Sorry, didn’t bring a camera. We’re going to be limited mostly to scenic pictures, though, so don’t take offense. I’ve seen you before, haven’t I? At the diner?”
“I think so. Everyone meets there.” He had risen to his feet, as a gentleman should, and smiled at her, trying to contain his rising excitement. She had come to him. They always came to him. He could almost feel the Fates pushing them together.
He shook her hand and noticed its warmth. It wouldn’t be warm for long, he thought. Soon she’d be as icy as his boys, and as pure. Well, as pure as he could make her.
Dory laid a hand on his shoulder. While he usually hated to be touched, Dory was different somehow. In no way did she remind him of his mother, and she was always nice to him.