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“Yes, dear.”
He took the stairs two at a time, then strode down the hallway to his bedroom, where he set the box on his dresser before stripping. After taking a quick shower, he pulled on a clean uniform and thought about the meeting ahead. Word about the skateboard park had spread since he’d talked to the kids last Friday, and a large group of teenagers and parents was expected tonight. Thankfully, no one had mentioned that he’d encouraged them to rally support. The last thing he needed was the town board pissed at him for stirring everyone up.
Once dressed, he took out the stuffed bee and leaned it against a lamp. Amanda’s response to his gift said a lot. If she were truly not interested in him, she would’ve ignored him entirely, not gone out of her way to find a toy and have it delivered. At least that was what he was banking on. He felt a little foolish, but as his Uncle John—Jeremiah's father—had always said, if you didn’t feel a little foolish when flirting, you were doing it wrong. His uncle’s advice had never steered Grady wrong before.
Bringing up his mental list of ideas again, he settled on what he wanted to send Amanda next. He would just need to make a quick pit stop on his lunch break tomorrow.
Chapter Thirteen
Chuckling, Grady signed his name with a flourish at the bottom of the note he’d just written, then tucked it into a small bag containing his latest gift to Amanda. Once again, he wished he could see her face when she got it. The buzzing bee had made it pretty clear she was willing to play along, and he’d loved that she’d turned his joke right back on him. He hoped she wasn’t finished yet.
She brought out a playful side of him that work, fatherhood, and responsibility had buried for years. He liked rediscovering that part of himself.
Not that he planned to let it get out of hand. If Amanda ever made it clear she truly wanted him to stop, he would. So far, though, her response suggested she was willing to keep the game going. He took that as permission to continue for at least one more round.
He set the bag on the edge of his desk and unpacked his lunch from the takeout container. The morning had flown by with paperwork, phone calls, and a meeting that ran twice as long as it needed to, leaving him hungry enough to eat just about anything. But he had one more thing to do first.
Last night’s town board meeting had gone better than he’d expected. The teenagers had shown up in force, along with enough parents and other supporters to make it clear the skateboard park wasn’t something only a handful of kids wanted. The board hadn’t approved anything yet, but they’d agreed to look into possible locations, costs, and funding. Better yet, Grady’s suggestion to the teens hadn’t come up, so he’d left the meeting without anyone giving him shit for stirring up the troops.
He picked up the landline and punched the button for the records department. When the call was answered, he said, “Hey, Olivia. Got another delivery for you when you get off work—same place.”
“Awesome! I’ll be right there.”
Smirking at the bag, Grady unwrapped his sandwich and took a bite. Olivia was one of the few people in the department he trusted to keep something like this to herself. She’d proven more than once that she could hear a juicy piece of information and never breathe a word of it to anyone. That was a rare quality in a small-town sheriff’s department, where gossip could spread faster than a grass fire in August. The sheriff courting an out-of-towner would be irresistible ammunition, and he preferred to keep this between himself and Amanda for as long as possible.
A few minutes later, the young woman strode in. Her face lit up with amusement when she saw the gift bag. “You work fast.”
“So do you. That’s why I hired you.”
Laughing, she took the bag and the twenty-dollar bill he handed her. “Same instructions?”
“Same instructions. Deliver it and forget you ever saw it.”
She mimed locking her lips and throwing the key away. “Deliver and forget what?”
“That’s why you’re my favorite.”
“Don’t tell anyone that. The last thing I need is to be called the sheriff’s pet.”
He chuckled. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
She turned and practically skipped out of the office.
Shaking his head, he returned to his lunch, already wondering how long it would take for Amanda to fire back.
Amanda was about to climb into her aunt’s truck and head over to Butterfield High School for her first day of community service when a small, bright blue SUV pulled in behind her. Waiting with her arms crossed, she had a feeling she knew who it was. Sure enough, the same bouncy blonde from the other day emerged from the vehicle, carrying a gift bag.
Sighing, Amanda held out her hand. “You know, I can pay you more than him to throw these bags in the trash. It can be our secret that you didn’t actually deliver them.”
The girl giggled and handed over the plain brown gift bag. “No can do, Ms. Sparks. I’m invested in this now—it’s like a live-action soap opera. By the way, my name’s Olivia. I work for Sheriff Minor at the station and pick up side jobs like this for extra cash for college.”
“Oh, really? Then can I put you on my payroll for deliveries to him?”
“Absolutely! But I can only swing by when I’m off from work.”
“That’s fine.”
After rattling off her cell phone number, the young woman spun around, got into her vehicle, and drove away with a little wave and a wide grin.
