10. Chapter 10

Chapter ten

"I've got that on me."

C lementine and Booker were in his office waiting for the new deputy to arrive. He was a few minutes late.

Clementine smiled when Booker checked his watch. "Maybe the ferry was late."

"Or maybe he got lost."

She laughed. "That would be a very bad sign."

When they heard Maya talking to someone, they left the office. Deputy Chase Kimbal was standing at the reception desk, and Clementine was instantly intrigued.

Chase was about six foot with an athletic build. But he wasn't broad and muscular like Booker. But in good shape, nonetheless. He had very dark hair, which was a contrast to his bright blue eyes. What stood out most though, was the fact he seemed to have some Asian features. Especially around the eyes. It all worked very well together.

Booker shook with Chase. "Welcome Deputy."

"Chief Rafferty."

"This is my wife, Deputy Rafferty."

Chase shook with Clementine. "Nice to meet you. And congratulations."

"Thank you."

Booker looked at Clementine. "Why don't you show our new deputy to his office?" He looked at Chase. "Get settled in, then come see me in my office."

"Yes, sir."

Clementine motioned toward her door. "Right this way." Chase followed her into the office. "I took out anything personal. It's all yours to do with what you want."

"It's great. Thanks. I didn't expect to have an office to myself."

"In Calaway Crossing, things are a little different. It's pretty slow at times. And you'll get some strange calls that you wouldn't get in the city."

"Such as?"

"Hmm. Escaped bulls. Cows on the road. Missing horses." She laughed. "Along with the usual traffic violations, drunk and disorderly, and the like. Although since The Oasis burned down, the drunk and disorderly has dropped quite a bit. My brother runs a pretty tight ship at the bar. Not too much trouble."

"The bar?"

"The Ambrose Tavern and Boarding House. We generally drop the boarding house part, since we don't board." She shook her head. "Sorry, I'm blabbing. I'll leave you to it."

"Um… I know he's your husband and all, but the chief is a little intimidating. And rumor has it he's kind of a—"

"Hard ass?"

He laughed. "Yeah."

Clementine lowered her voice. "I pretty much tamed the hard ass out of him. Just don't tell him I said so."

"Right. Of course not."

"He's a great chief. He'll treat you with respect and expect the same from you. Just do your job. Show up on time. Be available. And try not to question his decisions unless you have a really valid reason to do so."

"Okay. I can do that."

"You'll be fine." She moved toward the door. "And he really loves his dog."

"That's a good sign."

She stopped at the doorway. "Welcome to Calaway Crossing." She left the office and felt the emotion of the situation come over her. She went to Booker's door, and when he saw her come in, he knew she was upset.

He stood and went to her. After hugging her, he took a step back and looked at her. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, then said, "No. Turning my office over to him was harder than I thought it would be."

Booker hugged her again. "I'm sorry. I can send him packing, and you can be an extremely pregnant deputy. Then when the baby comes, you can bring him along in a carrier on your chest."

She smiled. "I would if I could."

"I know you would. Just remember, it doesn't have to be forever."

She took a deep breath. "Right. Someday that office will be mine again." She patted her stomach. "Maybe when she starts kindergarten." She looked at Booker. "Or high school."

"It's totally your call."

She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I love you Chief Rafferty."

"I love you Deputy Rafferty." He bent and kissed her stomach. "And I love baby Rafferty."

By the time Gage got back to the newspaper office, Dale was there helping Sydney fold and box the papers for delivery. Dale was eighteen and had been delivering the papers to various locations around town for two years.

It was a job Gage once had when he was in high school. Back then, the paper only came out once a week. And as far back as grade school, Gage loved to watch his great-uncle Lawerence print the copies out on the printing press. When he was old enough to help, he'd stay late on Wednesday nights and help get the papers ready for Thursday delivery. Then he'd show up early in the morning to deliver them. His parents approved of the late night and early morning as long as it didn't interfere with his school work. Gage was a straight-A student, so there was really no reason to worry.

Since Dale and Sydney seemed to have things under control, Gage went downstairs to the darkroom. With all the pictures from the festival to deal with, he hadn't gotten a chance to develop the shots of the mountain. He was anxious to see how they turned out.

He was downstairs for almost two hours when he got a text notification on his phone. When he could look at it, he saw it was from Sydney. She knew better than to just come down when he was developing film. Light at the wrong time would ruin his photos.

Can I come down?

Yes. All clear.

A moment later, the door at the top of the stairs opened and Sydney came down to the room lit only by the one small light over the developing table.

"I just wanted to let you know Dale is off with the papers."

"Great. Thanks."

"What are you working on?"

"My shots of Scotsman Peak."

"How are they?"

He waved her over. "Come take a look." The photos were hung from a wire strung across one end of the room to dry from the final water bath. Gage flipped on the overhead lights and Sydney went to the pictures.

"Oh my gosh. These are great."

"Yeah. I'm pretty pleased. The two year wait was worth it."

"Is that a Bald Eagle?"

"Yeah. He was kind enough to fly right into my shot. Then he posed for me on the top of that pine tree."

"I love it." She looked at Gage. "These are fantastic. What are you going to do with them?"

"Uncle Duncan has been wanting to do a book on the mountain and the history behind how it got its name. But we didn't have the pictures to do it. This will help get that project off the ground."

"Definitely. How exciting."

"It seems I'll be wearing many hats soon." He took one of the photos down and looked at it. "I think I'd like to blow this one up to an eleven by fourteen and give it to my grandma. She loves the mountain."

"She'll love that then."

"Yeah. Grandpa proposed to her along Highway Three back when it was a dirt road. Right under Scotsman Peak."

"How cute. You need to give it to her."

He looked at the picture again. "Yeah."

"And um… Maybe I don't have the right to ask. But I'd love this one with the eagle in it. I'll even buy it from you."

"Hmm. I'll sell it to you for…three-hundred, sixty-seven dollars, and fifty-four cents."

"I've got that on me."

Gage laughed. "I'll make you a print. No charge."

"Thank you."

"It could be worth something someday. A photo taken by the mayor of Calaway Crossing."

"I'm pretty sure a photo taken by Gage Calaway will be worth more."

"What's the next step in my socialization?"

"I was talking to Rose the other night during the battle of the bands. She loved helping you, by the way. She said they were having career day at school and Corbyn has gone the last few years. But I think she'd like someone else to come and talk about their career. Remy could go. Or Clementine." She smiled. "But I think hearing about the newspaper business might be interesting for the kids."

"I think they'd be bored."

"No. Especially if you talk about the printing press. And the fact you still use film."

"Hmm."

"Wait. I have a much better idea. A field trip. Your uncle used to do it, right?"

"You didn't go to school here."

"I know. But I hear things. That would be perfect. The kids will go home and tell their parents all about cool Mr. Calaway and his printing press."

He smiled. "Cool Mr. Calaway. I've never been cool. Not even when I was in high school."

"I'm sure you were."

"Nope." Gage shook his head. "Especially having to come up right behind Mr. Cooper Congeniality."

"Was he popular?"

"Football, baseball, Junior Rodeo. Homecoming King two years in a row. Yeah. He was popular."

Sydney leaned against the counter. "How about the rest of them?"

"Corbyn was the smart one. Remington spent all of his time with Brynlee once they started dating. Cabe did Junior Rodeo and was really good at it. The cowgirls liked that. Pax was the class clown and super popular. Me. I got straight As and kept to myself. Worked on the school paper and the yearbook. No sports. No rodeo."

"Straight As, huh?"

"Did you expect any less?"

"Not really. Sounds right. We won't talk about my grades in school."

He grinned. "B average?"

"Something like that."

"More interested in boys than studying?"

"One particular boy. Never worked out, though. I was invisible to him."

Gage stuck out his lower lip. "Poor Sydney."

"I know. So sad." She smiled. "I heard he went into the military right after he graduated. So it would have been short-lived. He's probably married with children by now."

He pointed at her. "You would be too, if you weren't living here."

"You think?"

"Of course."

She shook her head. "I don't know. I'm kind of picky."

"About men?"

"Yes."

"Now I need to know. What does Sydney Lancaster look for in a man?"

"I'm not going to tell you."

"Come on. You opened the door."

She sighed. "Smart, funny, someone who adores me completely." She looked at him for a moment, then looked away. "How about you? What are you holding out for?"

He shrugged. "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Not really looking. I'm pretty sure any woman would find me impossible to live with long term. I'm kind of set in my ways."

"Well, I hope that's not completely true. You deserve to be with someone."

"Maybe. But that someone probably deserves someone better than me. Someone more forthcoming."

She put a hand on his arm. "You just need to be open to the possibility. That right someone will come along and won't have a problem with your uniqueness."

"Uniqueness, huh?"

"Yeah."

He blew out a breath. "Well. Right now, I have too many irons in the fire. No time to think about the possibilities, let alone be open to them."

"Right. You're the next mayor of Calaway Crossing."

"Damn. What am I getting myself into?"