Page 106 of The Birthday List (Maysen Jar 1)

“Thanks.” He nodded. “But that means we need to get serious about making transition plans. Two years is going to fly by and we’ve got to start prepping you to take over as chief. We should get you involved in more committees. I’d like you to get more play in the politics and—”

“Hold up.” I raised my hands. “Dad, we talked about this. I don’t want to be the next chief of police.”

“Right. I know you’re still considering things.” He nodded but he wasn’t hearing me. “We’ve got time, but what’s the harm in learning more about what I do? Just in case.”

Just in case.

Three words I was really fucking sick of hearing.

“Look, Dad—” My phone rang in my pocket before I could put my foot down. “Sorry,” I muttered, digging it out.

“You go ahead. I’ve got another meeting coming in.”

“Okay. We’ll talk later?”

“You got it.”

I waved good-bye as I pressed the phone to my ear, walking down the hallway toward the staircase. “Hello.”

“Hey, Cole, it’s Finn.”

“Hey. What’s going on? Up for a beer tonight?”

I’d met Poppy’s brother for beers twice since the fair. He was a stand-up guy and easy to hang out with, but what I liked best about Finn was how he adored his little sister. The first time we’d met up, he’d told me point-blank that if I ever hurt her, he’d gladly serve life in prison for my murder.

“That’s not exactly the reason for my call.”

My feet froze as my heart rate spiked. “Is it Poppy?”

“Yeah. She’s fine, but she’s in some trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?” What the fuck was going on that she couldn’t call me herself?

“She just called me to bail her and Jimmy out of jail.”

“Motherfucker.” The word came out of my clenched teeth. “It was that fucking fire alarm, wasn’t it?”

“Yep.” He popped the p just like Poppy did. “I guess she decided not to listen to either of us on that one.”

“Goddamn it.” I jogged toward the stairs. “I’ll take care of it.”

Finn chuckled. “I figured you would. She’s going to be pissed at me when she finds out I called you on the sly instead of coming down to bail her out.”

I huffed. “She’s got bigger problems to worry about right now.”

“Good luck.”

“Thanks for calling.” I shoved my phone back in my pocket and hustled downstairs to the bull pen. “I need to head out,” I told Matt. He was standing by his desk, talking to a couple of the other guys. “Something personal came up.”

“Personal, as in your girlfriend and some old guy getting hauled in for pulling a fire alarm at an old warehouse?”

“Fuck.” I swiped my keys off my desk. “Does everybody know?”

The huddle immediately started laughing.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Fucking gossips. This place was worse than a high school locker room. I ignored my coworkers and turned to leave, but one of the guys stopped me.

“Hey, Cole.”