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“Of course I remember,” Simon said in such an annoyed tone, Holly laughed. “She’s my new sidekick.”
“Sidekick, huh?” She stood and steered him toward town. “And what does that entail exactly?”
“We’re not sure yet.” Simon scrunched up his face and looked up at her. “We’re still working out the details. But I’ve got some ideas.”
Wonderful. Holly bit the inside of her cheek and tried not to sigh. Simon and his ideas rarely turned out well.
For anyone.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“MORNING, SHERIFF.” GIL HAMILTON strode into Luke’s office after lunch on Wednesday. If the mayor was trying to convince his constituents he wasn’t his father’s son, wearing a suit that cost as much as a month’s mortgage for most residents wasn’t the way to earn points.
“Mr. Mayor.” Luke pushed away from the new computer system at his desk and got to his feet, holding out his hand. “What can I do for you?”
“I see my tech people got you up and running.”
“Ozzy did most of the work.” Personally he’d found the mayor’s chosen messenger boys just that—more boys than tech. Watching Ozzy take charge had given Luke more insight into what the underutilized deputy was capable of. Of course he, Ozzy and Fletch had been sidetracked this morning by someone squirting Krazy Glue into the front door lock. It took a broken window and a visit from the town handyman to fix that. That was after yesterday morning’s power surge courtesy of a penny being wedged in the ancient fuse box outside. The poor coffeemaker hadn’t known what hit it. The station still smelled like burned coffee. “We’re working out the kinks for the new wireless system, but things are moving along. What brings you by?”
“Oh, paperwork.” Gil slid a thick file folder onto the edge of Luke’s empty desk. “Permit applications and a couple of licenses for you to sign off on. Nothing major.”
“Great.” Luke flipped open the cover and scanned the form. “I’ll run the background checks and get them to your office—”
“I’ve already had my people run the names,” Gil interrupted and moved off to stare out the window before Luke could read his expression. “Nothing to be concerned about.”
Oh, but he was concerned. “I assume you included those reports with the applications?”
“It’s busywork, Luke. Not something you need to concern yourself with. Your signature will do.”
Luke sat down, leaned back in his chair and glanced up at the ancient clock. “Two days, five hours and twenty-seven minutes.”
“What’s that?” Gil turned his head and arched a brow at Luke.
“That’s how long it took you to try to get one over on me.” Disappointment swelled beyond any bitterness he might have felt. Despite protests to the contrary, Gil hadn’t changed since high school. He was still the charmer who smiled and hid the truth and made his way through life without paying the consequences for his arrogance and actions. And he wondered why people didn’t trust him. Luke wondered—and not for the first time—how Gil had ever been elected. “I told you at the diner the other day, I’m not your errand boy and I’m not your mouthpiece. I won’t blindly sign off on anything requiring my attention where this town is concerned.”
Gil let out a huff of frustration. “It’s just building permits and such, Luke. It’s not as though I’m asking you to sign off on invading another country.”
“I don’t see much difference, actually,” Luke countered. “I don’t think I have to remind you that the city council approved my interim appointment, and without cause you can’t get rid of me for the remainder of my term. I’ll do this job my way, aboveboard, completely transparent. That includes looking into the backgrounds of anyone wanting to open a business in Butterfly Harbor. So unless you have grounds to fire me—”
“After two days on the job?” Gil’s eyes iced over. “Hardly.” But Luke could tell he wished he did.
“Then, stop playing politician and be straight with me. It’s the only way this is going to work.”
“And here I thought those new computers of yours might have bought me some goodwill.”
Luke tried to stifle his rising temper. “Think again.”
“Oh, for—” Gil sighed. “It was a joke, Luke.”
So this was the kind of crap Jake Gordon had been dealing with. No wonder he hadn’t fought harder to keep his job. “I told you when you hired me I don’t do politics. You wanted someone to come in and help ease the town into the changes you want to make. You need fresh eyes and new ideas. Happy to accommodate. But I will not cut corners. Not for friends. Not for you. And not when those corners could prove damaging to Butterfly Harbor. Now—” Luke leaned forward and folded his hands on his desk “—do you want to send over the background checks your people ran on these applications or shall I take a second run at them?”
Gil stared at him, jaw set, but other than that, his expression was unfathomable.
“Great. I’ll have these papers to you in a couple of days,” Luke promised. “Anything else?”
“We’ll be getting applications from speculation companies for the new butterfly sanctuary over the next couple of weeks,” Gil said. “I’ll be giving an update on the project tonight at the town hall meeting.”
“Have fun.”
“I’d like you there.”
“Why? It’s not in my job description.” Truth be told, he’d been expecting the request, if for no other reason than Luke would make an apt distraction should Gil put his foot in his mouth. The last thing he wanted was to be paraded about in front of the entire town at one time. He preferred to take the skepticism—and criticism—in small batches.
“I’d like to present a united front, so to speak. I’d like people to know we’re a team and that we’re working well together.”
“You’re afraid you’re going to be harassed for kicking Jake Gordon to the curb.”
“I didn’t kick him to the curb,” Gil huffed.
“Yeah, you did.” No sense beating a dead horse. “I’ll go. It will give me a chance to get a sense of how people might feel about reopening the community center as a youth facility.”
“How long has that idea been brewing?” Gil couldn’t have looked any more sour if he’d sucked on a lemon.
Luke grinned. “Since I first drove into town. I’d love to get a budget to you, crunch some numbers. See what positive changes we can make for the young people around here. Something I’m sure your constituents would be happy to see.”
Gil stared at him for a count of five before he blinked. “Send me your proposals. I’ll see what can be done.”
“Great.” He picked up the folder and tapped it on the desk. “Fletch!”
Fletch came sliding backward into the office in his wheelie chair. “Sir?”
Gil shot him such a look of disapproval Luke felt his own mood lift. He was liking his deputies more and more.
Luke got up to hand Fletch the files Gil had given him. “We need to run background checks on all these people, please. Paper and digital copies. On my desk by tomorrow.”
“On it.” Fletch winked at the mayor and scooted out the same way he came.
“You gain people’s loyalty quick,” Gil said.
“It’s about respect, Gil.” Luke slapped a hand hard on the mayor’s shoulder. “You get what you give out. Speaking of out, you know the way, right?”
* * *
“HE’S PLOTTING SOMETHING,” Holly whispered to Abby as she watched Simon and Charlie, their heads stuck together so close she couldn’t see any light between them. They’d been huddled over Simon’s notebook scribbling notes and whispering for the better part of an hour. “I can feel it.”
Abby slurped up the last of her soda and leaned her cheek in her hand, blinked sleepy eyes. “It’s not as if he can take over the world, Holly. Stop overthinking things.”
“If he was going to take over the world, you’d be fine with it, wouldn’t you?” Holly asked, wishing once again she’d been smarter than to put Simon in the middle of her argument with Luke.
“Absolutely I would.” Abby batted her lashes. “That kid is smarter than most of the people in this town. Which reminds me, I’m having some computer issues over at the inn. Can I borrow him—”
“You can’t be serious! For all I know he’d infiltrate the NSA and come out with nuclear launch codes.”
“It’s an inn, Holly, not NASA. He knows his stuff, well, more stuff than I do, and besides, the closest service tech person is a hundred bucks just to come out and I can pay Simon in cookies. I promise I won’t let him out of my sight.”
