No Ordinary Sheriff

* * *

EARLY THE FOLLOWING morning Cash returned to the Wright ranch, his nerves humming.

He thought of the woman in the house.

She’s on her way to the top, Denny had written.

He walked to the stable and pulled open the heavy doors. He didn’t mind taking over this task while C.J. was gone.

C.J.’s neighbor to the east was taking care of the cattle. Cash need only worry about the horses.

He fed them, then turned them loose in the corral.

Still no movement in the house that he could discern. Too early for her to be up, maybe. He returned to the stable to muck out the stalls, enjoying how his muscles burned at the effort, how this activity differed from sitting behind a desk writing reports.

When he finished his chores he washed up at the sink in the barn then grabbed a pressed, beige uniform shirt from his truck and changed out of his flannel shirt in the meager warmth of the stable. He’d head straight into Ordinary for work from here.

He slipped into his sheepskin ranch coat and pinned his Sheriff’s badge to the outside. He traded his old work boots for his polished cowboy boots.

There’d been no flicker of light in the house. Odd. He hadn’t taken her for a lazy woman.

He pulled onto the highway for the drive to town and had gone no farther than C.J.’s neighbor’s land when he saw Shannon jogging along the shoulder toward him.

Facing traffic. Smart girl.

The rising sun highlighted one side of her body.

She wore a snug long-sleeved t-shirt under a quilted vest, and tight jogging pants that hugged mile-long legs. Her calves and thighs looked strong.

She’d pulled that pretty blond hair into a ponytail that swung with each step. She looked young and stunningly beautiful.

The breath lodged in his throat.

He pulled over and rolled down his passenger window. She approached, panting steam into the cool air.

“You always run this early?” he asked.

She nodded, her cheeks pink from exertion. “It’s the most beautiful part of the day.”

She looked across the fields and the early-morning light turned her hair and skin to gold. Her face was relaxed, unlike he’d seen it last night.

Cash imagined how tempting she must look waking up in bed before crawling out for her run. He would have trouble letting her go.

“It’s gorgeous out here, isn’t it?” She smiled at the scenery and he wished he’d put that smile on her face this morning.

She’s on a fast track to the top.

Cash cleared his throat. “How long was your run?”

“I just finished five miles.”

Fit, all right. And ambitious. A real go-getter.

He wouldn’t be dating her.

Just Cash’s luck. He finally meets the perfect woman and she’s off-limits—and not only for her ambition. His first instinct about her being a cop was the right one. Cash didn’t sleep with co-workers. Ever. His father had done enough of that and look what happened to him. Disgrace. Public humiliation.

Dad had worked tirelessly, had investigated every angle, had spent weeks on end ignoring his family while he worked cases, on his way up to Commissioner of the San Francisco police force. Always the big shot. Dad hadn’t walked. He’d run. And strutted.

Cash valued his job and his relationships in this town. He would fight for them tooth and nail, against any enemy, even a green-eyed girl who was already turning him inside out. Cash set his jaw hard to ignore his frustration.

He had to keep his distance.

She reacted to his frown and backed away from the car.

“See you around,” she said.

In his rear-view mirror, he watched her run away from him. A sudden groin-stirringimage of her naked legs wrapped around his waist jumped to mind.

“Hell.”

This attraction was wrong.

He didn’t need his dying Dad coming around telling Cash he was late getting a wife and family, nor did he need a stunning DEA agent visiting town to wreck his stable life. He needed to reconnect with his priorities, his goals. He wanted a family. He wanted it here in Ordinary, where people appreciated and respected him. Where life was sane.

He whipped out his cell phone and called Timm Franck.

“Ordinary Citizen.” Timm published the town’s newspaper.

Without preamble, Cash said, “You know Angel’s been trying to hook me up with Danielle Beacon?”

“Good morning to you, too,” Timm answered with laughter in his voice. “Sure, I remember. You ready to take the plunge?”

“Yep. How soon?”

“You’re serious! Okay. How about tonight?”

“Can’t. It’s Austin’s movie night.”

“I forgot. Let’s double date tomorrow night then, at Chester’s.”

“Have Angel call Danielle then tell me what time to pick her up.”

Cash hung up and chuffed out a frosted breath in the cold truck. He closed the passenger window and pulled out onto the highway.

He needed to rub the image of the prettiest woman this side of the Rockies out of his mind, even if she did have slim, strong legs that went on forever. Another woman could help him do that.

So you say.

Yeah, so I say.

All the way into town he told himself that a little determination could go a long way.

CHAPTER THREE

WHEN CASH ARRIVED in Ordinary, he glimpsed Austin Trumball, his Little Brother, sidling into the laneway at the edge of town, his manner secretive.

Twelve-year-old Austin was a good kid, but lost these days. Cash was always on the lookout for him. He had a bad feeling about Austin, that without a little guidance, he could end up in trouble.

The only place that laneway led was the alley running the length of Main Street behind the businesses.

Why was Austin going back there? Over a year ago Cash had caught him dumpster-diving, starving and scrambling for food thrown away by the restaurant. Cash had applied to become his Big Brother the next day. He tried to feed him a couple of real meals a week.

If Austin was looking for food, Cash needed to know. He’d give him twenty bucks to go to the diner for a burger.

He parked the truck in front of the cop shop and walked back to the alley.

He found Austin behind Chester’s Bar and Grill. Smoking. Damn.

Why couldn’t Cash protect the boy from all of the bad temptations in life?

When he saw Cash, Austin dropped the butt and stomped on it.

“Don’t move.” Cash grabbed him by the collar and eased him against the brick wall. He bracketed the boy with an arm on either side. The pungent scent of marijuana hung in the air.

Crap. It hadn’t been just a plain cigarette.

Puffs of air crystallized into vapor as the boy panted. He looked at everything but the sheriff towering over him. Cash could see that sharp little brain working—calculating the odds of getting away.

Cash thought they’d developed a real strong bond in the past year, but apparently not. Austin had been on a great upswing after Cash had taken him under his wing. Something had changed though. For the past month something had been wrong. Cash shook his head, so damn discouraged that he hadn’t gotten through to the boy.

“Where’d you get it?” Cash asked, angry that he couldn’t protect Austin better.

Austin, caged between Cash’s arms, looked up at him with all the defiance such a skinny boy could muster. He shook his head, the mulish jut of his jaw evidence that he wasn’t about to give Cash an answer.

Cash worked hard to keep himself from shaking the answer out of the boy.

With the unpredictability and speed of youth, Austin slipped under Cash’s arm to run. Cash snagged the tail of his filthy jacket and pulled him back. He heard Austin’s breath whoosh out of him. He didn’t want to hurt the kid, but needed Austin to understand how serious this was. Austin was headed down a road that would one day lead to a jail cell.

Cash leaned close and lowered his voice. “I know all the moves a kid like you can make.” His fear for the boy made his tone hard, unsympathetic.

He saw Austin’s dilated pupils, the dark bags under his eyes, and the sunken cheeks of his thin face. For a while under Cash’s care, Austin had begun to look good, but man, this was regression.

Austin had classic golden boy good looks and the smile of an angel the rare time one could be coaxed out of him.

“Where’d you get the marijuana?” Cash asked again, his tone more demanding.

A flash of fear lurked beneath Austin’s defiance. “I—I found it.”

“C’mon, Austin, you’ve never lied to me before. The truth this time.”

“Screw you, man.” Austin looked like he wanted to either fight or cry. Why was adolescence so hard for some kids? “Why don’t you leave me alone?”

Because the haunted look in your eyes tells me you want to be rescued.

Cash placed his hand on Austin’s shoulder, but Austin shrugged it off. The boy squeezed his lips shut and shook his head. Cash knew he’d gotten as much out of him as he was going to. For stubbornness, Austin was hard to beat. Except maybe by Cash himself.

An image of Austin’s mother flashed into Cash’s mind—a sweet but helpless woman who reminded Cash of his own mom—and Cash didn’t need a psychiatrist to tell him why he’d chosen this boy to care for.

Cash hadn’t given up on himself. Even during the toughest days, after Dad had lost his job as Commissioner of the San Francisco police force, his house and his car to bankruptcy, and his wife and son to separation followed rapidly by divorce, sixteen-year-old Cash had pulled himself and his mom through.

Later, after he’d studied to become a police officer, he’d left California. He couldn’t work where his father had hammered his sterling career into lead.

Austin deserved a chance at a good life, too. Cash wouldn’t give up on him.

He grasped the front of Austin’s thin ski jacket and shook him gently.

“Austin, get your shit together or you’ll end up a drug addict. Or unable to take care of yourself. Like your mother.”

Austin trembled, probably as much from fear as the cold.

“Is that what you want?” Cash asked, knowing Austin was terrified of exactly that fate.

“You’ve gotta stop pushing your luck.” Cash let go of Austin’s jacket, more frustrated than he could say. Maybe he should give Austin a taste of what jail time felt like, give him a really good scare. Yeah, putting him in jail was a great idea.

Decision made, he ordered, “Follow me.”

Austin’s gaze shot to Cash’s face. What was going on with him these days? Who was Austin hanging out with who were getting him into this kind of trouble?

“Where to?” Austin asked.

“To the Sheriff’s office.”

“Wh-why?”

“I just caught you in possession of marijuana, didn’t I?”

Austin nodded.

“I’m a cop, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, but you’re my Big Brother.”

“That doesn’t give you a free pass to commit crime. Is that why you wanted me in that role?”

Austin mumbled, “No.”

Cash hadn’t really thought so. At the beginning, they’d had too much fun together. Not lately, though.

Austin should be in school, but at the moment it was more important to teach him this lesson than to drive him there.

Cash herded him out of the alley and onto the sidewalk of Main Street.

Austin tried to wrench his arm free of Cash’s grip.

Cash’s fingers dug into Austin’s bony elbow. With a quiet yelp the boy came along.

On the way to the Sheriff’s office, Cash nodded to the people of Ordinary who passed them by. Austin hung his head and shuffled beside Cash.

Cash’s office sat between the small grocery store and Scotty’s Hardware. Seeing it filled Cash with pride.

In a backhanded way, Frank had inspired him to become a cop, if only to prove that it could be done in a better way.

That a man could be a good and honorable cop and make a difference to the people around him. That a man didn’t have to drive his way through every obstacle with the force of a Mack truck to get to the top. That a man didn’t have to want to get to the top. That a man could be happy in his job, just the way it was, just where it was.

Cash opened the office door and stepped inside, taking Austin with him. He nudged him into a chair in front of the desk.

Wade Hanlon came out of the washroom.

“Anything interesting happen last night?” Cash asked.

“Not a thing.”

Cash turned to Austin. “Stay put there for a minute. I need to talk to the deputy.”

Austin put his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders.

Cash gestured Wade toward the back of the room and asked quietly, “Did someone call from Billings asking about methamphetamines in Ordinary?”

“Yeah, that afternoon I took over while you went to the dentist. I told them we didn’t have that problem here.”

“Apparently, we do.”

“We do?” Wade looked surprised but also a tad sheepish. He probably didn’t like disappointing his new boss. “How do you know?”

“There’s a man in hospital in Billings who overdosed on meth he says he picked up here.”

“Do you think he’s telling the truth?”

“Yeah, I do. I know the guy. He’s a friend’s brother.”

Wade looked even more embarrassed. “Sorry, Sheriff. I had no idea.”

“In the future, let me know about those kinds of calls. I need to know everything that goes on around here. Everything. Got it?”

“Sure. Of course.”

“Keep your eyes and ears open around town. That meth is here somewhere.”

“Okay, boss.”

Wade stepped to the desk and opened a Styrofoam container from the diner. It held a couple of cinnamon buns. “Those’re for you. There’s fresh coffee. See you tonight. Seven, right?”

Cash and Wade worked opposite shifts.

Cash took Austin to the movies on Friday nights, so Hanlon came in an hour early.

After Wade left, Cash walked around the desk.

He noticed Austin’s gaze flicker to the cinnamon buns. Yeah, he’d have the munchies right now, from the marijuana. Looking at Austin’s thin face, he amended that.

“When was the last time your mom bought groceries?”

Austin shrugged and remained close-lipped. Cash had to admire his loyalty to his mom. In his own way, the kid had a lot of class. Connie Trumball wasn’t doing much of a job mothering her boy, but Cash had yet to hear Austin badmouth her.

Connie wasn’t a great mother, but she was Austin’s.

Cash took a can of ginger ale from a small refrigerator and handed it to him.

Austin looked up, surprised.

Sometimes Austin was so closed off he seemed encased in concrete. At other times, like right now, the boy had cellophane for skin. Cash got such a clear glimpse of Austin and his quiet suffering, of his settling for less in life that Cash wanted to hold him and whisper, wish for more, dream for more. Don’t settle. You deserve it.

“Take it,” Cash urged.

He slid a bun across the desk.

“Eat,” he ordered.

Austin hesitated, then picked up the sticky bun and took a huge bite. He licked icing from his fingers, then slurped loudly when he washed it down with ginger ale.

Cash pushed the second bun across the table. “I can’t eat this one, either. Want it?”

Austin shrugged, then took the box and dug into the second bun. When Austin finished he wiped his mouth with the dirty sleeve of his jacket. Cash cringed. That coat belonged in the garbage.

“Okay,” Cash said as he stood. “Let’s go.” Cash pointed toward the jail cell. “You commit the crime, you pay the price.”

Austin shot him an owl-eyed look of terror. He stood and swallowed, his little Adam’s apple bobbing in his thin throat.

“I have to go to school.”

“Not today.” He pointed toward the cell. “Go.”

Austin shuffled in and Cash locked the door behind him. He had more to say to Austin, but not until the boy had spent some time behind bars.

“Might as well sit,” Cash said. “You’re going to be here awhile.”

Austin sat on the narrow cot and stared at Cash with huge eyes.

“I have to go out,” Cash said. “Nap if you want. There’s a blanket on the chair.”

Austin shook out the folded blanket, then lay down and pulled it over himself, covering his old jacket, cheap running shoes and all. In a matter of minutes, he was out like a light.

Austin was a sweet kid in so many ways. Since his father’s death half a dozen years ago, though, the only attention he craved was a father’s.

Cash thought of his own dad. Staring at Austin brought home how much Cash had missed in his relationship with his own dad.

It didn’t seem right to never see Frank again.

What if yesterday was the last time Cash ever saw his dad? Panic drove fear through Cash’s blood. He’d always known that Dad was on this earth somewhere and it had felt right, even if only for Cash to feel righteous in ignoring his father.

But if Dad were gone? Truly gone? Dead? Not a trace of him left on this earth?

Cash couldn’t avoid the truth. It would hurt like hell.

A pressure had been building inside of Cash since that moment he had run after his father’s car yesterday. That pressure was the need to find his father, to talk to him again. Soon. How much time did Dad have left? Did Dad have enough money for proper medical care? To eat? To live out his dying days in dignity?

Austin stirred in his sleep and Cash thought of how much Austin would want to see his dad if he could, but fate had taken that option away from the kid.

Austin had no choice.

Cash did.

Cash didn’t want to waste whatever time was left with his dad. He needed to find his father before Frank died.

Decision made, Cash put on his cowboy hat and headed out the door, locking it behind him.

He forced himself to calm down. Right now, Austin needed him. There were things Cash had to do to take care of the boy.

His breath fogged in the cold Montana air. He knew full well it was a no-no for Big Brothers to buy their Littles gifts, but Austin needed so much. Cash would be damned if he’d let the boy freeze in that flimsy fall jacket.

If anyone didn’t like that he was providing essentials for Austin, they could sue him.

The irony of a cop breaking Big Brother “laws” didn’t escape Cash.

Before he bought anything, he had to go talk to Austin’s mom, to tell her where Austin was and why. He didn’t want to, though. She pushed his buttons, made him remember too much of those years when he’d had to take care of his own emotionally fragile mom.

He phoned her instead. He’d memorized her number in case something happened to Austin when he was out with Cash and Cash needed medical history.

When Connie answered the phone, Cash told her what he was doing with Austin today.

“Whatever you think is best, Sheriff.”

He disliked the tremor in her voice. He wanted her to make the important decisions about Austin’s life. They shouldn’t be left to a relative stranger. Cash wanted her to be the adult, the parent she should be, to give Austin the strength and guidance a kid like him deserved.

Cash visited the school next.

On the drive over he passed Mary Lou McCloskey driving in the opposite direction, speeding like a demon. Mary Lou, one of the sweetest women in town, knew better. He’d have a word with her at some point. At the moment, worried about drugs in the area getting into the hands of preteens, he needed to talk to the principal.

Ordinary Middle School sat on the edge of town. Once there, Cash spoke to Paul Hunt, the principal, explaining why Austin would be away today.

Twelve, thirteen and fourteen-year-old kids laughed and talked in the halls between classes.

“Any idea where Austin could have picked up the marijuana?” Cash asked.

“None. The kids here are pretty good, but you know weed’s a temptation for them. It’s easy enough to find.”

“There’s more. I’ve heard a rumor there are methamphetamines in the area. Have you seen any?”

“No, but that’s worrisome.” Paul had been leaning back in his chair but sat straighter now. “Meth is dangerous stuff.”

A boy ran down the hallway past the principal’s open door. “Taylor, slow down,” Paul called. “No running in the halls. Sorry, Cash, what were you saying?”

“There’s a man in the hospital from taking meth he picked up in Ordinary. In a coma.”

Paul stood and closed the door. “That turns my blood cold. Are you sure he got it here?”

“Pretty sure. There’s a problem throughout Montana. I just hadn’t suspected it was this close to home.”

“Me, either. I don’t have anyone at the school who looks like they’re taking it.”

“Yeah, it ravages people quickly. You can usually tell.”

“Listen, Cash, we have an assembly in a couple of weeks—students and parents. On Thursday. Will you come talk about the dangers of drugs? Both the kids and their parents need to be informed about this issue.”

“Good idea. What time?”

“After lunch. One o’clock.”

These kids were too young to do meth, but you just never knew… Cash stood to leave. “Call me if you hear even a whisper about meth in the school.”

“You got it. I’ll keep an eye on Austin when I can.”

“Appreciate it.”

The stores were open by the time Cash left school and he bought a thick, durable ski jacket. New, not used and worn like the stuff Austin’s mom bought him. Cash also picked up a wool hat and Thinsulate gloves.

After a stop at the New American diner for breakfast, he returned to the cop shop.

Austin slept soundly in the cell with his mouth open and drool dripping toward his ear. He had one arm flung above his head and the other dangling over the side of the cot.

Cash sat at his desk and booted up the computer. He searched data in San Francisco for Frank’s whereabouts first, but Dad had hidden his tracks. Why? Why come all the way to Ordinary to tell Cash he was dying and then drive away without leaving contact information?

Maybe because of your reaction to him? You weren’t exactly welcoming.

Yeah, and I refuse to feel guilty about that.

He dialed his mom’s number in San Francisco. Jamie answered instead, sounding peeved.

“Hey, buddy, it’s Cash. What’s wrong?”

“It’s Mom and Dad.” Yeah, Jamie definitely sounded sullen. “They won’t let me do stuff I want to do. They treat me like I’m a kid.”

Technically, Jamie was still a kid at fifteen.

Every time Cash had this conversation with his half-brother, he lost his patience. He couldn’t relate. He’d lived such a different adolescence. What he wouldn’t have given for the stable family life that Jamie had.

Cash spun the desk chair around to look at Austin in the cell.

“Jamie, at the moment I’m sitting in my office. I just put a twelve-year-old kid in the jail cell. His father’s dead and his mom’s useless.”

Austin stirred, mumbled something, then settled.

“Count yourself lucky you’ve got two loving parents who care enough to set limits.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

Cash sighed. “I’m not. This kid is raising himself. I’m pretty sure he’d trade places with you without blinking.”

Cash squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Put Mom on the phone.”

A minute later, Cash’s mom came on.

“Cash, how are you, honey?” She sounded great, so much better than the woman she used to be. She’d found love and it fit her in all the right places.

“Hi, Mom, I’m good. I hate to ask, but do you know where Dad lives these days?”

“Last I heard he was still in the same old apartment.”

“He isn’t anymore.”

“He tried to contact me, but I wouldn’t take his calls.”

“He’s dying, Mom. Cirrhosis of the liver.”

She was silent for a long time then said, “That’s too bad. It isn’t a surprise, but it’s…unfortunate.”

“I didn’t tell you to bring you down, I just need to find him.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I guess because he’s my father and he’s dying.” Austin stirred again and Cash turned around to stare through the open horizontal blinds onto Main Street. “He looked bad.”