‘a‘ole pilikia

➸ Ginger ☆

The day after our clusterfuck date, Oz drops off a glass heart vase filled with Starbursts. Pepper and Yarrow bring it to me. Then the former warns that men are the scourge of society. I helpfully remind Pepper how she wants a kid that might be a boy. She immediately shrugs and claims her sons will be the exceptions to the rule.

“Just for that, I’m not sharing my candy,” I say and hug the vase to my chest.

Pepper gently tugs at my hair and sighs. “He was spying on you last night.”

“Stalking is a better word,” I mutter as my gaze finds Yarrow’s grumpy one. “Spying makes Oz sound like the enemy rather than a sex-crazed maniac.”

Pepper studies me with her bright blue eyes, and I wait for her to give me a cranky reply.

“Cute gift,” she says and walks out of the room.

Yarrow and I watch Pepper go then I set the vase next to my bed. I take out a Starburst and unwrap it. Holding out my hand, I give Yarrow a silent request for her to join me. Like a big kid, she crawls onto the bed, takes the candy, and rests quietly next to me while I think of Oz.

Not once did I mention my love affair with candy to him. The guy’s more perceptive than I anticipated, and I can’t help thinking I’m wrong to shut things down so quickly. After all, I freaked out in an utterly juvenile way, and he still wants me. Plus, rather than mocking me, he sent a sweet gift.

“Romance is tricky shit,” Bay says, entering the room.

“Of course, you’d think that,” I mumble, chewing on a Starburst in my mouth while stroking Yarrow’s dark hair. “You’re in love with Pepper.”

Smiling, Bay joins me on the bed. “Don’t analyze what won’t make sense. Follow your gut. If shit turns rotten, shift gears and deal with the fallout.”

“Or maybe I’ll hide away until he loses interest or I can locate a chastity belt.”

“The payoff is worth wading through the shit,” Bay says and pats Yarrow’s bare feet.

“Assuming it turns out well.”

“Even if it doesn’t. What if you hadn’t killed Cris or made a deal with Madden and Joker? You could have played shit safe a million times, but you embraced the tougher choice. Now with a frigging guy and dating, you’ve lost your spine.”

“Hey, my spine’s intact,” I mutter and roll my eyes. “It’s my heart I’m worried about.”

“Hearts heal, Ginger. You should know that better than anyone.”

Bay has a point about heartbreak. I’ve survived worse than whatever Oz can throw my way.

“You’re right, and I’ll give dating another try.”

“No,” Yarrow says, frowning up at me.

Smiling down at her, I nod. “Yes.”

I slide off the bed and shove my feet into the black and white Converse high-tops Pepper bought for my twenty-fifth birthday two years ago. “Let’s get to the townhouses and make sure the crews aren’t slacking off. Duffy needs a place to call home.”

While Bay smiles at my burst of confidence, Yarrow continues to mope. They both follow me out of the room and downstairs to where Hildy offers breakfast in the decorative kitchen. I fill a small plate with eggs and grits before downing a strong cup of black coffee. Once I swallow the last bite, I thank Hildy and head to the location of my freak-out last night.

The townhomes’ guest parking lot is filled with trucks and motorcycles as usual. Startled men stop drinking their coffees when the girls and I pull up, though the roar of our Harleys ought to have alerted them to our impending arrival.

“Are we on schedule?” I ask the contractor of the crew working on Yarrow’s and my units.

He checks off everything he’s done on his crew’s to-do list, and I nod approvingly. Despite my professional air, I’m mostly interested if Oz is here yet.

Casually scanning the area, I can’t be certain which Harley belongs to him.

Bay slides up behind me and whispers, “He’s with his crew in my place. They’re arguing over who paints best. I smell a fistfight brewing, so bonus on that.”

Smiling at her help, I fight the urge to high-tail it back to the safety of the B&B.

“Bacon heading our way,” Pepper says, nodding at three police cruisers driving up the street and straight for us.

I look back at my girls and give them the “don’t make this bloody” warning look. Pepper nods, yet I know she’ll head to the second story of one of the townhomes just in case her rifle needs a target.

Walking casually to the curb where the cruisers park, I notice six cops altogether, two per car, and way more than necessary for a friendly hello. The man taking the lead wears a ten-gallon hat, and I assume he’s a big John Wayne fanboi.

“Nice hat,” I tell the sheriff who adjusts his heavy belt to emphasize how he’s packing heat which would be way more impressive if I wasn’t packing a sniper. “Can I help you?”

“Sheriff Green. And you are?”

“Ginger Jones.”

“You own this property?”

“My company does.”

“And what company would that be?”

“ENC Inc. We’re looking to invest a sizable chunk of change in Rawlins. If you need more details, feel free to call up the mayor and have him fill you in.”

“I’ll do that. Now, who runs this ENC?”

“I’m the president. Did you need something specific because...?” Studying the officers behind him, I decide I haven’t sufficiently annoyed anyone today. “Do you have any girl officers?”

“Come again?” he asks, leaning forward as if he hadn’t quite heard me.

“Does your department have women officers?”

“We have women working at the station.”

“As officers?”

“Can’t say we do.”

“If women were interested in becoming an officer, would you give them a fair shake?”

“What are you getting at? Do you want to become an officer?” he asks, smirking at the thought.

“No, but I might know someone interested in moving here and getting into law enforcement. Perhaps, your department needs a dash of estrogen. It’s 2017 after all.”

“We don’t currently have any openings.”

“Too bad,” I say, sizing up the officers. “But if you lost a few officers for some reason, you’d be cool with having girls on the team?”

“Lost them how?”

“They quit or were fired. Or, I don’t know, if something tragic happened to them. Just that they hypothetically weren’t around anymore. How about then?”

Disapproving of my question, Green twists his lips. “Do you have the correct permits for the work you’re having done here?”

“I have the mayor on speed dial, so, yeah, Sheriff Green, I have the correct permits. He’s very open to the great ideas we have for Rawlins. In fact, I bet he’d be psyched about having women on the force.”

“My men aren’t going anywhere.”

“Of course not,” I say and then stretch my arms in the air. “It’s a dangerous job, though, isn’t it?”

“I’m going to check into your permits.”

“And I’ll let my friend know how all the officer positions are currently filled.”

The sheriff can’t tell if I’m stupid, threatening him, or stupidly threatening him. Arms still in the air, I lean to my right and then to the left. Nothing relaxes me more than making an asshole worry about his safety.

After Green and his officers drive off, I stroll over to Bay and Clove.

“Problem?” Clove asks.

“Maybe.”

“Thoughts on handling it?”

“Let’s see what the law’s next move is before we make any rash decisions. The cops around here answer to the mayor who has dollar signs in his beady eyes. So, in a way, we own the sheriff, and he just hasn’t gotten the memo.”

In the second-floor window, a disappointed Pepper shakes her head when the cops leave. We’ve behaved for too long, and it’s difficult to give up our old ways. No doubt we’ll need to do something devious soon or face cracking from going straight cold turkey.