A Dad For Charlie. Anna J. Stewart

closed up tight enough that the mayor won’t have anything to complain about. Sound good?”

      “I’m not going to argue with anything at this point.” Luke grinned. “You’re in charge, Interim Sheriff.”

      “I can’t even tell you how not funny that is,” Fletch grumbled.

      “You good to take care of Cash while we’re gone?” He scrubbed the dog’s fur and earned a chuffed snort in return.

      “Yeah, we’ll be fine.” It would be nice having some company in that big empty house of his on the outskirts of town. “Prime rib and French fries okay for dinner, Cash?”

      Cash’s ears perked. “Woof.”

      “If it comes in kibble form, absolutely. I told Charlie she could come by and take him for a walk. Matt’s out of town visiting Kyle in detention for the next couple of days. Remember, you can always call on Sheriff Brodie over in Durante if you get into a bind.”

      “Uh-huh.” Fletch bit his tongue. Sean Brodie would be his last call when it came to anything. “Come on, man. Stop worrying. You’ve earned this time off.” About a gazillion times over. “Leave this place behind for a few days.”

      “Yeah, okay. You’re right. I’m due to pick Simon up around four, then we want to take him out to dinner to celebrate.”

      “Yesterday’s celebration wasn’t enough?” It certainly had been for Fletch, who could still feel the vestiges of the hangover threading through his skull.

      “Ah, well, Holly and I are filing the adoption papers this afternoon.” Luke’s eyes shifted. “How’s that for timing? Looks like I’m officially going to be a father.”

      “Try not to look so terrified.” Fletch laughed in an attempt to ease the tension in his friend’s face. “It’s what you wanted, right? To be Simon’s dad?”

      “It is, yeah. Just sometimes hard to keep those ghosts where they belong, you know?” Luke shook his head, stopping short when he caught sight of the band of gold on his finger and looked to fall into some kind of trance. “Never thought I’d ever be living in this town again, let alone married with a kid. And a job I love despite the politics.”

      Fletch never thought he’d be envious of the town’s onetime bad boy. Until Paige had hit town he’d never really entertained the notion of settling down. Now, every time he saw her—or Charlie—he had to stop himself from daydreaming about just that. “You paid your dues.” Luke’s past wasn’t something that needed voicing. Surviving an abusive childhood, nearly killing Holly’s father in a car accident that technically wasn’t his fault, doing everything he could to break the circle of violence that had encompassed his life, there wasn’t anyone Fletch admired more than Luke Saxon. “Now take off and enjoy yourself. We won’t burn the place down. At least not without you.”

      “I’ll drop Cash off here in the morning on our way out.”

      “When you get back we need to talk about the youth center hours for when school’s back in session.” With Jake Campbell out of town for a bit and Luke heading out, aside from two or three scheduled classes, the center would be closed most days.

      “Writing that down right now.” Luke scribbled on his desk calendar. “You up for lunch at the diner later?”

      “Ah, no, actually.” Fletch glanced at his watch. “I’m going to get a jump start on patrol. Change up the timing so we aren’t predictable. Plus I told Mrs. Hastings I’d stop in and install some new security locks for her.”

      Luke’s brows knitted. “I’d say let me know how things go with Gil on Friday, but you know what? Never mind. I’ll hear about it when I get home.”

      “I’m sure you will.” Fletch would lay odds that within minutes of walking out of the mayor’s office, whatever they discussed would be flying around town faster than a monarch out of hibernation.