His other female deputy, Donna, didn’t think much of it.
She didn’t razz. She threw glares, then took Bets aside and had chats, and when that didn’t work, she took every opportunity presented her to share however she could that Bets was doing the sisterhood in law enforcement no favors.
Hix had been hoping that Donna, a veteran to Bets’s mostly rookie, would get through. And in the meantime, he made things very clear in every way he could without being an asshole.
That wasn’t working.
And now Bets knew he’d gotten himself some from Greta, which meant others knew as well, which didn’t make him happy.
But her walking into his office first thing on a Monday morning to bring it up in her irritating way made him less so.
All of this pushed him to declare, “Right, Deputy, we need to get this straight.”
He watched her body go still as her focus on him went acute.
“Been tryin’ to make things clear in a way that wouldn’t cause harm,” he shared. “Since you’re not getting that message, I’m afraid I’m gonna need to be more direct.”
“Hix—” she started, beginning to look panicked.
“Right now, I’m Sheriff,” he interrupted her.
Her eyes got wide and he watched her swallow.
He knew why, all of the reasons.
One of them being the fact that he was the sheriff, so he didn’t feel the need to force that down his deputies’ throats. They called him Hix. He called them by their first names. Unless it was an official situation where they needed to communicate they had their shit tight to the citizens they served, that was the way it was. They were a team. He was their leader. They knew that and didn’t need reminders.
Until now.
He kept at her.
“Three things are happening here that make the one thing you want to happen something that is not ever gonna happen.”
He lifted a hand, finger pointed up, and he flicked it out before dropping his hand and continuing.
“One, you’re twenty-seven years old. You’re closer to my son’s age than mine. I’ve lived that part of my life. Had the wife. The kids. The house. Don’t know where my change in circumstances is gonna take me, I just know it’s not gonna take me back there. I’ve done that. What’s next will not be that. Not settin’ up house again to make another family. You got that ahead of you, and if that’s what you want in life, you gotta find a man who’s up to giving it to you.”
“I—”
He spoke over her, lifting his hand again with his fore and middle fingers pressed together and up, and he flicked it out before dropping it.
“Two, and this is more important, Bets, so listen clear to this. I’m your boss. I’m this county’s sheriff. You’re my deputy. That shit is not gonna happen.”
“If—”
He did the finger thing, indicating three, and again talked right over her.
“Three, mean no offense, none at all, but even if you weren’t my deputy, I wouldn’t go there. As I said, you’re too young. There are men who’re into swimmin’ in a pool they should have vacated a decade before, but that man is not me. Regardless, again, no offense, you just aren’t my type.”
And she was not, even though she was a pretty woman. Dark-blonde hair. Nice brown eyes. Had a perky look that reminded him of an ex-cheerleader.
She was not a perky woman. She could be a badass when the situation warranted, which was something he liked about her. She was diligent and detailed, something else he liked. She did her job, was usually in a good mood and didn’t bring shit into the department, if she ever had any in her life. But he didn’t know if she did because she didn’t bring it in.
She could have had the respect of her colleagues, if she wasn’t panting after her boss, this being the only shit she brought into the department.
But she was never perky.
And right then, she was less so when her eyes got squinty and her face got mean.
This didn’t surprise him. She could get that way and it came easy.
Jesus.
Bets.
“So your type is an old, fat, washed-up, part-time lounge singer and most-time hair dresser?” she asked snidely.
Greta, fat?
He nearly busted out laughing.
He didn’t.
He thought about the fact he didn’t know Greta did hair.
Not to mention the fact that Bets had been annoying him.
Now she’d pissed him off.
“What you need to get is the fact that what I’m into is not your concern,” he returned curtly.
She shifted her shoulders in a defensive way, losing the hold she had on his eyes and muttering, “Not sure why you’re sayin’ this shit to me, Sheriff.”
“Yes you are,” he replied quietly.
She glanced under her lashes at him and again looked away.
Hix decided it was time to be done.
“Now we’re done with this and I mean done, Bets. I know Donna has had a word with you. You ignored it. I been givin’ you no signal you should keep up with this shit, you ignored that too. So right now, you walk outta my office havin’ this straight, Deputy. You do that, we’re good. I get any hint you’re not movin’ on, we’re gonna have to have another conversation, and this one wasn’t that fun for either of us. The next one will be less so.”
She made no reply and didn’t move.
“Are we clear, Bets?” he pushed.
“Clear, Sheriff.”
He had an inkling they weren’t clear.
That forced another sigh.
“Good, anything I need to know about the weekend?” he asked, moving them to where they should be.
“No clue,” she bit off. “I wasn’t on call this weekend.”
With that, she was done and she shared that knowledge with him by walking out.
He watched her then blew out another breath as he sat in his chair.
He looked to his computer, lifted his hands to the keyboard and typed in his password.
He did this thinking, Bets knew he’d been to the Dew Drop and left with Greta.
If Hope knew that too, their conversation this morning would have gone a lot worse.
But Sunday was a day to rest, maybe including resting the gossip.
That meant he’d give it a few hours before Hope heard.
The thing that freaked him was, as her very recently ex-husband who had never wanted that title, he thought he should care.
But for some reason, he didn’t.
Not at all.
Acceptance
Hixon
AT THE END of the day, Hix drove home, for the first time in a week looking forward to what waited for him there.
Or, more accurately, he drove to the shithole apartment he’d rented that he thought would make do until he got Hope’s head straight and went back to his real home, but it was now the only thing he had to give his kids.
Something he had to change and fast.