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He laughed. “Yeah.”
Clementine lowered her voice. “I pretty much tamed the hard ass out of him. Just don’t tell him I said so.”
“Right. Of course not.”
“He’s a great chief. He’ll treat you with respect and expect the same from you. Just do your job. Show up on time. Be available. And try not to question his decisions unless you have a really valid reason to do so.”
“Okay. I can do that.”
“You’ll be fine.” She moved toward the door. “And he really loves his dog.”
“That’s a good sign.”
She stopped at the doorway. “Welcome to Calaway Crossing.” She left the office and felt the emotion of the situation come over her. She went to Booker’s door, and when he saw her come in, he knew she was upset.
He stood and went to her. After hugging her, he took a step back and looked at her. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, then said, “No. Turning my office over to him was harder than I thought it would be.”
Booker hugged her again. “I’m sorry. I can send him packing, and you can be an extremely pregnant deputy. Then when the baby comes, you can bring him along in a carrier on your chest.”
She smiled. “I would if I could.”
“I know you would. Just remember, it doesn’t have to be forever.”
She took a deep breath. “Right. Someday that office will be mine again.” She patted her stomach. “Maybe when she starts kindergarten.” She looked at Booker. “Or high school.”
“It’s totally your call.”
She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. “I love you Chief Rafferty.”
“I love you Deputy Rafferty.” He bent and kissed her stomach. “And I love baby Rafferty.”
By the time Gage got back to the newspaper office, Dale was there helping Sydney fold and box the papers for delivery. Dale was eighteen and had been delivering the papers to various locations around town for two years.
It was a job Gage once had when he was in high school. Back then, the paper only came out once a week. And as far back as grade school, Gage loved to watch his great-uncle Lawerence print the copies out on the printing press. When he was old enough to help, he’d stay late on Wednesday nights and help get the papers ready for Thursday delivery. Then he’d show up early in the morning to deliver them. His parents approved of the late night and early morning as long as it didn’t interfere with his school work. Gage was a straight-A student, so there was really no reason to worry.
Since Dale and Sydney seemed to have things under control, Gage went downstairs to the darkroom. With all the pictures from the festival to deal with, he hadn’t gotten a chance to develop the shots of the mountain. He was anxious to see how they turned out.
He was downstairs for almost two hours when he got a text notification on his phone. When he could look at it, he saw it was from Sydney. She knew better than to just come down when he was developing film. Light at the wrong time would ruin his photos.
Can I come down?
Yes. All clear.
A moment later, the door at the top of the stairs opened and Sydney came down to the room lit only by the one small light over the developing table.
“I just wanted to let you know Dale is off with the papers.”
“Great. Thanks.”
“What are you working on?”
“My shots of Scotsman Peak.”
“How are they?”
He waved her over. “Come take a look.” The photos were hung from a wire strung across one end of the room to dry from the final water bath. Gage flipped on the overhead lights and Sydney went to the pictures.
