Page 4 of Cautious Love

Walking into the office, I check my phone to find it full of messages from the family. I smile at the texts going back and forth between my brother Fletcher and Cooper, my cousin, who might as well be my brother.

They’re talking about taking their wives out and dragging me along with them. I don’t know why I go. I usually have too much to do. All I do is sit at the bar and drink a beer. I don’t flirt, and I hardly ever dance, unless my sister, June, pulls me onto the floor.

I’ve been the sheriff of Paxton County for a couple years and most would think it’s easier to pick up women, but I’ve found they either like me for my uniform, or they avoid me like the plague because I’m the law, and they’ve committed a few offenses. There’s not a lot to do in Paxton, so getting in trouble ends up being part of growing up. I’ve taken my fair share of stupid teenagers home and given them a stern warning. The goal is that they grow out of it and don’t become career criminals.

I walk through the maze of desks in the small department to my office. We don’t have a huge staff here and we’reunderfunded, which is typical of rural areas. Luke and Will are at their desks. Ellen and Buck must be out on patrol.

“Good morning, Ledger,” Daisy says, and hands me a cup of hot coffee.

“Morning, Daisy,” I say, smiling and take the cup to my office. I know she has a thing for me, but as the saying goes, don’t shit where you eat. Plus, the more I get to know her, she’s got a little crazy in her. For some, that works, but I don’t have patience for that.

I flip through my paperwork, approving overtime, getting schedules out, and sending emails for Daisy to fix my schedule with the court appearances I have to make.

A knock at the door pulls me from my case reading. “Come in,” I call.

“Hey boss, I have a couple of things for you,” Will says, with Luke behind him.

I wave my hand for him to come in, and he sets the file in front of me before dropping into a seat in front of my desk.

“We’ve had a few more calls about Kensington Ranch.”

I sigh and lean back in my seat. “Please tell me this one was more concrete because we barely have any decent surveillance that isn’t Kensington Sr. or Grey eating at the diner or getting a beer at Perry’s.”

Will grits his teeth and shakes his head. “Luke and I answered the call, went onto the ranch, hoping to see something. We asked old man Kensington about what was called in, and he looked at us like we were stupid for even asking.”

“I don’t understand how they haven’t slipped up. They know we’re watching, they know the whole town knows, yet we have nothing solid for a full RICO case.”

“I know. So Luke and I were trying to come up with a plan. We were wondering if we could flip someone. They could take pictures for us or something.”

“Will, you’re asking me to approve a confidential informant in Paxton,” I say incredulously.

“Yeah,” he sighs.

Confidential informants and Paxton do not go together. In this small town, everyone knows everything about everyone, and if they don’t, they’ll find out. Someone will see something, or they'll go digging themselves.

“But it’s a good idea,” Will says.

“No, you’re right. It is, but who do you think you could get to do it? The people on that ranch are loyal to a fault.”

“We were thinking his daughter, Kate.”

I huff and run my hand over my head. “Kate Kensington is about as crazy as they come. How in the world do you think she’s going to turn on her family like that?”

Will looks at me sheepishly, and I know whatever he and Luke cooked up is already in the works. I sigh exasperated at the paperwork I know is coming my way.

“Spit it out,” I grunt.

“Well … uh, Will ran into Kate at Perry’s. He talked her up and got her to go out on a date. So we were thinking if he could get in with her, then he can get her to talk,” Luke says.

“This is a gamble,” I mutter.

“It came to us when we were at Perry’s and figured ...” Will says.

“It was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission?” I ask him, lifting a brow.

“Come on, boss, we had an opening, and he took it,” Luke says.

“This better be the write-up then,” I say, pointing to the file he gave me.