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“Now what?” Jason asked.
Again, they all glanced at each other, and then, almost as one, they turned to Gray.
It took him a moment to realize they were all looking at him. His eyes darted among them all. “What?”
Instead of one of them stepping forward, they all turned to Mercy. Great. She got to be the bearer of bad news. She sighed. It was obvious what they all wished to say, and she was pretty sure Gray knew exactly what was on their minds. But since he was going to make them actually spell it out…
“I believe the townspeople would like you to reconsider—”
He dropped his feet from the desk. “No.”
She pinned him with her best no-nonsense look. “Accepting the position—”
“No.” He stood and started for the door, but she stepped into his path.
“Of sheriff.”
His eyes narrowed and he leveled a look at her that probably had most men shaking in their boots. Certainly the men in the room with them. She found it kind of cute, though. Like a gruff-looking puppy that growled and snarled when playing tug-of-war with a rope. Somehow, she didn’t think he’d appreciate that assessment, but she couldn’t help aiming a brilliant smile at him.
She reached out with one hand and rested it on his arm. “Please?”
He held the look for another breath and then the lines around his eyes eased and the tension in his shoulders relaxed.
He turned back to the group of townspeople. “Is that what you all want?”
As one, they nodded.
“Y’all must be three sheets to the wind,” he muttered, before sighing and rubbing his face. “Surely there is someone else more qualified that’ll step up.”
Every single one of them shook their heads.
“Less qualified?” he asked, hopefully. “There must be at least one other person in this town with a pulse who would be willing…”
“I’ll do it,” Jason said, stepping forward with an eager grin. “I’m not nearly as qualified, of course…”
“You’re not qualified at all,” Gray said, waving him back to the corner where he’d been watching. “You’re so green the idea is laughable.”
Faithful to his sunny disposition, the jab didn’t seem to bother Sunshine at all. He just grinned good-naturedly. “True, but the only person who does have any sort of qualification is you, and you don’t want the job.”
Gray looked around the room. Every person there looked back at him, full in the face. “You all realize my only qualifications are that I can shoot, right?”
Doc shrugged. “You’ve had the most experience with law enforcement.”
Gray’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “Yeah, because I’ve either tussled with or am wanted by every law enforcement official between here and Chicago.”
“Well, that just gives you a leg up,” Martha said. “You know how these reprobates might think and what a lawman would do to catch them, or prevent the crime, or keep the peace, or whatever.”
“She’s got a point,” Mrs. DuVere said.
Mercy watched emotions flit across Gray’s face, unable to fully imagine what he must be thinking. The more the silence dragged on, though, she knew he was wrestling with something powerful. Could see it in the grinding of his jaw, the way his gaze kept darting from the door to the group gathered in front of him. It was like he knew this decision might mean getting to know people in town more. Something he clearly feared more than a gunfight.
The furrow in his brow deepened further. “Even if I wanted to accept, and I don’t…but sayin’ I did…isn’t there a mayor or town council or somethin’ that has to approve?”
“Iamthe mayor,” Mrs. DuVere said. “And you’re looking at the town council,” she said, pointing to Doc and the preacher. “Minus Mr. Grutski, the undertaker. He’s busy today.”
Mercy watched Gray with growing concern. She didn’t think he’d be able to take too many more surprises.
“You’re the mayor?” he asked Mrs. DuVere.
