Blinding Trust (Mitchell Family, #7)(83)

I looked back and saw her wink at me. She didn’t know my story, but I think that bartenders had a way of reading people. She knew something had happened to me, but at the same time, she never asked what it was.

Sue also knew that I was the sheriff of another town. When strangers got rowdy and I was around, I made sure they left her establishment. She was just a little old lady that didn’t need that kind of trouble. Occasionally, she had asked me to come over to her house to help her out when things weren’t working. Since she’d lost her husband a while back, she didn’t really have anyone else.

“Let me see if I get a couple games out of them.” I grabbed my glass and walked over toward the two guys.

They were both typical truck driver looking guys. Both had beards and large stomachs from eating on the road all the time. It was a force of habit for me to study the details of people. The dude with the lighter hair wore a wedding ring, where his buddy did not. Usually, but not always, married men were a little more harder to sway into playing for money. Most were already treading water when it came to keeping their wives happy. It wasn’t easy to be gone all the time.

I looked toward his friend and took another sip of my drink. “You up for a little competition?”

They looked at each other before turning their attention back to me. “What do you have in mind?”

“I was thinking twenty a game.” I sat my drink down and pulled a house cue off the wall.

“You some kind of shark?” The married guy asked.

I chuckled. “Hell no! Just like playing for a reason.”

His buddy grabbed the balls on the table and started putting them into the rack. “Let’s play for ten.”

I pulled a coin out of my pocket and held it out under the pool table light. “Flip for the break? Heads or tails?”

“Heads.”

The coin flew into the air and landed on the felt of the table. Once it was done spinning we leaned in to see the result of the flip. It landed on tails, giving me the break, so I grabbed the cue ball and lined it up to break out all of the balls.

The break was always the most important shot. It could make or literally lose the game. Luckily, I made two balls and was able to make another four before giving the guy his first shot. I was no pro, but I knew how to hide a ball to prevent my opponent from being able to make a good shot.

I won my first ten easily, but as the games continued, I was still up only ten dollars, after losing a few then winning some more. By the time I started getting tired, and my friends for the night got drunker, I was up a whopping twenty bucks. I shook hands with both of the men and handed Sue my winnings. She hugged me and waved as I headed out.

Morning would come fast and I knew that I hadn’t had enough drinks in me to be able to sleep.

My little cabin in the woods was so far off the beaten path that late at night even I had trouble finding the driveway. I’d thought about putting some reflectors out, but I kind of liked the idea that if I couldn’t find my place, nobody else could either.

Once inside, I threw my keys down on the table and headed into the kitchen for a beer. On most nights I just slept right in my recliner. There was no sense of even having the four bedrooms that the place had. I kept the doors closed and only went into my room to shower and change. After being married and sharing a bed for so long, I hardly moved from my side of the bed. Waking up and seeing that empty spot was just too much to take every damn day.

I must have fallen asleep shortly after getting comfortable. When I woke up my phone was ringing on the table. I wiped the sleep out of my eyes and got up to answer it.

This is Sheriff Towers.

Sorry to call you so early, Sheriff, but we got a big wreck out on the main highway. I hated when my deputy called me with that information.

How bad is it? I couldn’t go if there was a fatality. I just knew I couldn’t.

A mother and a couple kids were hit by a tractor trailer headin’ out of town, sir. The driver of the truck was unharmed. He said he must have fallen asleep at the wheel and crossed over the double line. The ambulance is on its way for the mother. She’s breathin’, but isn’t responsive. The kids seem to be more shaken up, but I’m goin’ to have them sent out to get checked out too. Since I need to stay here at the scene, I’m goin’ to need you to transport the kids.

I’m on my way. Text the coordinates.

The whole time I was putting on my boots and getting myself together, I knew that being around children was going to be hard. If the mother didn’t survive, it would be my job to tell those kids.

I was in the wrong line of work.

The scene of the accident was chaotic. I spotted my deputy leaning down to talk to two little kids. My first thought was my girls and how I wished that we hadn’t been on the road that night. The little boy turned and looked right at me. I took a deep breath and approached them.

My deputy stood up and looked right at me. “I was able to locate the victim’s cell phone and use it contact the last number she called. They were on their way to a family member’s house to stay. The aunt is goin’ to meet us at the hospital. I let her know that the children are alright, but we just want them to get checked out for precautionary reasons.”

The kids were wrapped in one of our blankets that we carry in our trucks, in case of emergencies. They both were looking right at me. Being around kids was so difficult for me. It only reminded me of my sweet little girl that I would never be able to hold again. I sighed and gained enough composure to do my job. “We’re going to take a ride now.”