Page 17 of Carlos

Zoe could only hope that history was not about to repeat itself.

Carlos made sure to pack a spare set of clothes as he headed to work the next day. He did not want to meet Clara for their non-date in his uniform. He packed a nice pair of jeans and a Henley. He’d also sent Kelly, one of the waitresses at the diner, a text asking for the back booth to be reserved for him at seven. Generally, the diner didn’t take reservations, but Kelly was a friend and she didn’t mind doing favors for the police and fire departments. She probably thought that it was for him and some of his deputies. Carlos did not correct this assumption, knowing Kelly would not keep her mouth shut about Carlos bringing a date to the diner.

In retrospect, the diner was probably a bad choice to bring Clara. There were no secrets in a small town like Mount Grove, and others would want to meet her. Carlos hadn’t even told his mom about his non-date.

Hannigan had already cleaned out the sheriff’s office of everything personal. Carlos wondered when he’d done so. Hannigan’s keys were inside the desk drawer. Carlos had the same set. He made sure there weren’t any extra keys on Hannigan’s keyring and then put them aside to give to Jeff when he arrived at work.

Carlos sat down and looked around the office. His office. He’d sat in this chair before, but it hadn’t been his. It had always been Longhill’s or Hannigan’s and he’d just been a fill-in. But now? Carlos ran his hand over the wood of the mahogany desk. A feeling of possession and rightness came over him.

He was sheriff now.

Picking up his phone, he took a picture of his office before opening up his text messages.

Carlos: [picture] There’s a new sheriff in town.

Bulldog: Fuck yeah! You tell Mamma yet?

Carlos: Not yet. It hadn’t felt real until I came in this morning.

Bulldog: Be proud, fratellino. You deserve this.

Bulldog: Did you find what you were looking for yesterday?

Carlos: I did. Meeting her for dinner at 7.

Bulldog: New job and a date! You might want to buy a lottery ticket. Today seems to be your lucky day.

Carlos snorted, but also thought his brother might have a point.

Carlos: It’s not a date. It’s dinner.

Bulldog: It’s a date.

Carlos: I know. Can I ask you something?

Bulldog: Of course.

Carlos: When did the club add in trailers? Why are they back there?

Bulldog: After Abby and cramming all of us into our house, we decided to invest in the trailers. Just in case.

Carlos’s eyes narrowed on his phone. His brother was being cryptic again.

Carlos: In case of what?

Bulldog: Just in case.

Bulldog: You never know who needs protection.

Bulldog: Steel knows you know about the trailers. He’s open to telling you more when you’re ready.

Carlos stared at his phone for a long moment. You never know who needs protection. Does that mean… But Clara didn’t need protection. Did she? She was Jenna’s niece. But… The cryptic way Bulldog was acting, the clandestine positioning of the trailers, his suspicion that she hadn’t left club property since arriving in Mount Grove…

Carlos: Do I need to know something before tonight?

Bulldog: Her story is her own. Steel wants to talk about the Pythons.

Not the answer Carlos had been expecting. Clara mentioned that her husband had been a police officer. She’d said that the job had killed him. Carlos wondered if maybe her husband had seen or heard something that had gotten him killed. Had Clara gone to her aunt for protection after her husband’s death?