The Travelling Man (37 page)

Ellie wrote the deal on the paper and then used the pen to sign her name with a pinprick of blood; she was both the organizer and the recipient of the agreement. She was now in her father’s shoes and with it she assumed his power. It was a simple contract that she arranged, one that would save them all, or at least some of them. Ellie asked that her mother and Grange had never met before, that they had never met in a hotel lobby years ago and had never spent the single night together that had produced a daughter.

CHAPTER
23

Granton

“Hey, Sheriff, what do you say?”

Cassie Wheeler turned towards the voice and withered the man with an unblinking stare that held his gaze with authority. “I say that you’d better move that car of yours, John, before I give you a ticket. That meter ran out three minutes ago.”

John Stains paused for a moment to try and see if she was serious or joking around; he soon hurried across the town square to his car.

Cassie watched the man positively run and smiled to herself. It seemed like most days were a constant battle of wills where someone was always trying to push the boundaries. She paused briefly and felt an odd sense of déjà vu creep up her spine and tickle the nape of her neck. Eventually, she shrugged it off and went about her day. Most days in Granton were pretty much the same and little happened to upset the status quo and that suited her just fine.

She stopped outside of the deli, suddenly feeling hungry. She was a big powerful woman who ate pretty much what she wanted as it was all burned off thanks to the gym and good genes, but lately she had been feeling like she was eating for two.

A sudden thought raced through her mind and she immediately detoured towards the pharmacy. Her dating life was normally pretty much nonexistent, given her position as Sheriff, but she had met a guy a couple of weeks ago.

Matt had been a journalist in town writing a piece on the local mine, something to do with industrial cleaning products that didn’t harm the environment. They’d had a couple of beers and, completely out of character; she had spent the night with him, sneaking into Mrs. Fiorentino’s boarding house. She’d crept out the next morning in more of a crawl than a walk of shame but he had called her the next day and they had seen each other every day since.

As she rushed back to her car with the pregnancy test tucked securely into her uniform pocket, she had a warm feeling start to spread through her stomach. She had never even thought about having a husband or children and yet the thought was growing on her. She was doodling in a parking ticket pad as she thought about taking the test when she looked down at her scrawlings. It was one word written over and over again. She had always loved the name Ellie.

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