He planted a kiss on her forehead and stepped from her. He had a hard time believing this really was a simple outage—where the Bailey lodge was concerned, nothing struck him as simple as it appeared. “I’ll go see if you blew a fuse. ”
She grabbed the front of his shirt, stopping him. “Hey, rain check on the whole force for good thing. ”
“You got it, darlin’. ” He swooped in, stealing one last hard, quick kiss. “I will cash that rain check. ”
“Best get going then. ” She gave him a playful shove, then snagged him a flashlight from a kitchen drawer. “Just in case. ”
The living room was dim, and Bear was hauling himself to the edge of his lounger, trying to get up. “Wait,” he grunted. “I got this. ”
Billy went to him, leaning down to give him a hand. “Let’s go take a look. ”
The older man flinched back, angry. “I’m not an invalid. It’s my house, and I’ll take care of it. ”
“Of course. So how about I come with, in case you need me to hold the flashlight?” Someone could be waiting out there, and he wasn’t about to risk Bear getting jumped in the dark.
The man shot him a suspicious glare, and as Billy watched him struggle from the chair, a puzzle piece clicked into place. Sorrow’s father had been raised to be a man’s man, spending his youth hunting for fun and logging for pay. That his body no longer cooperated had to be a blow to his ego and his manhood.
He might’ve been moving more slowly, but the man wasn’t dead yet. It seemed somebody needed to apprise him of that fact.
Billy stood in front of the chair, blocking Bear’s path. “Permission to speak frankly, sir?”
“Stop sirring me. ” Sorrow’s dad teetered for a moment, getting his balance.
Billy bit back a smile. “Permission to speak frankly, you old hard-ass?”
Bear laughed at that. “I been waiting for you to speak frankly. Because I can’t figure you out. ”
That wasn’t the response he’d expected. “There’s nothing to figure,” he said, surprised. “What you see is what you get. I like your daughter, and I’m not going away anytime soon. At least, not if I have anything to say about it. ”
“I don’t know how I feel about her breaking it off with that Simmons boy,” Bear said, and he suspected the old man was testing him. “The kid practically prints money at that job of his. ”
The man wanted to be contrary. Fine. It was his right. But it didn’t mean Billy would take the bait. “Damien has money, that’s easy to see. Doesn’t mean he’s the right guy for Sorrow. ”
“Sometimes I wonder if the girl would know the right thing if it came up and bit her on the rump. ” Her father shrugged, wearing an expression of mild distaste. “So, this is you speaking frankly?”
“No. This is me speaking frankly: you need to stop being such a nasty old coot. Hollering at the women in your life doesn’t make you a better man, it just gives us all a headache. I know your body isn’t what it was, and I’m sorry for that. But, Bear, last I checked, getting old sure as hell beats the alternative. ”
Bear scowled hard at the word old, but Billy pressed on. “You want to be powerful again? You put that daughter of yours up on your shoulders. You support her, make sure she’s set up to fly higher than you ever did. Now there’s a weight that only a real man can handle. ”
Bear’s features went utterly still, but whether it was anger or attentiveness had yet to be seen. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying, you need to let your girl spread her wings. ”
The man frowned. “Last time she spread her wings, she almost set the tavern on fire. ”
Billy’s response was instant. “I don’t believe that was her fault. ”
“You would say that. New sheriff and all. We pay you to be suspicious. ”
“Look, Bear. Think what you like. But if you were to share more of the decision making, things would get better around here. If Sorrow wants to have more say in the tavern, give her a shot—what the hell, right? I’d bet good money Sully would welcome the help. Maybe it’d even prevent incidents like that fire. ”
“Girl’s got no time for all that,” Bear said.
“That brings up my next point. ”
“How many points you got, Sheriff?”
Billy ignored the gibe and pressed on, “Sorrow could use some help around the place. An assistant maybe. ” Bear’s eyes goggled at that, but Billy refused to give him a chance to interrupt. “She runs around like a one-armed paperhanger. The girl is in her twenties, and as far as I can see, her closest friends are a bunch of retirees. ”