“Doing fine. Caught your show last weekend. Nice to know the rumors are true. You’re good.”
He grinned. “Glad you enjoyed
it. You know, I used to be a part of a duo.”
Her brown eyes brightened with interest. “Yeah? What happened?”
Clay turned a bland stare on Ethan. “My partner went off and joined law enforcement.”
“And you became a high school math teacher,” Ethan shot back.
Hannah stared. “You, Chief? Really?”
Shifting in the booth, Ethan shrugged. “It was a long time ago.”
“Well, that is a thing I’d like to see.” She lifted her order pad. “What can I get you?”
“What can you do about a bacon cheeseburger?” Clay shot her the twenty-four carat smile that girls had been fawning over since he was a cocky nineteen-year-old. It hadn’t lost its potency.
Hannah blushed and batted her eyes in his direction. “I’ll get Omar right on that. You want onion straws on it like your usual?”
“That’d be great. And a Coke.”
She made a note on her order pad. “How ’bout you, Chief?”
Mentally adding an extra mile to tomorrow’s morning run, Ethan stuck the menu back between the napkin dispenser and the ketchup. “I’ll have the same.”
“You got it.”
As soon as she’d wandered away, Clay started in. “So when am I gonna get you back up on stage?”
Here we go again.
“I’ve been trying to get settled into this new job, establishing myself in the community. I need people to see me as Chief of Police before they see me on stage.”
“It’s been three months, man. You’re in it, you’re settled, and I promise you everybody knows exactly who you are.”
“Yeah, the new guy.” The new guy who was still in a probationary period for another nine months. Despite the fact that his transition had gone pretty smoothly, Ethan was sure the jury was still out for a lot of people. He was an outsider here.
From the corner of his eye, Ethan noted the gossips packing up and heading out. His eyes slid to Miranda. She scowled after the pair, muttering something under her breath and stabbing at her lunch with more savagery than necessary.
“Getting your ass back on stage and showing folks you can be approachable would go a long way toward being something other than the new guy.”
Ethan dragged his attention back to Clay. “Yeah, I remember how people treated me when we performed back in college. That’s not the kind of approachable I want to be.”
Clay laid a hand over his heart. “Those were the days. But unlike you, I’ve been performing all the years in between, and it’s been at least a few months since anybody threw their underwear on the stage.” At Ethan’s cop stare, he sobered. “Seriously though, Wishful isn’t a college town, so people aren’t gonna behave like they did in Austin. The Mudcat is the kind of small, intimate venue you used to love to play.”
Back when it had been entirely about the music. Yeah, Ethan couldn’t deny that had some appeal. He still played for himself and had occasionally stepped out for open mic nights in Dallas, but it had been years since he and Clay had performed together. He’d be lying if he didn’t admit he missed it. Hadn’t he taken this job so he’d have the chance for more of a life outside work? Part of that life ought to include taking back up hobbies that didn’t involve honing his skills with a gun or attending training seminars.
“All right. I’ll think about it. We can at least set up some rehearsals.”
Clay smirked. “Think you remember how?”
“Smartass. I may not have been on stage in ages, but I can still keep up with you.”
“Great! How about you prove it Saturday?”
“Can’t. I’m running a bowhunter’s safety course Saturday. Maybe Sunday afternoon?”