A/N: Here's part three of You've Got My Attention...which is currently the one story that has my attention as of late :D And this time, the other stuff I mentioned originally in chapter 1 will happen in here. Definitely, I swear!
So, I guess there's not much else to say other than grab your popcorn and drinks, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: *points at the last two chapters of the story because I'm too lazy*
You've Got My Attention
Part 3: The Confession
The door to the jail cell shut with a satisfying click, and Toby locked the doors. "Well, that takes care of that," he said. "You two stay put while I see what's goin' on."
Jacques and Heinz grumbled in response, and Toby decided he'd have to take that as an answer for now. He peered out the door to get a good look of the scene in front of him. Most of the citizens were clearing away the wood, while others were standing around talking. Worry was on the faces of everyone present, some of them looking worriedly in the direction of the doctors' office, where they'd taken both Timothy and Peck. Sheriff Callie wasn't among the crowd, and it didn't take Toby long to figure out where she went.
Toby shook his head. "Oh, Peck...please be okay," he said, tears in his voice.
"How'll he hold up, Doc?" Callie asked Doc Quackers.
The green-feathered mallard turned towards her, adjusting his stethoscope around his neck. "Well, I'd say Timothy's pretty lucky. He escaped with a few broken bones an' several cuts, as well as a black eye," he said. "He'll be in casts for a while, but he'll make it."
"Actually, I-I was askin' about my deputy," she said, looking over at Peck's prone form from the other side of the room. The woodpecker had bandages on his wing, his chest and his head, which was the only part of him that still had most of his feathers. His face wasn't creased with any marks of pain, so he appeared to be sleeping. Even so, Callie couldn't help but be worried. "Is he gonna be alright?"
"I'm sure he will. He's got a broken wing and a few broken ribs, too, due to that fall he took," Doc Quackers answered. "He'll probably need a lot of bedrest for a while, too, but he'll be fine. He's jus' knocked out."
A weak cough came from the other side of room. "Tch, serves 'im right," Timothy rasped.
Something snapped in Callie then. "Serves 'im right?!" she yelled, startling Doc Quackers. "How could you say somethin' like that? Peck was savin' his friends!"
"Sheriff, the only reason he's in here is 'cause he came lookin' for a fight," Timothy croaked. "An' he lost, badly. A bird can't fight a cat. You of all people should know that, bein' the sheriff an' all. Or maybe you're jus' so darn protective over that little loudmouth that ya forgot the difference between right an' wrong."
Callie marched over to him. "I'd like ya to say that to my face!" she growled.
Timothy still had the strength to smirk. "I said, you forgot the difference between right an' wrong. After all, do you think that the people of this town would take to you an' that deputy of yours datin'? It's enough to make me hurl," he said. "Cats n' birds...they were never meant to be anythin' other than enemies. Everyone knows that." His smirk widened. "Well, I'd say almost everyone."
There was a flash of fur as Callie brought her claws down towards his shirt, yanking him out of the bed with the force. Doc Quackers stared in fear, while Timothy started to shudder with laughter. Callie wanted nothing more than to wipe that smirk right off his face.
"S-Sheriff-" Doc started.
"Well, this is a side of the sheriff I've never seen before," Timothy chuckled.
"I've tried bein' nice to you, Timothy," she said, her eyes narrowing. "I've politely turned ya down, I've told ya upfront to your face that I want nothin' to do with you, an' I've even tried to give you the most merciful option in surrenderin'. But you just keep pushin' me, tryin' to see how far you can go 'til you make me give in. Well, guess what, Timothy? Your little tactic didn't work. In fact, you've actually made me mad!"
Doc Quackers carefully stepped towards the sheriff. "Sheriff Callie, y-you should really put him down," he said. An angry Callie was a rare sight in Nice 'n Friendly Corners, but he'd never seen her get this angry before.
"An' let him keep insultin' my deputy? My friend? I don't think so," she answered. Her glare was still locked on Timothy. "I ain't settin' him down until he swears to never say things like that again, about me, 'bout Peck, or anybody else!"
Doc Quackers looked at Timothy, who was still smirking. The mallard couldn't help but wonder if he was insane. "Uh...y-you might want to do what she says," he said. "Otherwise..."
Timothy sighed. "Well, as much as I like havin' fun, I ain't about to lose my fur to do it," he said. His smirk disappeared, replaced with a frown. "You win, Sheriff. I'll stop insultin' you an' your deputy."
"Swear it," Callie ground out.
"Pardon?"
"Swear it, or one of these is gonna meet your face," she said, motioning to her claws, which were still buried in his shirt.
Again, Timothy sighed. "I swear it, Sheriff. Scout's honor an' everythin'," he said.
Dead silence filled the air for a moment, and for a moment, Doc Quackers thought that Callie was actually going to carry out her threat. He was relieved when she set Timothy back down on the bed, none too gently, and walked away. Her eyes were hidden by the brim of her hat.
"S-Sheriff...?" he asked. "Are ya alright?"
"I'll be fine, Doc. I need to go for a bit of fresh air," she answered. "Let me know when Peck wakes up, alright?"
"Alright, Sheriff," Quackers said. "Though it might take a while."
As soon as the door closed, Timothy settled back into bed, a scowl on his face. "Reckon my friends were right in givin' up on her," he said. "A gal who'd go around with everythin' ain't my type."
Doc Quackers frowned, and then he sighed. It was going to be a long night, that was for sure.
Callie sat outside on the porch of the sheriff's office, her hat sitting next to her. It felt so strange, being in the same spot where she and Peck had been earlier that morning, and not having the woodpecker out and about. She buried her face in her hands, trying to forget her brief loss of temper with Timothy a few moments ago. As the sheriff, she should've known better. She shouldn't have threatened him like that, said things like that. Such things weren't tolerated in Nice 'n Friendly Corners.
A part of her argued that Timothy had been asking for it, with his repeated insults against Peck and his condescending remarks towards her. True, he shouldn't have gotten away with remarks like that, but there were better ways to handle it rather than attempting to claw his face off.
And to think that she'd been that close to doing it made her feel worse.
The door to the sheriff's office opened behind her, and she turned to see Toby walking out with two cups of milk. "Hey, Sheriff. Figured you might want some of this," he said.
Despite herself, Callie smiled. "Thanks, Toby," she said, graciously accepting the cup. Toby sat next to her on the porch, sipping his milk from a straw. "I actually need this right now."
"I thought you were down at the doc's office waitin' for news on Peck," he replied.
"I was. But I had ta get outta there," Callie said before taking a long drink from her glass.
"How come?" Toby asked.
"Timothy is why," Callie answered.
"What'd he do?" Toby questioned.
Callie sighed, and then told him everything that he'd done, as well as what she'd done in response. When she was finished, Toby almost dropped his glass in shock.
"Holy moly," he gasped. "That sounds intense!"
"It was. An' for a brief moment, I thought about finishin' what Peck started. After what he said, mockin' Peck an' my friendship with him, I really, really wanted to make him pay. But a part of me knew that it wasn't right," Callie explained. "I'd never go that far to get revenge, no matter how angry he made me."
"Also, Peck wouldn't have wanted ya to do somethin' like that," Toby said. "He would've been glad to see Timothy get his lickin's, though, but not goin' so far as to rip his fur off in return. It's a good thing that ya stopped yourself when you did, or you would've done somethin' you regretted."
"Thanks, Toby. And I'm glad, too," she said.
A few moments of silence passed between them, and then Callie said, "There was one thing that Timothy said earlier though, an' I hate to admit this, but he could be right."
"What could he be right about?" Toby asked.
"Peck went out there lookin' for Timothy, to confront him. Reckon what he was sayin' about Peck goin' there could be true," Callie said. "But even so, I don't understand why he'd get that defensive. I understood his worry, but I told him myself that I could handle Timothy an' that he didn't have anythin' to worry about."
Toby stared at her in surprise, his glass about ready to drop from his hand again. "You mean...you didn't know why he went after Timothy?"
"Well, I figured he did it 'cause he wanted to help," Callie said. She looked at the cactus in confusion. "Why? Is there another reason?"
"Uh...I think I should actually let Peck tell ya," Toby answered quietly, turning back to his milk.
"Toby-"
"I promised 'im I wouldn't tell, Sheriff Callie. An' as his best friend, I don't wanna break his word," Toby said.
"I see," Callie answered, eyeing Toby. First Peck had been acting anxious, now Toby was acting secretive. She was more than certain that something was rather off, but she didn't want to press her second deputy even more. She downed the rest of her milk, and then got up from the ground. "You can head on over to Ella's for a spell, Toby. I'll stay an' guard the prisoners for a while."
"You sure, Sheriff?"
"I'm sure, Toby. You go on an' take a break, an' if you want, you can stop by an' see how Peck's doin'," Callie answered. "After that, we'll rotate."
"Thanks, Sheriff. To be honest, I've got a hankerin' for a milkshake." Toby set his glass aside and bounded down the steps of the porch. He turned towards Callie. "Hey, if Peck wakes up tomorrow, can we bring him a trail mix milkshake?"
"Sure, providin' he's up to it," Callie said. "See ya in a little while, Toby."
As she made her way inside, she couldn't help but frown. "If" was the key to this whole situation. What if Peck didn't wake up tomorrow? Or worse, what if he didn't wake up at all? What if he-
She shook those thoughts from her head. She couldn't afford to doubt that Peck would pull through, not now. If there was one thing about her deputy, he was a fighter. He certainly wouldn't die, not when he had so many people that counted on him, that cared about him. He'd been in scrapes before and came out of those just fine-well, mostly rattled, but fine nonetheless.
Once Toby gets back here, I'm stayin' the night at Doc Quackers, she thought to herself. Peck stood up for me, an' I wouldn't call myself his friend if I didn't do the same.
"Hey, Ella. Can I have another deluxe milkshake?" Toby asked despondently.
Ella looked at him in surprise. "Why, you've already had three, Toby!" she exclaimed. "Any more an' you're gonna get a stomachache!"
A low growl came from Toby's stomach at that, and he groaned, resting his face against the counter. "On second thought, maybe you're right," he said.
"What's got ya drinkin' all those milkshakes anyway?" Dirty Dan asked, taking a sip from his caramel milkshake.
After raising his head from the table, he proceeded to tell Dirty Dan everything that Callie had told him earlier. When he was finished, most of the people at the milk saloon were gasped in surprised.
"Well, I'll be. That's the first time I've ever heard of Sheriff Callie gettin' that angry," Dusty remarked.
"I can't say I blame the sheriff. I mean, I'd be none too gentle with that fella, either, after what he said about her and Deputy Peck!" Priscilla remarked.
"Even so, I can see why she'd be feeling that way. Callie always tries to find the right thing to do without hurting anyone. Coming that close to doing something that'd bring her to his level must've been jarring for her," Tio Tortuga said.
"Well, I don't feel sympathy for that Timothy fella, not one bit," Dusty said.
"Here, here!" the others called out.
As Ella started taking the empty glasses, she asked, "So, Sheriff Callie really has no idea why Peck was so defensive?"
"Nope. I wanted to tell her, but then I'd be breakin' my promise to Peck. I wanted him to tell her himself," Toby said.
"Well, he'd better do it soon, or else we'll have ta tell her for 'im!" Dusty said. "He's been sayin' that he was gonna tell her for a while now. An' he still hasn't said a word!"
"I sure hope he wakes up soon," Dirty Dan pointed out. "It'd be right awful if he never does get the chance to tell 'er how he feels."
"Promise me you won't say a word about this to Callie, guys," Toby said.
"You can count on us, Toby," Ella said. "Our lips are sealed."
Toby smiled. "Thanks, Ella." He got down from the stool, and pulled out some gold coins to pay for his drinks. "If ya don't mind, I'm gonna head out to visit Peck before I head back to the office."
"Take care, Toby!" Tio called.
"Oh, an' do send our regards to the sheriff!" Priscilla called out.
"Thanks, I will!"
An hour later...
Callie strummed a few chords on her guitar, but she couldn't bring herself to sing anything, not with the amount of thoughts that was going through her head. Not with the worry that was threatening to eat away at her.
Sighing, she set the guitar aside and rested her face in her hands, a despondent look on her face. "Aw, Peck...why'd ya have to go an' do somethin' like that?" she muttered. "Now ya've gone an' got me sick with worry..."
The door slammed open again for the umpteenth time, almost sending Callie out of her chair and onto the ceiling. "Sheriff Callie! Sheriff Callie!" Toby shouted.
"Sweet Sassafras, Toby! Don't scare me like that!" Callie admonished. "You nearly scared me outta my fur!"
Toby gave a small, nervous smile. "Sorry, Sheriff. But I couldn't help it. Peck's awake!" He jumped up and down excitedly. "He's finally awake at last! And the best part is, Timothy's not even in the room this time."
"He isn't?"
"Nope! The doc moved him into another room; reckon he got tired of hearin' Timothy fuss!" Toby said, laughing.
Callie jumped up out of her chair this time, sending her chair clattering against the floor. "That's great!" she exclaimed. "Come on, we've gotta go an' see him while we still have a moment of peace over there."
"Actually, Sheriff, you can go on ahead," Toby said. "I'll come by an' visit Peck later. I know how anxious you are to see him, so I'll let ya talk to him first."
"Are you sure, Toby. I mean, you were just as worried as I was," Callie said.
"I'm sure, Sheriff. Now you'd better go on an' see how he's doin'," Toby said. "I don't know how many people are gonna show up once they hear the news."
"Well, when you put it that way, I'd better go ahead an' go," Callie replied. "I'm trustin' you to keep an eye on the prisoners, alright?"
Toby gave her a salute and a wide grin. "You can count on me, Sheriff!"
Callie didn't wait to give him a thanks, and she quickly rushed out the door. Toby closed the door after her, smiling. Now it's all up to Peck now...
Blinding light filled Peck's eyes and he groaned. "Shucks, how long was I asleep?" he muttered.
"Oh, only a couple of hours," Doc Quackers said. "You should consider yourself lucky; you've gone an' got everyone in a panic!"
"Yeah..." Peck grunted as he pushed himself up in bed. "R-Reckon I have a lot of apologies to make to everyone, huh?"
"Mmhmm. And I imagine you have an apology to make to a certain sheriff?"
Peck stared at Doc Quackers with wide eyes. "Holy jalapeños! Sheriff Callie must be worried sick, an' so is Toby! I didn't see much of 'im before he started shoutin' and runnin' out the door, but knowin' him..." He flung the covers off, only to immediately shout with pain. "Great, now both of my wings are messed up..."
"You're not goin' anywhere, Deputy!" Doc Quackers said, putting the covers back on the injured woodpecker. "You need to sit back and rest. I'm pretty sure Sheriff Callie would put you right back in here if you even tried to run around in your condition."
Peck sighed. "You're right." He smirked a little. "She'd probably use her lasso to do it, too, if I insisted on makin' sure she was alright."
Doc Quackers eyed Peck carefully. "Speakin' of the sheriff, Peck, are you ever gonna tell her about how you feel?"
A small blush came on Peck's face. "Well, I hope to, providin' my nerves don't get the best of me again," he confessed, adding in a nervous laugh.
"Let's hope they don't. 'Cause if they do, there ain't nothin' that's gonna stop the townsfolk from tellin' the sheriff herself," Doc Quackers warned.
"I-I think I get the point, Doc."
The doors to the doctor's office flew open again, and Callie ran inside, anxiety and excitement on her face. "Doc! Toby told me that Peck was awake! How is he?" she asked breathlessly.
Peck couldn't help but chuckle at this. "Well, you can see for yourself, Sheriff Callie," he said proudly.
Callie whirled around to face him, and a grin spread from ear to ear on her face. "Peck!" she cried out joyfully. She rushed over to him and gave him a big hug. "Oh, Peck...thank goodness you're alright!"
"Well...I reckon I'll be stuck in here for a while, but I'm glad to be alive, too, Sheriff," he said. He paused when he felt the calico shudder against him. He stared down at her in shock. "Uh...S-Sheriff Callie? Are ya alright?"
She nodded, her face still buried in his shoulder. "Y-Yeah, I will be, Peck," she said, sniffling. "I-I'm jus' glad that you're s-still here an' you're not gone. I-If you hadn't woken up, I-I would've..." Her next few words were choked with sobs. "I-I probably would've lost it..."
A twinge of guilt coursed through Peck. It was rare to see Callie cry, and the fact that he was the cause of it only made him feel worse. "Sheriff Callie...I-"
"Y-You had no idea how worried I was, Peck," she interrupted. "W-When I saw you tackle Timothy outta that room, an' w-when I saw you layin' there in the street, m-motionless..." Another violent shudder. "I-I didn't know what to do. I-I thought I lost you for good, Peck."
"It's alright, Sheriff," he said softly, at last returning the hug. "I'm gonna be alright. An' I ain't goin' to do anythin' like that again."
"I-I should be shoutin' at ya right now, since that was beyond dangerous," Callie replied. "Y-You could've gotten yourself killed!"
"I did it to save you, Sheriff. I wasn't about to let him hurt you. He would have if you tried to arrest him. An' if he'd done that..." Peck's eyes narrowed. "Nothin' would've stopped me from gettin' him."
Callie looked up at last. Her green eyes, which were slightly puffy due to her tears, were wide with shock. "Peck, you don't have to go that far! I-I would be happy if you put him behind bars, not try to rip his fur off!"
"But Sheriff-!"
"No, Peck. What Timothy did to you-to both of us-was an awful thing. But if we went against him in violence, neither of us would've been any better than him," Callie said. "I-I should know. I almost went off on him."
"Y-You?" Peck exclaimed in shock.
Callie nodded. "He insulted you while you were still knocked out, Peck. An' he told me that cats n' birds weren't meant to be anythin' other than enemies, an' that you were stupid to challenge 'im. I got so angry that I...well...I yanked him right out of his hospital bed, with the full intention of makin' him pay."
"Holy jalapeños..." Peck gasped.
"Thankfully, Doc Quackers talked him into seein' reason, and thankfully, I walked away when I did, or else I would've done somethin' awful to 'im," she continued, her eyes filled with sorrow. "I've never gotten that angry to hurt someone like that, ever."
"I can't blame ya for gettin' angry, Sheriff. I regret not bein' able to see his face," Peck answered, "but I am glad that you didn't hurt 'im. I want you to handle him in your own style, which is bringin' 'em in, no questions asked." He sighed. "And I'm right sorry I did that, Sheriff Callie. I really did want to protect ya from him, and when he came at you, I just acted. But I won't do somethin' that stupid again, partly to keep myself from gettin' in here again."
Callie laughed and wiped her tears. "An' what's the other reason, Deputy Peck?" she prompted.
Peck gave a small smile. "And the other reason's so you won't have ta cry anymore," he said. "I can't stand seein' ya cry, Sheriff Callie, 'specially if I was the cause of it. C-Can ya forgive me?"
"Of course I can forgive you, Peck," she replied, her trademark smile on her face. "Trust me, I wouldn't have hugged ya if I didn't."
Peck chuckled. "Reckon I'm lucky in more ways than one," he said.
Dco Quackers cleared his throat. "Well, as great as it is to see you two reunite, I have another patient to attend to," he said, turning in the direction of Timothy's room. "I'll be back in a little while to check on you, Peck."
Peck started to say something, but the mallard had quickly disappeared into the next room. Callie looked intrigued. "He sure seemed in a hurry to leave," she noted.
"Yeah...an' I think I know why," Peck answered. "He probably didn't want to interrupt our conversation."
"Well, if anythin', Doc Quackers isn't a gossip like Priscilla or Abigail," Callie replied. "So, I reckon he won't say anythin' about what I'm gonna ask ya next."
Peck tensed. "W-What did you wanna ask?"
"Well...Peck, did you really go to Timothy's hotel room to fight 'im?" she asked, turning to face him. Her expression was serious.
"No, I wasn't goin' there to fight 'im! Well...I was prepared in case he started a fight, but I went there specifically to tell 'im to back off," Peck said. "When he started accusin' me of wantin' to...have ya for myself..." He knotted his fingers. "We started arguin' more fiercely after that, an' then his partners ganged up on me."
"Why would he accuse you of that?"
"He said it's the reason why I was so defensive over you!" Peck argued. "But that ain't the reason at all! If I'd done that, I'd be no better than him!" He sighed, realizing that he'd been shouting at her, and lowered his voice. "I saw how uncomfortable you were around 'im, how he'd keep comin' after ya with gifts an' offers to go out on a date even when ya said no. An' when I told him how you really felt...that's when he got nasty."
Callie's eyes narrowed. "What kind of 'nasty' are we talkin' about here? The mean kind?"
"No. The possessive, conquestin' kind," Peck said. "It made me wanna throw up my oatmeal..."
Callie shuddered again. "I knew somethin' was off about 'im. I wasn't able to put my finger on it before, but now I know for sure," she said. "I'm glad I didn't like 'im fully an' found out the truth later. He could've done that to a lot of women!"
"I think he did," Peck said quietly. "When I heard that, I knew I had to stop 'im. I wasn't about to let him ten inches near ya, not if he had his way."
"Even so...it sounds to me that there was a reason you got so defensive like that. You sounded jealous," Callie asked.
"Jealous?!" Peck sputtered. He looked mildly offended. "I wasn't jealous!"
"Earlier today, you were talkin' about changin' his mind about me bein' his girlfriend, Peck," Callie pointed out.
"Well, he needed a good talkin' to! Nobody should be that insistent when someone tells 'em no!"
"Even so, I'm gettin' the feelin' that there's more to this. People don't get that defensive," she replied.
"W-Well, I-"
"Are ya absolutely sure there isn't another reason why you'd go after Timothy like that? 'Cause that's the feelin' that I'm gettin' from this whole thing," she said.
"Another reason!" Peck sputtered out. "You obviously don't see it, do ya, Sheriff? The reason for it was obvious to everyone in town!"
"What reason, Peck?" Callie demanded.
"Cornflabbit, it's because I love you, Callie!" Peck shouted loudly.
Callie stared at him, her eyes wider than dinner plates and her face going quite red. A loud gasp came from the next room. Once the gravity of his statement sunk in, Peck also went red. Dead silence filled the room for a few seconds, neither knowing what to do or what to say.
Finally, after the longest minute in history, Callie said, "Y-You...you love me, Peck?"
Peck's face went redder, if that was even possible. "Y-Yeah, I do. An' I have been in love with ya for some time, too," he said.
"And how long is some time, Peck?"
"Uh...since last year, I reckon?" Peck scratched his beak in confusion. "Or maybe it was two years ago; I can't remember."
"Two years ago? Why, Peck...that was when you were first workin' in Nice 'n Friendly Corners," Callie recalled. "You mean to tell me that you were in love with me this whole time?"
"Well, I reckon it's possible. Guess that means I was in love with ya ever since I met ya," he admitted. He twiddled his thumbs when he saw her surprised face. "Either way...most of the cats I'd met weren't the nicest, an' for a while I wasn't fond of 'em much. Then I met you." He smirked to himself, a small blush on his face. "I admit that I took to ya at first because you're pretty. But you're also nice, friendly, tough an' dependable. You'd gotten my attention from day one." He paused. "Actually, I should say that you've still got it."
Gears were turning in Callie's head. "An' the rest of the townsfolk knew, too?" she asked.
He nodded. "It didn't take 'em long to figure it out. I asked 'em all not to say anythin', though," he said. "I wanted to tell you my feelin's myself, but a lot of things kept me from doin' it."
"What kinds of things, Peck?" Callie asked.
"Well...things like what Timothy was sayin'."
Callie's eyes narrowed at the mention of the cat. "What did he say to you?"
"He told me that you probably didn't love me simply 'cause we were different species," he admitted. "H-He said that you wouldn't be caught dead with me as your boyfriend, that you'd reject me-well, reckon I was worried 'bout that anyhow-"
"Peck-"
"A part of me thought that he was doin' it to make me mad, but a part of me knew that it was true. Most of the townspeople supported it, but I didn't know how you'd take it, Callie. You're a cat, an' I'm a woodpecker-a bird," he said. "I can't change that anymore than I can change how I feel about ya. How'd that look to folks?"
"It wouldn't look different to anybody here in Nice n' Friendly Corners. I've always liked you, Peck," Callie said.
Peck sighed. "Yeah, but probably not in the same way I like you," he said. "Even if that's the case, I won't mind it a bit."
"Peck..."
"I told 'im that I value ya as a person, not as a conquest," he continued. "As much as I love you, Callie, you're more than jus' that. You're one of my friends, and I don't wanna lose our friendship, even if you don't return my feelings." He sighed. "Maybe he's right. Maybe I was jus' wastin' my time on this-"
"Peck, listen to me for a second."
Peck looked up at her in surprise. "Callie..."
"Right now...right now, I'm still tryin' to wrap my head around this. First I have this suitor, an' then I learn that my deputy's in love with me, an' he's been in love with me for a while now," she explained. "I don't want to hurt your feelin's or anythin', but right now...I just don't have an answer for your confession."
"Oh...I see." Peck's expression became downcast, although he tried to brighten it up with a small smile. "Well, I wasn't expectin' you to leap right into my arms immediately, Callie. But if you need some time to think about it, then I won't rush ya..."
"You wouldn't mind if I did that, would ya?"
"Would I mind? Of course I wouldn't mind!" Peck said. "Like I said before, I ain't gonna rush ya into makin' a decision. After all...this is the first time you've ever heard of this, so I get it if ya need some time to think about it."
Callie gave him a small smile in return. "Thanks for understandin', Peck," she answered. "I promise ya, I'll get back to ya on this as soon as I make a decision."
Peck nodded. "I trust you to keep your word, Sheriff," he replied.
A few seconds of awkward silence filled the air. Callie cleared her throat, somewhat loudly.
"Uh...r-reckon we should talk about this later," she said, "probably when everythin' settles down."
"So, uh...what are you an' Toby gonna do now?" Peck asked.
"Well, I'm plannin' to get somethin' to eat. I'll bring ya somethin' back from the saloon," Callie said. "Ya think you can hold down a trail mix milkshake?"
"Hmm...maybe. I can never say no to trail mix," Peck said.
"I'll be back soon, Peck! An' this time, I'll make sure to bring Toby along," Callie said. "He's just as anxious to see ya as I am-er, was." Her face flushed slightly at that. "Right...uh...see ya in a bit, Peck!"
"Bye...Sheriff?" Peck barely got the last word out before Callie hurriedly made her way out the door, her face turning a shade lighter than his feathers.
No sooner had she left than Doc Quackers peered in from Timothy's room, his eyes alight with surprise. "Well, that was an interesting development," he remarked.
"Doc Quackers! Wha-you were listenin' in the whole time?!" Peck shouted. "I thought you were givin' us some privacy!"
"I was...but my curiosity got the best of me," the mallard confessed. "So...things are certainly going to be awkward between you and Sheriff Callie now, aren't they?"
Peck sighed. "They sure are, Doc. They sure enough are."
End of Part 3
Well...this didn't quite go as I planned originally.
My original plan was to have Callie accept his feelings right then and there so I could end it, but then when I looked back on it, I realized that I would've probably rushed the relationship and it'd feel like was forced from the get go. So I decided to go this route, which was for her to try and figure out her own feelings for Peck now that she's fully aware of his. Now that we've got Peck's feelings out in the open, it's time to explore what Callie's feelings towards Peck will be.
Speaking of Callie, I enjoyed writing her in this chapter. Writing the scene where she nearly went off on Timothy was one of my favorites to write; there are some parallels to Ricochet's fury in the "Protector" arc of "Blazin' Trails". Interestingly enough, both of them went off because the bad guys were mocking their deputies, although in Callie's case there are some romantic hints.
The "predators and prey standard" came back in this chapter, and it's part of the reason why Peck held off telling her in fear of being rejected. It'll also come back in the next few chapters, too, with someone who's easily worse than Timothy.
In other words, this story's going to be extended, possibly to an eight chapter story in a similar vein to "If Likin' You Is Wrong". Told ya that it'd probably be extended :D
Personally, I connect more with Peck than with Callie (even though I like both of them and ship them together), so writing her is going to be an interesting challenge. And as Doc Quackers said earlier, things are going to be a lot more awkward now between the two.
The fourth part...well, I haven't quite figured out what the fourth part will be about yet, but I've already got plans for what happens later down the road, and how it'll effect Callie and Peck's relationship.
Thank you to those who have been reviewing and viewing this story thus far. Constructive criticism is welcome and greatly appreciated!
God bless, iheartgod175