21.

~ The paper was a wash of arrests and pictures of the DEA swarming the bank.

Norma read and re-read the article with large, frightened eyes.

God, wasn't Alex ever scared? Didn't he worry these horrible people might come after him? After her now? No wonder he made her leave town with no explanation. Dylan practically kidnapping her taking; her to Seattle until this blew over.

A noise made her jump and she saw it was just her husband coming down for breakfast. He'd finally made it to Seattle after almost a week of slim communication. Turning up like a meandering tom cat late last night. Dylan had waited up for him and let him into the house with hushed whispers not to wake anyone and that Norma was sleeping in the guest room.

Alex had whispered his thanks and took a shower before joining Norma in bed. His body feeling good curling beside hers again after so many days away. It was that lovely connection of skin on skin and she felt a rush of hormonal happiness that made her want to start crying.

But he'd only kissed the back of her neck, told her he'd missed her, and was soon snoring. His steady breathing had been soothing and she'd fallen asleep herself soon after. Her dreams untroubled for the first time in weeks.

"You haven't shaved." she accused him harshly when she saw the unruly facial hair that had grown handsomely over his face. She hadn't noticed how, with a beard, he had noticeable gray hair coming in. On men, graying hair always looked more distinguished and Alex was no exception. His facial hair made him look transformed and thankfully didn't grow in odd patches. However, if he didn't keep it trimmed, he ran the risk of looking too much like a rouge pirate. Perhaps thats why he was always clean shaven.

She decided the beard, although just a few days old, wasn't terrible. In fact it looked nice and rugged, but it wasn't her husband, and had to go.

"I haven't." Alex said sleepily rubbing his hand over his head. His normal hair was also too scruffy and he needed a haircut. "Been a little busy."

"I see you've been busy." she accused holding up the paper with the bold headline 'DEA raids small town bank'. Even in Seattle, the raid had made the papers.

Alex barley glanced at it and helped himself to some coffee. The home Dylan and Emma shared with Will was very modern. A contemporary design that suited the young couple very well, but made Alex and Norma feel out of place after living so long in the large Queen Anne house.

Even the light was different here. Dylan having gotten a good deal on a rental home with a beautiful view of a valley where he could entertain clients and have work parties. It was the kind of home built for young, hipster professionals and was made for a certain lifestyle that Alex and Norma just didn't lead. The mini wine fridge was the biggest give away. Along with the outdoor hot tub on the deck and sunken living room.

Norma had accused her son of dealing drugs again when she first saw this house with it's shiny new appliances and modern, trendy furniture from Denmark. He told her that it was a company house and they were renting it to him till he could find something more suitable.

Norma missed her own house with it's antiques, her garden, trees, kitchen and smells of familiar things. She wasn't built for a life like this. Just a few days in Seattle was eye opening and exhausting. There was too much to see and do and Emma had already wanted her to take art classes with her and do some kind of special pizza making workshop downtown that sounded very strange.

It was a far cry from the quite life she'd had in White Pine Bay.

"You didn't tell me you were doing this. With the DEA." Norma said. "Why not?"

"I didn't want you to worry." Alex told her. A hand running over his new beard and she wondered if she would have married him quicker if he'd always had it. She probably would have. If given the chance to marry him again, she would have only done it sooner.

Norma rolled her eyes. That beard had to go.

"The article said that Rebecca Hamilton is missing." she said.

"She'll turn up. At an airport or something. She's no master criminal." Alex told her and started making toast.

"Said she's a person of interest in the disappearance of Bob Paris." Norma sighed.

"Funny how when you run you look guilty." Alex said sourly and turned to her. His jaw was set, his face stony and he was all Sheriff Romero now. "I want you to stay here with Dylan and Emma for a few weeks. It will be less stressful for you."

"What?" she huffed. "What do you mean? Why?"

"Everything that's happening right now, you know how crazy that town can be, Norma. I don't want you near it." he said.

"No, I'm not going to leave you. Leave my home. What about Norman?" she said in a voice that even to her sounded petulant.

"Norman is fine and when things settle down again, you can come back home." he said.

"No!" Norma told him hotly. "I'm not going anywhere."

She folded up the paper and stood. She could feel a wave of nausea finally hitting her and she needed to be alone.

~ "What does that mean?" Dylan asked worriedly.

Alex scratched his head and looked away from his step-son. It was a difficult conversation and he'd always associated his identity with his work. Being a Sheriff was who he was. He'd spent more than 20 years in law enforcement and it was hard to think of it as being over.

"It means…" he said slowly. "I'm taking the early retirement the county offered."

He tried to look at his step-son but he had his mother's eyes and it was too hard.
"I'll still have my pension and my insurance options. Which is a very good deal. I couldn't have asked for better if you want to know the truth. My lawyer says things could have gone a lot worse." Alex said, but it was like he was saying it to himself.

"Yeah. A lot worse. Like you could have gone to prison." Dylan reminded him harshly.

Alex nodded. Truthfully, the county had wanted to fire him with complete loss of pension and benefits but his high priced lawyer had casually threatened a lawsuit and, with claws now out, reminded them how he'd successfully won such cases in bigger counties than White Pine Bay. That he would sue for millions and it would no doubt become news worthy. All anyone would remember about White Pine Bay was its' drug problem and how the county fired its' Sheriff for bringing the DEA in.

Alex had held his breath at the ease of his lawyer's spitefulness. His lawyer had wanted to sue, putting ideas of potential millions into Alex's head. But the former Sheriff wanted it to be done with everything.

He didn't want any investigation. He didn't want news cameras or anyone questioning his election in the first place. It felt like a weight had been lifted off his back and he felt very free.

He never had to worry about White Pine Bay again. Sure he was retiring a decade early but he'd been shot on the job and involved in major turmoil in the town. He wouldn't be at all surprised if the county restructured their entire law enforcement department. Especially after what happened with Shelby.

Still, he hadn't told Norma yet. He didn't want to worry her and nothing worried a woman who was going to have a baby, than a husband who didn't have a job.

Alex needed a job. Needed that fulfillment. A purpose.

As if reading his mind, Dylan said.
"You know, Em and I were at a friend's apartment in the city. It's downtown. Really nice. It used to be a big hotel but they turned it into apartments with a gym and swimming pool on the ground floor."

"I thought you liked this house." Alex nodded. "It's nice here."

"We do." Dylan said quickly. "We were just looking because it's close to work. Anyway, it was too expensive but they were looking to replace their head of security and manager for the building. The owner is running things now and he's desperate. Has trust issues. Wants people with experience but all he can really offer is a nice apartment with utilities paid and some money. People turn him down because it's a full time job being security for a place like that. The people who live there always want to see someone behind the desk."

Alex nodded. He never thought a position like that would appeal to him, but Norma had been in the motel business for two years. Why couldn't she make an effective apartment manager? He knew she wasn't afraid to tell people off.

"If you decided to stay in Seattle." Dylan added.

"Your mother's business is in White Pine Bay."

"Her failing business." Dylan reminded him.

Alex had to agree to that.

"It was just a thought." Dylan said. "It doesn't have to be forever. Norman is still being looked after. Maybe a change of scenery will do you good."

~ The apartment building was impressive. It reminded Alex of the skyscrapers he'd seen in New York while in the Marines. It looked very gothic and was huge. Seeming to stretch on forever in the trendy downtown district.

Inside the main lobby, a harassed man was trying to answer phone and talk down an irate woman who was complaining about hearing things in the walls of her apartment.

"I've called an exterminator to come, Mrs. White." the man was saying seemingly close to tears. "You wouldn't let him into the apartment."
"You had some no name exterminator come to my door without notifying me in writing about it. You were not there to let him in either. He could have been a rapist." the older woman barked. "What is so hard about calling a licensed exterminator? Phil always called the proper people who took their shoes off when they came in. Also, last night, Henry came into the lobby and the front doors were unlocked and no one was at the desk. ANYONE could have strolled in."

The winded man was apologizing and Alex almost backed away. He wasn't sure this was for him.

The woman huffed and marched away. A look of disgust was on her face. The winded man, who was obviously the buildings owner since he appeared clueless, looked at Alex as if he were his savior.

"Please tell me your Alex Romero." he said wearily.

~"Pay is 30k a year for you and your wife combined. I know its' low but I include free habitation of our best ground floor unit, pool and gym access." Mr. Warren said hustling Alex past a maze of offices and store rooms.
"When this place was a hotel, they had a large kitchen, now it's a cafe and catering company so you'll always have people around the lobby during business hours. Especially if there's something going on downtown. Concerts or whatever." Mr. Warren waved his hand in annoyance.

They passed by what was the hotel's kitchen and Alex peered into a busy cafe and coffee shop that was attached to the building.
"Will all this be apart of my job?" Alex asked looking over the various species of hipsters in their natural habitat.

"Oh no." Warren said thankfully. "I rent the kitchen and dining rooms out to them. They take care of themselves. But they always make a nice lunch for us when we call early enough. They do big business here."

Finally they arrived down a lonely looking hall where all the noise from the kitchen seemed to have died off.
"I'll show you the security room later, it's just off the lobby in fact. I wanted you to see the apartment before we go any farther." Warren said stepping in and waving at Alex to follow.

There was nothing at all to fear from a man like Mr. Warren. He was probably Alex's age, but was plump and losing his hair. A bad choice in glasses made him look even older. Added to that, he seemed to want to dress in very ill fitting clothes.

The apartment was much nicer than Alex expected. He hadn't planned on committing to anything and would use the excuse of a crappy apartment to reject this position.

But the appliances were new, the counters were granite and the lighting all appeared redone. There was even hardwood floor in every room except the bathroom. Which, even though there was only one, was big and clean looking.

When Warren closed the door and finished turning on the lights, Alex asked about the furniture neatly arranged in the living room and bedrooms.

"Oh, don't get me started." Warren huffed. "My daughter wanted to be an interior designer last year. Didn't make it in design school but my wife felt she didn't need to. Oh no, all she needed was my bank account and furniture."

He waved his hands at the blue velvet sofa and matching side chairs. None of them looked used at all.

"She used this apartment as her staging area and took pictures. Then became interested in photography. GOD help us all. Now she wants to travel to India and write the next 'Eat, Pray, Love'. I don't know. She wanted to be the manager and I said NO." Warren added defiantly. "I need a responsible adult. Which is why I wanted to meet you, Mr. Romero. You took an early retirement after being a Sheriff for over eight years?"

Warrens voice was suddenly effeminate, almost flirty and it surprised Alex that he had a wife. Warren struck him as gay. Or maybe he just used the word wife because he didn't want a stranger to judge him. Warren was certainly not a typical strait man.

"I was shot in the chest last year." Alex said. His lawyer had advised him to only say this. That medical documents would back it up and no one would question why he left White Pine Bay.

Indeed, Warren's hand went to his heart.
"Oh, dear." he said sympathetically. "Your said your wife was the owner of a local motel?"

His voice was wheedling as if they were a dream couple. Too good to be true. A former cop and a former motel owner.

"Yes." Alex said. "Norma doesn't know I'm here. We're just talking about moving to Seattle. Her son lives here now and we'd…"

He didn't want to give away too much. It was hard to explain himself away to Warren with the balding man's sympathetic expression and his 'please come rescue me' eyes.

"I understand perfectly. My ex and I had issues with custody for years. A real bitch I don't mind telling you. My ex not my daughter." Warren said quickly. "You tell your wife that Seattle is the very best place for a young couple like the two of you. SO, there is a second bedroom for her young son when she gets him. Are there anymore children? I just like to know."

Alex blinked. Clearly he misunderstood and maybe it was better that way. He thought Alex was younger, in his late thirties perhaps. It wasn't the first time someone accused him of being younger. Naturally Warren assumed Norma's son was still a child who she was co-parenting with an ex. He was thankful now that Norma had bullied him into shaving off the beard that morning.

"Um…" Alex said carefully. "Not yet." with a smile.

Warren nodded in understanding.
"Well, when you do, you tell Mrs. Romero that there is an excellent private pre-school down the street and Weathers Academy is a block away. Tuition is a bit high, but all the parents here send their little monsters there. Very nice school, I must say." Warren said. "I love the design of the crest. Looks so nice on their little blazers."

Alex had nothing to remark about that. Warren reminded him of some sort of fictional character that was just too kind and honest to be true. No one was this open.

"Now, I want to show you the security room. Please tell me what you'll need to do this job better. I charge so much in rent I have to have the BEST in security." Warren went on waving Alex to follow him. "I've got three young men to help you. They live together in the building to and the one thing I ask is that you be able to respond to any issue at anytime of the day. If you have to leave town, that's fine, but make sure the front desk is always secure. We lock up the doors at night and our tenants appreciate seeing you walk the halls. Makes them feel safer. You and your wife can move in right away. I'll have Deanna take away her stupid furniture."

"I'll have to speak to Norma." Alex said quickly. Was getting a job this easy? He'd never really interviewed for a position except for the Sheriff's department and that had been a long time ago.

"Well, speak to her!" Warren exclaimed as if he was going to have a hissy fit. "I needed you here last week!"

~ Alex found Dylan on the balcony that evening.

"Where's your mother?" the former Sheriff asked sourly.

"Upstairs with Emma." Dylan said relaxing on a deck chair and watching the sunset. "How'd it go?"

"A lot better than I thought it would." Romero admitted. "I… I think it could work. The apartment is… nice. Its' even furnished. Pay is more than I thought to."

Dylan felt a twinge of happiness at the idea of his mother and Romero moving to Seattle. Things weren't like they were in White Pine Bay. She was happier now. Calmer. It might be nice to have her close to him and Emma now that she had found some peace.

"I'll have to convince Norma to sell the motel." Alex sighed. "She's not going to like that."

"We can hire a caretaker." Dylan offered simply. "Someone to look after the house and run the motel. Assure her she won't have to commit to selling it till she's ready."

Alex nodded. Maybe it was a good idea. They could always return home again if it didn't work out.

"I'm glad you and Norma came here." Dylan said. "You two need a fresh start… especially with the baby."

Romero gave him a quick look.

"She told you?" he demanded harshly.

Dylan shook his head.

"No. She's been sick in the mornings and sleeping a lot. Not eating much. Wearing house shoes all day." he explained. "Are you guys not telling people yet?"

"She won't admit it to me." Alex sighed. "I'm not sure why. I keep asking her if there's something she needs to tell me."

"Is it… happy news?" Dylan asked worriedly. He glanced at Romero who's face softened.

"Very happy news." Romero nodded. "It's why I did all this. I just wish we could talk about it."

"Give her time." Dylan said. "When Norman and I were little, I know she had a miscarriage. It was upsetting. Maybe she needs more time."

Romero nodded.

"More time." he repeated. Thankfully, they now had plenty of that now.