“So she’s only working on Cheyenne’s place? Does that mean it’s under way?” Sawyer asked Jessie.
“As much as it can be. Cheyenne’s insisting that she be there and last I heard, by the end of the month, she’s gonna be in town for a while. Until then, I’ve forwarded all the calls to my cell phone and Kylie checks in a few times a day.”
“What’s ‘a while’?” Sawyer questioned.
“Huh?” Jessie turned confused blue eyes on him.
“You said Cheyenne’s gonna be in town for a while. What does that mean?” His thoughts immediately drifted to Brendon. Sawyer knew his brother was hung up on the country music star and he hoped that her presence in town turned Brendon’s mood around for the better. Versus the alternative.
“Kylie said for sure six months, possibly a couple of months longer. This’ll be her permanent home, but she’ll still perform and be on the road.”
“That’s definitely a while.”
“That’s what I said. She wants to stay until the house is finished. I think that’s why Kylie’s holding off for now. She’s waiting for Cheyenne to get here.”
Sawyer could picture that. Kylie was all about her restoration business. She took it very seriously, especially since she’d taken on the project of restoring Cheyenne Montgomery’s house—which happened to be the house that Kennedy grew up in. Apparently, from what he’d heard, Jeff had wanted to downsize to reduce the upkeep.
“I told you, Tim, I’m not interested.”
Sawyer’s head snapped up when he heard Kennedy’s voice. She sounded irritated.
Jessie leaned forward and whispered, “That’s Tim Colson.”
“The deputy?” Sawyer forced his gaze down to Jessie’s, trying not to reflect on the way he felt about Kennedy’s ex-boyfriend visiting her at work.
“Yeah. He showed up a little while ago asking to talk to Kennedy in private.”
“What does he want?” Sawyer’s curiosity was getting the best of him and his emotions were showing.
“No idea,” she told him. “From what I gathered, he took her home the other night and he’s tryin’ to get her to go out with him.”
A red haze clouded Sawyer’s vision as he looked back up. He couldn’t see Kennedy or Tim, but he could hear them talking in hushed tones.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I have to get back to my patient,” Kennedy stated and a second later, Tim came from the hallway that led to the break room where Sawyer’d had lunch with Kennedy on Saturday.
Sawyer looked directly at him, noticing the frown on Tim’s face, but the deputy didn’t say anything as he passed.
“Have a good day,” Jessie said cheerfully.
Sawyer turned to watch Tim leave, noticing the way the other man glared back at him over his shoulder. Clearly he wasn’t happy with the conversation he’d had with Kennedy. Nor did he seem keen on the idea that Sawyer was there. Which made Sawyer feel only a little better.
Without saying a word, Sawyer watched Tim climb into his sheriff’s cruiser. He sat in the parking lot for a few minutes, but then headed out slowly.
“It’s all good, Mr. Sampson.”
Sawyer looked over his shoulder to see Kennedy coming out of one of the exam rooms, her hand on old man Sampson’s arm.
“Just keep the coins put up and you shouldn’t have any more issues.”
“So I’ll get them back?” Mr. Sampson asked, sounding incredibly hopeful.
“Yes, sir,” Kennedy told him with a smile. “But, unfortunately, it’s not gonna be fun to find them. The X-rays are good—the coins, thankfully, are small, so I’m not worried. If she’d ingested larger ones, I’d have to do something. As for now there’s only one way they’ll come out.”
Sawyer glanced down at Jessie, who was trying not to laugh at the same time she scrunched up her nose. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know what had happened, which was why he decided not to ask.
Once Mr. Sampson approached the counter, Sawyer greeted him kindly and then made his way over to Kennedy, who had retreated quickly back the way she’d come.
She was slipping into one of the exam rooms when he caught up to her, stepping in behind her and closing the door. He knew she had seen him, which meant she was avoiding him.
“Hey,” he greeted, leaning against the door.
“Hey,” Kennedy replied, not turning to look at him.
“What’s up?” he asked, suddenly concerned.
“Not much. Just workin’. What’s up with you?”