Chapter 2 - Jonathan

“Father, catch!”

I make a wild dive, over-exaggerating everything to humor my son. He throws the football, which only makes it a few feet before hitting the ground. I slide on the grass, making Edward laugh.

“I won! I won!” Edward chants, jumping up and down.

“Ouch!” Declan shouts from the patio. “Did you break something, old man?”

With a dramatic roll on the grass that makes Edward laugh, even more, I grab the football, pop up, and throw it at my younger brother. He’s holding a beer in one hand and lazily reaches out with the other to catch it and misses. Luckily our sister, Maggie, is standing next to him and catches it before it crashes into the house.

“Seriously, guys?” She laughs and tosses the ball to Edward. Shaking her head, she goes back to her fiancé, who’s holding their sleeping baby. Emma looks so small in Tommy’s arms, reminding me of when Edward was that little.

They really grow up so fast.

“Try to catch me!” Edward shouts and takes off through the yard. I don’t know where this kid gets his energy from.

“How about Uncle Morgan come and chase you around?” I ask loudly so both Edward and Morgan hear. Edward loves the idea and runs over to Morgan, grabbing his hand and pulling him off the bench. Phil steps out of the house, carrying two more beers. He hands one to me and cracks the top back on the other, and we both find a place to sit on the patio with the rest of our siblings.

“How’s wedding planning?” I ask Maggie, watching my sister-in-law, Kara, out of the corner of my eye. She’s still harboring resentment toward Maggie for going into labor on her wedding day and has said more than once she doesn’t see the point of Maggie and Tommy having a big wedding when they already have a kid.

It’s made for some awkward get-togethers, but hey…at least I’m not the only one with a wife not everyone in the family is crazy about. Though other than the stupid wedding drama, no one has an issue with Kara. She’s been good for Morgan in a sense as well.

“Good. Disney makes things easy.” Maggie smiles and rests her hand on top of Tommy’s. “I ran into Mr. Pickens today,” she begins. “And he thinks you should up your game. We all know you’ll win if we give this one-hundred percent.”

I shrug off her words and take a sip of beer, turning and watching Edward run around the yard with Morgan. All four of my mother’s dogs are following, barking and tipping, and thinking Edward is running around solely for them.

“I couldn’t even if I wanted to,” I say.

“So you do want to?” Phil asks.

“I guess.” I haven’t wanted to admit to myself that yes, I’d fucking love to be Sheriff of our little county. I’ve been an Eastwood cop for years, and I always planned on moving up in the ranks. I officially threw my hat in the ring and am currently running for sheriff of our little county, but as we get closer and closer to the election, I’m feeling more and more inclined to drop out. It’s weird to get close to a long-time goal like this and want nothing more than to pull out. To stop trying before you fail, or worse, you win, and the results aren’t what you expected.

And I did expect this. Well, maybe not being sheriff, but is more than a run-of-the-mill cop in this small town. But then Rebecca up and left when Edward was just a baby, putting a screeching halt on all our plans. Edward is—and always will be—my first priority. He comes before anyone else, even if that means passing up on what I used to call my dreams.

My dreams have changed, and all I want in life is to see him grow up, happy and healthy. “Having a brother as a cop around here has gotten me out of a few jams,” Declan begins. “Having a brother who’s the Sheriff…now that could come in very handy.” Maggie laughs. “Maybe you should just stay out of trouble.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Declan counters and finishes his beer. Out of the five of us, Declan has the biggest sense of adventure. Which is a nice way of saying he has a lot of growing up left to do.

“You’d be great at it,” Maggie goes on, being the voice of reason. “I know the crime rates around here aren’t staggering or anything, but being in a position of political power—no matter how small— can have a big impact on the community.”

Watching Edward throw the football as hard as he can, I think back to when he was a newborn and I sat in the hospital room, talking to him as Rebecca slept. I promised him the world, and so far, I’ve done a damn good job giving him everything he needs. But I’d love to be able to give him more.

“He’d be proud of you,” Maggie says softly, knowing exactly what to say to get under my skin, not that she does it to upset me. Like our mother, Maggie is freakishly perceptive when it comes to her family.

“I know,” I agree. “But…think about it…if I were the Sheriff, I’d be responsible for the whole county, not just Eastwood. It’s hard enough now trying to figure out who can watch Edward when I’m at work.”

“You know I’m happy to help,” Mother says, listening to our conversation from inside the house. “Edward is a great little helper when I’m at the office.”

“Thanks, Mother. But what if I’m called out in the middle of the night, or can’t make it to pick him up from school and you’re out on location for a job?” I look at Tommy. “You get what it’s like being on call.”

Tommy, who’s a surgeon at a nearby hospital, nods. “I couldn’t just leave either. But Maggie is there to watch Emma,” he adds almost guiltily.

“You need a hot nanny,” Phil and Declan say at the same time. They’re identical twins and do that quite often.

“It’s not a bad idea,” Tommy says, earning a quizzical look from Maggie. “She doesn’t have to be hot, but I mean, that won’t hurt.”

Maggie rolls her eyes. “I used to work with several people who had live-in nannies. That way they’re always there, which would solve the issue of being called out to a crime or whatever.”

“A live-in nanny?” I ask dubiously.

“We talked about this,” Maggie reminds me. And we did, several months ago. The only way for me to be the Sheriff around here requires having someone at home to watch Edward, and while I agreed to it back then, I’m having second thoughts. “It sounds more pretentious than it is.” She tips her head toward Tommy. “You know we’re willing and ready to contribute to our town by enabling you to be our Sheriff. Just say the word and we can move forward.”

I take a long drink of my beer, not answering, but not saying either.

If Edward weren’t here cuddled up with me, I’d remind Maggie—again—that I’m technically still married. I haven’t seen Rebecca in years, which means she hasn’t signed any divorce papers. I know I could push the issue, file something with the courts, and could be a single man in a few months. But what’s the point?

Rebecca was my high school sweetheart. Yeah, we broke up and got back together several times over the years, and I know my deployment was hard on her, but if over a decade of dating wasn’t enough to see we weren’t right for each other, then nothing is. I’m done dating. Done with women.

I’ve gone back and forth on my feelings for Rebecca since she left that morning. She put us all through the wringer, worrying about her physical and mental well-being. I scoured the county for her, leaving our newborn with my parents while I drove around in a panic looking for her.

And then I found out she was partying in Chicago with a group of friends she met online in some sort of chat room.

She told me she didn’t want to be tied down. Being a mother wasn’t her thing. She spent years living on a military base, away from friends and her family, and felt like she deserved time to herself. She even thought I should give her credit for not cheating on me while I was overseas.

“All I’m saying is having a good-looking woman around might not be a bad thing.” Maggie readjusts Emma, who’s done nursing now and is pulling on Maggie’s hair, and closes her computer.

“I second that,” Phil says, coming into the living room. His eyes meet mine and he gives me a tiny nod, knowing how much I can’t fucking stand it when Mother and Maggie get on me about dating again. He sits next to Maggie and takes Emma from her arms, holding her up and making a silly face. “And while you’re feeling generous, Maggie, how about hiring a maid for me?”

“I think most of them prefer to be called house-cleaners now, and no. Declan’s capable of cleaning.”

Hearing his name, Declan rounds the corner. “Are you insinuating that I’m the messy one?”

“We all know you are, Uncle Declan,” Edward quips and makes us all laugh. He pushes himself up and wiggles his way in between Phil and Maggie, cooing and talking like a baby to Emma.

Admitting I need help has never come easy for me, but I know deep down that this might be exactly what we need.

I turn towards Maggie. "So, WHO IS ON YOUR MIND?"