Jeff tried not to look too suspicious as he snuck into the office for that morning. He was hoping he would go unnoticed and that no one would ask any questions, but El was on him in an instant. "Where were you? Was everything okay?" She asked, hands on her hips. She spun around to her desk and opened the drawer. "Mrs. Vander stopped by and dropped off some jam, yesterday." She threw it at him, and Jeff nearly dropped it.
El crossed her arms over her chest and waited for her answers. No one else had shown up for the morning yet, but he was sure Jill with dispatch would be there soon enough. "It was just some family drama."
"Is everything okay? Did something happen to someone?" El asked, looking worried. She hadn't ever worked with Jeff's father, but of course she knew of him as the other Sheriff Rolland.
Jeff waved it off. "Everyone is fine. Don't worry about it." He just had to figure out what his life was going to be like as soon as the larger part of the custody trial was over. They were supposed to have another court hearing soon, and if they were lucky, it would be one that awarded custody to Micah. It just depended on what Elizabeth thought of Micah, and Jeff was only lucky she hadn't shown up in the last few days.
He was sure she was somewhere else, lurking and invading their privacy.
He hoped she didn't think to talk to his dad.
Jeff pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm going to my office. I have paperwork to catch up on, let me know if anyone needs anything."
He closed the door and sunk into his chair. If he needed to move into an apartment, he wanted to make sure he had one lined up. He knew where not to live, and no offense to Micah, but they got enough calls out to his apartment building with the rest of the tenants there.
He wasn't sure if Mrs. Vander would be able or willing to help. He realized, no matter how close he was with her, she still didn't know about him either. His dad knew now, what would the difference be? He tried to make it seem like it would be that easy, but he wasn't sure.
His dad, he had expected. He had known that was coming; but with Mrs. Vander, he wasn't sure how she would act. They never talked about those kinds of things—just food, and pie. Maybe Sasha could help figure out what she thought. If Jeff's dad was going to know and hate him for it, Jeff could only hope Mrs. Vander would still be there in the end.
Jeff spent much of his morning on paperwork, only taking an occasional break to stretch his legs by walking out to get coffee. Most of it was signing off on the handful of arrests, mostly minor stuff. He almost wasn't surprised to see Abram's lawyer, Annie, grace their office late in the morning.
Jeff weighed his options in hiding, but it was too late, and she knew he was there. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and strode into his office. "Mr. Christov would like to make an offer."
"I'm not the one filing for custody," Jeff said, not that he wanted to send her Micah's way.
"You're speaking to Micah's ability to raise a child, despite his record. Do you really think that's a good idea? His record is for assault."
"Micah doesn't do those kinds of things anymore. He's attending anger management as part of his attempt for custody." Jeff rubbed his temples, already feeling his temper getting short. She should know all of this already.
"Is that not the same thing that Abram is willing to do?"
"Micah would never hurt Sasha. Abram has already, and he'd do it again. It's different," Jeff explained. He still never understood how people could act in the defense of those like Abram, or even worse. How did she sleep at night? Probably in a very nice house.

YOU ARE READING
Our Little Nowhere [mxm]
RomanceMicah has not had an easy life. Being raised by adoptive parents and having a criminal record are bad enough in a small town that talks, but Sheriff Jeff Rolland also keeps a close eye on him. As Micah's life gets complicated in a custody battle, it...