Sunshine Valley

Cassandra Morgan

     After their company left, Dillon and Evie went in the house. Dillon sank into the couch. 

     “Your head hurtin’?” 

     Evie sat down beside of him. She sat down with her back against the couch arm, draping her legs across his lap. He trailed his finger tips over her smooth thighs. “A little.” He finally answered. 

 

     “I’m being really really nosy here, why does Cassandra hate you?”

     He thought about how he was going to answer this. No matter what he said, it wasn’t gonna put him in a good light. 

     “Too close to the vest?” Evie smiled.

     He focused on his fingers as they glided over her skin. “I was young, stupid and it was a mistake.” He paused, “before I became sheriff and she became Sunshine Sue, we dated on and off for a while. It didn’t end well. It was heated and got ugly in a hurry.” He gave a nervous smile. “Not my finest moment in life. She’s married now. They have a family but she still hates me.” Evie kept quiet. “Lookin’ back on it. I used her. I knew she had a crush on me in high school. Not my finest moment.”

     “But you see that now. Is there anyway past it?” He didn’t speak. “If she’s married,” Evie paused. “If the internet is her livelihood, maybe the animosity is there for show?” Dillon stared at her in disbelief. “At this stage in life, to bolster ratings?”

     “I never thought about it like that. Still don’t want to take the chance that those feelin’s are still strong.”

     “What are you praying to charge this person with?”

     “Right now all we can do is filing a false report. Once the name can be revealed, I want either the state or the county, maybe both to sue to cover the cost of the investigation. It shouldn’t be the taxpayers responsibility to pay for another’s arrogance.”