“Yes.” She gave me an impish grin. “I spent the night there, but I’m going to go home and shower first before going to work.”
“Why didn’t you just shower at his place?”
“I didn’t have any clean clothes to put on.” She shrugged and yawned. “Plus, I need a little catnap.”
“But it’s morning.”
“We didn’t get much sleep last night, if you know what I mean.” She winked, and I burst out laughing at the expression on Jeff’s face.
“How Nolan could be dating you, I have no idea.” He mock-shuddered. “He must have lost his mind.”
“Don’t be jealous.” Jules smiled sweetly at him and then turned back to me. “Oh, Betsy, I forgot to tell you that I have an amazing guy that I want you to go on a date with.”
“What amazing guy?” I said lightly, avoiding Jeff’s gaze. “And why do you want me to go on a date with him?”
“Actually, he wants to go on a date with you. He was asking me about you.”
“He was? Who?” I tried not to sound too excited in front of Jeff. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted Jeff, but one, he had never asked me out; two, I wasn’t sure if he was interested in me at all; three, I wasn’t sure if he was interested in ever getting married, and four, I couldn’t afford to spend my whole life hoping for him to make a move. If someone else was interested, maybe it was time to see what was out there.
“Johnson Campbell,” she said with a small smile and I froze.
My jaw dropped, and I could hear Jeff chuckling. “Are you joking?”
“No, I’m not. He was asking about your situation.”
“Well, there you go, Betsy.” Jeff was grinning as he interrupted the conversation. “You and good old Johnson Campbell will make a cute couple, though I’d have thought he’d have been more into your grandma.”
“Ha ha,” I said, looking incredulously over at Jules. “You are joking, right? Do you really think I’d go on a date with Johnson Campbell? He has no hair, and he wears dentures. I know this because he takes them out sometimes when he’s in here so that they can rest in a glass of water. He has to be at least seventy.”
“He’s a young seventy.” Jules grinned. “He still covers the high school football games.”
“Julia Gilbert, I am not going on a date with a seventy-year-old man. Like, really?”
“Give me some credit, Betsy.” She gave Jeff a wide smile as she continued talking. “I’m not talking about you dating Johnson Campbell.”
“You just said he was asking about my situation.”
“He was, but not for himself. He was asking for his grandson, Nick. Remember Nick Campbell, Jeff?” she continued. “He went to our high school, then went to college, and came back and visited a couple of times back in the day. Well, turns out he might be moving to Canyon Beach.”
“No way. He was the surfer right?”
“Yup, he’s a hot pro surfer.” Jules grinned. “I think Kelly Slater was his mentor or spirit guide or whatever.”
“Spirit guide or whatever?” Jeff raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you a writer, Jules?”
“Aren’t you a cop, Jeff? Shouldn’t you be out there protecting the citizens of Canyon Beach not trying to score free cupcakes because the doughnut shop told you to stop coming around?”
“Jules!” I chided her and then glared at Jeff, who looked like he was about to make a retort. “You guys really are like kids. Anyone would think you were siblings or mortal enemies or something.”
“Mortal enemies sounds about right.” Jules huffed, then gave me an apologetic look. “But I guess we all have our crosses to bear.” I gave her a disapproving look and she sighed. “Any who, guess what I’ve been assigned to work on next?”
“What?” Her last assignment had been an article about online dating, and that had been quite an amusing experience.
“The Canyon Beach Bachelor Auction.” She grinned at me. “I’m to feature three bachelors each week before the auction so that everyone in town can get to know them first before they bid. It’s to get them to bid higher.”
“Who in town doesn’t already know everyone else?” I laughed. That was the beauty and the downside of living in a small town. Everyone knew everyone’s business. Even if you had just moved to town, it didn’t take long for other people to figure out your entire life story.
“It’s Malcolm’s idea.” She shrugged. Malcolm was her boss and the editor-in-chief of the newspaper. “The mayor wants to use the money from the auction this year so that the city of Canyon Beach can open a homeless shelter for all the people that come here during the winter so that they don’t all sleep at the beach.”
“All what people?” I asked curiously. “I’ve never seen any homeless people on the beach.”
“Actually, last year, we ticketed twelve transient people,” Jeff cut into the conversation.
“You gave homeless people tickets?” Jules sounded appalled.
“Well, we didn’t fine them, if that’s what you’re thinking. But we did have to issue them warnings. It goes against city ordinances to sleep at the beach.”
“So, where did they go?” I asked.
“Pastor Desmond at the Episcopalian church took them in,” he explained. “And most of them stayed in his house, so that’s not a real solution to the problem. He spoke to the chief, who spoke to the mayor, and they decided the best thing to do would be to open a shelter that provided housing to any and all homeless people.”
“Oh, wow,” I said.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Jules added. “Anyone can fall on hard times, and a town as rich as ours should really be willing to help.”
“Spoken like a true socialist.” Jeff winked at me, and I shook my head at him. I knew he was trying to rile her up.
“Better a socialist than a tightfisted
