Vanity & Humility (Available now on Amazon)

Chapter 3

"Ethan, my boy," Jeffery Eldon greeted him loudly, reaching out for Ethan's offered hand and shaking it vigorously. "I'm so happy to see you again."

He smiled at the old man. "You too, sir. I hope you've been keeping well?"

Jeffery nodded. "As well as can be expected. You need to come to the station and see the changes I've made."

"I'll try to make the time, but I fear my work has been keeping me very busy of late."

"Rescuing disobedient daughters and such?" Jeffery asked joyfully. "From what my son tells me, I owe you yet another debt of gratitude for ensuring Cady was returned safely to me."

Ethan waved his hand in the air, his stomach knotting slightly as he listened to the praise he was being given. "The young lady needed some relief from this infernal heat. All I did was escort her back to the garden."

The old man chuckled. "Always so humble. A bit like your reaction when the mayor tried to award you with a medal for your services for catching those cattle thieves."

"That was you?" Cady asked. "The papers said you took on an entire gang of rustlers all on your own. They claim you managed to take them all into custody even with a bullet in your shoulder."

Ethan shook his head. "I assure you the papers exaggerate greatly. Events were nowhere nearly so grand. I was just in the right place at the right time to catch some criminals. That's all there was to it."

"Bullshit." Jeffery laughed. "When you came up to the house, you were beaten and bloodied. You'd lost so much blood, I was certain you were going to die."

Ethan waved his hand in the air, dismissing the old man's words. "It obviously looked worse than it actually was, sir. Given that you haven't called for my services since that day, I assume there's been no more trouble on your station."

The old man shook his head. "Everything's as safe as a bug in a rug out there."

"Good to hear." His hand going to Jeffery's shoulder, he squeezed it. "I'm just glad you're safe. Should you need anything in the future though, don't hesitate to contact me."

"Why didn't you tell me what you did for my father?" Cady asked.

Ethan shrugged, his hand falling from the old man's shoulder. "It didn't seem important. Besides, I didn't do anything any other person wouldn't have done in my position."

Her hand went to his arm, grasping it. "You could have died though."

He gazed down into her dark brown eyes, which looked distraught. "What's important is I stopped those men from stealing your father's livelihood. The rest is just fodder for the gossips."

Cady let go of his arm. "I think what you did was very brave."

He was uneasy what with all the praise he was being given and the fuss being made around him doing little more than his duty. "I must go speak to my father before I return to the station. It was good to see you again, Jeffery. You too, Lewis." His stare turned to Cady. Reaching for her hand, he lifted it to his lips and kissed the soft skin on the back of it. "As for you, Cady, I truly hope we meet again soon." He let go of her hand and retreated into the crowd of gatherers.

Never had he needed to escape as urgently as he did listening to his police duties being embellished in front of Cady. Jeffery had made him sound like some kind of hero, something Ethan was painfully aware he wasn't. Glancing back over his shoulder toward where the Eldons still stood, Cady's gaze following him, he felt like a fool. What must she think of him now that she knew of the risks involved with his job? She mightn't want to see him again, certainly not swim with him as she had done this evening.