Can't Get Next to You

Women were baffling to Leland, when he was in love he was head over heels yet it seemed to scare the woman he was dating away. When he wasn’t interested they seemed to cling to him like leeches. Maybe he was too eager or just desperate to get married again. He wasn’t sure why but he felt the need to be married, at thirty eight years old it was time to settle down but instead he decided he was giving up. A failed marriage and two broken engagements were enough to make him never want to date again.

He chose to concentrate on his career instead, working hard to become the greatest Bounty Hunter in the world. People often thought of his dad when they thought of bounty hunting but he was going to change that, he wanted his name to come to mind. In doing so he had somehow alienated himself from most of his family, including his oldest son, Dakota.

Sutton was an average looking woman he had hired as an assistant to work in his Kona office. She was as tall as Leland with dark hair and dark eyes, as were most girls on the island but Leland suspected she wasn’t a native. What really drew him in was her sense of humor and work ethic. Sutton never minded the long hours they put in or the amount of work he put on her, the only time she complained was when she ran out of her favorite drink, Dr. Pepper. He always tried to keep the office refrigerator stocked for her for that very reason. The pair enjoyed working together, they always got along well and seemed to mesh from the moment they met.

Leland turned around in his office chair, a thought striking him, “Why did your parents name you Sutton?” he asks.

She laughs and rolls her eyes, “It was my grandfather’s name and my parents were convinced that I was going to be a boy so they didn’t bother having an ultrasound to find out for sure. So… yeah, they were surprised!”

“Well at least there’s a story to go with your name.” he says laughing with her.

“Sutton Grace Johnson- try growing up with that name. And the only reason they added Grace was because they thought I might be made fun of if they named me Sutton James Johnson!”

“I always thought my name sounded like a seventy year old man.” he replies.

Sutton let’s out a small snort, “I like your name. It’s one you don’t hear too often these days- Bail bonds, this is Sutton.” she says, picking up her ringing phone, momentarily interrupting their conversation.

“Okay…” she says, listening to the caller. “Hang on just a minute and I will get him.”

Leland was curious who might be on the line because she normally fielded phone calls for him.

“It’s Duane.” she tells him, eyebrow raised.

“My dad?” he asks confused.

“Your brother.”

He motions for her to transfer the call to his phone and answers, “Hey bro, long time.”

Sutton listened to their interaction, she knew it was strange for Duane Lee to be calling the office. The last she had heard the two brothers had very little contact with one another since the cancellation of the show. She knew that something had to have happened for Duane to be calling after all this time.

“Sure, yeah man, I look forward to it.” Leland says hanging up the phone.

“What was that all about?” she asks from across the office, being nosy.

“My brother wants to move back to Hawaii.” he says surprised at the news. “And he wants to come back and work for me.”

“Oh.” was all she could say, wondering what that might mean for her and her position within Leland’s office.

A few days later Sutton and Leland rode together to pick up Duane Lee at the airport. Sutton was nervous to say the least, she always hated meeting new people although she was friendly and outgoing while working she always questioned people’s motives.

They found a seat not too far from the baggage claim.“So, tell me about your brother.” she says, looking over at Leland. She didn’t know much about him other than the fact that they were brothers that use to work together and they were on TV, but TV could be misleading.

He crosses his arms, thinking for a moment, “Um… he’s a good guy. Pretty funny, likes to joke around a lot but he knows when to be serious. He’s a great bondsman… a decent bounty hunter. Not as good as me but he’ll do.” he tells her with a wink.

“You’re so modest.” she says with an eye roll.

This was going to be interesting having the two of them in the office together, she thought to herself. She stands up after seeing Leland do the same, a tall, broad shouldered, brown headed man with a beard walks toward them. She recognized him as she got closer as Duane Lee, the long lost brother.

Sutton smiled as the brothers hugged and for a moment it made her think of her own brother. They too were estranged but for a totally different reason.

“And who is this beautiful woman? Your new girlfriend?” Duane asks, elbowing his brother in the side.

Sutton blushes, he was charming she thought to herself as she reaches to shake his outstretched hand. “I’m Sutton. Sutton Johnson, his assistant not his girlfriend!” she replies to his questioning.

“Very nice to meet you Sutton. I’m this turd’s brother.” he says, throwing an arm around Leland and laughing.

“He is definitely a turd” she says laughing with him at Leland’s expense.

“Okay, okay… let’s get back to the office we have a lot of work to do.” Leland says, pushing his brother toward the exit.

The first few days back were pretty uneventful the two brothers spent the majority of the time catching up with one another and making jokes. They went on a few hunts together and seemed to be getting along, you’d never know they hadn’t seen each other in years.