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“Alright, let’s go get this done. Are you at least going to tell me what he did?”
“Public indecency.”
“Public indecency?”
“Yeah, with my mother in the backseat of her car parked on a side street.”
“Holy shit.”
“At least you weren’t the one to find them,” Franks said wryly.
“Wow,” Reese tried to scrub the image from her brain. “Is it a dick thing? Does it control you all the same way?”
“I would love to tell you no, but I can’t do that, honey. Come on, let’s go get your Pappy.”
“Did you arrest your mother?”
“No, I sent her home with my sister. My sister is worse than cooling your heels in holding for a few hours.”
“I am not sure which I feel worse for.”
“Me, feel worse for me. I saw my mother riding your grandfather in the back seat of a Buick in broad daylight. Hell, the windows aren’t even tinted.”
Reese’s giggle grew into a full-fledged belly laugh as she followed Franks across the street. Her laughter only grew when he shook his head at her.
“Someday, you are going to be the one to find them. It isn’t going to be so damn funny then,” Franks grumbled as he held open the passenger door for her.
Buckling herself into his truck, Franks drove her to the police station doing his best to ignore her fits of giggles.
Chapter 22
“Back this way,” Franks led Reese away from the room she picked Pappy up from the last time. “Down the steps into the basement.”
Cold cement walls painted in the worst shade of green Reese had ever seen surrounded her. At the bottom of the stairs, the door to the right was closed. To the left, the small cells lined one side of the hallway. A blanket covered a lump in the middle cell. Franks opened the door stepping aside to allow Reese inside.
“Come on, Pappy, time to go home,” Reese said. When the figure didn’t move, she walked over to the small metal cot attached to the wall. “You can sleep it off at home. It is time to-”
Reese was cut off by the sound of the door slamming shut behind her. Running the two steps to the door, she stopped, stunned to see Pappy standing beside Officer Franks on the outside. “What are you doing? Why is Pappy out there with you?”
Franks wore a pained expression, but he didn’t answer Reese. He looked past her, tossing the keys behind her. “Don’t fuck it up this time, or else I will be taking her out to dinner.”
“While she is at dinner with him, you will go missing,” Pappy added.
Without another word, the men walked away. The doors clicked locked behind them as they wound their way out of the basement. When the final door slammed shut, Reese cracked. The stress of the past few weeks was just too much for her to keep bottled up any longer.
“Let me out of here,” Reese screamed, shaking the bars holding her inside the cell.
“They aren’t coming back, Beautiful. I have the keys. When I am done, I will let you out.”
“Cash, you don’t have to do this. I am not mad. Why would I be mad? You found someone you wanted more than me. Good for you. I am happy for you. I am happy for her. There is no reason we cannot be neighbors. Now, will you please let me out? Mav is going to be coming home from school soon,” Reese rambled. “I have things I need to get done. Dinner and cleaning and other stuff to do. I am sure you have things to do.”
“Pappy is going to get the kid,” Cash told her, stepping toward her with his hand reaching for her. “Jesus, neighbors, Reese. Really? Is that all I am to you? Listen, I know I fucked up. All I need is a chance to explain.”
“Explain?” Reese recoiled away from him until her back was pressed against the bars of the cell. “Cash, I am not sure what you want to tell me, but I don’t need the details. I don’t care who she is, and I have no intention of causing problems for you two. It was nice of you to help me when Mav was gone, but we can take care of ourselves now. Thank you, but I need to get home.”
“Is that all you want to say to me? Thank you?”
Cash balled his hands into fists at his sides. He wanted to kiss her, touch her bare skin, and remind her what she was so casually telling him was over. He knew if he felt her skin against his, it would end in less talking and more doing. Their bodies were wired that way—each drawn to the other with a pull more potent than he had ever felt before. Cash managed to keep his feet rooted to the floor. Their happiness depended on making her believe him.
