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“According to my contact,” Franks waved his phone at them. “Reed Carter is in custody. There is still an active hunt for your father, Mitchell Craft. The FBI is on their way to have a nice chat with Mr. Woodson at the school. Since he lied about Mav being in school and somehow the camera was not working yesterday morning, the man has a lot of explaining to do.”
“That fucker needs to go,” Cash growled.
“And he will. They already know he was dumb enough to deposit the contents of the envelope in his bank shortly after Mr. Carter took Mav. Twenty thousand dollars is enough to get him a visit to the interrogation room. It isn’t going to take much pressure to get him to spill everything he knows. Mr. Woodson isn’t going to be presiding over anyone’s kids again any time soon.”
“Do you need to go?” Reese asked.
“Aw honey, you trying to get rid of me?” Franks drawled.
Cash muttered something Reese didn’t ask him to repeat. “Nope, you are more than welcome to stay as long as you like.”
“That’s good. The feds are taking the lead on rounding up Mr. Craft and Mr. Woodson. My guys are going to be sticking close until they find them.”
“I am so glad to be home,” Mav sighed, wrapping his mother in another rib-cracking hug.
Reese relished the contact. Her boy was safe at home.
“Mom?”
“Yeah, baby.”
“Do we have anything to eat?”
The first laugh in days filtered through Reese’s soul. “You can have whatever you want.”
“Fridge is full, Kid.”
“Any chance you want to make mac and cheese?”
“Yes, baby, I will make you mac and cheese. It is going to take a while. Go upstairs and get in the shower. I will get started.”
Reese was never so happy to hear his heavy steps thundering up the stairs as she was at that moment. The terror that threatened to drown her was ebbing away. It left behind a lightness she would never take for granted.
Walking into her kitchen, Reese found her counter was littered with the remnants of the day’s mess. All the people that were in her house left their mess behind. Coffee cups from this morning, plates, containers of take-out, and baked goods from the community littered every available surface. Setting a pot of water on to boil, Reese got to work putting her kitchen back to rights.
“Want some help?” Cash asked from the doorway.
Reese gestured to the growing mound of trash by the door. “You can take that out back if you want.”
Cash tugged on the bag, happy to be doing her bidding. He whistled as he disappeared out the back door. The weight that settled on him when he found out Mav was gone had lifted. All he had to do was square things with Reese, and the world would be back on track. His track included the woman inside belonging to him and everyone knowing it.
Reese watched him walk out to the garage. She knew he would want to talk, but she wasn’t ready to think about that yet. All she wanted was to soak up the relief. The crushing uncertainty was gone. Mav was home. The rest would work itself out.
Reese filled the sink with hot soapy water, dropping in cup after cup until the sink was full. Wiping down the counters and the table, she combined the baked goods and gathered more dishes. Reese returned to the sink with enough to fill it again. Before she could start washing, a movement outside the window caught her eye.
Reese twisted the dishrag in her hands until the threads started to pop. The woman was back again. Standing in her driveway talking to Cash was the same short brunette she had seen twice before.
“How many more times do you need to see this before you give him the boot for good?” She asked herself.
Reese sprinkled the pasta in the water and gave it a good stir. She knew what needed to be done. Reese crossed the kitchen casually. She walked directly to the front door and flipped the lock. She found Franks and Pappy were glued to the window watching the scene in her driveway from the living room. For as much as Franks claimed her Pappy was a pain in his ass, both men stood awfully close to get their heads crammed into the window to watch Cash break her heart.
Reese butted between them in time to see Cash hugging her. Reese’s heart lurched. Cash was standing out there in front of god and everyone hugging another woman in her driveway. After all the things he said to her. It wasn’t what she thought. She was his world. He loved her. Everything that came out of his mouth was a lie. All bullshit. Reese was stupid enough to want to believe.
Reese tugged the blinds down and checked the already locked front door. Both men glued to the window snapped to attention. Pappy lowered the blind before coming toward her.
“Nope,” Reese waved her hand out, stopping him. “Not now. There will be plenty of time for that later. Mav is home. We are going to celebrate. However, if one of you opens that door for him, I swear on all that is holy, you will wish you hadn’t.”
Franks and Pappy looked at each other. As casually as they could manage, each man took a seat in the living room. Nope, they were nothing alike.
