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“I thought Derek would already be long gone.” I worry my lip.
“No such luck.” Fisher stands and stares at me, hands on his belt, waiting for me to answer.
“Fine. I’ll do it. For Cam.”
“We’re coming with.” Marla puts her hand on my shoulder and escorts me out to Fisher’s truck. “Hank, follow us.”
My dad does what Marla says because he loves her and he’s allowing her to be the mother I don’t have. Marla’s been a great mother figure, but there really isn’t anyone like your own mom. Or maybe that’s just me and I should’ve gone through therapy longer.
We arrive at the sheriff’s station and Marla doesn’t leave my side as Fisher takes me to his office. Cam is sitting in another room with a soda and candy bar, talking to Mato. Our eyes lock for a moment and he stands, walking toward the door before Mato can stop him.
“I’m fine with the charges, Chevelle,” Cam says. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. No one has to know what happened.”
I look at Fisher and back at Cam, then back at Fisher. “Can I talk to him please?”
Fisher sighs and nods.
Mato leaves the room and I walk in, shutting the door. Cam has on one of Fisher’s old shirts, a faded threadbare Sunrise Bay High School Football shirt with his dress slacks. There’s a bruise along his cheek, and I notice the way he holds his side when he walks.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
He nods. “Don’t worry about me. I’m serious, Chevelle. If you press charges, it’ll be reported in the town news. Everyone will know what happened. I know you hate being the gossip in town, so it’s fine. Let him come at me. I have witnesses and a lawyer that will get me off.”
“Who are your witnesses?” I cross my arms and jut my hip to the side.
“Porter’s men were there.” He looks outside and leans closer. “They’ll tell them that he threw the first punch.”
I raise my eyebrows.
“Porter’s got three daughters.”
I nod. “So Porter and his crew already know?”
He nods again, but there’s shame in his eyes. “I had no choice in that. But they’re out at sea now.”
“Cam, I’m used to people in this town walking on eggshells around me. Now they’ll just know I’m a terrible pick when it comes to men too. You didn’t have to hit him.”
“The hell I didn’t. He hurt you.”
“You don’t have to protect me like my brothers.”
He winces but recovers quickly. “I’d hit any slimeball who would hit a woman.”
Of course he would. I need to quit thinking of this as one of my romance books where the guy gets all “touch her and die” for the woman he loves. Get a grip, Chevelle.
“Regardless, I’m going to get you out of this.”
I walk out of the room and into Fisher’s office. We file the paperwork even as Cam continues to tell Mato to tell me not to bother. Fisher takes the papers and heads out of the office to the front of the building, where Dad and Marla wait. I follow.
“I want you gone when I get back with him.” Fisher looks at my dad to take care of removing me from the station.
“I’ll leave when Cam leaves,” I say.
Fisher turns around. “No, you won’t. You’ll leave now. Derek isn’t gonna be nice about this, and if I have to scare him and bring him back here to throw him in jail, I don’t want you adding fuel to the fire by being here.”
“But—”
“Chevelle.” He grips the bridge of his nose and glares at his feet before looking back at me. “I’m hanging on by a fucking thread right now. I’m trying to be the sheriff, protect my best friend and you, when what I really want to do is finish what Cam started. He hit my little sister.”
