by Mary Alford
“No, I don’t have special circumstances.” Not in the sense she was alluding to anyway, but he did have them due to his dyslexia, which meant he would need extra time to pore over them. But that was none of her business.
“Once a rule bender, always a rule bender.” Her tone was cutting, which he expected. The only Cash she knew was the rule breaker and thief.
“One hour. That’s all I’m asking for.” A sharp twinge nailed the area around his stitches. He winced and clutched his side. “I’m not playing the pain card, but whether or not you come with me, I need to get home and take some meds.”
She glanced at his side, the script in his hand and the sample of pain meds then sighed. “One hour. But, Cash, if I agree with the investigating officers, then that’s that.”
“Deal.” He held out his hand and she hesitated then shook. Her hand was delicate but firm. Mae could no longer be defined as the prettiest girl he’d ever laid eyes on. She was a far cry from a girl, but she’d grown into the most striking woman he’d ever seen. And he wouldn’t take for granted her sliver of mercy, which only added to her appeal. “This means so much to me, Mae. Thank you.”
She raised her eyebrows in clear disagreement. “Don’t thank me yet.” She rubbed her hands on the sides of her shorts and sighed. “I’m gonna need a ride,” she said as she walked outside with him. The sticky heat smacked him like a wet, hot towel and the smell of cigarette smoke assaulted his senses.
“I came by ambulance, in case you forgot.” His joke produced an amused smirk from Mae. “I’ll radio us a ride to the park to pick up our cars.”
“No,” she said in a curt tone. “I can call my brother.” She pulled her phone from a denim fanny pack resting on her slender hip and in a few swipes had Barrett on the line. Cash didn’t dislike Barrett but he had more attitude pumping through his veins than warranted.
“Hey, Barrett. You busy? I’m at the hospital...No I’m fine. I’m with Detective Ryland. He was...Yes, he’s fine. But we need a ride to the park to pick up his unmarked unit and my car. I rode in the ambulance. We’re out front of the ER...Okay, see you in five.”
Apparently, Mae had picked up on the looks from the deputies and wanted to keep the rumors at a discreet minimum. He respected that she wanted things to remain professional.
“Barrett heard about the stabbing,” she said and lifted her hair from her neck. Even this late, the humidity was merciless. “They’ve been combing the woods for evidence.” She poked out her bottom lip and puffed air onto her brow. “How’s he doing? On the job?”
Cash grinned and gave her a knowing look. “He’s young and cocky.”
Mae snorted. “He’ll always be one of those two things. Comes by it honest.”
He feigned shock. “You? Cocky?”
“Ha. Ha.” She returned his teasing remark with a put-out expression. “My dad. When I went to the police academy, I got the riot act. When Barrett joined? Oh, he was the glorified hero.”
In Cash’s home, no one was the favorite. His folks had barely noticed two boys lived under the same roof as them. “Maybe your dad worries about you. Double standard, for sure. But I hear there’s something special about a baby girl.” He shrugged. What did he know of kids other than one day—if he had the option—he’d like to have a few? But it wasn’t an option for him, which made committing to a woman pretty much impossible.
Most women wanted children. Unfortunately, passing dyslexia to a child—and it was a 40 to 60 percent chance—wasn’t anything Cash would ever do. Willingly putting a child through the same torment he had endured was cruel and unfair. Some mornings he still woke up to those jokes and labels that had been hurled at him in class, halls and cafeterias.
Harsh words were like pieces of DNA. They formed a person. He didn’t like the teenager he’d become and if he were honest, he didn’t always like the man he was now.
Nope. He couldn’t do it. Wouldn’t do it.
“Cash, you hurtin’?” she asked.
“What? Oh. No. I’m fine.”
Barrett pulled up in his marked unit and rolled down the window. “How you feelin’, man?”
“Like I got stabbed.” He grinned and ignored the burning pain.
“Imagine that,” Barrett retorted as he hopped out of the unit and opened the back door. Cash hesitated. It had been eons since he’d been in the back of a squad car and the memories left a sour taste in his mouth, but he stepped forward anyway.
“Dude, Mae can ride in the back seat.” He frowned as if it was standard procedure. “Get up front.”
Mae rolled her eyes.
“Barrett, ladies don’t belong in back seats.” He eased into the plastic seat and grimaced but refrained from groaning at the searing sensation.
Mae paused and caught his eye. Confusion drew a line across her brow, but she rounded the hood and climbed into the front seat. Barrett closed Cash’s door and frowned then got in behind the wheel.
“You bought the Rigginses’ old place when they moved, right?” Barrett asked.
Cash nodded and shifted to find a comfortable position.
“You fix it up?”
“Workin’ on it.” Cash loved the patch of land and little farmhouse. Open air. Room to breathe. It wasn’t anything to write home about but he was remodeling it himself as time allowed. Which wasn’t much between work, volunteering at the center for troubled teens and the mission trips he took on his vacation. He loved working with his hands and had a knack for carpentry and building. He’d helped construct more than eight churches in the last decade and he was proud of the work.
“Mom wondered what happened to you earlier,” Barrett said to Mae. “I’ll pass on informing her that you were chasing down a dude with a knife. She’ll have a spell. What were you thinking?”
Mae leaned against the door, her head resting on the window as she stared into the night, ignoring Barrett. Seemed about all they shared were their blond hair, blue eyes and dimples.
Cash felt a bubbling need to stand up for Mae. “She was doing her job. Do y’all not know she’s an agent with the MBI?”
Mae turned and caught his eye. He wasn’t sure if she was thanking him or confused or both but she tossed him the saddest smile he’d ever witnessed and it punched his heart with more force than a hurricane. He returned it with a nod and she went back to resting her head on the window.
Barrett’s response was a grunt then silence the rest of the way to the parking lot. He parked next to Mae’s car first. “You coming home tonight?”
She cocked her head and sneered. “Well, yes.”
Cash didn’t appreciate the innuendo any more than Mae had.
A smug smirk played at Barrett’s lips. “Okay, put the gun down, Maebelle.”
She huffed and turned to Cash. “I know where the Riggins place was. Meet you there.” Once she was in her car, Barrett drove to Cash’s unmarked unit.
“If she doesn’t make it home tonight, be discreet,” Barrett warned.
“She’ll make it home fine. She’s helping me on Troy’s case. Possibly reopening it.”
Barrett grunted again and opened the back door for Cash, who carefully exited and thanked Barrett for the ride. Mae’s headlights shone in his eyes but it cast enough light for him to see a problem.
He groaned and flagged her down with his right arm. She pulled over. “What’s wrong?”
“Someone slashed my tires.”
Copyright © 2021 by Jessica R. Patch
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ISBN-13: 9780369716064
Dangerous Amish Showdown
Copyright © 2021 by Mary Eason
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