by Tegan Maher
Cheri Lynn managed to buck her way out from underneath Anna Mae, and another round of hair-pulling ensued.
Hunter burst through the front doors of the courthouse and stopped dead when he saw the two women rolling around in the grass. Other than the odd profane or blasphemous exclamation, their vocalizations had pretty much deteriorated to guttural grunts and high-pitched squeals. Hair was flying just as fast as fists.
He stood there for several seconds, obviously unsure how to proceed. I looked at Raeann, then nodded toward Hunter. "Should we help?"
She looked like she felt sorry for him, but shook her head vehemently. "Absolutely not. I am not steppin' into the middle of that," she declared, pointing her chin toward the two women. Anna Mae had regained the top position, so I huffed and stepped forward, motioning to Hunter.
"Don't just stand there like a lump on a log," I groused. "I'll get Anna Mae and you get Cheri Lynn. We have to get them at the same time, and whatever you do, don't let go once you get ahold of her."
We waded in. I grabbed Anna around the waist and locked my hands in front of her, identifying myself as I did and keeping my head between her shoulder blades to avoid a head-butt. I pulled her back, and as soon as I did, Hunter reached down to grab Cheri Lynn. He pulled her to her feet but only held her by the upper arm. She immediately snatched it away and launched herself at Anna Mae, who ducked. Unfortunately, I didn't, and took a solid punch to my left eye.
I ground my teeth together as stars exploded behind my eyes, and barely resisted the urge to blast her with the worst curse I could think of.
Anna Mae had us covered for the second round, though. She braced herself against me and kicked Cheri Lynn right in the gut when she lunged again, knocking us backward. Hunter managed to grab Cheri a second time, lifting her off her feet with an iron grip around her waist.
Anna Mae stopped struggling as soon as she saw Cheri Lynn was neutralized and I let her go as soon as I felt the energy drain from her. She looked at me and had the good grace to blush as she pushed my hair back from my eye. "I'm sorry sugar. That shoulda been me. I'll buy you lunch this week to make up for it, okay?"
I sighed and nodded, then cut my eyes at Hunter.
"I'm sorry too," he said, looking abashed.
I scowled at him and snapped, "What part of don't let go didn't you understand?"
Notably, the only one who didn't apologize was the one who'd thrown the punch. I glared at her, but she looked completely unapologetic.
As a matter of fact, she had the nerve to declare she wanted to press charges, but I'd had enough. "So do I, then."
When she looked at my eye and realized I had her cornered, she snapped her mouth shut, then glowered at me. "Well then, I guess I've changed my mind," she said primly after a few seconds.
"Yeah, I figured you might."
I looked at Anna Mae to see if she was going to complicate things; I didn't figure she would because she'd come out the obvious winner. She took a minute to study the mess she'd made of Cheri Lynn.
Cheri Lynn’s blouse was in tatters, her lip was split, her nose was bloody, and there were several small but obvious bald spots. She was going to have a raging shiner the next day, too.
"I'm good," Anna Mae said, smug.
They took several steps in opposite directions, and I was headed toward Raeann to thank her for her help before Hunter spoke up. "Hold up—nobody's going anywhere! You're both under arrest; you can't just brawl on the courthouse lawn, then walk away."
We all turned to look at him, perplexed. "Pardon?" we asked in unison. Battery charges for standard brawls were unusual, unless you were somebody Hank didn't like or wanted to blackmail. Even then, you just had to pay a hundred-dollar fine; you never actually saw a cell. Otherwise, the jail would be filled to overflowing all weekend.
"You heard me." He gestured to both women. "You're both under arrest. He pointed at Cherie Lynn. "And you have two charges of battery since you punched Noelle, too."
I closed my eyes and pulled a deep breath through my nose before responding, which made my head pound. Raeann was right—Cheri Lynn did have hella upper body strength if her right hook was anything to go by. My eye was throbbing. "Do you really want to drag them back inside together while you file the paperwork and process them? Your backup is mysteriously absent, and you only have one pair of handcuffs. If you absolutely have to, tell 'em to come back at separate times to pay their fines."
Cheri Lynn whined about the fine, but Anna grinned like the cat that ate the cream. "I'll gladly pay a fine. I got my money's worth."
Hunter glanced back and forth between them, his expression vacillating between irritation and defeat. "Fine. You're both free to go. After you clean up this mess. Together. Like civilized people." He gestured to the old bowling trophies and other tasteless treasures scattered around the box that marked the end of Hank's regime. He crossed his arms and stood with his feet shoulder-width apart to supervise the process.
"Now you're using your noggin," I told him. "I'm gonna go ice my eye. "I walked away, not caring what else happened. Raeann was waiting for me at the edge of the sidewalk and slipped my hard-won twenty into my hand as we turned back toward Brew4U.
I made it through the day, but the area around my eye darkened to a lovely shade of blackish purple as the morning faded into afternoon. All in all, though, I made some serious pity tips. It seemed like every table left a little extra.
Finally, three o'clock rolled around. We locked up and Raeann took the drawer and the slips to the back to reconcile. I needed to inventory because it had been a record Monday, due in part to the last of the barbecue folks, and partly because everybody wanted to see my shiner and get the story straight from the horse's mouth.
While Raeann was in her office, I pulled the blinds, turned off the open sign, and flicked my wrist at the mop and broom.
I'm grouchy and tired, hungry and battered. I command you to clean what's been scattered and splattered.
It wasn't my best work, but it did the trick. I didn't need spells for simple tasks like opening windows or turning on the coffee machine, but bespelling objects was another matter. As the mop and broom jumped to work, I turned back to the shelves to do inventory.
The entire stock of espresso was depleted, and we were almost out of regular coffee too. The cups were almost all empty, and several of the syrups were running low. I raised my brows, surprised. I couldn't wait to hear the numbers for the day.
I made my list and headed to the back, grabbing a clean bus tub on my way. I thunked the tub onto a box of coffee, then slumped against the doorway to the supply room. I was directing each item on my list into it with my index finger when somebody called my name.
"Noelle? Raeann?" Hunter's head popped around the corner and my heart about leapt out of my chest. As neatly as possible, I sent the last of the in-flight objects into the tub before turning back to him. Fortunately, with the way to room was situated, he was unable to see inside of it from where he stood. Otherwise, I'd have had some 'splainin to do.
"Hunter!" I exclaimed. "What are you doing here? How did you get in? You almost gave me a heart attack!" I was still grasping my chest, willing my pulse to slow. Then I remembered the mop and broom. Had they still been working when I finished doing inventory? I couldn't remember. He didn't look completely freaked out, but it's possible they were at work in the bathrooms where he couldn't see them.
"The door was unlocked. When I came in and you two weren't up front, I got worried. I'm sorry."
He cocked his head to the side and regarded me for a couple of seconds while I tried to figure out a way to make sure the mop and broom were safely settled. "No, it's all good. We're just closing up. I thought I locked the door, but it's good to see you."
I managed to peek around him enough to see the broom and mop leaning innocuously against the doorway to the bathroom. Phew.
I was so intent on making sure there were no magical cleaning tools swirling around the place that I didn't no
tice how close I was standing to Hunter until he leaned closer and examined my face. His cologne smelled amazing—clean and fresh, with a hint of sandalwood and musk. My mouth went dry when his eyes drifted from my eye to my lips and I found myself leaning closer.
The door to Raeann's office snicked open and the spell was broken. We jumped apart.
"Hey, Hunter! I didn't know you were here." Her eyes flickered to me and apparently caught the guilty flush because she raised her eyebrows, just for a second before she turned back to him.
"We're already closed, but if you'd like, we can kick the machine back on and make you a coffee."
"No, you don't have to do that. I just stopped by to make sure Noelle was okay after this morning. I feel bad because I let such a small woman get away from me like that. I didn't really think it through; I just assumed my presence would be enough." He paused. "They were really going at it, weren't they?"
"Well, to be fair, Anna Mae's had a rough few days, and Cheri Lynn isn't exactly known for her tact and grace," Raeann responded.
I quirked my mouth. "That's putting it mildly. By the way, what did Cheri Lynn want to talk to you about?"
Hunter rolled his eyes. "You'll never believe it. She claimed Hank swindled her out of her trailer. Apparently it's been in her family for a few generations, but he made her taxes too high for her to pay, then bought it when she defaulted and used that leverage to keep her under his thumb, at least according to her. Of course, I told her she'd have to talk to the executor of his will before I realized who it was. I figured it would be an attorney. Turns out it's Anna Mae. And you saw what happened after that."
"I don't want to say we told you so," I said, "But we told you so."
He scowled at her. "Yeah, way to kick a man when he's down."
I shrugged. "I can say pretty much anything I want. I'm the one rockin' the black eye."
I went back to the storage room and grabbed the bus tub. Fortunately, I'd managed to get everything from the list before Hunter almost busted me. It weighed a ton.
Usually, I'd have just magicked it, but I couldn't hardly do that. I grinned to myself—I guess I'd have to do it the old-fashioned way. "Hunter, can you please help me?" I called. What? Don't judge me. I was exhausted, and he owed me at least one for the shiner.
Chapter 14
I wanted to grab a nap before the kids got home from the lake, but I had to stop at the grocery store first to buy the ingredients for dinner. By the time I managed to make it home, it was all I could do to put the groceries away before I collapsed on my bed. I fell asleep instantly.
The doorbell woke me and I grabbed my phone to check the time. Holy cow! It was almost six. I'd slept the entire afternoon away. I wiped the drool off the side of my face and ran a hand over my hair on the way to the door. When I pulled it open, Hunter was standing on the other side dressed in jeans and a plain blue t-shirt. He handed me a bottle of wine and had a six-pack of Big Wave in his other hand.
"Hello. I'm sorry," I mumbled, blinking and wiping the sleep from my eyes. "I don't even have the grill started. I guess I didn't realize how tired I was."
He smiled. "That's no problem; I know you've had a rough few days. Tonight you can relax, though. You're off tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah," I said as he followed me to the kitchen. "Finally. I love the money but hate the hours. My feet are going to hurt for two days. Just when they start to feel better, it'll be time to go back to work again."
"I know exactly how you feel. When I was a beat cop in Indy, there were days when my biggest pleasure was just sitting down. Anybody who's never worked a job that involves being on their feet for hours at a time just can't fully appreciate the value of a chair."
I laughed as I pulled a beer from the pack for him and put the rest of them in the fridge. "You've got that right. And I think it should be a requirement that everybody's first job be in some sort of service industry. People wouldn't be so cheap or so mean to those of us who do it for a living if they actually had to walk in our shoes."
I popped the top of the wine and poured a glass, only taking time to check the label after I took the first sip. It was from a local winery and was buttery and just sweet enough, with a smoky oak finish. I sighed in bliss.
"Would you like to go sit on the veranda? It's shady, and with the ceiling fans going, it's actually pretty cool. Plus I need to get the grill going. Raeann and Jake were going to come, but Jake had to make a last-minute trip out of town and a pipe burst at Rae's mom's house and she has to go help out. She said she may be over later if the plumber is done in time."
"Plumbing problems suck. I had a pipe break in Indy and I went two days without a kitchen sink before a plumber could come fix it. At least here, that's not an issue." Hunter picked up his beer and followed me.
He looked around as I led him to a couple of stools sitting on either side of my bistro table. "Wow. What a fantastic view."
Setting my wineglass down, I pulled the cover off the grill and built a pyramid of instant-light charcoal, then pulled out the grill lighter and fired it up. "There. That should be ready just about the time the kids get home."
I climbed onto the stool opposite him and took another sip of wine, looking out over the pastures where the horses were turned out. "Yeah. My mom passed when I was twelve, and dad brought us out here, mostly because he didn't know what else to do with us, I think. One day he just didn't come back for us. We still don't know where he went." I paused and took a sip of my wine, remembering the tortured look on my father's face as he'd pulled away that day.
"After a few days, Aunt Addy—that’s my mom's sister—and Uncle Calvin drove to our house, gathered our stuff, and moved us in with them like it was totally normal."
I smiled at the bittersweet memory. At the time, it had felt like the world was ending, but they'd done their best to turn it into a new adventure. "Addy shared her love of horses with us, and provided a safe haven for us to heal. Uncle Cal was a total marshmallow where we were concerned."
He looked out over the pasture, but I had a feeling he was looking beyond that. "It's horrible you lost your parents so young, but at least you had somebody who loved you to offer you a home. That's more than many kids get. They must have been special people."
Unbeknownst to him, Addy was hovering behind him and wiped a tear off her cheek. I offered her a small smile, a silent acknowledgment that I agreed with him. She faded out of sight and I wondered for the hundredth time where it was she went when she did that. She swore she didn't know.
We sat in companionable silence, watching the horses graze as the fluid burned off the charcoal and the corners of the briquettes turned white. The smell made my stomach rumble.
"So were you born and raised in Indy, or did you move there from somewhere else?" I asked as I swirled my wine.
"Actually, I was an Army brat. My dad was Infantry and we lived all over the country, and even spent some time in Australia and Germany. He retired at thirty-nine and we settled down close to his sister, who teaches high school in Indianapolis. I was fifteen."
"Wow. That's not an experience not many people can claim. Did you like moving around like that?"
He shrugged. "It had its advantages and disadvantages. I learned not to get too attached to people, but I also think experiencing so many different cultures makes me a better cop and a more well-rounded person."
Grinning, I asked, "So how are you feeling about the Southern culture? Can you compare it to anything?"
"Absolutely not," he declared. "I can’t imagine anything being this hard to adjust to. This isn't a different culture; it's a different universe."
Max had been sunning himself a few feet down the porch and picked his head up. Fortunately, he kept his mouth shut and only shared his opinion via thought. Hah! Tell him to imagine being turned into a donkey by an Irish witch, then granted immortality to enjoy it. What a weenie.
I frowned at him, but he did kinda have a point.
I said, "Nah. It's not that dif
ferent. Things just move a little slower here, and people get set in their ways. I think it's good to have somebody new in town, especially when that somebody in a position to do good things." I ran my finger along the rim of my glass and smiled when it hummed.
He took a swig from his beer and gazed out over the pasture. "I don't know. I know so many people can't be wrong, but it's just astounding to me to believe anywhere is so insular that things like what Hank was doing can still happen."
I shrugged. "The devil you know, I guess. Things were coming to a head, though. He was getting a little big for his britches and people were getting tired of it. Even those who'd bowed to him for years. Honestly, if you ask me, it was just a matter of time."
Addy popped back in and listened for a couple of minutes, then did a float-around, checking him out. "Girl, you better hang onto this one. He's got 'good man' written all over him. And check out those shoulders! I always did love a man with shoulders."
I about choked on my wine when she zipped around behind him and squeezed his left bicep.
He rubbed it and drew his brows together but didn't say anything.
"You okay?" I prompted.
"Yeah, just ... nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Yeah. Well, no. Not nothing. But you'll think I'm crazy. Since I moved here, I get these weird feelings, like cold air on my skin, and I catch things moving out of the corner of my eye. I'm sure I'm just jumping at shadows," he finished.
"Addy always said people only saw what the parameters of their minds allowed them to."
"What does that even mean?" he asked, as Addy reached out to touch him again.
I glared at her, but quickly smiled when he turned back to me. She just crossed her arms and grinned. "Fine, I'll go back in the house. I don't wanna spook him. He really does seem like a nice boy and it's slim pickin’s for you around here."
I raised my eyebrows and turned my attention back to Hunter. "I think it means you need to keep an open mind. Sometimes things really are exactly as they seem, but it's outside your realm of experience, or you have preconceived notions, so you shy away from a perfectly logical, rational explanation."