Unfinished Business

by Savannah Maris

  Mitchell, Kayla, Ginger, and Evan went to lunch at the café. They hadn’t walked a block before people stopped and shook his hand, as the news seemed to travel even faster than Evan remembered. He looked at Ginger and asked, “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

  “No,” she said with a smile that wasn’t quite the one he was used to. “You’ve been Chief for what thirty minutes, and the town already knows?”

  “The town knew as soon as Evan walked in the building this morning,” Mitchell commented.

  Ginger’s whole body stiffened as they walked into the café. The owners insisted their lunch was on the house because that was what people did there. They may not have a lot of money, but they’d share what they had. Unless things had changed significantly, he’d go home with several pies, eggs, and maybe even some moonshine that evening. When he was younger, he didn’t understand the concept, but today he was humbled. It was just the way of the South.

  After lunch, they walked back to the parking lot. On the way, he pointed out different places to her—the park, the building that now stood where they used to play baseball, the old recreation center, and the old fire house. As they passed Ruby’s, they saw a man leaving through her front door and Evan recognized him as her old calculus teacher. He felt Ginger tense and immediately saw the women’s eyes lock. An uneasy feeling came over him, as he knew where he’d be that afternoon.

  He walked her to the truck and tossed Mitchell the keys to Betty. “I’ll be home for dinner,” he said as he closed the door once he’d gotten her inside. He then looked at Mitchell. “They’re giving me a car. Ginger can’t drive a stick so I thought you would.” Mitchell had a mischievous gleam in his eyes, while Evan narrowed his. “She’ll tell me if you don’t treat her with respect.”

  “I’m going to show her how a real man can make her purr.” Mitchell chuckled as he jogged to Evan’s car before he could say anything else. Asshole.

  As Evan approached the doors of the police station, he saw the Mayor get out of his car so they walked through the heavy double doors together. He introduced Evan to everyone who was there. As Evan scanned the room, he saw some people he knew and some he’d never seen before. Evan smiled and shook everyone’s hand before the Mayor showed him his office. From behind the door he took a shirt with ‘Chief’ embroidered on it as he said, “This is for you.” Evan smiled as his thumb grazed the lettering. Finally, he walked around the desk and pulled out a handgun from the bottom drawer as well as Evan’s badge. “I think you’re all official now. Rita can get you any information you want on the men and women in the department. She’s your day clerk and Randy is your night clerk. Rita also has your department phone, so let me know if you need anything else. Looks like personnel sent down more paperwork,” he said holding up an envelope with Chief Riverton on it. With that he left while Evan looked around his office.

  Once the Mayor was gone, Evan changed shirts and decided the paperwork could wait. He checked his phone before he walked out to observe the officers and found an unread message.

  Mitchell: Betty handles like a dream.

  Evan: Thanks bro.

  Mitchell: Shelby will still take her though.

  Evan: Shelby can try.

  With a smile on his face, he put his phone back in his pocket and walked out of his office. Instead of him observing the officers, they watched him. As he expected, there weren’t many. He asked Rita for a list of personnel with shifts they were currently working, job titles, and hire dates. Over the next couple of days, he’d stop by for each shift. He made sure he spoke to every officer and spent a few minutes learning what they were working on.

  By mid-afternoon, he knew where he needed to go so he stood in the center of the room and asked for a volunteer to accompany him to Ruby’s. Several faces turned red, a few turned away, most of the women scowled angrily. Evan was afraid he’d have to pick one when a young man who didn’t appear old enough to go to the police academy, much less graduate, stepped up. “I’ll go.” He was tall and lanky with a crew cut.

  “How old are you?”

  “Twenty-four, sir.” Same age as Ginger.

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “Yes, sir. I used to work undercover in some of the high schools upstate,” he said with a chuckle.

  Evan knew he was serious, but to loosen up the officers he said, “Rita, are we sure he graduated from one of those high schools?”

  “Come on now, Chief. You’re not much older than he is.” The excitement that ran through him when she called him Chief surprised him. This wasn’t something he ever thought he’d want and just like Ginger, not something he expected.

  “I don’t think I’ve looked that young since elementary school.” All the men and women laughed. While some of the men slapped the young officer on the back, others called him baby face. The young man laughed with them and took the joking in stride. Evan liked this kid.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Rodney. Rodney Parker.”

  “Thank you for volunteering. Let’s take a ride,” Evan said as they walked to Rodney’s patrol car. He drove Evan the few blocks to Ruby’s before Evan asked, “Have you ever visited Ruby before?” Rodney turned beet red so either he had or he was embarrassed by the thought.

  “No, sir. My girl would kick my ass. I’ve got a good thing and don’t want to screw it up.”

  “Smart man. If you’ve gotta good one, you hang on to her. They’re hard to come by.”

  “Yes, sir,” Rodney said as they walked up the front steps. When they reached the porch, Evan rang the doorbell.

  A few seconds later, Ruby opened the door dressed in very little clothing, and Rodney immediately looked at the floor as she stood there for both of them to take her in. This was the first time Evan had seen her up close since the night he’d ended things in high school. He stared at her expecting some kind of reaction to seeing her, but there was no emotion whatsoever. “It sure didn’t take the new Chief long to come see me. You boys lookin’ for some fun or are you arrestin’ me?”

  “Ruby, let’s step inside. I don’t wanna cause a scene out here,” Evan said in an all business tone.

  “So you are arrestin’ me! You never got over me givin’ my virginity to Mr. Farley!” Ruby had her hand on her hips, leveling Evan with her stare.

  Evan stepped forward, and she stepped back. When they stood a few feet inside, Rodney followed them in and closed the door. Evan didn’t mince words and his tone didn’t leave room for argument. “Let’s get a few things straight, right now.” He pointed toward himself then Ruby when he said, “I was over you the night I broke up with you. I just started this job today, so to my knowledge the Riverton Crossing police department doesn’t have a warrant for your arrest since I haven’t seen you on a corner soliciting people. I’ve heard talk about the number of male friends who stop by, but as long as I don’t hear any complaints, it’s none of my business. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Crystal.”

  “Now, we do have some questions about a few of those male friends of yours.”

  Her eyes widened with suspicion. “I have a lot of dates, Chief Riverton, because I don’t kiss and tell.”

  “Rumor has it you had frequent dates with Curtis Taylor. Do you also date his cousin, Frank Smith?”

  “I see Frank from time to time,” she said as she looked at her fingernails.

  “When was the last time you saw him?”

  “Yesterday.”

  “Here?”

  “Yes, he dropped by before dawn. He said he’s been on a boat, but he ran out of supplies. He also said it was lonely on the boat, so while he was in town he thought he’d drop in for a visit. We had coffee.” She shrugged a shoulder.

  “Did he say if he was on the lake or the ocean?”

  “He didn’t, but he invited me to go with him.” She gave them a smile that was meant to tempt, but neither man gave it a thought.

  “When was the last time you saw Judge Bishop?”

/>   “Now you’re just bein’ nosey,” Ruby said pointing her finger at Evan.

  Evan didn’t take his eyes off Ruby when he spoke, “Officer Parker, was the attire Miss Johnson answered the door in enough to arrest her for indecent exposure?”

  “Fine.” She rubbed the back of her neck, trying to maintain her composure. “I haven’t seen the Judge since the night he was called to the hospital about Harley,” Ruby interjected.

  “Thank you. Oh, one more thing. If any of my officers come for a date, it’d be in your best interest not to answer the door.” Evan walked outside with a purposeful stride, and Rodney on his heels.

  As soon as they were in his car Rodney asked, “Chief, you know several officers, um, date Ruby, right?”

  “I hope I don’t ever hear of any of my officers not doing their jobs.” He looked at Rodney who had a questioning expression on his face. “Rodney, I don’t have first-hand knowledge about what Ruby does, but if any of my officers see illegal activities going on in there, they need to do their jobs. If they don’t and I find out about it, they’ll lose their jobs. I’ll be happy to hire people who actually wanna follow the laws they’ve been sworn to uphold. You may wanna let that be known.”

  “Yes, sir.” The rest of the ride back to the station was silent, and Evan was glad because it gave him time to think through all the things he needed to organize.

  It wasn’t long before Evan sat at his desk for the first time and grabbed the envelope to see what forms were inside. He pulled out the contents and didn’t find forms, but another picture of Ginger. She was in the café, and looking directly at the camera. Someone drew a red circle around her head and crosshairs over her face. Fuck! There wasn’t a note this time, but the picture was warning enough. While he slid the picture back into the envelope, he called Rita into his office.

  “Sir?”

  Evan held up the envelope. “Do you know who put this on my desk?”

  “Me.”

  “Who gave it to you?”

  “A young man said he was asked to drop it off. He didn’t say by whom so I assumed it was a new hire packet.”

  “Thank you, Rita. That’s all. Please close my door on your way out.”

  Evan didn’t let it completely close before he called Ginger.

  30

  After they returned from lunch, the girls decided to sit by the pool to work on their tans since they were getting married in a few weeks. Ginger no sooner started to doze when her phone rang. Her screen read Unknown caller so she thought it was Evan calling from work. “Hello. This is she. What? Who is this?” She pulled the phone from her ear to see the call had disconnected.

  “Who was that?” Kayla asked as she tilted her sunglasses up.

  “I don’t know, but a woman said she was informing me that Evan was at Ruby’s.”

  “What?” The question hadn’t completely left her mouth when her phone pinged with a text from a number she didn’t know. It said, “Tell your friend he’s with Ruby.” Before she showed the screen to Ginger, Kayla called the number but no one answered and she couldn’t leave a message.

  “Y’all weren’t kidding about the grapevine.” Ginger tried to put it out of her head when her phone pinged with a text. “He’s a cheater. Leave!” Her eyes widened and her heart raced as she read it. The one thing he promised her he wouldn’t do. How could he? Who sent this? Did Evan give out her number? The more she thought about the words, the angrier she became. By the time her phone pinged again, she was furious, so instead of looking at it, she dove into the pool to swim laps.

  Kayla laid her phone down as Ginger was climbing out of the pool. “Call Evan. When you didn’t answer your phone, he sent a text then called me. He’s angry.”

  Ginger was angry, too. She looked at his text, but wasn’t in the mood to talk. Maybe when he saw Ruby, old feelings returned. He wouldn’t do that. Maybe he was paving the way for later when she’d be huge or couldn’t have sex. He promised her he’d love her then, too. Tears stung her eyes, but she refused to let them fall over a man who might have already cheated on her. Maybe she wasn’t ready for this after all.

  Evan: I’m staying for shift change. I won’t be home until close to 8. Eat without me.

  Ginger: Fine.

  Her first thought was that he was already making up reasons to stay away. Just like David. In her mind, her response should’ve been enough so she laid her head back and closed her eyes. She needed to block it all out for a little while. Just as her mind started to calm, Evan’s ringtone sounded on her phone. She rolled her eyes. “Yes.”

  She’d experienced Evan angry before so when his voice was barely audible, she knew she’d really pissed him off. “Ginger Monroe, I have every notion to spank your ass when I get home. What took you so long to answer my text?”

  “I was swimming.”

  She heard him inhale a breath and let it out slowly. “You agreed to me taking this job.”

  “However, I didn’t agree to have mine and Kayla’s phones blown up so I’d know you’re with the town prostitute. I guess I didn’t think that part all the way through.”

  “For the love of God, Ginger. I wanted to tell you tonight when we’re together. I wasn’t trying to hide anything.”

  “I didn’t say you were. David didn’t hide it either. I was just expected to accept it, but I’m not doing that again.”

  “So this is what you’ve been thinking about?”

  “Pretty much since I received the first message. How the hell did someone get my number anyway?”

  “I don’t know.” There was a long pause. “I’ll be home in a couple of hours, and we can discuss this.” He paused again. “Ginger?”

  He waited for her to answer. “Yeah?”

  “I. Am. Not. David. You need to remember that.”

  He disconnected the call before she could say anything else, but when she laid down her phone, she caught Kayla’s eyes. The expression on her face told Ginger she’d listened to the conversation. Maybe she needed Kayla’s perspective since she’d known him her whole life. “Go ahead. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

  “Evan and Mitch aren’t like that. When they’re committed to a girl, there’s no one else. That’s one of the things Mr. and Mrs. Riverton did well with these boys.”

  Ginger looked Kayla in the eyes. “Evan has a colorful past. The fact the town prostitute was his first love puts a whole other light on things. You know about the girl in Vegas. Not to mention, the run in you had with Sally. How do you do it?”

  Kayla sat up and crossed her legs Indian style when she faced Ginger. “First, I do know about the girl in Vegas, and that Mitch was with Sally because he thought I didn’t want to be with him. He thought I wanted to move away from him. None of that would’ve happened if I’d just told him how I felt or asked him to go with me. I now know the girl in Vegas, and Sally for that matter, were just physical releases for him. In his mind’s eye and heart, it was always me. Miscommunication causes a lot of problems, don’t fall victim to it.”

  Kayla held up another finger. “Second, Evan hasn’t been in a committed relationship as a grown man. You’re the first, maybe you need to concentrate on that. By his own admission, he wasn’t looking for you. You just happened.” Kayla took off her sunglasses so Ginger could see the seriousness in her eyes. “You were standing right there when he thanked me for introducing him to the love of his life. Evan doesn’t talk like that. He wouldn’t say it if he didn’t mean it. His parents said those words to each other, so they’re sacred to him. Please don’t take them lightly.”

  Tears welled up in Ginger’s eyes. “Oh, Kayla, I didn’t know.” Her fingertips covered her lips.

  “No you didn’t, but you do now. He always said he’d only ever buy one of those by the way. And he bought it for you.” Kayla pointed at Ginger’s engagement ring.

  “I guess there’s just so much I don’t know about him. You’ve known him forever.”

  “Isn’t that the fun part of a relationship
? Y’all will just get do it married instead of not.”

  “True. I guess I owe him a big apology. Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome. All I ask is I don’t hear how big your apology is tonight,” she said with a laugh.

  Ginger nodded and went inside. She took a shower while working through her apology in her head. She could blame it on hormones, but that wouldn’t be fair. She let an old habit in, plain and simple. She needed to own up to it and make amends. If she didn’t begin to trust him, how would he ever earn her trust? Evan wasn’t David. She repeated those words over and over as she dozed off, but woke to the loud ruckus down the hall. As soon as the door slammed, she heard, “Evan…”

  “Not now, Kayla.”

  “Remember she’s pregnant with your child.”

  Evan’s heavy footsteps grew closer. “I’m very aware of that fact,” he said as he opened the door. She scrambled off the bed when she heard it shut. With a king sized bed between them, she focused on Evan. His stance was angry, his expression was somewhere between hurt and anger. He held an envelope in one hand while the other fist was clinching and releasing as he battled with himself. When he walked around the bed, she climbed on top of it. She stood and took a step across it for each of his. By the time he was halfway across the foot of the bed, he sighed and reached out his hand. “Get down off the bed.”

  “Why?”

  His voice was so low. “Because you’re pregnant. I don’t want you to fall and hurt yourself or the baby. Now come here and let me help you.”

  As she stepped toward him, she softly said, “I owe you an apology.” He looked at her without saying anything.

  She reached for his hand, but instead of helping her down he brought her to his body so she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to the sofa. “I need to touch you.”