I nodded against his chest and blinked back tears. I could understand the torment even though it wasn't true, on his side. When I wrapped my arms tighter around him, I lifted on the tips of my toes. Brady growled, the good way, and lifted me up so that I could wrap my legs around his waist. He pushed me up against the house's wall and leaned back to look at me. I saw the tenderness and the sincerity and I smiled softly, tracing his cheek with my finger. "Things are changing with us, aren't they?"
Brady nodded.
I didn't know what to say. I wanted to cry, laugh, or run. I wanted to ignore it. "Can we handle it?"
Then I saw the answer in Brady's eyes. He wasn't sure if we could. And my heart dropped.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
When we rounded the house, Deputy Doug was parked in front of the house with his lights flashing. I couldn't help to wonder if he purposely wanted to make people nervous. Maybe he wanted to sober them up quicker. It worked with me.
"Hey, hey. It'll be fine." Brady squeezed my hand briefly before he sauntered to where Deputy Doug was straightening out of his patrol car. His tan uniform seemed more wrinkled than normal.
As his gaze met mine, I saw what I needed to know. Brady was about to be arrested again. And judging by how tight Brady's shoulders looked, he knew it too. I chose to ignore the carefree note in his voice.
Clarissa materialized at my side with her arms crossed. "Your boyfriend's going back to the tank. Wonder if he'll get charged this time."
I turned and saw that Kid was being helped out of the house with an arm around one of his cousin's shoulders and another guy on the other side. He met my gaze with an apology in his eyes, but his jaw hardened when he caught sight of Brady.
"I bet if you bat those gorgeous eyelashes at Kid, you can get him to drop the charges."
"It was his dad that charged Brady before."
"Kid's got power over his dad. He can pull the neglected child card. Hell, he used to all the time." Clarissa smirked.
I rounded on her. "What are you talking about?"
Clarissa grunted as she watched Brady being talked to by Deputy Doug. She seemed to lap up the drama. Then she focused, "Huh? You're socially neglected. Kid's been on his own for years. His daddy was always around for business functions, but when they were done—off to Affair in Neverland. Kid raised himself. I'm surprised you didn't know. I thought the three of you were tight back then."
"Brady and Kid were best friends. Not me. I wasn't included that much." I wasn't, but I remembered how Kid and I had started to become better friends at the end, before he left.
"Look!"
I'd already known, but I had hoped…then it deflated as I watched Deputy Doug open his back door and cover Brady's head when he climbed inside. When he sat back, he looked for me. I saw a flash of vulnerability in my best friend and blinked back some of my own tears. I rarely saw that side of Brady and only saw it now for a second before his usual cockiness flared back.
No one seemed surprised when Deputy Doug approached me, hand in hat. "I'm sorry for this, Rayna."
"They both fought."
"There are witnesses saying Brady threw the first punch."
"He thought Kid had hurt me."
Deputy Dog scratched his head. "I'm sorry, Rayna. I really am. You know how I feel about that boy, but Brady flares up. We all know this. Kid hasn't had that history. I'd suggest for you to be at the station in the next hour. I'm sure bail will be set. I know that grandmother of yours can be a firecracker, especially with Judge Bailor."
I wasn't quite sure what he meant, but I nodded anyway.
"Again. I'm sorry, Rayna." Then he trudged towards his squad car. As he headed into town, I saw Kid climbing into another squad car. I was pretty sure he wasn't getting arrested.
"Kid's hot," Clarissa declared.
"What?"
"He's hot. I want to jump his bones. Don't tell Brady. He wouldn't like that."
I reeled. "Of course not. Brady and you…"
"Hell no." Clarissa snorted, laughing. "He just doesn't want anyone or anything to do with Kid. Me and BradesKins are buds, but I want to be more than buds with Kid. That's why I'm saying 'don't tell Brady.'" Clarissa caught the mystified expression on my face. "Don't say anything. That's all you gotta do."
I stood there as she sauntered away with a seductive sway to her hips. More than most of the males sent appreciative glances her way. They all looked and they all lingered. I would never be like that. Clarissa was just naturally sexy and me…I was a social deficit or whatever she had called me.
Okay. I swallowed tightly. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered because Brady needed me and I needed him. So I balled up my hands into tight fists and jerked forward. When a group remained in front of the garage, I realized that they didn't see me.
They didn't even notice me.
Brady was gone, therefore; I was gone. If Brady had been there, they would've moved without thinking. He wouldn't have needed to say a thing. But me—I'd have to walk around them, start my car, and honk to get them to move. Sighing, I started to go around when I heard an abrupt bark, "Move, idiots! Rayna's gotta go in and bail Brady out. She can't go anywhere with you blocking her car"
The group looked up. As they started to move to the side, a few apologized, but most just shuffled to the side and continued their same conversation.
I looked over to say thanks to Matt, but he flashed a charming smile and then went back inside, beer in hand. It wasn't long before the door shut behind him and I was left with the idea that I might've made one other friend that night.
I knew the way to the police station like the back of my hand. It wasn't long before I had turned into the parking lot and entered the lobby like before. Except this time, Deputy Doug wasn't at the front desk to greet me. A small lady with greying hair was. She looked like she was from Asian descent, but I wasn't sure. All I saw when she looked at me was blaring disappointment and contempt.
I forced myself forward. "Has bail been set for Brady Remington?"
She sniffed and muttered something unintelligible.
I frowned, unsure, and then said further, "Brady Remington just came in. Do you know if there's bail for him? I'd like to pay."
She glared again, muttered underneath her breath, and stalked away. Her black skirt was so tight it barely moved, but her arms swayed in an angry fashion. When she disappeared around a corner, I scanned the waiting room. Josh sat in the corner. As my eyes landed on him, he glanced up, but remained hunched over in his seat.
"He's coming, you know." He leaned back and looked away. I saw his hands jerk into fists.
"Who?" I had a good guess.
"They brought Kid in and they called his dad right away. He won't be long."
The world fell away in that split second and I couldn't breathe. Frank Stephens was coming—he might already be there. I didn't want Frank Stephens anywhere near Brady…and I turned, horrified, as I expected the door to open and emit him. But the door didn't move.
"I can't believe you."
I looked back, confounded. "What?"
"Brady. He's an ass and you're….you're here like a puppy dog. What is wrong with you? What's wrong with this entire town?"
"You just don't know him. You don't understand."
"No, I don't. I'm glad that I can say that I haven't been brainwashed by this criminal."
"Brady's not—"
"Yes, he is." Josh stared, long and hard. "He beat up my cousin. He brutally beat him up. He could've stopped. Kid was down. He wasn't getting up, but it didn't matter. Brady still went after him and it wasn't just because of you, you know."
I narrowed my eyes. What did that mean?
Josh expelled a ragged breath and ran a hand through his hair. "You're in love with this gorilla. I can't even—when I first saw you I thought, 'Wow. She's amazing. She's gorgeous and not in the normal way. She's gorgeous in that way that she doesn't know how she affects people. That's the best type. I want that.' Kid told me the real story with you and Brady. I kn
ow you're not his girlfriend, but it doesn't matter. You're more under his spell than anyone else. It's annoying and it's another reminder that life sucks."
Life did suck. I agreed with that.
"Rayna?"
Deputy Doug stood behind the front desk. When he gestured, I followed him and we went into a back office. He rounded a bare wooden desk and sat down in the chair. It creaked under his seat and I lowered myself to perch on the corner of my own chair. I wrapped my arms around myself, refusing to look anywhere except at Deputy Doug's face. I saw how he was reluctant to say something so I readied myself for what I was about to hear.
"Rayna," Deputy Doug started, exhausted. "I'm here because I need to be real honest with you."
It was worse than I thought. Brady was going to stay in jail forever.
"Frank Stephens is livid," Deputy Doug announced. He leaned forward. "I'm all sorts of torn up here. I love Brady like he was my son. I feel like I've been taking care of him darn near his whole life. He's been in so many scrapes and he can't be blamed. Jumping from foster home to foster home; it's a good thing he had you guys to steady him. That's not why I pulled you in here. I know that Brady ought to get into trouble one of these times, but I hate to think it'll be this one. Frank Stephens is likely to get Brady charged to the fullest extent. I don't feel that's fair."
It was worse than I thought. Then I realized that Deputy Doug was staring at me. "What can I do?"
"Well, I was thinking that grandma of yours can sure be a firecracker. You might not know much about it since it all happened before your time, but—did you call her like I told you to?"
"I was going to call her when I knew how much the bail was."
"I'll give her a call myself and tell her the amount." Deputy Dog nodded. "Good, good. I know she can worm her way around Judge Bailor, but if anyone's going to square against Frank Stephens, I figure it oughta be Viola. She went head to head with him before. She could do it again."
Huh? "What happened before?"
Deputy Dog frowned and pushed his glasses over the wrinkles in his forehead. "It was around the time that your mother was running around these parts. You weren't born yet, but something happened between your mother, Frank Stephens, and another lady that worked in the grocery store. No one really knew what went on, but all the sudden Frank Stephens was divorced and your momma was out of town. After she was gone, Frank tried to run your momma's name through the mud, but Viola wouldn't have it. The two of them tangled on a daily basis. Of course, at that time Frank Stephens was still a young pup. He wasn't much older than his late twenties, but he already owned half the town. But your grandmum, she was smart. She IS smart and she knew most of the town. They banned together and Frank Stephens was forced to shut his trap. I was hoping she'd be willing to do it again. There's a reason why he'd been placed with the Forresters next door to you. We all know how Brady's been taken in by your family."
This was news to me and I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I just heard the words 'your mother', 'Frank Stephens', 'divorced,' and 'out of town.' Leaning back in my chair, I closed my eyes and felt the world swirling around me.
"Rayna?" Deputy Doug looked concerned. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. It's just…a lot." Not to mention…my mother. She seemed to be involved in so much and yet nothing at the same time. I wished…I didn't know what I wished.
"Have you, uh—have you heard from your mother? How's she doing?"
"She's in Florida. That's all I know." I felt the awkwardness in the room and knew Deputy Dog felt it too. A part of me wanted to say something and cover up the gaping hole that I felt inside, but I couldn't. The necessary energy had been depleted from me.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Rayna. She was…your momma was a good woman."
She wasn't. Everyone knew.
Deputy Doug continued, "I always felt she was misunderstood by a lot of the folks here."
She wasn't misunderstood at all. She'd been exiled.
When someone knocked at the door, I was jolted out of my thoughts. The door opened and someone murmured, "Frank Stephens is here. He's ready for you, Doug."
Deputy Doug cursed and rushed around the desk. As he reached the door, he turned back. "Use my phone. Give Viola a call. We're going to be needing her."
When the door shut, I reached for the phone. Then I remembered that I still didn't know how much the bail was.
CHAPTER TWELVE
When Viola swept through the front doors, I jumped from the ferocity of her rush. Then Josh jerked too and I jumped again.
"Holy, who is that?" Josh asked, frowning.
Viola strode towards the front desk and slapped a hand on the desk. "I want to speak to Bailor. Now."
The same grey haired Asian lady scurried away. She didn't frown. She didn't pause. She just moved. Behold the power. It wasn't long until she scanned the waiting room with narrowed eyes. She looked over me, back tracked, and zeroed in as the frown turned into a scowl.
Josh gulped.
My stomach fell to the bottom of my feet. She was dressed in a grey smock, red khaki pants, and yellow clogs on her feet. Her hair stuck up haphazardly with a few curlers that still hung on in desperation. I caught a smattering of blush on her cheeks and saw she'd applied some red lipstick.
I understood Josh's fear.
"Rayna Cassidy Janke. Do you have any idea what time it is?" She didn't wait for a response. "You call me, wake me up, and tell me that you don't know what Brady's bail is. What am I supposed to think? What am I supposed to think when my own granddaughter calls me and tells me that she's at the police station?"
I gulped this time, just as loudly.
Viola crossed the room, shoulders enraged, arms stiff, and bent forward until her nose was an inch from mine. Then she smiled.
I blinked.
Her smile grew wider as she whispered, "I love it! I was hoping that boy would burst some pizzazz in you. You need some nights like these. You're too good, too uptight at times."
"Wha—huh?" Josh gaped.
Viola glanced over and barked, "You. What's your name and relation?"
I pushed him away. "He—he—he's no one. He's leaving. He's going to sit over there." I pointed across the waiting room.
Josh stood up and sat down in the corner, but at a slow pace.
Viola took his seat. "I know I should be the uppity grandmother, but I just can't. You've never been involved when he's gotten in trouble and you're involved this time. You were there! I am basking in this moment because I know you'll punish yourself ten times over from what a normal guardian would do. That's why—" She indulged in a sweet smile and patted my head. "—I can't do anything except hug you. I'll make margaritas when we get home."
Her arms wrapped around me and I stiffened. My face was pushed into her smock and I mumbled to it, "You are completely abnormal."
Viola laughed and then sighed, replete. "God, child. I have been waiting for your rebellious streak to unearth itself. I've been worried that even Brady couldn't get some of that naughtiness out."
"Grandma!" I hissed.
She shook her head and her curlers whipped back and forth. "Rayna, it's not healthy to be as straight laced as you are. This is a good thing. If you get pregnant, that'd be bad." Her hand patted my shoulder. "I know you're too good to be that stupid. And thank god that Brady hasn't impregnated some girl too. Now, talking of Brady—let me at Bailor. Where is he?" She whipped around, fixed the clerk with a determined scowl, and stalked back across the lounge.
Pregnant. That was the only word I'd heard. There was no way I was pregnant…
"That's your grandma?" Josh slipped back into his seat.
I shook my head, lost in my own hazy hell. I could not be pregnant. No way.
"She's scary. I think you saved my life." Josh laughed and shook his head. "Now I get why Uncle Frank always growls when Kid talks about you. I wouldn't want to go up against that either."
I perked up. "Kid talks about me?"
"Constantl
y. I think he does it because it drives Uncle Frank crazy. Kid gets a kick out of that." He frowned. "I shouldn't have told you that."
I shrugged. "I get it. Brady likes to drive my grandma crazy too."
Josh grunted, annoyed.
Then a back door opened with a harsh bang. Deputy Doug led the way, followed by a stoic Frank Stephens. A bloodied and bruised Kid followed next and his shoulders were tense underneath his shirt. I caught a swooning look from the clerk when she saw the long tear in Kid's shirt, but she felt my gaze. Her eyes snapped to mine and I heard her "harrumph" before she turned back to the desk.
"Dude," Josh greeted as he stood beside me.
Kid grinned and bypassed his dad to thump his cousin on the shoulder. When Josh returned the favor, Kid suppressed a grimace, but Josh wrapped an arm around his shoulder to give him a one armed man-hug.
The clerk still watched him underneath her eyelashes. She reminded me of a hungry cat eyeing up a bowl of cream.
"Are you pressing charges?" Josh questioned just as Kid's eyes met mine.
I jerked in shock at the look of apology and regret. What would Kid be apologetic for…and towards me? Then I remembered Brady.
He was pressing charges.
"I understand, Mr. Stephens. I can promise that this will be the last altercation between the two boys. The restraining order will come into effect at midnight and this should be the last you see of Mr. Remington," Deputy Dog rasped out. He stood to his fullest height and held a firm hand out to Frank, who ignored it and instead swept cold eyes towards his son. He narrowed them for a brief second and an inaudible look was passed from father to son, but it was gone the next instant as Frank Stephens scanned his nephew and landed on me.
Chills went down my back.
I'd always known about Frank Stephens, how he had terrorized half the town into selling their businesses. Viola had ranted and raved about the injustice of our system when he'd hiked up the prices in every store and gas station that he owned. He would've been banned from having a monopoly over the town if it weren't for a small family-owned gas station. The stories hadn't mattered to me because I had never seen the infamous Frank Stephens in person and now that I had, I wished I hadn't come.
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