“Is your ass hot enough over there?” Goldie asked.
Ryan chuckled. “You can’t believe how fuckin’ hot it is. What laws have you broken since we last spoke?”
“Too many to tell you.”
“I gotta ask a favor of you. Hailey’s moved back to Alina. Our aunt Pat’s laid up and needed her help in the flower shop,” Ryan’s voice crackled.
“We got a shitty connection here.” Goldie sucked in his breath.
“Can you hear me better?”
“Yeah.”
“Anyway, I just found out that her fuckin’ ex-boyfriend’s found out she moved to Alina. This guy was obsessed with her to the point that she had to take out a restraining order. It’s times like this that I wish I were home so I could bust the fucker’s face. The asshole hit her and she got out of there real quick, but he started stalking her.”
Picturing Hailey with bruises on her from some sonofabitch made his blood boil. “You want me to watch out for him?”
“Yeah. It’d make me feel a lot better if I knew you had your eye on her. I’m not sure this asshole will come there, but he still tells people they’re together.”
“I got this. You gonna tell Hailey?”
“Not sure. She’s been in Alina for eight months. I didn’t tell you because I know what a wolf you are.” His laugh broke up.
“It’s hard hearing you, dude. I’ll take care of it.”
“Yeah, I can’t hear you very well either. Watch Hailey.”
“What’s the fucker’s name?”
“Nolan Colley. Fuck! I gotta go. Later.”
“Ryan?” Silence. Goldie took out a joint, lit it, and inhaled deeply as he watched the leaves from the trees sway in the warm breeze. Ryan wantedhimto protect Hailey from some asshole. He could do it, no problem. But who was going to protect Hailey from him?
You gotta get a grip on all this.Ryan was his best friend and needed him to help out his sister. Easy. All he had to do was remember he was there to watch out for Hailey and nothing more.
Nothing. More.
Right.
Fuck.
Chapter Eight
Sheriff Wexler chompedon his gum as he looked at Terri Crews, Mrs. Heller’s daughter. The blonde lady leaned over his desk, her charm necklace clanking against it, and said, “Someone killed my mother. What’re you going to do about it?”
He cleared his throat. “We have to first establish that your mother didn’t die of natural causes. I spoke to your brother yesterday and he doesn’t agree with you.”
“He doesn’t want any delays that will tie up his inheritance. He’s only ever cared about the money since our mother became ill. He came by to see her maybe two times in the six months she was at Cherry Vale. I know my mom. I know how she was right before she died. I spent most of the day with her. She ate well, she was laughing, and she told me if she kept feeling better, she’d be home soon. Then she died? No. Something’s wrong here.”
“Your mother was eighty-three years old. Sometimes a person feels great right before they die. It happened to my grandfather. I’m just saying that, according to the medical reports, your mom was a very sick lady.”
“Is that what Dr. Daniels told you?”
“I’m just going by the medical reports I reviewed at Cherry Vale.”
“Well, talk to Dr. Daniels. He’s as surprised as I am that my mom died. He told me she was doing well.”
Wexler sighed and leaned back in his chair. He knew how hard it was to lose a parent. He’d buried his mother the previous Christmas, and it still made him choke up when he thought about her. Mrs. Crews was understandably upset over the death of her mother and was trying to make sense of it. Death slipped in when people least expected it, and for those who couldn’t handle the shock, they tried to find ways of showing that the loss of a loved one happened too soon.Hell, whenever someone you love dies, it’s too soon. We’re never prepared.
