He examined my body and ran a thumb over the bruise on my chin from last night. I closed my eyes and leaned into his hand.
“If I say ‘no,’ will you keep checking me? You haven’t checked all areas,” I said.
Officer Martinez stood and tossed the paper on the empty front desk. “I’m out of here.” He headed toward the back. “She’s free to leave,” he said to Owen. “Benny Jr. didn’t press any charges.”
“Oh. Good.” Owen seemed surprised, if not a little disappointed.
“Were you planning to come save the day?” I asked him, looking up at him with what I’m sure were hearts in my eyes.
His shoulders slumped. “Yeah.”
Once the cop was gone, I said with a shaking voice, “Owen. Thank you.”
He stepped closer and cupped my head, gently tilting up my chin to meet his gaze. “I told you I was coming.”
“I know. I just—” I shook my head. “I’m just really glad to see you.”
The edges of his eyes crinkled with a soft smile. “I’m glad to see you too.”
I took a bracing breath and shook out any remnants of fear. I looped my arms through his and smiled brightly. “Take me back to my car at the base of the tram?”
He nodded and bent to kiss my forehead. Just like that. Just like we were a couple for years and this was a normal thing for us.
“Is Ivy okay? Did you get things squared away?” I asked as we went out the front of the police station. Pretty sure I heard Officer Martinez groanfinallyonce we were outside.
“You’re not going to believe this.” He told me about his conversation with Ivy as he walked me the block back to his car. “Turns out she’s secretly loaded.” Owen shook his head like he was the one who couldn’t believe it.
“Ha! Good for her,” I said as we came to a stop at the passenger door of his car. I huffed a laugh and toyed with my zipper. “I guess that basically means all the trouble we went through was completely pointless. All that drama and excitement for nothing. Ah, life is funny,” I said cheerfully.
Owen did not laugh as he opened the passenger door for me. He just looked above my head at the horizon, deep in thought.
Main Street was quiet this time on New Year’s Day. The usual bustle of tourists and locals were likely sleeping off theircelebrations. The sun shone bright, but the snow was thick where it wasn’t plowed by Pat, our singular snow plow in town, “Snow Business.” The mountain slope cast a long shadow on these short days. The cables of the tram could just barely be seen.
“Not for nothing,” Owen eventually said, lowering his head to kiss me on the mouth briefly. I bit my lip and tucked my chin as pure joy bubbled through me. I hadn’t been forgotten or left behind.
He hesitated to start the drive, so we stood there, and after a minute, he said, “She always talked about her having these Swiss bank accounts. I thought that was one of her jokes. Like how she jokes about blowing up the tram.”
We shared a concerned look. Then we glanced in the direction of the tram. Then back at each other. We shared a nervous laugh.
“Nah, she wouldn’t,” Owen said.
“Boom!” I yelled as he jumped about a foot in the air. “Just kidding. But that would have been great timing, you have to admit.”
Owen let out a shaking breath. “Why do I have a feeling you’re always going to keep me on my toes?”
I shrugged, tucking my short hair behind my ear, hiding my smile as he discussed a futureus.
“Wait, how did you get out of charges? Not that I’m complaining, I just didn’t think Benny Jr. would ever let things go. And I guess I wanted to come rescue you a little.”
“You’re so dang sweet. But it’s all good.” I finally got in the car, but not before patting him on the cheek. “Benny realized I hadn’t done anything wrong,” I said sweetly.
He shot me a look as he walked around to the driver’s side. Once inside, he asked cajolingly, “What did you do, Bee?”
“Nothing, we just had a little chat. He apologized for almost getting us killed. I made it clear it was all a misunderstanding. Maybe he just had a visit from the ghosts of New Year’s Past, Present, and Future. But mostly past. Maybe he remembered all the shady stuff he’s ever done. Maybe he feels a little repentant about it.” I tossed my arms out with a shrug.
I called Benny Jr. and laid it all out on the table the second I got to jail. I told him about lawsuits from shoddy safety checks and how theSlippery Slopes Sheetsmight be interested in hearing about some of his business dealings. Long story short, I threatened to expose him for the crook he was if he didn’t let me be and guarantee Owen work as long as he needed it. I probably could have gotten him to agree to bring the tram up to date, but I didn’t want to push it. Benny Jr. was just a scared little kid in a grown man’s body.
Owen looked over at me, eyebrow raised skeptically. “Yeah. Maybe.” He shook his head as he pulled into the direction of The Slope. “You’re full of surprises,” he said.
