Page 46 of Tied Over

Torres escorted Luke out of the house, and Phelps, who had latex gloves on, took possession of the rolling suitcase from me. I explained, for their report, that Bodhi’s fingerprints would be there along with Luke’s but not mine. Phelps thanked me.

“Thank you, Marshals,” Torres said when he returned. “We don’t want sexual predators in our city, so we thank you for finding him so we can put him on a plane.”

“Thank you for your prompt response.”

Bodhi took a breath once they were escorting Luke out of the house. “I always feel better once the cuffs are on.”

“I was just thinkin’ the same thing.”

He leaned in, slipped a hand around the side of my neck and held me there a moment, smiling at me before he gently patted my cheek and let me go. “Now I could use a beer.”

“Me too, and I’m hungry.”

Stella was there suddenly between us, slipping her hands in each of ours. “Are you gonna eat now?”

“Yes,” Bodhi told her. “But I bet that plate of macaroni and cheese you made Jed is cold now, though, yeah? We have to put it in the microwave.”

She shook her head. “It’s gone already. The people who bring the food took it. You both have to make new ones.”

“Okay, good,” Bodhi said, pointing at something white. “What is that?”

“Ambrosia salad,” she told him. “My mom says you should never eat that if it’s not in the refrigerator or is sitting in a bowl of ice because you could get sick.”

“What kind of sick?”

“Squirtles,” I whispered to him.

“Well, that sounds horrible.”

Stella and I both laughed.

SIX

An hour later, Stella was running around like a crazy person, barefoot, in shorts and a crop top, no longer in her jeans and tennis shoes and a long-sleeve shirt.

“That’s another indicator,” Bodhi explained to Keith, who was sitting next to Hayden, Davis, and Hayden’s parents—Hayden Burdine the Second, who wanted me to call him Hank—apparently everyone did, which, in my opinion, made things easier—and his wife, Emily. Hayden’s sisters, Josette and Angela, sat with us too, on the couches around a coffee table. Hayden’s brother Giles had to take a Xanax and was now outside on a chaise with a cool compress over his eyes, while two of his cousins watched the kids. “Stella wanted to cover her body while Luke was here, but now she’s comfortable because she trusts all of you.”

Keith’s forehead was in his hand, and Angela, who had called him, was glaring, clearly unhappy with him, while Josette was rubbing his back.

There were a lot of questions, which made sense, and Bodhi was patiently going over them, as he was always better at that part than me. He massaged things, had more finesse than me, bluntness being my cross to bear. Watching Stella screaming with excitement as she played with her cousins was a wonderful sight to behold. There was a day-and-night difference in her.

“That’s why she locked her door,” Emily said, looking sad. “I got on her about that, and now I feel terrible.”

Bodhi shook his head. “No. She didn’t tell you. There was no way for you to know. But it says a lot that her conviction was so strong, she risked your anger for her own safety. Most seven-year-olds aren’t so self-assured,” he told Keith. “You and Meredith are good parents.”

“Meredith certainly is,” Angela snapped.

“Oh, fuck off,” Keith railed at her, getting up and walking around the other side of the couch. “You don’t think I feel like shit enough?”

“You get to see her twice a year, Keith. Once in the summer, once at Christmas, and when you do, you bring your fuckin’ bimbo along instead of making your kid your entire focus? What the hell is that?” she shouted, getting up to face him. “Did you hear her tell that nice lady detective that if she didn’t play with him, he was gonna play with Margo? That’s my kid!” she roared at him. “Your daughter was protecting her cousin while you were out on the fucking lake with your fucking whore!”

“Giles is the one who brought him here. Why isn’t he in trouble?” he bellowed back.

“Giles had no goddamn clue, but you know what? Giles fuckin’ watches his kids! So does Josie, and so do I! You were the only one who wasn’t here, so guess which kid the sexual predator went after.”

It was really loud, and everyone was up and on their feet, more husbands and wives coming inside, so I stood and walked outside in the sun as all the kids dove into the pool. Everyone was screaming, and no one was making sure nobody was drowning. In their defense, though, all the kids were swimming underwater, doing laps, racing, and they were all like fish. I was impressed. I couldn’t swim at all when I was their general age.

“Jed! Are you watching?” Stella yelled.