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“Okay... I thought you liked him,” I mutter.
“I thought he was hot. Not good. You shouldn’t confuse one with the other.”
I’m not sure I’m the one confused here. I put my things away, pull on my uniform and take a deep breath, preparing to face the day and the customers.
While Ross is facing a nightmare.
They’ll let him go, I tell myself. They don’t really have proof he committed any crime.
But the sheriff hates him. I bet he’ll push to keep Ross in jail longer, try to make the charges stick.
Dena sniffles and blows her nose in a Kleenex, and I manage to pull my thoughts off Ross for two seconds to try and guess what happened here.
“Does this have to do with Jenner?” I ask.
She almost drops the glass she’s polishing. “None of your business.”
“Dena...”
“Jenner left town. And that’s fine,” she says defiantly. “He never promised me anything.”
“When did he leave town? That was sudden.”
“I dunno. He’s been away the past couple of days.”
Coincidence? And “that hair of yours is a dead giveaway” like the sheriff said...
God, I want to talk to someone, and Dena isn’t a happy camper right now. An idea is forming in my mind and I don’t like it one bit.
Thankfully, just two hours later, as I’m returning to the kitchen with orders, my phone messenger informs me I have a new text.
And it’s from Merc Watson.
***
‘Hi Luna,’ he writes. ‘Ross spoke of you. Look, my brother is often arrested. He likes to cause trouble. What worries you?’
I chew on my lip as I decide how to reply. ‘Hi Merc. Ross also spoke of you. He was arrested for armed robbery yesterday. I think he was framed.’
‘That’s not good,’ Merc writes after a long pause. ‘We’re coming to Destiny today. Let’s talk.’
Does this count as meeting Ross’s folks? If the suicidal butterflies bomb-diving in my stomach are any indication, that’s a yes. His siblings are
the only people Ross has ever talked of with affection. Weary affection, sure, and some distrust, but they’re the closest he has to a family.
I need to leave work early, but Mike is not around to ask him. It doesn’t take much to convince Dena to cover for me. I think she’s happy to stay longer, keep her mind off her own misery.
On impulse, I give her a quick hug. “The right man will come your way,” I say, Luna the Deranged Oracle. Ha. But giving someone hope is not a bad thing in my book. Without hope, we’d all shrivel and die. “Give it time. You’re cute, you’re clever, I’m sure the right guy will notice.”
She snorts softly, but she’s smiling when I draw back. “I’m just annoyed with myself for being so upset, that’s all. I’ll get over it. Now go, meet your man’s relatives and get him out of the slammer before he has a fit.” At my look of surprise, she shrugs. “It’s no secret that the prison he got sent to last time sucks big time. You didn’t know?” She winces. “It’s infamous for its violence.”
A shiver raises goosebumps on my arms. “Let’s get him out.”
The Watsons are in town for the day only, as it turns out. They had no clue Ross was arrested until I wrote to Merc about it.
We meet by the river, near Ross’s house. I just wanted a place we could talk away from prying eyes. I didn’t think that they’d be uneasy here but they glance around like they expect an ax murderer to come from the woods.
Uh. Of course. They must know everything about this case. After all, the serial ax murderer was their father, too.
