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“Sir? Why don’t we step outside,” suggested Officer Phoenix.
Creed muttered a curse under his breath as he raised his hands in frustrated surrender. “I’m leavin’. Okay? It’s not worth it. You got your wish.”
Officer Phoenix trailed him as he took his exit, but Reese and Billie stayed close.
“You okay?” asked Billie, rubbing a hand up and down Nora’s back.
Nora knit her eyebrows together as the weight of what she’d just done descended upon her. “Gosh, I’m so sorry,” she muttered, her shoulders sinking in embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to cause a scene in your place of business.”
Billie lifted her brow in awe. “Are you kiddin’? I’ve never been prouder, mama bear. I just knew if I didn’t hold you back, he’d have claw marks all over his face.”
“I didn’t even know he was in town,” said Reese.
“Oh. Yeah. A lot has happened in the last few days,” murmured Nora.
Reese smirked. “I’ll say.”
“First things first—you’re okay? Really, we need to know.”
“I’m—I’m okay,” she assured them, raking her fingers through her hair. “Nothin’ a latte and a phone call won’t cure. Thanks.”
“Well, I’m gonna make you a new latte. And I’m throwin’ in a chocolate croissant for good measure. Don’t even argue with me about it.”
“Yes, ma’am,” agreed Nora, knowing better than to protest.
“With that settled, onto the next thing—we need someseriousgirl time. Too much has gone down, and not enoughbooze has been consumed.” Both Reese and Nora laughed, but neither one of them disagreed. “I’m thinkin’ Boxin’ Day Brunch at my place. It’s after Christmas, so no one should have any excuses. Reese—tell me you’re not workin’ on the twenty-sixth,” she demanded with a quirked eyebrow.
“Workin’ for time and a half Christmas night. Off for three days after. I’ll be there.”
“Great. Then it’s settled. Now—you get Nora in a chair. I’ve got a latte to make good on.”
As Billie went back to man her station behind the bar, Reese walked with Nora to the nearest empty table. Both of them did their best to ignore the stares being cast in their direction.
“Don’t hate me for sayin’ it, but I’ve never seen you that worked up before. Not sure alatteis what you need right now,” said Reese as they both sat.
“You’re probably right, but it’s a little early for wine.”
“Good point.”
“He’s gone,” announced Officer Phoenix as he approached their table. Both women looked up at him as he went on to say, “I know it could have been worse, but given the circumstances, if you want to file an official harassment complaint, we can help.”
“Thanks, but I don’t think that’ll be necessary. At least, I hope not. Supposedly, he’s only in town for a couple weeks. With any luck, we scared him off and we’ve seen the last of him.”
“If that’s not the case, you know where to find us.”
“We should get going,” said Reese as she stood. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
“I promise.”
A few minutes later, after she’d been given a fresh latte, a chocolate croissant, and after she’d convinced Billie she was capable of going about the rest of her day, she returned to her Honda. Once situated in the driver’s seat, she extracted her phone from her jacket pocket and pulled up her list of contacts.
She wanted to call her Aunt Darlene and ask to speak with Evie, but part of her knew that wasn’t a great idea. She’d left less than an hour ago, and it would be out of character for her to call just because. Paranoid as the thought might have been, given her mood the last few days, she didn’t want to raise any more red flags with suspicious—even to a four-year-old—behavior. Instead, she searched for a number she hadn’t called in a long time.
It wasn’t entirely unexpected when she got Lawson’s voicemail, knowing he was busy working. That didn’t mean she wasn’t disappointed. Nevertheless, she resigned herself to leaving a voicemail before getting on with her day’s to-do list.
“Hi—uhm, it’s me. I know you’re workin’. Sorry to bug you. I—I ran into Creed again. Evie wasn’t with me, thank God, and I wasn’t alone. I was at Rock-N-Joe. Actually, now that I’m thinkin’ about it, even if I wasn’t leavin’ this voicemail right now, you’d likely hear about the scene I caused before you made it back to town. It was…bad. Billie had to hold me back. He just—he pissed me off and I lost it. Anyway, I’m ramblin’. Listen, you don’t have to call me back. I’m fine. Reese and her partner happened to be there, and they made sure he left. I’ve got a bunch of stuff to do today so, I guess, call me when you get home if you want. Okay. Bye. I love you, bye.”
Lawson didn’t need to listen to her voicemail again. He’d listened to it at lunch, then again when he was waiting for Moretti at his truck at the end of their shift. Now, as he stuffed a duffle full of enough essentials to get him through the rest of the week, he listened simply to hear her say she loved him. But itwasn’t the end of the message that said it the loudest, it was the rest of it.
