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Mia turned around and walked out, not once glancing back as Deloris continued her tirade about imbeciles and incompetent people. Without missing a beat, her smile still in place, she walked until she made it to the back offices of the theater and shut herself inside the nearest empty one.
She closed the door quietly, lest she draw any attention her way, and then locked the door for an extra safety measure. She leaned against the door, inhaling a deep breath. Then slid down as her body started to shake.
Wrapping her arms around her knees, she had to inhale and exhale several times to hold back the dam of tears she could feel pricking behind her eyes.
Every single time.
No matter how many times she told herself she was strong and capable, she would crumble into a big messy ball.
But she had stood her ground. She won the fight.
In the end, it always felt like she lost. Beaten and bruised. Left for dead.
13
Women. They were the cause of so much turmoil in his life lately.
Case in point. The woman sitting across from him, slightly glaring, slightly happy as she munched on one of his cookies. Gabby wanted to know who called and what was going on. Hell, he barely had time to get any information out of his brother before he had to hang up with him. There was nothing to tell yet. All he knew was he got arrested for assault. Because of a woman. Hope, or something like that, he couldn’t quite recall her name at the moment.
It didn’t matter. What mattered was getting his brother out of jail, and quickly. He’d never survive a night in the slammer. Although, some time in there could help clear his head and make him see reason. That messing with a married woman wasn’t going to get him anywhere good. Look where it already landed him. In jail.
He held up his finger, indicating Gabby had to wait, which further inched up her piss-o-meter. Great. After finally getting her to forgive him for his mishap about Mia and the robbery, he was right back to upsetting her. Some would say it wasn’t her business what his phone call was about anyway.
Not him. They shared most of everything with each other. But before he could talk to her about it, he had to fix the immediate problem.
Scrolling through his contacts, he found the man he needed. He hesitated before finally hitting the number.
It rang three times before a voice penetrated through.
“Wow. Long time, no talk. What’s up, Jaxson?”
It was good to hear his old friend, Elliot’s, voice. Of course, not quite the circumstances he wanted to be talking with him, but he had no choice in the matter.
“I wish I could say good things. I hate calling you for a favor, man. But…” Ugh. He was a terrible friend. He should’ve figured out how to bail his brother out from out of state. Sure, it would’ve been a pain in the ass, but he wouldn’t be feeling like a completely worthless friend right now either.
“But you need my help. It’s all good. What’s going on?” Jaxson heard screaming in the background. “Uh, hold on for a sec.” Elliot chuckled, then it sounded like he set the phone down and walked away as the screaming increased.
It had been over a year since he’d visited his brother in Minnesota where he lived in a small town called Mason. He’d been living there for the past ten years since his best friend, Cam, who grew up in the area, wanted to start a carpentry business. He had almost begged Mase to be a partner. Mase had found it comical his name was damn near the same as the town’s name. Jaxson had made many visits over the years to see his brother, exploring the area, and meeting, Elliot, the chief of police in Mulberry, one town over.
The screaming stopped. A few seconds later, Elliot was back on the phone.
“Sorry about that. Eloise is nearing the terrible threes, and some days, winning an argument with that child is near impossible.”
Jaxson laughed, although he couldn’t relate at all. He wasn’t around kids much. They were a very foreign subject to him.
Did Mia want kids? Would he be a good dad? He knew without even thinking Mia would be the best mother in the world. She was so caring, kind, and always thinking of others. Always putting everyone before herself. It was time she started putting herself first. Time for her to put her needs and wants front and center. Time for her to stop being afraid and let him love her.
And his thoughts were derailing at the worst possible time.
“Well, I’m not sure what to think of the silence. She won?”
The low, throaty laugh that hit his ear helped to calm some of the raging nerves swimming through his veins. It made him realize he made the right decision to call Elliot.
“No, she didn’t win. Well, maybe partly. It’s called compromise, sometimes. She wanted a snack, and she needs to eat lunch first, but I gave her some time on her tablet, which made her forget all about the snack. At least, for right now.” Elliot laughed again. “But enough about me and my silly little girl. What’s going on?”
“You know my brother Mase?” A nervous chuckle escaped. Of course, Elliot knew him. “He got arrested. In your town. Currently sitting in your jail cell.”
“Wow. Okay, not the kind of call I expected to get on my day off, and I get some weird calls sometimes from my officers. What happened?”
