He groaned and then told her, "Luke's in
jail, and James is still in town."
Her legs turned to rubber, she wobbled then
almost fell down, and would have if she didn't drop the Pop Tart
and grab hold of the counter. "
You threw Luke in jail?!
" she
screamed incredulously into the phone.
"I had to. He did something really stupid in
front of a lot of witnesses."
"What did he do?"
"James saw him at the Piggly Wiggly and gave
him a hard time. Supposedly, he told Luke he'd followed you to the
lake and that he'd been out to the ranch and Luke went off on
him."
"Going off on him isn't a crime."
"No, but jerking him up by the throat
against the potato bin is."
"Oh, crap..." Cassie groaned but hysterical
laughter bubbled up inside her as a mental picture of the scene
formed in her brain. Then she sobered and asked, "So James is
stalking me?"
"Looks that way. You wanna press
charges?"
"Damned right I do." She wasn't letting that
asshole press charges against the man she loved and not return the
favor.
"Good, I'll be there in twenty minutes to
pick you up." Cole sounded excited and relieved for some reason.
"Think your daddy might want to press charges for trespassing?"
"Yup, I know he will. He hates James."
Cole chuckled then said, "We'll stop by the
Double B then on the way back to the station."
Cassie let out a whoop then told him, "That
sucker isn't getting away with this. He ain't seen Texas justice
yet, but he's about to get a taste of it! I'm surprised my daddy
didn't fill him up with squirrel shot when he went over there."
"Me too, darlin'...glad he saved him for me.
I'm going to enjoy throwing that asshole in jail."
Cassie laughed and said, "See you in a few."
She hung up the phone, tossed it back in her pocket, then reached
down to pick up her dinner.
***
Luke shoved a hand through his hair and made
another circuit in the jail cell mumbling as he cursed himself for
getting locked up, cursed James for goading him into doing what
made him get arrested, and finally he cursed Cole for throwing him
in here and refusing to protect Cassie.
Cole hadn't even called the judge so he
could set bail, and Luke could get out. He was just being a dick
because he was pissed at Luke. His
ex
-best friend would
probably let him simmer in here all night.
Luke had no idea what time it was, but he
figured it had to be close to midnight. When Cole had finally taken
statements from James and several other witnesses, and booked him,
it was around seven, and that was hours ago. It felt like an
eternity, and evidently it could be another before he was released.
He didn't care about himself, but he was worried about Cassie.
Hearing keys clank against the main door to
the holding pen, Luke ran to the bars to see if it was Cole or
someone who could help him get out of here. He took a shocked step
back when he saw Cole leading James down the corridor in handcuffs.
He had a split lip, and bloody nose, and Luke wondered who'd
finally had the honor of punching the bastard in the face. He
should have done it at the grocery, instead of just grabbing
him.
Cole gave him a meaningful stare and then
his lips quirked up at the corner smugly, when they passed by. Luke
smiled at their backs knowing that his best friend had been the one
to pick up his slack. Like always. He shouldn't have doubted
him.
After he shoved a very quiet James in a
cell, and locked the door, Cole strutted back up the corridor and
stopped at Luke's cell. "Called Judge. He said to release you on
your own recognizance for now, and he refused the charges until we
see what happens. I told him the situation." He nodded his head
back toward James cell.
Luke gave him a tight smile of thanks and
grabbed his shoulder through the bars. Cole nodded then put the key
in the door and let him out. "Cassie's waiting for you up front,"
he told him with a pat on the back. Luke stumbled out of the cell
then walked quickly toward the gate down the corridor.
When he finally walked into the outer
booking area, he saw Cassie sitting in one of the hard plastic
visitor chairs, slouched over, her chin resting on her chest as she
snored softly. His heart twisted in his chest and love for her
poured through every part of his soul. He walked over and sat
beside her and gently nudged her shoulder then rubbed his thumb
over her cheek. "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty."
"I went and got her medicine from the
pharmacy before they closed. She took a pain pill, so she's pretty
out of it," Cole said standing beside his chair.
Luke's voice was choked when he turned to
Cole and said, "I can't thank you enough, man."
"No thanks needed...I've got to go. Call me
if you need me, and tell Cassie I said goodnight." Cole turned to
leave then looked back once more. "Oh, and your truck is out front,
I had someone drive it over here from Piggly Wiggly. I put the
suitcase she packed while we were at the ranch in the back." Cole
reached into his pocket and tossed him the keys.
"Jesus, Cole...you're my knight in brown
khaki. I think I'm in love." Luke chuckled and winked at his
friend.
"Yeah, yeah...you're in love alright, but
not with me," Cole's eyes wandered to Cassie then back to Luke's.
"Take care man, and
stay out of trouble
!" He gave Luke one
more meaningful stare then turned and walked away.
Watching his friend's retreating back, Luke
reached over beside him and pulled Cassie over onto his lap and
held her against his chest. He noticed she'd changed from the green
scrubs into cut-off shorts and a pink tank top. She must've done
that while she was at the ranch with Cole, he thought. He was glad
she had a chance to pack some stuff. Those green scrubs she'd left
the hospital in were the only thing she'd had with her and they
weren't going to last the week they were going to stay at the
cabin.
The beautiful, blue-eyed angel in his arms
looked up at him with a sleepy smile. "Luuuuke," she said as if
they'd been apart for years this time and not hours, then put her
arms around him and snuggled into his neck, placing light kisses
there. "I missed you."
It kinda sounded like she
meant
all
those years they'd been apart. He smiled. Maybe he was finally
getting the welcome he'd wanted that first day he saw her
again.
"I missed you too, sugar...a lot," he said
and gave her a squeeze. "And I'm sorry you had to get dragged out
here for this mess when you should be resting." He stood up with
her in his arms. "Let's get you back to bed."
"Mmm...." she purred and snuggled into him
again. "Only if you're there with me this time."
"Oh, I plan to be, darlin'," he drawled.
"Just as soon as I can scrub this jailhouse stench off of me."
Cassie stuck her nose up against his neck
and he heard her inhale deeply. "You smell pretty good to me,
darlin'," she said then he felt her small but deadly tongue lick up
his neck to his ear. "Taste pretty damned good too."
He shivered and then missed a step on his
way across the parking lot to his truck, his jeans feeling suddenly
too tight. She giggled near his ear. Leaning his head down, he gave
her a loud kiss on the lips and then whispered over them, "Stop
that sugar, or I'm gonna drop you on your ass."
"No you won't," she told him then looked up
into his eyes seriously, "I trust you." Her eyelids flickered then
she closed them and snored softly against his chest His heart did a
little dance in his chest then settled.
Luke had waited a long time to hear those
words, and wished like hell they weren't given now, while she was
under the influence of narcotics. When she said them to him sober,
he'd believe her, and believe he was one step closer to having her
respect. Their key to forever. He shook his head and opened the
door of his truck to gently deposit her limp, sleeping body on the
front seat and buckle her in.
They had a long road ahead of them to get
there, but Luke was hopeful again. Spending this week alone with
her should be a good start for their new beginning, as long as what
she'd said to him about wanting to try to work things out was true,
and as long as he didn't lose his job and his freedom over his
latest screw up.
If he did, it didn't look like he was going
down alone. He chuckled thinking of how sullen and bruised James
Barton had looked when Cole had incarcerated him. He knew he'd been
released because she and her daddy had pressed charges against
James.
The state motto of his home state flitted
though his mind, "Don't mess with Texas...", and then he added his
own twist looking over at Cassie, "
Women.
" They'll chew you
up and spit you out like a plug of cheap tobacco.
On the drive back to the cabin, Cole saw an
all night convenience store and pulled in. He was starving, because
he and Cassie hadn't eaten lunch or dinner...that he knew of
anyway. Cole might have picked her up something while they were
out, but his friend hadn't given Luke the same consideration. He'd
meant for Luke to suffer, while he was in the pokey, and he had
done a good job of making him miserable.
Luke didn't want to wake Cassie, so he eased
out of the truck and softly shut the door then walked inside and
picked up a couple of pre-made sandwiches from the cooler, a couple
of bags of chips, and some items for their breakfast tomorrow. He'd
make his second attempt at a grocery shopping trip tomorrow morning
after they ate. Hopefully, it'd go better than his last one. Luke
chuckled, paid the cashier and walked back to the truck. He saw
Cassie sitting up stretching.
Opening the door he hefted the two full bags
onto the seat between them, and then jumped inside. "You hungry,
sleepyhead?" Luke asked her digging around in the bags for the
sandwiches and chips.
She yawned and nodded taking the sandwich he
offered her, and grabbing a bag of nacho chips she saw sticking out
the top of the other bag. "Thanks. Are we almost back to the
lake?"
"Yep. Not too far," he said and started
unwrapping his sandwich.
He glanced over at her and saw she was
looking out the window staring upward. "The sky is beautiful
tonight. Lots of stars out..." she told him.
"Yeah, a full moon too." He'd noticed that
earlier when they'd left the station. It probably explained all the
crazy shit that happened to him today. It felt like there had been
two solid weeks of full moons.
He felt her eyes on him and looked at her
again. "What?" he asked her raising an eyebrow.
"Are you tired?"
"Tired, but too keyed up to sleep probably."
No probably about it. What Luke had been through today had him
wound tighter than a two dollar watch. "Your head hurting?
Ankle?"
"Nah, the pain pill took the edge off, I'm
good now." She smiled at him, a small secretive smile that had him
wondering what she was thinking about. He didn't have to wonder
long. "If we go to our spot for a picnic, you think you can carry
me down to the water?"
"Hell, yeah." Luke would carry her fifteen
miles if it meant they could spend time stargazing like they used
to. It would also give him a chance to clear his head, so he had
some hope of falling asleep tonight. It was around one o'clock in
the morning, but a couple hours of relaxing would probably do them
both good. "Great idea, darlin'."
She gave him a wide smile and rewrapped her
sandwich then asked, "Got a blanket?"
"Yep always carry one for emergencies behind
my seat. Does this qualify?" He rewrapped his too and put it in the
bag.
"Damned straight it does. Let's get
going."
Luke didn't have to be told twice. He shoved
the keys into the ignition and peeled out of the parking lot. When
they reached the secluded spot, he parked at the road and then
reached behind the seat to pull out the blanket then unfolded it to
put their food in there. He handed her a soft drink then put one in
the blanket for him and tied it hobo-style and put his arm through
the loop.
He slid out of the truck and walked around
to her door and opened it. Excitement poured off of her as she
scooted to the edge of the seat and put her arms around his neck.
He slid his arm under her knees, lifted her into his arms then
kicked the door shut. "We're gonna have to go slow. It'll be darker
in the woods, and I don't want to trip over a tree root," he said
sarcastically and winked at her.
She slugged him in the shoulder and he
laughed. Luke walked down the path and into the woods, darkened by
the thick canopy of trees that blocked the moonlight. Night
creatures sang their songs, their music sweet to his ears. It was a
tune he hadn't heard at this particular place for ten years. When
they reached the decline down to the rocks, he went sideways
carefully picking his way to the bottom. The scene when he exited
the woods into the night was breathtaking.
The moon was a huge glowing orb bathing
everything around them in soft iridescent yellow light. It shone
off the water lapping gently at the shoreline below, creating one
of the most romantic settings Luke had ever seen. He hadn't been
back here in the moonlight in ten years, and he knew why. This was
his and Cassie's special place...the place where they'd fallen in
love...and he hadn't wanted to share it with anyone else, or relive
those memories. Until now.