didn’t want to lose my mother but…but I couldn’t go through with it. I sat in my bedroom, decked out in my bridesmaid dress, staring at Dad’s picture. In that moment I knew I couldn’t be a part of the wedding. It would be a dishonor to him, so I bolted for the garage, fresh air and freedom.”
“Very mature, Peyton.”
“I had planned to call Mom.”
“Why didn’t you?”
She winced, knowing what she had to say was going to sound awful. She said it, anyway. “I called Giselle, instead, and she said the sorority sisters were having a big party in Dallas and what I needed was some fun, liquor and sexy guys. It sounded good to me at the time. That way I could forget what Mom was doing.”
“Again, a very mature move.”
“Stop being so sarcastic.” She took a quick breath. “It wasn’t easy. As I drove, the tears started and I couldn’t seem to stop them. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I couldn’t stop that, either. So I put an earbud in my ear to tune out my conscience.”
“I almost feel sorry for you.”
“Please, Quinn.”
“So what happened?”
She rolled the scene around in her head, searching for the right words. The sheriff of this stop-in-the-road town certainly wasn’t in her plans. She honestly hadn’t heard the siren and when he’d motioned her over, she thought he was after the truck and wanted her out of the way. She’d never realized she was driving so fast, and then his big bad attitude had rubbed her the wrong way.
“Peyton, are you there?”
“Yes,” she mumbled, not believing she’d been so stupid.
“What did you do?”
She dredged up her last morsel of courage. “I tried to give the cop, sheriff or whatever he is, money to let me go.”
“You did what?” Astonishment shot through the phone. She could almost hear the reprimand that was about to erupt.
“Why the hell would you do that?”
“Giselle told me she never gets tickets because she flirts with the cop and shows some cleavage. If that failed, then money always did the trick. Cops barely make minimum wage and need extra cash.”
Oh, why had she even thought of Giselle’s ploys? The sheriff hadn’t even noticed her cleavage. And the sheriff of Nowhere, Texas, turned out to be honest.
“And you listened to that airhead? She’s always getting you in trouble.”
“Stop being so judgmental and get me out of here.”
“Where are you?”
“I don’t know, somewhere between Austin and Dallas.” What had that snotty sheriff called it?
“I need a name, Peyton.” His astonishment turned to irritation. “Weren’t you paying attention? Or do you even care? You just expect me to drop everything and figure out where you are and solve your little problem. Typical Peyton.”
He made her sound selfish and spoiled. Someday soon she might have to admit the truth of that, but not now. “Horse something. Yes, that’s it.”
There was a long pause on the line. “You know what, Peyton, why don’t you get comfy? After what you did to Mom, I’m not running to your rescue. It’s time for you to grow up and start thinking about someone besides yourself for a change. Give me a call when that happens. And you might check out the name of the town in the process.”
“You wouldn’t dare—”
The sudden dead silence on the line told her he would. She had the urge to throw the phone. With restraint, she sank onto the lumpy cot and slowly started to count.
One. Quinn would come.
Two. Quinn wouldn’t leave her in this backwater town, whatever it was called.
Three. She slammed the phone onto the cot.
Pride wouldn’t let her ask the sheriff the name of the town. From her position, she had a very narrow view of the sparse office, but she could see him sitting at his desk writing something. He’d removed his Stetson hat. A wayward lock of dark hair had fallen across his forehead. His khaki shirt stretched across broad shoulders. The sun coming through a window caught his badge and it winked at her like a caution light.
She noticed all that a little too late. He was a no-nonsense, straightforward lawman, a mix between Clint Eastwood and Jimmy Stewart. Some women might find that attractive, but she found him a bore and a bully.
As she scooted back to sit on the bottom of the bunk beds, she wondered if the sheet was clean. The steel bed had a lumpy mattress, pillow and a dirty brown blanket. A roach skittered across the grimy concrete floor. She jerked up her legs, shuddering. She had to get out of here. Fast.
She’d show that cocky sheriff.
He wasn’t keeping her a prisoner.
Quinn would come. He always did.
Chapter Three
Wyatt wasn’t sure what to do with Ms. Ross. She’d made her phone call, so why wasn’t someone calling to arrange her bail? His plans were to release her if she promised to return on Wednesday for the hearing. But so far he’d heard nothing from her family.
And it was getting late. He had to call Jody.
Before he could punch out the number, his daughter bounded in with Dolittle, her yellow Lab, trotting behind her. She was dressed in her customary jeans, sneakers and a T-shirt, her short blond hair clinging to her head like a frilly cap. She looked so much like Lori that it squeezed another drop of sadness from his heart. Her eyes were like his, though, dark brown with flecks of green.
“Hey, Daddy, what’s taking so long?” She rested her elbows on his desk and cupped her face, those big eyes sparkling like the rarest of gems. He’d never thought it possible to love someone so much, so deeply, but he did—the same way he had loved her mother. There was nothing on this earth he wouldn’t do for his daughter. He’d give his life for her in a heartbeat. She was everything to him and would be until the day he died.
He swallowed the lump in his throat. “I have a situation here at the jail.” Glancing outside, he saw her bicycle. “Does Grandma know where you are?” Usually his mother called when Jody was on her way to his office.
Jody shrugged. “Grandma doesn’t know where I’m at half the time.”
“Really?” He leaned back in his chair.
“Shoot.” Jody snapped her fingers. “Ramrod says I’m the sharpest knife in the drawer and sometimes I cut my own self.”
Everyone in town knew Jody and she wasn’t in any danger. But it was against the rules for Jody to leave the house without permission. His daughter spent too much time at the local barbershop
