front. “Help me drag these to the curb, will you?”
These looked like the ones from the spare
bedroom I’d changed in upstairs. “Aren’t you gonna go through them
first?”
“I don’t want to know anymore of her
secrets.”
“Whoa. I didn’t think Amy kept secrets from
you.”
“Not Amy.” Bitterness seethed between Bobby’s
teeth. “Her mother.”
A couple of lawn chairs were smushed into the
far corner. I rescued them and set them up in the shade at the edge
of the garage to catch a furnace-like breeze and where Nosey Nana
couldn’t see us. Since my arms felt like I’d already spent hours
maneuvering boxes, I had no qualms about putting off additional
strain a bit longer. I plopped down in a chair and patted the
other.
“You look like you could use a break there,
pardner. Take a load off for a sec and do a little ‘splaining to
this confused cowgirl before you do something rash like kick the
neighbor’s dog.”
“Gee, thanks.”
Bobby snatched a couple of water bottles from
an ice chest, handed me one and took a swig from the other before
sitting down with a sigh. Sweat from the humid afternoon trickled
down his temples, and he smelled like he’d just played a round of
one-on-one with the guys. Ah, the memories.
“Tell me what’s got you all worked up today,”
I said.
“I don’t feel much like talking,” he
returned.
Leave it to a man to clam up when he should
be getting things off his chest. “Then you can listen.”
Even though I hadn’t done any heavy lifting
yet, I was still hotter than a woman in the throes of menopause and
tucked the water bottle down the shirt neck to rest between my
boobs. Living in Texas all my life hadn’t acclimated me to the heat
and humidity of a good ol’ southern summertime. That was one reason
I covered as little as I could legally get away with. Personally,
I’d rather live somewhere north – like near the Arctic Circle.
I dove in. “Found out something interesting
from Zeke last night.”
Bobby glanced at the moisture outlining the
water bottle under my shirt. “You two have a hot date?”
I threw him a look. “Just business.”
“Not what I heard.”
“Since when did you join the gossiping
gaggle?”
“I imagine the information was an attempt by
my mother to discourage my spending time with you.” He air quoted
around the bottle in his hand. “Now that I’m single .”
“Well tell your mother that you were the one
who asked for my help.”
“I did.”
“And Zeke is the only law enforcement officer
I know well enough to ask a favor.”
“I figured.”
“We’re just friends.”
“Uh-huh.” Bobby took a long gulp of
water.
Zeke a friend – not sure I’d go so far as to
consider us that. We hadn’t spoken to each other in the more than
two years since the epic breakup – or breakdown, depending on how
you saw it. Sharing a meal last night had been nice at times, that
is until Zeke opened his mouth and reminded me how good he was at
frustrating the life out of me. But he truly was the only LEO I
knew well enough to ask about the police report. That didn’t mean I
hadn’t known a few others. You know – in the Biblical
sense.
“Why don’t you just get Zeke to help you
instead of using me as the middleman?” I asked. “Save us all a heap
of headaches.”
He tossed the half-full water bottle up in
the air a few times as if stalling. “Zeke and I had a bit of a
falling out in high school.”
“Please tell me it wasn’t over Lorraine
Padget.”
“Besides,” Bobby said, completely ignoring my
comment. “I know how good you are at sizing people up at first
glance. Amy was a lot like you in that regard…gifted with
discernment.”
At one time, I too thought I was good at
sizing people up. Had a lot of fun with it at the bar these days,
though it didn’t always seem like a gift. Zeke’s betrayal had cured
me of that delusion.
“Speaking of Amy, do you want to know what
Zeke found in the report? Or
These looked like the ones from the spare
bedroom I’d changed in upstairs. “Aren’t you gonna go through them
first?”
“I don’t want to know anymore of her
secrets.”
“Whoa. I didn’t think Amy kept secrets from
you.”
“Not Amy.” Bitterness seethed between Bobby’s
teeth. “Her mother.”
A couple of lawn chairs were smushed into the
far corner. I rescued them and set them up in the shade at the edge
of the garage to catch a furnace-like breeze and where Nosey Nana
couldn’t see us. Since my arms felt like I’d already spent hours
maneuvering boxes, I had no qualms about putting off additional
strain a bit longer. I plopped down in a chair and patted the
other.
“You look like you could use a break there,
pardner. Take a load off for a sec and do a little ‘splaining to
this confused cowgirl before you do something rash like kick the
neighbor’s dog.”
“Gee, thanks.”
Bobby snatched a couple of water bottles from
an ice chest, handed me one and took a swig from the other before
sitting down with a sigh. Sweat from the humid afternoon trickled
down his temples, and he smelled like he’d just played a round of
one-on-one with the guys. Ah, the memories.
“Tell me what’s got you all worked up today,”
I said.
“I don’t feel much like talking,” he
returned.
Leave it to a man to clam up when he should
be getting things off his chest. “Then you can listen.”
Even though I hadn’t done any heavy lifting
yet, I was still hotter than a woman in the throes of menopause and
tucked the water bottle down the shirt neck to rest between my
boobs. Living in Texas all my life hadn’t acclimated me to the heat
and humidity of a good ol’ southern summertime. That was one reason
I covered as little as I could legally get away with. Personally,
I’d rather live somewhere north – like near the Arctic Circle.
I dove in. “Found out something interesting
from Zeke last night.”
Bobby glanced at the moisture outlining the
water bottle under my shirt. “You two have a hot date?”
I threw him a look. “Just business.”
“Not what I heard.”
“Since when did you join the gossiping
gaggle?”
“I imagine the information was an attempt by
my mother to discourage my spending time with you.” He air quoted
around the bottle in his hand. “Now that I’m single .”
“Well tell your mother that you were the one
who asked for my help.”
“I did.”
“And Zeke is the only law enforcement officer
I know well enough to ask a favor.”
“I figured.”
“We’re just friends.”
“Uh-huh.” Bobby took a long gulp of
water.
Zeke a friend – not sure I’d go so far as to
consider us that. We hadn’t spoken to each other in the more than
two years since the epic breakup – or breakdown, depending on how
you saw it. Sharing a meal last night had been nice at times, that
is until Zeke opened his mouth and reminded me how good he was at
frustrating the life out of me. But he truly was the only LEO I
knew well enough to ask about the police report. That didn’t mean I
hadn’t known a few others. You know – in the Biblical
sense.
“Why don’t you just get Zeke to help you
instead of using me as the middleman?” I asked. “Save us all a heap
of headaches.”
He tossed the half-full water bottle up in
the air a few times as if stalling. “Zeke and I had a bit of a
falling out in high school.”
“Please tell me it wasn’t over Lorraine
Padget.”
“Besides,” Bobby said, completely ignoring my
comment. “I know how good you are at sizing people up at first
glance. Amy was a lot like you in that regard…gifted with
discernment.”
At one time, I too thought I was good at
sizing people up. Had a lot of fun with it at the bar these days,
though it didn’t always seem like a gift. Zeke’s betrayal had cured
me of that delusion.
“Speaking of Amy, do you want to know what
Zeke found in the report? Or
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