laugh themselves sick if she told them about last night ’ s conversation in her living room and Mack ’ s proposal.
It might not have been her first, but it had definitely been her shortest.
And her sweetest.
“Do you have family you could go to?” The way Sheriff Hernandez looked down and then back up, Mimi was betting that the good sheriff already knew the answer to that.
“ You tell me, ” she said, more calmly than she felt. That was the problem with playing the star witness in a murder trial. Even though she hadn ’ t done anything wrong, her personal life had still been dissected and recorded for all posterity in some DA ’ s dusty files.
“You ’ re from Illinois.” The sheriff tapped the file in front of her. “You moved out to California when you were twenty and show no signs of leaving. You must like it here.”
“Or I ’ m broke and don ’ t have the plane fare to go somewhere else,” she suggested sweetly.
“Can you go back to Chicago?”
Mack ’ s hands found a knot in her neck and rubbed. Who knew the quickie proposal came with spa benefits?
“I ’ ve lived in California since I was twenty,” she said. “I think it ’ s pretty clear that I can ’ t, not in the sense you ’ re suggesting.”
“ You can ’ t celebrate Christmas early?”
She held the other woman ’ s gaze. “ I don’ t go back for Christmas, Thanksgiving, or any other holiday, major or minor. I haven ’ t seen or spoken with any of my Chicago relatives since Auntie Belle ’ s funeral. You do the math.”
Mercedes Hernandez looked pained. She probably celebrated all of the major holidays with dozens and dozens of relatives. Mimi had had those kinds of numbers, although she sincerely doubted her extended family had ever been closer. Maybe it was upbringing. Maybe it was genetic makeup. Whatever the reason, the night she ’ d eloped with her second cousin, the cheerful façade of family togetherness had come crashing down. She and Eddie had gotten married in an Elvis chapel. They ’ d shared a wild, crazy car ride back to Brown and she ’ d failed to sneak him into her dorm. The family had found out and all hell had broken loose. Eddie had a trust fund. She hadn ’ t signed a pre-nup agreement—and her branch of the family tree was apparently one of the poorer ones.
Too fucking bad. She hadn ’ t wanted a dime of Eddie ’ s money. She ’ d only wanted Eddie. And she ’ d had him—for four whole days until Eddie ’ s parents had lawyered up.
“Don ’ t or can ’ t?”
“ I won ’ t. Anything else is my business, not yours.”
“Right.” The sheriff closed her eyes briefly like she was counting to ten. Or one hundred. Mimi knew she had that effect on people.
“So what do we do with you?”
“Nothing.”
She meant it too.
“It ’ s not your job to make decisions about me. I ’ ll be just fine on my own, like I always have been. Now that I know Sol might be in the area, looking to stir up trouble, I ’ ll keep my eyes open. Believe it or not, but I have vested interest in not dying. I ’ ll do my best to keep it that way.”
“But you won ’ t relocate, you won ’ t go into protective custody, and you won ’ t accept an armed guard.”
“She ’ ll accept me,” Mack growled.
***
It being early April, fire season hadn ’ t officially started yet. But winter had been dry and they ’ d already had one bad fire in January that had threatened the state ’ s water reservoirs. He and the jump team were already on call. In all likelihood, he ’ d be jumping in weeks if not in days. He couldn ’ t promise to stick by her side twenty four/seven because, when Jack ’ s call came in, he ’ d go up.
That was his job.
And yet the words came out anyhow.
“She ’ ll move in with me.”
The dead silence that met his claim was frustrating. Dropping into the chair next to Mimi, he reached out and threaded his fingers through hers. She could be as prickly as she
It might not have been her first, but it had definitely been her shortest.
And her sweetest.
“Do you have family you could go to?” The way Sheriff Hernandez looked down and then back up, Mimi was betting that the good sheriff already knew the answer to that.
“ You tell me, ” she said, more calmly than she felt. That was the problem with playing the star witness in a murder trial. Even though she hadn ’ t done anything wrong, her personal life had still been dissected and recorded for all posterity in some DA ’ s dusty files.
“You ’ re from Illinois.” The sheriff tapped the file in front of her. “You moved out to California when you were twenty and show no signs of leaving. You must like it here.”
“Or I ’ m broke and don ’ t have the plane fare to go somewhere else,” she suggested sweetly.
“Can you go back to Chicago?”
Mack ’ s hands found a knot in her neck and rubbed. Who knew the quickie proposal came with spa benefits?
“I ’ ve lived in California since I was twenty,” she said. “I think it ’ s pretty clear that I can ’ t, not in the sense you ’ re suggesting.”
“ You can ’ t celebrate Christmas early?”
She held the other woman ’ s gaze. “ I don’ t go back for Christmas, Thanksgiving, or any other holiday, major or minor. I haven ’ t seen or spoken with any of my Chicago relatives since Auntie Belle ’ s funeral. You do the math.”
Mercedes Hernandez looked pained. She probably celebrated all of the major holidays with dozens and dozens of relatives. Mimi had had those kinds of numbers, although she sincerely doubted her extended family had ever been closer. Maybe it was upbringing. Maybe it was genetic makeup. Whatever the reason, the night she ’ d eloped with her second cousin, the cheerful façade of family togetherness had come crashing down. She and Eddie had gotten married in an Elvis chapel. They ’ d shared a wild, crazy car ride back to Brown and she ’ d failed to sneak him into her dorm. The family had found out and all hell had broken loose. Eddie had a trust fund. She hadn ’ t signed a pre-nup agreement—and her branch of the family tree was apparently one of the poorer ones.
Too fucking bad. She hadn ’ t wanted a dime of Eddie ’ s money. She ’ d only wanted Eddie. And she ’ d had him—for four whole days until Eddie ’ s parents had lawyered up.
“Don ’ t or can ’ t?”
“ I won ’ t. Anything else is my business, not yours.”
“Right.” The sheriff closed her eyes briefly like she was counting to ten. Or one hundred. Mimi knew she had that effect on people.
“So what do we do with you?”
“Nothing.”
She meant it too.
“It ’ s not your job to make decisions about me. I ’ ll be just fine on my own, like I always have been. Now that I know Sol might be in the area, looking to stir up trouble, I ’ ll keep my eyes open. Believe it or not, but I have vested interest in not dying. I ’ ll do my best to keep it that way.”
“But you won ’ t relocate, you won ’ t go into protective custody, and you won ’ t accept an armed guard.”
“She ’ ll accept me,” Mack growled.
***
It being early April, fire season hadn ’ t officially started yet. But winter had been dry and they ’ d already had one bad fire in January that had threatened the state ’ s water reservoirs. He and the jump team were already on call. In all likelihood, he ’ d be jumping in weeks if not in days. He couldn ’ t promise to stick by her side twenty four/seven because, when Jack ’ s call came in, he ’ d go up.
That was his job.
And yet the words came out anyhow.
“She ’ ll move in with me.”
The dead silence that met his claim was frustrating. Dropping into the chair next to Mimi, he reached out and threaded his fingers through hers. She could be as prickly as she
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