Boomer nodded his head, stating, “sure thing Sloan. I’ll email it to you in a few minutes.” At that, Officer Smith left with a nod at both men.
Boomer told Cade he had to get going. Cade reached for his phone as he watched Boomer walk out of his office with a wave over his shoulder. He decided to start getting to know Kresley now and what better way than to fire off quick questions and get answers by text.
Cade: Hey you. Gotta question. Favorite color?
Kresley: Hmmmmm… Fave color is hard to say. I guess I’d have to say pink.
Cade: Wow, okay. I thought red heads didn’t like pink. But that helps me for future reference.
Kresley: Pink is my signature color *GIF of Julia Roberts in Steel Magnolias*
Cade: You’ve got her beat by a mile with beauty and grace.
Kresley: *eye roll emoji*
Cade: Next question…favorite food type? Italian, Mexican, Chinese, vegan (please don’t say this word)
Kresley: Honestly pasta is my favorite food in the world, so Italian.
Cade: Brownie points for Kres. I love Italian. I just wanted to stop and say hello and tell you I’m thinking about you. Be sure to eat lunch and rest some so the headache doesn’t come back. I’ll check in with you later on.
Kresley: okay. I promise to not overdo it. I miss you, asshole.
Cade: I’m hard to miss. Big target. Aim above the waist please. Lol Later honey.
Cade put his phone back down on his desk and went back to work, with a big smile on his face.
Chapter Nine
Kresley answered phone call after phone call all afternoon. Many called just to ask if she was okay. Others called to dig for gossip so they could share it with others. And there were the few hang up phone calls as well. By now the whole town knew what had happened to Drake Harris. Kresley cringed at the thought of how she and her family’s business was now connected to a murder investigation. She couldn’t believe this was her life right now. One positive thought though was that it pushed her and Cade together. She was enjoying any time she spent with him and couldn’t wait to see where this could go. Her phone’s tone that she had an incoming text message brought her out of her inner thoughts.
Cade: Hey sweetie. Question. What’s your favorite candy?
Kresley: Hi. Favorite candy. Hmmm…. I’m going to go simple and say M&Ms. Plain, milk chocolate. Next would be a Reese’s peanut butter cup.
Cade: A girl after my own heart. Let’s set up time to spend together this evening. I’m bringing dinner with me and dessert. You find a good movie for us to watch. Sound good baby?
Kresley: That sounds perfect. I’ll be through with work by 5:30 PM and will head upstairs after. Just text me when you arrive and I’ll head down to unlock doors for you.
Cade: Can’t wait baby. Can’t freakin’ wait.
Kresley put her phone down and went back to work with a huge smile on her face. Grace chose that moment to walk in and saw her friend’s face. Not one to let good manners dictate what came out of her mouth, Grace stated, “so what put that shit eatin’ grin on your face Kres? Did Cade text you some sexy pics already? I didn’t take him for sending out photos of his junk.”
“Oh my gosh Grace, will you shut up? Please? I don’t have any racy pics from Cade or any other person. He was just texting me about us spending time with each other tonight. He’s bringing over dinner and dessert and we’re going to watch a movie together. I’m excited. Oh my gosh Gracie, I am so excited that I think I’m going to puke”, Kresley stated with huge, scared eyes on Grace, her chest starting to breathe in and out faster, her hands beginning to tingle.
Almost immediately Grace brought her hand out from her side and she shoved Kresley’s head down between her legs for a minute. “Just breathe Kres. Just breathe. That’s right, deep breath in, deep breath out. Slowly, breathe slowly. That’s good. Okay, bring your head back up to mine. Feel better now? Good.”
A noise from the doorway alerted Grace and Kresley that they weren’t alone. Grace smiled and greeted her 6-year-old son Jaxson. “Hey Jaxson, you and Sara decided to stop by before going home?”
Jaxson, with his big grin and dirty blonde hair sticking up all over his head, reminded Kresley of a blond version of Opie from The Andy Griffith Show. She heard him say as he looked over her way, “Mama, why is Aunt KK got her head between her legs? Is she smellin’ her fart like I do?”
Grace and Kresley laughed at that. “No baby, Aunt KK was just feeling kind of dizzy and it helps by putting your head down low like that. Now I’m guessing you want some money to get an ice cream before going home to do homework?” At Jaxson’s enthusiastic nod, Kresley dug in her purse and found a $10 bill and handed it to Grace. Grace thanked her and gave it to Jaxson, reminding him to eat ice cream quickly then get his homework done before she got home. He gave her a kiss goodbye, told Aunt KK thank you and goodbye with a kiss on her cheek, then ran out the door like he was never there.
“Gracie,
