daredevil.

“I have, actually. That’s why I wear these thick cloth gloves now.”

I rolled my eyes and yanked her away from the scene of the crime as soon as she was done with the electrical wire. Of course, she’d thought of everything a criminal would need.

I didn’t stop until I had her in my truck and she took off her black baseball hat. With the doors closed and danger averted for now, I turned on her, the irritation bubbling up faster than I could tamp it down for the sake of our continued friendship.

“How the hell am I supposed to keep you safe when you’re doing shit like that?”

Her eyes narrowed and I prepared for the verbal storm in response. “The only thing you need to keep safe are your family jewels if you even think of outing me.”

I shook my head and screwed my eyes shut. “I’m not going to turn you in, stupid. I’m just wondering why the police chief’s daughter would take it upon herself to deface the town sign, not once, but what? Maybe twenty times?”

“Hey! I’m not stupid. Like you’ve said, I’ve done it probably twenty times and never got caught. Doesn’t sound stupid to me.”

I took a deep breath and grabbed her hands, holding them like a fervent prayer. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called you stupid. You definitely are not stupid. I guess I’ve always known you had a wild child streak with a knack for pushing boundaries, but this just seems reckless. You say your dream is to own your own B and B, but you can’t do that if you’re in jail. And even if you didn’t end up in jail for it, I doubt the town would be so forgiving once they found out it was you.”

Amelia pouted, that thick lower lip doing things south of the border that were totally inappropriate for the occasion.

Focus, Jackson.

She lifted her chin in the air and looked at my ear. “You bring up valid points.” I squeezed her hands and she finally looked me in the eye. “I sometimes just like to act out when I’m feeling frustrated. I’ll stop. Okay?” she added softly.

“Okay,” I whispered back. I brought our hands up to my face and kissed the back of her hand until she lost the frown. “You’re my best friend. I can’t have you going to jail. I’d have to visit you in that horrible orange jumpsuit.”

“Hey! I’d rock that jumpsuit. Orange is my color.” Amelia snatched her hand back with a smile and all was well between us.

“Hey, man. You all right?”

Rip was sitting on our couch, a beer in hand. Nothing was abnormal about that except for the fact not one light was on in the house and he was staring at a blank television screen. He was normally a grumpy fellow, but he’d shoved grumpy into overdrive the last few weeks.

He shrugged, his hair a mess like he’d been running his hands through it. Poor guy had had a rough childhood. From the outside, he looked like he’d been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Being the mayor’s son should have given him some clout in this town, but all it brought him was abuse from his father. He’d shared a few things from his past with me when he’d had one too many beers. Things I almost wish I didn’t know. Mayor Bennett was an awful human. Which was why I didn’t want Amelia looking into him. She thought his worst sin was cheating on his wife when I knew his evil ways went way deeper than that.

“I’m fine. Just sitting here contemplating what to do with my life. You remember learning about how an object in motion stays in motion?”

I flopped down on the recliner I should have taken to the dump years ago, but the thing had an exact mold of my ass. You couldn’t throw that kind of perfection away.

“Uh, yeah. I think so. Science wasn’t really my thing, though.”

He carried on like I hadn’t even spoken. “Thing is, I’ve been wondering why I haven’t done anything with my life. I’m just kind of in a permanent pause, you know? I work a few jobs on the water now and then, live here with you, avoid people in general. Repeat, repeat. So, then I decided that maybe what I needed was a big strong push to shove me into motion.”

He quit talking, like a toy that someone had pulled the string on and it had reached the end.

“A push, huh?”

“Yep,” he said, popping the P. “A push. Then I’d be an object in motion, which is always easier to keep in motion.”

His dark eyes found mine in the dark, an excitement to them I hadn’t seen in a while. Rip was one of those people whose thoughts and motivations remained a mystery, even to me, a guy who’d known him since elementary school. He kept everything buried deep, where it festered. Him even telling me about his grand push idea was a rare show of vulnerability.

“Anything I can do to help you get that push?” I didn’t have to understand him to be all in. Friends helped friends. End of story.

His gaze bounced around and finally settled on the blank television screen again. “Nah. I think I have to do the pushing myself. I just have to decide what that push would be exactly.”

“We can brainstorm some ideas if you’d like.” I didn’t have the first clue how to play armchair therapist, but if I could get Amelia to stop defacing the town welcome sign, I could probably handle this too.

Rip sat quietly, taking a swig of beer every so often. I was happy to sit there quietly and let him think, figuring I’d jump in to help when he wanted me to. I was just about to get up and head to bed when he finally spoke again.

“I think my push has something to do with my father. It’s past time

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