I gritted my teeth for a second, willing back the desire to go and shoot Bill like a rabid dog. “No, baby girl. No more leaving.”
When she released me, I went around and climbed into the driver’s seat. I gave the dark garage bay a long look. I didn’t see Bill anywhere, but that was fine with me. I didn’t want to see the fucker’s face again.
He’d made Sarah cry. Said cruel shit. What kind of father gave an ultimatum? That he’d ensure she couldn’t get a job in a career she loved solely out of spite? Out of… jealousy? He might set shit in motion, but there was no fucking way he was taking Sarah down. I might have cowered once at his threats. No longer.
Tears slid down her cheeks, but she remained quiet looking out the side window as I cut across town. She had on the same clothes from earlier, jeans and a T-shirt, but she’d ditched the sweatshirt.
I got on the radio with Noreen. “I’m 10-7,” I said to her, telling her I was off duty.
“That’s what I figured, Chief. We’ve got you covered, and the other guys will tackle any leftover paperwork.”
“Copy that. Thanks.”
I took a right at the central intersection on Main.
“It slipped out of gear,” she murmured.
I glanced at her, confused. “Huh?”
“Your transmission’s going.”
I chuckled and slowly shook my head. I knew what she was talking about, the lag, but had never considered what it was. “I can change my truck’s oil. Replace a fan belt. That’s as far as I can go when it comes to car repairs. As for police vehicles, Noreen takes care of handling any fixes.”
With O’Banyons. No fucking longer. I’d learn how to replace a transmission myself before I gave Bill any more business.
Five minutes later we pulled up in front of Sarah’s place. I wanted to take her to the ranch and handcuff her to my bed, but I’d dropped Kelsey off only a little while ago. Between Alice, Claire, and Kelsey in the main house, there would be no privacy. The first time I was with Sarah after six years, we’d be alone, that was for fucking sure. And her place was in town and a hell of a lot closer.
“You know where I live,” she said, finally looking my way.
“I keep track of those I care about.”
I didn’t offer her more than that. For now.
I parked, helped her out, led her up the steps to the front door. She lived in a small house in the older section of town. The porch had a swing, and the door was painted a glossy red. She’d been renting it from an older couple who’d moved to Arizona. It was small but all hers. “Give me your keys, baby girl.”
She blinked at me. “I left my purse at the shop. I’ve got a hidden spare.”
As she went down the steps to pick up what appeared to be a fake rock from her front flower bed, I called Noreen again, asked her to send someone to O’Banyons to collect Sarah’s things. I didn’t trust Bill, and I didn’t think he’d mess with someone in a uniform.
She opened the door, and I followed her in, shut it behind me. Locked it.
I noticed the size of the room. The color of the walls. The furniture. How neat it was. How it smelled like Sarah. All of it, because that was what I did. Observed. But I didn’t look away from my baby girl.
“Huck,” she said, then stopped as if other words were stuck.
I didn’t say anything, just pulled her into my arms. Hugged her tight like I had at the rollover scene earlier, but this time there wasn’t anything between us any longer.
She’d cried then, for coming upon a dead body. It was a shock that I’d sadly gotten used to.
But now she cried for a different reason. There were so many possibilities for the tears. Her dad being an asshole. Learning the truth about what he’d done before she went to college. For what he’d just said to her in the shop. I’d heard every fucking word.
I wanted to punch him in the face. I wanted to rip him to shreds telling him what I thought of him. Fuck, I’d been wanting to do both for so fucking long.
But Bill O’Banyon was nothing to me now. I had Sarah in my arms, and I wasn’t letting go.
Her hands came around my back, and she clung to me, cried into my shirt. I stroked her hair, her back, whispered to her how perfect she was. How special. How I’d missed her. Needed her.
I did. I needed Sarah, and holding her was as if I was finally coming alive again. I could feel. See. Breathe. I’d walked away and made something of myself. For her. For me. For my parents. I’d done that, but I’d left a piece of me behind with Sarah. My heart. She hadn’t known it. Hell, neither had I. Not until now.
I’d been fourteen when my parents were killed in a plane crash. The last thing I’d said to them had been in anger. We’d fought about stupid teenaged shit, and I’d stormed off, rode an ATV out to the farthest corners of the Manning land. When I’d returned, the then chief of police had stood on the main house front porch with Sawyer and Thatcher to tell me the news. My parents were gone.
I shut down then. Hadn’t cared or given a shit about anything. Cut school. Went wild. For years. The person who’d finally tamed me had been Sarah. She’d made me want to be a better person. Lead a life that my parents would be proud of.
I sighed, then kissed the top of her head.
I was exhausted. I’d been woken up for the preschool fire, dealt with Kelsey and Sawyer in the jail, then I’d driven halfway back to the ranch before getting the call for the rollover. The
