I eyed her warily as I slid into the driver’s seat. She didn’t seem to mind his company at all last night. But I knew her circumstances didn’t allow for anything significant to be there. “I thought I was the only liar between the two of us, Soph.”
“I’mnotlyin’.” She watched me with a stupefied expression, waving her finger around in a circle toward me. “You know, you told me you were comin’ back to this town for a fresh start. So, if we’re talkin’ aboutlies, then—”
“I don’t wanna talk about it.”
She settled the box on the floor and crossed her arms. Before she could open her mouth again, I pulled out my phone and flipped to a picture of the vacuum-packed bag Car left behind for her.
“What’s that?”
“For you. Told him you wanted me to steal from him, so he gave me that to give to you.” I tapped on the screen, and seconds later, her phone vibrated. “Sent it to you if you want to send elsewhere.”
She beamed. “Have I told you how much I love you?”
“A few times.” I adjusted the rearview mirror as we turned onto the main road.
“This is bribery to make me stop askin’ you things, isn’t it?”
“Maybe.”
“I don’t blame you. For leaving. Now that I can seewhyyou came back, that is.”
My throat turned dry. When I got the call about Chet, I had so much runnin’ through my head that the clear answer to why I’d come back never settled. My collection, making sure the bastardwould croak…and then Car, who I wasn’t sure would still be here.
I’d be lying if I said that last thought wasn’t the one to send me packing and driving back to town. Ten years was a long time to still love someone the way I loved him.
I nodded along. “Yeah.”
She reached down for the box, then dropped it and whispered, “Oh crap. Cops?” The same man who’d been at our house stepped into Nadine’s shop as I pulled in. “Do you want to go to jail?”
“Relax. He don’t have to know what’s inside.”
“You know him, too?”
“Kinda.” I hopped out of the truck, and when Sophia narrowed her eyes on me, I sighed. “Guess I’m the only one getting coffee, then.”
She took the box up and out faster than a hot knife through butter.
“What? I’m tired as fuck,” Sophia muttered.
“Mhmm.”
“Mrs. Roland,” the officer I learned was named Henry said the moment I opened the door. “And…”
“My friend,” I finished.
Henry paused, probably hoping I’d continue with a name. Carver hadn’t disclosed much about Henry, but I did know he’d come to our house to talk about Jamie. And Jamie could eat shit for all I cared.
“Lyra Roland, what a pleasant surprise.” Nadine strolled out from the back and pushed past Henry. I grabbed the box from Sophia and smiled at Nadine.
“My husband says this is for you,” I whispered, dodging Henry’s wandering eyes by stepping to the side, using Nadine like a human shield. “He also says it will always come from me from now on.”
“I already got the other one,” she whispered.
“Then have extra until the next time,” I whispered back.
Nadine took it and tapped on the top, a deep crease forming between her brows for a moment. She wiped the look away, then turned to Henry. “What is it I can do for you today, Sheriff?”
He glanced at the box, then at me. Had that box reeked of the marijuana it contained, I was sure the curiosity on Henry’s face would’ve dissolved and those cuffs dangling from his back pocket would come of use real quick. It was legal here, but not without a medical card, which I didn’t have. Carver must’ve vacuum-packed what was inside, too.
