“How?” That attitude was coming out as she thrust her hand on her hip, staring at him questioningly. “If he hadn’t passed on the right, none of this would have happened.”
Maverick slowly nodded as he tried to come up with an explanation. “Well, before we start handing out tickets to anyone, we need to investigate the accident. Standard procedure.”
“Well, go for it. My car is already impounded, right?”
“Your car caught fire at the garage,” Mav admitted.
Bailey’s jaw dropped in shock. “Because of the accident?”
Mav’s eyes flicked to mine before he nodded. “Could have been. But everyone’s safe, and that’s all that matters right now. We’ll get it sorted.”
“Well, hell,” Bailey sighed. “I guess there goes my stellar insurance rates.”
“Anyway, I should get out of here. Gotta relieve Remi. He’s been stuck at the Rock and Gem shop for the past hour.”
“What’s going on?” Bailey asked.
“Out of towners,” Maverick rolled his eyes. “Apparently, they found the same gems in the quarry some time ago and tried to get their money back. When Delaney told them there were no refunds after thirty days, they went back to the quarry and gathered dirt and rock, then started throwing it all over the shop by the handfuls. They must have hauled backpacks full because the shop is covered in white dust that’ll take a few good days to clean.”
“See?” Bailey grinned at me. “It could be worse. We could have to deal with crazy people.”
I’d take the crazy out of towners any day over Austin Callahan. “It could definitely be worse,” I agreed.
“Well, thank you for stopping by, but I’m positive that Liam has not been following doctor’s orders, which means I need to force him to relax for a little while.”
“Then we’ll leave you to it,” Maverick grinned, tipping his hat at me before dragging Jeff out the door with him.
When they were gone, Bailey’s stern gaze landed on me. “What are you not telling me?”
Walking over to the couch, I sank down, really feeling the day’s events catching up with me. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Really?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be with Ma right now?”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“Why did you bring the groceries here?”
“Because her kitchen is a disaster, so she asked if we could cook here. Any other questions?”
I opened my mouth to say something else, but at her narrowed eyes, snapped my jaw shut.
“Liam Parker, if you do not tell me what’s really going on, you’re going to have more problems than just a few broken bones!”
I always knew convincing Bailey that nothing else was going on would be difficult, but I may have overestimated my acting skills. Which meant I had to deploy the big guns.
Wincing, I sighed heavily, allowing her to believe I was in a lot more pain than I really was.
And it worked.
She rushed over to me, her eyes immediately taking in every inch of my body. “What’s wrong?”
“Just tired.”
“Because you wore yourself out when I told you not to. What the hell was the sheriff really doing here?”
“Just as he told you. And to let you know about your car.”
