Reese lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry about that. I just want to get this over with so you can try to get on with your life.”
“That’s not going to happen until that man is in prison.”
He nodded. “And that will only happen with our testimony.”
“Our?”
“Yes, Cherie. Our. I’ll be called as a witness and will testify under oath about what I saw in that parking lot.” Reaching over, he covered her hands with one of his. “We’re in this together, and because of that, you will get justice.”
Reese had said it with so much conviction that she believed him. A hint of a smile parted her lips, and he returned her smile with one she interpreted as wholly erotic. He held her gaze, and Cherie felt as if she’d been caught up in a force field. His warmth and the now-familiar scent of his cologne pulled her in and refused to let her go. He’d created a spell from which she was helpless to escape.
“Reese.”
“What is it?”
“I’m ready to finish answering your questions.”
It was the only thing she could think of to say when, if circumstances were different, she would’ve asked him to kiss her to remind her of what she’d been missing for much too long. Five years. That’s how long it had been since she’d been in a relationship. She’d been too ashamed to admit to Kayana and Leah that what she’d had wasn’t a relationship but an affair.
Weylin married Michelle when Cherie was twenty-two, and that’s when she should’ve stopped sleeping with him. Weylin called her a week following his honeymoon to say that he couldn’t stop thinking about her, and like an addict craving her next fix, she’d willingly begun to participate in an adulterous affair.
The instant Reese released her hand, she felt the loss of their connection. Pulling back her shoulders, she stared straight ahead. “No. He never spoke to me. I began working at the Seaside Café a day after they reopened for business earlier this month. My shift didn’t start until after they closed, but I always came in early to get a jump on cleaning up. I am familiar with the customers who like to linger until closing time. What I did notice was one man hanging out longer than some of the other folks, and each time, he would have to be told to leave. I caught him staring at me whenever he thought I wasn’t looking, but I didn’t think much of it. Because I’m new to the island, I thought he was just curious.”
“Well, it looks as if his curiosity got him into something serious; he’s going to need a helluva lawyer to keep him from serving more than ninety days.”
With wide eyes, Cherie stared at Reese. “What are you talking about?”
He turned off the tape recorder and told her about Clay Lee Adams’s extensive rap sheet of petty crimes spanning more than twenty years. Reese said that, despite being arrested, Adams had refused to talk and hadn’t requested a lawyer.
“What’s going to happen if he doesn’t talk?”
“He’ll be arraigned and held without bail until it comes time for his trial.”
“How long will that take?”
Reese shrugged his broad shoulders under his black, waffle-weave pullover sweater. “It all depends on the court’s docket. It may take a few weeks to a couple of months. Meanwhile, you’re safe with him locked up.”
A shiver of apprehension eddied through her when she thought of the alternative. “What if he does make bail? What would stop him from coming after me again?”
“The sheriff’s department. If he is granted bail and he’s spotted on Coates Island, you can file for an order of protection that states he can’t come within two hundred feet of you, or his bail will be revoked, and he’ll be returned to custody.”
Cherie sucked in a breath, held it before slowly letting it out. “I suppose I’m going to have to trust you.”
Lines fanned out around Reese’s eyes when he smiled. “I’ve taken an oath to protect and serve, and I want you to trust me to protect you.”
“I suppose I don’t have any other choice,” she said flippantly.
“You do have a choice, Cherie. You can stay with your friends until this ordeal is finalized.”
“No! There’s no way I’m going to let someone, crazy or not, control my very existence. This is my home, and I’m not leaving it.”
Cherie experienced a rush of the courage she’d exhibited when negotiating the sale of her baby. She had shocked even herself when facing down the rottweiler attorney representing the Campbells. She’d deflected threats and intimidation to issue her own set of demands, and sensing victory within her grasp, she’d refused to negotiate further. It had become her way or no way.
“That’s my girl,” Reese said, grinning. He sobered. “You have my number, and I want you to call me whenever you . . . you need someone to talk to. I know you have your book club friends, but sometimes you may need a set of broad shoulders to lean on that your girlfriends can’t provide.”
“And you believe your shoulders are broad enough for me to lean on?”
Cherie couldn’t believe that had come out of her mouth. She was flirting. Yes, flirting with one of Coates Island’s most eligible bachelors—and she liked it because it was something she’d never done before. Men had flirted with her, and she’d ignored them because her head and heart belonged to someone unworthy, but she didn’t discover that until it was too late.
