Shuffling in the grass nearby caused her to jerk her head.
She screamed, startled by the moose’s unexpected appearance. Where the heck had hecomefrom? “Really, Ed?Now?”
The moose stared at her curiously, pinning her against the house. If she ran now, the moose might decide she was a threat and charge. She stood a better chance waiting for the sliver of nightfall still a couple of hours away than she did outrunning a two-thousand-pound moose. Explaining her delay to Ryder on her last night in town would be . . . difficult.
“Kinley!” Ava hissed from the trees, her faraway voice faint.
“Shoo,” she said to Ed, her heart pounding loudly in her ears. “Please?”
Flashing lights illuminated the edges of the house, painting the backyard in strobes of red and blue. Kinley’s stomach plummeted. “Guess I’m getting arrested after all,” she muttered to the moose. “Thanks a lot, Ed.”
Chapter Fifteen
Ryder
The last place Ryder wanted to be during Kinley’s final night in town was at city hall. Matthews had wasted more than enough of their time, but even more so now that he was sitting in one of Sunset Ridge’s two holding cells.
“Think he’s any closer to sobering up?” Lee asked, handing Ryder a cup of black coffee.
Matthews snored loudly, sleeping off the drinking binge he’d gone on earlier today. Warren’s had reported him, and Murph happily arrested him. Ryder’d only been summoned for his expert interrogation skills. He had a way with people, an odd mix of good cop/bad cop that convinced them to talk. With Matthews three sheets to the wind, Lee hoped Ryder could extract something out of him that’d put the lawsuit to bed for good. He just had to beawake.
“We could leave him here overnight,” Ryder suggested, eager to get back to Kinley. He’d sent her a couple of apology texts, but he couldn’t be certain they made it through. If she moved home, the first thing he was doing was adding her to his cell plan and buying her a better phone. “Bet he’d still be loopy enough to confess a few of his secrets first thing in the morning.”
“Give it another half hour and we’ll call it,” Lee said, patting Ryder hard on the shoulder. “I’ll be in my—”
“Kinley James, you’ll pay for this!” a shrill, angry voice echoed off the high ceilings, drawing attention to the propped-open door. Ryder and Lee stared at each other a beat, then hurried into the hallway to identify the owner of the clacking heels.
“Melba, please go home,” Murph said over her shoulder, leading Kinley forward in handcuffs.
“Lee!” Melba pleaded. “This menace broke into my house. These James women have always been nothing but trouble. First the town sign, now this. Lee, throw the book at her. Then get her out of our town. She doesn’t belong here. Let theArmydeal with her. Bet they don’t much care for their soldiers gettingarrested.”
Kinley bit down on her lower lip, briefly meeting Ryder’s gaze with apology before staring back at the floor. Despite the handcuffs trapping her hands behind her back, he could see the tension she carried in her shoulders. She was no doubt holding back the brunt of her anger. “Sorry, Ryder. Ihadto.”
“Where is she?” Fiona’s voice echoed from the front door, Ava at her side. The two rushed down the hall toward them. “Kinley!”
“What on earth?” Ryder muttered.
Lee scrubbed a hand over his face. “It’s like a dang circus in here. Should’ve closed up when I had a chance.”
Murph shuffled around Ryder and led Kinley to the empty holding cell. Kinley went inside without a fight, but she stood right at the door. Fire lingered in her gaze, unspoken accusation directed at Melba. A gaggle of people crowded into the room outside the holding cells. Ryder hoped no one else showed up; there wasn’t room.
Matthews snored away, oblivious to the commotion around him.Go figure.
The chorus of voices talking on top of one another grew so loud Ryder’s ears hurt.
“Enough!” Lee shouted, effectively silencing the room. The mayor rarely raised his voice—rarelyneededto. It startled everyone, Melba included. “Does someone want to bother explaining what’s going on?” When everyone spoke at once, he added, “Oneat a time. Murph, you first.”
“Responded to an alert about a tripped alarm. I called Melba and she requested I investigate. When I arrived on the scene, Kinley was standing outside the door that’d been tripped. She admitted entering the house without permission.”
Ryder let out a heavy sigh of frustration. Had Matthews not picked today of all days to polish off more liquor than he could handle, Ryder would’ve been with Kinley. None of this would’ve happened. He couldn’t blame her for leaping into action—it was her way—but he couldn’t help but feel responsible.
“The charges?” Lee asked.
“Breaking and entering.”
“That’s it?” Melba barked. “What about robbery? My desk was unlocked and all the drawers had been riffled through. Shestolesomething of mine.”
“You meanmybirth certificate?” Kinley barked.
