“See, now wanker’s been used quite a few times.” He stepped into the station and pulled Denny down the hall.
“I didn’t do nothin’.”
Eastern stopped in front of a holding cell. “That’s where you’re wrong. You started a fight in my brother’s bar. Then you went out to your car and tried to drive down the street while drunk.” Very fucking drunk.
“Try? There was no tryin’ about it. Ididdrive that car down the street and if you hadn’t pulled me over and arrested me, I would’ve been fine.”
“You crashed the car, Denny.” He opened the holding cell door and pushed the guy inside. “You hit a pole. A pole that could’ve been a person. You can sleep off the alcohol in here, and when you wake up, you’ll find you’ve been charged with reckless driving while under the influence.” He spun Denny around to uncuff him.
“You takin’ these cuffs off to have it one-on-one?”
“Denny, you try anything, and I’ll have you on the ground in a second.”
“You couldn’t knock the skin off a rice puddin’, ya plank.”
Despite everything, Eastern’s lips twitched.
Once the cuffs were off, Denny spun, but he moved so quickly he fell on his ass.
“Sleep it off,” Eastern said, not taking his eyes off the guy on the floor. “And you drink and drive in my town again, you’ll be spending a hell of a lot more than one night in a cell.”
Denny had just managed to get to his feet when Eastern tugged the door closed and locked it. He blew out a breath as he moved down the hall, ignoring the curses being shouted at him from the cell. This wasn’t the first time Denny had been brought in for drunk and disorderly behavior, but it was the first time he’d decided to get into a car.
When he reached his office, he collapsed into his chair and leaned back. It was only seven o’clock, but the night had already been busy. And the second he had that moment of peace, his mind went to Sadie. To what had happened in his home a few nights ago.
He’d kissed her. Pressed her into the couch. Touched her.
His dick twitched just thinking about it.
Fuck. He had to stop. He kept telling himself they were a bad idea, that nothing could happen, but the second he was within arm’s reach of the woman, all he wanted to do was close the remaining distance between them.
What the hell was wrong with him? He was a grown-ass man, but he was acting like a fucking teenager who had no restraint.
Sadie hadn’t been able to sit for Avery tonight. She’d said her grandmother was sick and she needed to close the shop and get some stuff done, but a part of him wondered if what had happened between them contributed to her not being available.And that was exactly the reason it shouldn’t have happened. He didn’t want anythinghedid to affect her relationship with Avery. His daughter had already lost enough.
A knock sounded at the door, and he looked up to see one of his deputies, Lenard, standing there. “Hey. Heard about the call out for Denny. Everything okay?”
“Nope. The drunken idiot’s in a holding cell. He’s gonna spend the night and be charged. I’ll do the paperwork before I go.”
Lenard’s eyes shot down the hall, a small smile on his face. “Did I hear him call you a plank?”
“Oh, he called me more than that. And I’m sure I’d be offended if I knew what any of the insults meant.”
The deputy chuckled. “Okay. Well, don’t stay too long.”
“I’ll be out of here once I’m done with the paperwork.”
He tapped the door. “Great.”
Eastern turned to his computer and started writing up the report. He was just finishing when his cell rang, Sadie’s name flashing on the screen.
Another late evening.Well, late for her. Working at a bakery, she started at six in the morning, so seven o’clock felt very late.
Time to go home and die on her couch.
She stepped outside and was just locking the door when a car pulled up in front of the liquor store next door. The guy who climbed out had a phone pressed to his ear. She recognized him instantly—he was the man who’d been speaking to Mr. Anderson the other week in the back room. Presumably his son, because he’d referred to the liquor store owner as “Dad.”
When their gazes met, she offered a small smile. He stopped talking to whoever was on the other end of the call and gave her a pointed glare.
