Lana looked over and saw that Sunny and Rocky were looking at her worriedly. She hadn’t realized how far down the rabbit hole of memory lane she’d gone.
“Yeah. I got lost in the memories. Dad hasn’t changed a thing here.”
“We’ve got you. Whatever you need.” Rocky smiled over at her.
She couldn’t help but return the smile. She knew without a shadow of a doubt these two women had her back, just like she had theirs.
“Thanks. Hopefully we only have to be here for a couple of days. Most of what needs to be done can be done in Houston. The only thing I need to do in person is deal with his body, grab his ashes, and find a realtor that can help me deal with the house and get it sold. I’ll box up what I want and go through things to get rid of. But that’s really it.”
“I agree with Rocky. Rent the house out. You may want to eventually move back here. I mean, you’d have me and Rocky following you eventually,” Sunny suggested.
“Thanks, but there’s nothing for me here,” Lana answered quickly and to the point.
“Mommy.”
All three women looked toward the little girl at the hallway entrance, rubbing her sleepy eyes. Lana got up and rushed over to the little girl.
“Hey sweetie, were we too loud?”
“No, Mommy. I can’t find Mr. Snuggles. He wasn’t in bed with us. I had him in the car with me.”
“Okay, sweetie. Mommy will go check the car. You get back in bed with Jay.”
Lana stood up and headed out of the front door toward the SUV. She’d just found Mr. Snuggles when she heard feet shuffling behind her.
“Don’t you dare move. I’ve called the cops, and they will be here in a minute. Shame on you for breaking into a deadman’s home. The man hasn’t even been gone two days and you hoodlums are breaking in.”
Lana’s heart stopped for several seconds. She recognized that voice.
“Mrs. B? It’s me, Lana Pennington. I’m going to turn around slowly with my hands in the air, so that you can see my face. Okay?”
Lana slowly turned around, her hands in the air, her daughter’s teddy bear in one hand. She about shit her pants when she turned around and saw that Mrs. B had a shotgun aimed at her face.
“Why Lana! I didn’t know you were coming home.”
“I just got here, Mrs. B. Came home to take care of my dad’s arrangements before going back to Houston.”
“Drop the gun, lady! I won’t hesitate to blow you away!”
“Rocky, she’s good. She didn’t know it was me. She’s my dad’s next-door neighbor. Rocky, this is Mrs. B. Mrs. B., this is Rocky, my best friend and partner.”
“Your daddy never said you were a lesbian. Hell, I never would have thought that with the way you and that Kenwood boy was hot and heavy back in the day.”
Lana’s head fell back on her shoulders as she let out a heavy sigh. “I’m a cop in Texas, Mrs. B. Rocky is my work partner. Not my significant other type of partner.”
“Well, I’ll be damned! If it isn’t lil Miss Lana Pennington in the flesh!”
CHAPTER
THREE
Jayson Kenwood finished writing the speeding ticket he had for the tourist he’d stopped. Being a deputy for Hellburn Falls County gave him a wide berth to work instead of being stuck within the city limits like the city cops were in other towns.
Hellburn Falls, the city itself wasn’t that big, but the county was vastly larger. The county was made up of ten towns all together and large farm areas outside of the towns.
It was one of the reasons he loved the area. It was small and if he needed to let loose, he could easily drive thirty minutes either way to get a dose of the “big cities” without actually having to travel far and get lost.
He and several other deputies patrolled roughly a thousand square miles a day. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays were considered their busiest days, especially during tourist season.
