We followed her into a back room and she brought out a copy of the ID used to pawn the stuff, some woman named Stella Wheeler, her address in Klamath, and the box with each item neatly bagged and labeled. We cross-referenced the items reported stolen with the box of goodies, and everything missing from the nursing home was in the box except fortwo things. A ruby ring and a diamond tennis bracelet Ms. Long lost.
“She probably kept those for herself,” Jake mused, as he took photos of each item.
“It takes a special kind of a-hole to steal from old people,” I said.
“I agree,” Jake said.
I sighed. “I think I should pay for all this stuff.”
“Why? I can get it back once I get a warrant.”
“And where are you going to get a warrant from,Jake? Bonnie’s right. You’re way out of your jurisdiction here, and the DA isn’t going to go to bat for a Portland detective not on the job and get a judge to issue a warrant on a weekend. Remember how we couldn’t even do that when Dylan got arrested? I can’t imagine they’ll do it for some missing jewelry.”
He sighed. “Yeah, but it’s a lot of money, Addie.”
I riffled through the bags. “It’sless than ten thousand. I’ll buy it and you can keep record of it, so that we have some legal recourse if it needs to go to the DA. You can even take an official statement from Bonnie. At least we’ll have the jewelry and these old folks can get their treasures back.”
“It’s ‘less than ten thousand’ she says,” Jake ground out.
I smiled. “If you’re going to be with me, honey, you’re going to haveto get used to me spending money. Especially for such a good cause.”
He studied me for a few minutes then shook his head. “It’s a good plan, Addison. Just wish I could come up with something better.”
I kissed him quickly. “Maybe next time.”
Jake muttered things under his breath, but I’d won this argument so I smiled and tallied up all of the items. In the end, my total was under two thousandbecause, as Jake pointed out, they could either get back what they paid or run the risk of legal action since they took possession of stolen goods. It really was a win-win, and even if I never got reimbursed, it was an amount that I could easily lose.
“I can’t believe how much places like this mark prices up,” I mused as we climbed back into the car.
“I can’t believe you’d walk into a placelike that and pay the list prices.”
“My hero.” I giggled. “You’ve saved me money...I can’t wait to see what you do when you have to vanquish the dragon.”
“Quit gettin’ into things that require metovanquish the dragon and we won’t have an issue.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” I challenged.
He chuckled. “Okay, let’s go check in at whatever this funky motel is and then I’ll take you to dinner.Once I feed you, I’m gonna fuck you, dirty-like.”
“And a massage, don’t forget the massage.” I rolled my shoulders. “Bucky has made my body sore in places I didn’t know existed.”
“Bucky?”
“The horse we’re riding in the Roundup.”
“You gonna fill me in on this horse and why the hell he’s called Bucky?”
I giggled. “I don’t know that I can explain it. You’ll just have to wait and see on Sunday.It’ll be a nice surprise.”Plus, this way you can’t freak out and object to me riding a bucking horse.
That part I kept to myself.
“Why do I feel like I’m going to regret this?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Because you’re all alpha and need to protect your woman. But the truth of the matter is that you’re still working on leaning into the reality that said woman can take care of herself, so you’redealing with an adjustment period. You’ll get there, honey.”
Jake laughed. “Well played, baby. Well played.”
We drove out to the Running Y and I smiled as we approached the lodge. “I bet this place is amazing when it snows.”
