Tim just shoved a hand across his mouth. "Look." He pulled in a long breath. "We're here. We're gonna file a report for you, so you don't have anything to worry about, right?"
"Where was Paul Simmons this morning?" I asked.
"His whereabouts are none of your business," Tim told me. "Besides, what does he have to do with this?"
"Besides the fact that he's been trying to run me out of town since I moved here?" I countered.
Cessily's head whipped back so her eyes met mine. That was clearly the attorney look for "shut up." Needless to say, I did. I was smart enough to know that if she had a plan, then the last thing I wanted to do was mess it up.
"Miss Dawson's right," Cessily calmly told Tim. "There's concern about Mr. Simmons pressuring or encouraging people to harass anyone from Southwind. Race and sexuality have both been issues. Also, for the record, the billboard in the middle of town shows no nudity. It's a full coverage bikini."
"Sure. Whatever," Tim said. "Call us in a week for the report."
And then the man just pushed past her as he headed for his SUV. When he climbed into the driver's seat, both Cessily and I stepped back. I pulled in a breath to say something, but she shook her head, waiting until the truck backed up, the gravel crunching under the tires.
"Well, there they go. Not exactly the friendliest police visit I've ever had," Cessily said before lifting the phone she still held in her hand and pushing a button to stop recording. "And now I'm sending a copy of that to Cobalt."
"For the Oversight Committee?" I asked.
"Mhm," she almost purred just as the barn doors opened to reveal Cy and Luke on the other side. "The state is slow, but this should be enough to put a little push on."
"Because that was bullshit," Luke said.
"He all but said we deserve it," Cy pointed out.
"He probably knows who was in on it," Cessily told them. "I want both of you - no,allof you to be careful. Very careful." She included me in that. "Guys, we have to play this close. I'm sure you are sick and tired of me telling you what to do and how to act, but I'm going to do it again. Simmons has nothing left to lose. You can't take his land. You can't hurt his business. Right now, we're the ones that are vulnerable, because we need this town to approve the rehabilitation center. Weneedthem, Violet."
"Which means playing nice," I realized.
"No, fuck that!" Luke said. "They had their chance. They blew it. What do you think went through my daughter's mind when she saw that? I didn't even get the chance to explain to her about this relationship we're in. That came out in court! Now this? Soon as she hears her dad kisses men, someone comes and puts graffiti on the door? And her best friend is gay!"
"Luke..." Cy tried.
But Luke spun on him. "No. This is too far. We are not going to sit down, shut up, and pretend like that's ok. I don't care if I have to be good and keep my hands to myself off property. I don't give a shit if we stop going to church or have to suck up to someone. What I care about is my little girl, Cy. I care that she's going to be worried for me, for you and Ash, and also for Zeke. This is doing nothing but teaching her that being ourselves is bad. That means that being herself will be too, because there's no teenager on the face of the fucking earth that is perfectly normal."
Cy caught Luke's arm, halting his rant. "I know. Trust me, I know. I also know that Faith is a smart girl. She's smart enough to sneak around the hallways to figure out that maybe this thing we're doing is a little more complicated than just you and Violet. I know that she's smart enough to take care of Zeke too."
"Yeah," Luke mumbled.
"And we're going to talk to her," Cy went on. "All of us. We're going to explain to her about our relationship, about you liking men, and how that all works."
"The PG version, right?" Luke begged.
Cy chuckled. "Yeah. I was thinking more about the relationship and less the sex. We'll also be honest and talk to her about people who hate us."
"She already knows about that," I reminded him. "Luke, she knows why Zeke gets in fights. She knows what the kids at school do to him. Right now, your biggest problem is making sure that you don't go off half-cocked, ready to pick a fight, and never come home."
Cessily's head dropped. Cy gently rubbed Luke's shoulder. Luke, however, turned to look at me, and the expression on his face was a mixture of confusion and disbelief. Slowly, he shook his head.
"They wouldn't..." he breathed.
I just nodded. "They would, Luke. A group tried to jump Ash at the Grill, and you said it yourself. You thought they wanted to kill him. Well, guess what? You just got outed. You told Faith that you don't care who knows. That means you painted the same target on your own back that Cy and Ash have been wearing since they got here. It's not one I can make go away, either."
"No," he agreed, "it's not. It's also not your job to protect us." He looked over at Cy. "Is this normal?"
"In some places," Cy admitted. "Smaller towns, usually. Closed communities are scared of people who aren't like themselves, and it's not hard for a few disgruntled individuals to quickly grow into a mob. If we push them too hard, they will kill us. They'll all hype each other up, say it's a little hazing, but it won't stop until someone stops breathing. I'd much rather it's not one of us."
"It's not like this everywhere," Cessily assured him. "Not everyone is this closed-minded."
