Jo may drive me fucking nuts, but I didn’t want her to think her whole family just left her sitting in a jail cell to rot for the night. Plus, the look on her face when she saw me was kind of amusing.
As we start driving, I look over at her and see her gnawing at her fingernails while staring out the window. Jo is tiny in stature, but it isn’t often that she looks small. Usually, her presence fills up any space that she’s in, but right now, in her silence, she looks so vulnerable.
Of course, I would never tell her that. She’d kick my ass for even mentioning it.
Neither of us speak for a few minutes, but when she finally does, she says, “Dylan is going to kick my ass. He told me I could stay with him, but I’m sure he is going to frown on having a criminal living with his wife and kids.”
“What exactly did you do?” I ask, wondering if she will actually tell me.
“I got in a fight.”
I have half a dozen follow up questions, but I keep them all to myself. I’m sure whatever trouble Jo is getting into isn’t something I need to concern myself with.
My plan is to drive her straight back to Dylan’s and keep the conversation to a minimum, but she catches me off guard when she says, “I’m sorry you had to come get me.”
“It’s fine.”
She looks over at me. “No, it’s not. You didn’t have to come tonight. You could have just left me rotting in there, but you didn’t. Hell, even when you hate me, you’re still bailing me out of trouble all these years later.”
I’m not sure how to respond, so once again, I keep my mouth shut. It doesn’t take long for her to add, “I’ll pay you back every penny for the bail. I’ll go to the bank tomorrow and bring it to you.”
“You can just bring it to the shop whenever.”
I know this is Jo’s version of apologizing—her way of trying to make amends, and the defeated look on her face makes me feel guilty. I know I am dead set on being an asshole to her, but maybe she’s had a rough night already.
I pull into a gas station and park at one of the pumps. “Be right back,” I tell her. “I didn’t fill up on the way to get you, and I’m running on fumes.”
She gives me a small nod.
While inside, I grab a few things before paying for them along with my gas. After I’m finished pumping, I slide back in and hand Jo a soda and a candy bar.
“Not sure if you still like either one of these, but I figured maybe you were hungry or thirsty.”
She looks down at what I just handed her. “These are still my favorites.” When her eyes meet mine again, she asks, “Why are you being nice to me?”
“I figure maybe you’ve been through enough tonight.”
“Thanks, Beau.”
I start the truck and begin driving. My plan was to take her straight back to Dylan’s, but I think she could use a few more minutes before she has to face the firing squad.
I take the winding road that surrounds Lilly Leaf Falls. Jo doesn’t ask any questions until I turn off the truck.
“You’re not taking me to Dylan’s?”
“I am, but I figured we’d detour first.”
It takes her a minute to look around and figure out where we are.
“Holy shit. I can’t believe you brought me up here.”
This overlook isn’t very far up the mountain, but it gives an excellent view of Lilly Leaf Falls nestled in the valley below.
“I haven’t been here in years,” she says.
“Yeah, me either.”
She looks through the windshield at the small town. “Man, it’s crazy how something that can look just the same yet seem so very different at the same time.”
