“B-but you can’t, Cubby. That proves my guilt.” Hope pointed at the backpack.
“You go on in and get your bag now, Hope, and maybe a sweater, because I can see you’re shivering. Then we’ll head into town.”
Hope ran to get her things, heart pounding in her chest. Was she going to end up in jail for something she didn’t do?
“I’ll follow, Hope.” She nodded at her mother’s words, and followed Cubby to the cruiser.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting in the rear of your car.”
“In the front seat is where you’ll sit.” Cubby frowned. “You’re not a criminal, Hope. What you are is my friend’s girl who I firmly believe is being set up by someone. Plus, a friend of mine. Now get in, and we’ll try and make this shit go away.”
“I don’t think you can.”
“I can, because I’m good at this,” Cubby said, looking grim.
“I’m not Newman’s girl.”
“Yes, you are. I’ve never seen the guy like this before.” Cubby backed the cruiser down her mother’s drive.
“Like what?”
“Less than his usual smart self. The man’s bright, Hope, you had to notice. Probably the smartest of us all, but don’t tell him I said that. Since you arrived, he’s dumbed down, and since the miscarriage, and you turning him away, he’s a broken man.”
“I never meant to hurt him and I-I don’t want him to be broken. It’s over now, him and me. It was only because of the baby that we were planning anything.”
Cubby made a scoffing sound. “You can’t mean that. The guy’s crazy about you. You just need to spend time with him, and not hide from him, to see that.”
“I’m not hiding. And now I’m probably going to jail, so maybe it’s for the best we’re done.”
Cubby’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “No one’s putting you in jail.”
“Whatever. The point I’m making is, there is nothing between me and Newman.” Saying the words made her heart ache.
“What about him telling us about the adoption? I mean, he held on to that for years, and now suddenly he comes clean. The guy’s off-balance, and you’re the reason.”
She couldn’t allow herself to agree with him, because it wasn’t true. Cubby had it all wrong.
“This is going to get messy, isn’t it, Cubby?” Hope said, changing the subject. “You have proof in the backseat, and once Casey learns that, she’s going after me with all her might.”
“I’m not going to lie, it likely will be, but I need you to trust me. And what I need to do is find out is who really did the crime. Katie’s working on that now.”
“I like her.”
“Me too.” He gave her a wide smile that flashed a mouthful of white teeth.
The drive was a short one, and the soft curse the sheriff uttered as they pulled up outside the Lair made her tension climb a few more notches. There were two large black SUVs outside.
“Cubby?”
“One minute, Hope. I need to make a couple of calls. You just sit tight.”
Hope tried to relax as he made his first call.
“Maureen, you got company in there?”
Hope watched Cubby, but he remained calm as he listened to whatever his administrator said.
