“And on that score,” she continued sotto voce, “they’re worried I might find out about the shit they pulled, but… They don’t know it’s already too late. I’ve got some dirt they’ll never be able to wash off, even if they wanted to.” Again, the place was just too small to get into details she didn’t want to share. “I’ll fill you in on everything next time we’re alone.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” Melo stated tartly. “I’m beyond curious now, and ticked off, too. You know I can’t stand that pair, and if you have some shit on them that will bring them down? Well, halleluiah and it’s about fucking time.”
Bobbie put a finger to her lips. “Later, Mel.”
Not that anyone was purposely eavesdropping.
But better safe than sorry. Bobbie didn’t want anyone outside of her and Buck’s trusted sphere of friends and family knowing about the investigation that would soon be launched against her duplicitous siblings.
Indeed.
Drew and Jeff were going down, one way or another.
Bobbie couldn’t wait.
CHAPTER 18
Buck decidedhe’d bring Tex to the meeting at the police department. The man and his wife were currently enjoying the last couple days of their vacation, but Buck didn’t feel bad for elbowing in on Tex’s off time. Tex had covertly told Spencer that he was climbing the walls. Not being plugged in to his vast network of contacts’ problems and mysteries was driving him crazy, and he couldn’t wait to get back to his bank of computers.
As Buck figured, once he’d given Tex a very brief outline of Bobbie’s woes with her brothers, Tex had jumped at the chance to be a fly on the wall at the OPD meeting, and he vowed that with Bobbie’s permission, he’d most certainly peel back all the layers of her sketchy siblings.
Buck hadn’t yet asked Bobbie if it would be okay for Tex to do that deep dive, but he wasn’t worried. He didn’t think she’d have a problem with it.
Just in case, though, he and Tex decided to wait for Bobbie in the parking lot outside the police station to give her a heads up.
“Is Bobbie the girl you’re going to marry?” Tex asked with his ubiquitous, low-key inquisitive drawl as they stood, leaning against Buck’s van, enjoying the mid-summer heat.
Buck laughed. That question hadn’t been far from his mind since he’d laid eyes on Bobbie again. He wasn’t going to play coy. “I hope so. If I had my way, I’d do it tomorrow. But when you hear all the details of what happened fifteen years ago, you’ll understand why that isn’t going to happen. Things went sideways between us, and Bobbie needs more time to make sure I’m the real deal now.”
“Ah.” Tex nodded sagely. “That makes sense. And in my experience, what you’re describing is the kind of relationship worth fighting for; the rare one that has been battered by severe storms but has survived them. The couples I know who’ve weathered those gales have always come out stronger on the other end.”
It sounded like Tex was speaking from experience with a wisdom that had been hard earned, but he didn’t offer details, so Buck didn’t pry.
“Here she comes.” Buck’s whole demeanor lightened as Bobbie pulled into the lot, driving one of her company’s delivery vehicles.
“Hey. That’s the woman who catered Spencer’s wedding,” Tex pointed out astutely.
Buck had been purposely light on details regarding Bobbie so as not to influence Tex’s opinion one way or another. He should have ditched his reservedness. The genius next to him would absolutely have mentally catalogued everyone who had been at last weekend’s celebration.
“Does anything get by you?” Buck asked with a chuckle.
“I don’t like to think so, but my wife and daughter would say differently,” Tex quipped. “I’m not quite as astute as I like to think I am, especially on the home front.”
“You sound like my Dad,” Buck laughed.
His parents had been married for almost fifty years, and it was an ongoing joke as to who was really in charge of things in their family.
Buck and Tex both took a few steps toward Bobbie’s vehicle as she got out and approached.
“Bobbie,” Buck greeted happily. She looked stunning, as always. Her long dark hair had been swept back with a barrette, and the pretty flowered sundress she wore, showed off her exquisite figure to perfection. Buck dared lean down to give her a quick kiss on the cheek, getting rewarded by a slight blush of color rising up her cheeks.
“Hey, Buck,” she addressed him shyly, then looked around and blinked. “I see you’ve brought a friend, but not our puppies?”
Buck laughed. “Yeah. I thought Tex would be a lot more useful with what we’re doing here than two wet-behind-the-ears dogs. And then, of course, there’s Sheila. Once she got her eyes on the pups this morning when I stopped by my parents’ house, it was all over. She pretty much declared that they needed to go to camp with her and my mother today to meet all the kids. Who was I to deny her? Besides, neither one of our little buggers is house trained yet, so having them outside all day at the lake will make life a whole lot easier for everybody.”
“Oh.” Bobbie’s eyes grew round. “I hadn’t even thought about house-training. Did they keep you up all night? Did they make any messes in your apartment?”
“No, and yes,” Buck answered with humor. “Once I got them into their crates, they settled right down and didn’t make any mistakes, butImade a huge one this morning. I let Cooper out first, then went to open Reyghan’s crate, and while I was busy, Cooper got busy, too. On the kitchen floor, thank God. Not on the wall-to-wall, so at least it was easy to clean up.”
