Dave stands straighter. “Evenin’, Sheriff Foster.”
The crowd echoes a unified, mumbled ‘Evenin’, Sheriff Foster.’
The man grumbles, rubbing his face. Somebody got the poor fella outta bed for this.
His arrival has sobered up the entire room. People keep their heads down, settling in for another round of drinks to forgive and forget. Snitching ain’t what these folks do, not even the dude who got kicked in the nuts by Tally. He nods at her respectfully, icing his balls as he sips on bourbon.
I wonder who the fuck would call the cavalry when the rat reveals himself.
“That’s the guy!” Trevor whines. He’s huddled under the pool table with his girlfriend, sticking out an arm to point at me. “He hit me cause he’s jealous that his girl made a move on me!”
“I did not!” Tally stomps her boot. She turns to mewith a pleading gaze. “You know I’m tellin’ the truth, right?”
“Of course. This asshole is lying.”
“I lost a tooth, sir!” Trevor whimpers, making sad eyes at Sheriff Foster.
The sheriff sighs. Nevertheless, he takes a pair of cuffs from the bathrobe’s pocket and approaches. “Well, give ‘em here then, son.”
“I’m being arrested?” I ask but comply, holding out my wrists. “That Trevor fella actually tried to take a swing at my?—”
The wordwifedies on my tongue as I make eye contact with Tally. Right, she probably wouldn’t want me calling her that in public. How very non-casual of me.
“My ex-wife,” I finish the sentence. I must’ve taken a hit to the head cause I think I see a shadow of disappointment cross her face.
Sheriff Foster shrugs apologetically as he puts the cuffs on me. “You’re coming down to the station to cool off.” He leans in and adds softer, “Sorry ‘bout this. Trevor’s daddy is runnin’ for mayor and projected to win. I have to make his family happy so I can keep my job when the takeover happens.”
I nod. “Gotta do what you gotta do.”
Small-town politics can be more complicated than city folk expect. Everybody in Pine Bluff has been kind and welcoming, and I don’t intend to make things harder for them because of one jackass called Trevor.
Tally wraps her arms around my waist. “You can’t take him away, sheriff, please. What about postin’ bail? I can pay!”
Seeing her fuss over me like this makes me all tingly. If I knew she’d react this way, I would’ve gotten myself arrested on day one.
Sheriff Foster clicks his tongue. He’s clearly confused by Tally’s intense reaction when I just introduced her as my ex-wife, which doesn’t quite match the way she clings to me. Then he sighs again, seemingly deciding it’s not worth the headache to ask.
“Sorry. No bail. Your ex-husband will be free by morning. When Trevor called me, I convinced him not to press charges, but I gotta make it seem like I take his complaint seriously.”
“It’s fine,” I reassure her with a smile.
“None of this is fine! Look at yourself. This is my fault.” She brushes over my brow and I wince at the sting.
Damn, jacked up on adrenaline, I must’ve taken more hard hits than I realized. I’m seriously starting to hurt. In multiple places. Ribs. Head. Fists.
Shit, maybe I’m really getting too old for this.
I can’t remember everything hurting like this when I got into a scuffle at twenty-something. Back then, I could drink all night, finish off with a fight, and still be good to go after a coffee and a cigarette in the morning. Now I’m thinking I’ll need a whole bottle of painkillers and two to five business days to recover.
“If you gotta arrest somebody, takemein!” Tally holds out her wrists.
Sheriff Foster scratches his head, looking at her like he’s considering the option. Fuck no, I won’t let her spend a night in jail!
“Naw, it ain’t your fault, Trouble. I punched the fella and I stand by it,” I insist. “Take Yolanda’s keys out of my pocket so you can drive her to the station in the morning and pick me up.”
Tally pouts. “Okay…”
I feel a zap of electricity as her fingers dip into my pocket, fishing out the keys. She holds themclenched in her fist, glaring daggers like she’s fixin’ to stab a guy named Trevor.
