“Sort of like you,” he said.
I grimaced. “You don’t really believe that, do you? I mean, not in a good way.”
He reached out and ran his hand down my cheek, and I almost forgot how to breathe. “You’re wrong. While we may go at a problem differently, the important thing to remember is at least we care enough to see there is a problem to go after. You just do things your own way.”
“My way often goes against your beliefs.”
He yanked me to him and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “Not against my beliefs as much as against the law.”
“Oh, ha ha.” I smacked his chest then laid my head on his shoulder. “Do you see your parents very often?”
“Sort of. A lot of times they’ll drive here to see Pops and me, other times I might take a day to drive into Portland to have dinner with them and my sister, her husband, and their three kids.”
“Three! You’re an uncle to three kids?”
“Yep. Two boys and a girl.”
“That’s cool,” I said. “I often wished I had another sibling growing up. Sometimes it was difficult having all of Mom and Dad’s ideals and dreams heaped upon me.”
He chuckled. “Two little criminal Martin girls might be a little more than the world could handle.”
I grinned up at him. “You’re probably right. So what’re we watching tonight?”
Chase picked up the clicker, careful not to dislodge my head from his shoulder, and turned on the TV. “It’s calledOrange Is the New Black. Ever heard of it?”
“Nope. Is it about art?”
Chase’s chest rumbled with laughter. “I guess you could say that.”
***
“I don’t know what to say,” I said two hours later. “Are you trying to scare me straight?”
“Maybe. I just thought you needed to see what life was like on the inside.”
“I’ve been on the inside,” I said. “Okay, the most I’ve ever done was four days in jail, but it was a real jail!”
“It was a county jail, not a prison. You keep escalating your antics, and prison is where you may be headed.”
I grinned. “Lance would never allow me to go to prison. He’s too good a lawyer.”
Chase shrugged. “Just thought I should keep it real for you.”
I threw a decorative pillow at him. “Well don’t! That show scared the heck out of me.”
“Good.” He clicked the TV off. “You ready for bed?”
Oh, yes.
“I guess I should turn in,” I said. “It’s a long day gardening at the senior center tomorrow.”
“Ya know, I should probably make Mimi and her girls watchOrange Is the New Black. It might help to scare them straight.”
I laughed. “The show is probably modeled after their life!”
“You may be right. Or worse, showing it to them just might give them ideas.”
Still laughing, I stood and picked up my crutch. “I’ll see you in the morning, Officer Cryer.”
