For that, he was grateful.
Hayden cleared her throat as she pulled a notebook out of her pocket. "I'm going to have to ask questions of everyone." She looked at Seaton first. It made sense since she was someone that Sam believed she didn't know.
Yet the death grip that she still had on his arm told him she needed a little time.
"Deputy?"
Lincoln stood up slowly.
Hayden rose to talk to him.
"Do you think you could get my statement first and," he gestured behind him, "my friend, Zharia. I should get her home."
Sam heard Zharia speaking softly to Lincoln, her tone full of concern.
Sam turned his head and caught her gaze with his. "I need a minute to get up. You two go ahead and start as long as that's okay with Hayden."
When he looked at Hayden, she gave him a pointed stare and he smiled, hoping she'd take his obvious and likely ham-handed hint.
She sighed, smiling. "You take your time getting up, you poor dear. I'll talk to Abe and his friend on the porch."
Sam thought he was off the hook for a moment with Hayden, but she proved that he hadn't considered all of her options.
"Do you want me to call a bus for your butt, Caddo?"
Seaton gasped in a breath and Sam tried to show her there was nothing to worry about. Laughing softly, he groaned. "I think I'll be okay. I've got some ice in my freezer."
"I'll go and get some ice from my freezer, too."
Seaton started to move away from him, but he took her hand and held it between his.
"Give me a minute, please?"
Seaton relaxed beside him and Hayden walked behind her. The look in Hayden's eyes said she was going to have questions for him, and they didn't all involve the 911 call.
Hayden stopped a few feet away and called his name softly. "Caddo?"
He looked back at her. "Hmm?"
"When you come back to the house, please go inside so we can keep your statements separate. And please-"
"Don't talk about it between us." Seaton turned her head to look at the female deputy. "I know."
Her last two words carried a meaning that humbled him.
He'd made statements to law enforcement before, but he'd never given a statement that involved his personal life.
Accidents and some fires required observations from the firefighters, but tonight?
This was personal for Seaton.
And personal for him.
He'd tried to fill the blanks on his own, and worried that her reality might very well be worse than his imagination.
And that terrified him.
"I... I should probably apologize to Lincoln."
