“Absolutely.” I fill her in on where to go and who to contact. “Is there anything I can do?”
“No. This helps. Thank you. Her father, Ben, Sam, and Dominic are on their way to confront Brock at his father’s office.”
“Brock Emerson?” When she confirms the man’s identity, I roll my shoulders. “I’m a few blocks away from there. I’ll be there in a second.”
“Thank you.” The gratitude in her voice makes me hopeful that we’ve turned the corner and maybe she’ll continue to warm up to me. And flowers might not hurt.
“You sound tired. What time did you get home last night?”
“It was after eleven,” she sighs. “Then before I could get to sleep, I got called to fill in for several hours on the night shift.”
Why isn’t she asleep? She’s been up for hours. The woman doesn’t understand the concept of taking care of herself. “You need to get home and get some rest. You’ve got to be running on fumes.”
“Um, right. Thanks. You’re right. I’m exhausted.”
“Get some sleep. And Em?” When she asks, ‘What?’ I say, “Thank you for calling me.”
After I hang up, I pull out my wallet. “I’ll take that vase of plum-colored roses, and that other one with the white tulips in it.” I point to the one in the adjacent cooler. “And four of those huge bags of Skittles.”
“Perfect. It sounds like you have important police work you need to do.” She winks.
Chapter Twenty-One
Emily
Two Hours Later
“Well, that’s taken care of,” Bella’s mom says as we stand on the front steps of the courthouse. The warm sun beams down on us after the chill of the lobby. The process of getting a restraining order was surprisingly easy.
“Yes, it is,” Bella says with a sigh and embraces us in a group hug. “Thank you for always being there for me.”
Bella told Chief Carter her side of the story, he took notes and sent us over to the courthouse, where they helped her get the paperwork filled out.
“Like we’d be anywhere else.” I rub her back.
“Exactly.” Ruby rests her forehead against Bella’s and smiles. “We’ve always got your back.”
“Girls.” Bella’s mom tugs her purse strap higher up on her shoulder. “I’ve got to get to the office. I need to hire a new employee since Bella has decided to choose a different path in life.”
Bella wrinkles her nose. “I’m sorry, Mom.”
Until this morning, Bella’s parents had thought she would take a position with their accounting firm upon college graduation. Hell, until this morning, Bella thought she’d take that same position, but those plans flew out the window whenshe finally realized the mistake she’d be making by sitting behind a desk all day.
“It’s fine.” She waves at us as two birds fly down and settle on the power lines behind her. The grass at the courthouse remains a bright shade of green from the recent rain. A few days ago, everything was turning brown in preparation for winter. “See you later.”
“I’m still in shock that it was that easy to get a protection order. I should’ve done this months ago.” Bella sighs again, “I’m exhausted.”
“As you should be.” Ruby winks. “With all those extracurricular activities you and Dominic have been engaging in.”
“Shut up.” Bella’s face is bright pink, and it’s not due to the afternoon sun. “I’ve got to go. Dominic should be calling any second.” Her eyes show a hint of worry as she shifts from foot to foot. “I hope everything went well when they told Brock’s dad about his harassment.”
“Jake said it did.” Ruby tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.
It shouldn’t eat at me that Ruby and Jake were chatting like two long-lost friends when she answered my phone, but it does. I was helping Bella and couldn’t answer, so I asked her to grab it. But listening to the laughing lilt of her voice as she responded to something he said was like a knife in my chest.
I was the one who asked her to answer the phone, knowing it was him. And maybe I was avoiding talking to him again because keeping my heart intact is proving harder than even I want to admit.
The man asked me if I was tired like he cared. And told me to go home and get some rest. Talk about swooning.
