“No,” I whispered in agony as the doors shut behind the men without Rhea.
“She’s coming.” Tanner said firmly, walking straight to me like he could tell how close I was to crumbling on the marble floor. “The judge said there was enough evidence to approve the charges, but that he would release her on her own recognizance as the DA forms their case against her.”
“What does that mean!” I shook him exasperatedly as he spoke in his legal jargon that made my mind rattle.
“It means she comes home until trial.” Tanner affirmed, relieving some of the panic building in me.
“Or until the DA drops the charges.” Elliot added, hugging his wife as their husband stood proud and strong at their side. “That’s what’s going to happen. Because they don’t have a shred of physical evidence to say otherwise.”
“You think?” I asked tearfully, hating how pitiful I felt in front of everyone.
“I do.” He said, and I tried to trust his confidence in the matter, knowing that he was professionally an investigator of crimes like the ones Rhea was accused of. Realistically, he knew what it would take to prosecute someone of them. Right?
“So, now what?” I asked, looking up at Tanner as he pulled me closer into his body.
“Now we go get her from the jail. She has to dress out and be formally released, but it shouldn’t take more than an hour.”
My head swam with that information, knowing that within an hour I’d have Rhea in my arms again. And I sure as hell was never letting her out of them.
“I’ll go back to the bakery.” Jasper said, squeezing my shoulder as I felt his friendship pulse through the contact. “I’ve got it all covered for the next few days at least until the catering needs to be handled for the hockey tournament—” he let that sentence die off, knowing the charity tournament between the fire department and the police department was so far off our radar of importance at this moment, even though it was what had brought the three of us together in the first place. “Just take care of your girl for a few days.” He finished.
“Thank you, Jasper.” Tanner answered for me, letting me hide my face in his side as I couldn’t trust my voice to stay stable as stress poured over me again.
I should be at the bakery taking care of all the items I needed to make ahead of time for the tournament. But I couldn’t physically do it.
I couldn’t go on with my life as normal.
It felt wrong with what Rhea was going through.
“One step at a time,” Tanner said, lips against my temple. “We’ll just take it one step at a time, Sugar.”
“I know.” I sighed, tightening my grip on him. “I just need to get her back, and then I’ll relax.”
Everyone separated, going back to whatever they could do to either help Rhea’s case, or with whatever they had going on in their everyday life as Tanner and I headed to the jail.
It was such a terrible feeling in my gut, parked in his truck, waiting outside the barbed wire fence for the woman who was more honorable than I’d ever even dream of being, to be released from jail.
“How was she?” I asked after a while, as the breeze blew through the open windows of the truck cab. Tanner looked over at me, and I then noticed the fatigue on his face. The lines around his eyes were deeper, and all of his color was gone. He had taken off his suit jacket, and the sleeves of his button-down shirt were rolled up, revealing his powerful forearms.
He was so physically strong and steady; I took it for granted, leaning on his strength and confidence in this fight. I was so preoccupied with my grief and anger that I hadn’t been there to support him through his.
And God, the way he must have felt as the very judicial system he risked his life for day in and day out failed the woman we loved.
I knew he loved her, even though he hadn’t told me.
Kicking off my heels, I scooted across the bench seat to him, nuzzling in against his side, and the deep breath he let out nearly broke my heart as he held me to him. In that very moment, I vowed to be stronger the next time something happened, to support him better.
I also prayed we never had another moment like this one for as long as we all lived.
“She’s broken.” He replied after a while. “It was terrible to see her there, with no life in her eyes, while they spoke about her as if she wasn’t even in the room.” He shuddered, “Shackled, and in an orange jumpsuit like an animal.”
My nose burned with fresh tears, but I held them in so he could keep going.
“I don’t know how she can come back from this,” he said after a while. “We know Rhea, and we know how she struggles with self-doubt and I—” His voice broke. “She deserved better than to have her worst fears come true.”
“What if we left Cedar Bluff?” I asked, looking up at him as I voiced the very idea that broke my heart. But I knew there was avery real chance that Rhea wouldn’t want to stay here, amongst the people who betrayed her most. “Would you do that? Leave the very place you’ve lived your whole life?”
“In an instant.” He replied firmly, and I smiled, knowing the truth was in those words. “For her. And you. I would walk away from it all. Without a second thought.”
