It wasn’t full trust, not like with her sisters, but she trusted them to keep her safe.
Hurt her feelings? Yeah, that was a different story altogether. And she knew that she had to work on keeping her barriers up around Cash, or he could run right over her emotions.
They stepped outside onto the stairs of the police station, where Butch was waiting with his arms crossed over his chest, an impatient, suspicious look on his face.
“And what’s your problem?” Dotty asked him.
“Waiting for you to stop talking,” Butch said.
“Yikes,” Monroe said. “You’re a big grouchy one, aren’t you? Maybe we should see if we can put a smile on your dial. I’ve got some amazing jokes I’ve been saving for just this occasion.”
Addie grasped hold of her arm and drew her back, shaking her head at her sister.
She didn’t trust Butch not to hurt Monroe. Maybe he wouldn’t do it physically. But he could certainly hurt her feelings.
“They’re really good,” she said to Addie.
They wouldn’t be. They’d be terrible. Monroe had the worst jokes, it was about her only fault. Everything else about her middle sister was pretty much perfect.
“Right, does someone want to tell me what the hell is going on?” Dotty demanded. “Who are you people? Why is my sister hanging around with a bunch of tattooed, rough-looking bikers?”
“Well, that’s better than gangsters,” Ralen said, shooting Dotty a strange look. Normally, he had a smile on his face but not right now.
Mind you, Dotty did have that effect on people. What most people didn’t realize was that under the sharp exterior was someone vulnerable and soft. Dotty was smart. She’d always been smart. Dotty’s mom used to push Dotty so hard that Dotty never had time to just play or be a kid.
She was blunt, and she was strong-headed, but she could also be incredibly kind and was the most loyal person that Addie knew.
It was possible to hurt Dotty’s feelings. Not many people knew that. They thought that she had an iron barrier keeping her safe.
But there had been a number of times when Addie had caught her crying because of something someone had said to her. At the time, she was always able to keep her composure andlet it run off her, but later on, everything would hit her like an avalanche, and she’d crumple under it.
So Addie didn’t like the way that Butch was staring at her sister, and she moved forward, standing between them, glaring up at him.
There was a shocked silence from her two sisters.
“Addie, what are you doing?” Dotty asked.
“Yeah, babes, are you okay?” Monroe asked. “Are you feeling all right? Maybe she’s not feeling all right, Dotty. Perhaps we should take her to the hospital.”
Addie shook her head. “He’s the one with the p-problem.” She pointed at Butch before coughing.
Was her throat feeling worse?
“Oh, yeah?” Dotty drawled. “What kind of problem does he have?”
“Yeah, what kind of problem do you have with my sister, big boy?” Monroe asked.
Butch sighed and rolled his eyes heavenward. “Do you want to help out here?” he asked Ralen and Cash.
Ralen just shrugged with a grin. “Why would I want to do that?”
Cash nodded. “You brought this on yourself. You have been a grump, and you did basically accuse Addie of lying.”
“You accused Addie of lying?” Dotty asked.
“Addie wouldn’t lie,” Monroe said. “Addie never lies. Why would she have to lie? What do you think she lied about?”
“Need to get back,” Butch said. “Come.” Turning, he walked away towards his black behemoth of a truck.
