Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21
M icah
If anyone had asked Micah just days ago whether he’d ever thought he’d end his week in a jail cell, he would have confidently said, ‘Heck no.’ Yet here he was. Cheyenne was in a cell adjacent to his, and they could see each other, so at least there was some comfort in that. By the grace of God, the only other occupant in the nearby cells was a drunk guy who kept to himself.
It wasn’t long before an officer approached and said, “Someone has paid your bail. The officer up front will give you information about your scheduled court date.”
To Micah’s utter relief, Raine Birch walked in. The feeling quickly disappeared, however, when he saw the scowl on Raine’s face. Thankfully, he waited until they were all outside before he said, “You’d better have a good explanation for this.”
He pointed to his car, and they both followed him to it. Micah tried to squeeze into the back seat with Cheyenne, but Raine stopped him with a firm, “You sit up front.”
Micah’s heart sank. He was being treated like a criminal. He had been a straitlaced teenager—he had to be if he wanted to join the Navy SEALs.
Wait. Would they see this incident on his record?
Suddenly, he felt worse than ever.
As Raine started driving away from the jail, he said, “I presume your truck is parked near the cemetery.”
Micah nodded. “Yes. Thank you for coming to get us. I’m sorry—I really didn’t want to call my dad or mom in DC.”
“I know. But you had better give me a good reason not to call them myself. And Cheyenne,” he said, looking back at the rearview mirror, “you’d better give me a really good reason not to call your brother.”
Micah sank into his seat, feeling like a little kid. “It’s complicated.”
Raine snorted. “Really? You think that’ll stop me from making some phone calls?”
When they arrived at the cemetery, Micah and Cheyenne sheepishly got out of the car.
“Get back to South Port,” Raine ordered. “I expect you at my house for dinner. My wife is out of town, but we have some things to talk about.”
“Cheyenne has tickets to a sunset cruise tonight,” Micah said. “I told her I’d go with her.”
“Then you just had a change of plans,” Raine said unimpressed. “See you at my house at six. Stay out of trouble and get your story straight, because I want to hear all about this grave-robbing business.”