Chapter 6
RYDER
The door chimed as we walked into Seafood & More. It didn’t smell like fish, and the restaurant was practically dead. Not that it would be hopping right after breakfast.
“Is the food good here?”
“Not sure. Never really tried it.”
“So, you come to a seafood restaurant, but you don’t eat anything?”
“Like I said, I’m just here to pick up my winnings,” he grinned, leading me into the backroom.
There was a man passed out at the bar, his face smooshed against the smooth wood surface. Jeff walked up to him, slapping him on the back. “Hey, Colt. Good night?”
Colt? As in—
Green eyes met mine, and then he was moving, leaping off his stool and throwing himself at me. I shuffled back a step, but it was too late. His fist hit my jaw, and then we fell to the ground.
I rolled over just as he swung again, this time hitting the floor. I jumped to my feet, about to take off, when he grabbed my ankle and took me down.
“Get the fuck off me!” I shouted, kicking out at him. This was definitely not my finest fight.
“You fucking prick! I’m gonna kick your ass!”
“It’s been ten years! Get over it!”
“Ten years isn’t long enough to let me forgive your sorry ass!”
A loud whistle broke through the fight and we both stopped, looking up at Jeff.
“Well, isn’t this interesting. You know, I forgot about this whole rivalry thing. Maybe that’s because you were with my sister for so long,” he said pointedly.
“We broke up a long time ago. Get over it.”
“But you didn’t break up with my sister,” Colt hissed. “I swear to God, I’m gonna chop off your dick and feed it to you!”
“She wanted it!” I shouted, kicking out again, this time catching his face.
“She wanted it?” he spat. “Did you really just fucking say that to me?”
I was about to kick him again when something pinched my ear hard. “Fuck!”
Next thing I knew, I was being dragged to my feet, and a large body came into view. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted my other nemesis. “Remi,” I snarled.
“Well, look what the cat dragged in. Thought you were out in New York.”
“I came back.”
“Well, obviously,” he snorted. “But then you were spotted in the diner this morning with the Parkers. I see you’ve already made your alliances.”
“I literally just got in last night. I’m not doing anything but trying to get settled.”
“And why is that? Is there a reason you came back to our small town?”
I would have slammed my fist into his gut to make him let go of my ear if it weren’t for the shiny badge on his chest. The last thing I needed was to end up in jail.
“Would you let go of my ear?”
“Ooh, I’m afraid I can’t do that. See, you started a fight in a public establishment. I’ll have to check with the owner and see if he wants to press charges.” He turned and looked at Jeff. “Well, do you want to press charges?”
So, not just picking up his winnings.
“For what? All he did was walk in here.”
“And he fucked my sister!” Colt shouted.
“That was ten years ago!”
Remi clucked his tongue at that. “Did you call her?”
“What the fuck do you mean? It was ten years ago!”
“Yeah, but did you call her? I mean, it’s only proper to call a lady after deflowering her.”
“What the fuck—”
“I’m afraid we’re going to have to investigate this further. I’m not sure there’s a statute of limitations on calling back a lady.”
“Are you fucking serious?”
“As a heart attack. Would that satisfy you?” he asked Colt.
“I would be happier if you let me kick his ass.”
“Well, seeing that he just got back to town, let’s allow him the chance to do the right thing. Down at the station, of course.”
“You can’t arrest me for not calling a woman!” I shouted as he dragged me to the door, still holding my ear.
“No. No, you’re right. I can’t do that. Let’s call it…” He pretended to think about it. “Assault.”
“On who?”
“Me,” he grinned.
“I’m not fucking touching you,” I snarled.
“Well, you kind of are. Your ear is between my fingers.”
“Because you’re holding me.”
“Uh-huh. Yeah, I can see where that would confuse you. Jeff? Would you mind giving me a hand?”
“With what exactly?”
Remi frowned, scratching his jaw. “Well, not sure yet. He might pull a runner, and I’ve got that bad knee…”
“From a football game ten years ago?” Jeff drawled.
“Every once in a while, it still pinches. Be a pal and grab Colt so we can sort out this dispute down at the station.”
“Cuffs?” Jeff grinned.
“Nah, he’s the one registering the complaint.” He reached behind him and grabbed his cuffs. “You, on the other hand, are at risk of being a runner. Seeing as how you have a record and all…”
“That was in high school,” I snapped as he pushed me against the wall and pulled my arms behind my back.
“Right, right. Once a criminal, always a criminal.”
“This is bullshit. You’re just pissed at me because you always liked Krista.”
He snorted in amusement. “And I finally get my revenge. I always wanted to haul you into the station.”
He pulled me back from the wall and shoved me toward the door. “Let’s go. No time like the present to apologize to a lady.”
I couldn’t believe this was actually fucking happening. Then again, it was Remi, and for some reason, he always fucking hated me. Still, I had been in town less than twenty-four hours.
I thought just maybe we would take the squad car, but no, he had us walk all the way to the station with me in cuffs. He grinned and tipped his hat at people, stopping to say good morning like we were at a town festival.
“Hey, isn’t that Ryder Lawson?” Bud asked as we passed the pharmacy.
“Hey, Bud,” I nodded.
“Didn’t know you were home. Have your parents seen you yet?”
“Yep.” And they would be so proud that I was once again being dragged down to the station.
“I’ll give them a call for you.”
I winced, knowing my old man would be thrilled to hear I was in jail.
Along the route, we picked up a few stragglers with nothing better to do on a Sunday morning. I glanced behind me at the growing crowd, cursing under my breath at how many people seemed to be that interested in what I was doing in town.
“Doesn’t anyone have anything better to do on a Sunday morning?” I muttered.
“Well, they should be in church. Guess watching you get hauled into the station was more important than saving their souls.”
By the time we reached the station, we had a trail of people so long that it wrapped down the road all the way to The Beaver and Boot, or so I assumed from how far back I could see. And the crowd was growing in the other direction as well.
“Now, how about we get Ms. Delilah on the phone so you can apologize properly.”
“This is fucking ridiculous,” I muttered.
He dialed, but it wasn’t really necessary because marching through the crowd with flaming red hair flying in the breeze was none other than the spitfire herself.
“Remi! What the hell are you doing?”
In typical Delilah fashion, she wore a dress belted at the waist with brown cowboy boots. The only thing missing was the hat.
“Well, Ms. Delilah. Look who’s back in town.”
She barely spared me a glance as her eyes narrowed on the deputy. “I see he’s back in town. What I don’t know is why you dragged him through the whole town and you have him cuffed.”
“He never called you back,” Remi said defensively.
“That was years ago! We were kids, and I didn’t want him to call me back!”
I smirked at Remi when his face twisted in confusion. “Did I forget to mention that we both just wanted one night?”
“You son of a bitch!” Colt shouted, charging me and tackling me to the ground. He swung hard, slamming his fist into my jaw like a sledgehammer hitting concrete. My head swam, but it was worth it to see the look on Remi’s face.
Thankfully, someone pulled the heavy fucker off me. I rolled just enough to see Delilah and smirked up at her. “This is not the way I thought we would meet again.”
“Seems about right,” she said, turning back to Remi. “Uncuff him.”
“But, I didn’t even get to—”
“Remington Cross, you will take those cuffs off him right this minute, or I swear to God, I won’t go to your momma’s pie contest.”
The whole crowd gasped at the threat. I knew she was one hell of a baker, but was it really that bad that someone wouldn’t attend the contest? I must have been gone longer than I thought.
Sighing, Remi grabbed me by the arm and hauled me to my feet, pulling at my shoulder.
“Easy, there, deputy. I’d like to keep my limbs.”
“I’m only letting you go because she asked nicely.”
The funny thing was that it was nice for Delilah. The cuffs unlocked, but that didn’t stop Colt from sending me another threatening look.
“Can I go now, or did you want to charge me with wearing the wrong clothes in town?”
“I should,” he huffed. “You look like a fucking tool.”
Rubbing my wrists, I walked over to Delilah. “Thanks for saving my ass.”
“I didn’t do it for you. He just pisses me off,” she said, shooting Remi an irritated glare that I recognized all too well.
“Sure, that’s what it is,” I chuckled.
I was about to walk away when she grabbed me by the shirt and tugged me against her. Those sweet lips smashed against mine in a kiss I knew wasn’t actually meant for me, but I played along, wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her flush against me.
Just for fun, I slid my tongue inside her mouth and put on a good show for the man she really wanted. When she finally stepped back, her cheeks were flush, but her eyes were all for Remi.
“Call me if you want a repeat,” she smirked before turning on her heel and walking away.”
Chuckling at the spitfire, I was about to walk away when I turned and walked right into Remi. “She kissed me.”
Twenty minutes later, Maverick let me out of my jail cell and handed me my phone.
“You should know better than to fuck with Remi.”
“She kissed me,” I argued.
“Then you should have kept your lips to yourself.”
“How does that even make sense?”
“It’s Remi. Nothing ever makes sense. Now, get out of here before he finds another reason to lock you up.”
“I’m sure it wouldn’t take much. Maybe my shoelace will come untied, and he’ll cite me for walking with a tripping hazard.”
“You never know. This law book is growing by the second since you walked into town,” he said, holding the thick red publication.
“Is the General Store still open?”
“Yup, but maybe not for long.”
“Why’s that?”
“Not many shoppers these days.”
That was weird. I was about to ask why, but the phone rang and Mav was instantly wrapped up in police business.
I strode out of the station, steering clear of Remi on my way.
Bea blew me a kiss like the sweetheart she was, but I didn’t dare stop for a chat.
I didn’t want to give Remi a reason to toss me back in a cell.
Luckily, my walk back in the direction of the diner was less entertaining than when I was taken to the station. Everyone seemed to have forgotten about me and the stunt Remi pulled. Even Colt was nowhere in sight.
Mav was right about the store not being open for much longer. The minute I walked in and saw the empty shop, I knew something was wrong. The weekends were always the busiest for grocery shopping.
Old man Callahan sat behind the counter, staring outside, looking like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Not that I was surprised. Ever since his son’s accident, John just hadn’t been the same.
After grabbing nearly everything I could, I headed to the front to check out. “How’s it going, John?”
His face was clouded with confusion as he stared at me. “Ryder?”
Grinning, I started unloading my supplies. “I’m surprised you remember me.”
“It’s not hard to remember the kid who was marched into the police station after going on a crime spree.”
Rolling my eyes, I started bagging as he scanned. “It was hardly a spree. It was two things.”
“Still, quite the excursion for someone from around here.”
“So, how’s the town? Still seems the same.”
He nodded, but his face turned solemn. “Yeah, still the same.”
“Am I missing something? I know I’ve been gone a while, but things couldn’t have changed that much.”
He heaved a sigh, his hands trembling slightly as he continued to scan my items. “I guess you didn’t hear about…”
“About what?”
“You’ll hear sooner or later. In fact, pretty soon, you won’t even come in here. You’ll boycott just like everyone else.”
“That seems a little harsh. Why would they do that?”
His eyes slowly drifted up to meet mine. “Because I helped my brother conceal a murder.”
My brain automatically switched to the legal workings of how he still had a shop, let alone wasn’t in prison. That should carry at least a three-year prison term, along with a hefty fine.
“When did this happen?”
“Twenty-five years ago,” he said, his voice gruff and defeated.
“But who—”
“The little girl. Dakota Walker,” he confessed quietly.
“The girl who went missing during the snowstorm,” I surmised, trying to remember the details of the case, though there weren’t many. “She was found six months after she disappeared up at the falls.”
He nodded, continuing to scan. “My sister-in-law…she wasn’t okay. She…She murdered that little girl.”
“And you didn’t tell anyone?”
“Didn’t know. Not until they found her body.”
He stopped scanning, his eyes staring blankly at the counter as he got caught up in the memories.
“She was so sick. We should have seen it coming, should have done something about it sooner, but…we were just trying to protect her.”
If he didn’t know about it until six months later, that could explain why he wasn’t in prison. Proving something like that would be difficult, unless he outright admitted it in court.
“So, there you have it,” he gave a tight smile. “I’ll help you take this out to your car, and then I probably won’t ever see you again. Much like everyone else in this town.”
I looked around the deserted shop again, noting the stocked shelves and all the food that was just going to waste with no one to buy a damn thing. What were people doing, driving to the next town?
I handed over my card and finished bagging the last of the groceries while he ran the payment.
Nothing about this was right. Definitely not the fact that he concealed a murderer, but it also wasn’t right to boycott his shop when it was the only grocery store within twenty-five miles of town.
If he went out of business, where did they think they’d get supplies in an emergency?
“It was good to see you, Ryder. Take care of yourself.”
“You, too.”
Grabbing my bags, I hauled them out to the car, thanking him when he put the last of them in my trunk. As I got in the driver’s seat, I watched him take a seat behind the counter.
He nearly lost his son, and now he was going to lose his shop. Life had a way of fucking you like that.
I was all too aware of that.