Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 91937 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91937 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
“She vandalized his car.” He didn’t even acknowledge that she just said her name. “We’ve seen this time and time again. A scorned woman wanting revenge for her husband moving on. She might as well just confess right now.”
“I did nothing of the sort,” I quickly told him, and Ryleigh curtly shook her head.
“We have witnesses who saw you.”
“Interesting,” Ryleigh retorted, almost laughing. “And for clarification, these witnesses”—I could almost see the glee on her face—“are able to say without a shadow of a doubt that my client is the one who vandalized Mr. Cartwright’s car?” She asked the question but didn’t wait for him to answer. “It was in the middle of the night, wasn’t it?” He just glared at her. “And from what I remember when I was driving here, not all streets have the pesky little streetlights that are in the city.” Her head tilted to the side. “Which means, unless they were standing right next to her, it would be hard for them to know if it was in fact her or maybe another scorned lover. I have quite a list of women who have been scorned that I can give you, if you like.” She shrugged her shoulders. “All I know is my client was with Mr. Thatcher, and he can with certainty say she was in with him and didn’t leave the house.” My eyes almost bulged out of my sockets when I realized what she meant. She delivered the blow calm, cool, and collected instead of arguing with him. His eyes sliced over to mine after she told him where I was, and I could have sworn he called me a “wanton woman” under his breath. “Now, if you aren’t going to be able to handle this with professionalism and an open mind, perhaps it would be best to get someone else in here. You know, there are a lot of officials out there who would be all too happy to investigate an ethics charge.” I swear the second she said the words, I thought his head would explode like it did in the cartoons. His face even got red, and I could see then he realized he was done, and there was no way he was going to actually win this fight. At least this one.
The sheriff thought he was going to strong-arm me, but with Ryleigh at my side, he knew he couldn’t do anything. Which pissed him off especially with Ryleigh’s parting shot. “And after we’re done here, I’ll file a complaint against you with the proper officials, and you know the majority of them would be all too happy to further investigate an ethics charge.” I knew the minute I left the office he would be calling my in-laws, and they would not be happy. I also knew it would trickle to Winston. He would be called over to their house and belittled about how worthless he was. Something they did often, and after that, he would be out for blood.
Which is why he showed up here, like the coward he was.
The front door opens as Brady comes in, and all I can do is stare at him. He’s wearing jeans and a T-shirt, which is the complete opposite of what Winston would be wearing. Heaven forbid he wore jeans. With just Brady standing there looking at me, everything inside me settles. The nerves from my stomach are gone, and my hands stop shaking. His eyes find mine, and it’s as if I know I’m going to be okay. I’m going to be taken care of, which is something I shouldn’t be depending on. “He’s gone.” That’s the only thing Brady is able to say before his eyes go from mine to where the door is closed. “Wyatt?”
“Dead asleep. Didn’t hear anything,” I relay, getting up as Brady does a little sigh of relief before he makes his way to the staircase. He stops at the bottom step as I make my way down the stairs toward him. “What happened out there?” I ask when I get to the last step and we are eye to eye. His hands go to my hips, pulling me to him. My hands go his chest, my palms feeling his heart beating under my hands.
“What happened was he came here, and he was drunk.” I close my eyes but then open them when one of his hands leaves my hip and moves under my chin, my eyes opening to look into his. “He said he didn’t drive the car here, but we have it all on video, so he can’t deny it, no matter how many people the Cartwrights have in their pocket.”
I put my forehead on his. “Why can’t he just accept it and move on?” I question softly. “I mean, I know why he can’t but, for once, can’t he think of anyone other than himself?”