Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 138588 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 554(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138588 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 554(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
Marshall was way too close to the truth for Wyatt’s comfort.
“How about you leave it alone,” Cam ordered. “Wyatt isn’t accused of anything. He was defending himself and Sabrina.”
“So the report says.” Marshall sighed. “There’s something else going on here. I don’t know why everyone’s burying their head in the sand. No one walks away from a group like that. He’s a danger to this community, and I intend to prove it.”
“By harassing him?” Cam asked. “I think the sheriff might have something to say. Our heads aren’t buried, Marshall. We think everyone deserves a second chance if they work for it. None of us here came from glorious pasts with no trauma or regret. It’s precisely why we’re here. If you want to know how he paid, take a look at his chest sometime. They wouldn’t let him leave with the tattoo they forced on him when he was eighteen so they burned it off his body.”
“Everyone knows?” Wyatt was careful to keep his shirt on.
“Doc came in fuming about it the night he went out to Sawyer’s cabin to treat you,” Cam admitted. “Don’t be pissed at him. He was angry for you, and you wouldn’t press charges.”
“They wouldn’t have stuck. My brother had me make a video agreeing to everything he did to me,” Wyatt explained. “Pressing charges would have kept me in his world.”
“I believe the sheriff said roughly the same.” Cam moved to his desk, dismissing Marshall. “You should know the DA is probably going to want to talk to you about a plea deal.”
“Whatever makes it go away the fastest,” Wyatt agreed. “Honestly, it wasn’t like I got hurt. I just want them to stay away. I want to live my life here. It’s all I want.”
Gemma winced. “Uhm, Elisa wants the death penalty. I don’t think that’s an outcome we can ask for in a Class One misdemeanor case. You know we should talk this out over the beer you owe me because I was right about your matchmaking skills.”
“We’ll handle things from here,” Cam promised, sitting behind his desk. “You should know one of the things we’re going to talk about at the meeting this evening is watching out for you three.”
“Watching out for us?” Wyatt asked.
“Yeah. I know it’s supposed to be about school, but we don’t have a town hall coming up any time soon, so we’ll do it there. There’s a part of the town halls where we discuss potential threats. Mostly it’s Mel talking about coming alien invasions or what to do if you cross paths with a Sasquatch during mating season.” Cam shuddered. “He had surprisingly detailed slides. Cassidy is an artist of sorts. But the point is we also talk about human threats. After tonight, everyone will know to watch out for you and Sawyer and Sabrina.”
“I appreciate it. Sawyer thinks he’s an outsider. It might be a surprise to him,” Wyatt said, checking his watch. It was almost lunchtime. He might not be hungry, but Sabrina would be. He could grab her lunch at Stella’s and walk to school before her break started.
“Oh, he’s learning right now,” Cam replied with a grin. “You should know there’s a Meeting of Men occurring.”
Wyatt gasped. It was a legendary thing around these parts. “He’s being brought before the Men’s Council? Why?”
“They want to make sure he doesn’t fuck things up with Sabrina,” Cam replied. “They’re not worried about you.” Cam’s eyes narrowed. “Should they be?”
He suddenly didn’t want to get called before the council. “Nope. I’m good. I guess I’ll hit the Trading Post as well since it seems Sawyer’s got a full schedule all of the sudden.”
“See you tonight,” Cam said, giving him a wave.
Gemma was still arguing with Elisa over the headset as he walked out of the station house, but the whole way he could feel Marshall Lethe’s eyes on him.
The deputy was going to be trouble.
But then he seemed to have a lot of that these days.
* * * *
“Can it be a formal Meeting of Men if there’s a woman here?” Sawyer was looking for any way out. She wasn’t a woman, exactly. She was a sleeping toddler, but there were rules. Right?
He knew all about the Council of Men. His grandfather had helped form it. Of course back then it was mostly his grandad, River’s dad, Mel, Fred Glen, and Brian Bennett meeting out at the Circle G to drink beer and watch football. It was exactly like Stef Talbot to take something simple and turn it into…well, this.
Henry patted the back of the toddler sleeping on his chest. “Don’t mind Poppy. She has no interest in the workings of the male mind. She’s only here because her mom has lunch duty.”
“Don’t listen to him.” Max Harper frowned Henry’s way. “I’m pretty sure he’s teaching his baby spy techniques. Nell’s been extra nosy lately, and I’m pretty sure it’s because Poppy’s bringing back intel from playdates.”