“Resisting arrest!” Marshall busts into the holding room I’m in, and I lower my head, half wishing that they would have left me in lockup. “And you wonder why I don’t think you’re responsible enough to own the land.”
I had one phone call, and I called him. Wouldn’t have mattered if I didn’t call him, the police would have. Marshall is my guardian. “I thought I was being arrested for kidnapping.”
The glare Marshall gives scares even me. “Is this a joke to you? Because let me assure you, there is nothing funny about this.”
I couldn’t agree more. “I’m being serious. Am I being arrested for kidnapping?”
“Should you be?”
I look my uncle straight in the eye. “No.”
“Why did you think it was a good idea to hit a police officer? You’re lucky you aren’t being charged with assaulting an officer!”
“I didn’t hit him. I shoved him, but he shoved me first. Two police officers come up to my truck, and tell me to open my window. I tell Scarlett to get her shirt on first, then I open my window. They find out I’m a Lachlin, and the next thing I know they open Scarlett’s door and drag her out. Drag. She’s terrified, screaming my name, and when I get out, I’m slammed against my truck.”
“You should have complied!”
“They should have never touched Scarlett!” I shout. “What would you have done? Scarlett and I were making out in a car, we weren’t knocking over a convenience store! I may not have been right, but I wasn’t wrong.”
Marshall kicks the legs of a chair and pivots away from me. “This is serious, Jesse. These aren’t charges I can easily have dismissed.”
“I shouldn’t have pushed him. I know that, but everything happened fast. She was scared, and that scared me.”
Marshall rolls his neck, returns to the table, and with a mumbled curse takes the chair across from me. “The kidnapping charges are expected to be dropped soon. Scarlett told the police officers she went willingly with you. As for the resisting arrest charge, I don’t know how to handle that one yet, but give me some time and I’ll figure it out.”
“Thank you for helping.” It’s all I can say.
“This is the reason I want you to leave town. The Lachlin name carries a heavy load. Scarlett’s parents come home to find her gone, they contact the police, and when they find her with you, everyone assumes you did the worst because of your family name. If you stay, you will forever be living under a storm cloud you’ll never be able to outrun.”
There’s no doubt I lost his vote. There’s a good possibility I lost the pastor’s vote, too, but I’ll handle that once I’m free. At least I still have Scarlett’s vote. My gut twists as I think of her. “Is Scarlett okay?”
“She’s home,” he answers.
But that doesn’t mean she’s fine. I weigh the pros and cons of asking Marshall to check in on her, but don’t know how to voice my concerns without breaking Scarlett’s trust.
“Maybe I should have told you who’s responsible for the vote,” Marshall says. “If I had, then maybe you wouldn’t be in this scenario.”
I forget he’s not aware I know the identities of the tribunal. “How’s that?”
“I could be wrong, but maybe you wouldn’t have gotten into a relationship with the daughter of the man who is going to vote on your future.”
My brain vibrates with the impact of his words. “What did you say?”
“Besides me and Pastor Hughes, Scarlett’s father is the third member of the tribunal.”