Chapter 22
Logan
On Saturday, the entire town came out to celebrate Founder’s Day and take part in the parade down Main Street despite the cool temperatures. Same as every year, I volunteered my truck to pull one of the high school floats, but this year Banner is sitting shotgun beside me, her hands wrapped around a thermos of spiked coffee.
We made good progress this week on the Olds 442, but after calling the seven upholsterers within a two-hundred-mile radius, I still have no one to replace Mrs. Borst, regardless of how much money I offer them. No one is willing to take on such a complex project with less than a week to turn it around, and without the custom interior, I’m totally fucked.
I haven’t accepted defeat yet, bound and determined that there’s no way in hell I’m going to ask Banner to apologize. Despite all its good points, sometimes I really hate living in a small town.
“This is so surreal,” Banner says as she gawks out the passenger window. “I swear, no one must be home right now because every single person in this town is here.”
We’re almost to the Four Corners, where there’s a beer tent and a barbecue competition happening.
“There isn’t a lot that happens in Gold Haven except a few festivals, and when there’s a beer tent, you can pretty much guarantee everyone is gonna come out and celebrate. Shit, I remember when Holly brought her husband here for WinterFest. If you think you and I get some looks, it’s nothing compared to what they got.”
Banner’s head whips around from the window to face me, her eyebrow raised. “I bet we could give them a run for their money if we tried tonight.”
“Easy now. We’ll get plenty of attention without even trying. You do remember the bowling alley . . .”
The amusement fades from Banner’s expression. “Okay, fine. I’ll be on my best behavior. I’m not saying I wasn’t then, but I refuse to leave tonight needing another bag of tater tots.”
Her shiner is barely visible today, at least not with makeup hiding the fading colors.
“I think that’s a good plan, babe. I’ll buy you a beer, feed you some barbecue, and we can people watch before I take you home and keep you up most of the night.”
“Deal.”
She winks as we slow to wait for the parade traffic to turn left and park in various lots up the next block. We take another left and pull into the alley behind my shop to unhook the float. One of the kids’ dads will be by to tow it away later.
Outside Cut a Bitch, Julianne has a big table, and all her stylists are handing out flyers and little pink bags to the people walking by.
After we park, I help Banner out of the cab, and all the high school kids hop off the float and head toward the food. I wrap an arm around my woman and steer her in the same direction.
Julianne waves when she sees us. “Nice cover-up job!”
Banner salutes her, but the makeup doesn’t hide the pink her cheeks are taking on. “Jesus Christ, it’s been a week already. How long do you think it’ll take before people forget about that?”
I look down at her. “Do you want the truth or do you want me to lie?”
Her brows draw together. “I’m not sure.”
I try to keep the smile off my face. “I’m sure they’ll forget by next weekend.”
She pulls away, or at least attempts it, but I’m not letting her go anywhere. “You’re lying. No one is ever going to forget, are they?”
“Probably not, but look at it this way. It’s unlikely anyone else is going to try to take you on. You held your own.”
Banner rolls her eyes. “I got my ass kicked. I probably need a rematch so I can redeem myself.”
“Whoa, cage fighter. I think once was enough.”
“I don’t care if her brother’s dad is really her new used-to-be-sister. Or whatever. If she comes at me again—”
I cup the side of Banner’s face and press my thumb to her lips, trying not to laugh. “Now that you don’t have to worry about. And she won’t.”
Banner closes her eyes for a beat before meeting mine. “Moving on.”
“Good. How do you feel about barbeque?”
She presses a hand to her stomach. “Feed me. I need all the food.”
“That I can do.”
We make our way through the line, filling our tray with barbeque, baked potatoes, corn, and pie. Once our plates are full, we find seats across from each other at the end of one of the picnic tables under the tents covering Main Street.
“I’m going to grab some beer. You want one?”
Banner taps the bottle of water she picked up in line. “I’m good. I forgot for a hot second that I don’t actually like beer. Besides, this way I can drive if you need me to.”
“Fair enough.” I give her a nod before heading up to the crew serving beer in the next tent. The line moves quickly, which isn’t surprising because Nicole is working.
“Hey, Logan, what’ll you have?”
“Whatever’s good tonight.”
She turns around and grabs two plastic cups already filled with a light-colored beer.
“This is my favorite of what we’ve got on tap.” She pauses. “Banner okay after the other night? That shit was pretty epic.”
I shove my hand in my back pocket to pull out my wallet. “She’s fine.” I hand the money over and am about to say more when Cody steps up to the side of the bar.
“Can I get you something, Officer?” Nicole asks him.
“I need you to come with me, Nicole. I’ve got a few questions for you.”
I freeze, my hands wrapped around the cups as I watch the exchange, everything Emmy said about Nicole coming back to me. There’s no way . . .
Nicole gestures to the taps and the line behind me. “Can’t it wait? I’m working.”
“You’re a harder woman to track down than I would’ve thought. I’ve been out to your place three times, and I seem to keep missing you.” The way Cody says it makes it sound like he thinks she’s dodging him on purpose.
“I’m sorry your timing is shit, but I can’t leave now.”
The serious expression on Cody’s face stays put. “Right now I’m asking. Don’t make me tell you.”
Nicole blinks. “Are you threatening to arrest me?”
“I’m telling you that I have questions to ask you in connection with an ongoing investigation, and I’m done chasing you around this town trying to get answers.”
“Questions about what?”
“You don’t want me to go into it here.”
“We got a problem here?” Jordan Birch, the beer distributor in town and the man responsible for the beer tents, comes up behind Nicole. “Because I got beer to sell, and this line ain’t getting any shorter.”
“You need to find someone to take over the rest of Nicole’s shift. She’s coming with me.”
Jordan’s gaze cuts to Nicole and back to Cody. “What the hell is going on?”
“Fine. I’ll go. But only because I don’t want to give the assholes in this town more to talk about, which is exactly what’s going to happen if you drag me out of here.” Her tone is ripe with frustration, and maybe a little fear. She gives Cody a hard look. “Do I need to call a lawyer?”
The cop shrugs. “If you feel like you need one. That’s up to you.”
She straightens her shoulders. “I’ve got nothing to hide, but I know how this goes. You’re going to automatically assume I did something wrong if I call one. So, fuck it, I’ll follow you to the station and you can ask your questions. This is bullshit, for the record.”
Nicole knocks a stack of plastic cups off the temporary bar and strides off. Cody is on her heels, and the fact that he’s not about to let her out of his sight makes me wonder exactly what he’s got on her.
What the hell is this town coming to?