Chapter Eight
Amy and Mike carried in two large cardboard boxes and placed them on the floor next to the desk where Logan, Jared, and Reed were meeting after talking to Griffin and Jason. The two men were on the road and headed directly to the summer camp as fast as they could get there.
“Mail,” Mike announced. “Specifically mail to Bryson while he was in prison.”
“We’ve already seen it,” Logan said. “Marilyn sent it to us. There’s nothing there.”
Amy reached into one of the boxes and pulled out a handful of letters. “No, you saw what Marilyn wanted you to see. There’s a hell of a lot more. There are several more boxes that we need to bring in. The bastard was popular with the crazies. They’d send him letters, pies, knitted scarves, and then some weird shit like photos of them torturing their cat. Those never made it to him, but the prison kept them.”
“Son of a bitch,” Reed muttered under his breath. “The world is a sick place.”
Maybe it was just as well that he and Kaylee weren’t going to have any children. Why bring them into a society with all of this depravity?
“It is,” Mike confirmed. “Should we bring in the rest of the boxes?”
“Absolutely,” Logan said. “We need to look through those as quickly as possible. All hands on deck. We’ll get Ava and Kaylee to assist.”
“Are you sure?” Amy asked, hesitating in the doorway. Mike, on the other hand, had immediately jogged outside to start unloading the boxes. “It’s just…Kaylee doesn’t really have any experience doing this. I understand wanting to have Ava help but maybe it’s not a good idea. I could call and have a couple of marshals here in the morning.”
Reed glanced at Logan and Jared, gauging their reaction. As far as he was concerned, Kaylee knew enough about what was going on to be able to look through mail for someone who might have helped Bryson. But this wasn’t his rodeo… It was Logan’s call.
Jared was the first to speak. “Tomorrow morning will be too late. We need to look through that mail now and stay up until it’s done.”
Logan nodded in agreement. “Exactly, plus Ava and Kaylee aren’t exactly clueless when it comes to this stuff. They’ll do fine.”
“Your call.”
Turning on her heel, Amy strode out of the room without another word. Jared’s brows rose and then he chuckled.
“Looks like we pissed her off.”
Logan shrugged, putting his attention back on the map on the wall. “I can’t worry about her delicate feelings. She’s not in charge here and if that’s an issue for her she’s welcome to call her superiors and get another assignment.”
“I’ll go help,” Reed offered. “The sooner we get started the better.”
Jared quickly stood, pushing his chair back. “You stay here. I’ll go help.”
Confused, Reed could only nod as Jared followed after Amy.
“Is he worried about my back or something? I can carry a few boxes.”
Reed had thrown his back out about a year ago, but he was fine now as long as he didn’t do anything stupid. Like play football on Thanksgiving Day with a bunch of guys who were much younger than he was. Which was exactly how he’d hurt himself in the first place. To be fair, Kaylee had warned him it wasn’t a good idea, but his ego hadn’t wanted to admit that he was over forty and slowing down a bit. As usual, she’d been right.
Logan cleared his throat noisily and grimaced. “No, but he is worried that Amy is spending a little too much time with you. Whenever you two are in the same room she can’t seem to tear her eyes from you.”
“I’m not interested in her.”
“We’re not saying that you are. We’re saying that she’s interested in you. I don’t think it’s something we should be encouraging, unless you have other ideas.”
Was Logan truly asking what Reed thought he was?
“I am not encouraging that woman. I love my wife.”
“I know you do but we’ve noticed that Amy seems to like you. A lot.”
Blowing out a breath, Reed slumped against the desk, draping a leg over the corner. “She’s been…friendly.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes. She offered me a sympathetic ear.” Reed rolled his eyes. “Jesus, I’m not interested and I’m not even sure she’s attracted to me. She’s a nice woman. We may all be blowing this out of proportion.”
“That’s true. She does seem to gravitate toward you, though. I think she’s a good agent but I also think she might have a…crush.”
“I guess people can tell about Kaylee and me.”
“To be fair, I didn’t until Ava pointed it out,” Logan explained. “My mind has been elsewhere these past few days. I’m sorry you two are going through a rough patch. I’m sure it will all work out.”
“It will,” Reed said with far more confidence than he possessed. Despite Kaylee allowing him to hold her for the first time in months, it didn’t mean that their relationship was all patched up. They still had problems. “We’re already doing better. Every marriage has its issues. We’ll get through it.”
“Just know that we’re here for you. If you need it. But it sounds like it’s all going to be okay.”
“It is. For sure.” The sound of footsteps in the hall had them both looking toward the door. “I appreciate the concern, though. You guys are good friends.”
Reed wasn’t sure how to fix his marriage but spending time with another woman absolutely wasn’t going to help. He’d avoid Amy for the rest of his time here. He didn’t need another problem on top of the ones he already had.
* * * *
Reed had attracted the attention of many women over the years and for the most part Kaylee hadn’t minded. She’d known that her husband wasn’t interested and would be in her bed each night, so why worry?
Do I need to worry now?
“I can’t believe you haven’t smacked the crap out of her yet. I admire your restraint.”
While they were all combing through Wade’s prison mail, Kaylee had sought peace and quiet folding towels in the laundry room. She should have known Ava would find her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Ava shut the laundry room door behind her and leaned a hip against the washer. “You had a deep-seated need to fold laundry at midnight?”
“It needed to be done.”
“It could be done in the morning. Those towels weren’t going to jump out of the dryer and dance around. They’d be there whenever we got to them.”
The image of the sunny yellow towels doing a dance down the hall had Kaylee giggling. “If they could dance they could fold themselves.”
Ava sighed and rubbed at the back of her neck. “Wouldn’t it be great if towels and clothes were self-folding? That’s the worst part of doing laundry. If Logan had his way he’d never hang anything up. He’d just wear the clean clothes I bring upstairs in the laundry basket. When it’s empty it must be time to do the wash again.”
“Reed’s more persnickety. He likes his clothes a certain way.”
They’d come to the end of the laundry discussion because Ava threw a glance over her shoulder toward the door. “Amy likes him.”
“I’m not worried about her.”
Much.
Wrinkling her nose in distaste, Ava make a gagging noise. “She’s trying to stay professional but it shows. And don’t think that Logan and Jared haven’t noticed. They have, and my husband mentioned that tomorrow he’d make a few calls and get Amy reassigned. Her crush on your husband isn’t good for this mission.”
“She thinks I’m only good for folding laundry.”
Kaylee’s tone was far more bitter than she’d intended but she’d had quite enough of Amy batting her eyelashes at Reed.
Especially when I’m standing right there.
“And we know better,” Ava declared. “Don’t worry about her. Reed isn’t interested.”
“She’s a good marshal and she actually seems…nice.”
“Well…yes. She’s nice but she’s also making a fool of herself.” Ava took a step forward and lowered her voice. “Just ignore her because that’s what your husband is doing.”
“Is he? Are you sure?”
That green-eyed monster had Kaylee firmly within its grips and she hated what she’d become. One of those jealous women who didn’t trust their husbands. She’d never thought she’d get here to this awful place.
But here she was.
“Reed would never cheat on you.”
He was the most honorable man Kaylee had ever known. But Amy…
“She doesn’t look like a quitter.”
“She looks like a fool.”
Ava’s tone had Kaylee laughing. “I sure as hell won’t argue with you about that.”
Taking the towel from her hands, Ava nudged Kaylee toward the door. “Now go out there and don’t give a shit what that woman says or thinks. She’s not important. You and Reed are.”
Kaylee didn’t want to give up the progress she and her husband had made this afternoon. For a while today she’d felt…happy and content. A state she hadn’t experienced in too long. Now she was greedy for more.
She’d found a little bit of hope here in this safe house.