Page 16 of Justice for Samara

“Oh. I thought you were… Never mind. You’re just such a cute couple,” she said with a grin.

Samara still hadn’t recovered enough to speak, but Michael added, “That’s still a very nice thing to say. Thank you.”

“Let me get a pen and paper and write your information down. Just a second.” As she stepped away from the door, Michael turned to Samara and shrugged, palms up and wearing a sheepish grin.

That struck her as the funniest thing ever, and it was all she could do to keep from bursting out laughing. “Here we are. Just write it all down.” As soon as Samara had written her email address and phone number, she handed the notepad back. “And here’s the keys.”

“Don’t you need a deposit or something?” Samara asked.

“No. That’s fine. If you’re friends with Michael, that’s enough for me.”

“Oh! Well, thank you. I appreciate that. When can I move in?”

“Anytime you want. I suppose you’ll be helping her with that too, Michael?” Mrs.Montgomery asked and winked at the chief deputy.

“Uhhh, if she needs me to, yeah. I’ll help her.”

“Good, good. Your mama’s raised a fine young man. You two have a good afternoon, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am,” Michael said as she stepped back to close the door.

“Yes. Thank you, ma’am. I appreciate it,” Samara added before she spun and headed to her cruiser. When they got far enough away, she whispered, “I got it.”

“Yeah. And that’s really nice too.”

He stopped at her car, so she figured she’d just ask. “Did you mean that? About helping me move?”

“Of course. Be glad to.”

“You got a truck?”

He grinned. “Yep.”

“Thanks.” She wanted badly to ask, but she wasn’t sure if she should. Finally, she decided she would. “She thought we were a couple. Would that really be such a bad thing?”

“No. Not at all. Just surprised me, I guess.”

“Are the people around here that racist?”

“No, no. Nothing like that. They just… Nobody thinks I’ll ever get married or move out of my mom’s house. They all thought I’d marry…” And he stopped.

Okay, I’ve got to know, her brain muttered. “Who? Marry who?”

“Nobody. High school girlfriend. That’s all.” He didn’t smile as he spoke, and there was something in his eyes that made her chest ache. “So see ya later? Maybe at the office?”

“Yeah. Maybe at the office. Got some leads to follow up.”

“Ah. Well, good luck.” He wandered away, but just as he reached his SUV, he turned. “Let me know when you want to see my house.”

“I will. Soon.” She watched as he climbed in and gave her a little wave before driving away. A glance around told her it was a quiet neighborhood of mostly older people, and that suited her just fine. She’d have to be careful with noise if she got called out in the night, but other than that, she couldn’t imagine that she wouldn’t fit in.

Amid the thoughts of the cases she was working on and all the other things she had ahead of her, Michael made his way back into her mind. Who had everyone thought he’d marry?

Maybe she’d eventually find out.

CHAPTER 3

Michael brought his truck,and Carter brought his. Carter also signed off on Samara using Gray’s department-issued pickup truck for the day. “Moving an employee,” he told her. It only took them about four hours and they were finished. Just one trip to BallardCounty was all that was necessary. She didn’t have a lot of worldly possessions.