Page 46 of Let It Breathe (The Can’t Have Hearts Club #1)
Sheila shook her head, and Reese sat back a little for fear of being hit by flying snot.
“It wasn’t supposed to be that big,” Sheila insisted.
“It was just a little trash-can fire. It was nighttime, so I knew no one would be there to get hurt. I just thought—well, you know how superstitious Eric is. I thought if he got to thinking the place was cursed, he might not be so set on staying.”
“Right,” Reese said. “I guess that makes sense.”
If you’re completely crazy.
“Look, I know you think I’m nuts, but I did it for what seemed like good reasons at the time,” Sheila said. “I want to be close to my family, and I want to be with the love of my life. You can understand that, can’t you?”
Reese bit her lip and tried hard not to look at Clay. “I can understand some of it.”
“I know you hate me right now, but maybe someday you can forgive me?”
Reese sighed. “I don’t hate you, Sheila. I’m just shocked.”
Sheila nodded and sniffed, then looked up at the detective. “Can we call my husband now? And the lawyer, I guess. I just needed to do that my way, without a bunch of people breathing down my neck about what I should and shouldn’t say. Does that make sense?”
“No,” the detective answered. “But most things don’t in this business.” He looked at Reese. “You probably want to talk things over with your family, discuss the charges, all that stuff. I understand you’ve already had some discussions with the fire marshal?”
Reese nodded. “Earlier today.”
“You’ll have more.”
She nodded again, not looking forward to a drawn-out investigation but knowing this thing with Sheila probably gave them a light at the end of the tunnel. “Do you need me to do anything else right now, or am I free to go?”
“You’re free to go,” he said. “Ms. Mortenson will be staying with us for a while, but you two are okay to leave. Mr. Henderson, thank you for being here to—well, to smooth the waters a bit.”
“No problem.”
“Good to see you’ve gotten your life together, son,” the cop added. “I remember you from years ago. Thought you’d be in prison yourself by now.”
Clay nodded. “I got a second chance.”
Reese felt her gut twist and she squeezed his hand. Clay turned to look at her, then offered a small smile and a hand up. His eyes didn’t leave hers.
Reese shivered and looked down. She’d taken a few seconds at home to ditch the pajama pants in favor of jeans, but she was still wearing her thin cami top with an oversize flannel shirt thrown over the top like a jacket.
It was unbuttoned all the way, and she pulled it closed over her chest as she felt her nipples respond to the sight of Clay standing there looking so broad and warm and dangerous.
“Are you going back to your place?” he asked.
She nodded. “That was my plan.”
“I’ll follow you there. We need to talk.”
Reese opened her mouth to protest, then changed her mind. Between her mother, her father, and Axl, she’d had a steady stream of visitors all evening. One more wouldn’t hurt.
“You’re right. We do need to talk.” She turned and looked at Sheila, then placed a hand on her shoulder. “You want us to wait until Eric gets here?”
“No.” She took a shuddery breath. “I think I want some time alone to compose myself, if that’s okay.”
“Right.” Reese bit her lip. “I’m probably going to be angry with you for a long time.”
“I understand.”
“But I’ll get over it. I know you’re not a bad person. You just did some dumb things, and maybe someday we’ll look back on all this and laugh.”
The cop frowned. “I kind of doubt that.”
“Maybe no laughing,” Reese admitted. “But at some point, I might not want to take you out in the parking lot and hit you with a tire iron.”
Sheila sniffed. “That’s all I can hope for.”
Reese turned and let Clay tow her down the hall and out into the lobby. “I need to use the restroom,” she said.
“I’ll wait.”
“I can meet you back at the house?—”
“I’ll wait.”
She gave him a small smile. “You think I’m going to ditch you somewhere to avoid having this conversation?”
“I’m not taking any chances.”
She nodded and retreated to the ladies’ room, where she splashed cold water on her face and wondered what the hell had just happened.
Sheila. Her friend. How could she?
But Reese knew. People did stupid things for love. Hadn’t she proved that before?
She finished finger combing her hair and wished like hell she’d brought some lipstick. She settled for the mango lip balm she found in the bottom of her purse, along with a piece of gum with a nickel stuck to it. Finally, it was time to go back out and face the world.
The second she stepped into the lobby, she saw Clay standing there. He wasn’t alone.
“Eric,” she said. “How did you get here so fast?”
“I was right down the street on an errand when Sheila called.” His forehead furrowed as he looked back and forth between them. “What the hell is going on?”
She took a deep breath and caught his hand. “You know how you’re always telling me marriage is really tough? How it’s not easy, how you need to work hard at it every single day?”
He nodded, his expression wary. “Yeah?”
Reese squeezed his hand. “Remember that, okay?”