Page 26 of Sin With Me

Mom’s eyes are wide with fury and her cheeks are bright red. “Have you lost your mind? Who raised you?”

Waylon snorts and then quickly hides his face when Mom scowls at him.

“He’s gonna press charges!” she exclaims, crossing her arms. “Why on God’s green earth would you hit a deputy?”

“He was harrassin’ Delilah and then called her a whore! I knocked him out on his ass because he deserved it. Dad woulda done the same thing if any man spoke to you that way.”

“You father would do it out of love, not spite.”

Arching a brow, I stare at her in silence until it dawns on her.

“Oh, Wilder…” She sighs, resting a hand on her chest.

“What?” Waylon asks, clearly missing the obvious.

“Nothin’.” I retrieve the rake and go back to work. “I’ll go in front of a judge tomorrow and deal with the consequences. If Wesley wants to press charges, then he risks gettin’ himself in more trouble too,” I say without explaining all the details.

Sheriff Wagner can be a hard-ass on many things, but one thing’s for sure—you talk badly to a woman in his town, he ain’t letting you off the hook with only a slap on the wrist.

Considering the Fannings have a soft spot in his cold, black heart, I’d be surprised if he lets Wesley off the hook at all.

He was there when Mr. Fanning got hurt and saw him fighting for his life under that tractor that took his leg.

The following year, he was the first one to arrive at their house when Harlow was unconscious after being assaulted by one of the intruders. She had two broken legs, cracked ribs, and was put on life support due to swelling in her brain.

Then, on the day Harlow was kidnapped, he was the one who found the two guys in the barn after Waylon and I rescued her. Harlow took a bat and beat the living shit out of the one guy who was trying to kill her, and I shot the other, who was using a paintball gun to keep us out.

She was bruised and banged up but made a full recovery.

He knows their family has been through hell and back.

And Delilah had to witness most of it. She stayed home for years instead of getting her own place because her dad and sister needed her. Their mom’s a nurse and works twelve-hour shifts, so someone always needed to be home.

With the full realization of how much their family has been through, I think a kickboxing class is just what Delilah needs. Or maybe a rage room where she can smash everything and anything she wants until all the weight of the stress and grief lifts off her chest.

“You’re lucky the sheriff didn’t lock you up all weekend,” Mom says.

“Trust me, I know. Delilah waited while I got processed and then I drove us back to my place.”

“She’s there now?” Waylon asks.

“Yeah, she was exhausted. I didn’t want her to take me home and then drive herself back to town that late.”

Mom grins, then pats my arm. “See, now that’s the Southern gentleman I raised, who makes sure a woman is safe.”

“Safe in hisbed…” Waylon muses under his breath, but I hear him.

“Thanks, Ma. I’m gonna check on her during my lunch break.”

“Alright. Well, you better talk to your father afterward because he’s not happy with you either. I’ll call John so he meets you there in the mornin’.”

Figured he wouldn’t be.

“Will do. Thanks, Mom.”

She leans in to hug me, and I wrap an arm around her, then kiss her cheek.

“Does she know?” Mom asks softly.