Page 23 of Spiritwarrior (The Colemans’ Legacy #2)

Chapter Twenty-Two

S potting the man he was looking for, Jody pulled his truck up next to Joel’s, then pressed a button to roll his window down and motioned for the deputy to do the same.

Joel rested his arm on the window edge once it was down. “What’s up, Jody?”

“Nothing much,” he answered cordially. “What are you up to? Casing the park?”

“Nope, just hiding out from Greer until I get off shift. I can’t be near him with a loaded gun.”

“He does tend to get on people’s nerves,” Jody agreed.

“What are you doing out so early?”

“Wanted to have a chat with you.”

Joel frowned. “About what?”

Jody dropped his cordial attitude. “I heard you asked Sophie to the music festival.”

“I did.” Joel gave him a knowing smirk. “What’s wrong? I beat you to the punch?”

“She’s not exactly your type, is she?”

“She’s not exactly yours, either.”

“She’s exactly my type. I want you to cancel the date.”

“Why in the fuck should I do that?”

“Because I’m asking you to.”

“Yeah. Sorry, but not sorry. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Then I guess I’ll be keeping my date with Sherree.”

The laughter died on Joel’s face. “Stay away from my sister,” he warned.

“I will if you stay away from Sophie. I give something up, you give something up. Sounds fair to me.”

“You don’t want to make an enemy out of me, Jody Coleman. Anytime I catch you in town, I’ll arrest your ass.”

Jody gave him a careless shrug. “That’ll only make Sherree like me more. Hell, I might be your brother-in-law by the end of summer.”

Joel lowered his eyelids to half-mast. “I’ll kill you first.”

“You, a police officer, threating me?” Jody raised his voice as if he was surprised.

“Son of a bitch, you win. I’ll cancel. But If I catch you sniffing around my sister, I’ll put a bullet in you dick.”

“See, I knew we could come to an agreement. You have a nice day.”

“Fuck off.”

“Same.”

Jody rolled his window back up and drove out of the park as he whistled along to a tune on the radio. That encounter had gone much easier than he had expected. Thankfully, he didn’t have to resort to harsher tactics. Sophie might have thought her date was a done deal, but the only way he would let another man near her was over his cold, dead body. He made a turn onto a side street, then cut his wheels to turn into a parking lot.

Getting out of his truck, he walked sedately into an apartment building that he was getting fucking sick of coming to.

He pressed the elevator button and went inside when it opened, got off on the floor he needed, and walked down the quiet hallway. After tapping on the door, he waited patiently for it to open.

“What are you doing here?” Sophie asked, opening the door wider for him to come inside.

Jody went inside and took the apartment in. “I see you decided not to hire a cleaning company.”

Red filled her cheeks. “I didn’t want anyone to have to deal with this mess.”

“Okay.” Jody rolled the sleeves of his long-sleeved Henley up. “Where are the trash bags?”

Sophie gave what sounded like a frustrated sigh. “Thank you, but I’ve got this.”

“Me leaving is not an option,” he stated firmly. “If we work together, we can get two rooms tackled before you have to open the restaurant.”

When she stomped off into the kitchen to get a box of trash bags, he felt safe enough to mutter. “Have you seen anything like this before?”

“Who are you talking to?” she asked, looking a bit concerned when she came back.

“Uh, no one. Just myself,” he clarified before clearing his throat and changing the subject. “So, do you want me to work in here with you, or should I tackle another room?”

Seeing the indecision on her face, Jody offered a suggestion. “I can do the bathroom.”

“No! I’ll do the bathroom.”

“Sophie, there isn’t anything in there that will shock me or gross me out. I’ve already seen it. Is there anything in there you want to keep?”

“No,” she mumbled.

“Then at least let me take that off your chest.”

“I can’t ask you to clean—”

“You didn’t ask; I offered. I feel bad Baylin took her anger out on you. This will make me feel better.”

“Go ahead.”

“Atta girl.” Giving her a jaunty smile, he went into the bedroom to go into the bathroom, then opened the trash bag and got to work. He had a strong stomach, but what Baylin had done to the bathroom was disgusting.

He had known Sophie wouldn’t want strangers going through her things. Nor would she want Ginny to see it, either. Sophie wasn’t used to letting people help her, other than her parents. He imagined moving from state to state as she said they had. They had learned to depend on each other, Jody thought grimly. The woman was just going to have to get used to the fact her inner circle was going to expand. She had a big family who would take her family’s back to ease their worries.

He made a mental note of the makeup that Baylin had destroyed before he tossed it in the trash bag. Using the few washcloths that had managed to escape her notice, he cleaned the bathroom. Luckily, he found some bleach under the sink.

Satisfied, he tied up the trash bag. All he needed to do now was sweep the floor and mop.

When he went back to living room, he found Sophie had made headway, also.

“Where’s your broom and mop?”

“In the hall closet.”

Hearing a tearful note in her voice, he sent her a questioning glance. “Is something wrong?”

Sophie gave him a worried frown. “I’m wondering how I’m going to be able to replace the couch, chair, and glass table. The cost is more than I made for the whole week so far. I’ll have to pay for it before my parents move in. I already told them I managed to scrape enough together to furnish the apartment.”

“Put that out of your mind. Baylin will take care of the cost of the furniture. By the time your parents get here, it will look just as it did before she trashed your belongings.”

“You think?”

“I do,” he said firmly. “I’m going to finish up in the bathroom; you finish what you need to get done here. When we’re done, I’ll help you open the restaurant. I’ll even make you my famous cinnamon rolls.”

The worry disappeared from her face and was replaced with humor. “What makes them famous?”

“No one in town can beat them. I’ve won two blue ribbons at the fair for those suckers.”

Sophie laughed. “Then I can’t wait to taste them.”

Warmth filled his chest at the way she looked at him. Then regret filled him that he hadn’t been true to her the way Matthew had stayed to Alanna.

He found the mop and broom and finished the bathroom.

“You ready?” he asked, laying the trash bag on the floor.

“As much as I can do for now. I’ll do the rest tonight after I close the diner.”

Jody carried out the trash bags and pressed the elevator button while Sophie closed and locked the apartment door.

As he waited for her, she was turning away from the door when Baylin came out of her apartment, dressed for work. He groaned inwardly.

Both women stood indecisively as to what to do next. Sophie made the first move by starting to walk down the hallway. Baylin opened her door and went back inside her apartment.

Seeing Baylin had gone back inside, Jody could read the relief on Sophie’s expression.

“Well, that was uncomfortable,” she remarked, stepping inside the waiting elevator.

“The only one who should have been uncomfortable was Baylin.”

As the elevator door closed, he pressed the first-floor button.

“Do you think, if she gets another man, she could do the same thing? That’s scary what she did. I don’t think I want my parents living next door to her.”

Jody thought it over. “I’m hoping she’s learned her lesson, but I can understand why you don’t want your parents to live next to her.”

“What should I do?”

“You won’t have to do a damn thing,” he said with certainly. “Baylin is going to have to move.”