Page 3 of Relinquish

The few times I’ve seen him haven’t done justice to the harshness of the man striding toward me. My stomach rolls, and I scramble to my feet, backing away from the woman who’s still dangerously close to swatting me with her purse again.

You don’t have to impress him. I steal my back and straighten my upper torso. He’s not important.

“Ms. Sutherland, please step aside.” Cade points to a spot behind him on the sidewalk.

“What?” I sputter. “I have everything under control.” Okay, nothing is under control. But I’m not about to have a man take care of my problems. I’ve gotten myself into this mess. I can get myself out of it.

As the police car rolls to a stop, the sirens trail off, with only the lights continuing to flash. The few observers remaining stand to the side, waiting for the police to conduct their investigation. If I had to guess, they’re hoping to see me shoved into the back of a police car while wearing handcuffs.

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll step out of the way and let me handle this.”

What in the fuck?

“Who do you think you are?” I tip my chin up and glare at him in disgust. And by ‘up,’ I mean with my one high heel still secured to my foot, I’m lopsided, and he towers over me by a good eight inches.

“Do you want your name in the paper or your face on the 9 o’clock news tonight? You’ll be lucky if we don’t find a video of this on social media.” He leans forward and speaks where only I can hear him. “What’re you going to do if they connect you with your father?”

“Fine,” I grind out between clenched teeth. If my dad finds out what I’m doing, he’ll have my brothers on the next flight to Kansas City to haul me back home. “You’re right. Let me explain.” My gaze streaks over the carnage, taking it in as it would appear to him. It has clusterfuck written all over it. “It’s not what it looks like. I saw this woman on the ground and this teen grabbing her purse. How was I supposed to know it was her grandson?”

“Yes, I’m sure anyone would make the same mistake.” Cade’s voice drips with sarcasm.

“It wasn’t my fault. The kid tried to grab her purse, and she jerked it away. It made sense that he was trying to steal it.”

During my interview, Mr. Truman preached that I should keep a low profile, and now, I’m going to get fired after five days on the job. That might be a world record. Of course, that would be the world record I’d beat. Why couldn’t I go for making the world’s largest Popsicle or something inane like that?

“Let me take care of it.” His steely gaze finally leaves mine.

The police officer chats with the injured woman, “I promise, young man. If I need medical attention, I’ll seek it. I’m feeling fine.”

Cade stands to the side, waiting for them to finish. When the officer moves on to the driver to gather his side of the story, Cade approaches her. I shift from one foot to the other.

My arms swing outward as I stumble. Dumbass, you have a broken shoe. My face surges with heat as I catch my balance.

“Ma’am.” He lays his hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

I gag over the sugary tone that oozes from his mouth like gooey frosting dripping off the edge of a cake. The hard lines vanish from his face, making him appear younger. I’d initially pegged him to be close to forty, but I’m guessing he’s nearer to thirty.

“It was only a bump. I’m fine, but my grandson, on the other hand, might not be so lucky. No thanks to that busybody over there.” She purses her lips together, accentuating the deep crevices around her mouth, and points toward me. “She attacked my grandson.”

“I apologize. I forgot to introduce myself.” He sticks out his hand. “My name is Cade Hughes. And you are?”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Hughes. My name is Mrs. Collins, Marie Collins, and this is my grandson, Jeremy.”

After shaking her hand, he turns toward the young man, who now looks like the apple of his grandmother’s eye. His hood is pulled back, and his pants are secure at his waist. “Son, are you hurt? Is anything broken?”

The boy puffs out his chest. “Ain’t no girl gonna hurt me. She ain’t no bigger than a gnat. I didn’t want to hurt her. If she weren’t a girl, I’d of kicked her ass.”

I lurch forward. “Now, listen here.”

Cade twists his head around and glowers. His cheekbones twitch as he grinds his teeth together.

Shut up, Lola. Maybe now isn’t the time to become a skilled backtalker. Proving I’m right is not going to help in this situation. Let him smooth things over, and go on about your day.

Marie cuffs Jeremy on the back. “Ain’t isn’t a word.”

“Sorry, Grandma.” He stares at his shoes.

“Sir, I’m sorry she knocked you down. You were right not to retaliate. You should be proud of yourself for not hitting a lady.”

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