Page 57 of Cheyenne

Micah nodded. “I want it to be put on me.”

“No,” Cheyenne argued.

Brooks put up his hand. “Okay, we get it. Both of you are stubborn and at fault.”

Cheyenne nodded. Maybe she should be embarrassed to be the center of attention, but she wasn’t. “Yes, that’s the way it is.”

Kensi stepped forward. “Listen, I know we’ll hold these guys responsible, but here’s the deal. Tim has been talking to the police in Wilmington, and he thinks he can get the charges dropped for grave robbing. Do we want to do that?”

Cheyenne knew Tim was the sheriff in South Port, but she hadn’t known he had that kind of influence.

Everyone was silent for a long time.

Ava stepped forward, tears in her eyes, but she looked angry. “Of course we get the charges dropped. We don’t need that on them.”

Kensi nodded. “I have attorney friends in Wilmington. I think we can make the charges go away.”

Everyone burst out talking, weighing the pros and cons of letting them off so easy.

Cheyenne wasn’t sure what to do, but she felt bad having the others erase her crime. “Drop them, expunge them, whatever for Micah. But I’ll take the consequences.”

Micah frowned. “No. You won’t.”

She nodded. “I don’t want others to erase my actions.”

Micah took her hand. “I don’t want my actions erased either.”

Ava turned to him. “But you’re going to be a SEAL. It matters for you.”

Micah hesitated. Then he looked at the group. “I don’t know if I want to be a SEAL.”

There was a collective gasp.

Cheyenne’s body started to shake. “Yes, you do. You’ve spent all week telling me about being a SEAL. You’re going to be a SEAL.”

He faced her. “But the truth is … I love you. And I don’t want to leave anymore.”

Cheyenne felt herself breaking down. “I love you, too. But…”

Micah smiled through his tears. “You do?”

Her heart raced. “I do.”

There was complete silence in the room.

Finally, Trey stepped forward. “Listen, no matter what is going on here, we are getting those charges dropped. That’s final.”

Cheyenne peered into Micah’s eyes. The whole world disappeared. “You have to go to BUD/S training.”

“Yeah, you do,” Trent’s voice thundered.

Hunter moved to the front. “He signed a contract. He has to go.”

Micah shook his head. “I can’t just leave. I can’t let you face all of this without me. I won’t.”

Tears stung her eyes, and she leaned up to kiss him. “Yes, you will. That’s the end of it.”

Then she rushed from the room, hating that she was crying and out of sorts.

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