Page 57 of Love and Loathing

Jessie went to the curb and put a hand over her eyes to get a better look. A car was parked in front of City Hall, and a big honking muscle of man was perp walking—was that what it was called? Perp?—perp walking two men toward the building that housed the sheriff’s department, with their hands cuffed behind their backs. They were sweating more than sinners in church, but Jessie supposed that could be due to the heat.

“It’s the Whitleys!” Stu said, and he started jumping up and down. “He caught ’em! He caught ’em!”

Jessie’s heart skidded in her chest. The gathering crowd started to applaud. The door to City Hall opened, and Jacob and Daniel were guided in. Jacob glanced over his shoulder, somehow catching her gaze. He smirked at her, then was roughly pushed the last step inside by the Muscle. Man, that guy was huge.

Even on this blistering day, people came outside their shops. Word spread. The clapping and revelry continued. Jessie glanced down the street to Sticky and Sweet just in time to see Jo and Allie come out and learn the news. They’d lost more to the Whitleys than anyone. The turned to one another and hugged—Allie started crying. Jessie’s heart filled—she’d known they couldn’t be as unaffected as they’d appeared. This was why she’d been so obsessed with finding him. Because it did mean something. It meant closure to a really difficult time for her cousins and lots of other people in town.

And suddenly, Jessie knew that this had been Alex’s doing.

* * *

Once in the bookstore, Jessie went to the back and called Alex’s phone. He didn’t answer, and she didn’t leave a voicemail. If she had to thank him over the phone, she sure as heck wasn’t going to do it on a message machine. She waited five minutes and tried again. Still nothing. So she dialed Charlie.

He answered right away. “Jessie, how are you?” He sounded so happy, and she felt a pang of loss from having missed him. He would’ve been the best brother-in-law ever.

“I’m good. How are you?”

He cleared his throat. “How’s your family?”

“They’re good; thanks for asking.”

“And your sisters?”

She grinned and shook her head. “They’re good.” At least the three that were still here were good.

He hummed deep in his throat.

Jessie took a chance. “Caroline misses you, Charlie.”

The phone went silent.

She cleared her throat. “You still there?”

“Y-yes,” he stuttered. “Yes, I am.”

“Listen, I’d love to chat and catch up, but something’s happening in town, and I need to get a hold of Alex. Is he with you?”

“No, he had some meeting this morning uptown, and I had some downtown. Hang on.” The phone muffled. “His phone’s probably on silent, but I bet he’s back at his mom’s by now. Why don’t you try him there? I’ll give you the number.”

“Thank you!” she all but squealed. She rushed to the desk in the back corner behind the couch and pulled a Post-it Note off a pad, then grabbed a pen. “Okay, go.”

He gave her the number. “It was good to hear your voice, Jessie,” Charlie said.

She grinned. “You too.”

As soon as she hung up, she dialed the number. It rang twice before someone picked up. A woman. “Hello?”

Jessie’s nerves jostled through her body. Was this Alex’s mom? Oh crap! She really hadn’t thought this through.

“Hello? Anyone there?”

“Uh, yes,” she said, and she immediately hated how it sounded coming out of her mouth. “I’m calling for Alex. Is he available?”

“Who’s calling?”

She froze. She really didn’t want to give her her name. This would be the first impression his mom would have of her forever. “I’m a friend from Harvest Ranch.”

She gave a haughty laugh. “Oh, I see what this is. You’re a fan, aren’t you? How’d you get this number?”

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