Page 82 of Man Cuffed
Oh shit. That’s Morris’s voice!
Mac darts toward the doorway, leading to the narrow deck that wraps around the tier of this boat. And I’m right on his heels. We have to weave and dodge, because this is a crowded boat. But after sliding past a few dozen people we reach the front deck, where Morris and Eleanor and Bob are all staring up at the roof of the boat.
And—hell—Julie isstandingup there. No—she’s swaying, and way too close to the edge. There is nothing to stop her from falling two stories into the lake.
“Sit down!” Morris yells. “You could fall!”
“I’m the queen of this boat!” she yodels. “Where is Leonardo DiCaprio when you need him?”
“Oh shit,” I whisper. “We have to get her down from there before she tries to reenact the ending.”
Mac is already removing his suit jacket. He thrusts it at me. “Hold this, babe. And this.” He hands me his beer. Then he strides toward a ladder that I hadn’t noticed before. That must be how Julie made it up to the roof.
Oh, God. I wanted drama. Now I’ve got more than I bargained for.
24First Responder
Mac
When I’m in a crisis situation, there are things that happen to me. Chalk it up to my training and to years on the job. Chalk it up to my natural disposition to always be a little bit leery of people and their impulses.
So when I spot Julie up on that roof, a professional calm descends on me. My body just takes over as I put all the tension of the night aside and climb the ladder. There’s a very drunk woman up there. She’s too inebriated to make good life choices.
I was made for this situation.
What I hadn’t expected was Morris to be right behind me, his jacket off too.
“What the hell, Morris? Give me some room,” I say, my hands grasping for the top of the ladder. I can visualize what I need to do—grab Julie by the waist and get her to safety. But I need room to maneuver.
Morris gives me a shove in the ass. “You always have to be the hero, don’t you?” he asks.
And that stops me cold. Because I don’t need two crazy people on this roof.
I turn around. “I’m a first responder. This is literally my job.”
He blows out a breath and then looks away. And it’s weird, but I could swear I see a flash of envy. It kinda throws me and I start wondering if all this time when I’ve been jealous of Morris and his marriage and his life, if he hasn’t been jealous of me too. Wouldn’t that be ridiculous?
I shake that off. Time to focus. “I’m a cop, Morris. I’m trained for this.” I take the last step on the ladder.
“I’m her husband,” he says. “I’m trained for this too.”
He has a point. I reach the top, but then step aside to let Morris up, too.
And holy hell are we up high. The lake shimmers around us, and the sun is just starting to set. There’s a slight breeze and a sway to the deck that I am not a fan of. I assess the situation and note that Julie is still safe so far. She’s further from the edge of the deck than she was a moment ago. So long as she doesn’t move too suddenly, I can get her downstairs. And get some coffee into her.
But then she moves. Of course she does.
“Mac! Morris! Don’t you come near me! I’ve had enough. Enough enoughenough!”
“But baby,” Morris says. It’s sweet the way he says it.
“Don’t youbut babyme!” Julie says. Then she repeats it, but yells it this time: “NO BUT BABY!”
It’s at this point that I spot our large audience, because of course there’s an audience. Not to mention loud hip-hop music playing over the sound system, which only adds to the tension of the moment. I scan the deck and my eyes go right to Meg, standing amidst the swarm of wedding guests, all looking up. She shoos me toward Julie, and I can’t help but smirk a little. She’s probably enjoying the drama and wants me back in scene.
“Julie,” I say. I’m putting my cop voice on now. “You need to vacate this area immediately. This is not safe.”
“You know what’s not safe? Huh? Ten years of crazy!”
