Page 63 of Moonshine Kiss
“I had a feelin’ puttin’ them in that newspaper poll would stir things up!”
“Did y’all see her throw him out of her house?”
“And the smile on his face? That girl just waved a red flag in front of a bull. He’s a Bodine. You can’t tell them not to do something.”
“They’ll be married by spring.”
31
Cassidy
The station smelled like bad coffee and good pastries when I entered the next morning.
“Your boyfriend is my favorite person right now,” Bubba announced, cheerfully wiping crumbs off his uniform shirt and tie.
“Boyfriend? I don’t have a boyfriend.” I was still in a mood from the Bowie-Dad situation. Also, the Bowie kissing the crap out of me situation.
“Your beau then,” Fanny Sue said, handing me a paper plate with an assortment of delicate pastries on it. “He’s the best thing to happen to us all year.”
Confused, I took the plate. “What the hell are y’all talking about?” I demanded.
“Bowie brought us goodies. And he left this for you,” Bex announced, handing over an envelope and giving me an expectant smirk.
“Your eyebrow gets any higher and that ring is gonna get stuck in your hair,” I warned her with a grumble.
I took the envelope and the pastries over to my desk making a show of being here to work. Booting up my computer, I pointedly ignored the card.
“I don’t think she’s gonna open it,” Bubba hissed.
“She’ll open it,” Bex predicted, unconcerned with the fact that I could hear them.
The station’s front door opened, and my father strolled in. He shed his winter coat and his hat on the rack next to the bookcase that held all of our public safety brochures.
“Mornin’.” He said it to everyone but looked directly at me. I was far too engrossed in staring at my login screen to pay him any mind.
Everyone else called out their greetings. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Dad’s shoulders slump and I staved off the guilt. He’d earned my wrath. He deserved to know that I was unhappy with him.
“What’s all this?” Connelly asked appearing at Bubba’s desk, eyeing up the pastries.
Oh, hell. The last thing I needed was Mr. Where’s Your Loyalty knowing a Bodine was trying to get into my pants.
“Cassidy’s bein’ courted,” Fanny Sue explained. “Isn’t it romantic?” I shot her a death glare telegraphing the fact that she should shut her trap immediately.
Connelly took another look at the spread and rolled his eyes. He muttered something that sounded an awful lot like “hillbillies” before heading on into the conference room.
Bex snickered when the door slammed behind him. “Maybe if he were a better investigator he could solve this case and get out of this hillbilly town,” she said before heading back into the property room to answer the ringing phone.
Relief coursed through me, and I flopped back in my chair. “Jesus, Fanny Sue. He can’t know about Bowie making an ass of himself. He already thinks I’m too involved with the family,” I told her.
Fanny Sue snorted indignantly. “What the hell are you supposed to do? Stay away from everyone in town who’s ever committed a crime or been related to someone suspected of committing a crime?”
The idiocy of it didn’t make my job more secure. I was determined to ignore the card that was burning a hot hole in my consciousness. I made it a whole six more minutes before I quietly ripped open the envelope.
It was a card with a glittery red heart on it.
Cassidy,
You’ve had my heart for longer than you know. Say yes.
