Page 75 of Moonshine Kiss
“I told you. Did I not tell you to watch those girls?” I was wide awake now, grabbing a sweatshirt and sneakers on my way out the bedroom door.
“What the hell’s going on?” Jonah demanded from his doorway. “Why does shit always happen in the middle of the night in this house?”
“Girls got arrested,” I filled him in.
Jonah perked up. “Lemme grab my shoes. I’ll come with you.”
“Thanks, Bowie. Appreciate it,” Devlin said.
“That’s what family’s for.”
I did the math and told Jonah to drive separately.
* * *
Deputy Bubba Rayhillwas pacing the sidewalk in front of the police station when I pulled up. “How’s it goin’, Bubba?” I called, sliding out from behind the wheel. Jonah hopped out of his vehicle and joined us on the sidewalk.
“Thank god you’re here. We gotta get this mess cleared up before Sheriff Tucker gets wind that I had to arrest his wife and daughters,” Bubba said, wringing his hands.
“I’ve got the cash,” I said, waving Dev’s billfold like a Willy Wonka golden ticket.
“Thank you, sweet Jesus,” Bubba said throwing up a prayer to the winter sky.
Jonah and I followed him into the station, and it took all of half a second to know why the man had been waiting on the sidewalk for us.
The noises coming from the holding cell were an unholy cacophony.
“Y’all started it!”
“No, you all started it!”
“Girls, I don’t care who started it because I’m gonna end it by dunking all your heads in this toilet.” That last one came from Nadine Tucker, who was standing between Cassidy and Misty Lynn. The cell was so crowded that Devlin was pressed up against the bars in the corner, holding Scarlett around the waist as she tried to join the fight.
“If this is how eating my feelings ends, I’m never attempting it again,” June grumbled from the cot. Two women I didn’t recognize were taking turns wailing and blowing their noses.
Lula looked unruffled, pressed up against the stainless-steel sink mounted to the wall. She was admiring her nails as if she were contemplating a manicure color.
“Ladies…and Devlin,” I said.
They all launched themselves at the bars, talking at once and pointing fingers.
Cassidy was flush-faced and was glaring pitchforks at Misty Lynn, who was reaching for me through the steel bars. “Hey there, Bowie. Nice of you to come down and see me,” she purred.
“That’s it! You keep your hands off of the Bodines, you herped harpy.” Cassidy grabbed Misty Lynn by the bleached-blonde hair and pulled.
Devlin waded in as the women rolled around on the cement floor.
“We’ve been through this, ladies,” he said, prying them apart. Unsupervised, my sister climbed up on the cot like it was the ropes of a wrestling ring.
She hurled herself down on top of Misty Lynn, and the fighting began again.
“I’m so gettin’ fired for this,” Bubba muttered under his breath as he fumbled with the door keys. “Y’all stop that, right now!”
June scooted over two inches to avoid the hair extension that Scarlett threw in her direction.
Bubba hurried inside and made a grab for Misty Lynn, knowing better than to try to go for Scarlett. She was a biter in close quarters.
I sighed and followed him inside. I wasn’t afraid of Scarlett’s canines. Not after having grown up with her. Hell, we’d taught her all her fight moves. It made it easier for me to anticipate the elbow she threw at my jaw.
