“You’re crushing my liver!”
My eyes snapped open and my hands loosened. However, I saw that the smirk was still on his lips.
“Relax. Look.” He nodded towards the lake and I watched the way the water seemed to sparkle as we passed by. We were not where I’d been abandoned b
ut were instead on the side that was closer to the mountains.
I didn’t know why or how, but I began to relax and the wind no longer bothered me. The fact that there was nothing to separate me from the road below or the air around me felt strangely familiar and, as he rode on, I let go of him completely and outstretched my hands as far as I could from my body. Why did this feel so nice?
“Malachi, this is amazing! I feel like…like…I’m riding a horse!—Ah!” I clasped my hands around him tightly once more as the bike swerved but I felt his chest shake as he chuckled. “That was not funny! Ugh!” I coughed as I clutched at my throat, really hoping that what I thought just flew into my mouth hadn’t actually flown into my mouth.
He drove us right into the heart of the small town which sat a little way off from the foot of the mountains and in the midst of the massive trees. I realized then that if I had walked in the opposite direction of his house, I would have been much worse off, and probably completely unable to find anyone. Lieber Falls, population of one thousand and ten—eleven if you now included me—was completely hidden, a small town tucked into the valley with a massive lake and trees sprinkled in. He pulled to a stop at the red brick building where a statue of two little kids—one was holding on to the pole which held the Montana state flag and the other had a bird nestled inside its outstretched hand.
“Are you getting off?”
“No. I plan on growing roots here.” I made a face behind his back. I was really getting tired of him talking down to me. Stepping off the bike I removed my helmet and tried to fix my hair—the keyword being tried.
“You done?”
“Do you always ask these many questions or are you just trying to annoy me?” I asked him.
“I’m annoying you?”
“Yes.” I turned toward the building. “Not coming?”
“Actually, no. I said I’d bring you here not hold your hand and walk you through. You really shouldn’t inconvenience your clients, Ms. Noëlle.”
I watched in shock as he zipped off down the street, the black of his jacket and his bike disappearing as other cars pulled out of their parking spots.
“Fine! I’ll go in alone! No big deal.” I spun on my heels and looked straight at the building as two officers stepped out. One of them gave me a look over as he walked to his green and white squad car. I smiled and nodded at him as I walked into the building which was actually much smaller on the inside. As I looked around I saw that two drunk men lay snoring on the floor of the holding cell. Leaning against the counter with a coffee in one hand and a bagel in the other an old, white woman who had crow’s feet around her brown eyes and whose gray hair was cropped short behind her ears looked at the two men and shook her head before noticing me. She looked me up and down from my bell bottoms to my face, and her chewing slowed.
“Hi. My name is Esther Noëlle—”
“Let me guess…” She stood up straighter. “You were robbed coming into town yesterday?”
My mouth dropped opened. “How…”
“This is my town, young lady, I know everything that happens here—”
“Alfred Noëlle called yesterday demanding a manhunt to find you. I could hear him yelling on the other side of the phone.” A tall younger man with blond hair and brown eyes came around the counter and stood beside the woman who glared at him. “I’d never seen my grandmother get bossed around before—ouch!”
“You ain’t seen the inside of your own stomach yet either.” She lifted her mug up as if she were about to smack him with it. “And it’s Sheriff to you, Officer Richards. Sheriff Eleanor Richards, been that way for the last—”
“Last hundred years?” he asked smiling wide at her.
“Keep smiling. I’ll see how much you smile when I start docking your paycheck.” She nodded as she walked back to her office.
“Sheriff!”
“Let the guys know we don’t need a search anymore.” She nodded at me then frowned. “And tell your grandfather we’ll find the thief. We backwater cops know how to do our jobs thank you.” The door slammed behind her.
I cringed. “Please don’t tell me my grandfather called you all backwater cops? I’m so sorry I got him all—”
“It’s okay. Lieber is pretty backwater.” He grinned and handed me a clipboard. “Besides, like I said my grandmother has never been so tongue-tied before. Here, fill this out and we’ll see if anything pops up in a pawn shop or online.”
I gasped in relief. “Thank you, Officer Richards.”
“That was my father. You can call me David.” He grinned and I stared up at him. And to think Li-Mei said we all wanted bad boys. Ha! Give me a nice guy any day.