“That wasn’t exactly waiting. I was dealing with my own shit.”
“And giving Tabby’s ass really hot looks whenever she’d walk away.” Emberly winks, and I can’t deny it. I might not have been waiting for her, but I sure as hell was noticing her.
For a minute we don’t say anything, then Emberly looks out at the sun sitting right on the ocean now. “When Tabby and I were Coco’s age, she used to cry a lot for her mom. Not crying like a baby.” She shakes her head and waves her hand. “She would hide and cry, like when she thought no one would see.”
My chest aches thinking of her hiding away to cry. “Why did she leave?”
“I’m not sure anybody knows, but it really messed with Tabby’s head.” Emberly crosses her arms over her waist. “It took a long time before she finally stopped crying. Then it was like she decided she wouldn’t let anyone make her cry that way again.”
“I would never make her cry.”
Emberly nods, giving me a smile. “I believe you. Tabby’s just been protecting herself a long time. She wants to believe. Can you be patient and help her get there?”
I think of the tattoo on her wrist. She said it was to remind her…
Reaching out, I catc
h her small hand and give it a squeeze. “Thanks, Ember.”
“Take care of my girl, Deputy Tucker.” She gives me a playful, stern glare.
“I intend to do just that.”
I’m frustrated and, I confess, a bit of a dick the rest of the week. The days are too long, the nights are too long, and Jimmy Rhodes had better watch his mouth.
“Noticed you’ve been by yourself a lot lately.” The little punk actually walks over to greet me with a smug look on his face. “Has our girl realized there’s better fish in the sea.”
I give him a tight smile. I know he’s pushing my buttons because of his crush on Tabby, but his use of the phrase our girl annoys me.
Crossing my arms, I straighten to my full height, which is a head and shoulders over him. “I got a call last night about a break-in down around one of the beach houses on Oceanside Cliffs. Where you around eleven p.m.?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I’m only jerking his chain, but he gets nervous enough to make me suspicious. “I was doing my Uber rounds last night.”
“Not much activity in Oceanside on a Wednesday an hour before midnight. Who did you drive?”
“He actually was doing a run,” Wyatt walks up laughing, patting Jimmy on the shoulder. “I needed him to take my mamma home after prayer meeting.”
“That’s pretty late for a prayer meeting.”
“Yeah, she came over to the house after. That woman can talk!”
“I’ll take your word for it.” I nod to Wyatt, backing down. I am just messing with the kid anyway. Robbie thinks it was a deer or possibly a raccoon set off the house alarm. Still, I give the kid a stern look. “You keep your nose clean.”
Punk-assed kid has the nerve to call back to me. “Afraid I’m going to steal her out from under you?”
“There’s been some petty theft at the gas station as well. Not too many kids out of school to cause mischief.”
Jimmy juts his chin out. “Probably old Mabel Collier. Dre says she’s developed sticky fingers now that she’s got dementia.”
He’s right. I forgot Lance Collier told us he kept finding her pilfered loot in her mattress. He’s always very apologetic and embarrassed when he returns it, even offers to pay damages. Nobody takes him up on it.
I give up. “Leave Tabby alone.”
With a smug look, he goes to the other side of the hardware store, leaving me even more annoyed than when I walked in.
Nothing takes her off my mind. She hasn’t been in the bakery all week, and Emberly says it’s because she’s working on the Travel Time site. Their official launch date is right around the corner, and she’s double-checking everything.
I understand that.