When he stayed silent she went on. “Were you on a date? I am suffering with a broken heart and you go out on a date? How could you be so cruel? I hate you, Ryan Clark, and you had better hope I don’t find out who this slut is.”
“Don’t be so dramatic, Emma. I hate talking to you when you are drunk.” He avoided the subject of a date. Emma would make Lacy’s life miserable if she knew of his interest in Lacy.
“You are an asshole, Ryan!” Emma said and hung up the phone. He sat on his bed feeling his earlier joyful mood disappear completely. He had dated Emma for a month and he had never made her any promises of a long-term relationship. He had gotten tired of her constantly pressing him for marriage so he broke it off nicely and politely. He couldn’t understand why she was having a hard time letting go. It wasn’t like they were together for months or years. Maybe she had an unstable personality. Whatever her problem was he regretted the day he had given in to her obvious come-ons.
Ryan got into bed but he couldn’t fall asleep thinking about Emma and Lacy. What if a month or two down the line things between him and Lacy didn’t work out? Would she react like Emma? Was it even fair to start something new with Lacy when Emma was determined to make his life so miserable?
The doubts running around in his head dampened his romantic thoughts of Lacy. Relationships were too complicated and troublesome, he decided before finally falling asleep.
Chapter Four
It was a gloomy, cloudy day outside and not many people ventured out. Especially since the threat of rain was looming in the forecast. It had been a very slow and quiet morning at the diner. Lacy and Stella sat at the counter drinking a cup of coffee during a break. Ally was standing behind the counter putting some cakes she bought from a local lady in the case next to her fresh-baked pies. She looked at Lacy with concern.
“I hope you don’t mind that Ryan told me this morning what happened to you. What a horrible experience! I thought you were running from an ex-boyfriend, but I never imagined the truth. But don’t you worry. Ryan will take care of everything,” Ally assured her with confidence while she rearranged the desert case. “He’s good at his job.”
Lacy was touched by the woman’s concern. She nodded. “I know Ally. I wanted to tell you before, I just didn’t know how and I didn’t want you to hate me.”
“You did nothing wrong, Lacy,” Stella said firmly, listening to the conversation, too. “It was bad luck. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time and it must have been awful. I’m just so glad you ended up here. And you don’t need to go back to that dangerous city. Stay here in Appledale. I like having you as my friend.”
Henry suddenly stuck his head out of the kitchen window and agreed with Stella, obviously eavesdropping on their conversation. “Nothing good in those big cities, girly. Been there and didn’t like it one bit,” he said firmly, waving his spatula in the air. He was gruff on the outside but really sweet, Lacy discovered as she got to know him. Stella had told her that after his wife decided she didn’t like small towns anymore they had gone to New York, but Henry came back alone after a few years and vowed never to leave his hometown again. “You need to stay here just like Stella says.”
Ally smiled and agreed with Henry who stuck his head back in the kitchen just as quickly. He was a man of few words. He said what he had to say then disappeared again.
Lacy felt relieved to let the truth out. She hadn’t liked hiding it from them and had felt awful about it. It was like a big weight had been lifted off her shoulders now that the whole story was out. And she was relieved they didn’t hate her for running away. “I’m supposed to go down to the station to file a report when I’m done here. I have to admit, I’m a little bit nervous about that.”
Ally shook her head and looked around at the few customers eating lunch. “It’s a slow day. Go now and me and Stella will handle things here.”
Stella patted Lacy’s hand and agreed with Ally. Lacy felt lucky to have made such good friends. She had only been here a little over a week but she felt a kinship with the people here already.
“Are you sure?” She didn’t want to leave them shorthanded if things picked up.
Ally nodded. “Get it over with. That’s the best way to deal with any problem, I always say.”
“Thanks, Ally. I’ll be back.” Lacy hugged the women. “You two are the best.”
It was getting chilly outside and Lacy was glad she had her jacket. She walked the few blocks to the sheriff’s station. She smiled and waved to a few people she recognized. She enjoyed the scenery. The leaves on the trees were starting to turn into their fall colors and she loved it. The buildings were small but lovely. She loved the fact that when you looked up you saw the sky and not more high-rise buildings.
Some businesses were putting fall decorations out, pumpkins, haystacks, and gold and orange flowers. After living her whole life in a huge city she found Appledale so charming. The whole town could be stuck in some kind of old-fashioned time warp, Lacy thought to herself. Maybe she would even stay here and make a fresh start. She had never felt at home in Detroit, just one of a million people living in a large city. She didn’t know where her dad was, and her mom had been an only child, and her grandparents had been gone since Lacy was a small child. With no family, she had no reason to go back there, back to being lonely and lost in a crowd.
She was so lost in thought she almost passed up the police station. She walked up the steps and opened the glass door. Inside was a long, wooden counter. An older gray-haired lady greeted her from behind it. She was typing on a computer. “Can I help you, dear?”
“I’m here to see Sheriff Clark,” Lacy told her, starting to feel nervous now that she was actually here. “My name is Lacy. He knew I was coming.”
The lady smiled. “I’m Helen Myers, his secretary. He’s on the phone, so just have a seat. He won’t be long. Can I get you some coffee, dear?”
Lacy shook her head. Her stomach was upset from being nervous. She took a deep, calming breath. She wanted to pace up and down to get rid of her nervous energy but decided to sit and wait patiently. The station was small but had big windows that brought the sunlight in. A few desks sat on one side. On the other was a big cell with two cots in it. Lacy guessed they didn’t get many prisoners here. Ryan’s office was behind the counter with the door closed.
After a few minutes, the door to Ryan’s office opened and he told Helen, “If you see either Gabe or Logan, tell them I need to see them.” He motioned for Lacy to come in his office and then closed the door behind them.
“Am I in trouble?” She blurted out the first thing she was thinking as she sat down, nervously wringing her hands together.
He shook his head, looking serious, and sat in his chair, leaning on the desk so he could look at her. “I called the Detroit Police and found the detective in charge, a Detective Garcia. I told him everything you told me and gave him your address. The body was found dumped behind the building in an alley. He was from a rival gang. He said so far you are the only witness to come forward with any information.”
Lacy stood up, not surprised no one else had come forward, and went to look out the window, not really seeing anything. Everyone was scared of Chico and his boys. “Now what happens?”
Ryan longed to walk behind her and hug her and reassure her that he’d take care of her, but he had thought hard all night long about Lacy. He wasn’t sure he could settle down. He was already thirty years old and so far no woman had held his interest for very long. Look at the problems he was having with Emma accepting his decision to call it quits and making him feel guilty for breaking her heart. She drunk-dialed him often, blaming him for her heartache. Would it be fair to add to Lacy’s problems right now? He was attracted to Lacy but he had too many doubts to want to start a new relationship.
“I will take an official statement from you and fax it to him. That will allow him to get warrants for the murder investigation. He knows Chico and his gang very well. They are known to be ruthless drug dealers and killers. He understood your fear and is glad you came forward because he wants Chico off the streets real bad, but they have never been able to get a witness for any of his crimes,” he explained to her. He felt bad for pulling back from her, especially since their hot kiss last night. That one kiss had kept him hard all night long. But he knew it was better to hurt her feelings a little now and not hurt her further later by getting more involved and then breaking it off with her. He was already feeling guilty over Emma.