I smirk. “I have always seen myself as a hero.”
This gets a real smile from her. That, in turn, gets me a reprieve from the tightness in my chest.
“I hate seeing myself as some damsel in distress,” she says.
“We all go through times in our lives when we need help. My grandma Annabelle used to tell us that if we didn’t help when we were needed, no one would be there to help us when we were down. That the universe took notes.”
She sighs. “Then you have some favors coming, buddy.”
The room grows quiet. The only sounds are the ones from the hallway outside. Each noise—clamoring of keys or buzzing of alarms—seems to be miniature reminders that we’re in a police station.
“Hey,” I say. “Did you lock Libby’s door?”
“I have no idea. I don’t think so.” She laughs sadly. “She’s probably going to get robbed, and that will be my fault.”
“It’s probably a stroke of luck.” I dig my phone out of my pocket. “Have you ever dealt with an insurance company? I mean, I haven’t, but I hear it’s a shit show. If he gets robbed, I’d venture to say that’s the universe taking notes.”
“Shit.” She sits upright. “I was supposed to get Libby’s stuff out of there before he gets back.”
She looks at the ceiling and pretends to cry. I’m not sure how far off from it she really is. I can deal with a lot of things in life, but a woman’s tears aren’t one of them.
“I’m going to have my cousin’s boyfriend run over there and get the stuff Libby wanted,” I say. “Can you tell me what all that was?”
Jaxi closes her eyes and rattles off a small list of items. “That’s it. Can he go soon? I don’t know what time Ted will be back.”
“I’ll see.”
I get to my feet and walk to the back corner of the room. I press Hollis’s number.
“Hey, man,” he says on the first ring. “What’s going on?”
“Hey, Hollis. I need a favor, if you’re not busy.”
“Shoot.”
I rub a hand down my face. Jaxi sits facing the opposite direction with her phone in her hands too. Her fingers fly across the screen in a wild spectacle.
“Do you remember Libby?” I ask Hollis. “She made homemade ice cream for us when we were cleaning out the garage.”
“Yup.”
“Long story, but I need you to go to her house and grab a trunk in the master bedroom. There may or may not be a Bible lying around. If you see it, take it too. Oh, and take Riss with you. Have her fill the suitcases under the master bed with some of Libby’s clothes and take all of that to my house. Riss knows the security code to my door. Libby’s is not locked. And I’d appreciate it if you could do this now.”
He whistles through his teeth. “Okay. Do I wanna know, or is this one of those things we’re never talking about again?”
I chuckle. “Thanks, man.”
“I got you. I’ll fire you a text when it’s done.” He laughs. “This sounds so mafia.”
I snort. “Well, considering that I’m standing in a police station right now, let’s not say trigger words, okay?”
“Are you serious? What’s going on, Boone?”
“It’s fine. Everything is fine. I’ll explain later. Thanks for helping me out.”
“Yeah. Of course. Call me later.”
“I will. Thanks, Hollis.”
I end the call.
“Hollis and Larissa are going to go over there now,” I tell Jaxi as I make my way back to my seat.
“Thank you.” She sets her phone on her lap. “Look, Boone, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I didn’t plan for this. Clearly. But I promise that I’ll get a plan together soon and get out of your hair.”
I study the woman in front of me. The fear and dread etched in her features cuts through me like a hot knife. If I were her, I’d be calling my mom. But it seems like she only has me.
“If you cased my house out correctly,” I tease, “you’d know I have two extra bedrooms.”
She tries not to laugh but can’t help it. The sound eases both of our minds, I think.
“I’m not a good problem solver,” I tell her. “I go to my brothers when I really get my shit fucked up. But I think Wade would tell me to take this problem in sections and deal with it one part at a time. Wade is a pretty smart guy.”
She looks at the door. “That’s good advice, and I’m sure Wade is an intelligent man, but what am I going to do with a little girl? I can barely take care of myself.”
Fuck if I know.
I try to imagine something happening to Coy and me getting saddled with his kid. I’d take it, without a doubt. There would be zero hesitation. But then what? I’d call Mom. And she’d guide me every step of the way.