Matt couldn’t believe how his men rallied around him. As soon as Jackie had left his house, Dalton had started making coffee. Williamson had grabbed trash bags to put all the beer cans, liquor bottles, and various other garbage in. Matt had drunkenly gone upstairs to take a shower.The deputies had insisted on coming with Matt to Lynx Lake. Patty, the switchboard operator, did, too. The three college students from Phoenix who worked the late shift had been happy to cover for Patty while she was gone. They needed the money. Williamson had been able to get six cops from surrounding counties to watch the town while they were gone. Williamson had told Mayor Walker that they were taking Matt away for some R&R. Walker had been ecstatic and had no problem with all the guys leaving town at the same time. Walker believed it would do Matt a world of good.They pulled up to the cabin late Monday afternoon. Daniel’s car was at the other cabin when they arrived. Matt assumed Barb was with him. The
Matt, Patty, and the deputies walked down to the lake shore. The deputies marched in formation behind Matt and Patty. They all wore dark clothing. Patty held a lantern and a white rose. Carter held a lantern as he walked in front of the deputies and behind Matt and Patty. Williamson held a lantern as he walked behind the rest of the deputies.Jackie had come over last night and gave them lanterns. She had given Patty a rose to drop in the water. And she had given Matt a bottle with a cork and a bag of blue sand. She had said it was for him to write a letter to his son. Matt was to put his letter in the bottle with the sand. When Matt was ready, he was supposed to drop it into the water. Once they got to the lake, Williamson stood next to Matt. The sheriff’s department stood perfectly still as they watched a row of lights come from the direction of the Garvey cabin. The clergy walked in front of them with a lantern.The two groups stood at the lake’s edge. The clergy stood in front of
Later that day, Jodi sat at the kitchen table with a wicker picnic basket and a small cooler in front of her. She was waiting for Billy to get off the phone so they could go on a picnic and watch the sunset.Jodi’s mind drifted to the service. She was glad she had invited Matt. It gave him peace. That’s what she wanted. Jodi was surprised Matt didn’t bring Mindy. At the town celebration, he had seemed completely taken with her. Jodi had figured he had confided in her. She had to admit that she was a little too gleeful when Mindy wasn’t at the cabin last night. Not that she had a chance with Matt anymore.Jodi let herself get caught up in the memory of how handsome Matt had looked this morning; the captain with his soldiers behind him in dark suits and ties. They all had looked good. Jodi put her finger to her mouth. Her mind drifted to last night. The sight of Matt – rugged and shirtless; his tan muscles proudly out for her to admire. Her lips parted, her tongue wetted the tip of her
Matt went outside. Billy stood next to Jodi on the deck. She held a small red cooler and the shawl Rita knitted her. A large wicker picnic basket was propped on a rocking chair.Jodi’s hair was tied in a ponytail with a sheer white scarf. It hung down her shoulder. She wore a yellow sundress that came above her knee. Her feet sported white flat sandals. Jodi smiled as Matt approached them. He smiled back.“There you are,” Billy said cheerfully. “The path is a few feet that way,” he said as he pointed to the far left. “You probably saw it when you pulled in on Monday.”“We did. You sure walking a quarter of a mile won’t be too much for you?” he asked Jodi.“No. I need the exercise,” Jodi said with a smile.“She’ll be fine, just don’t let her carry the basket. It’s heavy,” Billy said.“All right,” Matt said.“Have fun, Pussycat. I’ll see later,” Billy said and kissed her on the forehead.“Don’t work too hard,” Jodi said softly.Matt balled his fists in his pockets to keep from punching
Matt looked up at her. A tear came down her face. He lay down next to her and wiped it away with his finger. He propped his head up on his hand and looked down at her. “No, I’m sorry. I was an asshole two weeks ago. A monstrous asshole. I know you were taking care of yourself. I know you loved our son. I’m sorry for being stupid; for not seeing it before. You were sick before you had left town. Fainting in the diner, you were fatigued, how pale you were. In hindsight, it was obvious you were pregnant. I was too self-absorbed to see it.”“No. My god, you were working around the clock. You were dealing with all the awful things Marty, Paul, and Ghost were doing. There was no way you could have known.”“That’s another thing. You had to have been frightened during that time. You were sick and pregnant while bodies were piling up around you. Your sister was being threatened and your friends were being killed one by one. You didn’t tell me because I was stressed. You were trying to protect
Jesse gave Jodi a small jar of moonshine and an envelope with cash in it. She tried to refuse the money, but Jesse wasn’t having it. He told her to buy something nice for herself.When she got back in the cabin, Matt wasn’t in the kitchen. She wasn’t sure if he was still there or not. Jodi didn’t see him walk back to the cabin when she was outside, but it was dark. She looked around and she didn’t see his hat or jacket.She went downstairs to the office to check on Billy. He had on his gold wire-rimmed glasses. He was rubbing his head as he was pouring over information on his laptop. His next conference call was in thirty minutes. Jodi made Billy a fish sandwich and warmed some fried potatoes. They were leftovers from last night. She sat them down on the desk along with a can of soda. Billy looked up at her and mouthed the words thank you as a man was frantically talking on the speakerphone.“Going to bed?” Billy mouthed.She shook her head and leaned down to give him a kiss on the ch
Jodi woke up with Matt’s arms around her. She looked up at his sleeping face. He looked so peaceful. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 5:03 a.m. Jodi sighed with regret. She had to wake him. He had to get back to his cabin.“Matt, Matt. Wake up,” Jodi whispered and lightly patted his shoulder.“Mmm,” Matt groaned and kept his eyes closed.“Matt, come on. It’s 5 a.m.” Jodi said and kept patting his shoulder. “Matt, it’s 5 a.m.”He groaned and slowly opened his eyes. “So,” he said hoarsely and tightened his grip around her.“So? You should go before the sun comes up.”“Bunny, don’t you think we’re safe out here? Everyone in both houses knows about us for Pete’s sakes.” He seductively growled.She smiled. “True, but I don’t want to shock them to death. As far as everybody knows you went back to your cabin last night. People have a way of flooding my bedroom in the mornings - whether I’m here or at the hotel.”Matt groaned in protest.“People are going to start stirring in an h
An hour later, they were in the shower. Matt tickled her as she tried to wash his hair. She giggled so loud that she was afraid that everyone upstairs heard her if they were awake. Matt rinsed the soap off of her.Jodi got out and grabbed a soft towel. She was drying herself. She turned around and stopped when she noticed Matt watching her. The water beat on his chest as his head leaned to the side – checking her out.“Stop it,” she said and swung the towel at him.He let out a playful chuckle.“Wash the rest of that soap off before you turn into a prune,” Jodi said as she held the towel against her.“I will if you promise to get back in bed and wait for me,” he said with a smirk.“I promise,” she said and wrapped the towel around her.He winked at her.Jodi giggled as she left the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Jodi hummed as she picked up their clothes. She folded Matt’s clothes on a chair across the room and placed his boots under the chair. Jodi hung Matt’s black Stetson o