Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
“Set it up, make an appointment. Tell me the time, and I’ll be there. Fuck, Tulsa, Montgomery would be right be your side doing this with you. He’d be so damn proud of you. Hell, I’m proud. Never change, butterfly.” Her arms wrap around my neck, face buried in my neck, tears hitting my skin, and I hold the woman I love, unsure why she’s crying. All I know is, when Tulsa needs me, I’m going to be there, every damn time.
30
LEDGER
I’m sitting at my desk, looking over the schedule for the week, checking what projects are where. Chase handling the residential side is shaping up to where we could potentially need to hire a whole other crew. I guess next on my agenda will be heading to the local high school, sitting down with a counselor to see if any seniors are looking to start a trade in roofing. We’ll see how many want to start right out of the gate, then go from there to look in the community.
“Hey, Ledger, you got a minute?” I was so engrossed in reading through emails, schedules, and order sheets that I didn’t hear Sheriff Judd open the door or walk through the office until he announced his presence.
“Hi, Judd, sure do. What’s up?” He walks in further, hat in his hand, uniform on, and looking like he’s got the type of news no one wants to hear. The last time Judd came around unexpectedly wasn’t a great experience. Seeing him around town isn’t a problem. Him coming to you? That’s different. I pick my phone up, glance at it and see I’ve got a text from Tulsa. I relax.
Butterfly: I’m stopping at the grocery store. Is it okay to assume you’ll grill dinner and I’ll take care of dessert?
“Give me one second. Tulsa texted.” Judd takes his seat in one of the chairs. The other one is currently covered in plans. The next time Mom comes in, I’m going to see if she wouldn’t mind organizing a few things.
Me: Sounds good. The only dessert I need is between your thighs. Call you in a few minutes. Judd is here.
“Not a problem. This won’t take long. I know you’ve got your hands full. If you wouldn’t mind telling Tulsa, I’m sorry I’ve yet to stop bye to say hello. The station has been a shit show—new recruits, false reports, and more paperwork than I ever care to deal with, but it comes with the job.” Judd, Montgomery, and I all grew up together. It was him and his father who told Tulsa the news. Judd tried to get his father to wait until I made it to their place before telling her about Mont’s accident. I went above him once the dust settled. He retired six months later. How that shit was handled was not right, not when he could have waited five more damn minutes. Judd took his place, thankfully not like his asshole of a father.
“I’m sure she’ll understand. Tulsa hit the ground running herself the minute she hit Orange Blossom—us, her job, her best friend moving down here.” I’m wondering why he’s here in the first place. I see Judd at Hank’s, have the occasional beer while watching the game or shooting the shit. And we see one another around town.
“I imagine so. It’s good she’s back home. It’s where she belongs.” I don’t respond. On that, we can agree.
“Is there a reason you’re here, Judd? I’m not trying to be rude, and I’ve got no problem catching up. Unfortunately, a Monday morning when the Mockingbird House has more shit wrong with it than we thought isn’t the best time.” Fucking water issues. The roof was well past its age, so we knew there’d be some issues. What no one expected was that it’s rotted through a few of the trusses. Getting a crane scheduled and staying on schedule is damn near impossible now.
“Ella came in over the weekend. I wasn’t on duty. My younger deputy took the statement. I’m here as a courtesy, to hear what you have to say, then I’ll tell you what she’s claiming.”
“Son of a bitch. She was fired weeks ago. Ella was in a snit. Chase had a good head on his shoulders and had me call Tulsa. Mom was with her. All four of us were in the office when I let her go. A few words were said, and Elle called Tulsa a few names. Never before in my life did I want to hit a woman. That was the first time I really thought about doing it,” I tell Judd. I’d have never done it, but Tulsa and my mom would have, if I didn’t hold them back.
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that. You see, Ella came in with a black eye. She’s claiming Tulsa Rose hit her at Hank’s this weekend. She tried to snowball my deputy. He’s a young one, has a lot to learn, was ready to go straight to Tulsa instead of taking the time to check out the facts. I stopped at Hank’s early this morning. No idea why he was there at nine o’clock, but glad he was nevertheless.” Jesus fucking Christ, this bitch has no damn sense.