Page 112 of Sheriff's City Girl

“Have you decided on a name yet?” Mom asked as I opened the front door.

“Not yet, we’re still working on it,” I answered. “Love ya, Mom.”

“Love you!”

As soon as the door shut behind me, I let out a sigh of relief. I was happy to have her there, but damn, she hounded me all the time. I glanced down to the iPhone in my hand, and as I tilted it, the screen lit up.

And I saw a text from Cody.

Lucas paid my bond.

I furrowed my brow as I saw that there were three more texts from him available to be viewed on the screen. I almost continued to read, but then stopped myself. It didn’t matter—and it didn’t matter if Lucas paid his bond… That was up to him. However, as I slid into the SUV and placed the phone on the console, it buzzed again.

Jess, I didn’t do it. I swear. Please just read my messages.

On the fence about reading what else he had sent, I sat there in the driveway, leaving the car running. I didn’t want to be the stepmom that went through her phone. I wanted to have an open and honest relationship with Jess—and that was what I would have done…

But I was still going to ask her to read the messages.

I headed to the school and checked the time. It was ten minutes from lunch, and I knew that Jess had off-campus lunch. I pulled out my phone and dialed Lily.

“Hey girl, how’s the visit with your mother?”

“Painful, but yeah, you know how it goes,” I laughed. “Could you send Dara a text and let her know to tell Jess that I’m at the school. She forgot her phone, and so I’m bringing it to her.”

“You can just take it into the office and drop it off,” Lily suggested. “It might be easier than making it through the flood of teenagers.”

“Yeah… But you know how Cody was arrested for the fire?”

She was quiet for a moment. “Yeah?”

“I saw that he’s sent her some texts—and I’ve only read the two that popped up on the screen—but he’s saying he didn’t do it…”

“Okay… Well, it’s not that crazy for a kid to lie about what they did.”

“Yeah, but he says that he knows who did,” I said quickly. “I just don’t want to go through Jess’s phone. I don’t think that’s starting us out on the best foot. I just want her to read them. If he knows who did it, then we can go to Mason.”

“You’re right,” Lily said, her voice growing distant. “I’m texting her right now to tell Jess to meet you in the parking lot. You know, Dara is convinced that Cody didn’t do it, either.”

I leaned back in the seat, waiting for the lunch bell to ring. “How come?”

“Well, she swears that Cody has changed since everything happened with his dad. He’s not arrogant or rude. He hangs out with her and Jess most of the time, not those other kids. She doesn’t think that he would start the fire. She said it just doesn’t make any sense.”

“Well, I guess, but you don’t think he did it for his dad or Brittany?”

Lily let out a sigh. “You know, if he did, it would be because they manipulated him to do it. However, Dara told me that he hasn’t even talked to his dad since he was arrested. He throws his father’s letters in the trash. He’s been living out at the ranch with Lucas, and Brittany hasn’t asked for him to come back to the house.”

“I knew he was out at the ranch,” I admitted. “I just don’t know. Jackson said that he caught him on the other side of the barn with a gas can.”

“But he could’ve been doing anything with that.”

“But when Jess asked him why he did it, he said he didn’t know…” I knew I was just throwing out the reasoning behind thinking that he did do it, but I had to admit that I was leaning more toward the idea that maybe he didn’t.

“Maybe he just didn’t know what else to say,” Lily suggested. “But I don’t know.”

“I feel like there’s something off with it, too, though,” I agreed. “I just don’t know what it is… And maybe these texts hold the answer.” The lunch bell rang, and I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel.

“Dara said that Jess will be there shortly.”

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