Page 19 of Cowboy and the Convict

He'd almost forgotten about Janie dating Griffin, but now that she mentioned it, an ugly emotion threatened to rear its head. "No." He watched her face. "But now that you mention it, I’m judging him a little for walking away from you."

Her lips curved before pressing flat. "Technically, I threw him out." Janie’s eyes left his, moving back to the windshield. "He was a different person back when I knew him. Super closed off and unemotional." Her expression turned almost sad. "Apparently, yelling and screaming for him to open up to me wasn't the best way to accomplish the sort of intimacy I wanted from him."

It wasn't hard to imagine Janie getting frustrated and losing her shit. He’d actually seen it happen. More than once. It was exactly what was drawing him to her. Janie didn't stuff anything down. She didn't hide how she felt. She didn't ignore it thinking it would go away or change. She put it out there to be dealt with. Good or bad.

And he'd rather face yelling and conflict than silence and distance.

“Don’t take the blame for his fucking issues.” Devon paused, trying to soften the sharpness of his tone. “If Griffin couldn’t give you what you needed, he should have told you.” He hesitated, but couldn’t stop himself from adding on, “It’s not your fault you were more than he knew how to handle.”

He liked Griffin. Thought Dianna's husband was a decent guy. But seeing the way his behavior still affected Janie had him itching to throw a punch.

"It's kinda hard not to take it personally." Janie sighed, her eyes dropping to her lap. "He's happily married and I'm sitting in a squad car because I broke up with a guy who didn't like taking no for an answer."

“Neither of those things says anything about you." He was slipping dangerously close to lecturing territory, but didn't care. Janie fucking needed to hear this. "Griffin just lucked into finding somebody who suited him. And any asshole who tries to fuck up someone else's life just because they didn't want him, deserves whatever you said to him." He rocked his jaw from side to side, trying to unclench his teeth. "And probably a little more."

This conversation was frustrating him on so many different levels. Not just for Janie and all she'd gone through, but for what awaited his daughters. There wasn't a doubt in his mind they weren’t going to be the type of women who kept their mouths shut and took what came their way. They would be like Janie. They would be fighters. They would stand up for themselves at every turn. And while he knew that would serve them well in many ways, it was clear it wasn't any easier—or more likely to lead to happiness—than the path their mother chose.

"Now." He reached in to push back a curled lock of hair, curving it behind one ear. "Let's go to the station and figure out what the fuck is going on, okay?"

Janie's wide eyes moved over his face, and for a second he saw another hint of the vulnerability he caught earlier. It cut into him deeply, making him even more determined to fix this.

She offered a small nod. "Okay."

Janie was silent on their way in, sitting stiffly in the seat beside him. The urge to reach across and squeeze her hand was strong. He wanted to reassure her. Wanted her to know this would all be okay. He would make sure of it. Unfortunately, they weren't in that sort of a spot.

Yet.

But the more he was around her, the more he thought eventually they could be. That maybe she would finally start to understand him the way he was beginning to understand her. And if he was lucky, that understanding might be enough. Might offer him a little of what he was craving as his daughters got older. He couldn't dedicate the kind of time a relationship would require, but maybe they could form something else. A friendship of sorts. Something that might one day turn into more.

Until then, he would do whatever he could to help Janie find the happiness she seemed reluctant to admit wanting.

Yet another thing he understood well.

After pulling into his designated spot, he parked his squad car and helped Janie out, using one palm against her back to lead her to the door. Once they were inside, he ushered her into an interrogation room. Not because he wanted to question her, but because he wanted to offer privacy. For both of them.

He'd just gotten her situated with something to drink when Josh came in carrying her paperwork. The attorney sat down across from Janie and started to flip through it. The only remaining chair in the room was next to Josh, but it didn't feel right to sit there. Instead, Devon grabbed it and dragged it around the table, taking his place at Janie’s side. He’d promised to help her through this, and leaving her alone on one side of the table would make her feel like they were fighting for different causes.

Josh glanced up, lifting a brow as he looked between them. Like the smart man he was, he kept his mouth shut and went back to the paperwork, flipping through the pages before turning his attention to Janie. "This is a pretty simple thing. The city of Tukwila wants its money. All you have to do is send them a check and it’ll be done. They can't come after you for anything else."

Janie's skin paled and she seemed to shrink back in her seat. The reaction surprised him, because, in the scheme of things, this was a pretty simple fix. Devon leaned forward. "How much does she owe?"

Josh flipped back through the pages, pausing. "$4372.64."

The number had Janie's spine snapping straight. "No way. That's wrong." She gripped the edge of the table, leaning to squint at the number typed out in the paperwork. "I owe a third of that."

Josh shook his head, looking over the numbers. "Technically, they can charge interest, and it looks like they did. Combined with fees and penalties, the number looks accurate."

Janie’s tone turned pleading. "They can't do that. He said they would settle with me. That I could pay them eight hundred dollars and be done with it."

Josh opened his mouth, but Devon held up one hand. "Give us a minute."

His buddy shot him another look that said he was going to pay for every second he spent here, before pushing back his chair and walking out the door.

Once Josh was gone, Devon turned to Janie. "How long ago did you make that deal?"

She rocked a little in her seat, hands twisted together in her lap. "Before I moved here."

"And did you pay that amount?" He was pretty sure he already knew the answer to that, but wanted all the information before he decided how pissed off he was about to be.

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