Page 33 of Stopped

I jogged back toward my car with a laugh, sliding into the seat and turning off the hazard lights before clipping my belt in place and shifting back into drive. True to his word, Will pulled back into the road and took off, the lights still flashing as he gunned the engine. For all his talk about speeding and reckless driving, I had to accelerate well past the posted limit to keep up with himas we played chase along the winding roads we both knew like the back of our hands.

Naturally, he slowed the cruiser as we hit the town limits, moving even slower as we approached the school grounds. The crowds were prolific, as they were every year, and the kids rushed forward with cheers and shouts to revel in the display of lights and the chirp of the sirens. Kids loved law enforcement officers, and they especially loved the thrill of the sights and sounds of a police cruiser in all its flashing glory. By the time we were able to nose into the circular driveway of the school, the swell of the crowd forced us to a veritable crawl.

My booth was easy to spot once I found a place to park my car. Sally had gone all out with the rainbow colored decorations yet again. There was even a giant rainbow balloon arch with a gaudy metallic streamer backdrop set up for photos. The idea confused me, but I had to trust her vision, especially since the onus of the work had fallen on her shoulders during my massive depressive temper tantrum. As I moved through the crowd, my friend group came into focus. Much to my surprise, Ashley was standing right alongside them in one of the campaign t-shirts purchased for the event.

My face must have expressed my surprise. She was hesitant for all of thirty seconds before she came running toward me with reckless abandon. I barely managed to widen my stance before she hurtled into me like a short, stylishly dressed, and impeccably coiffed linebacker.

“Elijah!” She hit with far more force than I expected, driving a gust of air and a grunt from my chest as I caught her smaller frame. “I'm so sorry!”

“Ash, it’s okay—”

“It's not. It's not okay. I was so gullible and naïve. And because of it, I almost ruined everything!”

“Ashley, really,” I responded, bringing a palm to the back of her head as I hugged her tight. “I'm not mad.”

“You should be. He was just using me for information and I was too distracted by his charm to realize. You have to know, I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to risk our friendship. I just wasn't thinking clearly.” She clung like a barnacle and, not for the first time, I wondered how I ended up with a collection of clingy koalas as friends.

“It's not like he could have gotten anything of value from you. It's really okay. Yes, I was surprised and a little hurt, but I was never mad.” I pulled back and swept a thumb under her leaky eyes before her mascara could leave indelible marks in her foundation. “Promise. We’re okay.”

“I'm still sorry. I swear, I've been working double hard to make up for it. I talked about you to every single client. I even sent campaign stuff to my mailing list and Instagram.”

Touched, I pulled her back in for another hug, this one far less football tackle inspired than our first. “Thank you, Ash. Seriously.”

“Everyone else doubled their efforts, too.” Ashley fluttered her manicured fingernails toward our friend group. I was startled to see all of Will’s friends amid the collection, each one of them wearing the same t-shirts. Benji really stole the show, though. Not only was he wearing the t-shirt, but he'd added a new hat and a plethora of rainbow streamers to his ensemble as well. The bullhorn in his hand gave me pause. He caught my eye and held the thing over his head.

“Don't worry, they took the batteries out after about ten minutes.” His grin was pure sunshine and earnest innocence. I couldn't help but shake my head and laugh in response.

“Ashley, move. You're stealing my cuddle rations.” Lionel muscled his smaller frame through the gathered people andsmoothed his t-shirt with a huff before latching onto my side. “Quite the entrance, Elijah.”

“Yeah, I guess dating the local Sheriff has its perks.” I kissed the top of Lionel’s head and draped my arm over his shoulders. “Thank you guys so much for all of this. Sorry I've been such a downer lately. I appreciate this more than you’ll ever know.”

“Everything figured out with lover boy?” Brent jerked his chin over my shoulder and I turned to spy my boyfriend swarmed by a mob of children with a brilliant grin on his face, dimples on full display. The scene inspired a smile of my own, just as bright and unfettered.

“Yeah, I think so. Took us a minute, but we got there.”

“You mean a decade, not a minute.” Josh, the man I recognized as Will’s best friend, stepped forward, a criminally adorable baby propped on his hip and wearing a miniature version of my campaign shirt. If I had ovaries, they would have exploded.

“Oh my God, who is this?” I fluttered my fingertips at the baby and gasped in surprise as the little tyke nearly flung himself into my arms. Josh settled him on my hip with a chuckle.

“Grayson. Sorry, he's used to being tossed around the friend group like a rugby ball.”

“Pleased to meet you, little guy.” I awkwardly resituated his squirming weight and melted a little more inside as the kid nestled his head against my shoulder before babbling a long string of incoherent syllables and sounds.

“Yep. Marriage at the ballot box and kids by Christmas.” Benji fist-pumped the air with a whoop. “I knew I was right. You guys really underestimate my intelligence sometimes.”

I glanced around at all the faces in confusion. “What?”

“Yeah, ignore him. Benji, hot dogs!” Cam snapped his fingers to get his friend's attention.

“Oh, shit. I forgot there was food at this thing!”

Brent shifted his eyes and gently pushed his glasses higher on his nose. “Benjamin, it's a barbecue. Food is in the title.”

“Huh,” Benji mumbled with a tilt of his head. I swear, it was like watching a goofy pitbull dog try to do mental math. “That's super smart. You got smart friends, Elijah. I'm gonna learn so much cool shit.”

“Shit!” The baby in my arms jolted up straight and giggle-shrieked. “Shit!”

“Oh God,” Josh groaned, rushing forward to grab Grayson and gently press a palm to his mouth. “No, Gray. You can't say that. That cannot be your first word.”

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