Page 17 of Christmas with Three Cowboys

“I was arrested. Entitled to a phone call, so naturally, I called Jake. He wouldn’t pick up. I spent the night in jail,” I say, following her lead. “He didn’t show up at my arraignment either. I couldn’t reach him at all. I couldn’t afford a lawyer, so—”

“One was appointed to you, and I’m guessing he was a stooge.”

“He wanted me to agree to a plea deal,” I say and exhale sharply. Lo and behold, I soon realize Darla was right. I do feel better, calmer. My breath is even once more. “It wasn’t until I was standing in front of the judge that I realized what was going on. I insisted on my innocence. Then the prosecution brought Jake in as their witness. He told them quite the story. He even had proof, though it was circumstantial and easy to disprove if you’rea good defense attorney, but my guy...”

“Your guy was shit.” Darla curses under her breath. “Damn, girl, you really got the short end of the stick there.”

“I did, yeah. They gave me five years in a low-security facility because I didn’t have a record or a history of violence.”

“I’m sorry,” Darla says.

I give her a surprised look. “You believe me?”

“I told you. I’d know if you were lying. So don’t ever lie to me.”

“Wouldn’t even think of it,” I say. “Thank you, Darla. Thank you for believing me.”

While we chat, I transfer the chopped vegetables into a bowl, leaving them to soak in cold salted water for a while, then open the cans of pre-cooked peas and beans and strain them in the sink.

“You should get another lawyer and appeal the verdict,” Darla concludes after sipping her coffee. “It’s not too late. You could get the sentence vacated and sue the state. You’d be entitled to quite the settlement. They’ll never take it to court if the evidence is compelling enough to throw out the original verdict.”

“I’ve got two years left. Might as well get it over with.”

“That record will haunt you forever,” she replies.

All I can do is shrug. “I don’t know, Darla. Lawyers are expensive. Right now, I’m dirt poor. All the money I make here goes into an escrow account until I’m released.”

“There are plenty of lawyers who do this sort of thing pro bono.”

“Why are you pushing this?” I ask her.

Darla thinks about it for a moment, her eyes darting across the counter as she seems to search for the right response. “You don’t deserve to pay for a man’s crimes. I think you should fight this with everything you’ve got. It’ll be better for you in the future. Your employment opportunities will be different. You may feel like you deserve this, somewhere deep down, like you deserve to be punished for having believed in and loved that prick. But it wasn’t your fault. And ruining your life over this just doesn’t feel right.”

“You’re way nicer than I originally thought.” I chuckle lightly, trying to ease the tone of the conversation because I’m uncomfortable with the truth she just delivered. At least I’m able to recognize a hard truth when I hear it. If that’s not a sign of growth, I don’t know what is.

“The guys would agree, too,” Darla insists.

“The guys?”

“Colton, Ethan, Mitch. Hell, they’ve got some great lawyers working for the ranch. They’re close friends with them, too. I could—”

“Maybe it’s best if I keep my head down and just finish what I started here.”

Darla offers a wry smile and finishes her coffee. “For what it’s worth, Ethan almost got court martialed while they were serving with the Rangers. He was accused of something another member of their platoon had done. Colton and Mitch went to hell and back to prove his innocence.”

“Where are you going with this?” I ask.

“You need a smidge of faith, Melissa. It’ll take you far; trust me.”

“What crime was Ethan accused of?” I ask, more curious about their history than I am eager to revisit mine.

Darla lowers her gaze for a moment. “Murdering a fellow Ranger, not that he doesn’t have a dark side and not that he hasn’t killed, but never outside of duty.”

“Oh…”

A different kind of shiver travels down my spine. What Darla is telling me about Ethan pretty much tracks with his overall attitude. That darkness I see within him—it makes sense now. The man carries deep shadows with him everywhere. Yes, he’s handsome as hell, but he’s also demonstrably deadly. Something must’ve changed in my brain chemistry at one point in the past three years because I now I find that combination downright enticing: a man who makes my body sizzle who is also capable of obliterating anybody who tries to hurt me.

I was never a fan of such extremes before, but after everything I’ve seen and lived through, I don’t know…

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