Page 38 of Cutter

“I won’t, Daddy. Thanks for keeping an eye on me.”

“You’re my girl, kitten. Hear me? I’ll always keep an eye on you.”

“Yes. I hear you.”

“Okay, good night, baby.”

As she whispered good night, a new call came in.

Yoanni?

“Hey, what’s up?” Emily asked. “Isn’t it late for you?”

“No, it’s not. It’s not even ten yet.” Yoanni’s voice had an edge to it.

“You sound excited…or something.”

Yoanni squealed. “Wait till I tell you. Oh, but wait, you probably know already.”

“I don’t follow.”

“The party, silly,” Yoanni exclaimed.

Emily’s stomach dropped. A cold premonition sat on her shoulders. “What are you talking about? What party? When?”

A long silence followed.

“Um, you’re right,” Yoanni said. “It’s late. Let’s talk in the morning.”

“Miss Yoanni Sanz, you better come clean right this minute. Explain this party.”

“I’m sorry. I was excited and got carried away?—”

“Yoanni!”

“Okay, okay. Tomorrow night, there’s a party at the Dirt Road Saloon, and Barron, Cutter’s cute friend, asked me to go with. I just assumed…” Yoanni left the sentence hanging.

They’re all the same: liars.

Burning fury surged in her, but she wouldn’t admit her anger to Yoanni. Why add embarrassment and disappointment to her feelings?

“Well, that’s good.” The trained detective rose to the occasion. She controlled her voice. “I’m sure you’ll have a great time. We’ll talk in the morning.”

“Emily?”

“I’m tired. Wait till the morning.” She cut the call and threw her phone on the chair. Lucky for her, it bounced in place.

“That son of a bitch!” Jumping out of the bed, she ranted at the air. “So lovey-dovey on the phone. Meanwhile, he’s probablytaking another woman to the party. But not Emily. She has to be a good little girl and stay home. Well, think again. Bastard!” Emily stomped to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and pulled out the opened bottle of wine. She drank out of the bottle. Why bother pouring into a glass?

Bottle in hand, she moved to the living room window and stared out at the parking lot below. Thursday nights were quiet. No, the storm was raging inside her. Tipping the bottle, she drank almost to the bottom. Mercifully, the wine’s soothing properties began to work their magic. As she took deep breaths, moments of reason came to her.

Reality check. Cutter would never take her anywhere near the Dirt Road Saloon. He’d made that clear. The part about taking another woman had been her trigger reaction to Yoanni’s revelations. Plus, throw her lack of self-confidence and bouts of jealousy into the mix.

Well, she had two choices: either spend the night agonizing over the fact that he’d kept the party a secret, or she could wait until they were face-to-face…

And slam him with it!

However, as she walked back to her bedroom feeling much calmer, another idea popped into her mind. Yoanni had been invited, which meant Emily would learn about the party right away, and Cutter knew that. Maybe there was more to tell, and he’d decided to wait until the next day.

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