Page 125 of Always a Bridesmaid
Even though things didn’t work out, she wished him well as she reached the bend that would take her away from him forever.
Red and blue lights flashed behind her, and she swore. Then she checked her speedometer and discovered she was well within range.
Do I have a taillight out?
If so, she would promise to fix it, and that’d be that. To keep her in town for a few extra minutes over something so trivial seemed cruel.
However, she wasn’t the deviant her record made her seem, so she pulled to the side of the road and reached into her glovebox for her insurance and registration.
Muggy night air filtered into her car as she rolled down her window. Once she got a look at the cop, though, her irritation intensified. “Are you serious?”
Easton folded his arms across the open window. The suspenders were gone, as was the tie, leaving him in a plain white shirt, the top couple of buttons undone, and his gray slacks. “Afraid I can’t let you leave town, ma’am. I need you to step out of the car and come with me.”
“You’re not even wearing your police uniform.”
“I’ve still got my badge.” He held it up as if that changed everything. Then he opened the door and gestured for her to climb out of the car. “I’ve been ordered to bring you to the town center.”
Instead of following his instructions, she crossed her arms. “No.”
“What are you gonna do? Call a lawyer?”
“Maybe.”
“That’d require you having one, and I know you don’t.”
“Yes I do,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “It’s…Tucker.”
Easton rolled his lips until his mouth formed a tight line. “You want me to call the man twenty minutes into his honeymoon?”
Everything inside of Violet deflated. “No.”
“That’s what I thought. Now if you’ll please come with me, we’ll have this matter resolved shortly.”
With a growl, Violet unbuckled her seat belt, grabbed her purse and phone, and stepped onto the road. “I hate this town.”
“Noted,” Easton said, his calm demeanor tempting her to add smacking a police officer to her record. She stomp-walked to the cruiser. He nudged her around the hood and opened the passenger door instead of having her sit in the back, as if that’d lessen her brewing anger.
Violet recrossed her arms as Easton settled behind the wheel of the cruiser. “This is an egregious use of your power.”
“Egregious. Gonna add that to my vocabulary.” Easton spun the car around and headed into the heart of town. “It’s not that I disagree, but you did make a promise to talk to my boy that you didn’t keep.”
Steam practically poured from her ears, and she gave up talking, since nothing about this situation involved logic.
Within a handful of minutes, Violet was right back in the middle of town. Most of the wedding decorations were being put away, but there was still one bright spot.
The gazebo.
Only purple lights had been strung along with the white lights.
And was that Ford standing in the middle?
Easton parked as close to the gazebo as the street allowed, then rounded the hood and opened her door.
The turmoil churning through her left her body frozen in place, unsure if she could handle whatever this was. She’d been strong all day. She was supposed to be alone in her car right now, crying over what could’ve been, and curse Ford and Easton for not letting it be.
“If after he says his piece, you decide to still leave town,” Easton said, “I’ll get you out of here in record time.”
“Fine.” Violet climbed out of the car. Each step required three times as much effort as usual. Her feet grew even heavier when she noticed the purple bouquets placed around the gazebo.
