Page 58 of His Fresh Start Cowboy
“McBride arrested me for stealing from Elmer, but I did not and I would never, but I didn’t know who else to call. Somebody put his coins in my trailer and I’m no thief, I swear to fucking God.”
“Okay, dude, take a breath.” Brand walked down the hall toward the front door, keenly aware of his parents’ eyes on him. “So you’re down at the county municipal building, right?”
“Yeah. I didn’t do it, Brand, I swear to God.”
“I believe you. What kind of evidence do they have?”
“Just that McBride found the box of coins in my cupboard but I’ve been gone for days, and I’ve never gone into Elmer’s house when he isn’t home.”
That was slim to nothing. “Okay, I’ll be down there as soon as I can. We’ll figure this out.”
“Thank you.” Hugo coughed. “I didn’t know who else to call.”
“I’m glad you called me. I’ll take care of it. You just sit tight.”
“Like I have a choice.”
The snark made Brand smile. “See you in a little while.” He ended the call, then went back into the kitchen. “A friend needs my help so I have to go. I’m sorry, Mom.”
“Don’t worry, honey, you help your friend,” Mom replied.
“Can we help?” Dad asked.
“Not at the moment, but thank you. I might be a few hours, I don’t know.
“Well, you take care and call us if you need us.”
“I will, thanks.” Brand made sure he had his wallet and keys, then left the house. Before he even reached his pickup, he called the best lawyer he knew, who answered on the third ring. “Arnie? It’s Brand. I need a favor.”
Chapter Eighteen
Hugo didn’t know how long he sat in a dreary holding cell with only a plastic bottle of water for company. The water did nothing to quench his hunger or his parched mouth. All he held on to was the knowledge that he wasn’t a thief, and Brand was going to help. Somehow. Eventually.
He hoped.
At some point, a tall stranger Brand’s age was allowed to speak with Hugo. He wore a smart suit and had that kind of arrogance that screamedlawyer. “I’m Arnie Patterson, an attorney and old friend of Brand’s from high school.”
“Brand got me a lawyer?”
“Yes, he did. I just wanted to speak with you and get some background information before I speak with Sheriff McBride.”
“Okay.” Hugo answered every question Arnie had honestly, because he had nothing to hide. Arnie took copious notes on a yellow legal pad, which he kept tucked under one arm when he asked for the guard outside to let him out.
“I’ll take care of this for you, Hugo.”
“Thank you.”
With nothing to do now except stare, Hugo tried to entertain himself by looking for shapes in the water stains on the ceiling. He was pretty sure he spotted a giraffe but not much else. His brain was still stuck on the humiliation of being arrested, booked, fingerprinted, photographed, and locked up for doing absolutely nothing wrong.
Buck, you son of a bitch.
He was the only person Hugo could think of with any sort of reason to set him up. Any ounce of revenge in his heart, despite Hugo having done nothing except tell the truth. Hugo had no proof, obviously. Then again, neither did the sheriff. Not against Hugo, anyway. He assumed they were still investigating Elmer’s house and wherever the coin box had been hidden.
Hugo was ready to start gnawing on his boot, he was so hungry, when the door to the small holding area opened. Sheriff McBride came inside and unlocked the holding cell door. “You’re free to go for now, Mr. Turner.”
Relief punched Hugo right in the gut. “Thank you.” He left without further prompting and followed McBride back through a reception area where Hugo collected his phone, keys, and wallet. In the small lobby, Brand waited with Arnie.
“You okay?” Brand asked. He seemed to be holding back the urge to pull Hugo into a hug, and Hugo was having the same problem.
