Page 136 of Outcast
He held it out, and it vibrated in his hand as he spoke, another call coming in. I took it from him and checked the screen. I wasn’t ready to talk to my parents, but it was a good sign if they were calling, right? Maybe they’d only want to yell at me for taking off, but at least they hadn’t given up on me.
The caller ID showed it was the Sheriff’s Department. What the hell?
I hit Connect and raised the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“Emory, this is Deputy Harvey. You better get down here.”
“What? But?—”
In the background, yelling broke out. “…come near my son ever again!”
Was that mydad’svoice?
The sheriff’s booming tones followed, something about throwing him in a cell even if he was a big shot.
“Your dad and the sheriff got into it over what happened with you and Dallas. I need you to get him out of here before he gets locked up.”
“Oh my god. I’ll be right there.”
I stuffed my phone into my back pocket and shoved my feet into some flip-flops.
“What’s going on?” Gray asked.
“My dad’s over there laying into the sheriff.”
“No shit?”
“I think…” My heart skipped a beat. “I think he’s defending my honor or something.” I gave a watery laugh. “He still cares.”
Gray pulled me into a hug and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “Of course he does.”
“I have to go.”
“Then I’m going with you. Who knows what you’re going to be walking into.”
I hesitated, unsure if my dad was really ready to see us together. Then again, he already knew the truth, and he was fighting for me. Either way, I loved Gray, and he loved me. It was time to stop hiding this part of my life.
“Okay, let’s go.”
We made it to the jail in four minutes. I swerved into a parking spot, parking half over the line on the passenger side, but I wasn’t about to take time to fix it. We hopped out and headed for the door at a jog.
Deputy Harvey opened the front door, waving us in. Voices echoed from down the hall.
“They’re in his office. Come on.”
The Sheriff’s Department and the county jail inhabited two different sides of the same building. We followed Deputy Harvey through the hallway that connected them, past reception, and directly to the sheriff’s office door.
It stood open, my dad and Sheriff Hale facing off across the desk. The sheriff was red in the face and seething.
“How dare you make these accusations? My son is not gay!”
“He’s gay enough to harass my son, and you need to do something about it. The folks around here didn’t elect you to give your son a free pass!”
“Like hell!” the sheriff blustered. “He’s got no interest in that queer shit. He’s got a nice girl over in Omaha that he sees.”
Yeah, thatnice girlwas a gay bar, most likely.
They both drew breath, looking ready to go for another round, as we stepped through the door.
