Page 80 of The Love Ambush
“Um, can I get dressed first?” I ask.
“Make it quick,” Officer Jackson says, hand on his duty belt. He points past me at Gentry. “You dressed?”
“I’m getting out now.” She hops out of the other side of the SUV and walks over to stand in front of Officer Jackson. “Did we mention we’re sorry? I’m the guardian of two—” She slaps a hand over her mouth and looks at me wide-eyed, clearly worried about what this could mean for her guardianship.
“Of two poodles,” I say. “She’s a very good dog-mother.”
The officer looks back and forth between us, clearly caught somewhere between not believing us and not caring. “Uh-huh. You dressed yet, sir?”
I step out of the SUV, fully clothed, just as another police car pulls up. A second officer joins the first, this one a woman with red hair that’s up in a tight bun. She’s a good half a foot shorter than Officer Jackson, but is somehow even more intimidating.
“I’ll watch this one,” she says, pointing at Gentry. “You do what you need to do.”
“Let’s get that registration,” Officer Jackson says.
I walk around to the passenger side of the vehicle and open the door. The female officer asks Gentry for her ID and I can tell, just from the strain in her voice, that Gentry is close to tears.
“This is all on me,” I say, turning to Officer Jackson. “Gentry’s innocent.”
“So you had sex in the car by yourself while she just sat there naked?” He asks with a straight face, his eyes flashing with annoyance.
I clear my throat, my cheeks hot. “Um, I’ll just get that registration.”
Thankfully, Brodie’s glove compartment is neat and organized, and I find the registration with no trouble. I hand it over, and the officer checks it against my ID. “This isn’t your car. I’m going to have to contact the owner of the vehicle and, in the meantime, we’re going to have to take you both to the station.”
Jail? I’ve never been in a cell before. I’ve never been arrested before. I don’t want to experience either. But more than that, I don’t want Gentry to have to experience it. “My phone’s in the car. I can call him right now, and he can explain everything.”
“Great idea,” Officer Jackson says, suddenly cheerful. My heart leaps with hope but promptly crashes back down to earth when he frowns and glares at me. “But I think I’ll follow protocol and make the call myself. Can’t have you calling one of your buddies to pretend to be the owner of this vehicle.”
“He’s Gentry’s brother. We’re all in town for his wedding. He’ll explain everything.”
His brows rise. “You the folks staying at the resort or over at Josephine’s?”
I relax the tiniest fraction. “We’re at Josephine’s. She can vouch for us.”
He nods. “Still going to need you both to come back to the station.”
They make us ride in separate cop cars and, by the time I see her again, Gentry’s got tears streaming down her cheeks. “I can’t be arrested,” she says as they lead us into the station.
I want to put an arm around her shoulders, but my hands are cuffed behind my back. I’m fuming as they put me in a small cell, remove my cuffs, and lock me in. Gentry is put in the one next to mine.
“This is all my fault.” I sit on the bench next to her cell and she sits on the bench that mirrors mine. “I’m so sorry, Gentry.”
“I was there, too,” she says. “I should have known better. Now, I’m going to have a record, and CPS is going to get involved, and I’m going to lose the kids.”
Shit, I hadn’t even thought of that, and I’m the guy who sees every potential catastrophe before it happens. I’m the guy who stops other people from doing dumb shit. Gentry’s got me so twisted up with wanting her, I’m not thinking straight.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Gentry. I swear, I never do this kind of thing. I’ve never been arrested before. I’ve never even broken the law before.” Because I know she’ll use this as an excuse to push me away. She’ll convince herself I’m the dangerous thing she can’t have if she wants to do right by her sisters.
“Obviously, we’re not good influences on each other.”
She says it in a light tone, but there’s real feeling underneath the words. “We got carried away and made one mistake. It doesn’t mean we’re bad for each other. Seriously, Gentry, my brothers give me shit for worrying about the rules and always being prepared. They call me a boy scout like it’s a bad word.”
She sits up, narrowing her eyes. “I don’t believe you. Every wild story my brother tells involves you.”
I smile. “Your brother likes to exaggerate, and his wild stories are nothing compared to what my brothers get up to.”
“He told me once that you went skinny dipping with a big group in the part of the Pascale River that runs right through downtown Catalpa Creek.”
