Page 37 of All Inn Thyme
He thinks for a moment then says, “Can I have a job, too?”
I tilt my head at him. “Do you want a job?”
“Yeah. What can I do?”
“What if your job is to be a good boy for your momma and do everything she asks?”
He tilts his head back and groans. “Ugh, I already do that. Any other jobs?”
“Well,” I say, scratching my beard. “What if you fed Nova every day? She needs to be fed two times per day—morning and night. It’s a very important job because sometimes I’m at work. Can you do it?”
“Yes, I can. Evan lets me feed Bossy and Chip sometimes, too. And now I get to help feed the chickens and look for when they lay their eggs.”
“Oh, good. So you have experience. Just what I like to hear. Do we have a deal?” I ask, sticking out my hand.
He flinches for a moment and my heart drops.Shit.I swear if I ever find that guy… My blood feels like it’s starting to boil, but I smile through it and kneel to get to his level.
“Hey, Kase. Nova’s going to keep you safe, okay?” I say with a smile and a little bit of distance between us.
He looks down but nods.
“You okay?”
“He used to hurt us.”
“Who hurt you?”
“Momma said I’m not supposed to say.”
“Well, I think you should always listen to your momma. But if you ever need an extra best friend, I’m here, too, okay?”
“You won’t hurt us?” His eyes look up bravely as he asks this.
“Never, buddy. I’m a protector.”
“Like a cop?” he whispers, looking at me with fear in his eyes.
“Yeah, kind of like the police.” I try to smile. This kid is smart. Only what he says and does next shocks me more than I could have ever expected.
His eyes get bigger, and he takes a step back. “Police don’t keep you safe. They lie and hurt you.” And with that, he runs off to throw the ball to Nova.
And that’s when I know: that motherfucker was a cop.
Mellie and Preston sit across from each other at the table. I feel like we just went two steps forward, ten steps back. The pieces to this puzzle are scattered, and I’m starting to figure out that there’s a lot more to this than I first realized. This might have just got a lot more complicated. Luckily for them, I’m not afraid of complications.
12. mellie
No beards for you.
“Alright,let’s get started. I know we don’t have a lot of time, and I want to share with you what our investigators found.” Preston takes off his jacket and hangs it on the back of the chair. He motions for me to sit and join him.
“First off, do you have any evidence saved anywhere of the abuse?” He opens his leather notebook and takes out his pen, clicking it open.
“I have a flash drive with my medical records, hundreds of photos of my body, and pictures of the house where he destroyed everything, several videos of him, and screenshots of our text messages,” I say, looking out the window to make sure Ty and Kase aren’t coming. I can see them kneeling in the driveway with Nova.
“That’s very thorough. Wow.” He looks surprised.
“I tried to get away for three years. I documented as much as I could.”
