Page 46 of The Art of Loving Lacy
“What happened?” She’d switched out of frustrated mode, and now her eyes were laden with concern.
“My buddy Rob. He’s at the police station. I guess he was provoking some college guys or something. I don’t really know,” Dane said.
“Want me to come with you?” She reached over and touched his arm.
“You don’t want to deal with this stuff,” Dane said.
“You probably don’t, either. Maybe I can help in some way. Besides, I wouldn’t want to go to a police station alone, and I don’t mind going so you don’t have to either.”
He closed his eyes for a breath while he thought it over. When he opened them, Lacy was still looking at him, her hand still holding his arm. “Lacy, I don’t know what to expect. This has never happened before,” Dane said. “But he’s been pretty out of it lately.”
“I’d like to go. I’d like to be there for you.”
Chapter Fifteen
AS THEY DROVE toward the Chatham Police Station, Lacy wondered if she was doing the right thing by tagging along. She wanted to support Dane, and she wouldn’t want to face something like this alone, but as they neared the station, she envisioned all sorts of derelicts hanging all over her, groping her, reaching for Dane from within their meth-induced stupors.
One look at the benign nature of the police station and all that worry fell away. The station looked more like a school than a place for wayward criminals, with big white pillars holding up a newly painted and finely constructed A-frame porch, cream-colored siding with white trim, and beautiful gardens out front. Now more relaxed, Lacy followed Dane into the lobby, where he spoke to an officer through a glass window. They showed their identification; then he and Lacy were escorted down a hallway to another room. They sat beside a small table and waited.
“Why are we in here?” Lacy asked.
Dane shrugged. “I’ve never been through this before, so I have no idea, but I’d expect they need to go through some sort of out-processing procedure.”
Lacy wondered how she would feel if Danica or Kaylie had been detained by the police. Would she be mad that she had to come down and claim them? Embarrassed? Worried? Scared? Dane’s mouth was pinched tight. Worry lines crossed his forehead. He leaned forward and steepled his hands over his mouth and nose and closed his eyes. Dane’s concern for Rob’s well-being was written not only in his face and evident in his actions, but the air around him was becoming heavy, too. Lacy wanted to reach out and touch him and remind him that he wasn’t alone. She held back. She was so confused about what she should or shouldn’t do with him, how she should act. She’d been the one to break away, and now she was the one wanting to come back together. In the Chatham parking lot, Lacy had wanted to kiss him so badly that she was sure she’d attack him if he didn’t kiss her first. When he didn’t, she was hurt, and that hurt turned to embarrassment, which had quickly morphed to frustration at being played for a fool. All those emotions running together and fighting to be heard didn’t come close to the worry that consumed her heart right at that moment.
Her need to comfort him was too great. She touched his arm. “Are you okay?”
He nodded, then lowered his hands and shook his head. “I’m worried about Rob. He’s drinking again. I should have seen it. The other day, Hugh thought he was hungover when he came to work, and I didn’t want to see it. In all the years I’ve known him, Rob’s never done anything irresponsible. Now this. I’m just worried about him. He’s a good man. He’s my friend, and I feel like he’s slipping away. I wish I knew what to do.”
“Let’s find out how he is and what happened; then we can deal with the rest.”
“We?” Dane asked.
Lacy shrugged. “Friends help friends.”
He smiled. “Yes, they sure do. Thank you.”
The door opened, and an older officer came in, followed by Rob and another, younger, officer. Dane shot to his feet and went to Rob’s side. Rob’s clothes were disheveled. He had a small cut beneath his eye, and he was favoring his left side.
“Rob, what happened?” Dane ran his eyes over Rob’s face, holding tight to his arm. The veins in Dane’s neck rose like thick snakes. His biceps flexed, and Lacy heard the silent accusation in the stare he pinned against the officer.
“He provoked a pack of college kids, got into a fight, and he lost,” the older officer said. “We didn’t book him, but we kept him overnight until he sobered up.”
“You were drunk?” Dane asked. “Rob…”
Although his voice was harsh, the way he handled Rob, with one hand on his forearm, the other around his back, was gentle and nurturing. The wordprotectivecame to Lacy’s mind.
Lacy had seen enough photos of Rob to know how out of character he looked now, unsteady on his feet and leaning against Dane.
“What happened to the other guys?” Dane asked. “Were they detained?”
“One of them, yes, but the others were released. Mr. Mann provoked the group. We don’t take this type of thing lightly around here, and if it happens again, we will book him.”
“Understood,” Dane said. “May I take him home now?”
“Yes, sir. And, Mr. Mann, I suggest you steer clear of trouble, you hear?”
“Yes, sir,” Rob said.
