Page 110 of Taming I Do
She looked Bodie in the eye, her lip trembling. I would have given anything in that moment to wrap her in my arms and reassure her that what she saw wasn’t the truth of the situation.
“I saw Jasper, standing in the middle of all of those bales of hay. All of these men surrounded him. And the dogs.” Her voice cracked.
Bodie’s eyes closed for a long beat. “We need to sort this out, but my wife tells me you’re expected to shut down the Fall Festival. If you promise you’ll be available for questions later if I need you, I’ll have someone run you back downtown if you’re up for it.”
Delilah bit her lip and nodded. I tried to catch her attention before she turned her back and walked away. It was important for her to know that I wasn’t the bad guy in all of this. Before I could say a word, Bodie stepped in front of me, blocking my view.
“I actually can’t believe I’m about to say this to you.” He reached for my arm. “But you have the right to remain silent...”
I tuned him out. I let myself be cuffed and led outside, hoping Delilah didn’t see me being stuffed into the back of the car, my arms behind me.
Bodie and his team were able to round up several of the men who’d been at the barn. I hoped Colin would be one of them, but it looked like my older brother might have gotten away. I’d messed up. Bad. I never should have tried to handle Colin by myself tonight. If I’d been the one to call Bodie, I’d probably be kissing Delilah on the swing Abby and I built right about now.
Instead I sat on a metal bench in the holding cell at the sheriff’s office, waiting for a chance to set things right.
“Come on, it’s your turn to talk.” One of the other deputies took me into a small office where Bodie waited.
“Want to fill me in on what the hell you were doing at a dog fight tonight? You ought to know better than that. Just being aspectator is a felony in all fifty states.” Bodie crossed his arms over his chest.
“I messed up.” I raked my fingers through my hair. “Colin came back in town recently. Said he’d gotten in over his head and wanted to get out. I was trying to help him. When I found those dogs in the barn today, I knew he had to be involved.”
“And you decided to take matters into your own hands?” Bodie’s lips twisted into a frown. “What did you think you’d accomplish by tracking him down to a dog fight? You know you could have gotten yourself killed?”
I scrubbed a hand over my chin. I hadn’t thought about the consequences for myself, I’d been so focused on trying to get to my brother and force a change of heart. “I’m sorry.”
“You sure as hell ought to be. Not only did you put my entire operation at risk, you also dragged your brothers and Delilah into this. Do you have any idea how pissed my wife is going to be? You really think Ido is going to be voted the most romantic small town in Texas when they find out Miss Lovin’ Texas followed you to an illegal dog fight?”
I shook my head. “If anything had happened to her...”
Bodie didn’t respond, just let the reality of the moment hang in the air. The weight of it pressed down on me to the point where I felt like I couldn’t take in a breath. I thought I’d been doing the right thing by protecting my family from Colin’s misdeeds. But what I’d really done was put everything I loved at risk.
I hung my head, letting my forearms rest on my thighs while I focused on a spot on the floor just in front of the toe of my boots. “I didn’t mean for it to turn out this way.”
Bodie reached across the table and clapped me on the shoulder. “There’s no doubt in my mind you weren’t involved in the dog fighting. One of my guys picked up your brother trying to hot-wire a truck and skip town. He confessed to everything andwe’ve got enough evidence to put him away for quite a while. I don’t owe that piece of scum a fucking thing, but he wants to talk to you.”
I lifted my head. “You believe me?”
“I never thought you were caught up in that. But if you stand in the way of me doing my job again, I’m not going to be able to look the other way.”
“I understand.” I glanced toward the door where Colin stood, his hands cuffed, his face a mixture of fear and regret.
“I’m going to give the two of you a few minutes before we book him.” Bodie nodded toward Colin as he slid his hat back on his head and closed the door behind him.
Colin perched on the edge of a chair, his wrists cuffed together in front of him.
I leaned against the back of my chair. “What happened?”
“I fucked up.” Colin wouldn’t meet my gaze.
“You fucked up because you really fucked up, or you fucked up because you got caught?” There was a world of difference in those two statements, and I needed to know which way Colin intended it.
“Does it matter?” The sneer on my brother’s face told me everything I needed to know.
Why had I let so many years go by trying to protect my brother and cover up his crimes? I’d wanted to shield my parents, keep my brothers out of harm’s way, and not spoil their image of my older brother. But for what?
Colin didn’t appear to regret his actions, just that he got caught.
“When you showed up on my doorstep saying you wanted out, did you mean it?” My heart had been shattered twice already tonight. Once at the look in Delilah’s eyes and again when I realized I’d probably ruined everything for everyone I loved.
