Page 47 of One Night Years Ago

“Think about it, Natalie. That’s all I ask.”

She nodded, not wanting to hurt or disappoint him further. But her thoughts were on somebody else. She pictured Hunter’s muscled forearms as he’d held on to her yesterday in his barn. Thinking of Hunter made her feel warm all over, without a hint of the fear she’d lived with her entire adult life. Even if she didn’t already know he didn’t do it, her body’s reaction to him told her he was innocent.

Leaving Charles’s office, she was struck by a wall of heat. She looked up. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, not yet, but this oppressive heat wasn’t normal, even at the height of summer. Natalie made a mental note to call the coast guard, see if they were expecting any storms.

Her phone rang and she struggled to find it in her handbag. She kept her phone there because phones had been getting bigger over the last years and jeans pockets were staying the same size. She’d read somewhere once that a lack of useful pockets in women’s clothing were one of the surviving symbols of the patriarchy.

Finally, she found it. Luckily, it was still ringing.

“Hello?” she said.

Emma babbled breathlessly on the other side of the phone.

“So, what are you going to wear?”

“Wear? When?”

“On Saturday, Nat!”

“What’s happening on Sat—” Natalie stopped as she remembered. Helen’s engagement party. Of course. It’d been scheduled since the start of the summer. She backpedaled. “It’s a barbeque, so maybe jeans? Or shorts, if the weather stays like this.” She wiped at hair that was plastered to her forehead with sweat.

“Jeans? Are you crazy? All of Jake’s friends from the city will be there. That’s a lot of eligible men, if you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I’m really not interested.”

“Oh, Nat, I’m sorry, I was just kidding.” Emma sounded guilt-ridden now, as if having a healthy sexual life was a crime when speaking to her.

“No, I mean I don’t need to hear about other men. I’ve met someone.” Saying it felt good.

“What? You have? Who is he? Why don’t I know about this?”

“That’s a lot of questions, Em. It only just happened. Maybe we can talk about it on Saturday?”

“You’re bringing him to the barbeque, right? I want to meet this mysterious man.”

Natalie thought about it for a moment. Maybe she would ask Hunter to the barbeque. She’d check with Helen, but she got the feeling the two of them were friends, so she would probably be okay with it.

“I have to go, Em. I’m almost at the station and need to sit in front of the AC for a bit.”

“Ok, but call me tonight. I don’t have anything to wear to the party!”

A sudden commotion outside the station called her attention, and she sped up. No, not outside the station, it was outside the bank, which was conveniently located just two doors down from the station. Probably one of the reasons why Sharp’s Cove had never had a bank robbery, even in the eighties when it seemed banks were robbed every other week all over the country.

A large group of people surrounded a car. Her heart sped up when she saw it was a dark blue pickup truck.

“What the hell’s going on, Rob?” she asked, seeing her deputy at the edge of the circle.

“I only just got here. Trying to figure that out myself.”

Natalie rolled her eyes. Rob might be good at a lot of things, but his decision-making skills were sometimes questionable. She approached the car from the side and saw Hunter’s mother sitting in the passenger seat. She was looking very pale, and her hands were shaking.

Hunter was standing a few steps away from the car. His hands were at his side, his fists clenched tight. Natalie couldn’t hear what the other man said, but he heard Hunter’s reply clearly enough.

“So help me God, if you get close to my mother again, I will hit you.”

“Then you’ll go back to prison, which is where you should be,” a man said from the back. She didn’t know who he was, but it didn’t matter. This was a good time for her to get involved. She shoved her way to the inner circle, where five large men surrounded Hunter.

“What the hell’s going on here? What are all of you doing?” she asked. Her gaze zeroed in on Paul, the same man who’d been with her father last time. It looked like he was going to be a problem.