Teasing You, page 20
“Good riddance, Ashlynn,” Becky said tartly. “All those years of you bitching to me about how I needed to do upgrades on the salon? Well, now I’ll have a brand new one. Yours!”
It took every ounce of willpower not to throat punch her, but thankfully the doors opened behind her and Police Chief Henry, Inspector Rowe, Chief Banks, and four uniformed police officers came out.
“Read her her rights!” Sandy demanded and then got completely flustered when two of the uniformed officers flanked her. “Wait…what…what is happening right now?”
“Sandy Hillman, you are under arrest for arson and intent to commit insurance fraud.”
“What?!”
“Becky Marshall, you are also under arrest for arson and intent to commit insurance fraud…”
Ashlynn stepped aside and watched the two women being led into the police station and almost sagged to the ground with relief.
It was finally over.
It was a little chaotic, and for the next hour she gave her statement, had the wires removed, and received multiple apologies from Chief Banks and Inspector Rowe again. Her cousin Patrick showed up with Ryder Ashford and his attorney, Evan King. Ashlynn shook his hand and thanked him profusely.
“I honestly don’t even know what to say,” she told him. “I’m not sure things would have gone this smoothly without you.”
“I’m glad I could help,” he replied and looked like he was about to say more when her siblings all came piling into the station.
“I’m so glad this is over!” Billie said as she hugged her, and Chloe came and did the same.
“Now you can finally relax, kiddo,” Levi said, joining the group hug.
“Come on,” Billie announced as she pulled back. “We need to go celebrate!”
Smiling, Ashlynn nodded. “I completely agree.”
“Patrick, Ryder, Mr. King, you’re joining us, right?” Levi asked and smiled when they all nodded.
As they began to make their way toward the exit, Ashlynn caught a glimpse of Reid and saw him nod with resignation. He clearly knew she wanted to be with her family and if anything, she was relieved to not have to deal with him right now.
But she knew she’d stay true to her word and talk to him when she got home.
Reid’s head was still spinning in confusion. He’d just watched Ashlynn leave with her family and things were finally quiet enough where he could have an actual conversation with his superiors. The police chief lent them his office so they could talk.
“What the hell just happened out there?” he demanded. “I mean, I know what happened, but I don’t know how we got there.”
“Reid,” Bob began, “you know how an arson investigation goes. We have to follow the clues.”
He nodded.
“And from the get-go, all those clues were obvious in how they pointed to Ashlynn.” He paused. “Almost too obvious.”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, you remember your training. Most people starting a fire are meticulous about not leaving evidence behind. The scene at Lavish Locks had everything but a neon sign pointing to Ashlynn!” He laughed softly. “I honestly thought she had to be the most clueless arsonist ever.”
“That’s when you have to start questioning what you find,” Dennis chimed in. “The fact that Becky’s first words to us were, ‘Ashlynn Donovan did this’ raised a bit of a red flag. First, because most business owners who just had their livelihood destroyed are more concerned with the loss. Becky’s only concern was telling us about her fights with Ashlynn.”
“I’ve known the Donovan family since they were kids,” Bob added. “Ashlynn’s definitely the hothead of the family, but she’s not destructive.”
Raking a hand through his hair, Reid felt more confused than he was minutes ago. “Then why accuse her at all? Why put her through all of this?”
“Technically, we never accused her,” the inspector pointed out. “Not formally. She was definitely a person of interest, but somehow this whole thing snowballed.”
“Small town gossip,” Bob said with a wink.
“So…you knew she wasn’t guilty,” Reid clarified. “Then why not arrest Becky?”
“We needed more time,” Dennis calmly replied. “If it wasn’t a disgruntled employee and it wasn’t an electrical issue—and fortunately, inspections were all up to date—then who has the most motive to burn the building?”
“Ashlynn confirmed that Becky had no interest in doing upgrades to the salon…”
“That’s hardly a reason to burn it down,” Reid argued.
“It is when she sees how the entire town’s getting renovated for new businesses,” he said. “Becky saw what was happening and when word got out that Ashlynn was going to open her own salon…”
Now it all made sense.
“Son of a bitch,” he hissed. “I can’t believe anyone would be that…that…”
“Greed makes people do all kinds of crazy things,” Dennis murmured.
Reid took a minute to let it all sink in. “And what about me?” he finally asked. “I know I broke protocol and some rules that I shouldn’t have, and…”
His superiors exchanged looks before Bob responded. “We were coming down to the wire, Reid, and I needed you to not be around. I could tell you were getting antsy about the investigation, and while, yes, you really shouldn’t have called dispatch, it’s not a rule. I used it as an excuse to temporarily…get you out of the way.”
“What?!” he cried, jumping to his feet. “What the hell, Bob? How is that right? Or ethical?” All damn week he’d been kicking himself for sabotaging his own career and it was all for nothing?
“Okay, I’ll admit that it wasn’t a great option, but, as the chief, I had to do what I saw fit, Reid. I write up guys all the time for infractions that they don’t see as a big deal, but they are. This was a bizarre situation and you were involved with a suspect and not really seeing things clearly.”
“But she wasn’t actually a suspect when you put me on leave!” he argued hotly.
“Reid, can you honestly say that if I asked you to be patient and give us a few days, that you wouldn’t have hounded everyone for answers? And that you wouldn’t have run back and shared that information with Ashlynn?”
There was no way he could answer that honestly because he had a feeling he would have done exactly that.
With a huff of frustration, he simply nodded. “Fine. So where does that leave me now?”
“You’re on the schedule starting Monday,” Bob said. “And I really am sorry it all had to play out this way. You’re a great fireman, Reid, and you have the potential to move up the ranks here in our department. None of this is going on your record if that’s what you’re worried about.”
It was, but he kept that to himself.
Standing, Bob held out his hand to him to shake it. “Clean slate. Or…original slate with this last week just…gone.”
“Easy for you to say. All the guys know you sent me home, Bob.”
“It will be taken care of as soon as I get back to the station, which…” He glanced at his watch. “I really need to do.” He shook Reid’s hand. “I look forward to seeing you on Monday.”
“Thanks.” He shook the chief’s hand, but he was still kind of pissed at how this all played out.
Once Bob left the room and it was down to him and Inspector Rowe, he intended to say a quick goodbye and leave.
“I was going through your records,” Dennis began, “and I saw that you’ve been certified as a level one inspector.”
Reid nodded. “That’s right.”
“Why haven’t you moved forward?”
“There weren’t any openings where I wanted to be,” he replied honestly. “Before coming back to Sweetbriar, I was primarily in bigger cities. My goal in moving back here and joining the squad was that eventually I could pursue moving forward in my certification.” Pausing, he let out a mirthless laugh. “This last week, I thought that was all going to be taken away from me. I think I’m still a little shell-shocked that all that freaking out was for nothing.”
“This was definitely a unique set of circumstances, but I hope you won’t hold it against Bob. He was only doing what he thought was best for the investigation.”
“I know.”
Clapping a hand on Reid’s shoulder, he added, “Take a little time and get settled in with the squad, and in a few months, look me up so we can get you further certified.” Then he shook Reid’s hand. “My wife and I are looking to move down to Florida to be closer to her parents and I’d like to have someone to recommend for my position.”
“What? Seriously? I mean…you’d be willing to…”
Dennis smiled. “Take care of yourself, Reid. I look forward to talking with you in a few months.” And then he walked out of the room, leaving Reid alone.
“Holy shit,” he whispered and contemplated sitting back down but immediately reconsidered. What he wanted was to go and find Ashlynn, but he knew she needed this time with her family. Hopefully he’d get to see her later when she got home.
With nothing left for him to do, he walked out of the police station and back to where he parked his truck.
All around, life in Sweetbriar was going on as usual. No one knew of all the drama that had just gone down and he didn’t know what to do with himself. He wanted to be mad about being wrongfully put on leave, but…he also understood why it had to happen. He wanted to celebrate getting to go back to work, but…he’d call his parents and they’d be happy for him. But more than anything, he just wanted to be with Ashlynn and apologize. Hell, he’d apologize over and over and over again until she forgave him. He’d been a total ass and the only thing he could hope for was that she was so relieved by today’s outcome that she’d be able to see his side of things.
One could only hope, right?
Climbing into his truck, he pulled out his phone and called his mother. It wasn’t a surprise that he got her voicemail. “Hey, Mom. I don’t know if you’ve been home yet, but I’m back in Sweetbriar now. Things were a little complicated when I got back here, but it’s all cleared up now and I go back to work on Monday. I just wanted to thank you and Dad for bearing with me these last several days and I’m sorry I was being so difficult. I love you guys and I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”
He pulled away and drove home. Ashlynn’s car was there, but that didn’t mean anything. She’d left with her family, and before that, she’d left with Dennis. He was sure they were all at Books & Beans celebrating. No one would fault him if he showed up there, but considering how annoyed she was with him earlier when he followed her to the police station, maybe showing up unannounced again wasn’t the right thing to do—no matter how much he wanted to.
Dammit.
With a weary sigh, Reid climbed out of his truck and trudged up to his apartment with nothing to do but wait.
Halfway up the stairs, his phone rang and he smiled when he saw his mother’s face on the screen. “Hey, Mom!”
Chapter Fourteen
Ashlynn looked around her sister’s house and felt a sense of contentment she wasn’t sure she’d ever feel again. After walking out of the police station, they’d all gone to Books & Beans to celebrate with coffee and brownies before moving the party over to Billie’s. It was crazy how many people were crammed into the house, but her mom, her siblings, Jade and her son Silas, Patrick and his wife Marissa, Ryder, Evan, and Avery were all there. Someone brought champagne, pizza was just delivered, and everyone she loved and cared about the most were right here under one roof.
Except Reid.
“I’m not leaving you. We’re in this together. I love you and I’m not leaving your side.”
Well, technically he had left her side, but that was because she made him. And right now, she still wasn’t sure what she was going to do or say when they finally were alone to talk. She was still mad at him for taking off the way he did, but knowing what she did now, she kind of understood it.
“I’m not leaving you. We’re in this together. I love you and I’m not leaving your side.”
He didn’t follow her when she left with her family, and he wasn’t here now, but it was possible he was respecting her request that they’d talk later.
Inwardly, she groaned.
“What is wrong with your face?” Chloe asked as she came over and wrapped her arm around Ashlynn’s shoulders. “This is a great day and your face is all squinky.”
“You’re a teacher. You’re not supposed to make up words,” she murmured in response.
“You know what I’m saying. Your face is all frowny and I don’t know why. Becky and Sandy are in jail! And you know when they add framing you to the list of offenses that they’re going to be gone for a long time. You’re free! Why aren’t you smiling?”
Avery walked over and joined them. “What’s with your face?” she asked with a frown of her own. “I thought you’d be dancing on the table by now.”
“Yeah, well…” Looking around, she asked, “Didn’t Leo come with you?”
“Oh, um…we’re kind of not talking right now. So…”
“What? Are you kidding me? Why? What happened?”
Avery waved her off. “It’s nothing. It’ll be fine.” Then she smiled. “But how are you feeling? Are you just giddy right now?”
“I’m not sure giddy is the right word, but I’m definitely relieved.” She took a sip of champagne before continuing. “In the back of my mind, I always figured it was Becky and that she did it for the insurance money. I just never thought Sandy would be involved or that they’d be so hateful toward me.”
“Yeah, that really was a bizarre plot twist,” Avery agreed. “So what happens now? Are you going to dive into work on the new salon finally?”
Laughing softly, she nodded. “We’ve always been working on it, but in a very reserved way. Now I think Billie and I can really go a little wild and see what we can do to speed some stuff up.”
“Well don’t rush too much,” Chloe said. “You want it all done right. It’s more important to…”
“Excuse me, ladies,” Evan said as he joined them. “I need to get going, Ashlynn, but I just wanted to congratulate you again.”
“Thank you for all your help,” she gushed. “I don’t know if my nerves could have handled another day with the way things were going.” She shook his hand.
“If there’s ever anything else I can do for you…”
“No offense, Evan, but I really hope I won’t be needing your services ever again,” she teased.
He smiled at her and then at Avery before his gaze landed on Chloe and…lingered.
Doing her best not to seem obvious, Ashlynn slyly glanced at her twin and noticed the blush on her face.
Interesting…
“You ready to go, Evan?” Ryder asked before congratulating Ashlynn again and saying goodbye to Chloe and Avery.
“I seriously can’t thank you enough, Ryder,” Ashlynn gushed. “For everything. I was totally spiraling and you just swooped in and got things done. So…thank you.”
“My pleasure,” he said easily. “And I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of you once the salon opens. Maybe we’ll talk about you helping with the day spa I want to put in at the ski resort.”
“Day spa? I didn’t know you were…”
But he and Evan were already walking toward the door.
“You get used to it,” Marissa said as she walked around them to go and sit with Patrick.
“Everyone keeps saying that, but it still seems weird,” she murmured.
“Come on. Let’s get some pizza and you can tell us all about your plans,” Avery said as she took Ash’s hand and led her into the kitchen.
For the next several hours, she talked about everything she wanted to do to the salon, who she wanted to hire, and how excited she was to have all this negativity behind her. Billie put in her own two cents about what she was looking forward to Ash doing, and Levi talked about all the marketing and promotions they were going to do. For a day that started out so crazy, it turned out to be incredibly emotional in a good way.
It was after eight when it was just down to her, Billie, and Chloe, and she was pleasantly full from all the pizza, brownies, cookies, and champagne. “I’m too full to move.”
“Yeah, but you have to otherwise you’ll be sleeping on the couch. Levi and Jade don’t do sleepovers when Silas is home, so…”
“But I don’t have to move right this minute, do I? I’m just so comfortable.”
“I think you’re going to crash hard tonight,” Billie said quietly. “I think the emotional roller coaster you’ve been on has finally stopped and you’re going to crawl into bed and probably sleep for a solid eight to ten hours.” Then she laughed softly. “I wish I could sleep like that.”
“I hate to break it to you, but for the most part, I’ve been sleeping fine.”
“Well…not this week,” Chloe chimed in. “You know this week has been the worst of it.”
“Okay, fine. Every other week since I got fired, I’ve slept just fine. Happy?”
Her twin smiled serenely. “As a matter of fact, I am.”
“Goody for you.”
They sat in companionable silence before Chloe spoke. “Are you going to go home and talk to Reid?”
The sigh was out before she could stop it. “I know I need to, but I’m not sure I’m ready.”
“Why not?” Billie asked.
“Because I almost cost him his job…”
“No, you didn’t,” Chloe reminded her. “He was put on temporary leave because he made a call. That’s not on you. That was his decision.”
“I really hate when you try to get me on a technicality,” she snapped. “And besides that, he took off and I’m still mad about that.”
“It was a shitty situation, Ash,” Billie said. “You need to talk to him and straighten this all out. He may surprise you with what he has to say.”
Another sigh. “He already has.”
