“A little help,” Quinn says, lugging plywood into the back of my truck. “This is kind of your gig.”
I get out of my head and lend him a hand. I’m working double time to get the addition on the cabin done, and I have a surprise for her. I just don’t know how I can pull it off without her knowing.
Quinn chuckles. “Your face is going to crack if you keep smiling like that.”
“Can’t help it,” I say, grabbing another piece. “Wait and see. It’ll happen to you one day.”
“What will?”
“The moment when you can see your future and realize it’s everything you ever wanted.”
“Damn.” He shakes his head. “Guess I’ve permanently lost my wingman.”
We’re laughing when my phone rings. It’s Andie. I sit on the tailgate. “What’s up?”
“You need to come home now.”
The concern in her voice sets off alarms in my head. “Is it the baby? Has something happened?”
“Devyn has been arrested.”
I jump off the back of the truck. “What?”
“We came home from shopping, and the police were here. They’re taking her away now.”
“Did they say why?”
“Something about larceny. Aaron, I don’t understand. They won’t tell me anything. We have to do something.”
“I’m on my way.” I hang up and stash my phone. “Leave the rest. I have to go.”
Quinn glances at the pile of plywood on the dolly. “Leave it?”
I run around and hop into the truck. “Will you get in the goddamn truck?”
“What’s going on?”
“Devyn’s been arrested. Call Maddox. Have him meet us at the lodge. Find out the name of the lawyer DHR uses.”
“What the fuck?”
“Do it, man.”
I drive like a bat out of hell while Quinn speaks with Maddox. When we get to the lodge, I see a police car, park next to it, and look in back. It’s empty. I race through the back door and see someone in Devyn’s room. An officer restrains me when I try to go in.
“What are you doing in there? Where is Devyn?”
“And you are?” he asks.
“Aaron Pearce. I run this place. Why are you in her room? And will someone please tell me where the fuck Devyn is?”
Andie and Lora come in from the front hall. I hear the buzz of guests talking in the other room. Lora says, “They’re fine. Pissed but fine. I’ve scheduled a limo to pick them up and take them to dinner—on us.”
“What am I missing?” I say. “What the hell is going on?”
“Sir,” the officer says. “Your housekeeper has been taken into custody.”
“Why?” I ask while someone comes out of Devyn’s room with plastic bags. “Why are you taking her things?”
“Those aren’t hers,” he says. “They’re things stolen from your guests.”
I’m confused. “Impossible. She was with me this morning, and then she went shopping with Andie.”
Lora steps forward. “One of the guests saw her here this morning.”
“So? She said she had to stop here for something.”
“Shut up,” Quinn says behind me. I turn and narrow my eyes at him. “Dude, don’t say a word. Anything you say might be held against her.”
Maddox barges in, and Andie tells him everything. I listen, trying to make sense of things. Why in the hell would she steal from the guests?
Maddox hands me his phone. “Jason Truly is on the line. The ranch has used him for legal help in the past.”
“Mr. Truly, can you meet me at the police station?”
“Won’t do you any good. They’ll be processing her. You won’t be able to see her until tomorrow.”
“She has to stay overnight?”
“Given the late hour, yes.”
My stomach turns. “She’s pregnant. Maybe they’ll make an exception.”
“Unless she’s in active labor or has an imminent medical need, it won’t matter. Listen, I don’t deal in criminal law, but I know people who do. I’ll make a few calls. I assume you’re willing to pay top dollar?”
“Whatever it takes.”
“I’ll get back to you in a few hours.”
“Is there anything I can do right now?”
“Just sit tight and try not to worry. She’ll be out on bail before you know it.”
I hand Maddox his phone. “I don’t get it.”
Andie sits. “This must be a big misunderstanding.”
“Seems pretty cut and dried to me,” Lora says. “The guests saw her this morning. They reported items missing from their rooms after their ride, the police were called, and they found their things in her room.”
My head is reeling. Criminal law. Larceny. Stealing. Bail. “No way would she have done it.”
“She admitted she did,” Lora says.
My eyes snap to hers. “What?”
She nods. “Said she did it, and there’s nothing anyone can do.”
I grope for the nearest chair and sit, my head in a fog and my stomach in knots, until the police leave with the evidence. I thought we were happy, that she was happy. Did she do this because she doesn’t think she deserves to be?
“It’s a mistake,” I say. “Even if she did it, she didn’t mean to. She’s dealing with a lot of shit. She must be confused.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Andie says.
I turn to Lora. “Comp their stays. We need to do whatever we can to keep this from ruining the business.”
“Already done.”
I nod. I’ve never felt so helpless in my entire life. She’s locked in a jail cell, and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it. I go to the bar and pick up a bottle of vodka. As I leave via the back door, I hear Maddox say, “Don’t leave him alone.”
“Not on your life,” Quinn says and follows me.
I wake with a pounding skull and eventually notice the empty bottle on the kitchen table. Quinn is sleeping on my couch. I sit up and my stomach heaves; I’m just not sure it’s from the alcohol or the reason I drank it. I run to the bathroom and throw up.
Quinn appears in the doorway.
“Why’d you let me do it?” I ask, then rinse my mouth.
“You think I was about to take the bottle from you? Hell no, man. You’d have ripped my head off. But I’m not afraid to tell you I poured some down the drain every time you took a whiz. I wasn’t about to let you drink the whole damn thing.”
I knew he’d have my back. “I have to see her.”
“Check your phone. Maddox texted you all the info. The lawyer will meet you there at nine.”
“That’s in less than an hour.”
“Figured you could use the sleep. It was better than watching you pace all morning.”
I splash water on my face, brush my teeth, and change clothes. I throw my keys to Quinn. “You’re driving.”
Justin Kalvin is waiting for us outside the police station. Maddox included his picture in the text. He’s writing something in a notebook.