by Tanya Agler
She couldn’t afford to open her own repair shop, and she didn’t want to work in Asheville. Georgie held her chin high, determined to find some way to wear him down. This was a good compromise, and she’d stay until he accepted it. Good riddance. She was Georgie Bennett and she was a tomboy mechanic who liked the feel of a silk dress against her skin every once in a while. If Max rejected her idea...
She’d prosper and grow here. Same as she’d been doing the past couple of months, coming into her own.
Max let loose with a huge grin. “You’re doing body work full-time. We’ll be partners. When you want to help or if we get backed up, you work on the repair side. You can’t buy me out since I’m staying. I convinced Rosie to move here.” Max stared straight at her and winked. “You needed time away from Hollydale. Your dad would be so proud of you. Welcome home.”
This was Max’s plan all along, and she’d fallen for it, hook, line and sinker. He extended his hand, and the grin curling her insides came out, extending all the way to the tips of her toes. “You’ve got a deal.” She tilted her head toward the Thunderbird. “I’m going to take her for her first test drive and give the keys to Mike tonight. Thought this would be a great way to arrive at the hoedown.”
“That’s tonight?” Max sighed and glanced at the cars in the bay. “These cars repaired or waiting their turn?”
“I was going to come in tomorrow and work on them.”
“I’ll repair them. You have fun tonight and don’t worry about tomorrow.”
Her grin grew even wider. “Thanks, Max.”
No cares at all except having fun at the dance tonight. With Mike.
Floating on cloud nine, she waved goodbye to Max. This dance would go off without a hitch after all.
* * *
THIS DANCE MIGHT be the shortest date Mike had ever had, considering he was serving a search warrant at Georgie’s residence two hours before he was set to pick her up. He wouldn’t blame her if she canceled.
With paper in hand, he and Donahue approached the door of Beverly Bennett’s house and glanced at the bevy of cars in the driveway. Three cars, and not one of them Georgie’s. If she wasn’t home, that might be best.
Donahue knocked, the forcefulness catching Mike off guard. Mike had wanted to search Travis and Heidi Crowe’s house first. Donahue insisted on stopping here first.
Beverly Bennett answered and arched her eyebrow. “Mike Harrison, why on earth are you in your uniform? Shouldn’t you be in a suit?” She inhaled a swift breath, her rare smile turning into a frown. “If you stand up my daughter again...”
Donahue doffed his cap and stepped inside. “This isn’t a social call, Mrs. Bennett.” He extended his hand out to Mike. Without a word Mike handed him the warrant. “This is official police business. I have a search warrant to look for evidence relating to the burglary at Max’s Auto Repair.”
Beverly’s friend Kitty came over, her forehead knit into a mass of wrinkles. “I’m going to call my husband. He’s an attorney and can advise us if they can do this.”
“What’s going on?” Georgie’s husky voice came from the top of the stairs.
Mike glanced up, fighting to hold back his sudden laughter, a welcome relief from the tension reeling around him. Green gunk covered her face, and that ratty robe was probably a relic from high school. In jeans Georgie was beautiful. In a robe? His gut clenched, and he fisted his hands resting at his sides.
Lucie Decker appeared. “Don’t furrow your eyebrows, Georgie. It will crack the mask.”
His sister Natalie appeared. Groaning, he bet his parents would hear all about this before he arrived home to change. If Georgie would still go to the dance with him, that was.
“Michael, what are you doing here?” Natalie stopped halfway down the staircase. “Do Mom and Dad know you’re here?”
Swallowing hard, he rubbed the spot on his forehead where the pounding was intensifying. “No one outside of this house knows I’m here.”
“This isn’t a social call. Officer Harrison,” Donahue said as he looked over his shoulder, his lips pursed into a straight line, “you search down here while I search upstairs.”
Georgie held up her hands. “Mike, what’s going on? Make it fast, please.”
“It’s been ascertained the burglaries around Hollydale weren’t related to the B&E at Max’s. Donahue asked the judge for a search warrant regarding the comic books and Max’s folder.”
“Here. At my house?” Her voice grew even huskier as the betrayal deep in his stomach burned fiery hot.
He nodded, the facial mask hiding her expressions but not the hurt in the depths of her green eyes. While he longed to wrap his arms around Georgie and comfort her, he had this one formality to go through before he could explain. With some luck, and a whole lot of pleading, the weight of his job might balance the scales in his favor, along with the explanation of how duty was part of him, had been all along. Duty was ingrained in him as much as Dad’s ability to say the right thing or Mom’s ability to hold Becks’s hand. As much as he wished Edwards could have executed the warrant with Donahue, Mike couldn’t, and wouldn’t, foist his job onto someone else. When he went against himself, the results were disastrous.
He took the stairs two at a time, wanting some connection with Georgie, hard enough under the circumstances, even harder with all these people surrounding them. Natalie scurried back to the top while Georgie met him halfway.
Grasping her hands, he lowered his voice for her ears only. “I know you’re innocent, Georgie. Trust me.”
Two little words, but he meant them with all his heart. For Georgie, who’d grappled with a mother who wanted her to be someone she wasn’t growing up and a fiancé who wanted someone feminine and demure, what he was asking was almost downright impossible. Breath couldn’t get into his lungs as the seconds ticked by with no answer coming from her lips.
“I love you, Mike.”
Oxygen filled his lungs along with the sweetness of those words. He squeezed her hands.
He didn’t deserve her. He would thank his lucky stars every day for the gift of Georgie in his life, for the roads that led her back to Hollydale.
“Let’s go.” Donahue swept past him.
When they didn’t find anything at either house, Mike would agree to formally add his name to the ballot.
After twenty minutes of upturned furniture and emptied drawers with everyone glaring at him, Mike was ready to throw in the towel. There were no binders or comic books anywhere in sight.
Mike approached Donahue. “I have somewhere to be in less than two hours. I’d like a private word before we leave.”
Donahue straightened, the grim expression from before gone. He’d seemed to age ten years in the short time they’d been here. He shrugged and blinked. “I figured if I could solve the robbery at Max’s, people might trust me again.”
Mike scrubbed his face and threw a glance over at Georgie, the green gunk now off hers. She must have heard the sheriff, as the smile she sent him absolved him of all wrongdoing.
The weight lifted from his shoulders. One by one, everyone started leaving her bedroom, rather the worse for wear. Natalie glared at him, and Mike threw up his palms. He’d hated any doubt cast over Georgie, but now it was out in the open. Any shadow was gone. Perfect timing for the dance.
“What’s that room?” Donahue turned to Georgie, his forehead lined with resignation. “Officer Harrison and I would like a consult prior to our departure.”
“It’s the laundry room. Just a washer, dryer and my suitcases. Haven’t touched them since I arrived. Go ahead and talk away.” Georgie sent a smile in Mike’s direction. She didn’t need words. Her understanding gaze said everything.
Did he dare hope? Could he convince her tonight that her road to Hollydale wasn’t in vain? That love here would last her a lifetime?
“We’ll talk i
n here.”
Opening the door, Donahue switched on the light, tripping over Georgie’s three suitcases on the floor opposite the stainless steel washer and dryer.
Mike strode into the room, his arms folded. “Enough. You’ve turned this into a joke. Georgie’s innocent, and it’s time to move on.”
“She is, is she?” Donahue straightened, comic books and a bright yellow binder in his hands. Property of Max’s Auto Repair.
Mike’s world shattered around him. He reached for the handcuffs on his utility belt. “Georgianna Victoria Bennett, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“I DIDN’T STEAL ANYTHING.”
Mike put her hands to her back. She winced and tried to breathe, rather hard with her rights being read to her. No, this wasn’t happening. Tonight was supposed to be the happiest night of her life. They were supposed to drive to the Hollydale Hoedown in the Thunderbird, the proverbial riding off into the sunset. Instead, she’d be escorted to jail.
“I’m not a thief.” Georgie screwed her eyes shut, willing those tears not to flow.
“I am.” Her mother’s voice tore through her.
Georgie opened her eyes, her hands now manacled behind her back. How ironic. Her mother was finally defending her. Couldn’t argue with cold, hard evidence. In her suitcase, no less. If she weren’t in utter despair, her heart might have leaped at how Mom was fighting for her.
In a way, it was sweet for her mother to come to her defense.
“No offense, Mrs. Bennett.” Donahue tipped his hat. “Everyone knows you were recovering from stent surgery when this happened.”
“She planned it. I’m the one who took Georgie’s keys and committed the burglary.” Kitty came up, her face in tears, her hands extended. “Lock me up. Throw away the key.” She sniffled. “But if you can do this without telling my husband about it, I’d be a mite grateful. Being the DA and all, he might not understand.”
A sharp breath came from behind her. Mike. Despite his earlier protests, he had no problem reading Georgie her Miranda rights. These weren’t even Donahue’s handcuffs around her wrists. They were Mike’s.
All around people were shouting. Natalie was yelling about the Harrisons, Lucie was protesting something about a good lawyer who’d have her bail set before she knew it and Kitty was continuing the charade.
Chills ran down Georgie’s spine. What if Kitty wasn’t lying?
“Quiet!” Mike shouted, and everyone, including Georgie, turned toward him. Mike didn’t lose it often, but with the way he clenched his jaw, Georgie could tell he was near his boiling point. “One at a time.”
Still, he didn’t uncuff her.
Everyone erupted again, except for Georgie. Mike hadn’t hesitated, believing the worst about her. Sure, the evidence was right there in Donahue’s hands, but Mike could have given her the benefit of the doubt.
Couldn’t he?
“Hush.” Mike slashed the air with his hands as if to emphasize his point. “Beverly, you go first.”
Georgie kept herself from laughing. Good grief, the idea that her mother was a criminal mastermind was preposterous. The woman was known far and wide for Southern charm, her hair always perfectly coiffed, her nails perfectly manicured, her manner always polite, and also for her unswerving resolve to get her own way. She turned to her mother, wishing she could reach out to reassure her. Little hard to do that with her hands handcuffed behind her.
“Mom, thanks for the good thoughts, but, at this point, I need you to call a lawyer, not make up some spur-of-the-minute story.”
“Georgie,” Mike whispered in her ear, “let your mother talk.”
She should have known something would come up so they couldn’t have tonight’s dance. She just didn’t imagine that the something was a small cell with her name on it. Or that Mike would be the one holding the key locking her in.
She nodded at her mother. Was it too much to hope that one good attorney would be willing to skip tonight’s hoedown to bail her out?
“I don’t know where to begin.” The color drained from her mother’s face.
“This isn’t good for her. She’s had two stent procedures in the past couple of months.” Georgie stepped toward her mother and glared back at Mike. “Are these necessary? I won’t run.”
Mike said nothing, just unlocked the cuffs. Something deep in his eyes struck her. She’d seen that look before, when she told her mother she wasn’t going to college. Disappointment. Georgie rubbed her wrists before hugging her mother. “Do I need to call your doctor? Have you taken your medication today?”
Tears were welling in her mom’s eyes. “Georgie, I did this. Working as a mechanic? Right here in our very own town?” She shuddered. “Around engines and cars that can lose control.” She lowered her gaze. “I lost Stephen that way.”
Georgie’s breath caught. If her mother and Kitty pulled this caper, she’d lose Georgie, too.
“I don’t understand.”
“I thought if Max believed you stole his comic books, he’d have to fire you. Since you’d promised to stay, I was hoping you’d have to work away from cars and maybe find something you like better. Something safer.”
Georgie leaned against the wall for support. “No, Mom. And I wished you’d talked to me first.”
“No one got hurt.” Kitty stepped forward. “Georgie, you were asleep. It was quite easy really. Once I had the keys, I drove over to the repair shop, scattered everything around and found the folder. The comics were below it, and I thought my grandsons might like them for a Christmas present. I hid everything in your suitcase.” She shot a guilty look in Beverly’s direction. “You and Georgie always fight, and Georgie always runs, so I thought she’d find them eventually, when she packed, and she’d return everything to Max.”
More words tumbled out, yet Georgie wasn’t listening, the buzz surrounding her growing louder with each second. Her mother hated her choices this much? Enough to have Kitty steal her keys and break into the repair shop? Lucie and Natalie accepted who she was. And for a while, Mike had, too.
But now?
Everything crashed in around her. He’d arrested her. Sure, the evidence was overwhelming, but he hadn’t even said he’d stand by her as her friends were yelling at her about bail and lawyers.
He believed the worst of her. He believed she’d betray everything she held dear.
A doorbell chime momentarily interrupted the chaos. Georgie jerked her hand toward the hall. “Can someone answer the front door?” She glared at Mike. “Or would that be used against me in a court of law?”
“I’ll get it.” Natalie scurried away.
Everyone resumed arguing.
Georgie held Mike’s gaze, emotions flowing out of her all at once. The shock, the disbelief, the anger.
Still he stood there, his sudden calmness rattling her even more. How could he be stoic when her world was collapsing around her?
Max appeared at the doorway, out of breath. “Someone texted me to get here on the double.” He waved a piece of paper in the air. “Georgie, I brought the amended contract over.”
Georgie couldn’t meet his gaze. Even though her mother and Kitty had committed the actual robbery, embarrassment still gripped her like tires to pavement.
Sheriff Donahue stepped forward and handed Max the folder. “This is yours, isn’t it?”
“Actually, it’s Georgie’s and mine. As of this afternoon, she’s half partner in Max’s Auto Repair and Body Shop.” Max’s grin stretched from ear to ear.
Mike cleared his throat. “Mr. O’Hara, I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
“Are you asking as Mike or Officer Harrison?” The disappearance of Max’s smile sank Georgie’s heart again. Max was staring at Mike’s uniform.
The truth was Mike was both. They were both facets of his true personality that had emerged after she left Hollydale. The one who rescued a kitten. The one who prized family. The Mike who loved deeply. While she’d been the one protecting him the day they met, he’d always had this sense of duty deep in him. After all, he’d played lookout while she climbed the tree and toilet papered Mr. Reedy’s yard. He’d hugged her and lent her ten bucks when her mother cut off her allowance when Georgie announced she wasn’t going to college. After she protected him that first day, he protected her.
That was why that letter had shocked her. Because it was so unlike Mike.
This part of him in the laundry room? The sense of duty and honor above all? It was ingrained in him.
“The police are here investigating the burglary at your shop.” Lucie started talking, all the while glaring at Mike.
“Kitty and I broke in, Max.” Mom sighed and held out her wrists. “Arrest me, Officer Harrison.”
“I’m telling Mom.” Natalie narrowed her eyes.
“No one’s arresting anyone.” Max boomed and stepped toward Georgie. “Georgie, what did I walk into? Everyone else, stay quiet.”
An appalling mess that all centered around her was what he’d walked into. Georgie shrugged and recapped everything. As soon as she’d finished, everyone seemed intent on adding their two cents.
“Officer Harrison, I insist you do what’s right.” Her mother patted a stray hair into place.
“Should I call my husband now?” Kitty asked.
“Georgie, make sure you bring my medicine with you when you come to the police station.” Her mom fake-coughed a little.
Max whistled. Silence swept over the room, still crowded with too many people. Would they have this many people over for Thanksgiving?
“I’m not pressing any burglary charges,” Max announced. “Kitty borrowed this for my partner, and it’s back. So are the comic books. I’m sure they’ll volunteer their time for a worthy cause, helping others to show their remorse. Enough already.”
