Fighting For Carly

by Deanndra Hall

  “Yeah, he is. I was lucky to have him growing up without a dad.”

  “Your mom and dad are divorced?”

  “No. My dad was killed in a house fire. He went in to get our pets and never came out.”

  “I saw a picture of you at your wedding and―”

  She grinned. “Prowling?”

  His cheeks burned. “No. Well, yeah.”

  She giggled. “That’s okay.”

  “I noticed that picture and Pops was in it.”

  “We lived with Pops’ family for a while after Dad died, and I asked him to walk me down the aisle. He’s been super good to me and my family. That’s how Tank wound up being so involved in the fire department here. He has the utmost respect for Pops, and the fire really made an impression on him. Tank’s big mantra: ‘Leave no doubt—get out.’ He teaches all the little kids that when he gets asked to talk at the school. When there’s a fire, get out and let everybody know where you are so nobody risks their life to go back in for you.”

  “Wise advice.”

  “Yeah. It’s a shame he’s never met anybody he wanted to spend his life with. He’d make a great dad. The best.”

  “So you’re the oldest?”

  “No. Tank’s the oldest. Then me, then Bree.”

  “I haven’t met Bree yet.”

  She let out a sour little chuckle. “You might leave me for her.”

  “What? No! That’s ridiculous!”

  “No, it’s not. Bree’s all cute and bubbly and funny, and I’m all serious and sour and grumpy.”

  “Aww, you’re not serious and sour and grumpy. You’re serious and sexy and sarcastic, and I like that.”

  “Sarcastic? What?” she yelled in mock anger. “I’m sarcastic?”

  “Yeah—you’re being sarcastic right now!” Ross barked back, laughing.

  She dug her fingers into his ribs, and he howled. “So I’m sarcastic, huh?”

  He retaliated by tickling her viciously, and she laughed, screamed, and struggled. “Sassy and sarcastic! My sassy and sarcastic baby!”

  “Quit! Quit, Ross! Oh my god, stop!” He didn’t even give her time to calm down before he grabbed her and kissed her—hard. When he turned loose, she grinned. “Why are you so much fun?”

  He laughed again. “Why did it take me so long to find you?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m sure glad you did!”

  “Me too,” Ross told her and kissed her nose. “I don’t care if you’re serious, sassy, sarcastic, any of those things, as long as you’re mine.”

  “And that, Mr. McEvers, I am.”

  Chapter 11

  They’d only been awake for about an hour when the knocking turned to pounding yet again, and they both knew who was at the door. “Hang on,” Ross warned as he set up his phone to record from across the room. Then he hid behind the door. “Okay. Go ahead.”

  “What do you want?” she growled as she opened the door.

  “That’s no way to talk to me.”

  “I don’t want to talk to you at all.”

  “Can’t you come out here and talk to me?”

  “No, Eric. Anything you need to say to me, you can say right here.”

  “Where’s your boyfriend?”

  “Still in bed. What. Do. You. Want?”

  “I just want to know that he’s being good to you, that he’s not hurting you or anything,” he answered, and Ross hated the fake bullshit in his voice.

  “Yes. He’s being good to me. He’ll never hurt me the way you did.”

  “Carly, I’ve told you a million times, that girl meant nothing to me. She was just―”

  “If you’d cheat on me with her and she meant nothing to you, that means I meant less than nothing. Doesn’t make me feel one bit better. Do you not get it? I hate you. I hate everything about you. Go away and leave me alone. Me and you, that’s never going to happen. It’s not. Just go. Leave me alone and let me have a happy life.”

  “You can do that with him?”

  “Yes. I can. I do. Other than Tank, our dad, and Pops, he’s the finest man I’ve ever met. I’m very happy with him. There’s no point in talking about this anymore. Just go.” He started to say something else, but she just slammed the door in his face and locked it. Then she wheeled to look at Ross. “How’d I do?”

  “You did great, baby.” He reached for his phone, turned off the recording function, and held it up. “Now we’ve got proof that he’s harassing you.”

  “But that won’t do any good. Who am I going to tell? Anderson? Because he doesn’t give a shit.”

  Oh, he will soon! Ross wanted to sing, but he couldn’t. Carly couldn’t know anything yet, not until they had more proof. “Don’t worry about it right now. Just go to work, do your job, and stay away from Eric at all costs. And if you’re out somewhere and he gives you grief, call me. Immediately. I’ll come wherever you are. Doesn’t matter when or what’s going on. He’s not going to harass you anymore, babe, not without a fight from me.”

  “I don’t want you getting mixed up in this, Ross. Really.”

  “Too late. I already am.”

  “Then there’s something I want to talk to you about.” She sat down on the sofa and patted the cushion beside her. “Please.”

  Ross took a seat and wondered what she was about to say. “Okay. What’s up?”

  She sat for a few seconds, staring at her hands, and Ross couldn’t imagine what was wrong. When she finally spoke, she just said, “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  “I’ve never loved any man the way I love you.”

  “And I’ve never loved any woman the way I love you.”

  Her hesitancy was driving him nuts, but he didn’t want to push. He was totally unprepared when she asked, “How much longer are you going to be here?”

  “I can’t even be released to work for at least six more weeks, and maybe longer, depending on this leg. So I don’t know.”

  “So you’re saying I only have you for six more weeks?”

  “I didn’t say that, Carly. I said I can’t be released to work for six more weeks. I didn’t say I was going back in six weeks.”

  “Well, then, are you saying you’re going to give up your job and move here?”

  Oh, shit. He’d been afraid of that conversation, and it was right on top of him. “No. And you’re saying you’re not going to give up yours and come with me, right?”

  “Then what are we going to do?”

  “I don’t know, babe. I just know I’m not willing to give you up, regardless what happens.”

  “So we’re going to try to have a long-distance relationship? Between Kentucky and Texas? Because you and I both know that’s not going to work.”

  He reached for her and drew her up into his lap. She curled against his chest and his arms wrapped around her protectively. God, he loved her so much! He knew she was scared. He was scared too. And he didn’t know what was going to happen, but he wasn’t going to rule anything out. “Look, let’s just let it roll and see where it all goes, okay?”

  “I need some answers, Ross. I’m giving my heart to you and I’m pretty sure it’s going to get broken.”

  “It doesn’t have to.” When she didn’t ask what he meant, he added, “I have to tell you something.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Tank wants you to move to Kentucky with me.”

  She drew back from him and stared into his face. “What did you just say?”

  “I said, Tank said he’s hoping you’ll move to Kentucky with me.”

  She hopped up from his lap and spun to glare at him. “He did not!”

  “He did. He said he hopes you do, not because he wants to get rid of you, but because he wants you to get away from all this shit and have a chance at a good life.”

  “I have a good life here! This is my home! I can’t believe he’d say that! So is he hoping you’ll talk me into it? Is that what this is about?”

  “What? No! Of course not! But he was
clear that he thinks you’ll have a better life away from here, after everything that’s happened.” And you don’t even have a clue what’s about to happen, he wanted to say, but he didn’t. “You’d be away from Eric, from Anderson, from all that shit. You’d get to start over.”

  “I worked hard to get where I am, and I’m not walking away from that. I would have to start all over, and that wouldn’t be easy. I’m not a kid anymore. I’d hate to think everything I’ve done up to now was erased and I had to begin again. I’m thirty-two years old, Ross. Starting over isn’t a possibility.”

  “Thousands of people start their lives over every day, Carly. Thousands. They lose spouses, lose jobs, lose children, lose parents. They bounce back from terminal diseases. They fight cancer and leukemia. Every day, thousands of people do that. You’re able-bodied, and thirty-two isn’t old. It would be easy for you—if you wanted to do it.”

  “I’m not sure I want to.”

  “So you’re saying you wouldn’t want to.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “My job isn’t going to be easy to replicate. Every county has a sheriff’s department. But not every community has a paid fire department staff. You don’t have one here. That’s how I make my living. It’s what all my training has given me. I can’t duplicate that just anywhere. I’m kinda backed into a corner here. You coming with me just makes sense.”

  “Oh, I see. It makes sense for me to start over, but not you.”

  “It’s not about that! It’s about the fact that, quite frankly, there’s nowhere for me to start over here. At best, we’d have to live in another community a good distance away, and it’s sounding like you don’t want to do that.”

  She stormed off down the hallway before he had a chance to say anything else. “This is making my head hurt. I can’t talk about it anymore.” The bedroom door slammed shut with a bang! and Ross sat there on the sofa alone. What had just happened? I think we just had our first fight, he told himself as he thought about everything that had been said. There were no jobs in Tarpley. Hell, there were almost no people in Tarpley. Where would he work? What would he do? It wasn’t like he had to decide that day, or the day after, and neither did she. He wanted to tell her what they’d discovered about Eric, but he knew he couldn’t. Not yet.

  Ross made his way down the hallway and when he got to the bedroom door, he could hear her crying on the other side. “Carly? Baby? Can I come in?”

  “No! Leave me alone! I don’t want to talk to you right now!”

  “Okay. I’ll talk to you later.” When he reached the living room, he picked up his phone and his keys, slipped on his athletic shoes and tied them, and locked the front door behind him as he left. He’d just go find something to do until she went to work and then go back and … what? Pack up his stuff? Wait until she got home? He didn’t know what to do.

  The morning was spent at the big discount store. When he ran out of things to look at there, he went back to the sporting goods department, bought a state fishing license, a cheap rod and reel, some lures, some live bait, and a boat cushion. Michael had mentioned Medina Lake to him, and he knew it wasn’t far. That was his destination.

  Along the way, he stopped and picked up a couple of sandwiches and a six-pack of soft drinks, plus a small cooler and some ice. Some people at a picnic area at the lake pointed to what was supposed to be a good fishing spot, so he drove around until he got to the parking area. He’d just gotten everything out, gotten his hook baited, and tossed down his cushion to sit on when his phone rang. It wasn’t Carly. It was a number he didn’t recognize. “Hello?”

  “May I speak with Ross McEvers, please?”

  “This is Ross McEvers. May I help you?”

  “I hope so, Mr. McEvers. This is Agent Cruz Livingston, San Antonio FBI field office. I got your number from Derrick Miller at the CID.”

  Ross perked up. “Yes, sir. Thank you for calling me.”

  “You’re welcome. You’re going to get a call from Ranger Daxton Chambers too. The Texas Rangers handle things that might be a conflict of interest with local law enforcement. It’s my understanding that this man who calls himself Eric Cross is a county attorney who has an unsuitable relationship with the local sheriff?”

  “Yes, sir, although I don’t think it would take much to get the sheriff to back off and maybe even cooperate with law enforcement.”

  “Good. So here’s what we know. The man you know as Eric Cross is using the name and data of a man who’s been dead for several years now. We don’t know who Cross is, and we’ve run his face through recognition software with no results. Since we have no fingerprints, we have nothing to use there, but we’re going to be working on that. The sheriff down there is Charles Anderson, correct?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Okay. We’ll be talking to him. We’d really like to meet with him and with you as well. Also, I understand there’s a woman involved in this? Carly Cross?”

  “Yes, sir. She’s his ex-wife, and he won’t leave her alone. He’s harassed and badgered her ever since she caught him cheating. He came over and harassed her this morning. I mean, the guy just refuses to back away. She’s a deputy sheriff, and Sheriff Anderson has given her a terrible time. That just changed in the last few days.”

  “In what way?” Ross spent a few minutes telling Agent Livingston what he knew, as well as the fact that Carly’s brother had information to use as leverage with Anderson. “So he’s worried he’ll be exposed.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “That’ll happen faster if we have to drag him into court for aiding and abetting.”

  “Yes, sir. I’m guessing that’s true.”

  Ross could hear Agent Livingston rustling some papers. “We’re going to leave Cross out of the loop for now and just go after everyone around him. We’ll be talking to his clerk, as well as Sheriff Anderson. When could you meet with us?”

  “Anytime you want. I’m visiting here from Kentucky while I recover from an injury. I’m a firefighter back home.”

  “Got it. Okay. We’ll be in touch when we get a day and time. Thank you for your help, Mr. McEvers.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Ross sat there holding the phone and thinking. The FBI and the Texas Rangers were getting involved in it. Maybe they’d get some answers soon.

  He turned off the ringer on his phone and sat down with his rod. The fish weren’t biting, but he didn’t care. Carly didn’t want to talk to him, and he had nowhere to be. She had to be at work at three o’clock, and when he still hadn’t heard from her at two, he picked up his stuff, got back in the truck, and settled down for a nap.

  By the time his eyes opened, it was four o’clock and she still hadn’t called him. He knew what that meant—he’d have to stay at Michael’s that evening because it was obvious she didn’t want him around. The drive back to town seemed excruciatingly long, and when he pulled up in front of her house, he just parked on the street. He had a bag in the closet, so he packed a good portion of his clothes in it, then went in the bathroom to pack up his toiletries.

  Stopping in the kitchen, he picked up a piece of note paper and a pencil and tried to write something, but he couldn’t think of a thing to say. He loved her. She was everything to him, and she knew it. There was nothing to put on the paper that would describe the way he felt.

  Michael was at work when he got to the house, so he let himself in and took his stuff to the guest bedroom. There were plenty of clean towels in the hall closet, so he helped himself and climbed into the shower in the main bathroom.

  Towel around his waist, he padded back into the bedroom to get dressed. As soon as he was decent, he grabbed his phone and went to the kitchen for a beer. There was nothing good on TV at that hour of the day, so he stretched out on the sofa. He’d almost fallen asleep when he heard someone knock on the door. If it was Eric, he’d kill the motherfucker. He couldn’t cope with another asshole.

  The door swung open and a woman with a tear-stained face stood there, his
woman. All he could do was stammer out, “What are you doing here?”

  “I’ve tried to call you a dozen times or more and you haven’t answered my calls.”

  “I haven’t gotten any calls from you this …” Looking at his phone, he realized what he’d done. “Shit. I turned off my ringer when I took a nap in the truck earlier and forgot to turn it back on, and then I got back here and I smelled like fish and lake water so I took a shower, and then … Anyway, I’m sorry. It wasn’t intentional. I would never just blow you off like that.”

  “Can I come in?”

  “Oh! Sure. I’m sorry. Come on in.” She looked around expectantly. “Please. Have a seat. Can I get you something?”

  “No. Just a minute with you. That’s all I want.”

  “Okay.” Ross sat down on the opposite end of the sofa. “Well, here I am.”

  She opened her mouth to say something and burst into tears. Ross almost moved to that end of the sofa to wrap an arm around her, but she’d told him to leave her alone. He wasn’t going to intrude in her personal space. She’d have to invite him. “Ross, I … I love you.”

  “And I love you.”

  “I’m sorry I reacted the way I did. I’m sorry I got mad at you. And I’m really sorry that I told you to leave me alone.”

  “I was just trying to do what you said you wanted me to.”

  “I don’t want you to leave me alone. I want to be with you. But Eric had already gotten me all cranked up, and then we started talking about what would happen between us, and it was just too much for me. I should’ve never started that conversation.”

  “It needed to be started, but I’m not sure it needed to be started today. We don’t have to decide anything right now. We both may feel differently by the time that has to be decided.”

  “I won’t. I’ll still love you.”

  He chuckled a little. “I’ll still love you, babe. That’s not what I meant. I meant we might feel differently about the prospect of moving by then. Hell, we may decide that we both want to move to somewhere entirely different to start our life together. I just know that, until we get Eric in hand, we shouldn’t be trying to decide that kind of thing, you know?”