Page 26

“Hi,” she says in greeting when she awkwardly steps into the cell.

“What are you doing in here?” I ask her.

Before she can answer, the door slams closed with a loud, final boom.

“Wait! She can’t stay in here!” I lunge for the bars and call out to the officer as he strides away.

“It’s fine, Teddy. Let me see your hand.”

“You shouldn’t be in here, Maggie. Not even for a visit.”

“I asked him to stay with you tonight,” she says as she places her palm on my arm to guide me away from the bars.

All the fight fizzles out of me leaving me lighter.

“What do you mean you asked to stay?”

She presses her hand against the center of my chest to back me up until we reach the bench where we both take a seat.

I miss her hand on me as soon as she removes it.

But then she lifts my right hand and studies my busted knuckles.

“Does it hurt?”

“No,” I reply curling my hand around hers to keep her from pulling it away. “Now answer my question, Maggie.”

“Since they insisted that you have to stay overnight for having alcohol in your system, I told them I had been drinking too,” she explains.

“But drinking isn’t illegal. You should be back at the resort sleeping in our busted bed.”

“That’s pretty much what the officer said too. He changed his mind after I punched Wyatt.”

I stare at her. “You hit Wyatt?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” I ask.

“Because they wouldn’t let me stay with you otherwise,” she replies. “I made him come with me and Monty down to the station to tell them to drop the charges against you.”

“And he actually did it, he asked them to drop the charges?” I ask.

“Well, yeah. He knows it was all his fault. They’re keeping you here tonight to make sure you sober up and don’t get into any more trouble, but they’ll let you go in the morning without charges.”

“They’re not charging me?” When she shakes her head, I mutter, “Thank god,” in relief. “Nobody’s told me anything.”

“What you did isn’t worth the trouble of filling out the paperwork.”

“How can you be so sure I didn’t lose my temper and deserve to be charged?” I ask her.

“Because you don’t lose your temper. You wouldn’t risk your law license, your job, your freedom without a good reason.”

Her total confidence in me feels like a gift I don’t deserve.

“Teddy, what did he say to you?” she asks.

I shake my head and squeeze her hand. “Nothing important. I shouldn’t have lost it, but I don’t regret punching him in his smug face.”