Free Remote Consequences by Kerri Nelson Page A

how much the town will welcome you back with open arms now that you've become enemy number one of the Mills family."
    Yep. If Allyson and Mrs. Mills were in cahoots then it had definitely been spoken about already. That was probably why the mayor's wife was at the club drinking such strong refreshments long before noon. But I had to wonder what Allyson had in common with Myrna Mills.
    "Look, I know what I saw, and the police will follow up on it, I'm sure. It is best you stay out of it." I was surprised at my own words. They were smart advice. A real reasonable warning for Allyson.
    "I think you should be the one to stay out of it. No one wants you here. No one wants to hear a word out of your smart mouth."
    Oh well, so much for Allyson taking sound advice. That little snarky remark plus the "accidental" spill on my head was the reason I couldn't hold back my next retort.
    "Well, there's at least one person who wants to hear what I have to say. I have a lunch date with Ty."
    No sooner had the words come out of my mouth did Allyson turn and grab a pitcher of water off the counter. She began to swirl it in the same motion as the cocktail, only this was a gallon-sized pitcher of ice-cold water with lemon slices in the mix. Trapped between the demon and the door, I braced myself for another cold shower.
    Only Allyson turned and splashed the pitcher's contents into the open outlet in one swift motion. She dropped the pitcher on the floor; shards of glass rained down over my boots and a hissing sound from the outlet filled the air.
    Then she turned and sauntered out of the pool house without another word. Slipping on her sunglasses as she exited the mirrored doors. A gray-haired man awaited her exit, and she giggled when he took her arm and led her away.
    I stared down at the mess before me. This was a battle I hadn't wanted, but somehow—all these years later—I found myself right back in the same drama I'd endured once before in my life. Yep, high school was back again.

CHAPTER TWELVE
     
    One man's meat is another man's poison. –Irish Proverb
     
    I swung by the Flicks Vision office and gave Barry the thumbs-up on the country club job. He seemed happy about me completing my assignment despite the fact that, due to Allyson's little cocktail party with the cable outlet, the assignment had taken all morning shift long.
    He'd seemed more than a little perturbed about my needing the rest of the afternoon off to meet with Ty and pick up Paget, but I managed to escape before he went into full face-reddening mode. I swapped out the rusty work van for my gorgeous beast of a car, stopped by the house for a quick shower and shampoo, and then I was en route to the police station. I was doing pretty good, only running half an hour late as I drove toward the station, my mind swirling over the events of the last two days—not to mention the dreaded conversation I was about to have with Ty Dempsey. I'd held a lot of resentment toward him for many years, and now he was back in my life and, apparently, Paget's new "hero" with a scary gun.
    The thought of him as anyone's hero was hard for me to grasp. After taking advantage of my tender, school girl crush and stealing my virginity—things had gone downhill from there. Well, he didn't exactly steal it. I'd pretty much offered it up on a silver platter. Or the hood of his silver Camero as fate would have it. And then when he got offered that huge football scholarship to Auburn University, I may have told one little lie—well maybe not exactly little …
    But the fact that I'd once looked up to him and cared for him deeply was enough of a disappointment after the way things had ended between us. He'd humiliated me and then he'd blamed me for everything in his life that had gone wrong. And…well…I didn't know if I could ever fully trust him again.
    Pulling up to the station a mere twenty-four hours after my first visit still brought up the same feelings of anxiety and dread. But this time,