Down By The Water (16 page)

He nodded. “Right. As far as we know, the sheriff could have just been blowing smoke up your ass about that bruise. We know there have to be files about your sister. And something like that would be in the files.”

I didn't think the sheriff had it in him to lie about something. He was as by-the-book as they came. “Okay. So who exactly did you talk to?”

An uncomfortable expression flitted across his face. “Girl I know that works over at the county offices.” I didn't say anything and he squirmed against me. “Don't freak out on me, alright?”

“That kind of thing almost always guarantees a freak out.”

He sighed. “She's my ex-girlfriend.”

I rolled away from him onto my back. “You're sucking at the pillow talk.”

“
It's not like that, Lily.”

I didn't say anything. The phrase “ex-girlfriend” was one of those phrases that had the power to suck the life out of any room. Especially when you were naked.

“We broke up over a year ago,” Ty said. “There's nothing to it. We're still friends.”

“
Okay.”

“
Seriously?” His tone was light but I could hear the undercurrent. “You're going to be like that?”

I frowned at him. “I don't even know what that means.”

All I'd said was 'okay.' I'd kept my voice neutral as I'd uttered the word, free of any emotion. Or at least I'd tried to.

He curled his arm beneath me and brought me back to him. “Look at me.”

I didn't want to but I lifted my eyes to his.

“
She's an ex-girlfriend for a reason,” he said, his voice firm. “I'm in bed with you. Not her. Alright?”

It wasn't, but I didn't want to fight. I didn't want to say,
Well, you're a guy. Most guys will fuck anything that's warm and willing
. Not because I didn't want to piss him off but because a big part of me didn't believe that sentiment was true about him. If it had been, he would have found a way to be with my very willing sister.

“
Fine,” I said. “So, what does your ex-girlfriend do at the county offices that might help me in some way?”

“
She's a clerk,” he said. “But she has access to the files. Or, can get access. So we can take a look.”

“
Couldn't we just request the file?”

Ty shook his head. “Pretty sure Jorgenson would have to sign off on that. Call me crazy but I don't think that's such a good idea.”

He had a point there. Whatever Jorgenson was doing, I didn't feel like he was actually trying to figure out what happened. I was pretty sure all he wanted to do was prove to people he was right, which meant pinning everything he could think of on me.

“
So did she get it?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No. She needed some time. But she said she thought she could have it tomorrow.”

“And why exactly is she doing this for you?” I asked.

He paused. “Because we're friends.”

That sounded like a pretty damn flimsy reason to me. An ex-girlfriend helping her ex-boyfriend help out a new female friend? Just because they were friends? That didn't sound like any girl I knew.

I pushed myself up and rolled on top of him. “Hmm. That sounds like total bullshit to me.”

“What does?”

“
Her. Helping you out. For no reason.”

“
Lily, I...”

I leaned down and kissed him hard. I let my legs fall to his sides so I was straddling him. I pushed my hips down against him and felt him stir beneath me.

I moved my mouth to his ear. “All this ex-girlfriend talk has me...angry.”

His eyes were shut tight and I could feel him pulsating between my legs, rising and stiffening by the second. “Angry?”

I moved my hips slowly against him. “Totally pissed off,” I murmured.

He mumbled something I couldn't understand.

I put my hands on his bare chest and lifted my head so I could see the nightstand. I reached for the pack of condoms sitting on top and grabbed a new one, tearing open the paper. I unrolled it, then slid it over him, his eyes following my every move, his breathing short and shallow as I worked it over him. I shifted my hips over him until he was inside of me. I took a deep breath as he pushed fully into me.

“
So this second round might be a little...rough.” I nipped his ear, my teeth sinking into the soft flesh.

He lifted his hips up into me and I gasped, every inch of space inside of me filled. “Fine with me,” he growled.

I stretched myself up, pressing my hands down on his smooth chest. “You like it rough?”

His eyes opened to narrow slits and a small grin crossed his mouth. “I'll like whatever you want to do, sweetheart.”

And he did.

TWENTY EIGHT

I rolled over in the bed, tangled in sheets and forced my eyes open.

I was alone.

And back in my room.

I stretched beneath the sheets, the muscles in my thighs and back sore from being in bed with Ty. I hadn't been that sore in a long time and it felt...good. I vaguely remembered that after the second round, a round that was sweatier, more physical and at least on my part, angrier, I passed out next to him, my chest heaving. I remembered him gathering me into his arms at some point and carrying me out and laying me down in my bed, kissing me and telling me he'd see me in the morning. It was the kind of thing I'd normally dream about, except it was one hundred percent real.

My clothes were on the floor next to the bed and I guessed that he'd brought those in when he brought me in, too. I grabbed them and pulled on my panties and bra and then fished out a clean pair of shorts and a tank top from my bag, putting the dirty clothes in one of the zipper pockets. I ran a brush through my hair and pulled it back with a tie and sat on the edge of the bed for a minute.

The flash of jealousy I'd felt when Ty had mentioned his ex-girlfriend faded and was probably nothing more than immediate insecurity. I didn't know what Ty and I had and I wasn't sure how it was going to play out when I left for Madison in a couple days. But those things would figure themselves out. It was the looking at the file I wasn't so sure about.

I stood and pulled the sheets up on the bed and straightened the pillows. I didn't know what Ty thought we could do with the file if we were able to look at it. And I didn't know how it mattered. Did I want Jorgenson to leave me alone? Absolutely. But I wasn't sure how anything we might find in the file would change that. And if he found out we'd gotten ahold of it, it might just make him more determined to hang as much as he could on me. I didn't want to give him a single reason to keep me around longer than I had to be there and I had a feeling that if he found out we'd looked at the file, he'd find some way to lock me down and make me look like even more of a criminal than he already had.

I walked out into the hallway just in time to see Jenna tiptoeing up the stairs. Her hair was wild and out of place and her clothes were wrinkled. She grinned at me, her cheeks rosy, as she came up the last stair.

“Hey, sis,” she whispered. “Anyone up yet?”

“
Just us. Fun night with Sven?”

Her eyes widened. “And morning.” A dreamy smile crossed her face. “He's like an Energizer bunny.”

“Lucky you.”

She nodded, missing my sarcasm. “Seriously. I haven't been with a guy like that in...ever.”

For a moment, I thought about telling her my night was just as good. But then I caught myself. Even though I didn't want her thinking I'd just sat around all night, I didn't want to share any of the details of exactly how I'd spent my evening. And I knew she'd ask. She'd pester for details, demand answers. I didn't want to share Ty. Not with her, not with anyone.

“
What'd you do?” she asked, running a hand through her hair.

“
Just hung out.”

“
With Ty?”

“
Yep.”

“
And you just hung out?” She made a face. “Well, I hope you let him at least get to second base.”

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”

“I'm serious. He'll get bored if you're just giving him a little over the shirt action.”

“
I don't need your seduction tips,” I said.

She shrugged. “Whatever.”

On cue, Ty's door opened. He'd already showered and his hair was wet, all of the stubble from the night before shaved clean from his face. He wore a green T-shirt and cargo shorts and all I could think about was what he looked like underneath his clothes. What he felt like, what his skin tasted like. An involuntary shiver raced down my spine.

He lifted his chin and smiled at me. “Hey.”

I smiled back. “Hey.”

He looked at Jenna. “Good time with Sven?”

“It was fine,” she said, giving him her best poker face.

He nodded, then returned his gaze to me. “That thing we were talking about? I heard back already. We can go check it out this morning if you want.”

“Check what out?” Jenna asked, looking from him to me.

I ignored her. “Okay.”

“We can grab breakfast in town.”

I nodded. “Cool.”

“Check what out?” Jenna demanded again.

I stepped past her toward the stairs.

“Second base,” I said, grinning at her.

We left her there, a confused expression settling over her face.

TWENTY NINE

“She must've called you early,” I said.

We were in Ty's truck, headed toward town, and he'd immediately reached for my hand after we'd gotten settled in the cab. Our fingers were intertwined and my body was closer to him than the door.

“Texted, actually,” he said. “She went in early to look for it before anyone else got there.”

“
Hmm. Big of her.”

He shook his head. “Stop.”

“I'm kidding,” I told him.  “And what is our assistant's name?”

“
Caroline.”

I thought for a moment. “She called you the other day. You got pissed.”

He stared straight ahead, his eyes scanning the road in front of us. “Yeah, probably.”

“
And how long did you date Caroline?”

He shifted in the seat. “Little over a year. We were friends for a long time. We both grew up here.”

Something needled at me, something I wasn't used to feeling. Something that felt like jealousy. I tried to push it away. “And tell me again why exactly she's willing to help us out.”

He shrugged. “Because we're friends, I guess.”

“Does she have a boyfriend now?”

“
Not that I know of.”

I smirked. “So maybe this is her way of trying to get back in your good graces.”

“It's not like that, Lily.”

“
Tell me what it's like then,” I said. “Tell me why she called the other day.”

His mouth twisted and he sighed. “It's just...complicated.”

“It always is.” I sounded wise, like I knew what I was talking about, like I'd been through dozens of break-ups. But the truth was, I'd only ever dated a handful of guys and had only slept with a few. I'd never had a relationship that had lasted longer than a few months and I'd always been the one who'd done the breaking up.

“
Not like that, Lily,” he said. “I broke up with her. I made it clear we were done. She hasn't totally given up. And our families are close—were close, anyway—and so it's just...weird. But she knows we're done.”

“
So why'd she call?”

He sighed again. “She asked me to go to a party with her. Some going-away thing for her cousin. It felt too much like a date to me, so I said no. She was a little persistent.” He glanced at me. “But I said no and I meant it.”

I looked out the window. The clouds hung low, like fluffy white umbrellas hovering over the cornfields. The highway was damp and I wasn't sure if it had rained overnight or if it was just fog burning off from the morning.

“
There's nothing to be jealous of,” Ty said, reaching for my hand again. “The only thing I can control is how I feel and I don't feel a thing for her. I promise.”

I let him take my hand. I wasn't sure how I felt about him picking up on my jealousy. And I wanted to believe him. I didn't want to be some one night stand who'd conveniently rolled into town. I wasn't Jenna. I liked Ty. A lot.

“And I wouldn't have called her if I didn't think she could help us,” he explained. “But she's the only one that I could think of. And I knew she'd do it.”

“
Because she still likes you.”

He hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah, probably so. Guilty as charged.” He paused. “But I did it for you, Lily.”

Now it was my turn to sigh. I was dangerously close to being bitchy. And it wasn't fair.

I turned to look at him again. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“
Okay. I believe you.”

“
You should. It's all the truth.”

“
Just tell me one thing.”

“
Anything.”

“
Is she hot?”

He chuckled. “Not as hot as you.”

I smiled at him. “Excellent answer.”

“
I'm well-versed in the ways of feminine language.”

“
You're so full of shit.”

“
That, too.”

I shook my head and looked away so he couldn't see me laughing.

The county offices were housed in an old church, a white-washed building with a tall steeple and stained glass windows. Ty parked the truck in the adjacent lot and I followed him into the building.

The inside looked nothing like a church, having been retrofitted to look like a normal office building. Long counters and high-wear carpeting, air conditioning and filing cabinets everywhere. As old school as the outside was, the interior had been completely modernized.

Ty led me down a narrow hallway and then around a corner. He opened a door marked “County Records” and I followed him in.

Behind a long wooden desk was a girl about my age. Dark skin and raven black hair that looked like it had been brushed for hours. Big almond-colored eyes and perfect make-up. She wore a white cotton blouse and a thin silver necklace around her neck and looked as out of place in the countryside of Minnesota as a tropical bird.

She smiled at Ty. “Hey, you.”

“
Hey,” he said. He stepped to the side. “This is Lily.”

Her smile dimmed as she looked me up and down.

“Lily, this is Caroline,” Ty said, suddenly looking like he'd rather be anywhere than with us.

“
Hi,” I said.

Her mouth twitched. “Hi.” Her voice was polite but cool. She immediately looked at Ty. “You totally owe me.”

His cheeks went pink. “I know.”

“
There were already people here when I got here,” she said, raising a perfectly plucked eyebrow at him. “I had to make up all kinds of crap to get back to the case files.” She cut her eyes to me. “Everyone knows who you are. They know your name.”

Now it was my turn to flush, but I didn't say anything.

“And I totally remember you,” she said.

“
What?” I asked.

“
Caroline, can you just...” Ty said.

But she ignored him.

“I remember that summer,” Caroline said. “My sister and I rode our bikes over when we heard. I remember seeing you with your parents.”

I wasn't sure what she wanted me to say. I didn't remember her. I didn't want to remember her.

“I always wondered what happened to you,” she said, then she shrugged. “Guess you're fine.”

Ty made a face. “Knock it off, alright?”

She raised her eyebrows like she had no idea what he was talking about. “I'm just telling her I remember her from when we were kids.”

It was her way of asserting herself, letting me know she'd known him longer than I had. She was trying to claim her territory. In the past, I might've backed down, let her run her mouth and piss all over her supposed territory.

But now I was irritated.

I slipped my hand into Ty's. “You're lucky to have such a great memory.”

Her eyes started to drift toward our hands, but then she caught herself and her expression hardened. She started at me for a moment and there was nothing warm in her gaze. I just smiled back at her.

She reached under the counter, looked behind her and then pulled out a manilla envelope. She slid it across the countertop to Ty.

He reached for it. “I'll get it back to you later today.”

Caroline shook her head. “They're photocopies. Keep them.”

“Oh,” he said. “Okay. Thanks.”

She nodded. “Yep.”

We all stood there awkwardly for a moment.

Caroline looked at me. “I can't guarantee Jorgenson won't find out. He always knows everything. He's fucking creepy.”

I didn't know whether she was warning me or threatening me. I couldn't read her and I knew the only reason she'd copied the file was because of Ty. But I didn't want to get in some cat-fight with her if I could avoid it. I wanted her to know I wasn't intimidated by her, but I wasn't going to sit there and exchange dirty looks with her all morning, either.

“
Thank you,” I said.

“
And you're on your own if he does find out,” she said, frowning. “Because I will lie my ass off and tell him I don't know a damn thing about it if he comes my way. That's a promise.”