The Naughty List Bundle - Kylie Adams [122]
He shrugged a massive shoulder. “I told you. Image.” Almost as an afterthought, he added, “And I have had occasion to use it now and then.”
He had her undivided attention. “You’re kidding?”
“Nope. Being that we’re a small town, a few of the more disreputable sorts thought it’d be the ideal hideout. To date, I’ve apprehended an escaped convict, caught a man wanted for robbery, and another for kidnapping.”
Her eyes were wide. “Did you…shoot anyone?”
His hands tightened on the wheel. “The kidnapper, in the knee. The son of a bitch held a gun to a woman. He’s lucky that’s all I did to him.”
Misty fell back in her seat, amazed. “I never would have imagined.” Morgan seemed dangerous in many ways, and he certainly held his own when it came to taking charge of any situation. But she’d never imagined him being involved in a possibly lethal situation. He could have been killed! “This is incredible.”
Again, he shrugged.
“What would the good citizens think if they knew you were consorting with a known criminal?”
“You?”
“Do you know any others?”
“Sure.” He didn’t allow her to question that. He gave her a speculative look, then suggested, “You could get your name cleared, you know.”
“I don’t see how that’s possible.” She bit her lip. “Once something is on your permanent record…”
“I could get it taken care of. It’s a lot of legal jumble, and I can explain it later, but if you really didn’t take the money…”
Misty felt her heart beating faster. “I didn’t take the money.” She waited for his reaction, her breath held. She wanted Morgan to believe her. It had suddenly become important to her, and not just because he wanted to help.
Seconds ticked by, and then he nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”
He said nothing else, and that, she supposed, was that.
They reached the center of town, which was really no more than a narrow street full of buildings. Misty hadn’t paid much attention to it when she’d been at the hall for Honey’s wedding. She’d still been too nervous about Morgan and too excited for her sister. But now she had the chance to take it all in, and she wasn’t going to miss a single thing.
There were two grocery stores at opposite ends of the street, a clothing store that looked as if it had been there for over a hundred years, a diner and a hairdresser, a pharmacy…She eyed the pharmacy as they drove past, wondering how awkward it might be to get her prenatal vitamin prescription filled; she’d run out of them yesterday.
One thing she didn’t see was a bus station, and she wondered just where the nearest one was. After her comment earlier that she’d take a bus home, she felt rather foolish to realize there wasn’t a bus around. You’d think one of the brothers could have mentioned that fact to her.
There were people sitting outside their shops, others lounging against the wall or standing close chatting. There were even some rocking chairs sitting under canopied overhangs, to invite loiterers.
“This is like going back in time,” she murmured as they drove to the end of the street then turned right onto a narrower side street. There were a few houses, a farm with some cattle moving around, and a funeral parlor, which was easily the biggest, most ornate structure she’d seen so far. Then Morgan pulled into the circular drive of a building that looked like an old farmhouse. It was two stories with a grand wraparound porch, white columns in the front and black shutters at every window.
“Why are we stopping here?”
“This is my office, darlin’.” He chuckled at her as he drove right up close to the front door and stopped. The double doors wore a professional sign that read: Enter at Right. Evidently that didn’t apply to the sheriff.
Morgan parked and turned off the engine. “The station used to be by the county courthouse, farther into town, but it was too small so years ago, long before I was elected, they moved it here. Makes for a bit of whimsy doesn’t it?”
Morgan climbed out, and at that moment two men came around from the side of the house to greet him. “Hey there, Morgan! Didn’t expect to see you