“He’s got balls. I’ll say that for him.”
She blew out a shaky breath. As if the past few months hadn’t been hard enough, now she had to deal with possibly losing the man she loved for an undetermined length of time. It was so easy to understand how Levi had done what he’d done, but she didn’t expect the police to see it that way.
Baxter reached over the seat to squeeze her shoulder. “You going to be okay?”
“No.”
“Come on, don’t talk like that.”
“My liver’s working fine. It’s my heart I’m worried about.”
“You’ll get through this just like you did the surgery.”
She shifted so she could see him. “That reminds me.”
“Of what?”
“You said you’d tell Noah how you feel about him if I made it.”
His eyes slid away from hers. “No way.”
“So now you’re reneging?”
“I can already tell you how it would go, Callie.”
She didn’t argue with him, because she suspected he was right. Noah had been dating more than ever, going from one girl to the next. “He’s out of control.”
“I think he’s reacting to what he knows but doesn’t want to face.”
“Where does that leave you?” she asked.
“I’m trying to get over him.”
“Meaning you’re dating other people?”
“When I’m in the city.”
“You don’t spend many weekends in the city.”
“Yeah, well, I said I was trying. I didn’t say it was working.”
They fell silent. Callie knew he’d have to be committed to whatever he chose to do and didn’t want to interfere too much. But she wasn’t sure what else to talk about. She was too nervous to make small talk.
Baxter made an effort to keep her focused on other things. “Levi told me that before your operation, Chief Stacy tried to strong-arm him into leaving town.”
She wrung her hands as she watched people—other people and not Levi—walking out of the police station. “Can you believe it?”
“Not really. He can be an egotistical ass, but cops can be that way.”
“Once I get past this, I’m going to file a complaint.”
“Do you think it’ll do any good?”
“Maybe not. He has a lot of friends in Whiskey Creek, but I want to let him know he can’t push people around without some sort of resistance.”
Baxter propped his hands behind his head and scooted lower in the seat. “He can’t be all bad. He did get rid of Denny and Powell.”
“But the way he went about it was wrong.”
He arched his eyebrows at her. “So are you going to complain about that, too?”
She thought about the relief she felt to have Denny and Powell and Spike—whom they’d reclaimed before hurrying off—gone, and managed to smile. “No.”
“Nothing will happen to Stacy.”
“I know.”
For the next thirty minutes, she watched the entrance to the police station, hoping she’d see Levi walk out. When he didn’t come and he didn’t come, she started to fidget. “I’m going inside,” she said. “I have to find out what’s happening.”
Baxter got out when she did. “No, Callie. He said he’d call us. Give him a chance to deal with this.”
Feeling torn, she rubbed her hands over her face. But before she could get back in the car, Levi emerged from the station and hurried toward them.
“How did it go?” she asked.
He grinned. “You’re not going to believe this.”
“What?”
“The cop I beat? The one I put in the hospital?”
“Yes?”
“He was fired for misconduct six months ago. Apparently, after what I did, several people came forward to say he got physical with them, too—with no provocation. Even the rookie he was training, the other guy I hit to keep him from drawing on me, testified against him.”
Callie glanced at Baxter to see if he was hearing the same thing she was. “So what does that mean?” she asked Levi.
“It means the chances of the district attorney prosecuting me for that incident are slim. He knows I’d have a great case. Other than that, my record is clean. I was honorably discharged from the army. A good attorney could probably get me off with probation and a little community service.”
“You’re kidding.” He was right; Callie couldn’t believe it. This was the last thing she’d expected.
“I’m not kidding. I actually spoke to the rookie who was there that night. He said he’d tell the truth, tell the D.A. that Officer Howton kicked me twice before I reacted.”
Relief flooded through Callie as she slipped her arms around his neck. “That is such good news.”
He kissed her temple. “We have a fresh start, babe. Let’s make the most of it.”
She pulled back to smile up at him. “And how do we do that?”
“I think it’s time to plan the wedding.”
“So, will I be Mrs. McCloud or Mrs. Pendleton?”
“Pendleton. It’ll be great to use my real name again.”
With his arms loosely around her waist, he jerked his head at Baxter. “Bax, will you be my best man?”
Baxter laughed as he nodded. “Hell, yeah! Are we going to Vegas?”
“No,” Callie said. “I want a small ceremony at the church where my parents were married—right there in Whiskey Creek.”
Epilogue
It was a perfect October afternoon, with a butter-yellow sun shining outside and flowers adorning every pew of the old church. Callie almost wished she could photograph the event. She was that impressed with how it had all come together. But she’d spent plenty of hours photographing other people’s weddings. Today it was her turn to be escorted down the aisle, and Tina was behind the lens.
Her assistant would do a great job. Callie wasn’t worried about that. She was too happy to worry about anything, except maybe Kyle. Along with Ted, Baxter, Riley, Noah, Dylan and Simon, he stood in front, next to Levi. She could see the whole line—including Gail, Cheyenne, Eve and Sophia on her side—when she poked her head out of the small antechamber where she was waiting for the wedding march to begin. Dressed in tuxedos or lovely champagne-colored dresses, they were all smiling in anticipation. Kyle, however, looked slightly uncomfortable, and she knew he had reason to be.