“It’s just talk.”
“People are wondering where you were with her, where you could have met her.”
“It doesn’t matter how or where I met her.” He looked pointedly up at his deputy. “I could have met her anywhere in town before that.”
“I’m sorry, I know it’s none of my business. It’s just … your reputation.”
“I’ll worry about my own reputation, but thanks for letting me know.”
“Come time for reelection …”
Wes looked up from the pile of papers on his desk and lifted his brow.
Ryan frowned, but relented.
When his deputy had left, Wes couldn’t focus on the mound of work he had to do. Maybe he should pay more attention to what the town was saying. What if something got around that would hurt Lily? What harm would it be to use Ryan as a way of monitoring the gossip? He didn’t care what was being said, but Lily did. And that was reason enough for him.
He picked up his phone and dialed Ryan’s extension.
Chapter 3
“You’ve got one of the best pair of blue eyes I’ve ever seen.” Levi Garrison came into step beside her. “Has anyone ever told you that?”
May Masterson rolled those blue eyes that were so like her mother’s and didn’t slow down on her way to her next class. Levi easily kept up with her. He was tall and had a long stride.
“I’m serious. I meant to tell you that the other day.”
“When you were making fun of my mother?” Jerk.
“Yeah, well, about that …”
“Say anything smart and I’ll knock your front teeth out,” she said without looking at him. He was one of the most popular boys in eleventh grade. He was a football player and active on committees. He was smart, too, but not as smart as her. May knew her GPA was higher than this yokel’s.
“I’ve been meaning to apologize for that. You took it all wrong anyway.”
“How else am I supposed to take it when someone asks me if I’m as good as my mother?”
“That wasn’t me. I didn’t say that.”
“No, you said I was prettier.”
“You are.”
She sent him a glare.
“You took it wrong. I wasn’t after you that way.”
“You said I had a nicer tail.”
“I was just havin’ fun. Who cares if your mom was easy when she was in high school? That was a long time ago.”
May stopped and curled her hand into a fist. She raised it and brought it back for good momentum.
Levi caught it as she began to swing. Her fist fit into his hand.
His green eyes flared with something hot. “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to make you mad.”
“What do you care?”
He made the mistake of letting his gaze fall to her chest before meeting her eyes again.
She pushed him with her free hand. “Leave me alone, you jerk!”
“Hey.” He let go of her fist. “I’m trying to be friends here.”
“I don’t want any friends.” Not here anyway. She missed her friends in Sacramento. No one called her a slut there.
She pivoted and marched down the hall again, dodging other students, bumping someone’s shoulder. A girl narrowed her eyes at her as they passed each other. May flipped her off.
Levi took hold of her wrist and pulled her to the side of the hall, twirling her smoothly. Her back came against a locker, but not hard at all. Levi was agile in the way he handled her. She didn’t want to like that about him.
He put his hand on the locker above and beside her head and leaned closer. “I said I was sorry.”
Her breath got stuck in her throat.
He leaned back and offered his hand. She looked down at it and back up at his cute face.
“What do you want?”
“Your friendship.”
“That sounds like a line.” Except he seemed sincere. Wouldn’t it be great if one of the most popular boys in school liked her? “What do you really want?”
“To take you out. But that can wait. I’ll settle for being friends for now.”
“And once we’re friends? Then what? You try to get into my panties?”
“No. I’m not after you like that, I told you.”
“I don’t believe you.” But she wanted to.
“Just start by taking my hand. If all you can offer is hello in the halls, that’s fine by me.”
She eyed his hand again. What harm would it be to accept his apology? She could be reasonable. It felt good to have someone on her side for a change.
But what if he wasn’t? What if he was just playing her? What if this was some kind of joke?
“Come on. I won’t do anything drastic. I promise.”
Deciding to give him a chance, she gave him her hand. He grinned as he shook her hand.
“You’re gonna be late to class,” he said, still smiling as he strolled down the emptying hall.
She watched until he disappeared into a classroom and then started to turn to head for hers.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
May stopped and saw Sherilynn McTeague and one of her friends standing nearby. Sherilynn had long, blond hair and light brown eyes. She was a pretty girl in a prissy sort of way, and, like Levi, one of the most popular kids in school. But not so bright academically.
She was also Levi’s girlfriend.
“Last I checked this was a public school,” May said. She wasn’t afraid of this prom queen.
“You stay away from Levi.”
“Yeah,” chimed in her friend, a slightly chunky, short-haired girl with big cheeks. “Go find your own boyfriend.”
“Levi isn’t my boyfriend. We were just talking. Not that it’s any of your business.” May turned to walk to her classroom.
“Careful how you talk to me, ho,” Sherilynn called to her back.
Anger fired up in May like wind over a brush fire. Ho? Slowly, she pivoted, tensing as she moved closer to the two.
“If you’re looking to get laid, do it with somebody else,” the girl continued. “There are plenty of other boys who’d love to oblige you.”
“Yeah,” her chubby friend said. “Like mother like daughter. Isn’t that what they say about people like you?”
Stopping, May’s temper flared hotter. She was sick of holding her head high and not reacting to these unwarranted barbs like her mom always told her to do. She’d hold her head high all right. After she kicked both of these girly-girls’ behinds.
Fisting her hand, she slugged the chubby girl right on the mouth. The girl’s head jerked to the side and she stumbled backward, nearly losing her balance. See if she talked nasty ever again.
Sherilynn shoved May against one shoulder. May had to take a step back, but now she turned her attention to this girl. She swung her fist again,