I Set the Sheets on Fire, Then the Clubhouse novel · Chapter 8 of 24

Chapter 8: Rain

The deputy had a sister in that kitchen, and I could tell by how he kept his eyes off the women.

"Ma'am," he said again. "The warrant says serve before noon."

"So serve it," Pearl said.

"I'm going to sit in my cruiser and finish a coffee," he said. "It's a big coffee."

He put on his hat.

"The east door of the barn lets out on the back road," he said to the ceiling. "I'm not telling anybody that."

He went down the steps.

Pearl had my coat in my arms before the cruiser door shut.

"Go," she said. "I'll keep him on cinnamon rolls."

Cade was already at the barn door with his bike wheeled out onto the back road.

His face was unshaven and his bare leather looked worse in daylight.

"Where?" he said.

"The bank," I said. "The branch in Marlton, where we opened the account. If a teller says my mother's money is gone, I want her to say it to my face."

"It's forty miles."

"Then ride."

He handed me a helmet, and I wrapped my arms around his waist.

His whole back went rigid, and then eased.

We went out over the gravel as the first rain hit.

It started as a few fat drops on the visor.

By the county line it was sheets, and I pressed my cheek against the wet leather between his shoulder blades and held on.

His hands, bandaged and bleeding, gripped the bars.

I didn't think about the road.

I thought about the heat of his body through the rain.

The branch teller was a young woman in a cardigan, with a name tag she kept touching.

She pulled up the account and her face changed.

"Mrs. Rangel," she said. "The balance is zero. I see a transfer Wednesday, and I see one yesterday."

← Chapter 7 · All chapters · Chapter 9 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend