Last First Kiss (11 page)

When Emily’s name and number
were
called, Sophie gripped his ha
nd so har
d he was sure she’d bruised it. Soph, wit
h her tiny hands. Who
would have thought she had such a
cast-
iron
grip
?
He looked down seeing her
delicate
fingers and
unblemished skin. He knew it was an inappropriate time
to be doing this
,
but he tickled
her palm
with his index and middle fingers. S
he glanced at him
,
and he smiled before winking.
Sophie smiled
,
and his h
eart skipped a beat. He’d found a way to make
her smile
again
.
She gripp
ed his hand some more
,
which
made him think of something
even more inappropriate
.

Wade wondered what her hand would feel like running over his body. Over his chest, down
his belly, downwards
,
and then being wrapped around
his cock.

He coughed, not because he had anything irritating
in
his throat. He
wanted to remind himself of what had happened in the clothing store when his mind had drifted into the erotic zone.

Yeah, you won’t learn your lesson, will you?

He flipped her hand over and slip
ped
his own inside and held it there as the
bailiff
read the charges against Emily.

Should he be holding Sophie’s
hand like
this? After all, this was the sort of gesture lovers did
,
not
people who were just friends. He thought of Cathy. He’d promised her there was nothing going on between h
im and Sophie
,
but was that true?
She said she’d trusted him.
Could she
?

Their fingers slipped through one another’s
,
and now their palms were pressed up
snug
against one another.
It felt good, right
,
and how it should have always been.

“Emily Richardson, how do you plead?” asked the judge.

“Not guilty,” said Emily
in
her usual strong voice.

“I will set the preliminary hearing date
for
one week from today beginning at 9 a.m.”

Richard stood
.

“Your honor I’d l
ike to request that my client be
released on bail until that time.”

“Your client is charged with first
degree murder,” said the judge making notes on the pad in front of him without glancing up once.

Sophie rested her head on Wade’s shoulder. He heard her draw in her breath. It was his turn to squeeze her hand.

“I know. However, your honor
,
this is a seventy-t
wo
-year-
old woman
,
and a
well-
respected member of the
Greenville
community.
She was born in this town as were her parents and grandparents.
She has never been in any sort of trouble with the law. Not even a parking or speeding ticket.”

The judge didn’t ans
wer straight away but merely slipped off
hi
s half
-
moon glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Ve
ry well. I will set bail at $250
,000
,
and your client is to relinquish he
r passport to the court. She
will b
e required to wear an ankle monitor
at all time
s,
and no travel
ing
outside of
Wyoming
.”

Wade knew the judge w
asn’t being unreasonable on
any of his terms. This was
,
as he
’d
said
,
a first degree murder charge. However, would they be able to raise the money?

Emily was escorted out of the courtroom but not before turning to Sophie and winking at her.

Richard crept over to them before another case was called.

“Let’s get out of here and discuss raising the bail money
,
shall we?”
he said.

Wade let Sophie go ahead of them
,
and then the thre
e of them s
at on a bench near the entrance of the courthouse.

“Do you think your grandmother has that sort of money
in
the
savings
?” asked Richard.

“I doubt it
,
but I’m sure she could use Mountainview as collateral if I go to the bank. They know her
,
and she’d hardly
be a risk. She’s
not likely to run away
,
so the
ir
money’s safe,” said Sophie.

“You want me to go with you?” asked Wade.

“No, you have other things to do. I can go there r
ight now and get things started
.”

Sophie stood
,
and then Wade
did the same.

“I’ll be in my office. It’s over on
Main
Street
,
Walker
Building
suite
431
. Come
and let me know if you got the money
.”

Sophie nodded before Wade kissed her…this time on the cheek.

He watched as she went out of the door and made her way down the street to the bank.

****

Sophie had never asked for this sort of money before or
any money
for such a bizarre neces
sity as bailing out Grans
.

Her hands shook when Chris Hardy, the bank president
, walked into the office
his receptionist had shown her into.

“Sophie, so nice to see you. I think the last time we saw one another was at your high school graduation. Your grandmother threw quite the party at Mountainview.”

“Yes, she’s well known for her celebrations.”

“She was very proud of you…
still is. She told me you have your own business now.”

“Yes, interior design.”

“So you come home for a loan from your favorite bank?”

Sophie shook her head.
“I only wish it was something as
simple as that. You probably heard about Grans being arrested.”

“I did, but surely it’s a joke going around town.”

“Nope, afraid this one’s for real. T
he judge has set her bail at $25
0,000
,
and that’s why I’m here.”

“Of course, anything I can do to help you know I will.”

“I was thinking maybe we could offer Mountainview as collateral for a loan in that amount. I’m sure it’s worth more than that.”

“I know it is
,
and yes, as Emily has been a customer here all her life and your
great-
grandfather and great
-great-
grandfather
before that
,
so
I think that’s the least we can do.”

Sophie took a deep breath
. One problem lifted from their shoulders.

“I’ll get the paperwork started
,
and Emily will need to sign them. Will that be a problem?”

“No, I’m sure her attorney will be al
lowed to take them to her
.”

“Good
,
and if there’s anything else I or the bank can do to help her you just let me know.”

****

She was cute that was for sure. He could see why his ex had been so jealous when she’
d seen him with her at the café. She’d just exited the bank and was looking at her watch. He guessed she’d been to there to try and raise the money to bail out granny from the slammer.

Yeah, he felt bad that he’d made her old lady a patsy in all of this
,
but it was so perfect. Her threatening that son of a bitch like she had. A
dining
room full of people overhearing her. And best of all a kitchen full of knives
for him to sneak in and take
with her prints all over the handle.

He took out a cigarette and let it hang in his mouth as he watched her some more. His ex had been angry that he’d chosen granny as the scapegoat. Not that she was an advocate for seniors but that it had brought this bea
uty back into town and Wade Linl
ey’s life.  He wanted
to assure
her that she had nothing to worry about. If she kept him happy in the bedroom like she
had during
their years together, this cowboy wouldn’t be straying. However, he’d
spied on Ms. Richardson and Linl
ey when they’d gotten into his SUV together. He’d seen them hugging, him holding her
like
he had. If he was any judge Linl
ey was head over heels in love
,
and his ex, well, she was going to be disappointed to say the least.

****

Once Sophie had handed all the papers over to Ric
hard to take to her grandmother, s
he decided she’d buy both her and Wade
lemonade
from their favori
te café from childhood and
take it to him.
He been so wonderful about picking her up from the airport and not leaving her side during Grans’
s
arraignment
that
she want
ed to do something, even though it was a
small
token,
to say thank you. She made her way to the office building that
housed his new business and saw
that
suite
431
was on the second floor. She headed up the short flight of stairs
with a drink in each hand. The door was slightly ajar
,
so she waltzed in but
then
suddenly stopped in her tracks
.

There in front of her was
Wade sitting shirtless with Cathy
standing
behind him, giving him a
neck and shoulder
massage.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t r
ealize you were busy,” she said just about ready to turn and leave.

“No problem, come in,” said Wade.

Now what am I g
oing to do? I just want to go and forget what I’ve
seen.

“I’m a trained masseur as well as a hairdresser
,
and poor Wade had som
e tight knots in his shoulders,” said Cathy.
“
Probably all the worrying about your grandmother.”

Sophie
really didn’t want to hang around
but at the same time didn’t want it to appear like Cathy’s presence was upsetting her,
but
for some strange reason it was bothering her big time.

She sat down and put bot
h drinks on the table, not
able to take her eyes off Cathy’s hands as they passed over Wade’s beautiful shoulders.

His
chest was magnificent
,
too
. Every muscle was well defined like he worked out
. And
she couldn’t remember him having that
much hair chest when he was younger
. A thick
trail of it even wen
t down the middle of his belly and di
sappeared under the silver belt buckle with a large W imprinted in its center. He had to be one of the best looking men she’d ever set eyes upon.

Sophie felt more uneasy by the minute as Cathy’s hands glistened with oil and passed
around the front of his body and
then
over Wade’s nipples. She
wanted to be the one doing that to him.
Not as a massage but a
s a
prelude to them making love.

Wade looked at her as if he could read what she was thinking.
They sat looking at one another, saying nothing
, but yet
saying everything like they had when t
hey were children and teenagers and always knew when the other was happy or sad.