Brady Remington Landed Me in Jail

Ned reared his head back as he studied me.

I looked irate, but I really wasn't. Brady looked relieved from the corner of my eye. I even saw how Deputy Doug frowned, scratched his head, and then looked from me to Ned.

"Why, I never…I don't know what you want…," Ned sputtered as his hand clenched around his can of beer.

"That's the problem, Ned. I'm speaking as a constituent of your average customer. I hate the growl. You should get rid of it."

Ned still sputtered. "It's Bob. Bob is greeting people. It's how he greets people."

"'Bob' is not real."

Deputy Doug snorted.

"Yeah, but…Bob's a friendly Bigfoot. Bob the Bigfoot!" Ned looked proud as he scratched his yellow stained shirt.

Brady burst out laughing, but quickly turned away.

"You should give Bob a break. A lot of people love Bob."

"'Bob' is made of cardboard."

"Bob's a lot more than cardboard. His feelings are hurt, missy. You should apologize to Bob," Ned said defiantly, but I caught how he looked from Brady to Deputy Doug.

I pretended to sputter, but the truth was that I didn't care. That's when I snuck a glance at Brady and saw that he was okay again.

"Bob's feelings are hurt," Ned harrumphed.

Bob's feelings weren't the only thing that was going to hurt if I had a say about it.

When Brady and Deputy Doug burst out laughing I realized that I'd spoken aloud. "I am so sorry, I didn't…I mean…I don't—Bob's not real!"

"He's real in spirit." Brady's eyes were laughing. "He's real in spirit."

"You, missy," Ned barked and stood up. "You need to change your attitude. I done have no time to deal with the likes of you." With those parting words, he stomped away from the booth and a little later we heard the cash register ping open.

Deputy Doug laughed softly. "You and Ned always bump heads over things."

Brady laughed his agreement. "You know, Rayna, you don't have to go around and look for things to pick at. You know how Ned feels about that Bigfoot. He's sensitive."

I rolled my eyes. "Well excuse me for being honest. He could have more customers if he'd just get rid of that thing."

Brady chuckled. "And you know what else, Ned's right about your attitude. You really can be negative sometimes."

I was negative? When I was helping him out? My eyes narrowed. "What did you just say?"

Brady straightened in his seat and flashed a grin. "You know what I'm talking about. You need to let loose more, Rayna. Take the stick out of your ass."

Deputy Doug grew quiet.

I saw red. "Well, not all of us are 'cool' enough to get in fights and get thrown in jail every other week. I mean, not all of us are 'cool' enough to go and have a beer the next day with the person you busted up. You're right, Brady."

Brady's smile dimmed—just a bit.

I continued, "Maybe I should do it. Maybe I should let loose and see who I punch. Hell—maybe I should even sleep with someone. That'd be fun."

His smile was nearly extinct.

I kept going. "You're right. I've been meaning to get on that. Everyone else is talking how much fun sex is. I think it's time I have some of that fun. Wouldn't want to miss out, would I?"

Brady glowered at me. "You're talking stupid. Don't talk like that."

"What do you mean? I thought I needed to 'let loose' and 'get the stick out of my ass.' I mean, that's what you said, wasn't it?"

Brady glared.

I glared back.

Deputy Doug had ceased to exist.

It was at that time that Ned chose to make his appearance again. He took one look at us and left again.

Deputy Doug cleared his throat. "Uh…I just wanted to let you know the good news, Brady. And I should be heading back to the station. You, huh, you two have a good rest of the morning, you hear?"

As he left, Brady slumped back in his booth. "See what you just did. You scared 'em both away."

My eyeballs threatened to pop out.

"What?" Brady saw my look. "You did. They like me, Rayna."

"I cannot believe you!" I threw my hands in the air and stormed from the booth, past growling Bob and Ned who'd taken position behind his counter again. Bob's growl roared behind me when I went through the door and I waited in the car, fuming until Brady came out. When the door swung open and I saw him coming, two guys from school stopped to chat. Then Brady stopped mid-sentence and turned my way. I felt the heat of his gaze through the windshield and I gulped, slumping down further in the seat.

The two guys turned to watch me too. One laughed, shook his head, and patted Brady's shoulder before they went inside.

When he got in the car and started the engine, he was quiet for a moment. "You want to loosen up? Tim and Darren just told me the kegger's going strong at Barthal's woods."

I knew Brady and I knew him well. For some reason this was a challenge. The gamut had been thrown and I wasn't going to lose. Brady usually won, but this time I was bound and determined even though my stomach took a steep decline. This wasn't going to end well, but I batted my eyelashes. "Sure. I'll start there."

"Fine."