Searching for Anna, Jenifer Carll-Tong [cheapest way to read ebooks TXT] 📗

"Put me down, before the entire town sees me!"

"If the entire town sees you, it will be because you are making such a ruckus and drawing them out of their homes."

Phoebe looked from left to right. From her upside-down position, she could see that Will spoke the truth. No one was around. At this hour, everyone would be home with their families.

"This can go one of two ways," Will continued as he walked. "You can scream like a crazy person and alert the entire town to your present predicament, or you can calm down and I will let you walk. What do you say?"

Phoebe gritted her teeth. "I will calm down if you just put me back on my feet."

Will paused, as if trying to judge her sincerity. He finally set her back on the ground.

The minute her feet touched dirt, she lit into him again. "How dare you! You are not my keeper! You can't tell me where or when to walk, and you certainly can't go around treating me like a sack of grain when I don't…" but she didn't have time to finish before she found herself once again unceremoniously thrown over his strong shoulder.

Will had quickened his pace this time and before she could catch her breath, they were in the middle of town.

"Will," she whispered this time, more conscious of the scene they were making. "Will, please put me down."

He continued walking in silence, completely ignoring her quiet pleas. She pounded against his back in vain, but the rock-solid muscles seemed unaffected by her onslaught. She only stopped when she saw them pass by Simmons' store and head up the hill.

"Will, you can't be serious," she whispered. "Take me home, please!" But no matter how much she begged, he wasn't taking her home. He was taking her to the Constabulary.

Will threw open the door of the station. From her position, she couldn't see the occupants of the room, but she heard a boisterous conversation fade to silence as he threw open the jail cell door and dropped her roughly onto one of the cots. He locked the door and threw the keys on the desk where a young officer sat.

"Don't let her out," he barked, then stormed down a hallway and out of sight.

Phoebe's cheeks grew hot as six officers stared at her, mouths agape. They then turned and looked at each other, then back at her. Finally, five of the officers quickly followed Will down the hallway, leaving the desk officer hollering, "Hey! Don't leave me alone with her."

Phoebe bolted from the cot and grabbed the bars of the cell. "Will Caffey! You come back here right now!" she yelled. "Don't you leave me in here!" When no answer came, she screamed and shook the bars.

The poor man at the desk stared wide-eyed at her. She pushed away from the bars and began pacing back and forth in the tiny cell, muttering as many unkind words as she could muster about her captor. She occasionally shouted these insults in the direction of the hallway. After several minutes of this with no response, she decided it was time to try another tactic.

Her eyes flew to the officer at the desk. He still stared at her, but when their eyes met, he quickly found papers that needed organizing in front of him.

"Officer Little, am I correct?"

"Y-yes, ma'am," he said without looking up.

"Officer Little, could you please let me out of here?"

"No, I can't, ma'am."

"Come, now. I've calmed down. And it's getting late. I really should be getting home."

"If I let you out, the Sarge will kill me."

Sergeant. Phoebe knew enough about the force to know that the Sergeant would be the man in charge of this post.

"Well, Officer Little, why don't you introduce me to your Sergeant. Maybe he and I can work this whole thing out."

"Introduce him to ya? Are you feelin' alright, ma'am?"

Phoebe took a deep breath. She was certain that this Sergeant was the key to her release. But how could she convince this man to intercede for her.

"You want to help me, don't you?"

"Well, I —"

"I'll take it from here."

In her earnest attempt to persuade Officer Little to release her, Phoebe hadn't noticed Will return. He stood in the doorway, arms crossed, casually leaning against the jamb as if he hadn't just thrown the town's pastor in prison.

"Give us a few minutes," he said to Officer Little as he stepped into the room. "Then, I'm going to need you to help me recover a wolf carcass."

"A wolf? You kiddin'?"

"No, unfortunately not. Give me a few minutes first, though."

Officer Little left, and with him, her chance at freedom.

Phoebe was so angry she could feel her neck turning red. He'd locked her up and called her a prisoner! This was entirely unforgivable. For the present moment, however, she knew she needed to play nice. "I'm calm now," she said through gritted teeth.

Will chuckled but said, "Alright. I'll have Rogers take you home."

"I don't need an escort," she said.

Will just shrugged. "You either walk next to Rogers, or you ride on my shoulder. Those are your only two choices."

Phoebe folded her arms. "I choose Rogers."

Will smirked. "I'm disappointed, but not surprised. But, first, you're going to listen to what I have to say."

"And what if I don't want to listen?"

Will chuckled. "Well, my dear Phoebe, you're kind of a captive audience right now, don't you think?"

She was trapped. She crossed her arms and nodded once, signaling her reluctant acquiesce.

Will took a deep breath and crossed his arms as well. "Whether you like it or not, I am here. I am here to protect everyone in this town, including its pastor. And, whether you realize it or not, I do have your best interests at heart. I always have."

As small children, Will always saw to it that Phoebe's 'interests' were taken care of, whether it was making sure she had her turn on the swings on the playground, or seating himself on the floor of the Sunday school room so she could have the last chair. It didn't matter that she would have rather waited a few minutes before swinging to let her lunch settle, or that Phoebe preferred to sit on the floor closer to the teacher. Will always refused to listen. She didn't appreciate it then. And she didn't appreciate it now. "This isn't Lansing, Will. And you can't force me to swing before you do."

He swallowed hard but said nothing. He turned back toward the hallway. "I'll send Rogers in."

"Will?"

He stopped and looked at her over his shoulder. "Yes?"

"You understand how humiliating this is, don't you?"

Will visibly flinched at the word humiliating. "I never intended to humiliate you. I just don't know how to get through to you, Phoebe."

"Just because you know me, just because you feel some sort of responsibility for me, doesn't mean you can treat me like this." She flung her arms wide and looked around the cell, then locked eyes with him. "There isn't a woman in this town, nor in this whole state, that you would have treated the way you treated me tonight."

Will was silent for a moment, then nodded slowly. "You're right, Pheebs, because there isn't another woman in this world that I care about the way that I care about you," he said simply, then turned and left the room.