“I am.” I nodded.

He looked over at the woman. “And you’re Ms. Jefferies?”

“Yes,” the woman said from behind me.

Jefferies. Well, at least I knew part of her name now.

“Ms. Sanders, can you come over here with me, please?” the officer asked. “Ms. Jefferies, please stick around. I’ll need to speak with you.”

With Amelia still in my arms, I followed the officer over to his patrol car. I couldn’t believe that she hadn’t made a fuss yet. Maybe she realized that something bad was happening. Whatever the reason, I was grateful. I couldn’t see myself struggling with a baby in my arms while trying to talk to the police.

“Ms. Sanders, I need to ask you a few questions.”

“Caley, please. I hate being called Mrs. or Ms. anything,” I said.

He smiled at me. “Fair enough, Caley. My name is Officer Bradshaw. My partner over there with your husband is Officer Daniels. I’ve talked with both Joey and Ethan, but I’d like to hear from you what exactly happened here today.”

I swallowed roughly. “Okay.”

He smiled encouragingly. “Start at the beginning, and don’t leave anything out.”

“I was unlocking my car when I saw Joey. Uh, he’s my husband,” I said, stumbling over my words. I’d never talked to a cop before, and I would be lying if I said they didn’t make me a little bit nervous. “Anyway, I saw Joey and that woman kissing. I’ve never seen the woman before in my life. She was holding my daughter, Amelia, and I got upset. I went over and grabbed Amelia away from her. I tried to leave, but Joey stopped me. He wanted to explain, not that there’s any way to explain what he was doing, but I told him to leave me alone. He kept blocking me, and that’s when my friend Ethan showed up. He must have seen me and then realized something was wrong. When he tried to help me, Joey went after him. He hit Ethan, and it just took off from there.”

I was lying, I knew I was, but I didn’t care. There was no way I would let Ethan take the fall for this. He was the one who had thrown the first punch, which put him at fault. I guessed it was safe to say where my loyalties were—with Ethan. I would throw Joey under the bus if that meant Ethan wouldn’t be in trouble.

“So, basically, Ethan tried to help you get away from your husband, and that’s what caused the fight.”

I nodded.

“Okay, good. I just want to make sure I understand. Did you fear for your life when your husband wouldn’t let you leave?”

I shook my head. “No, I was holding Amelia. He wouldn’t hurt her.”

“But he would hurt you?” the officer asked, his voice softening, as if he already knew the answer.

“My husband and I are getting a divorce,” I explained, hoping to change the subject. “I’ve tried to get him to agree to one, but he’s refused. I think that, after today, he should be more than willing. I mean, he’s clearly cheating on me.”

The officer scratched his head. “Your husband refuses to divorce you, but he’s cheating on you?”

“Life’s screwy, isn’t it?” I asked, my sarcasm clear. I regretted the words as soon as they’d come out of my mouth. I didn’t want the officer to think I was being smart with him.

I was relieved when he laughed.

“Yes, I suppose it is. If you’ll excuse me, I need to go talk with Ms. Jefferies. Stick around for me though, just in case I have any more questions.”

“I will,” I said.

He headed over to where the woman was standing. Amelia began to fuss in my arms, so I started bouncing her as I walked back and forth across the parking lot. She seemed determined to wiggle right out of my arms, but I tightly held her and begged her in shushed words to be good.

A few minutes later, I watched the officer I had spoken with walk over to Ethan, who was sitting on the sidewalk outside the restaurant, still cuffed. The officer crouched down in front of him. I edged closer to hear what was being said, but they were speaking too softly for me to hear.

I was relieved when Ethan stood, and the cop released the handcuffs from around his wrists. The officer frowned deeply as he said something else to Ethan. When Ethan nodded, the officer walked away. He headed over to where Joey was still cuffed, the other officer next to him. The officer spoke to Joey longer than he had with Ethan, but after a few tense minutes, Joey was released as well.

Joey stormed across the lot to his car. The woman followed quickly after him. He spared me a single glare before getting into his car. The woman barely had time to shut her door before he was pulling out of his spot. When he hit the main road, his tires spun, leaving marks on the blacktop. Needless to say, he was pissed.

I hurried over to where Ethan was standing. He stared down at his wrists, rubbing them.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Fine,” he muttered.

I knew he was lying. His face was a complete mess. His wrists weren’t bleeding, but they were red where the cuffs had rubbed against them.

“No, you’re not.” I repositioned Amelia on my hip. “You’re hurt.”

“You’re both free to go,” a voice said from behind me.

I turned to see one of the officers standing there, his gaze trained on me.

“If you have any more problems with Mr. Sanders, don’t hesitate to contact us. We let him go this time, but if he tries something else, he’ll have a county jail cell with his name on it. That goes for you, too, son. Stay out of trouble.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Ethan muttered.

“Thank you for everything,” I told the officer.

I decided then and there that cops weren’t so bad after all. They’d let Ethan and Joey go when they could have arrested them.

The officer nodded before turning and walking to his patrol car. His partner was already standing next to it, waiting for him to finish up with us. I watched them pull out of the lot before I turned back to Ethan.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. This wasn’t your fault,” Ethan said. “Joey is a dick. I knew something was wrong, so I intervened. You didn’t ask me to, so don’t try to put this on yourself. I knew what I was walking into before I even opened my mouth. I didn’t care.”

“Okay,” I said, not wanting to argue. “Come with me. We need to get you cleaned up.”

He shook his head. “I’m fine. I just want to go home.”

“I’m not letting you leave without me right now. I need you with me, so I can take care of you. At least let me do that much for you.”

He studied me for a moment. “Just follow me home then.”

“I can’t,” I explained. “I have Amelia now, and unless you have diapers and formula at your house, I have to go to my parents’.”

He groaned. “Then, come by after you’ve stopped there.”

I shook my head. “No. You’re staying with me. Come on. We’ll ride together.”

“Then, my car will be left here.”

“We can get it later,” I said stubbornly.

“You’re being a little melodramatic over this, Caley,” he grumbled. “Look, I’ll come with you to your parents’ house, but I’m driving my own car. Fair enough?”

I frowned. “I suppose. But if you try to go home, I will come after you.”

He grinned, but it quickly disappeared when it caused his busted lip to split open further. “Fuck, that hurts.”

“It looks like it does. Now, come on.”

I walked across the lot to my car. My keys were still lying on the ground where I’d first dropped them when I saw Joey. I scooped them up before opening the back door and buckling Amelia into her car seat. I closed her door and glanced over to make sure Ethan wasn’t trying to escape.

He was climbing into his own car, clearly not trying to speed away from me like I’d feared. I sighed in relief before glancing around the lot one final time. I noticed several people watching us. They’d apparently witnessed the less than spectacular show Ethan and Joey had put on. I looked away from them and climbed into my car.