him with a questioning look, he leaned down and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. “Like I said, I’m not here on official business. You’re checking up on a friend, and I’m just with you because I’m on my lunch hour.” He flashed a tight grin. “I say we sell the this isn’t official angle hard.”
“While also letting them know you’re a deputy.”
He tilted his head and grinned. “I knew you were smart.”
We carefully made our way across the porch to the door, and I knocked. The door had so much wood rot I was worried it would fall apart from the jarring.
A few seconds later, a skinny guy who looked like he wasn’t a day over twenty opened the door.
“Jonathon Whitmore?” I asked.
“Yeah.” He had a panicked look when he saw Marco. “I wasn’t no part of that mess, and you can’t pin it on me.”
Marco lifted his hands up. “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about, and I don’t wanna know.” He tilted his head toward me. “I’m just here with Carly.”
The kid shifted his attention to me, his gaze dipping down to take in my dress before lifting back up to my face.
Marco took a step toward me to let the guy know we were together.
“Hi,” I said in my sweetest voice. “I’m Carly Moore, and I know Ashlynn. I drove her into Ewing yesterday, and I know she didn’t show up to work. I heard you might know where she is. I’m worried about her. With her momma in jail and her being pregnant…” I let my voice trail off and smiled.
The guy flashed a glance at Marco.
“I only here because we were eating lunch together, and she asked me to come with her. You know how dicey it can get for a woman alone in these parts.”
That surprised me, but I filed it in my questions to ask later pile.
The guy nodded, seeming to find Marco’s suggestion acceptable, then turned back to me. “You’re the one who took her to the jail.”
“Yes!” I said, getting excited. “That means you’ve talked to her.”
He glanced over her shoulder into the house, and a few seconds later, Ashlynn appeared behind him.
I let out a genuine sigh of relief. “Thank goodness you’re okay. I was so worried.”
She scowled, but it looked forced. “I don’t know why. I can take care of myself.”
“I know, but I felt responsible. What happened? I went to pick you up, and you weren’t there.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, well, I changed my mind.”
“That’s okay,” I said. “I went by the pharmacy to see if you’d shown up, but Mr. Jones said you were a no-show.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I didn’t tell you where I worked.”
“I know, but I figured you didn’t work at Walgreens, so I tried Jones.”
Ashlynn didn’t look impressed with my sleuthing skills.
“Are you okay?” I asked. “Do you need a ride home? Or maybe to Selena’s place?”
“I’m fine,” she said in a huff.
“Could we talk to you outside for a moment?” Marco said.
“Why?” she asked suspiciously.
“We want to ask you a question about your baby,” I said.
No sooner had the question come out than I wanted to stuff it back in. Wow. I was handling this badly.
She eyed Marco, then asked me, “Did Chuck send you?”
“No,” I said. “But I spoke to him.”
Propping her hand on her hip, she shot me a glare. “And he told you that cockamamie nonsense that he’s not the daddy?”
“Do you want to have this conversation here?” I asked. “Or would you rather come outside?”
“We don’t have any secrets,” Jonathon said, clamping a hand on her shoulder. “We’re best friends. What are you talkin’ about? Of course Chuck’s her baby’s daddy.”
From the look on Ashlynn’s face, she didn’t want to have this discussion in front of him, but she also didn’t want to tell him to go away.
“Ashlynn…?” I asked.
“Chuck’s full of crap,” she said.
“Why would he say he’s not the dad?” Jonathon asked.
I really didn’t want to bring this up in front of him, but Ashlynn wouldn’t come outside, and she wasn’t telling me to shut up.
“He says he found out you’re a month further along than he thought.” I hated myself as the words crossed my lips. “That he was in jail when you would have gotten pregnant.”
Jonathon’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
“It ain’t yours,” Ashlynn shot over her shoulder.
“But we screwed that one time while he was in jail!” he protested, his eyes wide. “When we got shit-faced on Fireball.”
“It ain’t yours!”
“Ashlynn,” I said, figuring