her question about change. “All yours, Deloris.” Outside, Myrt turned to look at them, her expression melancholy. “We’ve got paperwork to tend to, honey.” Nodding, she stood and brushed off her ass, turning to face Heame. He didn’t say anything, simply opened his arms, and she stepped near for a brief, impersonal embrace. “Thomas has somewhere else to be. You ready to ride, baby?”
“Yeah.” She turned and flowed to him, her arms wrapping around him in a way they hadn’t Heame, her body melding to his in a way he couldn’t mistake. This was her making a statement to him, and probably to Heame. “Sooner we finish up, the sooner we can be back at the hotel.” Her chin lifted and she smiled through a fake pout, something he found immediately irresistible, dropping his mouth to cover hers. “Mmmm.”
The barely there hum had him ready to pounce, but they were once again in public, where the kind of activities he wanted to conduct were entirely frowned on. “Helmet.” Hands on her upper arms, he set her back from him, putting needed distance between their bodies. “Or your good friend is going to have to arrest me for indecent exposure.” He booped the end of her nose, glad when she smiled at the silly moment. “Paperwork, then it’s you and me and a hotel bed, baby. Rest of the day.”
“Y’all be safe.” Bane glanced up to see Heame had turned away, walking towards his cruiser. “See you around, Myrtle.”
Myrt called out a “See ya” while keeping her eyes fixed on Bane’s.
“Okay, cop shop and then back to the bike dealership, see if they scrounged up the things we need.” He fingered her braid as she adjusted the chinstrap on her helmet. “When we’re out on the highway, the wind’ll snarl all this beauty. Can’t have you fighting that at the end of the day.” Slinging a leg over the bike, he heeled the kickstand up and balanced the machine between his thighs. “Climb on, baby.”
“What do I have to sign at the sheriff’s office?” Hands on his shoulders, she stepped on the foot pegs and settled onto the seat behind him. “Just about my dad, right?”
“I suspect. But we’ll know for sure when we get there.” He started the bike, grinning when her fingers clamped down on his shoulders in surprise. “Ready?” Looking back, he saw and felt her let go for an instant to give him a thumbs-up before her hand returned to its position. “Here we go.”
Heame hadn’t lied about making things easy on Myrt. Someone somewhere had found or forged a back-dated and registered document giving her authority to make decisions about Threadgill’s remains. Two signatures later, the sympathetic dispatcher was faxing the information to the funeral home.
They’d been nearly ready to leave when Bane received a text asking him to wait.
A few minutes later, a man had walked in, introduced himself as Myrt’s lawyer, provided by Mason Corp., a business Bane hadn’t known existed. After leading them into a private meeting room off the bullpen, he’d gone over the financial status of her father’s estate, given some recommendations about escrow, and then had her sign a document giving him authority to deal with the estate disposal. The money would be split evenly between Threadgill’s children from all of his wives. Then the lawyer produced an approved guardianship filing, making Myrt responsible for both Luke and Thad, so they wouldn’t have to deal with the state. The dispatcher was even a notary public, and as easy as that, everything was legal, filed, documented, and final. The lawyer left without a long goodbye, reminding Myrt to let him know of any changes in the boys’ status.
An hour later, Bane was following her up the stairs at the hotel, watching her hips sway underneath the waistband of the leather jacket he’d bought her. The bike shop had turned over stones to provide everything he’d been looking for. First had been a long braid-keeper to ensure her hair wouldn’t become unmanageable. If she wanted to cut it, that would be her decision, but he didn’t want it to be in response to something he’d initiated. Next had been a pair of boots for her, followed by the jacket. Then he’d caught Myrt fingering the fabric of a couple of soft shirts, so they’d gone into the sack, too.
Now they were here.
They were here and Bane was inordinately nervous. It was as if all the denial and interruptions were culminating in something