END OF PREVIOUS POST:

Paige heard the front door open. "Cash?" After he acknowledged he'd heard her, she continued, "When you return, we still have some things we need to discuss."

"Okay. I won't be long."

TODAY'S POST

With a cot and sleeping bag in tow, Cash poked his head into the parlor and smiled at Mary Pat and Paige. "I'm back. Mom called her friend, so I dropped the jewelry, confederate button, and bills by his house. He'll bring them over tomorrow afternoon around two o'clock." He set the cot against the wall and took a receipt from his front jeans pocket. "Hang on to this in case something happens to the items."

Mary Pat stood, took it from him, and handed it to Paige.

Paige put it inside a blue folder and glanced at Cash. "When you have time, we need to talk."

"I haven't forgotten." He checked his watch. "I need to put this stuff up. Do we have time before dinner?"

"I'll check." Mary Pat walked toward the kitchen and over-her-shoulder said, "Billy Joe's out back working on the window shutters."

Morgan stretched, barked, and ran a circle between Paige and the front door.

"What's that all about?" Paige giggled. "I can't let you out. That's how I got in this mess to start with."

From, the hallway Mary Pat's voice was heard, "Dinner'll be ready in about twenty minutes." She came closer to Paige. "While you talk with Cash, I'll let this cutie out." She snagged the impatient puppy.

Cash returned to the parlor. "Is there enough time?" After Paige nodded, he sat and said, "Let's begin."

"First, I don't like the idea of you and your friends bringing guns into my house. I can't believe you hid them from me."

He paused then rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought Mary Pat and Billy Joe were your friends too."

"They are but they follow your lead. You put them up to it."

"You were sitting beside me when I made the call. All I said was somebody stuck a note on your door."

"Is that secret guy language for 'you'd better bring a gun?' Paige tilted her head.

"We've been over this before. There's no such thing as secret guy language, and it meant exactly what I said. There's a note stuck to the door, and I might need help." Cash shook his head. "Where'd you get this secret guy language garbage anyway?"

"Every female knows you guys have a secret language."

"That's news to me." He stretched his long legs and leaned forward. "You don't like guns. I understand that, but we don't know who we're dealing with, and he might be carrying a weapon. I'm concerned about your safety. Billy Joe and I have been carrying guns since we were in diapers. Mary Pat joined us a few years back. At the firing range, she puts us to shame." He poured a glass of lemonade and took a sip.

"How many other secrets are you keeping?"

"What are you talking about?" Cash's eyebrows scrunched up.

"You've kept the guns and the hidden staircase from me. What else is there?"

"Nothing. I didn't mean to keep the guns from you. The subject never came up. As for the locks on the staircase, I can remove them when this is settled and you're safe."

"But you did mean to keep the staircase secret." Her glare shot daggers at him.

Cash's eyes met hers. "I did. I didn't want you digging up the floor looking for a hidden tunnel." He chuckled.

Paige paused before she continued, "You must think I'm a real idiot."

"No, just someone not wise in our ways. Even a blind man in a dark room can see you're a right smart gal." He touched her arm, but she pulled it away. "I knew you were frightened and was afraid it would add to your concern. I don't want anything to happen to you. It wouldn't look good if you got hurt in our fair city."

"Do you have a low opinion of me because I'm a female, or because I'm from Boston?" She scooted her body so she didn't face him. "This conversation's over."

"Paige, you've misunderstood me."

"I don't think I'll need your services any longer. You can leave."

Silence filled the room.

"If that's what you want." Cash reached into his front jeans pocket before he tossed the house keys on the table. "I'll call before I come back for my things."

*****
As Cash stormed from the parlor, Mary Pat entered. "Dinner's ready."

"I'm not hungry," growled Cash as he slammed the front door behind him.

"I'm not either." Paige hugged Morgan.

Billy Joe chewed his toothpick as he studied the young lady.

"I fired Cash." She mumbled onto Morgan's head.

Mary Pat glanced at Paige in tears and nodded to her husband. "Find Cash and throw some ice water on his campfire before this turns into a raging bonfire. We both know his temper." She sat on the edge of the couch, but Paige held Morgan and stared at the wall. "I'm about to find out about hers."