Sweet Mischief's Rollercoaster Romance novel Chapter 816

Chad stared at the hefty machinery before him, looking quite serious. Annie glanced over, "Is everything alright?" Chad gave a slight nod, "Yeah, just make a note: no one's allowed in here." He stepped out to coordinate with his team when his mom's call popped up on his phone. "Hey, Mom, I'm busy right now. Can we chat later?" he said. "Oh..." Coleen sighed, hearing sirens in the background before the call abruptly ended. She set her phone down, feeling uneasy after a chat with her daughter earlier that night. The excuses she heard didn’t sit well with her, and she figured she should give her son a heads-up. But he was busy.

After Chad hung up, Donnie showed up with some folks. Curious residents lingered until the police finally cleared them away in the wee hours. The coroner, removing his gloves, remarked, "Seems like a local dog sniffed something foul and dug halfway to find the body." He turned to Annie, surprised, "Annie, what brings you here tonight?" "I'm on the night shift," she replied. After sanitizing his hands, the coroner asked, "Weren't you on duty last night too?" Annie explained, "Yeah, I swapped shifts with the captain." Knowing Chad was also on the night shift, she decided to switch shifts to avoid any awkwardness.

Easton didn’t mind and agreed. So the late-night snacks Molly ordered for Annie ended up being gobbled by Easton. The coroner chuckled, "You missed out. Molly treated you guys last night and even asked about you. But you weren’t there, so the captain enjoyed it instead. Molly knows how to spend her money—pricey but tasty food." Chad turned to the coroner, "What did Molly ask about last night?" The coroner recounted, "She was curious about Annie's love life, maybe thinking of setting her up with someone since she's so pretty." Annie just shook her head silently, while Chad, deep in thought, remembered his wife's odd behavior last night, insisting on mentioning the snacks were from her, and getting upset if that wasn’t acknowledged. And her questions about Annie puzzled him.

With the coroner called away, it was just Chad and Annie. "You're not telling Molly everything, are you?" Annie suddenly asked. Chad doubted Molly knew, but her behavior made him wonder. "Chad, you'd better explain things to her. Women notice more than you think. These past few days, her frequent visits and her subtle attention towards me, a woman she just met, are telling. As a wife, she wouldn't be so wary without reason." Annie, having graduated from the police academy with a knack for investigation, shared her insights.

Chad thought back to when Molly and Annie met only a few times. "How would she remember you?" he asked. "I remembered her," Annie replied. "Maybe Molly's the same, remembering every woman around you. She might've recognized me the first time we met. I mistook her nephew for her son, and she was very guarded. We never cleared that up." Annie remembered the nerves and shock upon seeing Molly with a chubby little cutie she thought was Molly and Chad's child, especially when the kid called her "mommy" at just the right moment.

Thinking they'd had a child out of wedlock, Annie felt uneasy until she learned the truth at the precinct. "That little cutie must be from Andre's family. Only Andre's kid would be carried around by Molly, and Officer Chad adores him," the coroner had said. Easton chimed in, "Oh, Henry! He's been to the station twice already." Others laughed, but Annie felt embarrassed, realizing her mistake later. "Last time, four grown men were brought in over a kid, all friends of Andre's with some standing. One was from your area, Annie. Ever heard of Conner?" Annie was shocked, "Who did you say?!"

...

Chad didn’t make it home that night. As Donnie drove him back to the precinct, Chad pondered over the coroner and Annie's words. After some thought, he texted his wife, "I'm with Zach, don't worry." He snapped a quick selfie with Donnie as proof, sending it to Molly to put her mind at ease. Apprentice Zhou couldn't help but tease, "Boss, you're not cheating, right?" "Get outta here," Chad replied. "I'm just saying, this is classic guilty behavior. When Stephania doesn’t let me hang with friends, I sneak out, take a pic at the precinct, and say I'm working. You don't play games, drink, or gamble. Molly's been around a lot lately; you sure there's no one else?" Chad retorted, "If cases were solved your way, we'd be drowning in wrongful convictions." "Hey, it's your reputation at stake," Donnie quipped, grinning. Chad rolled down the window, gazing outside.

Back home, Molly, who thought she could wait up all night for Chad, was woken by Coleen pinching her cheek. "Molly, I told you to sleep in your room. Don’t ignore your mother." Groggy, Molly swatted her mom's hand away, pulling the blanket over her head to continue sleeping. Jade, always the sound sleeper. Grandpa Elmer had seen her sleeping without a blanket during his morning walk and fetched his own to cover her before heading out again. Coleen tried once more but ended up giving up, and Kendrick suggested, "Call Chad, you can't wake her on your own."

Coleen called Chad, "Molly's gonna be late for work. She's out cold on the couch and won't wake up even if I shout. You need to think of something." After a pause, Chad replied, "Mom, pinch her nose so she can't breathe, that'll wake her up." Coleen paused, realizing just how much her son had mastered the art of husbandry.