Rebel Sweetheart

by Sydney Canyon

  “Emma Jean made you a snack,” Haley laughed, hearing the rumble. “This way,” she said, opening the door to the den. “I know you can’t go up the stairs, and the formal living room is stuffy. I figured you’d be more comfortable in here.”

  Shane had never been in this room of the house. It definitely looked more lived in than the rest of the rooms. There were two comfortable-looking couches forming an L-shape, with a square, oak wood coffee table in front. A fireplace was on the wall across from the table, and a large TV hung over the mantel.

  “Thanks,” Shane said, taking a seat on one of the couches.

  “I have plenty of blankets and pillows down here, so we’ll make you a bed when you’re ready to lie down. There’s a bathroom through that door over there,” she pointed. “And this one leads to the dining room and the kitchen from there.”

  “I remember the layout. I’ve just never been in this room.”

  “This den is my cozy place. If I’m not in the music room, this is usually where I am. Anyway, Dennis, come on. I’ll show you around. You’ll be in one of the guest rooms upstairs.”

  “Oh, I can just take the other couch down here. There’s no need to fix up a room or anything.”

  “They’re guestrooms, so they’re already fixed up.”

  “Go on. You’ll be more comfortable,” Shane said.

  Dennis nodded and followed Haley as she gave him a tour of her house and left him to choose a room to sleep in. Back downstairs, she found Shane in the kitchen.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she said, raising a brow like a mother scolding a child.

  “Looking for that food I keep smelling.”

  “Emma Jean cooked for an army, so you’ll have to be more specific…and you don’t need to be up walking around. I can get it.”

  “Haley, you don’t have to wait on me hand and foot. The doctor said it was good to move around.”

  “He also said don’t exert yourself,” she huffed, crossing her arms.

  “Oh, for crying out loud. Are we going to start fighting again already?”

  “Nope. You’re going to stop being stubborn and go sit your butt on the couch while I heat up some lunch for you.” Haley made a shooing motion with her hand.

  Shane shook her head and gave in as she walked slowly back to the den. Walking wasn’t really the hard part, it was getting up and down that made her feel like her right side was tearing in two. She yelped as she eased herself down onto the couch.

  Hearing her, Haley rushed in to help. “See, you shouldn’t be getting up and down.”

  Shane ignored her as she reached for the TV remote, but it was too far away.

  Haley stood in front of her with her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face.

  Shane exhaled loudly. “Can you please hand me the controller?”

  “See, you needed my help. How hard was that?” Haley said, getting it for her before going back into the kitchen.

  “Is she always like this?” Dennis whispered, coming into the den and sitting down. “So…demanding?”

  “Yes…but this is different,” Shane said. She’d never seen Haley care about anything other than herself, and what was next on her agenda. She had noticed a softer, more relaxed side of her when they were staying at the house during the funeral and when they were waiting for a new bus, but it was nothing like what she was seeing now.

  Dennis simply nodded.

  “Let me see that picture,” Shane said.

  “Are you sure you want to get into that right now? You just got out of the hospital—”

  “He’s going to get away if we don’t get moving on this. You have to be my legs on the ground, but I can do the rest remotely from here.”

  “Okay,” he said, getting up to go get the picture from his room.

  “Bring your laptop, too!” she called.

  “What do you need that for?” Haley asked, coming into the den from the dining room.

  “I have work to do.”

  “You need to eat and rest.”

  “I’ll be fine,” Shane stated, locking eyes with her. Before Haley could say anything, she continued. “He didn’t get to you. It’s not over.”

  Why are you so hardheaded? Haley felt like smacking the wall, but she kept her temper in check as she changed the subject. “Do you want to eat in here? I have tray tables.”

  “I can come to the kitchen. Is the island okay?”

  “Are you sure you can get on and off a stool? Will that be comfortable for you?”

  “I’ll manage.”

  “I’ll bring it in here,” Haley said, getting the tray tables out of the closet.

  Shane shook her head. There was simply no reasoning with Haley when she had her mind set on something.

  ***

  By the time Dennis had come back downstairs, Haley had all of their plates on the trays, with their lunch ready to be eaten. He and Shane had completely forgotten about the knife. It was long after she’d finished, that she fell asleep. Dennis sat in the formal living room, scrolling around on his computer, trying to figure out anything he could about the knife.

  “She’s not going to rest until this is over, is she?” Haley murmured, walking across the room over to the French doors leading out to the pool deck. The sun had set long ago, and the sky was littered with tiny little stars as she looked out through the open blinds. She was so tired. She felt like she was carrying the weight of another person on her back.

  “I’m afraid not,” he said. “Shane is cut from a different cloth. She’s either all in, or not at all with everything she does.”

  Haley nodded.

  “Did you know she flat-out refused this assignment when I first gave it to her?”

  “No,” she said. “But, I can see why. We’ve done nothing but butt heads since she got here.”

  “That wasn’t the reason.”

  “You mean the Marshal Service?”

  “Uh huh. My company does private investigation and protective service. Until now, she’s only worked in investigation.”

  “She told me why she left.”

  “Really?” He cocked his head to the side with surprise.

  “Yes.”

  “I’ve seen so much change in her this past month.” He shook his head.

  “Why did you give her this assignment if you knew she didn’t want it?”

  “Because she is the best there is. I knew your situation could mean trouble, and I knew she could handle it.”

  “She got stabbed…nearly to death, forty-eight hours ago.”

  “But, she did her job, Haley. She protected you. You didn’t get stabbed.”

  “I don’t understand,” Haley sighed. “What makes a person literally put your life above theirs?”

  “It’s not that simple. She’s trained to do a job. It’s ingrained in her. It’s not about one life over another…however, it became that way in the Marshal Service. It was no longer about the job, it was about the person. That scared her. When the girl died, it tore her apart because she felt like she’d failed. That’s why she left. She blamed herself. That’s also why I knew she was the best for this job and wouldn’t turn it down once she saw…” He trailed off.

  “Saw what?”

  “You,” he said, looking her in the eyes.

  “Huh?”

  “When she put a face to the case, it made it very real for her. Sure, in the beginning she probably thought it would be any easy babysitting job, but somewhere along the line, it became a hell of a lot more for her. When I say she’s not going to stop, you bet your ass she will turn over every rock from here to Arkansas looking for him. He’s not going to get a second chance to try and hurt you. She won’t let it happen.”

  “All of this is because of the Marshal Service?”

  Dennis half-grinned and shook his head. “No. All of this is because of you. She’s not going to fail you.”

  “Did you know she qu
it?”

  “She mentioned it, but that’s not like her.”

  “The night before she got stabbed, she told me she’d work until Atlanta, which was the next stop, then she was done.”

  “Do you know why?”

  “This whole arrangement has been miserable. I hated her being here, and she hated being here just as much.”

  “I think there’s a lot more to it than that.”

  Haley shrugged.

  “Do you know she still has clearance as a Deputy Marshal?”

  “I thought she quit?”

  “That’s just it…Shane doesn’t quit anything.”

  “Why isn’t she working with them, then?”

  “Because she asked for time off to get her head right after the psych evaluation cleared her for duty. She didn’t feel ready. When she didn’t go back, they put her on an unpaid sabbatical. Although, she is eligible to be reinstated at any time. They call every other month asking her to come back.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yes. I didn’t know any of that until yesterday when her contact, who had been helping us out, found out what happened to her. He told me everything.”

  “I wonder why she won’t go back,” she said.

  “Because I got tired of putting my life on the line for people who didn’t deserve it, while the ones who did…sat back and called the shots…literally,” Shane said from the doorway.

  Dennis wasn’t sure what to do. He had no idea how much of the conversation she’d heard.

  “Do you need me to get you anything?” Haley asked, walking over to her.

  “I’m fine. I need to use the restroom.”

  “Here,” Haley said, turning on the light and opening the door so she could get in and out easier.

  “It’s true…what he said. Every word.”

  Haley met her eyes, but didn’t say anything as she pulled the door closed.

  Chapter 32

  Haley had trouble sleeping, and it wasn’t because of the couch. She’d fallen asleep in the den and stayed there the entire night many times. No, it was because her mind wouldn’t shutdown. She kept trying to process her conversation with Dennis. She and Shane had spent so many weeks fighting against one another, she never took the chance to learn anything about the person who was literally at her side around the clock for almost a month. You hated her because you wanted to push her away. You had to push her away. Otherwise—

  Haley’s inner thoughts were interrupted when Shane began moving around in her sleep, causing her to cry out in pain.

  “No!” she exclaimed, thrashing around.

  “Shane,” Haley whispered, rushing to her side. “It’s just a dream. Wake up.” She ran her hand through her hair, realizing she was drenched in sweat. “I’m right here.” She took Shane’s hand and put it on her face.

  Finally, she stopped flailing around and began to open her eyes.

  “You okay? That was a nasty dream,” Haley said, still holding Shane’s hand to her face while her other hand slowly moved through her hair.

  “I…” Shane grimaced as she sat up a little bit, pulling her hand away. “He was…right there. It was so…real.”

  “Did you see him?”

  “Not his face. Just a dark hood and…the shiny blade.”

  “It’s just a nightmare. However, you’re covered in sweat, and I’m afraid you stink.” Haley wrinkled her nose.

  “What time is it?”

  Haley looked at the clock on the wall. “Four.”

  Shane lied back down. “I don’t have the energy to take a shower right now.”

  “That’s fine. We’ll do it in the morning. Try to get some sleep. I’ll stay right here.”

  “Are you protecting me now?” Shane looked up at Haley’s bluish green eyes.

  “Something like that.” Haley smiled.

  ***

  The next morning, Shane stood in the bathroom with Haley just outside the door as the hot water ran in the shower.

  “I’ll be fine. I feel better today,” Shane said, trying to remove her clothes by herself.

  “You can’t even take your shirt off. How are you going to shower?” Haley huffed. “Your stitches can’t get wet, and you have them in two places!”

  “I’ll manage,” Shane mumbled.

  “Why are you so damn stubborn?” Haley growled. “Just let me help you. You’ll be in and out.”

  “Damn it, Haley. I can do it myself!”

  Dennis could hear them yelling as he headed down the stairs in search of something to eat for breakfast. Unsure of what to do, he just stood in the foyer. He had no clue as to what stage of dress Shane was in, and didn’t want to impede on her privacy, yet at the same time, it sounded like they were having a huge argument.

  Before he could make up his mind, Rich pulled up outside. He quickly opened the front door, allowing him to step inside.

  “I don’t need to be babysat!” Shane yelled.

  “Is that what you think I’m doing?” Haley growled back. “You have no idea what that’s like, trust me. I’ve been dealing with it for a month!”

  “I didn’t hold your hand when you went pee, or wipe your ass!” Shane snapped. “I’m just trying to take a fucking shower!”

  “Well, I’m just trying to assist you so you don’t mess up your stitches, smart ass!”

  “I don’t know what to do,” Dennis said. “They’ve been at it for at least ten minutes. The water has to be cold by now.”

  “They always act like they want to scratch each other’s eyes out,” Rich said with a shrug as he walked into the kitchen. “I think they should just have sex and get it over with.”

  Dennis’s jaw dropped as he followed behind him. He knew Shane was a lesbian, but he had absolutely no clue about Haley. “Really? You think that’s what it is?”

  “Sure. You can cut the sexual tension between them with a knife,” Rich replied, shaking his head. “They’ll either figure it out or kill each other.”

  Neither man had noticed the silence in the house.

  Haley and Shane stared at each other, obviously having overheard the conversation in the kitchen a few feet away.

  “I’ll…uh…wait out here,” Haley said. “Yell if you need help or anything.”

  “I can’t get this stupid shirt off,” Shane mumbled.

  “Come here.” Haley reached out, pulling the t-shirt up and over Shane’s head, revealing her naked torso. There was a half inch long line of black stitches on her right side of her chest above her breast, and another, slightly longer row of stitches on her side just below her breast. Her entire right side was still a little swollen around her stitches, but the bruising from the surgery was nearly gone. Haley’s eyes raked over Shane’s breasts and down to the twitching muscles of her flat stomach, before finding her eyes. She quickly cleared her throat and turned to walk away.

  Shane watched her go, then she closed the door and finished undressing. Rich’s words played in her mind as she washed her hair and body, but trying not to get her stitches wet was nearly impossible. What would he think if he knew we’d already had sex…twice? “It definitely didn’t solve our problem,” she muttered to herself.

  ***

  Haley sat on the edge of the couch, still holding Shane’s t-shirt in her hand. What the hell has gotten into me? She shook her head, setting the shirt to the side. Her ears perked up when she heard the water stop. She waited in anticipation for Shane to call for help, but she never did. A few minutes later, the door opened and Shane appeared, clean and freshly dressed.

  “Listen, I’m sorry,” Haley started as she stood up.

  “It’s okay. I know you are just trying to help,” Shane replied, walking over to her.

  “I just…it’s my fault this happened to you.”

  “Haley, it’s over. I’m fine. A little sore still, but I’m getting better. In fact, the stitches look like they will be able to come out soon.”

&n
bsp; “The doctor said to make an appointment with him in a week.”

  “I’ll just take them out myself in a couple more days.”

  “What?!”

  “It’s actually not difficult at all, and it doesn’t hurt.”

  “Don’t go all Roadhouse on me,” Haley laughed, shaking her head. “I know you’re a badass, but taking out your own stitches is a little much.”

  Shane grinned. “Thanks for thinking of me as a badass, but Patrick Swayze, I am certainly not. However, this isn’t my first go around with stitches. There’s really nothing to it.”

  “Somehow, I’m not surprised.”

  “Why is that?” Shane’s brow furrowed.

  “Let me guess, you got cut or shot or something when you were a deputy marshal.”

  Shane shook her head. “Nope. I was ten and fell off my bike trying to jump my friends skateboard ramp. I had a gash in my leg that needed six stitches. I was the talk of the neighborhood for weeks.”

  Haley smiled and chuckled. “Did you take out your own stitches then?”

  “Yep. Well, the doctor started it, and then showed me how. I’ve also had them two other times…both of which I removed myself.”

  “See…Roadhouse…a real badass,” Haley teased.

  Shane shrugged. “I was thinking more like Ghost. Do you happen to have a pottery wheel?”

  “Go find yourself some breakfast. You make me crazy!” Haley muttered with a smile.

  “So, you’ve said,” Shane replied, walking away.

  Rich and Dennis nearly fell over each other trying to pretend to be busy with breakfast. Shane eyed them suspiciously. Then, to the stove to see what was in the pans covered with foil. “Emma Jean was here?” she yelled.

  “Yeah, early this morning,” Haley replied, coming into the kitchen. “You were sound asleep.”

  “You should’ve woken me.”

  “Next time, I’ll beat two pots together when she arrives, sort of like a dinner bell,” Haley said, her voice full of playful sarcasm.