by Vicky Jones
“You fucking dykes,” he yelled over to them. His fury only made Bertie and Dee laugh even harder.
“If only you knew a good mechanic around here?” Dee shouted back, almost doubled over.
Kyle clenched his fists and looked over to the garage. Shona was standing on the front hosing down a patch of oil. Grinning, she looked down at her foot pump just a few feet away from her, with no intention of letting him borrow it.
It was almost seven o’clock by the time Shona was locking up. She’d been so busy that she almost hadn’t noticed the recovery truck from the next town’s garage pull up across the street to attend to Kyle’s car. Locking away her tools, she switched off the interior lights and pulled the garage doors together, then remembered she’d left her lunch box on her desk inside. Going back in to get it, she heard a voice behind her that chilled her blood.
“Think you and your dyke friends are so clever, don’t you?”
Shona spun to see Kyle’s leering face bearing down on her. Grabbing her by the throat, he slammed her up against the wall next to her tool chest. “Get the fuck off me, Kyle,” she squeezed out, her eyes bulging.
“Ahh, this takes me back to that day. You remember? The day I was gonna fuck you, but your nigger friend got himself involved. You remember that, bitch? How the Bullen’s dragged him along the dirt until his skin ripped off? You picturing that now?” Kyle’s mouth was pressed up against her ear, his breath hot against her neck. “God, the thought of me being the first man to have you still makes me hard as fuck down there. How ‘bout it, huh?”
“Never.”
“What if I was to say that if you let me then I would leave town forever? You could have your little family all to yourself again.”
Shona glared through blurred vision at him. His eyes were as black as night, his body pressed up against her. Reaching out her left hand, she scrabbled around the top of the tool chest until she finally managed to wrap her fingers around the thing she was praying she’d find.
“I’d rather die than have you fuck me, Kyle.” She lifted her knee and aimed it between his legs, then punched him in the head. Like a felled tree, Kyle hit the deck.
“You fucking bitch! I’m gonna rip your heart out for that,” Kyle groaned as he writhed on the floor.
Shona stood over him, casting a dark shadow across his prone body. In her hand, now raised above her head, she held her trusty wrench, the brown leather strap enabling it to sit perfectly in her sweaty grip.
“Last time you tried that with me, you didn’t have a criminal record for assault. Now you come in here and attack me? Self-defense, they’d say it was. Sheriff Everett is my friend. You, on the other hand, are hated around here.”
Kyle, in agony, could hardly breathe, let alone reply.
“So,” Shona said. “I think you should do yourself a favor and leave me and my family alone. Or one word from me to Everett about what you just tried there, and he’ll have your ass back in jail quicker than you can spit. Now, get the fuck outta here and don’t come back.”
Kyle wriggled ten feet backwards away from Shona, then stood up, using the doors to bolster him. “No one threatens me, Jackson.” He turned and staggered out, leaving Shona alone in the semi-darkness. Seconds after he’d gone, she broke down in tears, the triumph of seeing Kyle at her mercy short-lived as the shock set in, rippling through her aching body.
“What the hell happened to you?” Chloe asked as Shona returned from work, an ugly red mark shining brightly on her neck, her cheek scratched.
“I had a visit. From your ex.”
Chloe’s face paled. “Kyle did this to you?”
“Yes.”
Rushing over to her, Chloe embraced her and guided her down onto the couch. “What did he do to you?” she asked, stroking Shona’s hair out of her eyes and taking a close look at her scratched cheek.
“Same as what he tried to do to me last time he threw me up against a wall.” Shona swallowed and looked away.
“He didn’t…”
“Don’t worry, he never got close. His balls got a sharp reminder, though, not to try that on anyone again. Only wish I’d kneed him harder.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be.
“Do you think he’s really gone?”
“I hope so,” Shona replied, her voice less convincing this time.
Kyle winced as he lowered himself onto the bed in his hotel room the next morning, still feeling the force of Shona’s knee. He picked up the phone on the nightstand and dialed.
“Hello? Yes, good morning. I’d like to file a complaint. There’s a woman who’s preying on the mother of my child. I have good reason to believe she is a homosexual leading her astray. Yes, of course I have evidence. This pervert hangs around that bar, Bertie’s it’s called. Everyone in this town knows what kind of a place that is and I will not have my boy exposed to that kinda depravity. Yes, I can come in. Tomorrow? It’ll have to be early as I have to go away on a business trip. Yes, that’s why this is of the utmost urgency that it is investigated. While I’m outta town, this woman will pounce, I’m sure of it. Thank you. Yes, my name is Kyle Chambers, and yours?” Kyle paused to write the officer’s name down on the pad next to the phone. “See you tomorrow. Bye.”
He lay back on the bed, grinning.
Chapter 43
Kyle walked into the opulent drawing room belonging to the person he’d returned to Alabama to visit. Within five minutes of the housekeeper showing him in, his eyes lifted up to the staircase just visible through the doorway of the drawing room. The lady of the house sashayed down the soft carpeted stairs, then walked into the drawing room, kissing Kyle on both cheeks. Pointing a cigarette holder in his direction, she rolled her heavily made up eyes as she waited for him to fish out a lighter from his jacket pocket, then released a thick plume of smoke into his face through her rouged lips. Her light brown hair was pinned high on her head in a beehive style, her pink Chanel dress matching perfectly with her designer heels.
“Good evening, ma’am. May I say how lovely you’re looking this fine Saturday evening?”
Eleanor Bruce, with a look of contempt on her face, ignored his drawl. “Where’s my grandson, Kyle?”
“Eleanor, please. You gotta have a little patience. I’m working on it. I won’t let you down.” He walked over to an armchair and sank down into it.
Eleanor raised an eyebrow. “You mean like the last time? When you let my daughter dump you and run off with that…” Eleanor paused and sucked in her cheeks as if a bad taste had crept into her mouth. “And it’s Mrs. Bruce to you. Don’t forget your manners, Kyle.”
Kyle held his hands up in defense. “My apologies. As I said, it’s just a matter of time before Chloe comes around to my way of thinking. That busybody principal at your grandson’s school is already asking questions about her and Jackson.”
“OK then. That’s a good start.” Eleanor sat down in the chair opposite and rested the frown creasing her face. “So you’ve told my daughter that she is to come home immediately with the boy?”
Kyle shifted in his chair. “Well, not exactly in those words. Wheels are in motion, though.”
“And the lesbian?”
“I visited her a couple of days ago. Let her know not to mess with me. She thinks she’s got the upper hand because of her friends at the police station, but I got a good man on my side. He’s still got some influence over there, with the officers who want that town clear of perverts.”
“Then you need to work harder on getting him back here, don’t you?” Eleanor pursed her lips. “What’s your plan?”
“Simple. You write a letter to the authorities telling them I want custody of David, to raise him properly, with your support, of course. I’ve already filed a report making a complaint, so your letter will reinforce that.”
“Yes. It will.”
“I’m just sorry I’ve already missed six years of his life. If my mother hadn’t paid that judge to oversee my parole he
aring, then I wouldn’t have even known about him.” Kyle leaned forward in his seat. “He’s gorgeous, Mrs. Bruce. Looks exactly like me.”
“And my daughter? How was she?” Eleanor’s icy demeanor cracked ever so slightly.
“Still as beautiful as ever. I’d still want to marry her if you’ll permit me to?”
“Well, her father isn’t around anymore so I guess my permission will have to be enough.”
Kyle sipped his scotch. “Have you heard from Larry?”
“Not for a while now. After the first five years of his sentence, he stopped writing me every week. He must have got the message that I didn’t want him in my life anymore. He left me with nothing after he was arrested. If it wasn’t for the kindness of Jeffrey Ellis in my hour of need, I’d be on the streets by now. I guess he had his uses after all.” She looked over to the mantelpiece where a picture frame containing a photograph of David that Chloe had sent when he was only a year old sat proudly. Turning back to Kyle, Eleanor sat upright. “So. What should I write in this letter, then?”
Chloe took the mail out of the box outside the beach house and sifted through it that sunny Monday morning. It had been almost two weeks since Shona’s altercation with Kyle and he hadn’t been seen in town since. Both Chloe and Shona were starting to regain a sense of normality over their lives. Until now.
“Shona,” Chloe yelled, clutching the letter in her fist. She ran back up the porch steps trying unsuccessfully to keep calm. “Shona.”
“What?” Shona yelled back, drying her hands on a dish towel.
“Look.” She held out the letter and the crumpled envelope it came in. “It’s from the Children’s Bureau. Says there’s been an allegation, from several people this time, that we are living together in sin and David is at risk.”
Shona snatched the letter from Chloe, then recoiled in disgust. “And I drink every night? Where the hell did they get that from? The odd beer is hardly every night.”
“And who’s ‘several people’?” Chloe replied, folding her arms across her chest. “I was so shocked I didn’t read it all.”
Shona skim-read to the bottom of the letter. “Says there have been four separate allegations. They’re listed here. Apparently Kyle filed the report, then Deputy Lawrence added his dime to the pot mentioning my ‘involvement in the riots’ the other year. The third mentions ‘neglect.’ That must be Miller, after you forgetting to pick him up that time.”
“We can’t fight that. They’re all true.” She wiped her tears away. “Oh Shona, what are we gonna do?”
“It says here that if I move out, you can keep David, but if I stay then they’ll investigate further. Wait a minute… It mentioned four allegations, didn’t it?”
“Who made the fourth allegation?”
Shona swallowed hard. “Your mother.”
Chloe had been sitting on the porch swing for the last hour in shock. Holding the crumpled letter, she took another sip of her bourbon and watched as the sun began to set.
“Hey,” Shona whispered. She walked over and wrapped a blanket around Chloe’s shoulders. “You OK?”
“No, not really. I’ve been sitting here trying to work out what to do. I can’t believe after all these years my own mother is still trying to control me. And to side with Kyle again, after what he did to me?”
“I know, baby, I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault. That damn letter.”
“Don’t, Shona, we’ve already been through this. What’s done is done.”
“Do you think your father is involved too?”
“It doesn’t mention him. And after he went to jail, Mother washed her hands of him, so I doubt it.”
Shona stared out into the distance, the sun almost disappearing into darkness now. “Should I move out?”
Chloe stared at her open-mouthed. “Of course not. I’m not losing you.”
“But to keep David, you might not have a choice.”
They sat staring at each other in silence before Chloe took Shona’s hand in her own. “We’ve fought the odds before. We’ll find a way to sort this out. Hey, why don’t we speak to Minnie? Maybe Judge Barker could help us work through the legalities?”
Shona’s face lit up. “Of course. Minnie will know what to do. We can go over there first thing in the morning.”
“Minnie, please come in. Can I get you a glass of tea?” Chloe said as the old lady appeared on their doorstep that sunny morning.
It was the day after they’d visited her when Minnie came over to the beach house with news. She thanked Chloe and sat down in the armchair nearest to the living room door. “Is Shona here? I should relay what William has said to both of you.”
After calling Shona in from the yard, they both sat on the couch opposite Minnie as she took a huge deep breath in and began. “Well, it’s worse than we first thought. Turns out these four allegations were just the start.”
Chloe and Shona looked at each other in shock, then back at Minnie.
“Apparently there’s been two more. One from Marion Lawrence, wife of the deputy. The other was from Mr. and Mrs. Chambers, Kyle’s parents.”
“Are you serious? His parents hate him,” Chloe spat out. “He told me years ago that they wouldn’t help him anymore, that he was on his own.”
“Well, now things have changed. They have a grandson now. An heir to their steel business back in Pittsburgh. And for David to inherit, Kyle must make him legitimate by marrying you. Kyle’s promised them he’ll be a good husband and father, and that it’s helped him change his ways.”
“And they bought that load of crap?” Shona retorted.
“It would seem so.”
Chloe exhaled at length.
“But there is some good news,” Minnie said with a glint in her eye.
“What?” Chloe and Shona replied in unison.
“Well, William has concluded that there simply isn’t any hard evidence. You both sleep in separate rooms,” she winked, “and David is thriving at school now. Oh yes, that one time he was picked up late was an issue, but he was safe at school with that young teacher, Lucy, and Shona did the right thing by fully registering herself as his secondary caregiver before David left the building. Legally on that one, they have nothing. The girls at the bar will testify that all you drink is Coca Cola when you go in there, and there is no evidence that you’ve ever been drunk in public or caused any fuss. And yes, you were at the riots back then, but you were responsible for three police officers ending up safe at the hospital, including Bill Everett’s own son. And you don’t need me to tell you he’s more than willing to speak up for you. Then there’s the issue of Kyle wanting custody.”
Shona and Chloe lowered their eyes to their laps until Minnie tutted.
“Hey, you two, now don’t you worry none. No court in the land is gonna grant custody of a minor to a man like that. Not with his record, even if your mother is standing by him. She isn’t as highly thought of as she seems to think she is. The Bruce surname is toxic in business circles now, not to mention in high society. It’s gonna be fine, girls. William will talk to his friend in the Children’s Bureau tomorrow and get these allegations thrown out once and for all.”
Chapter 44
Shona returned home that Friday night with a glint in her eye after having arranged for Minnie to have David overnight. She stepped out of the shower and slipped on a clean white undershirt and loose khaki pants just as the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” Chloe called from the hallway, already halfway there. She opened the door to see Minnie beaming at her.
“The little guy all ready?” Minnie asked, clasping her hands to her chest. “I’m really looking forward to having him tonight.”
“What?” Chloe replied, perplexed.
Shona came bounding out of the bedroom a little red-faced. Holding a towel to her wet hair as she ruffled it dry, she flashed a lopsided grin at Chloe. “I thought we could have the night to ourselves.” She passed David’s overnight bag to the old lady. “I r
eally appreciate this, Minnie. David?” she called backwards over her shoulder.
“Can we have cake?” David asked, wiping his hand against his nose as he traipsed down the hallway towards Minnie who rolled her eyes and nodded.
“Of course. You like chocolate cake?”
David’s face spread into a huge grin. “Yes ma’am.”
Chloe smiled through her confusion. “OK then, well, I guess that’s settled. Have fun.”
“You too,” Minnie replied, winking at Shona, who blushed.
After closing the door to them, Chloe swayed over to Shona and wrapped her arms around her. “So, what have you got in mind for tonight then?”
“You’ll see. While I was in the bathroom, I drew you a bath. Thought you could go for a long soak to relax. Make the most of the peace and quiet,” Shona said, kissing her earlobe. “But don’t be too long, OK?”
Chloe padded into the bathroom and gasped when she saw the effort that Shona had gone to. All around the edge of the tub were little candles, their light bathing the room in a soft amber glow. In the water were little rose petals sitting proudly on top of thick luscious bubbles created by her favorite bath soak. Everything was just perfect. Stripping off, Chloe dipped a toe in the water. The temperature was exactly right for her and, sinking below the water line, she breathed out at length, enjoying the pleasure of the water enveloping every part of her. After thirty long minutes making sure every part of herself was attended to, Chloe dried off, slipped on her robe and headed back into the bedroom. Shona was nowhere to be seen. Confused, Chloe walked towards the living room.
“Are you coming in?” she began, then stopped and stood open-mouthed at the sight before her. Shona had lit candles all around the room and pushed the furniture back so it left a huge space. She had arranged blankets and pillows, making a floor bed. There she lay until she saw Chloe appear at the door. She jumped up and walked over to her.