by J. E. Parker
“Daryl!”
I spun around at the sound of Grandmama shouting Daddy’s name.
Thankfully Evan had taken a step back, so I didn’t face plant into his chest.
My eyes found Grandmama right away. Standing at the bottom of the porch steps, her fisted hands resting on her hips, she appeared mad as could be. “It’s about time you got here with my girls,” she said, tapping her slipper-covered foot against the ground. “I was about to get in the car.”
Daddy made a choking noise. “Doris,” he said nodding in greeting. “You ain’t hired any male strippers, have you? Cause I don’t want my girls around that kind of stuff.”
Grandmama’s brows climbed her forehead.
A look that screamed trouble spread across her face.
“Shit,” Evan mumbled. “Here she goes.”
“Course I didn’t,” she replied, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture. “I thought we’d all pile in my Cadillac and head over to the Naval Base. They don’t have no strip club there, but I figured we’d make a stop at one of the barracks. I betcha we can find plenty of trouble to get in with a bunch of drunk sailors.” She winked in my direction. “But that’s after we go cow tipping and table dancing down at the Watering Hole of course.”
Daddy was going to have a stroke in 3, 2—
“And don’t bother waiting up either,” Grandmama continued. “Me and the girls have a tight schedule to keep. Doubt we’ll make it back before the first rooster crows come morning.”
Daddy’s face reddened. “Girls,” he growled. “Get in the truck. We’re goin’ back home. Now.”
My eyes met Heidi’s.
An unspoken agreement bounced between us.
“Sorry, Daddy,” I said. “I’d rather spend the night with drunk sailors.”
Heidi burst into laughter as I grabbed her hand and made a run for it, dragging her behind me.
Grandmama beamed with pride.
“That’s my girls!” she shouted. “Now get in the house before that mountain of a man decides to stomp his way up here and show his behind. I’d hate to have to shoot him.”
Stopping next to her, I glanced over my shoulder toward the street. Both Hendrix and Evan were talking to Daddy, trying their best to calm him down.
He looked fit to be tied.
“I mean it, y’all go on and head inside,” Grandmama said, her southern accent thick. “The boys and me will handle him. I don’t care how big the fella is, his size doesn’t scare me.”
A smidge of guilt sprang to life inside me. “I probably shouldn’t have said that. Even if I was teasing.” I nibbled on my lower lip. “You know how overprotective he can be.”
Grandmama nodded. “I do know. But I also know that you and Heidi are twenty and nineteen. It’s time for him to take a step back. Before long y’all will have boyfriends and—”
I scoffed.
A boyfriend? Me?
Not likely.
I didn’t have time for that nonsense.
With a degree in social work to earn, a family to take care of, and a financial mess to dig myself out of, boys—or rather men—was the last thing on my mind. Maybe I’d change my tune in three years when I graduated, but until then dating wasn’t on my radar.
No way. No how.
“I don’t have time for a boyfriend, Grandmama,” I said confidently. “Not at the moment, anyway.”
Grandmama’s eyes twinkled. “When the right one comes along, you’ll make time. Trust me.”
I opened my mouth to argue but snapped it shut when Grandmama’s front door opened and Maddie stepped out onto the porch. She smiled, and I swear the world around us got a little bit brighter. “You two get in here,” she said, waving her hand at us. “Clara, Hope, and Shelby are making shots. Something called a buttery nipple, whatever that is. I can’t have any”—she pointed at her swollen belly—“but y’all can.”
Heidi nor I were old enough to legally drink. But homemade Moonshine wasn’t legal either, and Grandmama had enough in her basement to run a speakeasy.
Giving Heidi’s hand a slight squeeze, I nodded toward the door. “Let’s go.”
We bounded up the steps, crossed the porch and stepped into the house.
From inside we heard Grandmama holler, “Daryl, stay in the truck! I mean it! I don’t care how good looking you, and that sexy beard of yours is! I will unload a round of buckshot in your delectable behind if you step foot on my fresh cut grass!”
I held my breath and waited to see if Daddy would come after us.
He didn’t.
His truck roared to life, drowning out Grandmama’s cackling.
Seconds later, he drove away.
Should’ve known he would back down.
Grandmama’s amused voice floated into the house. “Evan!” she yelled. “If you and Hendrix don’t get off my lawn, I’m going to put you to work as entertainment! I’ve got a purse jammed full of dollar bills with your names written all over it!”
“For fucks sake, Grandmama!” Evan yelled back, clearly exasperated. “Way to make me feel cheap!”
Embarrassment mixed with amusement flitted across Maddie’s pretty face. “Well,” she said, slamming the door shut. “Now that Grandmama has put her crazy on display for the whole neighborhood to see, I’d say it’s time to get this party started.”
Together, we headed into the living room.
It was the start of a night I’d never forget.
THREE
Kyle
Tired as hell, I sat in a rocking chair on Cap’s wraparound front porch.
On one side of me sat Hendrix. On the other Evan. Keith, Maddie’s Dad, played basketball at the end of the driveway beneath the streetlight with Clara’s two sons, Liam and Declan.
Watching the boys play had been the highlight of my night. They reminded me of Hendrix, Ty and me as kids. Close in age, they were competitive as hell with one another, fighting over the ball and pushing each other around. I expected one to tackle the other to the ground any minute.
I leaned forward on the rocking chair and glanced up at the full moon. “What time is it?”
I was more than ready to leave.
After spending three hours at Cap’s house, he still hadn’t shown.
I had no idea where he was.
Didn’t care either.
Our next encounter wasn’t something I was looking forward to.
Good intentioned or not, if he didn’t keep his nose out of my business, there was only one way it would end—with me knocking his teeth down his throat; an action which would result in me getting my ass whooped.
Cap may have been in his forties, but he was in better shape than most men in their twenties. Standing at six-three and weighing two-thirty, I was tall and strong. Cap though, he had about two inches and fifty pounds of muscle on me. Ever since getting sober a decade before, he’d been hitting the weight room at the station hard.
It showed.
I growled when Hendrix punched my arm, pulling my attention from the night sky. “Heard you had a rough day,” he said, smirking at the death glare I sent his way.
Of course he’d heard.
Cap probably called him the second I left the station.
“You don’t want to hear about it.” I bounced my right leg up and down in agitation. “Trust me.”
Hendrix nodded. “Yeah, Pop told me enough. You showed more control than I would’ve. If I’d been there and saw what you saw…” His voice trailed off. Standing, he crossed the porch and rested his hands on the waist-high railing. His jaw ticked once. Twice. “There are some sick people in this world, man.”
My eyes slid shut as I dropped my head forward.
I knew that truth better than anyone.
It was a lesson I’d been taught long ago.
As if on cue, Lily’s smiling face flashed in the forefront of my mind. Her sweet voice followed. I love you, Kyle. You love me too, right?
My heart fractured for the millionth time.
/> I do, I mentally replied. Forever, Teacup.
A floorboard squeaked as Evan stood. “What happened?” With my eyes still closed, I didn’t know who he was talking to. Didn’t care to find out either. I was too busy battling my demons to deal with him.
“Call came in to dispatch requesting help for an unresponsive three-year-old,” Hendrix answered. “Pop said when they got there, it was already too late.”
It was always too late.
It didn’t matter how hard I tried, it was never enough. People still died, and families were still torn apart. The pain, the misery. It never ended.
“What happened to the kid?”
“Her goddamn father beat her to death,” I snapped, standing. My fists twitched with the need to hit something. “He was angry at his wife for leaving him, so he killed their kid.”
The surrounding air thickened with anger.
You could’ve cut it with a dull knife.
Evan ripped his hands from his pockets and ran his palms down the sides of his face. “Christ,” he hissed. “You didn’t strangle the father?”
I shook my head.
“I’ll give it to you, Tucker,” he continued. “You’ve got more restraint than me.”
No, I didn’t.
My restraint was nonexistent.
The only reason I wasn’t sitting in jail on a capital murder charge was because Cap and Bull had held me back. By the time I managed to shake them off, the kid’s father was handcuffed and locked in the back of a police car. If I’d had the chance to get my hands on him, it would’ve been his end.
I guarantee that.
Hendrix turned, leaning his hip against the railing. “Crazy people like that,” he said to Evan, “are the exact reason I don’t like Daryl leaving Carissa and Heidi by themselves.” Evan opened his mouth to say something, but Hendrix kept talking. “I know the girls are grown, and I understand the man doesn’t have a choice, but when I think about C and Bug always being alone I can’t stand it. Them living in Bumfuck, Egypt doesn’t help matters. If something happened and they had to call for help, it would take twenty minutes for someone to reach them.” His voice rose with each word. “That shit is not okay.”
“I’ve tried to tell him—” Evan started before being cut off by the ringing of his phone. Yanking it from his pocket, he turned, giving Hendrix and I his back. “Yeah, Chris, what’s up?”
Ignoring him, I faced Hendrix.
I didn’t know who or what he was talking about. I was sure as hell about to find out though. Carissa and Heidi. I’d heard those names before, but I’d never met the girls they belonged to.
“If something happened to either of them it would wreck Maddie,” Hendrix continued, his features hardening as he glared in my direction. “Grandmama too. They love those girls. Hell, I love those girls. Kind of hard not to. Both of them are sweet as hell. Too sweet.” His eyes bored into mine. An unspoken message bounced between us. “They need somebody to look after them when Daryl is gone, but neither of them has a boyfriend, and that’s something I can’t comprehend.”
Temper flaring for what was probably the hundredth time that day; I crossed my arms over my chest. My temples throbbed, and the tendons in my neck corded. “Who are Carissa and Heidi?” The agitation lining my voice was unmistakable. “And who is Daryl?”
Hendrix looked at me like I was stupid. “Seriously? You’ve never met Carissa and Heidi?”
It was my turn to look at him like the idiot he clearly was. “I wouldn’t have asked if I had, dipshit.”
“They’re sisters. Maddie used to babysit them when they were little. They’re all grown up now though. Both work at the shelter with my girl”—he nodded toward Evan who was still on the phone—“and dumbass over there. Daryl is their pop.”
My skin began to twitch.
Memories threatened to resurface.
“Why does their father leave them alone all the time?” I needed to know. I couldn’t stand a man who failed at protecting the women in his life—men like me—and the way Hendrix described the girls made them sound like the perfect prey for some twisted psycho.
Just like Lily had been…
“He’s an over the road trucker,” Hendrix replied. “He’s never home.”
His answer did little to calm the torrent of emotions battering me from the inside out. “What about their mom?”
Evan, who’d ended his call, spoke up. “Ann’s dead. Passed away a few years ago. I never met her, but the girls talk about her a lot.”
The throb in my temple intensified. “How old are they?”
Hendrix looked at Evan. “What are they? Nineteen and eighteen?”
Evan shook his head. “Twenty and nineteen, I think. Heidi graduated high school last spring.”
“And their father leaves them alone? For long periods of time?” Hearing the words spoken aloud messed with my head. “Man, I can’t...”
Hendrix shrugged. “I don’t like it any more than you do, but Daryl doesn’t have a choice. He has to pay the bills, has to support his family. What else is the man supposed to do?”
I didn’t know what he was supposed to do.
But leaving two young women alone and vulnerable wasn’t okay.
Ever.
If the girls needed someone to look after them, then I’d do it. That had most likely been Hendrix’s plan in the first place. Why else would he have brought it up? He would’ve known there was only one way this conversation would end, and that was with me taking responsibility for two girls I’d never met. The fact that I didn’t know them made no difference. All that mattered was keeping them safe from the sick fucks of the world…
Sick fucks like the one I let steal my sister.
I failed once.
I won’t fail again.
“Hendrix!” Keith hollered.
Hendrix pulled his eyes from mine and glanced at Keith. “What is it, old man?”
Keith’s eyes narrowed. “Why don’t you head next door and check on my daughter? Make sure she’s doing alright.”
“Your daughter? Don’t you mean my fiancée?”
Evan chuckled. “You keep running your mouth, and Keith’s going to shoot you one day,” he said, moving toward the porch steps. “He is Grandmama’s son after all.”
“He won’t shoot me. Grandmama though”—a wonky smile spread across Hendrix’s face—“it’s a miracle she hasn’t already.”
“Get next door,” Keith yelled, his cheekbones tinged red. Behind him, Liam and Declan continued to play ball, ignoring the world around them. “And make sure you tell Clara the boys are fine.”
Hendrix nodded and looked over at me. “You coming?”
“Depends. Are Carissa and Heidi over there?”
“Yeah,” Hendrix said, nodding. “Along with Shelby, Clara, and Hope.” He glanced at Grandmama’s house over his shoulder. “Christ only knows what we’re about to walk in on. Shelby, that pain in the ass, was in charge of setting everything up.” When I didn’t reply fast enough, the dickhead punched my arm. He’s lucky I didn’t black his eye in return. “Don’t be a pussy, Kyle. It’s just a bunch of girls.” A smirk appeared on his face. “Who knows, maybe you’ll meet your future wife. Clara is single.” His gaze cut to Evan. “So is Hope.”
Evan’s head snapped in my direction. A warning flashed in his eyes. “If you go anywhere near Hope, I’ll kill you and bury your body where nobody will ever find it.”
He stormed off without saying another word.
Hendrix shook his head, amusement dancing across his face. “That idiot needs to lay claim to Hope already. Maybe then his brooding ass wouldn’t be so miserable all the time.”
Hendrix descended the steps, taking them two at a time. “Come on,” he said, “I want you to meet Clara.”
I didn’t care to meet Clara.
Carissa and Heidi though? Different story altogether.
Hands in my pockets, I followed behind him. “Not interested. You of all people know that.”
Hendrix glanced at me over his shoulder, a cocky grin on his face. “Yeah, but I also know stuff changes.” I opened my mouth to argue with him, but he kept talking, refusing to let me get a word in edgewise. “Mark my words, Kyle. One day some woman is going to come along and knock you right on your ass.”
His words went in one ear and out the other.
The idiot was full of it.
At least that’s what I told myself.
Turns out, I was wrong.
And for once, Hendrix was right.
FOUR
Carissa
I was exhausted.
Standing in Grandmama’s kitchen, I leaned back against the pantry door and closed my eyes. My legs felt like Jell-O, my arms like limp noodles. I’d spent the last four hours dancing my heart out, and that was after taking three shots, something I’d never done before.
It was official. I was not the partying type… unlike Heidi who seemed to gain more energy with each second that passed. I simply wasn’t built for it.
“Carissa Ann, open your eyes, sugar.” My eyes opened and collided into a pair of cornflower blue ones belonging to Shelby. “What the heck are you doing, C?”
“Trying not to fall asleep,” I replied. “I don’t think I’m cut out for this.”
Shelby swayed on her feet. “Why don’t you come dance with Hope and me some more? That’ll liven you right up.”
Or knock me out, I thought.
I shook my head. “I’m all danced out, Blondie.”
Shelby lifted her right hand and brushed a stray lock of hair out of my face. “You and Maddie both. I’m expecting her to pass out any second.”
Maddie had an excuse for being tired.
She was pregnant.
I wasn’t.
I was just a party pooper.
Silence fell between us. Then, “You sure you don’t want to dance with us?”