by Chase Connor
“Oma…”
“Shut up.” She snapped at me out of the corner of her mouth.
“What about Andrew?” Jason snarled.
His cohorts didn’t do anything but look up at Oma.
“He ain’t one of yours.” Oma shrugged. “If he feels he’s owed something for getting banged up by someone defending themselves, he knows where to find me. But I guarantee you he won’t come looking for compensation. So, that settle your hash, Jason Morris?”
Jason stood at the base of the steps, looking up at Oma, the wheels creaking in his head. Finally, he nodded.
“I need to hear you say it out loud in front of your pack here, Jason.” Oma grinned. “Let’s hear ya’ say, ‘Yes, Mrs. Wagner. That will settle us up.’ Can you be a good boy and do that for me?”
Jason glowered at her, but he still followed directions.
“That will settle us up, Mrs. Wagner.”
“Good.” Oma’s hands fell from her hips.
“Now, Robbie, say you’re sorry for giving Katie what she deserved.” Oma turned her head to me with a shit-eating grin.
“You just hold on!” Jason jabbed a finger up at Oma, which was not all that threatening considering how docile he became just from her chewing him out. “What about Darrell? Your damn grandson set him on fire back at the stadium!”
Oma turned back to Jason with a roll of his eyes.
“Is Darrell dead?”
“No.” Jason snapped, but his heart wasn’t in it. “He’ll be fine when he changes back. But he probably won’t have much fur until he changes at least a dozen more times.”
“Poor thing,” Oma stated simply.
“What are you gonna do about that, old—Mrs. Wagner?”
“What part of ‘don’t attack people and you won’t get burnt’ don’t you understand, you fuckin’ moron?” Oma snapped. “I ain’t doin’ shit about someone gettin’ hurt by someone defending themselves. I’m only havin’ pity on Katie ‘cause she’s dead, and everyone deserves a proper funeral.”
“That’s not good enough!”
“You just said it was, ya’ dumb shit.” Oma was raising her hand again. The men before us all blanched. “Now y’all just hear your Pack Alpha go back on his word?”
Jason looked around nervously at his “men.”
“That’s not fair!” Jason squeaked. “You tricked me, Mrs. Wagner!”
“Like that’s really damn difficult.” Oma snorted. “I spoke plainly to you about the terms, and you forgot about Darrell until it was done. Besides, Darrell will be just fuckin’ fine from the way it sounds. Send him my best.”
“Your grandson can’t just go around acting like he’s so goddamn special, setting our people on fire, thinking he can just get away with it!”
“I was wrong.” Oma shook her head in disgust. “You got a dick in both your damn ears, Jason Morris. This matter is settled.”
“No the hell it is not.” He growled and stepped forward.
My vision flashed hot and red, then suddenly Jason was jumping backward, and his men were scattering. I hadn’t even suspected Oma would react in such a way, nor had I seen it happen, but Oma had blasted him back without a single thought about it. Once the red cleared from my vision, Jason was on his ass, and all of his pack members were scattered, hiding behind their trucks. I glanced over at Lucas, and he was looking at me with wide eyes, a grin slowly blooming on his face. I gave him a nervous smile, trying not to laugh at what Oma had just done to a group of men with more testosterone than neurons.
“My fuckin’ tea is in here getting’ cold, and you think I’m just goin’ to have all the patience in the damn world, Jason?” Oma snapped down at him, her hands on her hips again.
The soles of Jason’s boots were sending up plumes of smoke. Oma hadn’t taken a “paw,” but she had made her decision on the matter clear.
“If you had any damn sense you’d call this a wash and get the fuck off my property, Jason.” Oma continued. “If you want to keep negotiating, I’m going to ask how you’re going to make up for the fact that you came up on my property after I illicitly told you—”
“Explicitly,” I interjected.
“You shut the fuck up.” Oma jabbed a finger at me. “Unless you want the ole hot foot as well!”
I shrugged.
Jason was getting to his feet, his knees wobbly and his shoes still smoking as his pack members slowly came out from behind their trucks.
“I told you to stay off my property, and you didn’t listen.” Oma snarled down at Jason as he stood before her, shaky and smoking. “If I wanted to, I could demand my own damn compensation for your transgression. I could refuse to do a damn thing for Katie. Or I could take a paw or two. I’m bein’ pretty goddamn generous here, Jason Morris. You better consider that before you say one more damn word to me.”
Jason took a step backward towards his truck as his eyes stayed on Oma.
“Fine.” He spat.
“Don’t you take no sass with me, damnit!” Oma crossed her hands over her chest, making all of the men jump again. Lucas and I exchanged another grin. “Now get your asses back into those trucks and get those pieces of shit off my lawn. You’re making the property value in the neighborhood go down by the minute.”
Jason gave a sharp nod and started to turn.
“And if there’s one damn rut in my fuckin’ lawn, we won’t be done here, ya’ hear me?” Oma spat.
Jason and his pack members all rushed to their trucks like their asses were on fire, doors closing loudly as they all made their getaway. The speed with which they all pulled out, turned around, and made their way onto the driveway to get away from Oma’s property was at a much slower pace, though. They didn’t want to risk leaving any ruts. Oma watched as they all drove away down the long drive, her arms staying across her chest. When the last pair of taillights disappeared as the last truck turned onto the main road, she shook her head and turned around.
“Oma,” I said, “that was…messed up.”
“You’re telling me.” She huffed. “I’m gonna have to make a fresh cup of tea ‘cause of those assholes.”
Oma entered the house, wiping her feet on the rug as though she had ventured anywhere but the porch. Lucas and I glanced at each other, exchanging confused looks. I shrugged deeply as we followed her into the house. Oma was grabbing her mug off of the coffee table and was heading towards the kitchen as Lucas closed the door behind us. My grandmother looked wholly unbothered about everything that had just happened out on her front lawn. In fact, if I hadn’t witnessed it myself, I would never have believed that a group of men had come to threaten us. I certainly wouldn’t have believed that Oma took care of the whole thing on her own.
“Oma, can we—”
“You two just take your asses to bed.” Oma turned and rolled her eyes at us. “I ain’t got the energy or patience to deal with any more bullshit tonight.”
“I have a lot of questions, Oma.” I pleaded.
“Well, the answers will taste better with some biscuits and gravy.”
I guess that was her way of saying: “Save it for morning.”
With that, she turned around again and went into the kitchen, slapping the light on in the process. I turned to Lucas and held my hands out in a way that showed how put out I was and how desperate I was for answers. Lucas grabbed those empty hands and pulled me into him. I tucked my face into his neck as he kissed my forehead. Together, we turned towards the stairs, not letting go of each other. As a unit, we ascended the stairs, with nothing better to do but go to bed. There was always one way we could make each other feel better about everything.
Chapter 11
Brushing my teeth with Ernst standing on the toilet seat lid, watching me with wide-eyes, was slightly odd, but he was not ready to come out and introduce himself to Lucas yet. He was watching the movements of me brushing my teeth with morbid fascination, as though someone jamming a brush into their mouth over and over was the oddest thing he’d ever se
en. Either Oma never brushed her teeth or Ernst had never been allowed to watch the process. Once my teeth were thoroughly clean, and I had spat and rinsed, I reached for a washcloth so that I could knock the day’s grime off of my face. Ernst finally spoke up as I was running the cloth under the hot water that came out of the faucet at a temperature just shy of boiling.
“Sir,” he said, “is everything okay now?”
“It’s okay for now, Ernst.” I nodded.
“Good.” Ernst nodded furiously. “That’s good, sir.”
“Yeah,” I replied as I brought the cloth to my face.
“The missus is not goin’ ta be happy with me for a long time, sir.” He squeaked. “She wouldn’t speak ta me after we were in the cellar, sir.”
Ernst’s squeaky voice and high pitch made me wonder if Lucas could hear him out in the bedroom where he was waiting in bed. Even if he couldn’t hear Ernst, I knew that he could probably hear me. I didn’t like thinking that he might be in my bed, waiting for me, wondering why I was having a conversation with myself. After everything that had happened since we had started seeing each other, the last thing I needed to do was give any indication that the elevator didn’t go to the top. The thought of Lucas not wanting to be with me anymore felt like a lump of cold clay in my stomach.
You shouldn’t feel that way at all.
You’ve only been dating for…
“She’ll get over it, Ernst.” I smiled at him as I washed my face. “She just has to get over feeling like we were disobedient. Besides, you didn’t do anything wrong. I did. If she keeps being mean to you, you let me know, and I’ll talk to her, okay?”
“I’ll be doin’ no such thing!” He was scandalized. “Sir, you cannot tell the missus what ta do!”
“I wouldn’t tell her what to do, Ernst.” I chuckled. “I’d just reason with her so she’d know she should be nicer to you.”
“She is nice enough,” Ernst said haughtily.
Apparently, this was a sore spot, and the conversation on the matter was over as far as he was concerned.
“Ernst.” I frowned, then finished wiping my face clean before turning to him. “Why was there nothing in the cellar?”
“What do ya’ mean, sir?”
Blinking at him, I wondered if Ernst would actually tell me anything or not. Maybe he would keep his mouth shut after how Oma had treated him. There was no point in not trying to get information, though, so I plodded on, hoping I wouldn’t make Ernst upset with me.
“I feel like maybe there is supposed to be something down there.”
“What should be down there, sir?”
I swallowed hard.
“A well.”
Ernst did his best not to let it happen, but his eyes grew marginally wider as he stared at me.
“I feel that there should be a well down there, Ernst.” I reiterated. “But it wasn’t down there when we went into the cellar earlier. I don’t know why.”
“Maybe you are confused?” His squeak was higher than usual.
Gotcha.
“I don’t think so, Ernst.” I shook my head gently. “Do you know why it wasn’t there when we went down into the cellar?”
Ernst was wringing his hands in front of himself, his eyes darting all over the room. For a minute, I thought he might slip into a shadow by the claw-foot tub or into the linen closet and disappear. Remove himself from a difficult and awkward situation. Instead, he stayed perched on the toilet lid, still only coming chest high to me, wringing his hands.
“I won’t tell Oma whatever you say.”
“Well,” he whispered, “I dunno, sir.”
“You don’t know if there’s supposed to be a well in the cellar or you don’t know why it wasn’t there?”
Ernst stared up at me, his hand wringing increasing in intensity and speed. I was worried that he’d snap off one of his small, delicate fingers from all of the twisting and pulling.
“Please, Ernst?” I asked as gently as possible, but the desperation was there in my voice.
Ernst eyed me a few moments longer, his hand wringing slowing down gradually before he let his hands fall to his sides. He gave a full-body sigh, looked away for a moment, seemed to decide something, then looked up at me. The look on his face was determination, a decision made.
“Some things don’ react ta anger well, sir.” He said cryptically. “Even things like…wells…can hide when they sense there is danger.”
“What do you…”
“When the missus gets angry, we tend to jump inta the shadows, ya’ see?” He whispered. “But when the missus is happy, we like ta be ‘round her. When she is sad, we like ta comfort her. Anger is never good. Nothin’ likes to be ‘round people who are angry, sir.”
“I don’t understand.” I shook my head.
Ernst climbed down from the toilet with a sigh. The way he climbed down like a full-grown person trying to scale a wall was precious, but I knew better than to say so. Ernst headed for the linen closet, which was open and ready for him to slip inside and find his favorite mode of transportation through the house.
“Sir,” Ernst turned to me at the doorway, “maybe the next time you go down to tha cellar, you shouldn’t be angry.”
I just stared at Ernst as he gave me a single nod and slipped into the closet. Then he was gone. Sighing to myself, I laid the washcloth over the edge of the sink and inspected myself in the mirror, making sure I looked okay to join my boyfriend in bed. Finally, I flipped the bathroom light off and exited the room. Lucas was still on the bed in his boxers. Apparently, my offer to let him borrow some of my pajama bottoms and a t-shirt had been ignored. Of course, why put clothes on when they’ll probably just be pulled right off? Spring was coming to Ohio, anyway. It wasn’t as cold in my room as it had been every other night I had been in Point Worth. Seeing Lucas laying there waiting on me made it feel even warmer.
“Who were you talking to?”
“Ernst.” I shrugged.
Lucas accepted this at face value with an upward nod. As I started to walk over to the bed, the bare floorboards cold on my feet, Lucas rose to his knees on the bed, a grin blooming on his face. Grinning back, I came to stand beside the bed as Lucas gently walked on his knees over to the side of the bed to stop right in front of me, his face directly in front of mine. I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity, I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his. Lucas reached up, and his fingers twined through my hair as he started to gently kiss me, then began to feed at my mouth.
“Do you think we were always this great at kissing each other?” Lucas asked. “You know…before?”
“I think so.” I nodded gently, my eyes not leaving his.
“I wish I could remember.” He said. “I don’t ever want to forget a single kiss of yours.”
“Try to forget this one.”
Leaning forward, my lips found Lucas’ again, and I fed at his mouth as my hands came up to his hips. Slowly, yet passionately, I kissed my boyfriend as my hands rubbed along his sides, moving to his stomach, feeling the soft flesh that covered firmer muscles. My hands moved lower, and I was cupping him in the palm of my hand. Lucas gasped against my mouth as I rubbed him slowly and firmly as I did my best to keep my mouth on his, to stifle his gasp with my lips and tongue. Lucas’ fingers twisted in my hair roughly but stopped just short of pain as we kissed, and I rubbed him roughly.
Then he was yanking me onto the bed and pulling me on top of him. Kissing Lucas one more time, I slowly moved down his body, smiling wickedly up at him as I hooked my fingers in the waistband of his boxers. I moved downwards, pulling them over his hips, down his thighs, lower and lower until I yanked them off over his feet. Lucas was laid out before me, naked and so tempting as I sat there on my knees, wondering about the best way to attack him.
“Rob.” He sighed.
My body moved of its own accord until I was on top of him, trapping the hardest part of him between us. I pushed down on him, putting pressure against him as I met his m
outh with my own again. Lucas shivered beneath me, his hips giving an involuntary thrust. I moved my groin against his, making him pull away from my mouth to moan.
“I have so much money.” I heard myself say. “We could just stay in bed forever, making each other feel this way all of the time. We would never have to worry about forgetting anything because nothing would leave this room. The two of us, all of our memories, we could trap it all in this room. We could just make love and live in a house of memories stacking up around us.”
“Tempting.” Lucas groaned as I moved my hips again. “So, tempting.”
“You don’t have to go to work ever again.” I sighed against his mouth. “Just stay here. Be my everything all day every day. Never leave me. I could make every wish you had come true and then some, Lucas. All you have to do is stay with me all of the time.”
Lucas pulled back and looked up at me, his brow furrowed.
“What?” I leaned forward to kiss the tip of his nose.
“I don’t want Jacob Michaels in this bed with me.” He said softly, his fingers now stroking my hair. “I want Rob Wagner. My Rob. No more no less. Give me Rob.”
I just stared at him, unsure if I could do that.
“Besides,” his fingers played along my cheek, then my jaw, “I’m perfectly capable of making my own wishes come true.”
Suddenly, his hand was between us, and he was rubbing me. I gasped in shock and pleasure, suddenly aware of nothing but how much I loved Lucas. How much I loved having him touch me. I didn’t want to possess him. Not like that. I wanted him to be with me because I was Rob Wagner. Period. Lucas and I were two separate individuals. We were just happier when we were together. Nothing, not even him going to work in the morning would change that. Nothing could change that.
Lucas rolled our bodies, coming to rest on top of me, his mouth still locked to mine and his hand still rubbing me as I moaned into his mouth. After what seemed like a lifetime, but still not long enough, he pulled back to grin wickedly at me. Then he was kissing his way down my chest, my stomach, and he was pulling my pants off of me. When he traveled back up my legs from pulling my pajama pants off, I felt his mouth on me, and I could barely keep myself from crying out in ecstasy.