by Gen Griffin
“No, it's not.” He shook his head at her tiredly. “We work together.”
“So what?” Meg asked with a pout.
“I don't sleep with co-workers.” It was the first excuse Addison could think of that wasn't going to sound completely offensive.
“You don't fuck co-workers?” Meg raised one eyebrow at him.
“No, I don't. Too much potential for drama and Uncle Frank's been on my ass about my professional behavior ever since Kerry came to Possum Creek. Can't afford a sexual harassment lawsuit.”
“I won't sue.”
“Meg-.”
She tossed her hair at him. “I hate this job. I'll quit.”
“That's not what I-.”
“It's the easiest solution to our little problem,” Meg said with a pretty smile. “I'll write up my letter of resignation right now and then we can go bang in one of the jail cells.”
“Let's not.” Addison was more than just a teeny bit disgusted. He was used to girls throwing themselves at him but this was ridiculous. If their roles had been reversed, he could have claimed sexual harassment. “Meg, you're an attractive girl. I'm sure you have a lot to offer, but I'm not looking for a relationship.”
“We don't have to be exclusive,” Meg offered. “Mak says you're amazing in bed. I've been dying to get my hands on that booty of yours ever since I first laid eyes on you. I just want to squeeze your ass and dig my nails in.” She licked her lips seductively. At least, he figured she thought she was being seductive.
Addison took a deep breath and then carefully exhaled. He wasn't sure exactly when he'd started being bothered when girls talked about him like he was a piece of meat, but it bothered him now. Maybe he was just getting old. Maybe Katie was right and he was slowly maturing. Maybe it was just that Katie had never treated him like sex on a stick and the appeal of being thought of as more than a good time was starting to matter more and more.
Meg licked her lips and then smiled. Clearly, she thought he was going to give in. Three years ago, he knew he would have.
“Meg, I'm not interested. Sorry.” Addison released her arms and took two more steps away from her.
“Not interested?” She frowned with confusion.
“Not interested,” he repeated.
“Why not?” She asked as she put her hands on her hips. “Is it because of Makinsley? She said she was cool with it. I promise.”
“It's about Makinsley, but not the way you think.” Addison tried to decide exactly how much of an answer he owed the girl standing in front of him. “No offense, but I don't want to repeat that particular mistake.”
“Wait- what?” She was frowning now.
“Mak was a mistake,” Addison said. “The entire relationship was a mistake. And yeah, even I've been forced to admit it was a relationship. Exclusive or not, Makinsley and I... Fuck, I don't want to get into it. I shouldn't have to justify myself. I don't want to sleep with you. You're a cute girl, but you're not the girl I want.”
Meg paled slightly. “I'm not the girl you want?”
He nodded and then shrugged. “Sorry.”
“Wow, that's cold. Especially coming from the guy who'll pretty much fuck everything that walks.” Meg bit her lip as her cheeks began to turn bright pink with embarrassment. She walked back over to her desk and grabbed her oversized tote from underneath of it. “I think I'm going to leave now. You were the only reason I was keeping this stupid job. Everyone else here is a complete asshat.”
“Leave?” Addison frowned at her. “You're on duty for something like another ten hours. You can't just leave.”
“I quit,” she said.
“You can't quit in the middle of a shift,” Addison said. “There isn't anyone else here to handle calls.”
“If you don't want me, then you can't make me stay,” Meg informed him as she walked out the front door. “Bye Addy. Hope the girl you really want stomps on your balls and breaks your heart.”
Addison watched tiredly as she stomped her way out into the parking lot in her high heels. “This is exactly why we're not sleeping together,” he muttered to no one in particular as he sat down at the desk she had just abandoned and tried to figure out who he could call to come take over dispatch.
Chapter 9
“Want to talk about it?” Kristy asked as her ancient Mustang coughed and hacked its way down the highway in a cloud of exhaust.
“No,” Katie said.
“Too bad. Ian stood you up for your birthday dinner date. We need to talk about it.” Kristy was sitting behind the wheel wearing a skintight shimmery dress that was patterned with blue and purple swirls and strips of silver glitter. It was one of those stretchy things that would probably fit anywhere from a size medium to an XXL. Kristy was stretching the dress to its limits. She was either wearing a push-up bra or a corset under the dress. Katie hadn't worked up the motivation to ask. She suspected the latter because Kristy's DD breasts didn't normally sit level with her throat.
“I don't want to talk about it. Why don't we talk about your makeup instead?” Katie suggested. “It's...intense.”
“My makeup is fine.” Kristy batted her eyelashes at Katie. “I followed a tutorial I found online. I think it looks pretty cool.”
“You're wearing four different shades of eye shadow, a pound of glitter and your eyeliner has hearts drawn in it.”
“Yes,” Kristy nodded.
“Why?” Katie asked.
“I'm single with three kids, rarely get a night out and I'm going to go have fun. You should try it sometime. The fun part, not the makeup. I know you don't have the patience for a 2-hour makeup application.” Kristy drummed her fingers against the worn steering wheel cover, keeping in tune with the beat from the blown speakers. “Why don't you come out with me?”
“Tonight?” Katie frowned at the trees outside the window. “I can't. I need to figure out what Ian's done with my paycheck. Preferably before I can't pay my electric bill.”
“My bet is that he's at Goldie's buying the entire bar a round of shots. Ian likes to blow through your money. He couldn't care less about whether y'all pay your electric bill. He's not a grown up.” Kristy pursed her lips at Katie. “Can I please, please give you some sisterly advice?”
“You're going to whether or not I give you permission.” Katie mentally calculated how much overtime she would have to work before she'd able to buy another car. Begging rides was not going to be a long-term option and she knew better than to think Ian would let her keep the S-10.
“Too true,” Kristy admitted. “But I'm pretending to be polite.”
Katie almost smiled. “Sure you are.”
“You need to leave him.”
“Uh huh,” Katie just nodded.
“Did you hear me?” Kristy asked. “Leave him. Leave Ian McIntyre out in the cold and don't let him come back this time.”
“Uh huh. I heard you.”
“Don't give me the crap about how much you love him.”
“I'm not.” Katie continued staring out the window.
“You're not arguing?” Kristy seemed surprised.
“I'm not arguing. In fact, I agree with you.” Katie crossed her arms and leaned back in the cracked leather seat. “Ian's girlfriend showed up at the restaurant to gloat. It was pretty much my last straw with him.”
“Ian's girlfriend?” Kristy hit the brakes so hard that the car behind them nearly rear-ended them.
Katie cringed as the horn blew. “April Lynne.”
“Ian's still screwing around with April Lynne?” Kristy rolled her eyes. “He's been cheating on you with her on and off since high school.”
“Well, he's not going to be cheating on me with her anymore after tonight.” Katie pursed her lips at her own reflection in the rearview mirror.
“And how do you plan on forcing him to keep his dick in his pants?” Kristy asked. “Or are you just going to chop the damned thing off with a kitchen knife?”
“Neither. I told April Lynne she could have h
im.” Katie let the words hang in the air between them.
“You did what?” Kristy looked startled.
“I'm tired of fighting to keep a man I don't even know if I like anymore. April Lynne says she loves him. She can have him.”
Kristy's mouth formed a small 'O' of surprise. “You're being very mature about this. Especially considering that Sunday is your birthday.”
“I'm too old to care about my birthday. It's just another day.”
“I am so not buying that. You love birthdays.” Kristy shook her head at Katie. “Tell me the truth.”
The only sound to be heard was the car's overly loud exhaust as it powered down the less than busy street.
“I drove the truck to work last week and Ian threw a fit.”
“What?” Kristy looked baffled.
“He got one of his loser buddies to drive him down to the sheriff's department so that he could take the truck back. He came through the front door screaming at me for taking his truck without his permission.”
“It's not his truck,” Kristy pointed out. “Your name is on the title, isn't it?”
Katie nodded.
Kristy waited. She knew Katie well enough to know that there was more to this story.
Katie took a minute to compose herself before continuing. “No one was in the office except for me and Sully.”
“Who is Sully?” Kristy interrupted.
“He was hired to replace Ian,” Katie explained. “But like I was saying, no one was in the office except for myself and Sully. Ian comes through the door red-faced and screaming obscenities at me. He got right in my face ranting about his truck and his stuff and how I didn't have permission to touch his stuff.”
“You're his wife.”
“I'm aware of that.” Katie swallowed. “It was bad, Kristy. I was almost scared of him. I've never seen him that angry before. All of his veins were bulging and his skin was turning purple.”
“That's weird. Why was he so upset?”
“I don't know.” Katie exhaled visibly. “Sully heard him screaming and came up front to see what all the commotion was. He told Ian that he needed to leave.”
“Did he leave?”
“No,” Katie said. “He spit in Sully's face.”
“Oh my god.”
“Sully's a big guy. Have you ever seen Tate Briggs?”
“The fire chief?” Kristy asked and then nodded. “Who hasn't seen him? That man is yummy.”
Katie let out a small laugh. “Sully is his brother.”
“Oh boy, so when you say a he's a big guy, you're not kidding. He's probably twice Ian's size.”
“He's easily twice Ian's size. Not fat either, just a whole lot taller and a whole lot more muscle.” Katie pursed her lips. “Ian wouldn't stop screaming and cussing at Sully. Ian told Sully that if he wanted him to leave, he was going to have to make him leave.”
“That doesn't sound promising.”
“Sully picked him up by the neck and threw him straight out the front door. The left side of his face his one big scrape from skidding along the pavement.”
“Ouch.”
“Ouch is right,” Katie said. “I didn't go check on him. I felt absolutely nothing as I watched him pick himself up through the glass, get into the S-10 and leave. He was bleeding and I didn't even go outside to see if he was okay or try to calm him down.”
“He sounds like he was behaving like an irrational ass. I don't blame you for not checking on him.”
Katie frowned at her sister. “Here's the part I haven't told anyone else. You have to promise to keep this between us, okay?”
“Okay,” Kristy said.
“Promise me.”
“I promise,” Kristy said.
“I thought it was really weird that Ian had freaked out that badly over me having the truck. The more I thought about it, the weirder it seemed. Especially since he'd already told me the night before that they didn't have any lawns to mow that day. Our truck is the one and only vehicle for Ian's fake lawn care business.”
“You mean the so-called business where Ian and his buddies sit around drinking beer and smoking grass while pretending they're being paid to mow grass?” Kristy asked snidely.
“That would be the one,” Katie acknowledged. “Ian wasn't home when I got home that night, but he was home the next morning. I got up a little earlier than usual and I decided to search the truck. I figured that Ian must have freaked out the day before because there was something inside of the truck that he didn't want me finding.”
“Oh shit." Understanding was beginning to dawn in Kristy's eyes. “What did you find?”
“Three prescription pill bottles with strangers names on them. All of them were some kind of pain pill.”
“Double shit.”
“I also found a baggie of weed, a pipe, and one size extra-large women's thong.”
“Shit, shit, shit.” Kristy drummed her fingers against the steering wheel. “Did you confront him?”
“No,” Katie felt oddly numb. Almost as if she was talking about someone else's life or recounting what she'd watched on one of her favorite television shows. “I thought about confronting him, but the way he'd acted at the Sheriff's Department scared me. Ian's been drinking a lot lately. If he's also taking pain pills, then there's really no telling how he'd react to being confronted.”
“You're scared of him.” It wasn't a question.
“I'm not scared of him,” Katie chose her words carefully. “But he's not staying in my house any longer either. I'm not leaving him alone with Hannah Mae. I don't trust him.”
“You really were planning on leaving him this weekend?” Kristy asked. “It wasn't an impulse decision after he stood you up?”
“I asked Mom to watch Hannah Mae all weekend for a reason,” Katie said. “I've been working on my 'this relationship is over' speech all week. It's a real shame Ian didn't show up to hear it.”
Kristy snorted. “Maybe it's better this way, Katie. Just say you're done because he stood you up for your birthday dinner.”
“Planning on it.” Katie took a deep breath and then sighed. “Now I just have to figure out how I'm going to manage as a single parent.”
“You'll be fine. It's not like Ian has been all that helpful. He hasn't held a job in how long?”
“Too long,” Katie admitted. “I can pay the bills on my own, but I can't afford daycare. Maggie probably won't watch Hannah Mae for me now that I'm divorcing Ian. I don't have my own car and I can guarantee you that Ian isn't going to let me have the truck. I was going to try to hold off on leaving Ian until after we bought another car, but the drugs are a deal breaker for me. I would go to jail if I got pulled over in that truck and there were drugs in it. I can't take that kind of risk.”
“No, you can't,” Kristy agreed. “You could come stay with me and mom. That will lower your bills and make sharing the car with Mom easier on both of y'all.”
“Um, no. Y'all already have 7 people living in a small three-bedroom house. I'm not going to make it 9.”
“It would be a bit cramped,” Kristy admitted.
“Uh huh. Cramped, to say the least.” Katie shook her head in frustration. “If we're being completely honest, Frank may fire me for leaving Ian.”
“What?” Kristy gasped. “Why?”
“Frank Chasson is basically Ian's stepfather, minus the actual marriage to Maggie. Frank is going to side with Ian if the divorce gets ugly. He very well might decide to fire me. It's not like he couldn't find some excuse if he really wanted to.”
“You really think he'll fire you?”
Katie nodded.
“Shit.”
“I know. Losing my job would be a disaster.”
“Maybe you should start looking for another job?” Kristy suggested.
“I might have to,” Katie sighed. “I don't know. I'm so angry and stressed out right now. I can hardly think straight.”
The silence between them filled the car for several long minute
s.
“You need a night out,” Kristy said finally. “Let loose and relax for awhile. Clear your head.”
“Like that will ever happen,” Katie made a face. “Pigs will fly before I get a fun night out that doesn't end with me pulling Ian's head out of the toilet or scrubbing barf off the walls.”
“Honey, it's about to happen right now.” Kristy cut the Mustang in a tight, tire-squealing u-turn in the middle of the road. “It's your birthday. You're coming out with me tonight. We're going to get so drunk you'll forget Ian McIntyre ever existed.”
Chapter 10
“You sure your girlfriend ain't going to rat us out?” Joe slurred his words from the passenger's seat of Ian's tiny, beat up truck. “Thirty grand is a crapload of money to just be giving away.”
“Robbing Walker Hardware was April Lynne's idea. We're good.” Ian continued down the dark road that would take them to Goldie's, their favorite strip club.
“What about that wife of yours?” Joe asked. Lowery was riding in the bed of the truck since there was no way in hell for the three of them to all cram into the small single cab of the pickup. Lowery had mellowed significantly over dinner, especially once he discovered that they had netted a cool $36,789 from the safe at Walker Hardware. It broke down to a little over 9K a piece. That was without counting the jewelry. Plenty of money to turn that grumpy frown upside down.
“What wife?” Ian joked.
“You know what wife. The skinny little bitch who runs all over you like you're a rug and she's a goddamn vacuum cleaner.” Joe pulled a beer out of the case on the floor that was securely resting between his battered boots. The three friends had gotten drunk with dinner, but it hadn't been enough to satisfy their need for alcohol. They had picked up the beer to pass the time on the twenty-minute drive from the restaurant to Goldies. “How you planning on explaining where you come by nine thousand dollars to her?”
“She won't ever see it,” Ian said.
“Oh, and hows that gonna work out?” Joe sounded skeptical.
“I'm leaving her.” Ian sucked in a deep breath. “That was part of the deal for tonight.”
“Say what?”