Cross Ties (Swamp Heads, #5)

by Esther E. Schmidt

  No one has been able to get a hold of Roscoe either. His mother even called the FBI in an effort to get in touch with her son but that ended up a dead end too. After all, Roscoe is a grown man, not a criminal, not missing, so there’s not anything anyone can do.

  “Now what do I do?” Earle asks as he stares at the oven.

  “Now you wait until they’re slightly browned. Then you can remove them from the oven and let them cool for a minute or two and add the icing.” I smile at Zeke’s twin explaining for the gazillionth time how to make cinnamon sticks.

  Even when we were young he was always around Zeke and I a lot. He’s also been like a brother to me. Though right now he’s more like a curious kid. Treating me like I’m a source that has the answer to a lot of things in life. I do have to give it to him though...he picks things up real fast. Well, maybe not when it comes to cooking, but the rest? Yeah. He’s been a real sport since he also knows when to leave so Zeke and I have our alone time.

  I mean that in a good way. He doesn’t push or bugs us. He’s fun to be around and I do know they’ve lived together for so long and with them being twins...they just like to hang around a lot together. I hope there’s a special girl for Earle out there who will challenge him as much as he will challenge her. He’s sweet and he deserves someone sweet in return.

  “You guys done in here?” Zeke asks, standing in the doorway with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

  I stroll over and he holds out his arms, wrapping me in his embrace and placing a kiss on the top of my head. See? Swoon worthy life. We even manage to do woodwork together like we did in the old days. Of course, we both have our own items we prefer to make but there’s something about sitting at a table together, sharing tools and asking for opinions in designs.

  Not that it’s always happy go sunshine with a cherry on top. Hell no. Especially during those ‘share opinions’ discussions. But I guess that’s also because I really hate his strong opinion in things and I’m protective about my designs. When my agitation settles though? I can see his point of view and smooth things out for the better. Not that I will let him know he’s right...and to give him credit...he sees the change eventually and he chooses not to rub it in, so there’s that.

  “You hungry?” I question while staring up.

  His eyes flare with heat, making my cheeks flush since I woke up this morning with his face buried between my legs. He ravished me and might have mentioned he needed to start his day with a breakfast like that every day of the week.

  The corner of his mouth twitches. “I could eat.”

  “Almost, you guys. Go on into the living room, I got this.” Earle says with determination.

  “You heard him, let’s go,” Zeke takes me with him. “Did you want to go check on the baby gators later?”

  “Sure,” I quip.

  We’ve been making rounds all through the park every day and seems like this day is no different. Earle manages to make the cinnamon twists to a success this time and we’re all out the door in less than a half hour. We’re almost at the building where the baby gators are when I hear my name. Turning, I see Beau coming up from my left.

  “Beau. Hi. It’s been awhile.” I state and feel a bit awkward since he and my sister were at a point in a relationship I wasn’t sure about, and then she was murdered and I left town...I really don’t know what to say to him.

  “I heard you were back,” Beau eyes me like I came back and grew another head or something.

  “About three weeks now.” I look toward Zeke, hoping he has more words to add to the few I just threw out.

  Zeke smiles at me and squeezes my hand. “Yeah, and we’re also together now.”

  “Together?” Beau’s face fills with an emotion I can’t quite place. “I’m happy for you guys. Look, I got to go...I was just dropping some papers off for my dad, he needed Cyrus to have them this morning. I’m gonna...you guys have a nice day, ‘kay?” He rushes off, leaving Zeke and myself to stare after him.

  “Is it me or was that weird?” I ask as I glance back at Zeke and he’s still staring at Beau who’s rushing off toward the parking lot.

  “He was in love with your sister and then lost her. He’s asked me about you over all the years you’ve been missing. I guess seeing us together now kinda hits him hard, you know?” Zeke is right.

  “I guess...I mean...I wouldn’t know how to react if I bumped into Leroy right now. I would be just as freaked out. With him missing for all these years...with me missing and turning up out of nowhere...yeah, I get it...that would be weird.” I muse.

  “Come on, let’s see if Freckles got bigger.” Zeke chuckles, making me smile. We named the albino baby gator Freckles.

  We’re about to go inside the building when we hear someone bellow. “Get down!” Before the both of us are being thrown to the ground. Gun shots ring out as I glance up in horror to see someone with a rugged appearance balancing over us. He’s holding a gun in his hand but the gray shirt he’s wearing is turning red on one side. Oh, shit, he’s bleeding.

  He dashes up and runs forward, gun still aiming in front of him while he snarls, “Stay down, fucker. I’ve got you now.”

  Towering over a person on the ground, the man sets his big biker boot on the hand lying on the floor, allowing him to take away the shotgun the man was holding. What Beau was holding. Since I now recognize him clearly. He was the one shooting at us? At me? The wounded man puts his gun away and grabs Beau’s arms, twisting them behind his back as he cuffs him.

  After that the man takes his phone and brings it to his ear. “Hayes here, I caught the perp. Red-fucking-handed. Yeah, shotgun. Took a damn hit too, call it in and get me a damn ambulance. Fuck.”

  The man glances back and when I stare into his eyes...it’s not the man who told me to leave town sixteen years ago...and yet it is. Except this man is very different, I can’t explain it.

  “Roscoe?” Zeke says, unsure. And for real, I don’t blame him because this man looks too hardened. Too...I dunno...detached? Cold?

  “Zeke.” He gives a slight nod while Cyrus comes rushing toward us.

  “What the hell happened, who the...effin’ hell, is that Beau? You dirty scumbag, I’ll...” Cyrus’ words die in his throat when he realizes Roscoe is standing close to him.

  “Cyrus.” Again, with just the name and a nod.

  Why is Roscoe acting like this? Though a shiver runs through me with the thought that this might not be an act...that he’s as cold and hard as he appears to be.

  “Did you plan all of this?” Zeke hisses through his teeth.

  Roscoe shrugs. “When your girl here got arrested a few weeks ago, her name popped up. I thought it was the perfect time and way to bring this fucker to justice. He’s killed too many people and now that I wasn’t a rookie anymore, nor working underneath the fucked up dirty sheriff in this fuckhole, I had enough reason and ability to do it.”

  “You fucking used her? As bait to lay a trap to benefit you? She could have fucking died!” Zeke seethes.

  Again, his idiot brother only shrugs. “She would have died that night if I didn’t make her leave. See, this fuckwit here, the son of the almighty sheriff, killed Leroy. Well, I obviously can’t prove that shit because the local law enforcement covered it up. When I responded to a scene at your girl’s house, walked inside and fought a guy who I recognized as the son of the sheriff...and with the knowledge of the shit that happened a week before that? Beau standing in front of Leroy’s house with a bloodstain on his chest? His father, the sheriff sending me away because he could handle something that wasn’t anything. All so he could make it vanish into thin air...sweep away any report, even if Leroy turned up missing right after? Yeah, go fight that shit when it’s the sheriff and his son you’re dealing with as a damn rookie. Like I said, it all changed when her name popped up a few weeks ago. I handled it for you guys, and I got you back together again. You’re welcome.” Roscoe grunts, placing his hand on his side that’s now drenched with blood.<
br />
  The sirens are getting closer, it’s like time is standing still and yet moving oh so fast. The brothers are eyeing each other. I say brothers but yet within this moment, Roscoe seems more like a stranger to the other two.

  EMT’s get to the scene as well as men dressed in black suits who snatch up Beau and drag him off. Roscoe clearly wants to go with them but stumbles. That’s no surprise since the guy has been shot and has lost a lot of blood already.

  Roscoe disappears into an ambulance while one man in a black suit is still talking to Zeke about everything that happened. It’s all a blur inside my head that’s settled on one thing. My sister’s boyfriend killed her...killed my brother...and our parents...he tried to kill me, again. And from what Roscoe said...he also killed my sister’s best friend.

  Leroy spilled his feelings to his best friend...wanting her fully, friends, lovers...a life for the two of them. He waited too long or realized when she started dating Beau. Oh, God...what if he never said anything? Then everyone would still be alive. Or if he only said something sooner, before my sister started to date Beau. My breathing is out of control as sobs leave my body. My knees buckle and hit the ground hard. It’s over...it’s all over.

  Chapter 11

  ***Zeke***

  It’s been four days. Four dragging, very confusing days, for all of us. Roscoe just left the hospital. Well, I might have to add that he checked himself out because he should have stayed longer since the shell did a lot of damage. I couldn’t bear to go see him.

  Our parents did but my mother won’t say anything, dad’s the same. And it makes me wonder what went down in that hospital room. No one talks about it. It’s like Roscoe wasn’t even here or got shot...nope. It’s like my brother is still gone on a job like he’s been for years.

  “Hey.” Laudy says as she strolls back into the house, she was sitting on the patio drinking coffee.

  I’ve brought her back to my and Earle’s house four days ago. Earle’s been staying at Roscoe’s house. Earle stated that it’s clear Roscoe wouldn’t be using the house any time soon so he claimed it as his. And with that, he gave us the space Laudy and I need. Because even though the threat is now completely gone, and with that, the case of her family’s murders is now solved and closed...it’s not so much closed when it comes to turmoil inside her head. Feelings and emotions aren’t an open and shut case.

  These things take time and it’s like she’s trying to avoid talking about it, like she’s on autopilot. Taking in air, food, getting through the damn day but not exactly living. I can’t seem to get through to her. I think it’s time to bring her someplace where she might be able to let some of the turmoil inside of her out.

  I grab my keys and step toward the door. “You ready?”

  She gives me a confused look. “What for?”

  “I’ll show you, but you have to come with.” There’s really nothing else for me to say and the lack of excitement or any emotion for that matter is discouraging.

  Laudy decides to indulge me. It takes less than ten minutes for me to park in front of the tiny cemetery. Getting out, I round the truck and open the door for her. She’s not moving, her eyes set on her hands that are folded on her lap.

  “Come on, ma chérie,” I whisper and take her hand, giving it a little tug.

  “I can’t,” she croaks.

  “I’m right here, Laudy. We can do this, together. Like how we were years ago and still on this day we’re stronger...you and me, Laudy...always. You know life’s funny that way, right? No matter how much you work for it, how badly you want something, or if you take different directions...it always requires a first step. Even if it’s an ‘all or nothing’ moment...your mind can’t keep spinning in the what ifs. You have to be alive to push yourself to live to the fullest. Looking back many of us would have done things differently, and yeah...it might have led to other things in life but there would still be things left that in our head needed to be done differently. It’s an everlasting circle. Sometimes you have to glance around and see what you’ve got left and enjoy that within the moment you’ve got to spend here on earth. And I’m right here, Laudy...I’m right fucking here. Open your eyes and see me, ma chérie. Because even if I close my own damn eyes...I will always see you.”

  She launches herself at me and I can barely brace myself to prevent the both of us from crashing to the ground. “Why didn’t Leroy say anything sooner? Why didn’t you? Why did Beau kill Leroy when my sister hadn’t even made her choice yet? Why...dammit, why? It’s making me crazy, Zeke. And I can’t believe the sheriff...the one who should protect his citizens. He chose to protect a killer. Even if it was his son...so many lives are gone because of those two. With Leroy the sheriff knew...he knew and yet he did nothing so he let my family get killed. Why?”

  I keep holding her close, letting the words and tears flow out of her. She’s been closed off for days now, she needs this. Though most of those questions will stay unanswered. It’s good to have all of this out. We’re all aware of the sheriff who’s now awaiting trial, just like his son is. But with a case like this, that’s just a technicality. Emotions run deep and so is the hurt that’s forever imprinted on your soul.

  I slowly guide us to the spot where her family is buried. It’s where we spend the rest of the afternoon talking before we head back home. And for the first time in days she reaches over and takes my hand. My heart tugs for her but with that tiny move, and the knowledge how strong my woman is, I have all the faith in the future...one we will share together.

  ***Laudy***

  My heart feels like it’s been ripped out, torn to shreds before gluing it back together, and throwing it back inside. Yet when I glance at Zeke there’s warmth that settles there, as if it’s mending. For days I’ve felt lost, questions left unanswered running through my head as I unintentionally pushed everyone away. But Zeke stayed understanding, stayed sweet, he simply...stayed.

  He pushed through the turmoil that was going on inside me and I feel like he broke that dam and let it all out so I could take a step back and look at things through different eyes. One where I got the opportunity to catch a glimpse at the future, allowing myself the reminder that I have one...with him right there beside me.

  Zeke disappeared into the kitchen when we got back from the cemetery. As if he knew I needed time for myself. I grabbed the tools and a piece of bamboo wood and started to design. Getting lost in my head with something mindless to do, and I feel so much better now. Or it might also be the delicious smell that’s coming from the kitchen. Gumbo. He made gumbo.

  “That smells amazing.” I murmur and wrap my hands around him, plastering myself against his back as I try to glimpse around him.

  “Let’s hope the scent doesn’t travel all the way to Earle, because if he knew I made gumbo, he would be bursting through the door.” Zeke chuckles.

  “Absolutely.” I smile and think of how things seem to fall into place. Although there’s something I’ve always wondered about, now that I’m living here. “Hey, why do you guys have a bathtub in the yard that can be heated with a fire?”

  “We have a normal bathroom as you know.” Zeke fills two bowls and hands me one. “But that wasn’t always the case...I’ve had the bathroom installed a few months ago after my sister stayed here awhile. We were living like pigs and when she cleaned up the place, I kinda liked it. Hence the reason I had it designed but Earle couldn’t be bothered to clean up. Not until you came into town.”

  “Oh, gosh, he smelled! When I came back and we saw each other, I headed over to Roscoe’s house to give him a piece of my mind, but Earle was there instead. And he gave me a hug but it was awful. Such a bad smell. I had to hold myself together not to puke. I had to tell him how bad it was, that’s no way to live.” My body gives a shudder at remembering the horrible smell, and I might automatically trigger my gag reflex along with it.

  Zeke tips his head back and laughs. “Well, that’s one way to get him to clean up his act. You did something that up to n
ow, no one has ever succeeded at.”

  We both take a seat on the front porch. The evening sun is keeping us company and when I glance to my left to see him sitting lazily in a chair, eating gumbo he made especially for the both of us, I realize just how lucky I am. Not only within this moment but also to have a family, his family, surrounding me since they’ve made it clear time and time again that I’m very much a part of this family now too.

  Even if they don’t talk about Roscoe, I feel like I do owe him my life. Even if he put it on the line like he did...I do think he did it for the right reasons. He gave me peace of mind and brought the murderer to justice.

  Zeke’s head turns and he shoots me a wink, making my heart skip a beat. See? Just a mere action from this man has the ability to raise a reaction inside of me that settles a feeling of content that I am where I want and need to be. Right here in my hometown, the man I’ve loved for almost all of my life at my side, to love for the rest of the time we have on this Earth.

  I give him a smile in return that blooms straight from my heart before I start to fill my stomach with his amazing food. As if the both of us realize this is the point where we are, finally allowed to embrace everything life has to offer. I sit back and just enjoy everything live gives...the view, the food, and the man beside me who for me...makes it all possible, and complete.

  Epilogue

  Two years later

  ***Laudy***

  The back yard is filled with family. Kids running around while parents enjoy small talk and some good food, drinks, and music. Bertie is playing the mandolin while her kids are dancing in front of her. Zeke’s dad is playing the accordion while Jo is singing. Earle grabs spoons and uses them as a percussion instrument. Gosh, I love this bunch.

  Zeke is dancing with our little girl in his arms, as if he’s dancing with a grown woman. Sabine’s cheeks are round from the bright smile she gives her daddy. I could sit here forever and relish in the way these people enrich my life.