Bait

by Mia Carson

  Mom nodded. “I was so afraid she was going to hurt you again,” she said, sniffing back tears, “and it was me all along. I should have been there for you, and for Ella.”

  I stood up and pulled her into a hug. “It’s okay, Mom. Everyone makes mistakes…even moms.” I held her a moment before I stepped away from the hug and looked at her. “If you talk to Ella just like you did to me, it’ll all work out.” I smiled at her. “Trust me.”

  She nodded and sniffed again. “Okay. We’ll do it today, at Dolly’s, just like you suggested.”

  Dolly’s was the spot in town where people came to socialize and swap stories and gossip over coffee. If they apologized there, that would ensure the news rippled through town.

  I pulled her back into a hug. “Love you, Mom.”

  “I love you too, Levi.”

  As we ate breakfast, I gave them a thumbnail of how I got Cat to spill the news, leaving out all the catfighting and the ‘I wished I’d had sex with Cat in high school’ bits. They didn’t need to know those details.

  After breakfast, Dad and I spent a few minutes discussing the best way to get the combines to the Calhoun farm. Driving a combine on the road was a pain in the ass because it was so wide it made it difficult for cars to pass, but removing the headers was also a hassle considering we could drive the machines there in less than an hour. In the end we decided to just drive them, headers attached, and we’d work around the cars as best we could. This was farm country and drivers were used to large pieces of equipment trundling down the roads.

  The combines were already in a field halfway to the Calhoun farm, but it took us almost an hour to reach the field we were going to harvest. The grain truck was already there, as was a Case IH tractor with a grain cart. I looked the field over as we edged off the road and crossed the ditch into the field. Old man Calhoun sent us everything we needed, but to get it done in two days was going to be tight, really tight.

  We pulled to a stop and left the machines idling as we walked out into the sorghum to check it for dryness. It was nearly ten, but the grain was still a little on the wet side.

  “Does he expect us to drive the grain car and the combines both?” I asked as I pulled another sample of grain from a plant and rubbed it between my fingers to see how easily the grain separated. This example was better. The moisture was almost there, and we could probably start harvesting anytime.

  “He said he’d have someone out to run the cart and truck.” Dad dropped the seed in his hand and wiped his hand on his pants. “I think it’s good enough. Let’s get started or there’s no way we’re going to finish this tomorrow.”

  I nodded in agreement as we walked back to our idling machines. I didn’t think we’d finish it tomorrow anyway, and I knew we wouldn’t if someone didn’t show up to help.

  We’d just finished cutting around the edges of the field to give us room to turn around when one of Calhoun’s farm hands showed up. I knew someone had arrived when I saw the Case belch smoke as it started and moved. I was about half full, but if this guy was competent he’d pull in beside one of us and let us unload now so Dad and I wouldn’t have a full load at the same time.

  It was almost three when I saw a CF pickup working its way across the field. I was on the backside, farthest from the road, so the truck went to Dad first. Dad stopped for a moment, probably to talk to the driver, before he started moving again. The truck was waiting on me as I approached the end of my row. The driver was in the way, the dipstick, so I had to cut to the end and back up so I could get around the pickup for the next pass.

  I slowed the machine to idle and put it in neutral before I stepped out on the platform above the big drive tire on the front. Steve stepped out of the truck. The big CF on the door stood for Calhoun Farms, but in school, those of us who didn’t like Steve much claimed it stood for ‘cluster fuck.’ The last thing I wanted was to talk to him, but technically, I was working for him.

  “How’s it feel to be working for me?” he yelled up.

  “Your money’s as green as anybody else’s. How’s it feel to have to ask for my help?”

  “We don’t need your help.”

  “Oh. I guess we’re here just for shits and giggles then. Maybe if you spent more time working and less time sitting on your ass in that pickup, we wouldn’t need to be here.”

  “I’m the foreman. I don’t work in the fields.”

  I nodded knowingly. “That must be why your dad, the owner, does, huh?”

  “I came to tell you to pick up the pace. If you don’t, you’re not going to get done.”

  “We’re going as fast as the machine can clean, unless you want a lot of trash in your grain.”

  “I think you’re sandbagging us to charge more.”

  “I think you’re an idiot because we charge by the acre, not time. But hey, if you want us out of here, just say the word. We’ll unload and be on our way.”

  “What will your dad think of that?”

  “After what I told him this morning, I think he’d tell you to shove your sorghum up your ass.”

  He glared at me. “Cat called me last night.”

  “Good for her. You and Cat have a lot to talk about?”

  “She said you came to see her. I want you to stay away from her.”

  “No problem.”

  “And don’t start spreading a bunch of rumors. If you do, you’ll be sorry.”

  I smiled down at him. “I’m not going to be spreading any rumors,” I said, putting special emphasis on the last word.

  He glared at me, clearly understanding my implication. “That shit she told you was all a lie, just like she said. I don’t know what she sees in you, but she said all that stupid shit trying to get you to fuck her.”

  “If it’s all a lie, why are you so worried about it?”

  “I’m not.”

  “You’re not?” I grinned down at him again. “Then why’d you drive all the way out here to confront me about it? You know what I think? I think the truth is starting to come out and you’re scared shitless. You and Cat both. Cat drugged Ella, and she passed out and couldn’t give consent. That makes you a rapist, Steve, and Cat is at least culpable, if not an accomplice, and guess what? There’s no statute of limitation on rape. You’re in real danger of pulling time, maybe Cat too, and you’re both about to piss yourselves. That’s what I think,” I said, just to get into his head. I had nothing that would stand up in court, but he didn’t have to know that.

  “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about!”

  “No? I think I do, and pretty soon everyone in town is going to know you for what you two are. Lying pieces of shit. I think your life is about to become a living hell.”

  He pointed at me, his face twisted into a sneer. “You start spreading those lies and I’ll kick your ass!”

  I started down the steps, jumping the last one to the ground. “You want to have a go?” I challenged as I walked toward him. “Then come on, big man. Nobody here to save your whiny ass this time. It’s just me and you.”

  “Are you threatening me? I’ll file harassment charges!”

  “Nobody’s heard me threaten you. It’s your word against mine, and I’ll deny I ever stepped off that machine.” I glared at him, my smile mocking as I tried to taunt him into making the first move. “How’s it feel to be on the receiving end, Steve,” I sneered, stressing his name.

  “I mean it, McCormick! I’ll fuck you up!”

  I lunged at him like I was going to attack him and laughed as he flinched back. “Yeah. You’re a real tough guy. You can’t even rape a woman unless she’s passed out. Ella would’ve kicked your ass.”

  He glared at me and turned for his truck. “This is your only warning, McCormick,” he snarled over the hood.

  “You know where to find me, but let me give you a warning. If you so much as touch Ella again, I will find you, I will cut your fucking dick off, and I will shove it up your ass. Do I make myself clear?”

  I glared
at him, silently daring him to come at me, until he gave me the finger with a sneer and plopped into the truck. He raced the engine, all four tires flinging mud and tailings as he raced away, the truck banging and jittering over the rough ground.

  I slammed my left bicep into my right hand, my left forearm raised with my fist clenched in the universal sign of contempt at the back of the truck. I climbed the ladder back to the operator’s station, revved the engine, and engaged the thresher and header.

  “Everything okay?” Dad’s voice came over the radio the moment I began to move again.

  I pulled the mic from the hanger and clicked the transmit button. “Steve came to talk to me.”

  “I gathered. About what?”

  “He said we were sandbagging to run up our bill.”

  “He’s an idiot. We charge by the acre.”

  “That’s what I told him. He also threatened to kick my ass if I started spreading rumors about him.”

  “About what Cat said?”

  “Yeah. He’s scared to death.”

  After a pause, Dad said, “If there’d been any doubt Cat was telling the truth, it’s gone now.”

  I grinned. This was going better than I could have hoped. That was one thing about Steve, he never knew when to quit digging. “I’m not very nice. I reminded him there was no statute of limitation on rape. He didn’t appreciate that.”

  “No, I imagine not,” Dad said, and I could hear the last of his chuckle in his voice.

  “What did he want to talk to you about?” I asked.

  “He said he was checking on our progress. I wish he’d told me he thought we were trying to cheat him. I’d have told him what he could do with his sorghum.”

  I grinned. “Don’t worry, I told him for you.”

  “Good. I don’t how Raymond puts up with him.”

  I nodded in agreement. Raymond was a pretty good guy. The problem was his wife, Amanda. She was from Dallas, and she hadn’t adjusted to small town farm life very well. She seemed to think living on a large farm would be like the Ewings from the television show Dallas. It hadn’t taken long for her to realize that living on a farm was hard work, and it never stopped. She was too good to get her hands dirty, tended to look down on the Hamlinton natives. Hamlinton was populated with pickups and SUVs, with the occasional Japanese, Korean, or American car thrown into the mix. Amanda Calhoun drove the only Mercedes in town, a C-Class, and it was source of quiet amusement that such an expensive car was always dirty because the Calhouns lived on a dirt road. Privately, everyone was amazed they were still married, and the consensus was it had to be because she had nowhere to go and would get nothing from a divorce.

  Steve was very much a product of his mother’s raising, and he had a divisive personality to go with it. A lot of people liked him, especially women, because according to Ella, he was good looking. He was also smooth, played sports, talked a good game, and didn’t mind spending money on his friends. But an equal number didn’t care for him, mostly guys, and people Dad’s age and older, because he was a self-aggrandizing, know-it-all blowhard. Nothing was ever his fault, and he’d never had to pay for his mistakes. A lot of that was about to change, and it was clear he didn’t know what to do about it.

  I clicked the transmit button. “Me either. Do me a favor.”

  “What?”

  “In a few years, if I have a kid, and I start raising him like Steve, take me out behind the barn and beat some sense into me.”

  I imagined Dad was laughing while the radio was silent. “Count on it.”

  Ella

  It was 6:30 and we were in the thick of the dinner rush. Since it was a week night, we didn’t have people waiting for tables like we often did on weekends, but Dolly’s was still hopping. I was filling tea glasses when I saw Will and Judy McCormick walk in. Diane noticed, and after catching my gaze, scurried to seat them. Even though she had more occupied tables than me, I knew she’d seat them in her section so I didn’t have to wait on them. The last time they were in, Levi was with them, and it had still ended in a train wreck.

  “Can I get you anything else? Dessert?” I asked my table.

  “We’re good. Thanks.”

  I was turning away when Diane approached. “Ella? The McCormicks would like to talk to you.”

  I felt my stomach lurch like I was in a fast descending elevator, and Diane looked apologetic. “Thanks.” I put on my best waitress smile as I approached. “Mr. and Mrs. McCormick. May I help you?”

  “Yes,” Will said. “We’d like to speak to you. Have you got a minute?”

  I glanced around. “We’re a little busy and—”

  “Please,” Judy said. “It will only take a second.”

  I swallowed hard. “Okay, sure.” I glanced around and there was a section where nobody was sitting, so with a nod of my head, I led them to the quiet area.

  Dolly’s dining room was shaped like an L, with the longer section containing most of the available tables in three rows of ten tables each, along with stools at the lunch counter. The shorter section was against the windows overlooking the street, holding two rows of four tables each. The service areas of kitchen, food storage, and restrooms took up the remainder of the space to form a rectangle.

  “How can I help you?” I asked. I had my back to the wall and could see everyone watching.

  “We came to apologize,” Will said.

  Judy nodded. “Both of us.”

  “For what?” I asked, my heart pounding in my chest, unable to believe it would be this easy.

  “Levi told us Catherine Meyer admitted to putting a sleeping pill in your beer,” Judy said as she looked down, her fingers twisting and untwisting as she spoke. She looked back up. “We treated you awful, especially me. We should have known better, that you wouldn’t have done that to Levi on purpose. I…” She ground to a halt as her lips pulled into a pout and she began to breath hard. Her face crumbled as she fought tears.

  “We shouldn’t have listened to the rumors,” Will said, taking over. “We should have believed in you.” He looked down. “We convinced Levi you cheated on him. He didn’t believe it at first, he told us we were wrong, but we wouldn’t listen.”

  “It’s okay. We—”

  “It’s not okay,” Judy said, her voice thick with pain. “You were like one of my own, and for me to,” she whimpered, “for me to treat you like I did. Can you possibly forgive me?”

  I bit my lower lip so I wouldn’t cry. I didn’t trust my voice, so I nodded. Judy blubbered and held out her arms to me, and that was it. I stepped into her embrace and we cried together as we held each other.

  “I’m so, so, sorry,” I murmured as I cried. “I didn’t mean to hurt Levi. I—”

  “You hush, child,” Judy whispered as her embrace tightened. “You have nothing to apologize for,” she said as she sniffed.

  We stood in each other’s arms another moment before she disengaged. Will stood to the side, looking uncomfortable. Seeing the shame and hurt in his eyes started me crying again as pulled him into a hug.

  “I’m so sorry, Ella,” he said softly as his arms went around me. “I’ll never doubt you again.”

  I cried on his shoulder a moment before stepping back and wiping my eyes. “I’m sorry for crying, but—”

  Judy wiped her eyes, sniffed, and laughed softly before sniffing again. “If you’re going to apologize for that, then I’ll have to also.” She smiled at me. “I’ll understand if you need a little time, but I’d like to invite you to dinner. You and Abby both, of course, whenever you can make it. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

  I nodded. “I’d like that, thank you.”

  Judy sniffed again and laughed gently as she wiped under her eyes again. “Ah…” she gasped. “I bet my makeup is running.”

  I sniffed and wiped under my own eyes, but I was getting control of myself. “Did Levi put you up to this?”

  “No. Well, sort of,” Will said, his normally strong voice subdued. “When he told
us what Cat said, we knew we’d messed up. Judy was fretting about what to do, how to make it up to you, and Levi suggested we start with an apology.”

  I smiled again, mostly as a way to fight off more tears. “But he didn’t make you do this, to keep peace in your family, did he?”

  “Oh, no, Ella,” Judy said as she shook her head slowly. “An apology doesn’t seem like enough for what we’ve put you through.”

  I sniffed one more time. “I have to get back to work, but thank you for…everything. Are you staying or do—”

  “We’re staying,” Judy said with a soggy smile. “I was such a wreck worrying about facing you, I didn’t cook. Poor Levi, he’s going to your parents’ house for supper.”

  “Don’t worry about it anymore,” I said as I led them to one of my tables, but sat them as far from an occupied table as possible.

  Everyone was looking at us, but I didn’t care. It had to be clear to anyone watching that I’d reconciled with Levi’s family, so I’d let them stare. Then I realized what it meant, having them make their apology here. It couldn’t be an accident. Will and Judy were declaring, for all to see, they’d forgiven me. The McCormicks and the Johnsons were once again standing together. I smiled. That had to be Levi’s idea.

  “Two sweet teas, one with lemon, one without?” I asked.

  Will smiled at me. “Please.”

  I nodded as I turned away to fetch their order. I wanted to smile, and cry, and laugh, but I pursed my lips until I could get control of myself.

  “What was that all about?” Diane asked as I filled Will and Judy’s glasses.

  “Levi convinced them I’ve been telling the truth,” I murmured, paying unusually close attention to my task so I didn’t have to look at her.

  When she didn’t say anything, I glanced her way to see if she’d heard. Her eyes were wide.

  “Really? How?”

  “He talked to Cat Meyer last night. She admitted to him she drugged my beer.”

  She was still standing in stunned silence as I carried the McCormicks’ drinks to them and quickly made my rounds, topping of drinks and making sure my guests were taken care of. Nobody dared ask what was said, but those that could see us knew something had happened. Everyone else could see something had changed as I’d intentionally placed Will and Judy in my section even though there were tables available in Diane’s section, and we were all smiles now.