Another One Bites the Dust

by Lani Lynn Vale

  The beast was meticulous during the wintertime. It took a few minutes to warm up, but once it did, watch out. I hadn’t tried to race her since I was in high school, but I knew damn well that it could hold its own with any other newer bike belonging to the men.

  The ride over was an adrenaline-charged one. The road to my cabin was set on mostly back roads. Wildlife was prevalent in this section of East Texas. When a ten point buck darts in front of four motorcycles going sixty miles an hour, there’s nowhere else to go but full speed ahead. The call was so close, that I could have put my arm out and slapped the deer on the rump as he passed in front of us.

  “Did you see that shit?” Gabe asked with wide eyes as we pulled up to Trish’s cabin.

  There were exclamations of affirmative all around, and we all trumped up the four stairs to reach Trish’s front door. She opened the door quietly, peeking one eye out before opening the door and letting us in. Leaning the shotgun up against the side of the door, she held her arms open for me.

  I wrapped her up in my arms and gave her a tight squeeze. “How you doing, Trish?”

  She regarded my face for a few seconds before taking her thumb and rubbing the side of it against the new scar that split my forehead. “Obviously, you forgot to tell me a few things.” She chided.

  I smiled sheepishly. I was remiss. The woman was very good to me, and here it was eight months since the last time I’d seen her, and she didn’t even know that I’d been hurt, let alone married and had a kid on the way.

  I filled her in on my life, and she was genuinely happy for me. “So when will you bring your little woman out here to live?” She asked.

  “As of right now, we’ll be staying in Kilgore. That’s not saying that we won’t come out here from time to time on the weekends. We’ll still do the hog roast on New Year’s Eve, so you can meet her then.” I said lightly. “Now, tell me what’s got those dark circles under your eyes.”

  “I’ve been hearing 4-wheelers on your property at all hours of the night. I’m so used to the silence, that hearing them run around for hours every night is keeping me from my sleep. At first I thought it was you, but then a young lady came by yesterday asking for information on you.” She said warily.

  My breath stalled in my lungs. “What’d she look like?”

  “Very fit young lady. Hair up in a ponytail. Brown hair, brown eyes.” She described.

  I let out a few choice curses and ran my hand through my hair. Motherfucker. How does she keep figuring out this shit? I had my land wired, so there was no possible way that she’d been on it without my knowledge, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t border my land to see all there was to see.

  Two hours later, all four of us were tired, grumpy, and hungry. One single thing was found at the base of my gate. That was a picture of Payton with Alpha walking him in the courtyard of Free. We left with more questions than we came with. My ride home was spent with a tornado of emotions hurling through my head.

  My major concern, however, was how I was going to keep Payton safe. The woman was as pig-headed as one could be. She had to be independent, or she felt that she was failing herself. She’d come so far since the attack, and I didn’t want to suppress her independence, but I also didn’t want her to be dead. Nothing on this planet would be able help O’Hare then. Payton was my life, and I didn’t know if I could survive without her; I knew I didn’t want to.

  The bikes peeled off to respective houses as we rounded the garage of Free. I pulled outside of ours and smiled when I saw Payton asleep on the porch swing with Alpha curled up beside her. She looked like a burrito wrapped up in her down comforter; nothing could be seen but her head.

  The sound of our bikes roused her from her nap, and she smiled as I kicked the stand down and swung my leg over the bike. “I’m freezing. Is there room for me?” I asked only semi-seriously.

  “Of course,” She said as she lifted the blanket up so I could slide underneath it. “Just don’t expect me to move.”

  “Why are you home so early?” I asked.

  “My boss sent me home. We were dead, and I was the only one there who already had overtime for the week. Cheyenne had to stay.” She snickered.

  “So what time do we have to be at your family reunion this weekend?” I asked curiously.

  “Ummm, normally starts at eleven, but I get there early, I help mom with lunch. Bingo starts around twelve after everyone eats.” She said. “Which reminds me, we have to go get some ornaments. Two of them this year.”

  I scowled at her. “Ornaments? Bingo?”

  Honestly, Bingo wasn’t my type of thing. I’d played when I was younger, but it’s been well over fifteen years. Payton and her family had a family reunion on her mom’s side every year. I didn’t do so well with crowds, so I wasn’t looking forward to it in the slightest. However, I’d do anything in the world for Payton, and if that meant I had to play fucking Bingo, then I would.

  “How far is it to Clayton?” I asked.

  “Only about an hour. Should be an easy drive. I normally ride with my parents or my grandparents. It’ll be interesting this year arriving separately.” She smiled.

  She looked lost in thought, and I started to worry that something was going on, but she didn’t know how to tell me. “What is it?” I finally broke down and asked.

  She heaved out a sigh. “Benny Bear finds out soon about the DNA test. I’m nervous as all get out.”

  I could understand how that would be bothering her, but that wasn’t the all of it. “What else?”

  She hung her head, and my heartbeat picked up. “Payton.”

  “I don’t feel safe anymore. All I ever do is watch over my shoulder when I’m driving home. When I get here, I freak out. That’s why I was outside. So just in case, someone could hear me scream. I keep having nightmares about my attack. Then it morphs into the hospital and that bitch taking that baby. Except she always holds up the bag and shoots the baby once the elevator door is about to close.” She whispered.

  It was my turn to hang my head now. I was failing her. Here she was scared to death, and I wasn’t doing a damn thing about it. Hell, I didn’t even notice it. She’d been outside when I got home for quite a few weeks now. I’d just thought she enjoyed the swing, yet here she was telling me she was scared and didn’t want to be in the house by herself.

  Sifting my fingers through her hair, I felt my control slip a fraction of a bit. I’d kept it in check over the last six months be sheer will. Every instinct I had was telling me to hunt her down like the bitch she was and kill her. Eliminate the threat. That was how I’d been taught in the Army. You have a threat; you neutralize it before it kills you instead. Those instincts that were long ago honed to a lethal edge were making themselves known. Begging to be released on the woman that was threatening our lives.

  “Okay, I’ll fix this. I can put an alarm system in, and we can do the locks on the door, too. What else do you need to feel safe? We can get another dog. The team has had to call in a few favors for information, but O’Hare is a goddamned ghost. We’ve turned up absolutely nothing in the past five months.” I rambled.

  Payton’s hands on my face stopped my tirade. “I know you’re doing everything you can, Max. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  I hauled her into my lap, and took her face into my hands. “Yes, you should have. Don’t keep stuff from me.”

  “Today is dinner night with my parents. Are you ready to go?” She asked.

  “Yep. You?” I asked in return.

  “I think so. I look like shit though. Nothing fits. All the maternity shirts swim on me, and all of my old shirts are too tight. At least my pants fit. My scrub tops won’t last much longer either. Not sure where to go from here.” She said as she stood.

  She pushed her arms up above her head, stretching like a contented cat who just rose from a nice long sleep. Her shirt rode up to just above her belly button. I stifled my laughter, since I just heard her ranting about her clothes. Her sweat pan
ts came to just under her belly, the bottoms pulled up to just above her calf exposing her socks. The socks were festive red and white stripes with white fur at the top. They came to just above her calf, right under the hem of her sweat pants.

  “You look like a pregnant elf.” I said before I thought better of it.

  She glared at me, and I held my hands up in surrender. She stomped off towards the front door, and by the time I made it there, she was turning the corner to the hallway. Sighing at my stupidity, I waited by the front door. She came back moments later wearing one of my Army sweatshirts and a pair of ugly brown boots. They were the type of boots that you see all those young girls wear in the winter with short miniskirts. At least Payton was wearing clothes with hers.

  “Ready?” I asked and we headed out the door.

  “Slug bug red!” Payton squealed and then followed it up with a punch to my right bicep.

  “Jesus. Do you really want to start this game?” I asked teasingly while rubbing my shoulder.

  Payton frowned, and I played up the sting she’d delivered acting like my arm was about to fall off. “You probably left a bruise.” I whined.

  “Oh, please. That was a love tap.” She chided.

  By the time we arrived at her parent’s house, I’d been punched in the arm over five times. I let her win though. I’d seen every last one of the Volkswagens. I’d just chosen not to steal away her fun. Plus, if I’d punched her the way she’d punched me, she’d have a very sore arm in the morning.

  “Jesus Christ.” Payton huffed after she’d worked the sweatshirt off her body and tossed it in the nearest chair. “Why’s it so damn hot in here?”

  “Payton, it’s not hot in here. Its probably because you’re resembling a whale these days. That blubber you’re carrying in your ass probably keeps you insulated pretty well.” Bennett deadpanned from his sprawl on the couch.

  My hand covered my face, and I wondered what she’d do. When I didn’t hear any swearing or scuffling, I uncovered my face and looked around. Bennett was laying on the couch still, and Payton was giving him the evil eye. He ignored her, but started paying attention when he started walking towards him.

  “Move over, asshole.” She snarled once she got close enough to sit.

  “There is a recliner right over there. Don’t you have any clothes that fit?” He goaded.

  The boy had a death wish. There was no other reason for his attitude. He had to have known that he was going to rile her with these comments. Yet, she didn’t react. She stayed perfectly calm for another whole minute until she realized he wasn’t going to move. Then she turned around and promptly let her weight drop until it hit his face.

  Muffled shouts from Bennett escaped from underneath Payton’s ass, and then she did something that forever would be ingrained in my mind. She let out the loudest, most disgustingly nasty fart I have ever heard, and then got up and ran into the kitchen. Bennett was gasping and gagging, and I was so dumfounded that I could do nothing but stare in flabbergasted silence.

  Never once had I heard a woman beside my sister fart in front of me. The whole time Payton and I’d been living together, she’d never once let one slip. Hell, most women tried to act as if they didn’t even have the necessary parts to perform that bodily function with. Yet here Payton was, farting on her brother’s face, and then running away like it was nothing. The woman was pure genius.

  My stunned silence was replaced by deep belly laughs. The type that have tears running down your face, your lungs running out of air, and your sides hurting because you’re laughing so hard and long that your abs have no time to recover from the workout. Dismissing Bennett rolling around on the floor, I walked into the kitchen to see Payton snacking on Broccoli and cheese. Payton’s grandfather was at the table with her sharing the same bowl, but he was dipping pieces of bread into it.

  Payton’s face was a deep reddish hue, and I was still gasping for air, trying to obtain composure, but it was a losing battle. “T-that w-was a-awesome!” I gasped and laughed.

  “What’d she do?” Tony asked while talking to Payton’s grandmother.

  “She farted in my mouth!” Bennett moaned from the other room. “I need CPR!”

  “Payton!” Jessie said sharply.

  “What?” She asked innocently.

  “What have I told you about doing that? That’s disgusting and rude.” She chided.

  “I can still taste it!” Bennett shrieked.

  Tears returned to rolling down my cheeks as I laughed. I’d almost had it back under control until he’d said that last part.

  “She’s always been a gassy one,” Tony exclaimed as he set a pan of lasagna onto the kitchen table. “Bennett, quit your bitching and get in here. Dinner’s ready.”

  Payton buried her face in her hands, and I threw my arm around her shoulders as I sat down next to her. Giving her a kiss on the forehead, we all dug in. Death threats withstanding, it was a nice dinner. It was also bittersweet. I wished like hell that my parent’s were here today. To meet their children’s loved ones, grandchildren, and the new family that would soon be joined to mine.

  The ride home I kept a vigilant eye on the road, and my thoughts kept straying back to my parents. Payton’s family reminded me of what I didn’t have. What I would never have again. My children would never meet my parents. They’d never get to see them. My father didn’t get to walk his daughter down the aisle. He didn’t get to see Ember graduate from high school or college. Didn’t make it to my Ranger school graduation. Weren’t there when I was injured in Iraq. Not there for the birth of their first grandchild.

  I went through the nightly routine of making all the doors and windows were locked. I fed Alpha, set out my clothes for tomorrow, plugged my phone in, checked to make sure my gun was loaded and under my pillow, and I cleaned up. What I didn’t do was speak since we’d left her parents’ house. Which must have seriously freaked her out because she burst after I’d been lying in bed for a long time thinking about how different life would be if I’d had had my parents here right now.

  “I’ll never do it again!” She cried and covered her face with the pillow.

  I looked at her quizzically. “Do what?” I asked her pillow.

  “Be nasty. I wasn’t even thinking.” She mumbled into her pillow.

  “Can we name the baby Thurston if it’s a boy?” I asked.

  The pillow lowered from her face and she turned to look at me. “Thurston?”

  “That was my father’s name.” I said quietly.

  Her eyes dilated, and she scooted closer to me. “Will you tell me about them?”

  My heart seized in my chest. I’ve avoided it for the past year now. She’d asked, and I changed the subject. She didn’t push because that wasn’t the type of person she was. She was patient and persistent when she needed to be. She’d waited for me to be ready, but hell, I might never be.

  Taking a deep breath, I told her about them.

  “My mother’s name was Adeline. They were great parents. The type who let you do whatever you wanted, within reason. They didn’t care if James or I had a beer at the house. They took all of my friends in as if they were one of their own. When they died, it was my fault.”

  She snorted in disbelief, and I closed my eyes.

  “They were on the way home after seeing me graduate from boot camp. They’d spent two of their four-day vacation with my grandparents, and then came to see me. I was staying so I could start Ranger school, and we knew it would be another sixty-one days before they would see me again, so they flew to where I was, and then they left the next day. I wasn’t slated to start the school for another week, but I’d asked them to go home so I could have some fun. It was the worst mistake of my life.”

  “Oh, honey. That wasn’t your fault. You’d just gone through boot camp. You deserved to let loose, and from what I understood, y’all were near Vegas. Who the heck wouldn’t have wanted to go play instead of hanging with their parents? Especially one that was about to start ano
ther school that would take every bit of your mental capacity to get through?” She said softly.

  She didn’t touch me though. She must have known I would never get it out if she touched me. Squeezing my eyes tightly shut, I replayed how the next few hours after their departure went.

  “I was at a fucking strip club when one of the Army officers that helped trained us came in. We started to give him shit for being there, but then the look on his face registered and we all fell silent. He walked right up to me, and tore my heart apart. While I was in a fucking strip club watching the girls dance on stage, my parents died in a plane crash. The one I insisted they go home on.”

  “Max, didn’t you just tell me they only had four days, and they’d already spent two with your grandparents and one with you? They would have had to leave eventually.” She said trying to condone my actions.

  “Yeah, but they weren’t going on that flight. I told them to leave. The boys were going to be leaving by eight, and I wanted to go with them. I practically shoved them out the door.”

  I felt a drop hit my cheek and my eyes opened in a flash to see tears pouring down Payton’s face, running down her neck and disappearing behind the t-shirt she was wearing. She was leaning over me looking so mad that she could spit nails.

  “This is not your fault!” She yelled.

  “Well, whose is it if not mine?” I queried.

  “Obviously it was no ones. It was a fluke of nature. Stop beating yourself up.” She demanded.

  “You should have seen Ember when I told her. She was shattered. Utterly shattered. Then I just left her there. I went back to school and left Cheyenne and her mom to pick up the pieces.”

  She couldn’t help herself any longer; she threw herself at me, and we both laid there silently. Payton gave up after an hour of me not speaking, and dropped off to a peaceful sleep. It was on the fourth hour of lying there that I felt the baby. Tiny little nudges tapped me in the stomach and euphoria surged through me.