Dakota Blues Box Set

by Lynne M Spreen

  “He won’t.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  Jessie pulled on her jacket. “I’m going for a walk.”

  Fine, Karen thought, sinking into the sofa. What a mess.

  You’re tellin’ me.

  Karen closed her eyes and leaned her head back. You could fix this, Frieda.

  How?

  I don’t know. Make him get in a car wreck or something.

  Don’t be saying things like that.

  I didn’t mean it, Karen thought. But what am I going to do?

  There was no answer.

  Karen wanted to throw something or run away, neither of which would protect any of them. And since Jessie wasn’t thinking straight, protection would fall to Karen, at least for the duration of Lenny’s visit. After that, she wasn’t responsible.

  Except what if he sweet-talked Jessie into coming home with him, and then they’d be out in the countryside, helpless. He’d probably take her phone and car keys. She’d be trapped.

  Karen felt like throwing up.

  A WEEK LATER, A BEAT-up work truck rumbled into the driveway. Karen opened the door. Lenny was a little taller than her, and he wore prison pants, a white tank and a plaid overshirt, unbuttoned. His flat stomach and broad shoulders spoke of physical labor.

  “I’m looking for Jessie?” He took off his sunglasses and smiled, and Karen saw why a young woman might make the mistake of forgiving him.

  “I’ll take you to her.” Jessie and the baby were down at the clubhouse, sewing with the ladies, so Karen locked up and walked him over there. When they came through the door, the women fell silent.

  “This is Lenny.” Karen stepped away from him.

  “Hello, ladies.” Lenny stood erect, flashing that thousand-watt grin, and Jessie put her sewing aside.

  Fern reached him first. “I heard about you.”

  “Whoa, how about ‘Nice to meet you’?”

  “It isn’t nice. You’re not nice, from what I heard.” Fern stuck her barrel chest out at him, as if daring him to make a move.

  Lenny glanced away. “Whatever you heard, I take full responsibility.”

  “How, exactly?”

  He tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.

  Fern tapped him on the chest with one finger. “How did you take responsibility? Did you turn yourself in for domestic assault and serve time yet?”

  The young man shifted his stance, his feet apart, chest thrust forward.

  Jessie, not smiling, stood and placed her sewing on her chair. She straightened her blouse and walked slowly toward him.

  Fern held out her arm, barring Jessie from coming any closer. “He wants you to run off with him, and that little child as well. We’re your family now, and I don’t think it’s asking too much to expect him to answer our questions.”

  “He agreed to go to counseling when we get back.”

  The ladies gasped, and Belle clutched Sunshine.

  “When you get back? You’re actually going?” Fern’s face turned purple.

  “I haven’t made up my mind,” Jessie said. “He has to agree to certain conditions first.”

  Lenny raised his chin. “Which I said I would do. Case closed.” He looked down at Jessie. “You hungry?”

  “I could eat.”

  “Why don’t you show me where it’s good, and we’ll get a bite, and then I’ll bring you back here so your friends won’t have to worry about me being unresponsible with you.”

  “Irresponsible,” said Doc.

  Jessie turned to Belle. “Can you watch her for a few hours?”

  Belle hugged the baby and nodded.

  “After you.” Lenny held the door and followed Jessie through it. Then he turned and gave them a sloppy salute. “Ladies.”

  The door closed, and chairs scraped backward as they all ran to the windows to look. Lenny was swaggering away, his arm encircling Jessie’s shoulders. Watching, the women were apoplectic.

  “Did he just flip us off?”

  “What a bastard.”

  “If he hurts her, I’ll kill him.”

  “You and me, both.”

  “How can she risk this?”

  “It doesn’t look good.”

  Karen held her breath for the next few hours, but Lenny dropped Jessie off at nine. Jessie went right to bed, but her light was on for a long time, and Karen could hear her laughing and talking on her phone, late into the night.

  The next day, Karen agreed to babysit while Jessie and Lenny hung out. He dropped her off around ten that night, and when Jessie came in the door, she was flushed and happy. Lenny had bought her a cute bikini, and they swam with the dolphins at the wildlife park down the highway. As Karen watched Jessie float around the room, she wondered if the girl could possibly be objective about the man. Had he really changed, or was this an act to get her back to the trailer near Atlanta?

  CHAPTER 44

  ON THE THIRD DAY, JESSIE asked if Karen would babysit so she could spend the night with Lenny at his motel room.

  When Karen hesitated, Jessie sat down on the sofa, one leg folded under her. “I do think he’s learned his lesson,” she said, winding a strand of hair around one finger. “He’s being really kind and thoughtful.”

  “Have you actually talked about what happened?”

  “He blamed the fact that he was drunk and promised to drink less in the future. So far, that’s what I’ve seen. He orders sodas a lot when we go out.”

  Karen agreed to babysit, but she had a bad feeling about the evening. As she watched Jessie pack an overnight bag, she ran through her observations. In all the time Lenny had been visiting, he’d avoided her and the rest of the ladies—not a good sign. She didn’t see any repentance coming from him in the small amount of time she was able to observe him. Plus, he hadn’t shown the least bit of interest in Sunshine, and the baby acted like she didn’t know who he was. But Jessie was a grown woman, however young, and it wasn’t Karen’s place to mother her. Jessie would have to explore her world and make her own decisions.

  Young people were hard to judge. Sometimes they made mistakes but then straightened out as they matured. Karen didn’t want to condemn Lenny without knowing more about him. Maybe it was just one time, a mistake, a terrible alcohol-fueled lapse of control—but the thought of Jessie sticking with him, living in an isolated single-wide out in the country, raised too many worries to name.

  That evening, Karen watched them drive away, trying to ignore the cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her phone was charged and the ringer set to high. She checked on Sunshine, who was sleeping soundly. Then she opened one of the romance novels from Jekyll Island. The last time she looked at the clock, it was almost one. She fell asleep in the recliner.

  At two, she awoke to the sound of the door being unlocked, and Jessie walked in, her face red and her makeup streaked. One sleeve was torn. Her eyes blazed.

  “What happened?” Karen jumped up and went to her. “Are you hurt?”

  “Not as bad as him.” Jessie let her purse and shoes drop to the floor and sank onto the sofa.

  “Where’s Lenny?”

  “Writhing around on the floor of his hotel room, most likely.” Jessie allowed herself a little smile. “I fought back.”

  Karen wanted to drag Lenny behind a fast-moving vehicle, but she kept her voice even. “I’ll make tea,” she said, opening a box of chamomile. “I’m glad you’re safe.”

  “I can’t believe I was that stupid.” As she said it, Jessie’s voice broke. Karen sat next to her, gave her a hug, and handed her a box of tissues. When the tea was ready, she brought two cups over.

  “How did you get back here?”

  “I walked.” Jessie picked up a steaming cup.

  “In heels? It’s two miles.”

  “How did you know that?”

  Karen looked guilty. “Fern and I drove by the place.”

  “I’m sorry for scaring you. And except for a couple of little cuts on my feet, I’m fine,” she
said. “Which is more than I can say for Lenny.”

  Karen wanted the story, but she heard a noise and looked out the window. “Do you think he’ll come here?”

  “No. He can’t drive.” The night had begun with a romantic dinner and many tropical cocktails, followed by a visit to his hotel room. When Lenny told Jessie she’d be returning to Georgia with him, she balked, and they argued. When it escalated to yelling, she yelled back. When she decided to leave, he grabbed her. She shook him off, and the fight became physical. Now her left arm was red and beginning to bruise.

  “I was so mad, Karen. I cussed him out and pushed him off me, and he backed up a few steps. Then he stood there like a gorilla with his arms out to his sides. He was all red in the face, and he said, ‘Do I have to beat you?’ Can you believe it?” Jessie shook her head. “I ran into the bathroom, thinking I could lock myself in, but I wasn’t fast enough. He came in after me, and then I was trapped.” Jessie rubbed one eye with the heel of her hand, smudging her mascara further. “He had his arm back like this, in a fist. I thought for sure he was going to break my jaw. I was going to start screaming my head off, hoping somebody would come save me, but then I grabbed my hair spray and let him have it right in the eyes. Then I ran.”

  Karen hugged her. “Good for you.”

  “Yeah, good for me.” Jessie started crying in earnest now. Karen rubbed her back, offered tissues, and kept one ear cocked toward the highway. She didn’t know what hair spray would do to a guy, but if he came after Jessie, all they could do was lock the doors and call the police. The muscles in Karen’s jaw twitched. She did not like being a victim.

  Minutes later, they both heard it. A vehicle coming too fast into the campground. It screeched to a stop in the driveway. “Stay here,” Karen said. “Call nine one one.”

  “What about you?”

  “Lock the door.” Karen pulled it shut behind her. She slipped through the zippered entrance to the sleep porch and secured it behind her.

  Lenny jumped out. His hair dripped onto his shirt, wet from trying to rinse the painful spray out of his eyes, which were bulging and red. “Where is she?”

  “Get back in your truck and leave,” Karen said. She stood in front of the canvas porch, her arms folded and feet planted, trying to look as formidable as possible. In one hand was a tiny canister of Mace, so old it was probably inert.

  “Make her come out here.”

  Karen spoke calmly. “Get back in your truck, and leave now.”

  “Jessie!” Lenny bellowed. Lights came on next door.

  “She called the police. They’ll arrest you.”

  Lenny glared at Karen. “Maybe, but I’ll still beat the shit out of you first.”

  Karen looked into his ravaged eyes and knew he meant it. She glared back at him, gripping the little canister.

  The porch light came on at the trailer next door. The neighbor came out of his trailer, holding up a phone. “I’m filming you.”

  “Stupid fuck.” Lenny ran to the man, wrestled the phone from him, and hurled it down the street. It pinged against a metal object and then shattered in the darkness. He shoved the old man up against the side of his trailer, lifting him off his feet. When Lenny let him go, the man folded to the ground and lay still.

  Lenny ran back to the screen porch and tried to unzip the opening.

  “Jessie, lock the door!” Karen yelled. She picked up a lawn chair and swung it at the back of Lenny’s head as he was bent down, fumbling with the zipper. It was featherlight and useless, but it distracted him. With a roar, he grabbed the broken chair and swung it at Karen. She stepped back out of range but was now trapped against the wall of the RV. Lenny wound up again. Karen flattened herself against the trailer.

  Just as Lenny swung again, the big black-and-tan Chevy Silverado roared up, bounced over the curbing and skidded to a stop with Lenny in the headlights.

  Fern jumped out and planted both feet. She held up a Maglite like a billy club, slapping it into the palm of one hand. “Off the property. Now.”

  Lenny raised a fist. The truck shifted gear. Behind the wheel, Belle raced the engine, twice. Candace and Margo appeared out of the darkness to stand beside Fern. Both of them held up bear-spray canisters.

  “Come on, mister,” said Margo. “Let me feed you some of this.”

  Lenny clenched his fists. His head jerked at the crunch of taillights shattering. He cursed and tried to get around the truck, but Belle inched forward and cut off his pathway. Glass exploded again.

  “Ima fuckin’ kill you!” Lenny screamed.

  Sirens pierced the night. Belle shifted into reverse.

  Lenny ran to his truck. Patti stood brandishing her fire ax, a wicked smile on her face. Behind her, Doc raised a shovel and brought it down hard on the windshield. The glass spiderwebbed into a million little pieces.

  Cursing and wailing, Lenny jumped in, and the truck fishtailed out to the highway, broken glass raining from its cab. Belle reversed the Chevy and parked it in the lane. The women huddled to debrief, shaking with adrenaline and pride. When the neighbor hobbled over, they shook his hand and hugged him. Jessie came out of the trailer.

  Belle hurried to her. “Is the baby okay?”

  “She’s still sleeping,” said Jessie.

  “Thank God.”

  The police arrived and took a report but weren’t optimistic.

  “We can’t sit outside your door and watch for the guy,” said one officer. “You should think about what you’re going to do. Get a big dog, at least.”

  “Or move to a someplace he can’t find you,” said the second officer.

  Karen was dismayed, and Fern muttered under her breath, but unless they hired private security, the women would have to protect themselves. When the police left, the women went back to their trailers.

  Jessie and Karen sat at the kitchen table, too keyed up to sleep.

  Jessie wasn’t crying anymore. Her face was pale but determined. “Now I really do need to find a place to live. I wanted to stay around here, but that’s out.”

  “What about Denver? Sandy’s got that big house, and your dad makes a good living. I’m sure they’d love to help.”

  Jessie made a face. “She’d love to have me back to keep her company, but she made it clear a baby would be a competitor.”

  “Surely she didn’t say that.”

  “Not in so many words. Sandy’s crazy. I can’t be around her.”

  Karen wondered if this was youthful drama.

  “When I got pregnant, Mom—I mean Sandy—went nuts. She tried to get me to abort Sunshine. We argued, and when I told her I was keeping my child, she tried to push me down the stairs. My dad saw it all, and he had her committed. She was hospitalized for several months. Dad tried to get me to stay.” Jessie’s eyes narrowed. “He said Sandy would need me when she was released.”

  Karen ached for the girl. “So you felt like they both deserted you.”

  “I told Lenny, and he came and got me. I moved out that weekend.” She looked toward the bedroom where Sunshine was sleeping.

  “You’re in a rough place right now, but it will get better.”

  “Can’t get any worse.” Jessie smiled, and then her face crumbled, and she began to weep.

  Karen scooted over and hugged her. “You’ll be fine,” she said. “You’ll get a good job and fall in love again, and Sunshine will thrive. It might take a while, though, so you have to stay strong.”

  “I’ll try.” But Jessie didn’t sound like she believed it.

  “You will be fine. I promise.”

  “Sorry, but that sounds crazy.”

  “Listen to me,” Karen said. “I had four miscarriages. Four pregnancies—four children, buried. Do you know what I would have done to have a child? You have a child.”

  Jessie heaved a big sigh, and Karen continued.

  “When I went to my hometown for my mother’s funeral, I was served divorce papers, and then I lost my job.”

  “God.”
>
  “My point is we go on. Most people suffer. It’s just a fact of life.”

  “And yet, you seem so normal.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” Karen said.

  Jessie wiped her eyes with her shirt sleeve. “I need to start making plans. I’ll get an apartment in a city, maybe find a roommate. I’ll find childcare and a job and do classes online at night.”

  “You’ve got your business for extra income.”

  “That will help.” Jessie sighed. “Someday, it’ll be easier, but right now, it’s overwhelming.”

  “I understand,” said Karen. “I wish there was something I could do to help.”

  “You gave me refuge when I was on the run and a chance to see how I was living and break free. Now it’s up to me.” Jessie stood. “It’s almost morning. I’m going to try to grab a few hours of sleep before Sunshine wakes up.”

  The two of them hugged, and Karen went to her sleeping porch, but she wasn’t the least bit tired. She locked the RV’s door, zipped her enclosure shut, and walked down to the water’s edge to sit and think.

  In spite of all the drama and heartache of the night, Karen felt optimistic. Jessie would have a rough time of it, but she would gain understanding and self-sufficiency. In another year, she’d have her degree. The economy was improving. Jessie would find a job and settle in to a new city. In time, she would make friends, fall in love, and build a life.

  The parallels weren’t lost on Karen, who would soon be settling into a new home herself. The app was off and running; she had money coming in and a growing roster of clients. In time, she’d settle in to life in Savannah.

  The sky lightened to charcoal and then pink. A light breeze rippled across the water, rocking the boats in the marina.

  As to love? There was only one man she wanted. Karen closed her eyes. It was true, what she’d told Jessie. She did feel stronger, but it still hurt like hell. She’d experienced loss before, and she knew she’d get through it, but just for the moment, grief took her breath away.

  A motor started up in the marina, and a few moments later, a small aluminum fishing boat putted past. The fisherman saw Karen and waved, and she waved back. Silence returned to the water, and the sun lit the clouds to peach and then gold. She regretted having to leave this place, but like Jessie, she would start over again, no stranger to the process, having moved away twice from North Dakota and once from California.