Under the Midnight Stars

by Shawna Gautier

  After he bought the furniture that Brielle had insisted suited him best, they pulled the truck around to the loading dock and filled it. When they were finished, they climbed back in the truck and pulled away.

  “That didn’t take long.” Brielle checked the time on her silver bracelet watch. “It’s not even noon yet.”

  “I thought maybe we’d stop at the electronics warehouse and grab some lunch before we head back. If that’s all right with you?” Colt suggested. He reached out and placed his hand on her bare thigh, just below the hem of her floral lavender summer dress. Just the sight of her bare legs, and knowing what awaited him under her dress, mere inches away from his fingertips, was driving him crazy.

  She smiled at his loving gesture. She unbuckled her seatbelt and scooted to the middle seat next to him, before she quickly fastened the lap belt.

  Colt welcomed her with an arm around her shoulder. He pulled her close.

  “It’s perfectly fine with me.” She leaned her head on his shoulder.“As long as we don’t eat lunch at the electronics warehouse.” She giggled.

  Colt chuckled slightly. “Very funny.” He kissed her on top of the head. He could hardly believe that after eleven long years he was happy again. Genuinely happy. He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve hitting rock bottom before rising to the top again, but whatever it was, he was glad it was over.

  They made their stops and headed back to the farm. Jack was already there. He’d been there all day laying the last of the beige tile in the dining area, and then painting and mounting the baseboards.

  They all helped to unload the truck. The dark brown leather couch was saved for last. It was centered in the middle of the living room with the back facing the staircase, leaving a few feet of walkway to access the hall, and the front facing the flat screen LCD along the wall. That way Colt could either watch TV, or sit back and stare out the oversized window overlooking the front of the property.

  A matching oversized chair sat adjacent to the couch, facing the window, along with an end table on either side of it.

  Jack slumped tiredly into the oversized chair.

  Brielle and Colt flopped down on the couch.

  “How’s your hand?” Colt eyed the white square gauze taped to the back of Jack’s left hand.

  “Good.” Jack yawned, staring out of the window at the clear blue sky. “I am whupped!”

  “Me too.” Brielle laid her head in Colt’s lap and curled her knees to her chest. She sighed with exhaustion.

  Colt tensed, looking down at her wide-eyed.

  Brielle didn’t notice. She was staring dreamily out the window.

  Jack furrowed his brow, his mouth agape. “What in the hell are you doing?” he snapped.

  Brielle bolted upright, cringing. She forced a nervous giggle. “Uhhhh, resting?”

  Colt kept silent, deciding it best to let the siblings work it out themselves. He unlatched the recliner and sprawled back.

  “Resting on the neighbor’s lap?” Jack challenged angrily. “Have you finally lost your marbles? Do you think you can just boss yourself right into anyone’s life and do as you please? Or are y’all dating?”

  “All of the above.” Colt couldn’t resist making light of the matter. He stifled a chuckle.

  “Uh.” Brielle lightly smacked Colt’s thigh. “Yes, we’re dating. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. It just sort of happened.”

  “When? You guys just met.” His eyes shot to Colt. “Did you sleep with my sister?”

  “What?” Brielle asked in shock.

  “Whoa, Jack!” Colt reset the recliner upright and stood. “It’s really none of your business. Your sister’s a grown woman.”

  Jack jumped to his feet, about to blow his lid. “She was a virgin, asshole! And how can y’all be dating? You haven’t even lived here long enough to take her out on a date!”

  Colt eyed the disgruntled brother for a second. He admired Jack’s honorable intentions concerning Brielle, yet he couldn’t help but see the situation as humorous. He pursed his lips, trying to hide his smirk, before he answered. “I tried to take her to dinner last night but you sort of messed that up with the stitches and all.” A slight chuckle escaped.

  Jack fumed. “Oh yeah, ha ha! This is real funny, Colt!”

  Brielle pushed Colt aside and came within inches of Jack’s face. “He’s right, Jack — it’s none of your business! Besides, did you date Mandy Johnson before you slept with her?”

  “No, that was different,” Jack said, defending himself. “She didn’t wanna be dated. She was just as ready as I was.”

  “Exactly!” Brielle poked his chest with her finger. “So quit being a hypocrite! I like Colt, and he likes me, and that’s all there is to it. I thought you liked him too.” She crossed her arms, tapping her foot impatiently.

  “I do.” Jack’s tone was more subdued, but was still filled with animosity. He looked at Colt.“I know you’re a good guy, Colt. Especially compared to all the jackasses in town. And…” He looked at Brielle.“I guess I just freaked out a little seeing you lay your head on his junk is all.”

  “Uh.” She smacked him in the arm. “I didn’t lay my head on his junk. Anyway, get used to it.” She turned and planted her lips on Colt’s, holding his head firmly in place.

  “Eww, gross! You are such a brat!” Jack stormed past them to the front door. “See you tomorrow, Colt,” he said grudgingly. “I’m telling Dad!” he taunted before quickly shutting the door behind him and bolting down the driveway.

  Brielle pushed Colt aside and ran after him. “You better not, Jack!”

  Colt shook his head and chuckled slightly, amused by the squabbling brother and sister. As a child, he’d often wished for brothers and sisters. He walked out onto the front porch and sat down on the step to watch Brielle run up the driveway and jump on her brother’s back.

  “I’ll tell Dad when I’m ready!” she said angrily, not letting go.

  “Get off me!” Jack chuckled lightly while trying to shake her off.

  She hopped to the ground and dusted her hands. “Besides, you know how Dad would react,” she added calmly. “You can’t do that to Colt.”

  “Okay, okay, I won’t say anything. I wasn’t gonna anyway. Geesh, you take things so literal, ya big baby.”

  “That’s what I thought.” She smiled smugly.

  “See ya later — brat.” Jack quickly climbed into his car. The engine roared to life, and he backed out of the driveway.

  Brielle made her way back to the front porch and sat down next to Colt.

  “That was entertaining.” Colt grinned.

  “Uh huh,” Brielle replied in a neutral tone.

  Colt turned to Brielle with lust in his eyes.

  She giggled and leaned forward to kiss him, but her actions were cut short by the ringing of her cell phone. Sighing heavily, she pushed the green button and placed the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

  “Hello Gabby, it’s Amy.”

  Colt could hear every word Amy said through the silence.

  “Hi Amy. Is everything okay?”

  “I know you’re on personal time, but I was wondering if you might be able to cover my shift just for tonight? I’m not feeling so good.”

  Colt tensed. He wondered if Billy had anything to do with Amy’s malaise.

  “Uhhh.” Brielle glanced at Colt and frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m just not feeling good is all. Just sick to my stomach. I tried to call in, but Emmit said he’d have my job if I didn’t show. Mimi already called in before me. He’s shorthanded.” Her quivering explanation held a desperate undertone.

  “Okay. What time?”

  “I was supposed to be there an hour ago. He told me to rest and come in a little late — before the dinner rush.”

  “Right.” Brielle pursed her lips. “All right, Amy. I hope you feel better.”

  “Thank you, Gabby! I’ll make it up to you! I’ll work your first shift next week. I’m off that
night.”

  “All right. I’ll have Emmit change the schedule. Take care.” Brielle pressed the red button on her phone. She looked at Colt apologetically. “I have to work tonight. Amy’s not feeling up to it.”

  “I know, I heard. I think your volume’s up too loud on your phone.”

  “Oh.” Brielle smiled. She pushed the volume button on her cell phone a few times to lower it. “She says her stomach’s sick, but I don’t know if I believe her…” Her voice trailed off.

  “Why?” he urged.

  “I don’t know.” She sighed, shaking her head. “She sounded more distraught than anything. I think the upset stomach was a cover for something else.”

  Colt’s gut wrenched. He was sure Billy was the cause of Amy’s distress, but he decided to keep his concerns to himself. “Huh. When do you have to go in?”

  “Now.” She pouted.

  “All right. I’ll take you home to get ready. Then I’ll take you to work and pick you up tonight.” He didn’t want her to be out and about at night by herself — especially not after what Roger had told him in the bar.

  She smiled, a look of surprise crossing her face. “You don’t have to do that.”

  “From the look on your face, I’d say you’re happy about it.” He reached for her hand and led the way to his truck. Then he took her home to get ready, and reluctantly drove her to the diner afterward.

  Standing in each others’ arms in the middle of the parking lot, Colt gave Brielle one last long fiery kiss. Then with a wink and a charming smile, he watched as she hurried through the front door of the diner.

  He climbed back into his truck and headed for Zeke’s garage, hoping he was still at work. Luckily he was. He didn’t quite know how to finagle the information from Zeke without raising any eyebrows, but he needed to find out where Amy lived. He was sure Zeke knew where most of the townspeople resided.

  He parked his truck out front and hurried into Zeke’s office. “Hello, Zeke.”

  Zeke grinned. “Colt. How’s the farm coming along?”

  “Good. Aside from the remodeling, the house is habitable now.” He gnawed on the corner of his lip, trying to come up with a viable excuse to get Amy’s address.

  Billy entered the office. His jaw dropped open when he saw Colt.

  “Finally outta here?” Zeke asked Billy.

  Colt’s cold eyes bore into Billy’s. He wanted to pound him senseless right then and there. It took all of his willpower to refrain himself.

  “Uh, yeah.” Billy drew his shocked gaze from Colt, back to Zeke.

  “Alrighty then. I’ll see ya bright and early. Don’t let Amy keep you out too late this time,” Zeke teased.

  “I won’t. See you tomorrow, Zeke.” Without another glance at Colt, Billy strutted away.

  Zeke sighed. “So, you give any more thought to taking over the business?”

  “Still seriously pondering the idea, Zeke. I’ll give you an answer soon though.” Nonchalantly, he glanced out the window and saw Billy climbing into his truck. If Billy were headed for Amy’s, his best bet would be to simply follow him.

  “It’s a big decision. Take your time,” Zeke replied.

  “Well, I’ll let you get back to closing up shop. I was just passing by and thought I’d let you know that I’ll drop the tractor off at your place tomorrow, if that’s all right.”

  “Sure. My wife’ll be there. She’ll show you where to park it.”

  “Thanks, Zeke. I’ll let you know what I decide soon.” Colt headed for the door.

  “See ya, Colt.”

  Colt rushed to his truck just in time to see which way Billy had turned out of the parking lot. Staying a safe distance back, hidden behind other vehicles, he followed Billy across the other side of town to a community of single- and double-wide trailers, each on its own parcel. Most stood on a good acre, some more than an acre.

  Hiding behind a row of hedges lining the road Billy had just turned onto, Colt inched forward, just enough to see Billy pull into a driveway at the dead end. Billy continued on along the long driveway, to the lone trailer sitting on a number of acres atop a hill.

  Colt drove past the road a ways and turned around, finding a desolate place to pull over and watch. He didn’t have to wait long. After only fifteen minutes Billy’s truck emerged at the crossroads and headed back into town.

  Anxiously, Colt drove to the trailer on the hill. He got out of his truck and walked across square stepping stones surrounded by hardened dirt and clumps of crabgrass. He propped his foot on the cement block step and knocked on the front door, hoping he’d found Amy’s home.

  Amy opened the door a crack and peered at Colt with one eye. “Yeah?” She sniffed. She’d been crying.

  Colt’s heart was pounding. He hoped Billy hadn’t harmed her. “I don’t know if you remember me from the diner, but my name’s Colt Tayler and I need to talk to you about Billy.”

  “Wha — what about Billy?” she questioned with dread in her voice.

  He decided to just get to the point. “Did he hurt you, Amy?”

  “How’d you know? Who told you? I haven’t told anyone. How’d you even know where I lived?” She broke down crying.

  “No one told me, Amy.” Colt remained calm, his voice caring. “I just guessed. I saw you at the bar with him last night. I followed him here. I know he’s bad news. He hurt someone I know. If you don’t mind me asking, how’d he hurt you?”

  Amy bit her quivering lip. Slowly, she opened the door all the way, revealing the black and purple discoloration around her eye.

  Colt’s blood raged hot when he saw her eye. He’d wished he’d followed Billy up to the trailer earlier so he could’ve pummeled him senseless.

  Amy clutched at her pink bathrobe, ensuring it remained closed, and stepped aside. “You can come in,” she whispered weakly.

  He wanted to stay outside, rather than intrude on such an emotionally private moment, but he figured he’d get more information obliging her hospitality. “Thank you.” He stepped up into the trailer.

  Amy slumped down tiredly into a pink recliner, which matched the pink curtains, and the pink carpeting. Even the tile kitchen countertop was pink.

  Colt swiped his hand over his mouth and sighed, wondering how to proceed on such a delicate matter.

  “What do you wanna know?” she asked timidly.

  “He hit you?”

  She nodded. “Last night … He was drunk.”

  He didn’t want to ask the next question, but he knew he had to. “Did he rape you?”

  Shocked, she reached up to fidget with her necklace. “No!”

  He didn’t know whether or not she was telling the truth. “Are you sure?”

  “He hit me is all.” She hung her head low. Then she snapped her head up. “But he gave me this to make up for it.”

  She held her necklace up for Colt to see. It was a white-gold charm of the state of Texas with a heart-shaped pink stone in the middle of it.

  She suddenly became an enthusiastic chatterbox. “He promised to never do it again. He’d just had one too many to drink last night. He got me this because he knows pink is my favorite color. He never wanted to hurt me.”

  Colt let his eyes fall to the necklace to please her. He could care less about it. All he wanted was to wrap his fingers around Billy’s neck. “Amy, it’s not right — him hitting you like that. And if he did hurt you in any other way, then he could hurt other women too.”

  “Like your friend?” she asked curiously. “What’d he do to her?”

  He didn’t know what in the hell he was doing trying to get another woman to confess to Billy’s criminal ways when he couldn’t even get his own girlfriend to do it. All he knew was Billy had to be stopped, and he was hell-bent on making it happen.

  “I never said it was a her,” Colt replied steadily. He didn’t want to break his promise to Brielle.

  “Oh.” Amy nervously fingered her necklace. “What’d he do to your friend?”

  There wa
s no way around it. Colt had to let Amy know that she wasn’t the only woman that Billy had sunk his fangs into, and unless he was stopped, she wouldn’t be the last.

  “He tried to rape her,” Colt replied guiltily, already feeling the emotional pangs of betraying Brielle.

  Amy sat, quietly shocked. After a moment, she sighed heavily and stood. “Well, maybe she deserved it!”

  Colt’s jaw dropped open. “No woman deserves to be raped, Amy! How could you even think that?”

  “Billy’s my boyfriend. All he did was hit me. It was an accident. And he hasn’t raped me. He’s not that kinda guy! Not that it’s any of your business, but I wanted him to make love to me. Now thanks for the concern, but you have to leave. He just went home to shower and change and he’s coming back.”

  She held her chin up high, went to the door, and yanked it open.

  Colt shook his head, irritated by Amy’s ignorance. He didn’t know how, but he was going to bring Billy down one way or another. He peered at her black eye again. A part of him suddenly felt lousy for upsetting her. It was bad enough that she had an abusive boyfriend — she didn’t need any more trouble. Especially not from another man.

  Colt swallowed hard. “Look, Amy … I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come here and upset you. It was the furthest from my intentions. I just wanted to make sure you were all right.”

  Amy paused before she spoke. Her tone was kinder. “Thank you. But I’m fine.” She shrugged. “I guess I’ll see you at the diner sometime.”

  Colt nodded. “I’ll leave you alone now. Take care, Amy.” With that, he left the trailer, got back into his truck, and headed for the farm.

  When he’d finally reached it, he pulled into the long drive and parked alongside the house. There was a faint glow coming from the living room window.

  “What the hell?” He remembered turning the light off before he’d left. He grabbed a two-by-four from the pile left over from remodeling.

  As quiet as possible, he made his way to the back porch. Quickly, he removed his boots and socks and crept up the porch steps and through the kitchen door. Heart pounding, he glanced around before he swiftly made his way down the hall into the illuminated living area.