by RB Hilliard
Liquid courage, I thought as I lifted the bottle to my lips and swallowed the alcohol. Fire streaked down my throat, turning to warmth as it emptied into my stomach. After two more chugs, I placed the bottle on the floor next to me and ripped open the envelope. Just like the other two, this one held a marriage certificate. I stared at the names; Amanda Lynn James and Ned Colliard. Who in the hell is Ned Colliard? The date read May of 2007. This was a little over a year before we hooked up. The State of Virginia caught my eye. Mandy went to college in Virginia. Across the top corner was the word “Copy.” Sitting right next to it, as plain as day, was the County Clerk’s stamp. Not the original, but a copy. If this was a copy, then where was the original? On file in Virginia? This was beyond messed up. It was insane.
Dropping my head back, I screamed, “Fuuuuuuuuuuck!” Then I picked up the liquor bottle and hurled it against the wall. After that, I went to wake Bobby and Tut.
Fifteen minutes later, the entire house was up. While the guys poured over the document, I leaned against the wall and watched Quinn. She was quiet. I could tell she hadn’t slept. I could also tell she was still mad at me.
“I say we fuck her world up.” This was the fifth time Chaz had suggested this.
“That’s enough,” Olivia scolded.
“Fuck this,” he muttered. Olivia shook her head as he stormed off in a huff.
“Sorry,” she said before going after him.
“As much as we’d like to go balls to the wall on the bitch, that wouldn’t be smart. She’s obviously up to something and the best way to beat her, is to figure out what game she’s playing,” Bobby stated.
Quinn’s eyes narrowed in anger. “What does that even mean?”
“It means we do this the right way. She had to have had help in all of this. First, we pay a visit to the County Clerk. After that, we’ll focus on husband number one,” he answered. Quinn muttered something about coffee and walked out of the room.
“How did I not know she was married?” I quietly asked, but we all knew that wasn’t the real question. The real question was how had she managed to perpetuate this lie for nine whole years. Suddenly, a thought popped into my head. The baby. The same night I told her it was over, she told me she was pregnant. My lungs seized in my chest.
“What?” Tut asked.
“The baby.”
Bobby’s brow furrowed in question. “What baby?”
“I married Mandy because she was pregnant, but was she really? Shit,” I angrily bit out, “If the marriage wasn’t real...” I couldn’t even say the rest.
Tut grunted in amusement. “And the plot thickens.”
Bobby frowned at him, before turning his attention to me. “Those are good questions and definitely ones we’ll look into, but first, I need for you to trust us and the process, okay?”
I took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Yeah, okay. Do you want me to call Stan?”
“Why don’t we see what the clerk and husband number one have to say before we get the lawyers involved.” I nodded, and he gave an encouraging smile. “Good, now go get some coffee and something in your stomach. You look like you’re about to drop.”
Bobby and Tut left for the County Clerk’s office around nine. This left me with Chaz, Olivia, and a still angry Quinn.
Just as I’d finished cleaning up the remainder of the broken bottle, Chaz appeared in the doorway. “Come on, sissy boy, let’s blow this joint.”
“Sissy boy? I’m not the one who’s pussy whipped,” I pointed out.
“I’m more than whipped. I’m owned,” he admitted on a laugh. “Now, let’s go. I have something I want to show you.”
“Let me grab my wallet and tell Quinn.”
“You don’t need your wallet and Quinn already knows,” he shot back at me. With that being said, I really had no argument. I did, however, need to touch base with my brother. Earlier, while I was in the shower, Dad called and left a brief update about Mom on my voicemail.
On our way out the door, I tossed him the keys. “Here, you drive. I need to check in with Ehren.”
Ehren reported that Mom was doing better than expected and would most likely be released later today. I told him to tell her I would stop by the house either tonight or tomorrow before ending the call.
“Is she okay?” Chaz asked.
“She will be.”
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
Sensing that I needed space, he turned on the radio and dialed it to the local Classic Rock station. Zeppelin’s “Going to California” played as I leaned my head against the door and closed my eyes.
“Hey, fuck face, we’re here,” I heard him say sometime later.
“Hmmm?” I lifted my head from the window and tried to focus on the building in front of us. I spotted the name Madden Daze on the door and froze.
My gaze snapped to his as I pointed to the sign and said, “You know Madden Daze?” Madden Daze was one of the best custom guitar designers in the business. Grant and Nash each had one of his guitars. Grant had even let me play his a time or two.
A hint of a smile touched his lips. “We’ve met. Let’s go, or we’ll be late.” Talk about vague. Too excited to argue with him, I pulled the handle and opened my car door.
A blonde-haired beauty met us at the door, and after gushing all over us, she escorted us back to what she called the “Design Room.”
Sitting on a rustic looking bench was none other than the man himself. I’d seen him in magazines, but this was the real deal. His head lifted from the guitar he was working on and a smile spread across his face. He stood and moved in our direction.
“Chaz, it’s good to see you again. I see you met my daughter, Liliana.”
Chaz nodded at Liliana. “Madden, this is Evan Walker, Meltdown’s newest member and the best fucking keyboardist you’ll ever hear,” he introduced. My face flushed with pride as I held out my hand.
“Nice to meet you, Evan. Chaz tells me you also play guitar,” Madden replied as he shook my hand.
“Guitar is my second love,” I explained, while trying not to piss my pants with excitement.
Clapping, Liliana exclaimed, “I’m so excited! Brady and I saw you guys in Ohio and you were amazing!” I gave Chaz a questioning look.
“That was the night you covered ‘Creep.’” Oh, yeah. I’d completely forgotten about that.
“It was better than the original,” she gushed.
“Thanks,” I muttered.
“Is that it?” Chaz asked. I followed his line of sight to the back of the room where a lone guitar sat on a silver floor stand. A guitar that looked identical to the one I’d purchased years ago with my allowance money. The same guitar that Mandy had destroyed in her petty fit of rage.
“Holy shit,” I whispered. Dragging my eyes from the guitar back to Chaz, I asked, “What did you do?”
“Chaz, here, gave me a call after the unfortunate incident at your house. He told me what he wanted, and I just happened to have some spare time on my hands,” Madden explained.
Chaz coughed and muttered something that sounded a lot like “Extortion,” and Madden broke into a fit of laughter. I had no idea what they were talking about and I really didn’t care. All I could focus on was the guitar. It was beyond cool. It was fucking amazing. I couldn’t believe Chaz had done this.
Madden waved his hands towards the guitar. “Well, whatcha waitin’ for? Go get her.” Grinning like a kid in a candy store I walked across the room and lifted the guitar from the stand. My gaze flew to Chaz and he nodded in understanding. He knew. Without me even having to say a word, he felt the depth of my gratitude.
After thanking Madden and getting practically squeezed to death by Liliana, we were ready to go. I couldn’t wait to show Quinn.
We were almost to the car when Madden called after us. “See you in October!”
“I can’t wait!” Liliana squealed.
I waited until we were inside with the doors shut before asking, “
What’s in October?”
“A wedding,” Chaz vaguely replied.
“Whose wedding?”
“Liliana and Brady’s.” It took me a minute to catch on.
“You told them we would play?”
His eyes cut to me. “You like your guitar, don’t you? Well, that was the only way you were getting it. Now, say thank you, Chaz.”
“Fuck you, Chaz,” I grumbled. A minute passed before I admitted, “It is pretty damn amazing.”
His face split into a smile. “That’s not a thanks, but it’s close enough.”
“Thanks, asshole,” I said through laughter.
We weren’t even five minutes into the drive when my phone rang. Glancing down, I saw the words “Unknown Caller” roll across the screen. It had been over twelve hours since her last attempt. Twelve peaceful hours. I seriously considered answering it. God, how I wanted to fucking blast her into next year, but Bobby was right. We needed to figure out her game. If I tipped her off that we were on to her, who knows what she would do.
Chaz’s eyes darted to the phone and his lip curled in disgust. “Mandy?” he asked.
“Probably.”
“I’ll give it to her; the bitch has balls.” My phone rang again, and again, I sent it to voicemail. “Aren’t you going to listen to it?”
My eyes slid from the phone to his. “It’s kind of hard to listen when your voicemail is full.” We both smiled. When my phone rang a fourth time, I powered it off.
Chaz shook his head. “I don’t know what I would do if I found out that Olivia was fucking around on me with another guy.”
“I’m pretty sure you would kill him.” His lip twitched with humor.
“You’re right, I would. I’ve got to say, though, I’m surprised you’re playing by the rules. If it was me, I would have hunted this Baxter joker down and taught him a lesson by now.”
Shrugging, I said, “Baxter is a victim of circumstance. Think about it. If a woman you’d shared years of your life with decided to punish you for following your dreams by spreading her legs for another man, who she planned on marrying behind your back, only to discover that she was already married to a third dude, would you hunt him down or would you hunt her down?”
“Oh, I would definitely make her pay, but I’d make sure he felt the backlash.”
Leaning my head back on the seat, I let out a sigh. “Honestly, I just want it to be over.”
“Did you ever love her?”
“At some point, I thought I did. I sure as hell tried.”
“And now?”
“I’m living with a woman I haven’t even touched yet, and I already feel more for her than I ever felt for Mandy. What does that tell you?”
“It tells me you need to get laid.”
“No shit,” I snapped, and we both busted into laughter.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“America’s Sweetheart”
Quinn
“No, Mom, now isn’t a good time for a chat.”
“Knock-knock!” I heard Alex-Ann call out from downstairs. Crap! She and Gretchen were here early.
“Upstairs!” I shouted down to them.
After my thing with Evan last night—followed by no sleep, because I was worrying about my thing with Evan—I was in a rotten mood. I couldn’t shut off my brain. I’d tried to tell him, but then he started talking about lying and how he could never forgive Mandy for her gazillion transgressions, and I couldn’t think straight.
Alex-Ann’s face appeared in my doorway. I beckoned for both she and Gretchen to come in as I continued to listen to my mother blather about how I didn’t have time for her anymore. I wasn’t the one who’d left.
“My mother,” I mouthed when Alex-Ann made a face at the phone.
“Because I have a houseful of guests right now and don’t want to be rude,” I answered, to her question as to why I couldn’t talk. “Look, Alex and Gretchen just arrived. We’re going to soak up some rays. I’ll call you this weekend.” Before she had the chance to lay into me, I said, “Love you, Mama,” and disconnected the call.
“Poor Mama K,” Alex-Ann uttered.
Olivia appeared at my door. Smiling at the three of us, she asked, “Who’s Mama K?”
“Quinn’s mom,” Gretchen told her.
“Do you think she’s having second thoughts about leaving?” Alex-Ann asked.
“No. I think she loves it there but is feeling guilty for how she left things with me. I’m just letting her stew in it for a bit.”
A wicked grin appeared on Gretchen’s face. “Yeah, but if she hadn’t of left, you wouldn’t have Mr. Hot as Hail rock star living with you.” I couldn’t help but scowl. Rock Star was in the dog house. He’d called me insecure; the exact same word he’d used to describe his lying, cheating hussy of a—I couldn’t exactly call her his wife, now could I?
Zeroing in on my frown, Alex-Ann asked, “What’s wrong?” I wanted to tell her what happened, but I didn’t want to hear her gloat, so I opted to evade the question altogether. Plus, I didn’t dare say anything in front of Olivia for fear she would say something to Chaz.
“Nothing’s wrong. At least, nothing that a float in the pool won’t cure. I made some iced tea for us. Alex-Ann, can you grab the cups?” Surprisingly, she dropped the subject and did as I asked.
“Chaz and I were up kind of late last night. Do you mind if I skip the swim and take a nap?” Olivia asked. The three of us smiled knowingly at her and she laughed.
While Jake Owen sang about his girl named Sheila who went batshit on Tequila, we floated in the pool.
“Any news on crazy bitch?” Alex-Ann asked. I shot her a shut-the-hell-up-in-front-of-Gretchen-look and she rolled her eyes.
“I’m with Alex-Ann. I don’t think you should tell Evan you know Amanda. In the end, it will only complicate things,” Gretchen commented. My eyes shot to Alex-Ann, who was staring at Gretchen as if she was a glitter sprinkled unicorn. I glared at my now ex-best friend. Wow, talk about not being able to trust someone.
Catching my glare, Alex exclaimed, “What? I didn’t tell her!”
Gretchen let out a snort. “Here’s a little secret for you, ladies. If you act like you don’t have a brain, people treat you like you don’t have a brain. They’re also more likely to say shit in front of you.”
As I contemplated this new side of Gretchen, Alex-Ann asked, “What else do you know that you’re not supposed to?”
“I know I want in that man’s pants,” she murmured low enough for only us to hear. We followed her gaze to the top of the steps to where Tut stood. “Right there is a chocolate fudge Sunday and I want to be his cherry on top,” she continued, and then in a much louder voice, called out, “Hey, sexy! Come swim!” He gave a wave that he’d heard us before disappearing back inside.
A few minutes later, he was back with Bobby.
“Yee-fucking-haw,” Gretchen commented when she saw them heading down the steps in their swim trunks.
They hit the pool deck and Bobby immediately started bitching about the music. Tut cannonballed into the pool, making the three of us squeal in outrage. He resurfaced, only to let out a deep rumble of laughter on confirming that he’d soaked us.
I wanted to ask about their visit to the clerk’s office, but wasn’t sure it was my place. This was just one of the many things I found so frustrating. Evan and I had all of the trappings of a relationship, but without the main ingredients. I really needed ingredients.
As Gretchen flirted with Tut and Alex-Ann shamelessly crawled all over Bobby, I floated on my bright green pool float—all alone, while thinking about how nice Evan’s ingredients were.
Everything was going along just dandy until “Islands in The Stream” came on the radio.
“That’s it. I’m changing it,” Bobby announced as he hefted himself out of the water.
“I’ll come with you. I have to pee,” Alex-Ann said.
“Can you make more tea while you’re up there?” I asked.
�
�Sure. Where are the tea bags again and how long do I do that thingamajiggy?” she questioned.
“Never mind. I’ll do it.”
“Put on something good,” Tut told Bobby.
“Hey, don’t das on Dolly,” Gretchen said, toeing his float.
“It’s dis,” he told her, and she busted into giggles. I had to give it to her, Gretchen had this dumber than dirt thing down pat.
On the way to the house, I thought about Chaz and Evan’s secret errand. Knowing Chaz, it could be anything.
Leaving Bobby and Alex-Ann to deal with the music, I worked on the tea. When I was done and ready to head back to the pool, they were nowhere to be found. I didn’t call out for fear of waking Olivia. After a few minutes of waiting, I decided to leave without them. Knowing Alex-Ann, they were probably already down there.
Bobby and Alex-Ann weren’t at the pool. From the looks of it, neither were Tut and Gretchen.
“Well, shit,” I muttered as I stepped inside the gate. Just as I’d set the pitcher down on the table, I heard a noise. At first, I thought it was the filtration system, but then I heard it again. It sounded like it was coming from inside the pool house. So that’s where they were.
As I neared the sliding doors, I noticed they were partially open. Then I heard Gretchen say, “Harder, baby.” At least, I thought it was Gretchen.
Don’t do it! My brain screamed, but did I listen? Heck no. I crept right up to the slider and peered inside. Tut was a sexy mountain of a man, but Tut with his naked backside on display with his muscles flexed as he nailed Gretchen to the pool house wall, was something to see. Tingles danced up and down my spine and a deep ache set up residence in my lower abdomen as I watched him pump in and out of her. Gretchen was no small woman, yet with one giant man hand on her ass and the other tangled in her hair, Tut made her seem like flipping Twiggy.
“I’ve been wanting this pussy for days now,” he said in a low, guttural sex voice, and I literally felt my insides spasm. Goosebumps sprang up all over my body as I tried to wrangle in my out of control hormones. Where was the Chaz on my shoulder when I needed him?