Covered in Coal

by Silla Webb

  “Fast 6 okay?” I ask when he is seated.

  “Carly, I’m sorry. I seem to have a foot to mouth problem around you.”

  “Drop it. Let it go. I think we both just need a friend. It’s cool.” I reply, with a curt nod to Luke. I flick on Fast 6, and begin eating while the opening previews of on Demand roll.

  Luke and I spend the rest of the evening with Dom Toretto and his family of misfit, street car racing thieves. When the movie is over, Luke sits quietly while I clean up the pizza mess. “Luke, you always this quiet? I swear in high school you were the boy who never shut up. Damn big mouth.”

  I laugh, trying to persuade him into conversation. His eyes lock on mine, as his lips part, offering me a gentle smile.

  “Don’t like the taste of crow.” He kids, laughing to himself. I pick up the pizza box, walking past him, and nudge his shoulder and laugh at his smart ass comment.

  “How are your parents?” I say over my shoulder as I enter the kitchen to put the trash in the can. When I turn around, Luke is rubbing his hand roughly over his face, then grips the back of his neck, massaging the tension from his muscles.

  “Well, Mom’s good. She left the old man five years ago, moved down to Lexington. She couldn’t take his shit anymore. She tried, damn that woman tried.”

  “And your dad? How’d he handle that?” Luke looks up at me, pain marring his baby blues. I don’t want to push too hard. Hell, I have heartache that even I don’t want to discuss, but I feel deep inside that Luke needs to open up.

  “Eh, he’s breathin’, barely. He drinks himself into oblivion every damn day. He don’t give two shits ‘bout who’s around. He says ‘Time’s never wasted when you’re wasted all the time,’ then tosses back another,” he says, spitting each word from his lips. His face is hard, and his lips are turned into a frown, as his happy personality turns to one of disgusts. Luke’s dad was always a drunk.

  “I’m sorry Luke. If he is so miserable to deal with, why did you move home?” Okay, I know I’m pushing, but it feels necessary. Luke leans forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. He releases a pent up breath, then shakes his head.

  “Cause he needs me. Old man’s gotta bad liver from all that damn poison he pumps into himself day after day. Mix that with all of the pain medicine he takes for his back, and his liver is barely hangin’ on. When Mom left him, and came to Lexington, he got more depressed than I’d ever seen him. I’d get calls from the neighbors that he was outside at night, stumblin’ through the street, drunk off his ass, cryin’ her name. Hell, I was three hours away. There wasn’t a damn thing I could do, so I told ‘em to call the damn police.” He inhales roughly, then releases, adding a saddened sigh. “I’ve lost enough in my life. I’ll be damned if I let the last few years with my old man, be spent through phone calls. He’s a mean son of a bitch, but he made me the man I am today. I just hate that he lives his life through the bottle. There’s just so much he is missin’, and he doesn’t even realize it.” Luke adds, cracking his knuckles.

  Rumors always floated around Williamstown about his dad being an abusive husband and father, but Luke never showed evidence of abuse. Unless his father covered it well, of course. I’ve never known the man. He used to be a coal truck driver until he was injured in a terrible accident when we were in grade school.

  From what I can remember of the stories I’ve heard, his dad was returning to the mines to load coal. His coal truck got stuck on the rail road tracks, down by Gingersnap crossing. Before he could get off the tracks, he was struck by a train loaded down with thirty-five thousand tons of coal. The impact of the train ripped into the coal truck, and the trailer jack-knifed around, wedging the tractor against the nose of the train. When the train was able to stop, the trailer flipped down the track like a gymnast somersaulting down a mat.

  He survived the accident but was never able to work again. He was deemed fully disabled as his back was badly injured from the train collision. Their family nearly lost their home after the accident, but Luke’s mom Sherry, worked at The Village Diner as many hours as she could to save her family and their dignity. I guess she eventually just had enough of his drinking, and was brave enough to find her own escape.

  “Luke, I’m sorry. I didn’t know your dad was sick. If there is ever anything I can do, I’m here. I know it seems like I pry, and you eat crow a hell of a lot, but something tells me that we both need a good friend. So if I ever over step my bounds, please tell me to shut the hell up. ‘Kay?” I grip his large hand in mine, trying to sincerely offer him my friendship. He squeezes my hand lightly, then stands tall on his feet. I mimic his action.

  “Thanks, Carly. I tell ya, when I left here, I never thought I’d have to come home. But here I am. It’s lonely here, everyone has moved on, but I’m glad you’re home, too.”

  Luke pulls me into a hug, and as soon as our bodies tangle together, electricity jolts through me, releasing a thousand butterflies, fluttering in my stomach. I wince at the sensation, and my breath hitches, as I inhale Luke’s delicious scent. I pinch my eyes closed shut, and try to calm my nervous breaths. Luke releases me from his strong frame, and I’m left frozen. He smiles down on me, then tilts my chin up so I’m peering into his heart shattering, sad eyes.

  “It’s late. Thanks for letting me stop by.” He slowly trails his finger across my chin, then walks around me to the front door. I keep my back to the door, but hear it close behind me. I stand in the living room on shaky legs, trying to brace myself to move.

  I shuffle my feet lightly under heavily weighted legs towards the stairs and climb up to my bedroom. My brain is on auto pilot, over loaded from the stress and tension of the day. I suddenly feel overwhelmed with tiredness as I climb into my big plush bed. As soon as my head hits the pillow, the world turns black around me.

  Chapter 21

  Colton

  Tryin’ to break through to Carly Jo has proven to be no easy task, but she’s worth the fight. Regardless of her determined strength, I’ve realized that to win any battles with her, I simply have to bark out orders in my alpha tone with a heavy fierce look in my eyes, and she scoots her tight little ass like a little girl.

  I don’t want her to fear me, and I surely don’t think that’s the case. But, I think she has spent so much time bein’ strong that she needs a little challenge. She needs to realize that she can take her mask off and be a little vulnerable around me.

  After our first night at my house, I asked her out on a date. Yeah, a date. I’ll admit, I was a little hurt when she laughed in my face and told me that we weren’t sixteen anymore. But I reminded her that she promised to try, and I was holdin’ her to that promise. I told her to be ready Saturday at two p.m.. At first she looked confused, almost like she wanted to argue with me, but she bit her tongue and agreed. The week drug by slowly, but nothin’ was keepin’ me down.

  Saturday rolls around, and at two p.m., I’m at her house, ringin’ the doorbell, like a gentleman. When she opens the front door, I swear my breath escapes my lungs. I’ll never get tired of seein’ her beautiful face. Without a word, I pull her into my arms, and give her a hard passionate kiss. She can play hard to get all she wants, but I can tell that her knees buckled in that kiss, because she fisted my shirt to balance herself from fallin’.

  After releasin’ her from my embrace, I hand her a bouquet of her favorite flowers, hot pink tulips. She pads off to the kitchen to put them in some water before we leave for our date. She is wearin’ a grey sweater with black jeans, boots and a pink frilly scarf. She looks breathtakin’.

  “So where we headin’ stud?” She asks, eyein’ me from head to toe. I’m sure the camouflage, boots, and ball hat have her scratchin’ her head, wonderin’ what the hell kinda date I’m takin’ her on.

  “Darlin’, you’re a bit over dressed, so why don’t you go put on some old jeans and a hoodie? You might wanna pull your hair up too.” She cocks her eye brow up, but before she can say a word, I put my hand up, close my eyes and shake my he
ad from side to side. She knows not to argue with that.

  “Colton?” Her eyes are wide, mouth dropped.

  “Move your ass, woman. Scoot.” I order, and she doesn’t skip a beat, pouncin’ up the stairs. I can hear her sputterin’ every damn profanity under her breath along the way, which doubles me over in laughter. She comes back down the stairs a few minutes later dressed as I instructed. She walks past me, and over to the front door where she pulls on her tennis shoes.

  “Ya ready?” She asks, her voice filled with annoyance. I laugh as I toss her over my shoulder then carry her out to my truck. With every step, she’s cussin’, “Damn cock suckin’ son of a bitch! Stupid jackass”.

  Damn, such a foul mouth for a beautiful little lady. When I set her feet on the ground, she looks at my truck, then looks back at me.

  “Muddin’? You have got to be frickin’ kiddin’ me?”

  Reachin’ for her hand, I open the passenger door to help her climb inside.

  “No, not kiddin’.” I shake my head with a cocky smirk splayed across my face.

  “Colton, why the hell would you think I’d wanna go muddin’ for a date? Have you lost your damn mind?”

  “Carly Jo, get your ass in the truck. Now.” I reply, walkin’ around to the driver side. She shakes her head and lets out a frustrated sigh. She climbs inside the truck, makin’ sure to stay on the passenger side, out of my reach. I climb inside the cab, and notice that she’s sittin’ too far away. I laugh out loud, wrap my arm around her waist then close the distance between us. Before she can bitch one word, I crash my lips down on hers, bitin’, nibblin’, lickin’; a breath defyin’ kiss. She melts against my lips. I grasp her head in the palm of my hand tuggin’ her closer to me, causin’ my pants to get tighten against my suffocatin’ cock. Carly Jo twists free as I try to pull her into my lap, breakin’ from our embrace and slides across the seat away from me.

  “Damn you, Colton. Does everything with you have to always be so damn physical?” She yells, her face flamed red with heat. Wrappin’ my arm around her waist, yet again, I slide her back across the seat and hold her tight to me, as I start the truck, backin’ it out of the driveway. She releases a gruff sigh and I laugh inwardly to myself. I ignore her little fit, because I know this is just her way of pushin’ me further away. I ain’t havin’ it.

  “When was the last time you were up in the hills?” I ask, after her breathin’ has calmed down.

  Carly Jo keeps her focus on the road, refusin’ to look at me as she mumbles, “I don’t know, I guess when we were kids, maybe.”

  “Well damn, you’re in for the time of your life.” I reply, givin’ her a wink of the eye when she finally looks up at me behind defeated hazel eyes.

  I keep the conversation light on the way up to the trails, tryin’ to ease the tension between us. I can tell that Carly Jo is less than thrilled that I chose muddin’ as our first “date”, and I’m sure she remembers that amazin’ night so many years ago, just as I do. I’m not tryin’ to recreate anything, I’m only tryin’ to create new memories and make her fall in love with me all over again.

  When we finally reach the top of the mountain, I park the truck over in the brush. I hop out of the truck and start to unstrap the side-by-side from the trailer, while Carly Jo stays in the truck. When I’m finished, I open the passenger side door, and without a word, I scoop her up in my arms and carry her over to the side-by-side. She doesn’t even look at me, but her body trembles at my touch.

  Settin’ her in the seat, I buckle the seat belt, but when she looks up at me, she looks so disconnected. I slowly trail my fingers up the side of her chin, cuppin’ her face in my palm. “Talk to me. What’s wrong?” Releasin’ a deep pent up sigh, she drops her eyes with a look of defeat.

  “You’re pushing too hard, Colton.”

  “No. No, you’re givin’ up too easily.”

  “Why did you bring me here?”

  “Because I’m trying to bring my girl back. I’m tryin’ to make memories with you.”

  “But here? Really?”

  “Yeah, here, really. Now, calm down, put a smile on your face and enjoy yourself. I promise ya, we’re just gonna ride the trails, darlin’. Nothin’ more.”

  I grab the cooler and blanket from the cab of the truck, placin’ them in the back of the side-by-side. And with that, I climb in, start the engine and soar off up the trail.

  It’s been years since Carly Jo has been on these trails. When we were kids, these were just man-made trails, off the beaten path that us kids rode our four wheelers and dirt bikes on. In the last few years, they decided to re-vamp the trails, widenin’ them, and makin’ them more accessible from several routes. These trails span across eight counties here in Eastern Kentucky and offer some of the best off road ATV ridin’ in the Appalachians. People come from as far as Canada to ride these trails. It’s boosted tourism for small towns like Williamstown.

  I didn’t bring Carly Jo up to the mountains to flood her mind with memories of our past relationship. Honestly, I hadn’t even thought of that. I brought her up to the mountains so she could live, and laugh a little. There is no bigger rush of excitement as climbin’ a mountain side, or the gush of wind hittin’ your face as you fly down a huge ass hill. But the best, the absolute hands down best is the muddin’. Damn I love sendin’ this Can Am 1000 through a mud hole so deep that when I bring it back out, the canary yellow paint is smeared in nasty brown mud. It’s friggin’ awesome.

  It ain’t long before her face lights up with excitement, laughter eruptin’ from her lungs as we climb the tallest mountains, and hit the deepest mud holes in Kentucky. Even though she is protected by the safety belt, she still clings tight to my bicep each time we climb a hillside that’s too steep. But as we come racin’ down the other side, her face lights up, beamin’ with excitement. She always loved muddin’ when we were teens, and I’m just glad to see she is lettin’ go and havin’ fun.

  We’ve been muddin’ for a couple of hours, when I park the side-by-side by the pond. Carly Jo looks up at me with a confused look on her face. I hop out, grab the blanket and cooler from the back, and find us a spot by the pond to sit. Spreadin’ the blanket on the ground, I look up to see that Carly Jo is finally approachin’ me.

  “Sit down, darlin’, I brought your favorite snack.”

  “Colton, we’re covered in mud, you can’t be serious.”

  “Like hell, sit down.” I smirk at her. She giggles and shakes her head before ploppin’ down beside of me on the blanket. I open the cooler and take out the snacks, spreadin’ them out on the ground. Carly Jo eyes the peanut butter kiss cookies and chocolate milk then smiles back up me.

  “Dig in, sweetheart,” I say, givin’ her a wink of the eye.

  “You brought me milk and cookies?” she asks innocently.

  Poppin’ a fresh baked cookie into my mouth I mumble, “yep”. Her eyes soften, and her smile gets brighter. She grabs a cookie and inhales the peanut butter scent before takin’ a small nibble.

  “Mmmm, your momma always did make the best cookies. Oh, these are like heaven.” She says devourin’ the cookie.

  “My momma? What the hell, woman? I made them damn cookies.”

  Carly Jo laughs, nearly chokin’ on her cookie. “Oh right, I bet you did, Colton.”

  “Shit, may be her recipe, but my kitchen is proof. Place is a mess.”

  “Yeah and you’re full of shit.” Carly Jo says pokin’ my side.

  “Well, I’ll just have to prove it to ya. I cook all the damn time.”

  “Yeah, really? What’s that, Hot Pockets and Kid Cuisines?”

  “Well ain’t you just stepped into some more shit? Dinner, tomorrow night. Be there at seven.”

  “Colton, you know I’ve had enough of your momma’s cookin’ to know her meals, right?” Carly Jo replies with a light snicker.

  “Damn it, fine. I’ll be at your place at five, and you can watch me work my wonders in the kitchen your damn self, baby. There, that
better?”

  “Yeah, we’ll see about that.”

  “Woman, don’t start your shit. I’ll have you pinned to the … what the hell?” I pause as a glob of mud slaps me in the face, followed by the sound of laughter bubblin’ from Carly Jo’s mouth.

  “Were you really brave enough to throw mud in my damn face? Are ya stupid or somethin’?” My face is straight laced, void of any emotions. Carly Jo throws another glob of mud in my face then falls back on the blanket, laughin’ her sweet little ass off. I wipe the mud from my face, and just stare at her in amazement. Amazed that she has finally broke free and is livin’, laughin’, and feelin’ carefree. Amazed that she seriously threw some damn mud in my face. TWICE.

  Carly Jo is rollin’ around on the blanket with her knees pulled to her waist in side-splittin’ laughter. Me, I simply can’t shake the fact that she was really brave enough to sling some frickin’ mud in my damn face.

  “What the hell is so damn funny?” I grunt, clearly missin’ the humor in the situation. She steadies her laughter, pantin’ along as she catches her breath.

  “You, gettin’ all worked up over a little bit of mud, when you’re covered in it.” She replies, graspin’ her waist as she begins to giggle again. I could get pissed, and sling her ass in a mud puddle, but damn if it ain’t cute when she’s laughin’. I’m glad to finally see some of the tension erase from her face. She is too beautiful to let stress mare her face with a frown and worry wrinkles. I chuckle at her, and lay beside of her, and kiss her on the forehead.

  “I love hearin’ you laugh, baby. Hell, I love makin’ you laugh.”

  She smiles up at me then kisses my chin. “Well, I’m sure I’ll be laughing my ass off at the burnt offerings you plan to serve for dinner tomorrow night.”

  “Smart ass.” I smirk at her.

  I hold her tight in my arms, and we talk while watchin’ the night stars fill the sky. The air is cold and regardless of how tight I hold her, she is startin’ to shiver. “Come on, darlin’, let’s get back down the hill so you can get warmed up. Don’t want’cha to catch a cold.” I raise up, breakin’ our embrace, but Carly Jo keeps her arm held tight to me, refusin’ to move.