by Jorja Kish
Mackenzie rubbed her old faithful behind his ears and kissed the top of his head. “You’re such a good dog, Reggie.”
The front porch light flicked on and the door opened, before she motioned the retriever to go out and do his business. She leaned against the wooden doorframe and peered through the screen meshes, watching him slowly amble toward the woods. A light breeze caught tendrils of her dark-brown hair and swirled against her face. She absently brushed the wisps away and waited patiently for Reggie.
The night chirped and croaked, the same as every other night. Even the luminosity of the moon brightened her yard, just as it did last night. Nevertheless, something felt different and for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what was missing. Talk about having an overactive imagination, she thought, rolling her eyes.
A crack from the woods turned her gaze as she searched for what made the noise. Reggie’s golden coat slowly emerged from the dark and plodded across the lawn before he groaned up the few steps of the front porch.
Mackenzie opened the screen door and waved her old man inside. “Come on, Reggie, let’s get our old bones to bed.”
She lightly brushed the top of his head with her palm. She closed and locked the screen door before closing the inner door and locking up for the night. She flicked off the outside light and within minutes, the first floor settled in darkness.
For the first time since she moved to Spring Valley, she checked her windows and locked them tight.
Mackenzie climbed the stairs leading to her bedroom, but she hesitated halfway up. A shiver travelled down her back and the burning need to recheck all the locks in the house one more time washed her body cold.
“What the hell?” she murmured and shook off the growing dread. Climbing the remaining stairs, Mackenzie walked down the short hallway and into her room. She turned off the hall light, tucking the house into another quiet night in the country.
Chapter 2
“I left a message on Armand’s answering machine about coming over tonight after work. I should be done early so I can take you home after school.” Mackenzie stole a quick glance at her daughter.
“Uh huh,” Shayane mumbled, as she scrolled down her Facebook page before texting a comment.
Mackenzie sighed and shook her head. She loved her daughter dearly, but seriously thought the world of instant access was going to fry her daughter’s brain. A mischievous glint crept into her eyes as she gave Shayane a sidelong glance and said, “So, I decided to grill some steaks, and for dessert, fuck Armand on the lawn chair. But I have to make sure to use the bug lotion or mosquitoes will be dive-bombing my ass.”
“Sounds like a plan, Mum. You should use the one with eucalyptus, and it’ll make you smell nicer when Armand pounds into you.”
“Shayane,” Mackenzie gasped, swatting at her daughter. The shock of her daughter actually listening to her and the embarrassment of what she said had Mackenzie blushing. Shayane’s quiet snicker triggered Mackenzie’s exasperated groan. It didn’t stop her helpless giggle that followed.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do with you. And I can’t believe you said that.”
“Please, Mum, you started it, and I know somewhere in that head of yours, the thought crossed your mind to have Armand naked and sweaty. I may be way younger than Mr. Zimmerman, but he is damn hot for an old guy.”
Mackenzie snorted, but she couldn’t deny that the next-door neighbour did look amazing in tight jeans and a fitted T-shirt.
“Fine, but I’m still not having sex with the man before, during, or after supper tonight.” She pulled into the hybrid school. It entailed a two-year extension of high school to prep students for college, giving them a bit of the college experience and credits for the next level of education. She ignored the pinched features on her daughter’s pretty face as the younger woman visibly shuddered. She tried not to take offence from her kid’s reaction.
“Ew, during, Mum? Now, you’re grossing me out.” She watched from the corner of her eye as Shayane leaned forward and pecked her cheek, before opening the door and slipping out of the Jeep Wrangler. Mackenzie waved good-bye as the door slammed shut and wondered if talking about her non-existent sex life was appropriate.
She checked the surrounding lot and pulled back into the street after some high school and college stragglers dragged their feet onto the school property as the bell rang. Spring Valley Collegiate was one of the few new schools popping up in small towns. This hybrid institution was an added two years of prep courses for students looking to further their education in University.
Lord knew the young adults nowadays needed to work on their education. Half the first-year University students struggled to get through their first semester. This new program at Spring Valley Collegiate had done wonders for the previous graduates. In less than six months, Shayane would be graduating, barely on the cusp of her twenty-first birthday too.
She groaned at the thought and snickered. Damn, I’m getting old.
Mackenzie chuckled as she drove to Spring Street and parked behind the red brick building that she leased for her clinic. She climbed out and grabbed her purse, before slamming the door closed. Rummaging through her purse for the keys to the back door of the clinic, she mumbled under her breath to buy a smaller bag. “Me and my obsession for purses,” she mockingly complained.
The heat of the morning sun lightly caressed her neck. She couldn’t help but turn into the gentle rays and catch the serene moment, before her work morning began.
Even though she had a light day and few appointments, things always cropped up in a small town and a quiet day could end up crazy. She unlocked the back door and slipped inside.
Within ten minutes, the interior filled with morning sunshine and the windows opened to let the potted flowers that surrounded the whitewash building fill the clinic with sweet fragrances.
The percolating coffee added a smidge of bitterness to the floral fragrance, a scent she enjoyed. The pleasant tinkle of the traditional bell hanging from the back of the front door rang when Milly Albright stumbled through the threshold, mumbling about crazy people on the road this morning.
“Coffee?” offered Mackenzie, pouring a mug.
“You have no idea how much I need one,” Milly grumbled, hanging her light jacket and purse on one of the metal coat hooks that lined the right side of the reception area.
“Fergus was a bear this morning, complaining about a headache. It didn’t occur to him that maybe he shouldn’t have had the last four beers last night, before stumbling to bed. His bloody snoring kept me up all night.” She nodded her head in thanks when Mackenzie passed her a steaming mug of coffee made just the way she liked.
“If I didn’t adore that lug, I’d can his tight ass and take the kids to my mother’s.”
Mackenzie smiled fondly at Milly’s wink and chuckled at the spunky woman.
“Well, it’s a good thing you love the lug, because we both know that even though you love your mom, she’ll drive you crazy the first day you get there.”
Milly chuckled, her aquamarine eyes bright with humour, and took a sip of her coffee. “Yeah, apparently I’m blessed.”
Mackenzie walked across the open reception and leaned against the heavy wooden desk that served as Milly’s workstation. The entire room felt like home, nothing like the functional but sterile clinics in the bigger cities. Small towns liked Spring Valley liked the homey atmosphere. The tight-knit community even shared evening movies at the local sports centre, or the funfairs at the elementary school. It was all about the people and the community.
“So, what was this I heard when you stumbled in about the crazy drivers in town?” Mackenzie sipped her coffee with a twinkle in her eyes.
Milly pinched her lips and scowled. “Norton Tillman and his merry band of thugs probably thought it was a good idea to drag-race down Calamity Road. I had to slam both feet on the brakes or you’d be telling Fergus about my untimely demise.”
“Oh my god, Milly, are yo
u all right?” Mackenzie placed her coffee mug down and rushed around the heavy oak desk.
Milly waved away her boss and close friend as she rolled her eyes skyward.
“Obviously I’m okay, I’m here, aren’t I? But I did phone the sheriff once I got my heart to cooperate and slow the hell down.”
“And what did Sheriff Tillman have to say?”
Milly snorted. “That no-good lawman basically said I should have picked a better route to drive to work on. If it was anyone else but his no-good, lazy-assed, jobless brother, the sirens would have been blaring and it would be Cops on the six o’clock news.”
Shaking her head, Mackenzie knew all too well the way things worked in a small town. Sometimes ass-hats like Sheriff Rex Tillman pulled some strings and were voted into a position of authority. The town just suffered when money passed hands. There were a few good deputies at the police station, but they were outnumbered and really didn’t have much influence as law enforcement.
“One of these days, Norton Tillman is going to kill someone and his big brother won’t be able to keep his ass out of prison,” Milly mumbled.
Mackenzie moved away from the desk and sauntered from the room to her office. She glanced over her shoulder with a sad expression clouding her features. “I just hope it doesn’t come to that, Milly. Losing someone to something senseless is just as devastating as a diagnosis of cancer.”
She turned and continued down the short hallway before stopping at her closed office door. Her hand shook when she turned the knob. She could feel Milly’s sympathetic eyes follow her as she stepped through the threshold of her office and stopped, turning to face her closest friend.
“I’m fine,” she said crossing her heart with a finger, turning and closing the door with a soft click.
Normally, it stayed open, inviting anyone in for a friendly hello, but today just turned out to sour a bit from memories tucked away and now reopened.
Mackenzie bypassed her desk and stood in front of the large window, nursing the steaming coffee in her hand. Her eyes lost focus as memories darted in and out of her head. The last stinging image was Kevin and Stacy whispering to each other when they thought no one was around.
“Why can’t I let this go?” she murmured, hating how she purposely hurt herself with those memories.
She closed her eyes, her nostrils flaring from the suppressed anger that still flowed in her veins. She didn’t see it coming, but she should have. Any woman with a brain should have known her husband was partaking in a little extra something with another woman. She just didn’t expect it to be her best friend…well, ex-best friend. “I’m was such a fool to think that he would cherish me and be faithful.”
Hot coffee sloshed over her hand, and she hissed in pain before dropping the mug on the hardwood floor. The loud crash and a mild curse had Mackenzie rushing to her desk and grabbing a handful of tissues to clean up her mess. Milly called out from the front, “Is everything okay in there?”
Mackenzie cursed silently to herself, “Yeah, apparently I have butterfingers and my damn coffee mug slipped.”
She softly cursed again before squatting. Dammit, she wrecked her favourite mug from a stupid memory that should have just stayed buried.
She leaned back on her heels and rested her elbows on her thighs, hanging her hands between her legs. Her head dropped to her chest as the same old tightness squeezed her chest. When was she going to let go of Kevin and Stacy’s betrayal?
Snorting, she knew it would be the same answer she always told herself during these moments. Never. She was never going to let go of their betrayal. Kevin and Stacy were going to have a baby. How could she let that hurt go, when she spent years trying to conceive and the countless miscarriages that weakened her body? When she lost hope of carrying a child to term, Shayane was her miracle.
“Damn, that sucks. I loved that mug.”
Mackenzie yelped and fell on her ass, twisting to see Milly’s mouth form an O and her brows melding into her hairline. “Oh, shit, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
The small woman rushed to help Mackenzie up, giving a chastised grin. Sighing, Mackenzie lightly patted her friend’s shoulder.
“Yeah, I loved that mug, too. Even though it’s totally inappropriate for the workplace, it was still my delectable ray of sunshine.”
Both women shared a smile, before feminine giggles filled the office. They knelt and picked up the broken pieces of the mug that had a dark-haired, extremely well-built man exposing his broad back to the camera as the silk sheet he was holding slipped through his fingers and exposed a portion of his drool-worthy ass. Yeah, the mug was very inappropriate.
“Maybe Shayane can get you another one for Mother’s Day. Apparently, she has great taste in hot, sexy men wearing only bedsheets.” Milly giggled, throwing the porcelain shards into the wastebasket.
“I can only imagine what she would get me to replace this mug. The older she gets, the naughtier she becomes. Do you realise that she’s nearly twenty-one? I live in dread, wondering where she’ll want to have her twenty-first birthday party.” Mackenzie rolled her eyes, twisting one side of her lips into a smirk.
Milly giggled, a mischievous glint in her pretty eyes, “Just so you know now, it wasn’t me who suggested a strip joint of hot, naked men as a party spot.”
“You did not!” Mackenzie gasped with mock outrage and horror. Well, the horror was real. Lordy, like she wanted to be in a room with out-of-control women lusting over hot, young, sexy men with her daughter. A blush stained her cheeks, which had Milly laughing harder. Mackenzie scowled and half-heartedly swatted at her best friend.
The bell on the front door jingled before the robust drawl of Gypsy Collins called out a friendly hello. Ms. Collins, third-time divorcee, was working on her fourth husband. She was what Mackenzie called a larger-than-life personality.
The sound of heavyset footsteps approaching the short hallway and the swish of denim rubbing against denim announced the vivacious redhead. Her fire-engine red corkscrew curls bounced when she peered into Mackenzie’s office.
“Uh-oh, looks like we have a problem here. What happened to that gorgeous man decked out on your mug, sweetie?”
Brushing her hands against her jean-clad thighs, Mackenzie was grateful for the distraction. She tilted her head when a wayward thought of Ms. Collins waving twenty dollar bills in her chubby hands, cackling at the hot studs shimmying out of their clothes. Mackenzie briefly closed her eyes and delicately shuddered at the image. Her cheeks flared a hot red.
She stood and faced Gypsy with a mock scowl, ignoring Milly’s knowing look. “I had the case of the butter fingers.”
She handed a few more tissues to Milly. She thanked her friend and receptionist for helping to clean up the mess she made as the younger woman mopped up the last of the coffee and stood.
“Well, that is a damn shame, ’cause, honey, that half-naked man was one of the reasons I visited you so much.” The older woman winked, placed a hand over her bright-pink lips and giggled like a woman thirty years her junior.
Mackenzie couldn’t help but smile at the sweet sound.
Gypsy Collins had an air about her that was a mixture of “sweet as home-cooked apple pie” and “lecherous as a drunken frat boy looking to score an easy piece of ass.” The woman was a conundrum, and that was her charm.
“Well, follow me, Gypsy, and let’s see what I can do for you.” She ushered the older woman to follow her to exam room two. “You okay, Milly? Need anything while I chat with Ms. Collins?”
The petite blonde-haired woman shook her head and waved her boss away, before she strolled toward her desk. “Nope, I’m just going grab me another cup of coffee and maybe do my nails or something,” she drawled, her eyes shining with impish mirth.
“Brat.” Mackenzie chuckled from the open door of examination room two. “I obviously pay you too much.”
“That you do,” Milly replied in a singsong voice, barely suppressing her giggle.
The low snicker of Ms. Collins had Mackenzie shaking her head and stepping into the room. Apparently, today might be one of those days that unexpected things just happened.
Taking a fortifying breath, she smiled, chuckling at the almost half-naked woman. Oh, yeah, she almost forgot that Ms. Collins was the official town nudist.
Chapter 3
The oversized tires of the jacked-up heap Norton Tillman called a truck chewed up dirt as the burly town drunk fishtailed down the dirt road leading to the abandoned Maguire farmhouse. He was profusely sweating, a shiny layer on his skin, wiping his eyes and forehead as he squinted through the windshield.
“Hand me another beer, baby,” he ordered waving his fingers for the warm can in the six-pack on the filthy floor.
Bright flashes of light stabbed into his skull, filling his vision with black dots. He rapidly blinked as he spewed a series of foul-mouthed curses.
The dishevelled blond-haired woman perched on the worn bench seat bounced from the ruts in the road.
“Sure thing, honey.” Her syrupy-sweet tone was mildly slurred as she bent down, revealing the barely-there thong she almost wore. A drunken giggle accompanied the lukewarm beer and the soft hiss of it opening before she accidently slopped the beer on Norton’s beefy hand.
He hissed and grumbled under his breath, “Bitch, watch the fuck out.”
Her head swayed and jerked as drunken giggles filled the dirty interior of the truck, ignoring his cussing. Empty beer bottles clanked together, sloshing the bitter-smelling liquid into the filthy mud trays. Her glazed eyes watched as Norton chugged back the beer, then crushed the can in his hand that had on more than one occasion crushed her custom-made tits. She loved his roughness.
“What’s wrong, baby?” Carmella cooed as she leaned her oversized boobs to crush against Norton’s beefy arm. “There’s no hurry, honey. Big Daddy won’t be home until this evening, so we can enjoy ourselves all day long.”
Her long fake nails trailed over Norton’s thighs before cupping the swell in the front of his jeans. She rubbed the hard dick with expert hands as she licked and nipped at the sweaty neck that bulged beneath the denim shirt. “I can’t wait to get stuffed with this monster.”