Said beast pulled up beside me on the sidewalk. “Get on. I’ll take you home.”
“I can’t. I have to go find some appropriate work clothes. Lucky for me it’s business casual.”
“I’ll take you wherever you would like to go. Come on.”
The rest of the afternoon was spent at the Goodwill and a few consignment shops. What most people don’t realize is that there is actually good stuff at these places. Even before I was forcibly moved to Kilgore, I shopped at the Goodwill. I just didn’t have it ingrained in me to pay full price for something that I could get nearly twenty five times cheaper somewhere else.
“If you don’t mind, I need to run home real quick to make sure I get Janie off the bus, and then I’ll drop you off back at your place.”
He didn’t wait for my acquiescence though, just pointed the bike in the wrong direction and roared off.
We actually caught Janie’s bus when we were about a mile away from Free, and James and I laughed at the googly eyes that all the children were giving us. Janie waved frantically from her seat at the front of the bus, and James played the doting father, waving back to his baby while still keeping a close watch on the road.
Once we got to the bus stop, a very excited Janie, whose feet were moving faster than her mind, tumbled off the bus. James made a move to get up and help his baby up, whom was now crying, but I gave him a pat, signaling that I would handle it. He was in an awkward position with my bags, and me all on the bike behind him, and I felt it prudent to help in any way I could.
“You okay, sweetie?” I cooed as I dropped down next to Janie on the dust.
The bus driver yelled a goodbye, and pulled away, leaving us in silence, minus the soft crying coming from Janie. “Y-yes.”
“What happened, punkin’ head?” I asked, smoothing her blonde wispy flyaway hairs back against her scalp.
Tear tracks ran in straight lines down her cheeks, and she looked absolutely pitiful. The wound itself was fairly basic, scraped knees that everyone dreads, but overall she was in good health.
“I fell off the fucking bus.” She said in one of the sweetest voices I’d ever heard.
“You sure did punkin’ head. You know that’s a bad word. You really shouldn’t say that.” I scolded gently as I helped her to her feet.
“I know. I heard Uncle Max say it yesterday while he was working on the Dyna we have in the shop.” She said with absolutely no apology anywhere in sight.
“Yes, that’s a boy thing. Girls shouldn’t cuss. What kind of Dyna was he working on?” Liar, liar, pants on fire. I was going to hell. My mouth could compete with a Marine’s vocabulary with ease.
“It was a 2002 Dyna Super Glide. It’s really pretty. Uncle Max was replacing the brakes because the dumbass who owns it doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing. Says the Dyna was too much bike for a banker douche like him, but at least it wasn’t one of those pocket rockets that guys with small dicks normally like to ride.” She explained.
Do not laugh. Do not laugh.
My eyes raised from Janie’s hazel ones to the identical ones of her father’s and I saw the mirth floating around in his eyes, trying just as hard as me not to laugh his ass off, too.
“Honey, what have I told you? What goes on in the garage stays in the garage. We don’t repeat bad words anywhere else but there. Got it?” He asked with a twinkle in his eye, and then stooped down to kiss her skinned knee.
“Yes, daddy. It feels all better. Can I have a beer now?” She asked with a pouty lip.
“Sure thing baby. I bet there’s a few in the garage fridge. Why don’t you go check?” He asked as he stood to his full height.
Janie didn’t wait another second. One second she was leaning into her father, and the next she was halfway up the drive.
James turned from watching his daughter’s retreat to studying my face. “I really don’t give her beer.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I got that. Root Beer?”
“Yep. They come in those little baby cans that don’t even seem worth it. The guys make sure it’s always stocked with her favorite. Otherwise they have to hear her complain.” He snickered.
“I’m sure she doesn’t complain in the slightest. What I think happens is that y’all spoil the shit out of her.” I said as I walked up to the garage and watched as Elliott opened her baby can of root beer for her.
“Thank you, Lott. I love you.” She said in her little pixie voice.
If it were possible, Elliott would’ve melted into a puddle of goo onto the floor. He reached his hand down and ran his knuckles on her cheek in a loving gesture, then pulled her ponytail.
“Hey!” She said with indignation.
Her shout was followed by a shot to the balls, which, luckily, Elliott had the wherewithal to block. He wasn’t able to block the frog to his thigh, though. Which caused him to start jumping around crying out. It was a good act. That is if he was actually acting.
“You taught her that didn’t you?” I laughed.
“Uhh, no. That would be Ember. She felt that she needed to know how to defend herself. She’s got one hell of a right hook, too.” He agreed, eyes watching his daughter as she walked to the bike that Sam was working on, then taking a seat next to him on her own stool.
“You want to talk to him?” He asked.
My eyes snapped to James’ face and I flushed. Dammit. All it took was one freakin look at my brother and I started to wish I had him as a friend. My head kept saying ‘Caution, Keep Out!’ but my heart kept saying, ‘That’s your brother. He needs you as much as you need him.’
“No.” I choked. “I would like to go home, though. I can walk. Looks like that storm passed us by.”
A car pulled into the parking lot behind us, but I ignored it in favor of watching my feet.
“It didn’t. It just hasn’t reached us yet. Are you sure you don’t want to stay another day? I don’t mind. Janie and I love guests. Every once in a while it’s nice to have someone to talk to that doesn’t tell me how much she loves GI Joe and Iron Man.” He said, placing his palm on the small of my back.
Tiny little shivers sparked from his hand, down to parts lower that hadn’t seen the light of day in well over a year.
The warmth that his touch had caused took a flying leap off the proverbial cliff when an absolutely adorable woman stepped out of a silver Fusion. She was short, reminding me of Payton and Blaine. Short blonde hair that gathered around her shoulders in choppy layers brought attention to her face, which reminded me of those baby dolls that have the blush painted on in the perfect circles on their cherub cheeks.
“Hey, Jamie.” The woman said, blushing even more perfectly.
She was honestly the most adorable woman I’d ever seen, and I hated her.
The loss of James’ touch at my back was like a cool bucket of water being poured over my skin. His arms opened wide, and I had to step out of the way to make sure I wasn’t mowed down by the little sprite.
Stupid Tinkerbelle.
You know, in Peter Pan, Tinkerbelle was a real bitch. She wasn’t nice in the slightest, and I always wonder why Disney portrayed her as this cute little fairy, when in reality she was Satan’s spawn.
I contemplated the horridness of that sneaky little bitch as I walked down the driveway, and down the road. When I got to the cutoff through the woods, I decided it was best to go ahead and take the shortcut seeing as James was right, and the dark clouds of black were currently straight above me.
Then I cursed myself for getting jealous and leaving when I should have just stayed and waited. But when I saw James’ arms wrap around that woman, something in my chest caught, and I felt the need to run.
I’d experienced enough of that feeling for a lifetime, and I was definitely not standing around watching a man I had a crush on macking on some woman. No sir-ree-bob.
Chapter 6
Roses are red, Foxes are clever. I like your butt, let me touch it forever.
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-Redneck Love Poem
James
“Jolie, how are you?” I asked her, quite frankly surprised that she even showed up.
The last time we’d seen each other, a couple months ago, was when I was on a date. She’d acted like I was the devil incarnate. Then her friend had died in his motorcycle wreck, and she’d called to see if I could fix it.
Now that I’d seen it, I was pretty sure nothing short of scrapping it would work with it. There was just nothing salvageable to be had; it just looked like one large pile of metal that was welded together.
The wreck had to have been horrific.
“I’m doing okay, Jamie.” She smiled sadly, and then the tears started falling.
I pulled her into my arms again, and she went willingly. I was a sucker for tears. Didn’t matter who cried, man, woman, or child. They killed me, and I’d do just about anything to make them stop short of walking away.
I’d held her the night that her father had killed my best friend, too. I wanted her to know that no one blamed her, even though she blamed herself. She’d come to the hospital to offer her condolences. At first, I’d thought it was only to make sure her father was all right, but she never even went to the nurse’s station to check on her dad. Instead, she went straight to Briggs’ parents and dropped down to her knees apologizing profusely.
Jolie was a nobody. She had nobody. She needed nobody.
She’d slipped into my heart that day, and stayed there. Even now, twelve years later, I still cared for her. Although once I’d thought it was romantically, I now feel different about her, in a way that a good friend cares about another good friend.
“Daddy?” Janie asked from beside me.
I let Jolie go, and stepped away from her to crouch down so I was eyelevel with Janie. “Yeah, baby?”
“Where did your friend go? I wanted to show her the Dyna, but I can’t find her anywhere.” Janie asked.
I stood quickly, scanning the parking lot and surrounding area for Shiloh.
Shit!
How long had she been gone? I hadn’t even noticed that she’d left!
“Max!” I yelled and turned to him.
“What?” He grunted, eyes moving from the tire he was trying to get off a Mustang to me.
He wasn’t Jolie’s biggest fan. He’d always felt that she was manipulative. I’d always thought that she was just a sweet girl needing attention. We agreed to disagree.
“Did you see where Shiloh went?” I asked, trying to keep the panic out of my voice.
“Yeah,” He grunted again, one of the lug nuts finally giving way. “Walked down the driveway and North on Second. Why?”
“Fuck,” I growled. “She can’t get in. I have her new key since I had better locks installed.”
I didn’t want to leave Jolie in her upset state, but there was no way I was just leaving Shiloh out in the rain.
“Hey, man. Can you hang out with Jolie here for a few while I run these over?”
I knew his answer would be no. The man really didn’t like being left with Jolie. Never had. Said she changed when I wasn’t around. I’d never witnessed it, even when I’d tried to be sneaky.
“She’s got a perfectly capable brother over there. Not to mention, she looked pretty pissed when she left. I’d be willing to bet she didn’t even go home.” He said as he worked the final lug nut free, making the tire lean to the side awkwardly.
Then the first sound of thunder boomed in the distance, making my decision for me. “Okay, Jolie. I gotta go. I’m sorry.” I said as I grabbed her into another tight hug before releasing her.
“It’s o-okay. I’ll be f-fine.” She said as she turned on her heel and practically ran to the car.
As if I didn’t already feel bad enough, the girl always had a way to make me feel worse than I already did. Especially that night I’d caught her trying to fuck the worst bully in the school.
“Why do you let her do that to you? She treats you like her little lap dog.” Max huffed.
Ignoring him, I grabbed Janie by the hand and walked her to the back of the garage.
“Come on, Janie. Let’s go get the truck and find Shiloh.”
“She can stay with me. As long as the harpy isn’t here, I’m good.” He said as he stood and gestured to Janie. “Come here, kemosabe. Let’s see if we can get this POS working.”
“I don’t like that Harpy either.” Janie whispered.
Although, like all kids, it was louder than her normal voice, so everyone that was eavesdropping in the garage heard what she’d said and chuckled.
Bastards.
***
Shiloh
My door had two shiny new locks on it, as well as a shiny new brass door handle. What the fuck? Did Marjorie change the locks while I was gone?
Sure, I was getting this place for a song, but that didn’t mean she could just go and change the locks without telling me. Or letting me get my things out first. She never struck me as the type to be vindictive, so what reason did she have to change them while I was gone?
I planted my foot, spun on my heels, and just made it the first step down when the skies opened up. A-fucking-gain.
“Shit.” I hissed trying to cover my arm with my body to reduce the chance of it getting sopping wet.
By the time I made it into the diner, the majority of my body was drenched, and I cursed Marjorie for having my locks changed without telling me. Crazy old bat.
Lizzie, a young mother of three, glanced up from the coffee she was pouring at the bar when I scrambled inside. “You look pretty awful.” She mused.
“Thanks. Marjorie around?” I asked.
“She was here early this morning, but I haven’t seen her since.” She said putting the coffee pot on the warmer.
“I was trying to figure out why...” I was explaining when the roundness of Lizzie’s eyes went to the size of saucers. “What?”
Her mouth worked like a fish, and I turned around very slowly to find a huge ass gun aimed right at my face. The barrel of the gun looked massive, and I couldn’t help but wonder what the bullet that came out of the gun would do to my face when it took me out.
Fuck.
My eyes traveled from the gun’s excessively large barrel to the masked man that was holding it. His stance was twitchy and unsure, but the gun never wavered. “Bring her out here!” He roared.
“W-who?” I asked. The hitch in my breath made it apparent that he was scaring the absolute shit out of me.
“Marjorie!” He roared.
I flinched at the vehemence in his voice. God, but I just couldn’t freakin win. My life was one huge clusterfuck to the tenth degree. Here I was, twenty-six, going on twenty-seven, and I was about to die. Alone. Unloved.
Hooray.
Fuck it. If I was going to be shot, I damn sure won’t be going out without trying to fight.
***
James
“Okay, where the fuck are you?” I growled as I came back down the stairs of Shiloh’s apartment.
I rounded the corner to the diner and my heart nearly stopped.
Shiloh had her hands hanging down limply at her sides standing next to the bar. A young woman, twenty two at most, was behind the bar, mouth slack jawed and her hands up by her ears, and a man in his late sixties who resembled a grizzly bear with his wild brown hair and large round body stood in front of them both with a .357 revolver pointed straight at Shiloh’s face.
My basic survival instincts, the ones that were honed to a razor sharp point in the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan, the ones that kept me and most of my brothers alive during the most brutal of times, took over. My vision sharpened, my hearing fine-tuned, my adrenaline coursed thickly through my veins. The rapid beat of my heart thumped an erratic tattoo against the wall of my chest.
When my eyes stayed locked on the man with the gun, even when Shiloh’s scream ripped down my spine and settled deep in my gut. My hand tightened
minutely on the gun that I had in my hand, even though I had no knowledge of pulling it. Nor did I have knowledge of aiming it.
However, I found myself with one eye closed, staring down the length of the barrel. Tritium sights framing the large man’s center mass, ready to pull the trigger. With one breath, I found my calm. The next, I pulled the trigger.
***
“Mr. Allen, can you please repeat what happened again one more time?” Detective Pierson Howell asked with condescension dripping like acid from his every word.
“Are you arresting me?” I finally asked.
“No. I’m just trying to procure what happened here. Some things don’t line up.” He ground out.
“I’ve already explained the encounter in its entirety. I’ve explained what I saw happen. I explained that I couldn’t afford to wait, that I felt like the situation would deteriorate very fast. Therefore, if I’m not under arrest, then I’ll be leaving. I have a young daughter at home, as well as an inconsolable woman to take care of. If you’ll excuse me, Detective.” I snapped and turned.
Detective Pierson didn’t like the way I said detective, and I saw his hackles rise as soon as I said it. “Oh, yes. I’ve heard about the allegations that are being filed against you. Tell me, is it true? Do you rape your daughter?” He droned from directly behind me.
I froze. My hands clenched, and my body tensed in anticipation.
My eyes rose and my mouth opened, but Shiloh, who was standing to my right, erupted. I say erupted, because there were no other words for what happened next. She simply exploded.
“You have got to be kidding me!” She screeched.
The men and women loitering, as well as the crime scene techs, male and female officers, and brothers, froze and watched the explosion unfold.
“This man,” Shiloh gestured to me with her pointer finger. “This man saved my mother fucking life! That man was about to blow my head off. He had a fucking .357 pointed at my face. Do you know what a .357 does to a watermelon? It fucking explodes. Every fucking inch. There is no way you would ever be able to fit those pieces together again.”
Texas Tornado (Freebirds Book 5) Page 6