by M. N. Forgy
Blood pours from the wound, and it burns so bad I can feel it throughout my whole foot.
He stands, and jogs into the other room, coming back with a needle and thread, and whiskey.
Whiskey. It reminds me of Warner. Is he hurt, where is he?
Cricket pours it over my foot, but I can’t feel anything. It’s like my foot went numb. Darting the needle inside my skin, he sews it shut with blue thread. I sit there in a daze, amazed I can’t feel anything as he closes it up.
“Thank you,” I wheeze.
Clipping the thread with some scissors, he looks his handy work over.
“All done. You clean up, and you can tell me how you got yourself into this mess over some fried fish.” He gives me that grandfatherly smile and leaves me alone again. Maybe he’s crazy, there’s no way I would let a wanted criminal into my house and invite them to dinner.
The tub now filled, I sink into it, making sure to leave my sore foot out. Drowning my head underwater, eyes open I scream in anger. Bubbles pouring out of my mouth. I release my rage, sadness, fear, and regret into the bathtub of warm water. Sitting up, water dripping from my eyelashes, I can’t stop thinking about Warner. I cry. I want to go looking for him, but what if I’m spotted?
“I put a dress outside the door for you, your clothes kind of smelled,” Cricket says from outside the bathroom door, I don’t respond. I pissed myself, I’m sure I smelled terrible.
After bathing, I get out and quickly grab the dress from outside the door. It fits nicely and is purple with sequin ruffles. It looks like something I would pick out and wear. Hopping out of the bathroom I see a picture hanging on the wall. It looks like Cricket but younger, and a woman next to him. She looks like me, a free-spirited young woman. They look so happy and carefree in the picture. He’s looking at her like she’s his whole world, and she’s laughing.
“That’s my girl,” Cricket says, startling me. I didn’t see him standing in the hallway.
“Sorry,” I mutter, feeling like I’m being invasive.
“No need. Come let’s eat, and I’ll show ya where you can sleep.”
Heading into the kitchen, a wooden table sits with fresh fish on a platter.
“While you were bathing, cops showed up looking for yeah,” he tells me casually like he’s talking about the weather.
I freeze, my body halfway in the chair. Should I run?
“I’m good friends with the local chief, told him it’s been quiet here, and he left.” He chuckles, proud of himself for lying to the cops.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I tell him, sitting down in the chair fully. He doesn’t owe me anything, and he’s just putting himself in a mess he doesn’t need to be in.
“I know, but I don’t trust the news anyway. They get shit twisted, they did that shit with me and my girl back in the day. So, that’s why I want you to tell me your story. Keep an old man like me company.” He takes a bite of his fish, looking me over as he chews. I don’t know what to say, or do, so I just stare back.
“Then again if you want to turn yourself in, I can call him back,” he shrugs. “You’re not a prisoner.”
“No,” I snap faster than I can think. If I turn myself in, I’ll never see Warner again.
Grabbing a fork and knife, I cut into my fish and take a deep breath to tell Cricket all about me and my handsome Warner. God I’m so worried about him.
23
Two Days Later
River
“I lost them. The K-9 picked up on a scent halfway up the mountain, but then we lost it. Nothing more we can do.” – Officer Briggs on the scene.
Sitting on the porch swing, I swing staring out at nothing but trees. The smell of greenery and pot leaves mixing around me. I’ve been living with Cricket for two days now, and he is the nicest old man, mostly because he’s high. He makes me tell him what happened to me and Warner every day, loving the tale of it because it reminds him of him and his wife when they ran away. His wife was raped by her stepfather, and nobody would do anything about it with her dad being the Sheriff, so one night Cricket got in a fight and killed him. They went on a spree trying to find their path, and on that path became a journey of loss and newfound love.
He says I can stay here as long as I like, and I’m going to. It’s not like I have anywhere else to go. He’s just an old man wanting company.
My brows furrow when rustling in the distance catches my attention. I freeze and stop swinging.
The rustle continues, and I stand. Should I run inside and let Cricket handle it?
“Hello?”
A bark responds, and the hair on the back of my neck stands. I know that bark from anywhere. I jump off the porch ignoring my foot and run into the woods. “Huey!”
“Bark!”
A little white ball of fluff jumps over vines and leaves, and I fall to the ground just as he leaps in my arms. Pulling him close, I cry into his dirty fur. He’s alive, oh my God!
“Huey!” I whimper. I can’t believe this. How is he alive? He licks my face and I can’t help but laugh. Petting him, my fingers run across something around his neck.
It’s a bracelet. My grandmother’s lava bead bracelet. The one I gave Warner.
“Oh shit!” I set Huey down.
“Do you know where Warner is?” Huey just looks at me. I pull the bracelet from his neck and wave it in his face. “Warner?”
Huey barks and runs. My heart skips a beat, and I follow Huey down a hill. The beads aren’t bad luck, not if I find Warner and he’s alive. Huey sniffs the air and we head over some slippery rocks by a waterfall I’ve never seen. Looking down, I see a bloody foot sticking out from a cave. I recognize it immediately.
“It’s Warner,” I breathe, my heart feeling like it’s slowly piecing together.
Warner
Shivering under the ledge, I can’t feel my foot anymore. I’ve been laying in this same spot for at least a day. I can’t get up. I need food, I need River. God, I hope she’s okay. Regret makes me want to vomit, I shouldn’t have told her to run. We should have kept going.
Huey whimpers and I look over to him. He’s going to die if he stays with me. Sniveling, I slide the only piece of River I have left off my wrist, pulling on the strings to extend the length.
“Come here, buddy.” He crawls over to me, his purple cast seeing better days. “I want you to go. Find River, a new owner, something. If you stay here… you’re going to die.”
He licks my chin, and I laugh. I remember when I ran over him, taking him with us on the trips. How many times he’s saved our asses. Kissing his head, I place him on the other side of me.
He sits there, looking at me confused.
“Go!” I point. He starts to walk, looking over his shoulder. He doesn’t want to leave me. “I said GET!” I yell at him, and he runs off whining.
Laying back down, I feel like crying. I’m all alone now and going to die. Glancing down at my foot, and bear trap wraps around my ankle bone. I can’t feel my foot anymore. I close my eyes, knowing that’s not good.
Running in the dark, and the snapping sound straight into my flesh echo in my head. It’s a pain that slices up your whole body, my bones feeling like they’re going to crack in half any second. The only thing keeping it clean from flies laying eggs and infection has been the steady stream coming off the ledge.
Feeling sick, I close my eyes and fall asleep. Thinking of River, and how much I love her and regret taking her. I ruined her life.
The sound of Huey’s bark wakes me. Rolling over I groan, I thought I told him to get.
“Warner?”
Back straight, I snap upright. That sounded like River.
“River?”
She slips down some rocks, her face pale as she sets fierce eyes on me.
“Holy fuck!” I mutter. In a yellow tie-dye dress and sandals, she runs to me, her chocolate hair swinging behind her like a halo. She falls into me, crying. Wrapping my arms around her, I hold her tight.
“
Oh my God, you’re alive,” she cries, and I can’t help the tears that escape my eyes.
“You’re safe. Thank fuck,” I breathe her in, the smell of spicy lavender bringing me back to the days we were running. She kisses me, and I kiss her back. Our tongues urgent to find one another, hands gripping and pulling one another closer.
Her foot hits the trap on my ankle and I hiss, falling back to the ground.
“What—”
She looks back and notices it.
“Jesus Christ, Warner!” she gasps, standing up. “Have you tried to get it off?” she asks, looking it over.
“Yeah, I’m too weak,” I confess.
Wiping her tears, she looks at me, I can tell she’s thinking. She really looks good. Clean even. Wait? How is she so clean?
“I’ll be right back. I’m going to get help.”
“Don’t leave me!” I snap, but she steps away, her dress fluttering around her perfect legs.
“I’m not, I’m coming right back!” she promises, and as quick as she came, she’s gone.
“Come back!” I scream, not wanting to be alone.
In and out of consciousness, I wonder if seeing River was a dream. Huey lays beside me, and I wonder if I told him to go or not. Did he leave?
“Fuck, that is on there good.” A male voice echoes in my head. I’m lifted from the cold slated rock, but everything is black, I’m cold and can’t open my eyes.
“River,” I mutter. “Take me home, River.”
24
River
“Cricket is a good friend of mine. He’d tell me if he saw those kids. He’s good people.”
- Local Sheriff.
I never leave Warner’s side. It’s been twenty-four hours since we found him. Cricket removed the trap on his leg, cleaned his leg up and stitched it. That’s the best we could do. His foot looks like it’s got good blood flow, but he probably won’t walk on it normal again.
Laying up close to Warner on the bed in the spare bedroom, I run my fingers over his forehead, brushing the hair from his face. I sing a Willy Nelson song, hoping Warner can hear me next to him. Cricket is a big fan of Willie, and the songs are stuck in my head now.
Closing my eyes, Huey on Warner’s chest, I fall asleep with my family. I don’t deserve them, but I’ll fight for them until I die.
“You feel like you can walk on it?” Cricket’s voice wakes me, and I find him talking to Warner who is now sitting up. He’s shirtless, wearing a pair of jersey shorts Cricket got from town.
Sitting up, I watch as Warner tries to stand. He winces and takes a step.
“I can’t put much pressure on it,” Warner confesses.
“I think you’re gonna be a cripple, son.” Cricket doesn’t beat around the bush. Warner sighs, sitting back down on the bed. He looks over to me and I give a small smile. I’m so happy he’s back I don’t give a shit if he’s a cripple or not.
“Thanks for taking care of my girl,” he tells Cricket, and Cricket scoffs.
“She’s amazing. You guys are lucky, those cops would have destroyed you guys.”
Warner shakes his head. “I would have deserved it, we did some terrible shit.”
“I’ve heard, but you made it to where you wanted to be and the only person that can judge you is God. Not the fucking police who have no idea what happened at any of those incidents.”
Warner nods, but I can tell he doesn’t agree. He’s hard on himself.
“Well, dinner is ready. Why don’t you come eat with us and tell us about your last few days? I’m a sucker for a story!” He smiles, and I laugh.
“He is.” It’s Warner’s turn to tell stories.
Cricket leaves, shutting the door behind him, and Warner is on me like a snake on a mouse.
His lips kissing me urgently like I’m his remedy to his pain.
“You are what kept me alive River, and I swore when I was able to hold myself up again. I was taking you.” Lifting my dress, he fists my breasts and I arch into him. The feel of his skin against mine almost making me cry. I never thought I’d feel this again.
It might be weird being in another person’s house, us being in pain. But we need each other, I don’t expect anyone to understand.
Jerking down his shorts, the tip of his cock finds my heat and he slips inside of me. Gasping, I pull him closer, my legs wrapping around him. His ass flexes as he pumps in and out of me. The feeling of his pulsing shaft making me wetter.
He winces when his foot hits the footrest, so I roll us, me on top. His dick goes in deeper, and with my knees pressed into the small bed, I take control. Pumping up and down, my tits bouncing, his nails digging into my thighs.
His mouth parts, that look that he’s coming crossing his face, so I lean down and take his moans into my mouth as we both come at the same time. He fills me with his seed, jerking his hips a few times, it drips out of me. Laying on top of him, my body sensitive, he pets my head. Kissing it every once in a while.
“We made it,” he whispers.
“We did,” I mutter.
“Love might have made us wanted, crazy, and soulmates, but we made it together.”
Epilogue
Five Months Later
River
Bare feet in the dirt, Colorado wind in my hair, I trim the pot plants of Cricket’s with a pair of sharp scissors, making sure the leaves are not blocking too much sun. My dress is tight against my swollen belly, and I stand straight and feel our little one move about inside of me. I’m pregnant. We don’t know what we’re having, we want it to be a surprise. We have a home birth arranged and are ready for the baby’s arrival, all thanks to Cricket.
He has cancer and sits on the swing smoking pot, watching nothing most of his days now. I hope he stays around long enough for the baby to be born. He’d make a great grandpa. He’s very excited I’m pregnant.
He says bringing me and Warner into his home was the best thing he’s ever done. We never did find Pink or her house. Maybe one day we can look for her, but right now we have everything we need living off the land. Why chance looking for someone we have no clue where to look for?
“Hey Hippie.” Warner smacks my ass, limping past with a fishing pole. His injury to his ankle did cause permanent damage, but he’s lucky he didn’t lose it.
Crazy thing is, his scar healed to a near replica of a string tied around his ankle. My soulmate, just like my grandmother’s story.
Warner and I were called the Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde, never to be found. Living out here is different, but I love it. It’s exactly what Warner and I wanted. Freedom. We fish, garden, I don’t hunt, but the guys do sometimes. We won’t get into that, though.
We do everything here on this mountain. There is no need to go to town, and for that, we will never be caught.
A black snake weaves through the garden, and I quiver at it.
“Warner!” I call out, panic lacing my voice.
He walks up behind me and notices me staring at the snake. My back straight, and shoulders tense.
“Put your hand out, hover over it slowly and grab it behind the neck fast.” Warner walks me through it. Licking my lips, my heart beating fast, I use my free hand and hover over it. Just as it tries to take off, I jerk out and grab it behind the head. It flicks its body back and forth, opening its mouth.
I squeal, I actually did it. I handled a snake! Warner takes it from me, and I can’t stop smiling.
“I did it!”
“I’ll set him free farther down.” Warner laughs.
Proud of myself, I nod. Watching him go.
All because one man knew what it was like to be young, dumb, and in love. He hoarded us up here in the mountains and watched over us. He said he owed it to the family that helped him and Lucille when they were running. Who knows, maybe we can pay it back to some young couple one day.
“Want some tea for my grandbaby?” Cricket asks, coming out onto the front porch. Shielding the sun from my eyes, I smile. Cricket is a man that I could hon
estly call a dad, and a grandfather to my child.
“Yeah, that’ll be great.” Setting down my trimming gear, I head up to a man that I could never thank enough. A man that made me see that running was worth it…
That love was worth it.
THE END
Afterword
Thank you so much for reading. It means a lot to me that you support me and my work. If you have time to leave a review, I would appreciate your feedback.
-Thank you, M.N. Forgy xoxo
Acknowledgments
So many people helped me get this book right where I wanted it. I have had this story in my head for years, and it finally got to the point I couldn’t ignore it any longer!
Ari from Cover It Designs is amazing. She is so patient, and worked with me for over two months getting the cover to match the story inside.
My main squeezes, Brie, and Heather. I harassed these women almost every day. They read so many re-writes of this book. Lindsey, Natalie, Selina, and Mary also beta read Love Me Crazy and helped me shape this book perfectly!
Emily from Social Butterfly is always there to help me with anything I need. She’s amazing!
To my husband who listened to me go on and on about this book! He’s a champ!
My mother actually came up with some excellent scenes for this book. Her ideas are so out there sometimes that they’re perfect!
Of course my readers are the best part about this whole process. You guys make the sweat, anxiety, and long hours worth it!
Thank you so much for reading!
Also by M.N. Forgy
Devils Dust MC series
What Doesn’t Destroy Us Links (Devil’s Dust Book 1)
The Scars That Define Us (Devil’s Dust Book 2)
The Fear That Divides Us (Devil’s Dust Book 3)
The Lies Between Us (Devil’s Dust Book 4)
What Might Kill Us (Devil’s Dust Book 5)
Sin City Outlaws MC Series
Reign ( Sin City Outlaws MC 1)
Mercy (Sin City Outlaws MC 2)
Retaliate (Sin City Outlaws MC 3)
Illicit (Sin City Outlaws MC 4)
Bloodlines (Sin City Outlaws MC 5)
Stand alones