Down & Dirty 2_A Shameless Southern Nights Novel

by Ali Parker

  “What?” I snapped. I wasn’t a wait and see kind of person. “How is it possible that there’s nothing I can do?”

  “Dealing with stalkers legally can be hard.”

  “By hard, you mean impossible,” I deadpanned, my expression turning to ice along with my insides.

  Sonny’s features were grim. He didn’t like this anymore than I did. “Not impossible, it’s just a difficult case to prove.”

  He paused, leaning back and eying the ceiling before leveling me with his gaze again. “I hate to say this, but it’s even more difficult when the parties have a child together. If she tries to do anything, which she has already, all he does is pitch at fit and say he only wanted to see his son. He could even play the victim, saying that she’s keeping the kid away from him, anything’s possible with scumbags like this guy.”

  As I processed his words, anger coiled tightly inside of me. “He’s not the fucking victim. He’s making her life hell, I think he’s been at it for a long time.”

  “I know.” Sonny threw his hands up with a sigh. “I’m just trying to warn you that these cases aren’t always as cut and dried to a judge as we see them.”

  “So what you’re trying to say is that I should forget about help from the law. Deal with this myself.”

  Spine snapping straight, Sonny shook his head emphatically. “No. Absolutely not. If you do something stupid and threaten him, he’s not the kind of guy who’s going to retaliate against you. He’d do it by going after Marie, you hear me?”

  “I hear you,” I muttered. It didn’t mean I was going to sit back and wait for Wesley to make a move. Sonny knew me too well, a serious warning in his eyes as he kicked my foot.

  “Whatever you’re thinking of doing, don’t. I’ll reach out to the police in Savannah, they might have some additional information that could help us. Meanwhile, use your brain. Play it smart. That’s the only way we’re going to be able to get Wesley held accountable for what he’s done without making things worse for Marie.”

  Without making things worse for Marie. Those were the words I held onto for the rest of the day, even as anger stormed inside of me every time I thought of him. What I would do if I found him, I didn’t know. Twiddling my thumbs and waiting for him to make a move was not my preferred course of action.

  But I couldn’t risk him going after Marie in retaliation. I wouldn’t risk making things worse for her, no matter how much it chafed at me to wait.

  Chapter Six

  Marie

  Austin was thrumming with excitement beside me, the stress of the last week forgotten for now. He had something else on his mind, which was a welcome relief. Pulling on my hand, he was practically bouncing across the freshly mowed grass in the park where the tee-ball sign up was.

  “Hello there,” a friendly looking woman said. She was sitting under an umbrella with a cooler next to her seat and low table with a sheet of paper on it in front of her. “I’m Anna. Are you here to sign up?”

  “We are,” I confirmed, smiling as Austin nodded enthusiastically. He’d mentioned tee-ball to me after day care one day earlier in the week when a friend told him he was signing up today. I checked with both the day care and with Sarah, and both said it was a great program for kids.

  So here I was, signing Austin up for his first sports activity. It was exciting and surreal at the same time, to think he was already old enough to be joining a team—even if it was an introductory one.

  The park was bustling when we arrived with the sound of children’s laughter in the air and parents spread out on picnic blankets. Since it was a Saturday morning, there were other activities already going in the park. Austin couldn’t tear his eyes away from the kids playing football and a couple selling ice cream cones near the entrance.

  “We’re always happy to welcome new team members,” Anna said, digging a pen out from her bag and handing it to me. “Practice starts next week. Have you met Dotty?”

  Another woman came up to the table, twin girls with pigtails and grass on their clothes in tow. She smiled brightly, extending her hand. “I don’t think we’ve met. Dorothy Anderson, but you can call me Dotty.”

  “Hi. I’m Marie.” We shook hands quickly, and I nodded at Austin. “This is Austin, my son.”

  “These two wild things are Hailey and Bailey.” The little girls grinned and waved at the mention of their names before running off in the direction of the swings. Austin looked up at me, probably about to ask if he could join them when someone called out his name from behind us.

  “Tommy!” Austin exclaimed, running toward a little brown haired boy with startling blue eyes that looked surprisingly familiar. My mind raced, trying to place why the boy looked so familiar to me when someone gasped.

  “Marie Nix? Is that you?”

  The question came from a blonde woman who was hurrying to the boy who’d called Austin’s name. She was wearing a yellow sundress with sandals and wide rimmed sunglasses.

  She pushed her sunglasses up into her blonde waves, a slow smile spreading on her face. “My god. It is you! I heard you were back in town, why haven’t I seen you?”

  “Belle Dupree.” I could hardly believe it. Belle and I went to elementary school together. We were good friends back then, but then Belle’s family moved away, and we’d eventually lost touch. I opened my arms as she approached, giving her a big hug. “I didn’t know you were back in Cypress too, how’ve you been?”

  “I’m okay. Moved back a couple of years ago. Is Austin your son?” she asked, glancing between the boys, her eyes lingering on Austin. “He looks so much like you.”

  “All mine.” I smiled. “Tommy has your eyes. I knew he looked familiar.”

  Her blues grew misty as she nodded and slid her glasses back into place, her voice soft. “He does.”

  “Are you okay?” I didn’t know why, but it looked like Belle was about to burst into tears.

  She nodded, then sighed quietly and shook her head. “I’m fine, or I’m trying to be. I know he has my eyes, but I sometimes wish he had my Brad’s eyes. That way, at least I could still see them.”

  “Your husband?” I asked. It seemed like a silly question to have to ask, but I hadn’t seen her for years.

  “Late husband,” she corrected, her abrupt display of emotion suddenly making sense.

  My throat went dry and tightened. “I’m sorry.”

  Belle waved her hand, swiping one finger quickly under her eyes. “He was in the military, deployed and never came back. But it happened a while ago, just still catches me off guard sometimes when I look at Tommy.”

  “I understand.” How many times had I looked into Austin’s eyes, thanking my lucky stars and genetics that I didn’t have to look into Wesley’s eyes each time I looked at him? But what if the situation were reversed? I didn’t completely understand, but I had an idea of how she might feel.

  “Have you signed Austin up for tee- ball? Tommy’s been talking about it all week,” she said brightly, clearly trying to move on from the emotional start to our conversation.

  I nodded, remembering I still had Anna’s pen in my hand and needed to sign Austin up. As Belle and I talked, I quickly moved the paper closer and jotted his name down, then slid the pen and paper in front of Belle.

  “Austin’s been really excited about it too. I think it was actually Tommy who mentioned it to him, come to think of it.”

  Belle smiled, scribbling Tommy’s name onto the sheet in the same, if more practiced, loopy handwriting I’d watched her develop in elementary school. “I wouldn’t be surprised. I think he’s told the whole town sign-up was today and practice starts next week.”

  “I’m glad he did,” I admitted, watching as the two boys walked around the baseball field, inspecting the bases and the lines chalked on the grass.

  Each boy picked up a bat and started examining it. Austin looked thrilled as they went along, chatting a mile a minute to his friend. Tommy seemed to be enjoying it as much, a wide grin spread across his fac
e as he walked alongside Austin.

  “I’m glad he did too,” Belle said, also turning to watch the boys. “He’s been talking about his friend Austin, but I never put it together that Austin was your son.”

  “There’s no way you could’ve known.”

  Belle shrugged, smoothing her bright dress. “Except for the timing. I heard you were back in town, then suddenly Tommy starts talking about his new friend who just moved here. I’ve been meaning to look you up, but things have just been so busy lately. I’m so happy that we ran into you, though.”

  “Me too.” Belle was a good friend to me once even if we’d only been little girls at the time.

  As if she was thinking the same thing, she glanced my way, her eyes clear again. “We should get together sometime soon, catch-up.”

  “I’m so in for that,” I told her honestly. It’d been a long time since I’d had a girl friend. Wesley had a way of alienating me from people and he’d done it so carefully, so systematically, all my friends were long gone by the time I realized I had no one left.

  Being with Belle, even though I’d only seen her for the first time in years only a few minutes ago, already felt natural. Her friendship was like slipping into a favorite pair of slippers, warm and familiar.

  “You have plans for the rest of the afternoon?” she asked me, nodding at the boys. “Those two look like they’re getting along like a house on fire. I have a blanket in my trunk and I’m pretty sure there’s a stray bottle of wine in there somewhere. We could hang out for a while?”

  “I wish,” I replied, smiling apologetically as I glanced at my watch. “I have to get to work soon. I’d much rather stay here with you, but duty calls.”

  Belle’s lips curled into a sympathetic smile. “I get it. Soon though?”

  “Soon,” I promised. Austin and Tommy were still meandering about together. It broke my heart to call him away, but it was time. “Austin! We’ve got to go, buddy. We’ll be back for practice next week.”

  Their giggles immediately stopped, their heads bent together as they walked toward us, feet dragging. Tommy brightened up when they were almost to us. “I know, why don’t you come spend the night at my house? Can he, mommy?”

  His blue eyes were wide and hopeful as they sought out Belle’s. She nodded immediately. “Of course, I’d be happy to have him.”

  Austin glanced at Tommy first, then at Belle. When he looked up at me, it was like I had the power to crush every dream he’d ever had if I said no. “Can I, mommy? Please, please, please can I?”

  “Please with a cherry and ten raspberries on top?” Tommy added, turning his wide blue eyes on me now.

  I’d known Belle for a long time and I trusted her, but I just wasn’t sure if having Austin spend the night there so soon was a good idea. One look between their earnest gazes, and I broke down though.

  Austin had been through a lot this week. He deserved to relax and unwind. Belle wasn’t a stranger, and it was clear that Austin and Tommy got along well. Besides, Cypress Creek wasn’t a big town. I could get to Austin in minutes if he called and asked me to fetch him.

  “Okay, okay,” I agreed and the boys went wild, squealing, high-fiving and laughing. Austin gave me a hug goodbye and zoomed back to the tee-ball equipment as Belle and I sorted out the logistics.

  Having taken a bit longer in the park to organize everything, I got to my car with barely enough time to get to work. I was backing out of my parking space, mentally running through my schedule for the day, when my heart slammed to a stop.

  My breath caught and I hit the brakes on my car, my pulse pounding as I checked my rearview mirror. It had only been a glimpse, but I could’ve sworn I’d just seen Wesley standing in the parking lot.

  Eyes darting from side to side, I searched for his dark blonde hair, but he was nowhere to be found. Was it my imagination? Was I paranoid about seeing him, or was he really there?

  I just didn’t know when it came to him anymore.

  Chapter Seven

  Jeremy

  “I bet you’ve never had a girl shut you down that hard,” Waylon, my usual barista at the Daisy’s Coffee & Go, bemoaned his bad luck with dating as he fixed my order. “You probably have it easy, I mean you were a football star. Bet you have to beat the chicks away with a stick.”

  I snorted softly, humoring him. “You’d be surprised.” Though I managed to keep my tone casual, my mind spun to Marie—her clear green eyes, her lithe figure, and that smile I couldn’t forget. She’d shut me down so hard it burned.

  Waylon was a few years younger than I was, a freshman when I was senior if memory served. Flicking back his shaggy hair, his brown eyes were round as they looked into mine. “Okay, maybe not a stick then, but I bet you haven’t asked someone out and all she said was ‘no’ before she walked away.”

  I wasn’t paying much attention to him, but even I had to cringe at that one. He was clearly feeling this rejection. I could empathize with the freshness of Marie’s rejection clear in mind. He popped a lid on my takeout cup, handing it to me and looking so sad I had to say something. “Her loss, buddy. Don’t let her get you down.”

  Perking up as he rang up my order, he nodded and lifted his chin. “Yeah. You’re right. I bet you had to get up and dust yourself off more than once while you were playing ball. One bad play doesn’t mean the game is over, right?”

  Unless the play fucked your shoulder up so badly there was no coming back from it, but I couldn’t exactly tell him that. Instead, I paid him and took my cup. “Exactly. You’re young, there’s plenty of game time left for you.”

  I saluted him and left the shop, hearing him call out before the door shut behind me. “Thanks Jeremy, you’re the best!”

  The kid doesn’t have a clue. I finally met someone who mattered to me, and she was shutting me out of her life. I’d hardly call that beating anyone away with a stick. Sure, there were other girls who were always down for… something.

  But I didn’t want them, I wanted Marie and unfortunately, she may as well have been beating me away with a stick. Cranking up my radio, I let the rock music blaring from the speakers quiet my thoughts.

  I’d been thinking too much this last week, ever since getting that call from Marie. My attempt to talk to her the other day had gone nowhere. I needed some peace from my own mind, but that wasn’t to be today. I had to swing by the salon to check with Sarah about some adjustments in the remodeling plan. That meant running into Marie again. Just the thought of her—her green eyes flashing, the feel of her lips under mine, and sweet hell, the way it felt to be tangled up bare with her—fuck me. She’d slayed me, and I wanted, no needed, her to give us a shot again.

  Just the possibility of seeing her made my fingers tighten on the steering wheel. My thoughts spun back to the other afternoon when I’d tried to talk to her about her ex. She’d gotten defensive, and it had been weighing on me ever since. It burned to think about how much her ex had hurt her. I wanted to help, to protect her, and she wasn’t even letting me in.

  Much as I wanted to talk to her now, I knew it wouldn’t happen this afternoon. Not with Sarah and likely plenty of others at the salon.

  Parking on the street outside the salon, the sun was already starting to sink low on the horizon. The lights were on inside, casting the sidewalk in a yellow glow. As I crossed the street, I saw Marie inside. My heart knocked against my ribs and my entire body tightened in anticipation. I wasn’t going to lie—lust was definitely the spark for us, but it ran much deeper than that. I could walk away from lust, but I couldn’t walk away from Marie. Just the thought of it gave my heart a squeeze.

  Marie was listening attentively to her client, her body moving gracefully as she moved from side to side. Apart from Marie and her client, the salon was empty. There wasn’t a sign of anyone else, Sarah’s fiery red hair included.

  I paused before I entered the salon, taking a deep breath and hoping like all hell Marie wasn’t feeling as defensive as she had the other day.

>   Marie’s eyes snapped up as soon as I pushed through the door, finding mine immediately. Her cheeks flushed and her mouth opened before she snapped it shut.

  “Hey Marie, is Sarah around?” I asked, striving to keep my tone casual and letting the door shut behind me as I moved into the salon.

  “No, she had to leave early,” she replied. “Did you have an appointment with her?”

  “No, just thought I’d stop in. There are a few things I need to discuss with her about the remodel, so I was hoping to catch her.”

  “Sorry you missed her,” she said, her features carefully blank, but the flush on her cheeks giving me a flare of hope. Turning her attention back to her client, she held up a mirror and grinned. “All done. What do you think?”

  The woman preened, drinking in her reflection as Marie moved the mirror around her head to show off different angles. “I think you’re a magician, as always. It’s perfect honey, thank you.”

  “No problem.” Marie’s smile was wide. She took pride in her work. It was something I understood and seeing it in Marie warmed me somehow.

  Marie and her client chatted as Marie rang her up. The woman was gone a minute later, breezing through the door calling out, “Toodles!”

  When she was gone, Marie glanced my way. For a moment, I thought she was going to say something, but she didn’t. Her eyes narrowed slightly before her shoulders dropped and she grabbed the cash box, heading to the back to put it away. I already knew where the salon safe was, given that I was remodeling the wall around it to hide it better, so I followed Marie to the back.

  “What do you want, Jeremy?”

  “To talk,” I said honestly. “Can we do that?”

  She disappeared behind the screen currently shielding the safe and was back a few seconds later, planting her hands on her hips. I couldn’t help it. My eyes soaked her in. She wore a sundress today, the soft cotton hugging her body and showing off her curves. Her glossy dark hair swung as she faced me, her lips plump and full. Damn. I wanted to kiss her. But now wasn’t quite the time.