by Angela White
“Can I–”
“Get out!” Mary snapped, breaking her hold on me.
Tracy fled, immediately glad that she wasn’t on the receiving end of it. Nothing good ever came from our mother when she was angry enough to shout. We’d all learned that over the years.
Tracy might have flashed me a glance of sympathy as she pulled the heavy door shut, but I couldn’t be positive. We’d never been close. Being so far apart in years had hurt our relationship as much as my mother’s cruelty had.
My mother waved for the servants to go away, telling me that she wanted to be sure no one would be able to eavesdrop outside the door. She motioned to her study.
We waited until we were alone to fight, both knowing we might be shouting loud enough for the neighbors to hear before it was over.
As I sat down, I refused to let her condemning gaze back inside my head where it could stir up the dirt. She loved mind games.
“This meeting should have taken place a year ago,” Mary began. She settled herself in the plush chair and adjusted her glasses. “It would have, if you had shown any signs that you want what I’m offering.”
“I don’t,” I answered honestly.
“Yes, you’ve made that clear. However, we do our duty in this family, young man.”
“I’m in love with Angie.”
Mary’s expression shifted into distaste, but there was none of the surprise that I’d hoped for.
“How could you do that? She’s your family!”
“Not by blood!” I defended hotly.
“By God!” Mary lunged forward.
Slap!
“You’ve gone against both of us!”
I let the sting sink in and strike a match to the fury that I’d been carrying for so long. “That is the last time you ever put a hand on me.”
I looked up, letting her witness some of my hatred. “If you hit me again, I’ll hit you back.”
Mary was stunned. I don’t think anyone had talked to her like that in a very long time. I continued before I lost the advantage. “I already know I’m trapped. You don’t need to rub it in first. Just lay out your damn deal so I can make a choice.”
My mother’s mouth dropping open in shock was a great moment. I’d dreamed of causing that.
Mary sat back down, readjusting her glasses as she studied me.
“You’ve changed.”
“You haven’t,” I countered, almost shaking with the fury. “You’re still the same cold bitch who thinks she can rule my life.”
I slowly controlled the anger to let my shoulders slump as if I were defeated. “And you can. I’ll give a lot to have what I want.”
“You’d give up the Marines?”
I hated the way she said the word. It already meant a great deal to me. I pushed that annoyance aside as I realized she also knew the Marines didn’t have my top slot anymore.
“Is there a way I can have all of this?” I hedged, thinking hard. “I’d make that deal without arguing at all.”
Mary shook her head, almost seeming like she held pity. “No. Your family needs you.”
“To take all their money because they aren’t true Christians?” I retorted sullenly.
To my surprise, Mary chuckled. “You really don’t know who I am. I didn’t think it would hold this long.”
“Your cover?” I guessed. I knew she had sneaky things going on, but I had never dug in to discover exactly what they were.
“Very good,” Mary praised. “But before we get into those details, we’ll settle the rest of this first. I need you to do your duty.”
“I don’t know what you mean by that, but I don’t want to. I’m not like you. I don’t enjoy causing other people pain.”
“I’ll send her away.”
Terror rushed over me. Rage came right behind it. “Say that again.”
“I’ll send them all away,” she warned, ignoring my threatening tone. “Is that what you want?”
“I want Angie!” I answered angrily.
“Let that tramp go!” Rosemary snapped, finally showing the side of her that I’d always known was there.
“So help me, Marcus. If you fail me on this, I’ll send those two away together for a romantic cruise! She won’t even be able to run.”
I leapt to my feet, blazing with a hundred things I’d wanted to tell her for years now. I started to shout, to threaten her with what I knew, and then coldness fell over me as if I’d been drenched in a sudden rainstorm. I lashed out in a devastating swipe.
“Be careful threatening the things I love, mother. When I control the family, I also control you.”
I studied her shocked dismay coolly. “I think I know the perfect nursing home.”
To my surprise, tears welled behind those wire frames. I hadn’t thought she was capable of feeling anything anymore.
“You wouldn’t, not after all I’ve done for you.”
I swallowed the snort in favor of a promise. “If one hair on her head is missing when I return from your tour, you’ll have to kill me to keep me quiet. Be careful threatening people that you need. It always backfires.”
I sat down and calmly began to pry mud from my fingernails. I meant it. She knew I did, but I didn’t expect her to sit idly by and take it. She would make me pay somehow, but she would leave Angie alone because like everyone else who’d spent time around me, Mary knew I never said things that I didn’t mean. I would blow her out of the water on the front page of the paper, the local sheriffs, and even the FBI if I had to go that far. No, Angie wouldn’t be harmed at all in my absence. In fact, she might just get a little peace.
“So, we have a deal?” Mary asked, tears gone.
“How long have you been planning this?” I asked, pretending a nervousness that was really anger. She’d also expected my threats.
“Since you began crossing those incestuous lines, Marcus,” my mother informed me, revulsion clear. “I’ve watched for it. Your guilt was easy to spot. I’m only surprised that you thought I didn’t know.”
“Why are you splitting up the family, sending people away?” I tossed out, hoping to distract her for a minute so I could think.
Mary merely smirked in satisfaction at my observation. “They’re extending us, branching out. Much like an oil family might, in fact.”
“As salesmen?” I asked, not understanding her reference. I didn’t know any oilmen. Didn’t they drive fuel trucks for some big company?
“If I let you into this part of the business, Marcus, you have to be loyal. If you even hint about rebelling, the others will kill you. This is no game. It’s why I’ve kept you in the legitimate side of things for so long.”
That was the first time I’d ever heard Mary admit she was into anything illegal. As she’d known it would, it captured my attention. “What side businesses do you have going?”
“Many.” Her expression was deadly. “You’ll stay and follow in my footsteps. I’ll keep doing what I have been–leaving you alone while you rut in sins of the flesh with your cousin.”
I had spent so many years worrying over hearing those words from her that now, at the actual moment, it held no power. I didn’t even flinch.
I went straight into considering her deal. It was better than I could have hoped for. In the far past, I would have leapt at any opportunity to get deep into the details of our family, so I could find Mary’s weaknesses. Now, I hesitated. I still wanted to be a Marine. I was meant to be a Marine. I knew it. And when Angie and I ran, she would let me have that dream. My mother likely never would.
“For how long?” I asked, hoping there might be a light at the end of that tunnel.
“You’ll spend a year and half in true training. Then you’ll begin to take over my chair.”
“Your chair?”
“I’m the leader of our...organization. You’ll be the boss, Marcus. In time, I’ll be too old to protest and you can even have the whore of your dreams.”
“Don’t do that,” I warned.
; Mary’s lips drew up, but she restrained herself from calling Angie more names just to prove that she could. If she pushed me too hard here, my true anger might rise back up and land us both in hell.
“What if I hate it or I’m not good at it?”
“The first makes no difference,” Mary answered. “The second is unlikely. You are clearly clever and capable of being sneaky.”
I didn’t know if I should be ashamed or proud, and I didn’t respond. The offer was too good to be true. I was positive that she had a loophole that would allow her to deny me what I wanted the most.
“I’ll think about it,” I agreed reluctantly. Once Angie was of age, we could go–legally. Mary wouldn’t be able to interfere. If I fought now, the opposite was true.
“One day, Marcus.”
“I’ll give you my answer in the morning.”
I locked myself in my old bedroom to consider the offer. If we could stay, not have to run, would Angie be happier? Would I? No, but the Marines could wait a couple more years. They would take me as long as I was in good shape and this way, I would be around to help guide Angie into womanhood while I protected her. I mostly trusted myself now. I didn’t trust my mother at all.
Morning came before I’d made the choice. I stretched it out with a long shower, but in the end, I had to give in. I had to try. If we ran and got caught, everything would be lost. I had to try to do this the right way, to give us an honest shot at happiness in the future.
It felt as if a heavy chain was wrapping around my chest as I said, “I agree, with conditions.”
Mary peered up from her tea and eggs. “Those are?”
“I want all the details, even if you think I can’t handle something,” I stated, joining her at the table. “I’ll promise to spend time thinking about any actions and discuss them with you, even I get angry.”
“Agreed. You can’t do this job without the details, but it will take you the year and a half to learn them all. You’ll spend much of that time traveling. It’s called the inheritance tour. You’ll leave come Christmas.”
I stored that for later. “I have to know you won’t do any of the things that you’ve threatened.”
Mary glared at me. “I’m known for keeping my word.”
“I want you to do the opposite of your threat, as an act of good faith,” I insisted.
“Opposite?” she repeated. “As in clean up her family?”
“And more,” I pushed. “I want her accepted into the family–by you personally.”
My mother’s bark of hard laughter was unexpected. I leaned back in case it was the prelude to a strike. I wanted to get a good swing in before I connected, just to get more impact.
“You have no idea the power I wield, young man,” she stated. “Before you yell, consider this. My power will be your power. I have no need to bring her in. The first time you cross the line publically, after you take over, the family has no choice but to accept her. Who she is, won’t matter.”
I couldn’t imagine kissing Angie in front of my horrid family. They didn’t deserve to witness something as pure as what we shared. “I found your loophole. It’ll be years before I take your place. Years that I still can’t have what I want.”
“Only openly,” she reminded.
“Why?” I insisted. “Why can’t you let it go?”
“Why must you consort with the whore’s offspring?” Evil inside rose up to spew from Mary’s mouth. “That family line will die out in time and there’s nothing you can do to stop it!”
Mary stormed from the room before I could form a response. She clearly hated Angie’s mom, but I had no idea why. Who could I ask? If Mary wasn’t lying, I would be known as her heir in whatever this seedy side of the family business was and that meant one of our relatives would tell me what I wanted to know. Judy and Larry were out. As the farm fell further into disrepair, they fell further into debt with my mother. They wouldn’t risk her anger. I didn’t blame them.
I listened to Mary slam the drawer in the hallway where she kept her papers for household maintenance. I suspected I was about to be sent out of the house and that suited me. There was a chance that Angie would be in the clubhouse now. I might be able to stop by for a few minutes. I was sure she was waiting nervously to find out how the meeting had gone.
“Take this letter to the diner. Georgie should be at the restaurant, prepping for the lunch shift. Then be here by dark and we’ll finish discussing your conditions.”
“That’s it,” I stated as I put the letter in my pocket. “Just keep your word. Please.”
Mary reddened angrily, but only said, “And you, as well, Marcus. If you cross too many lines, if you’re caught together, it will be the end of our deal and my displeasure will be felt by everyone. It will be quick and extremely harsh.”
I didn’t doubt her.
I got my coat, worrying over the deal that I’d made with the devil who called herself my mother. And for the first time in many years, I wondered where my father was, if he was still alive. That was another answer I needed to get. I now understood why he’d abandoned us, especially since I was planning on the same strategy. My mother had that effect on people.
As soon as I was out of sight of the house, I examined the note she had suddenly needed delivered.
George, I require your escort over the next months. Surprise visits. Be ready to leave at dawn.
My heart leapt. She was giving me a good faith gesture by taking Georgie out of town with her. It would require Frona to sober up and run the diner while he was gone. Angie would have free time. Mary was proving that she would keep her word.
My hatred softened the tiniest bit, but the fear increased. I had admitted that I wanted Angie. I could only hope the deal I’d made was good enough to cover us for the next two years. If we settled into a good life before then, one that would eventually put me in charge of the family and shove Mary out of the picture, then maybe we wouldn’t have to run at all.
I didn’t plan to tell Angie that part unless the cards fell that way for us naturally. The odds weren’t very good. My mother wasn’t the forgiving type and I’d just challenged her and mostly won. A payment would be required for it.
Angie
“Can you hold it up a little higher?”
“Sure!” Marc asked for something! I hefted the wide board higher, arms screaming for a break. “How’s that?”
Marc hammered the nail through, and quickly took the weight off me. He knew I wasn’t very strong. He repeatedly offered to do all the laboring whenever we worked on the clubhouse, but I wasn’t okay with it. I’d insisted on holding things and fetching things.
“That’s what Georgie says women are for, anyway,” I tried to kid. “Holding and fetching.”
Marc’s profile darkened. “That’s not true. He was joking.”
I shrugged. Georgie did like to joke, but this time he had been yelling at my mom for not getting his dinner quick enough. He’d tossed a book at her. I doubted she thought the bruise was funny.
Marc asked, “Is she ok?”
I remembered that everyone knew about Frona’s latest hospital trip for a broken hand. Georgie said she fell and no one at the emergency room had questioned him.
“They gave her a lot of pills. She likes them, I think.”
Marc nodded, but didn’t ask more. I could feel him wondering how bad my mom’s addiction was, but I didn’t want to talk about her or about my home life. I wanted to stay here all day and finish our clubhouse. To distract him, I asked, “What’s it like on the farm?”
“Hard. They’re not like me.” Marc sighed. “I’ve figured something out if you’d like to hear it.”
“I would,” I answered calmly, hiding how impatient I was. I hoped this might be the opening into how the meeting with his mother had gone. For some reason, Marc wasn’t eager to discuss it, so I didn’t push. I was scared he had made a deal that would be the end of us. If that was the case, I didn’t want to know.
Marc hammered
the final board into place quickly. As I stepped aside to let him come around the wall we’d just completed, I felt his gaze go over me from curls to boots in a wave of heat. I tried to catch it on his face, but he stepped around me before the spark could flare into anything. He always did that. I respected him for it.
It got stressful in my thoughts sometimes, having both Marc and Georgie desiring me, but I never had trouble keeping the two separate. One was a horror that I lived in fear of. The other was a light in the darkness that I couldn’t live without. With Marc, I knew I was wanted, but I also knew I was safe.
And when you’re older? The witch questioned in my mind. When you’re legal?
I’d considered that after my last run-in at home with Georgie. When he had finished, one of my first thoughts had been to wonder if Marc would treat me the same way when the time finally came. It had been an easy answer at that moment. It still was.
Marc is good inside. He doesn’t think about hurting me, only loving me. That’s why I like it with him. I’m not bending my pieces.
The witch snorted loudly, and fell silent.
I glanced over to find Marc staring at me in concern.
“I’m okay.”
“Something about us?” he asked worriedly.
I shook my head. Since the witch’s ominous warning, Marc had asked that question a number of times, but there wasn’t anything new yet.
“Liar.”
I blushed. “She said I may not feel safe with you when I’m old enough to...” Now, I flushed scarlet. “She’s wrong.”
“I don’t like the witch,” Marc stated. “Why doesn’t she protect you?”
I’d asked that question a long time ago. “She said there are people who would take me to a lab and never let me out. I assume she means a funny farm. Her words aren’t always the same as mine, you know?”
Marc nodded absently. “If that’s true, I understand she can’t do anything big, but why can’t she help in small ways?”
I thought of how I’d been led to Marc by tracking thoughts. “She gave me you.”
Marc grinned, feelings about the witch eased.
I pointed toward another place on our clubhouse where we still needed to finish filling the cracks with mud and leaves. “Shouldn’t we be working?”