“I think it was cheaper to buy a house and land here. We lived in town in Barton and Mom couldn’t have chickens. She’s going to turn into the chicken lady,” I laugh.
“There could be worse things.”
“Like what?”
“A cat lady,” he laughs.
“I happen to like cats,” I huff.
“I don’t mean one cat or two cats,” he clarifies. “I’m talking twenty or thirty of them taking over the house.”
“Yeah that would be too much,” I agree.
“She could make a sweater out of cat hair.”
“Oh, that’s gross.”
“And itchy,” he laughs. “What are you doing next weekend?”
“Nothing I know of,” I reply. “This was at the last minute. Dustin asked Jessa to come, but she didn’t want to come by herself.”
“Dustin brought y’all?”
“Uh huh.”
“Look, I don’t want to get in y’alls business but he’s bad news,” he glances over my shoulder. “Shit, they’re gone.” He stops dancing and grabs my hand. “We need to find them before your friend finds herself in over her head.” He drags me along, deeper into the wooded area we are parked next to. The trees filter out any of the moonlight and I stretch my hand out in front of me to keep from running into anything.
We make it a few feet into the darkness, when the sound of skin slapping skin rings out with a yelled, “Fuck you, asshole!” Someone comes stomping toward us, twigs snapping in their path before Jessa appears in front of us, the strap of her tank top ripped, mascara streaked down face.
“Oh shit,” I murmur. “Jessa are you okay?” I rush over to her as quickly as I can in the darkness.
“Yeah. Some assholes just don’t understand the meaning of the word no.”
“Are you all right?” Zach asks from my side. “Do you need to go to the hospital or anything?”
“No, I don’t. He didn’t get too far,” a wicked smirk crosses her face. “He may need to though. To retrieve his balls from his stomach.”
“Are you sure? You’re getting bruises on your arms already?”
“I’m sure I’m fine. I just want to go home.” Her voice waivers with emotion and I know she’s not as unaffected as she wants to appear.
“Why don’t you stay the night with me tonight? I know you said your mom wouldn’t be home until late.”
“If it’s okay with your mom, yeah I’d like that. But how are we going to get home now? I doubt that jack wagon will drive us now.”
“I’ll drive you home,” Zach volunteers.
“Are you sure?” I breathe out in relief. I did not want to have to call my dad and have him come get us.
“Yeah, it’s not a problem. My truck’s right over there.” He points towards a beat up brown Chevy truck. He ushers us in front of him as we walk toward the others, oblivious to what happened. He opens the passenger door with a flourish.
“Your chariot awaits,” he winks at me as I climb in. After Jessa gets in, he shuts the door with a slam.
“I live on Dixon road. Do you know where that is?”
“Sure do. Small town, remember? Y’all bought the old Pemberton place.”
The drive home is silent except for the music softly playing on the radio. Jessa has her head leaned on the window, just staring out into the darkness. It’s cramped in the cab of the truck. My leg is in constant contact with Zach’s. I try to put a little distance between us, but he lays his warm palm on my knee.
“You think she’s gonna be okay?” he asks when he leans toward me.
“I hope so. I didn’t want her to be alone tonight.”
“Good idea.”
“Do you think he’ll come after her?”
“No, he’s too much of a coward, especially if she handed his ass to him like she said,” his brow creases before he speaks again. “But I’m afraid it won’t make him keep his mouth shut.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means my mom’s the town bicycle,” Jessa remarks bitterly.
“Come again?”
“The town bicycle. You know, everyone’s had a ride.” Confusion must be written across my face because she huffs out a breath of annoyance. “She’s the town whore, Dani. And they all expect me to be just like her.” Her voice breaks, tears slowly tracing the apples of her cheeks, a silvery trail in the moonlight.
“Oh, Jess.” My heart aches at the anguish and loathing in her voice.
“I can understand if you don’t want to be friends anymore,” she sniffs.
‘Why would we not be friends?”
“Who wants to be friends with someone like me?” she laments.
“I do. I don’t care what those other people think. You’re a nice person and a great friend. Screw the rest of them.” I reach over and clasp her cold hand in mine.
The sound of the blinker is obscenely loud as we turn into my driveway. The lights blaze in the window along with the flicker of the television. As the truck creeps down the rocky road, I unlock my seatbelt.
“Thanks for driving us home,” I utter as a wave of nervousness flows over me. My fingers twist in the bottom of my shirt.
“Not a problem,” he smiles at me. “Ugh, if you’re not doing anything next weekend you want to go to the movies or something?” he implores, voice cracking towards the end. My lips quirk.
“Sure, that sounds fun.” I laugh.
He puts the truck in park and opens his door, his body reflected in the headlights as he rounds the hood of the truck. Before he can get to the passenger side, Jessa has her door open and has climbed out. I slide across the vinyl bench seat praying that my legs haven’t stuck and aren’t going to make some god-awful sound. His hand reaches through the doorway and grabs mine to help me out. Our eyes lock at the electricity between us as I ease out. He walks both of us to the door and before our boots hit the top step of the porch, my dad has the front door thrown open, his burly presence filling the doorway.
“I wasn’t expecting you girls back so early.” He eyes Zach up and down. “And you definitely didn’t leave with him. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, Dad, everything’s okay. Zach was just kind enough to give us a ride home.”
Zach reaches his arm out to shake hands with my dad. “Zach Marshall, sir. Pleasure to meet you.”
“Pleasure to meet you too, Zach. Thanks for bringing the girls home.”
“I wanted to make sure they got home safely. Y’all have a good night and Dani I’ll talk to you Monday.”
Under my dad’s watchful eye, Jessa and I head into the house, but I can’t help glancing back over my shoulder and watch Zach walk back to his truck. My dad looms behind us as we walk into the living room, the television blaring Dad’s baseball game. Mom raises her eyes from the knitting in her lap and spies the disheveled state Jessalyn is in.
“Girls, you okay?” she asks, placing her yarn and needles back in her basket, her blue-green eyes full of concern but her gaze flashes to my dad.
“Yeah, Mom, it’s just been a long night. Is it okay if Jessa spends the night?” I implore her with a look to not ask questions. Her eyes flick between me and Jessa before softening.
“Of course, it is,” she admonishes. “Why don’t y’all head to your room and I’ll be there in a few minutes?”
“Okay, Mom,” I reply before herding Jessa down the hall toward my room. She flops back on my bed with a groan.
“Damn it’s been a night hasn’t it?” she declares staring at my ceiling.
“Well, it’s been interesting to say the least,” I agree. Leaning against my dresser I’m not sure what else to say as she watches the fan blades swirl lazily.
“Your mom will come in here wanting answers, won’t she?”
“And she won’t leave till she gets them,” I confirm with certainty. My mom’s like a dog with a bone when she has her mind set to it.
I learned a lot that night as my mother hugged Jessa as she cried her eyes out, my mother cro
oning to her and rubbing her back. I think it may have been the first time Jessa ever felt a mother’s love, and I knew then and there we would always be family.
Chapter Eight
Zach
Her body still fits perfectly against mine. The smell of her hair reminds me of being on the beach as it tickles my nose. She hasn’t looked up at me yet focused on the buttons of my shirt. Her feet move smoothly with mine as we move around the dance floor. I give her hand a little a squeeze to draw her attention. Her beautiful eyes find mine still a little unfocused.
“Hey, where did you go?” I ask.
“What do you mean?” She looks at me quizzically.
“You may have been here physically, but your mind is a million miles away.”
“I was remembering the first time we danced together.” A small smile curves her lips.
“Man, the party in Johnson’s pasture. I hadn’t thought about that night in forever,” I chuckle. “Good times, good memories.”
“Yeah, they were,” she says a little sadly.
“How have things been?”
“Really? You want to make small talk?” She arches a dark blonde brow.
“I don’t know what else to say,” I answer truthfully.
“That’s probably the smartest thing you’ve said,” she lashes back.
“Still have that sharp tongue I see,” I can’t help but smile.
“Life is good now. I own the bakery in town and it’s doing well.”
“Good. I always loved when you baked.”
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anyone else wolf down chocolate chip cookies like you.”
“Until I came back to town, I didn’t realize you had moved back.”
“How did you even know I moved away?” she presses.
“Mom,” I confess as I set her into a spin before drawing her back towards me.
“Ah. That would do it. But I think the bigger question is why would you care?”
“I’ve always cared.”
“Don’t feed me that bullshit,” she spits out turning away from me. I catch her arm and pull her back toward me.
“No matter what you believe, I’ve always cared.”
“Please,” she huffs out, eyes blazing with indignation. “You can use that southern charm on somebody else but leave me the hell out of it.”
“Dani...”
“Don’t you Dani me,” she fumes, nostrils flaring. “I’m not the freaking naïve little girl you left behind.”
“You weren’t naïve, I was.”
“Whatever.” She tries to jerk her arm away, but I keep my grip firm around her soft skin.
“Please, just listen to me?” I plead.
“I think I’ve listened to you plenty,” she replies with a jerk of her head sending her curly hair flying in a tangle.
“I never meant to hurt you,” I run a hand through my hair. “That was the last thing I wanted.”
“But you did, Zach, and nothing you can say right now will ever change that.” Her voice cracks along with my heart as she turns away.
“I know and I’m not trying to.” I walk up behind her and wrap my arm around her waist pulling her close. Her struggles are weak as she tries to put distance between us. I place my forehead on her soft hair. “I can’t change the past, but I can apologize for being an ass.”
“I’ve called you a lot worse over the years.” Her body slackens against mine at her confession.
“And I deserved it.” Glancing around, I see the other dancers shooting us dirty looks as we stand in the middle of the dance floor. I reach down entwining my fingers with hers. “Come on, let’s go sit down. I think it’s time we cleared the air.”
In the back corner, there’s an unoccupied table and I make a beeline for it, dodging dancers left and right until we reach the edge. A different waitress approaches the table and asks if she can get us anything. Dani doesn’t seem inclined to answer so I order a Bud Light. The waitress glances in Dani’s direction, pencil poised above her notepad.
“I’ll take a grapefruit vodka and Sprite.” After assuring us she should be back in a minute, an awkward silence fills the space between us.
“Look,” I begin.
“Stop,” she orders. “If we’re going to do this at least wait until Sheryl comes back with our drinks.”
She drums her fingers on the worn tabletop, looking at everything but me. I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s more beautiful now than she was when I left town if that’s even possible. Her hair looks silky soft in the dim light and my palms itch to run my hands over it before tangling in the curls to force her head back. Her tits have gotten bigger and I try not to leer at the way they strain against her top. The clunk of the beer bottle hitting the table breaks the staring contest I had going on with her chest. Glancing up, I get the disapproving look from the waitress before she gently sits down Dani’s rocks glass. I pull a twenty-dollar bill from my wallet and place it on her tray.
“Keep the change,” I tell her hoping she’ll the get the hint. Her eyes narrow. “I’ll signal you when we need a refill.” She grabs the money with two fingers before huffing and walking away.
“That was rude.”
“I wanted to make sure we aren’t going to be interrupted.”
“We’re in a public place, dumbass. Anyone could walk up in the middle of our conversation.” She lifts the drink up and wraps her lips around the straw before slurping down half the clear contents.
“I’m willing to risk it. I doubt I could convince you to go somewhere quieter.” Her responding snort is all the answer I need. My lips twitch. “Didn’t think so.”
“I can just guess what the rumor mill would churn out if they saw us leaving together. It’s bad enough I danced with you.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think about that.”
“I guarantee that both of our mothers are getting phone calls, or they will be first thing in the morning. By tomorrow, the whole damn town will know.” She lays her head down on the table.
“It’s not that bad,” I console.
“That’s easy for you to say. You’ll leave again. I’m the one who’ll have to live with all the backlash and pitying looks,” her voice is muffled against the table. Her head lifts, and she stares right into my eyes. “Once was enough. I refuse to be the one Zach Marshall leaves for a second time.” Her voice is full of venom.
“Whoa. Back up a second.”
“It won’t be the truth but that’s what they’ll say. It’s small town life. We’ll be the fodder for many a conversation at the coffee shop or at the café.”
“I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ve grown a thick skin over the years.” The way she says it leads me to believe it’s because of me. Now I feel like even more of an ass than I did earlier.
“I know it means nothing to you, but I am sorry for the way I treated you.”
“Thank you,” her voice is flat, almost robotic.
“I never meant to hurt you,” I begin.
“Yeah, you keep saying that. Then why the fuck did you?” The vehemence in her voice stabs me in the heart.
“I…”
“Did you think it wouldn’t hurt when I waited for you to call? Or, hell, write? That I stayed awake all night long worrying about you? Or I had to hear things from your mother and your brother?”
“Dani…”
“You promised me, Zach.”
“I kn…”
“You’re just a damn liar! Why the hell would I believe whatever you to tell me now?”
“But…”
“You can take your damn apology and shove it up your ass.” Her chair scrapes loudly across the floor when she stands. “Goodbye, Zach.” Her boots thunk against the wooden floor as she stomps away.
“Well, that went well,” I mutter before picking up the beer bottle.
“No, bro, I don’t think it did. You just riled her up,” Wes chuckles as he sits in Dani’s abandoned seat. “I
don’t think I’ve seen her that pissed off since one of the older ladies told her that a single mother shouldn’t own her own business and she needed to find another husband.”
“I bet she didn’t take that well.” I can’t help but smile at the image.
“No. I don’t think Old Mable knew what hit her.”
“Old Mable?” I nearly spit out the swallow of beer I drank. “She’s still alive? What is she a hundred and ten?”
“One hundred and six as of last April,” Wes shakes his head. “Damn woman will outlive us all. She calls us out all the time for the slightest noise, saying it’s disturbing the peace.”
“Someone has to keep the Preston County Sheriff’s Department on their toes.” The glare Wes shoots me tells me he’s not amused.
“Sheriff warned her last time he would take her phone away if she called about someone driving in front of her house too loudly.”
“She lives off Main Street.”
“Exactly. Cars drive by her house all day and night.”
I stare down at my bottle and peel the label. “She’s never going to forgive me, is she?”
“Is that what you want?” he prods.
“Yes.”
“Are you sure? Is it something you’ve wanted, something you’ve thought about or is it because you came back home and it’s right here in your face?” he challenges me with a stern look in his stormy gray eyes I’m sure have intimated quite a few people.
“I can’t count how many times I wanted to pick up the phone to talk to her. To apologize and tell her one of the hardest things I’ve ever done was to let her go.”
“Why did you?”
“I never told you how hard it was in the beginning.”
“You told us it was great.”
“I lied. My money ran out a lot faster than I thought it would. I slept in my truck for two months before the woman I worked for took pity on me and let me crash in the storage room above the restaurant.”
“Jeez,” Wes breathes out.
“If I would have told Mom I was sleeping in my truck…”
“She would have driven to Nashville and dragged your ass back home,” he confirms with a wince.
Pieces of a Broken Heart: Whiskey Bend Series Book One Page 6