by Nicole James
“Don’t you two ever talk?”
“We talk,” Steve said defensively.
“About anything important?” Pop pressed.
“She told me a while ago that she was falling in love with me.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“Have you told her how you feel about her?”
“I’m not sure how I feel about her.”
“Cow patties!” Pop spit out.
“Pop.”
“Well, maybe you should start figurin’ it out, son.”
*****
That night after dinner, Summer, Steve and Pop were sitting in the living room watching television. The news was about to come on. Summer was sipping on a mug of coffee. She got up and asked, “Anyone want more coffee?”
“No, thanks,” Steve and Pop said simultaneously.
“Okay.” She took her mug and headed into the kitchen.
Pop stood up and stretched. “Well, I think I’ll go to bed. Night, Steve.” He shuffled out of the room.
“Night, Pop.”
Summer was pouring the remains of the coffee pot into the sink and rinsing the carafe with water. Steve came up behind her and put his arms around her, pulling her back against him. He nuzzled the side of her neck. Summer set the coffee pot down in the sink and turned in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her closer, his mouth finding hers.
After a few minutes, he took her by the hand and led her out the back door, across the yard and into the barn. As soon as he got her inside the barn doors, he turned and pulled her into his arms. They kissed like they’d been apart for weeks, not hours. Finally, he broke the kiss long enough to murmur, “I want you in my bed tonight.”
“We can’t, Steve. Jessie might find out and…”
He kissed her again, silencing her protest.
A few minutes passed and the kisses grew more passionate, more urgent. Summer took his hand and pulled him back toward the stall where they’d first made love.
Steve hesitated. “Summer, you’re sure?”
She just pulled him forward and laid down in the hay. He followed her down.
Later, they stood in the stall and Steve helped her button her shirt back up. When he was through, he pulled the stray pieces of straw from her hair and leaned down and kissed her again. Then they walked hand in hand back to the house. They walked together up the stairs. Steve stopped in front of her door and kissed her on the forehead. She opened her door and he walked to his room.
Chapter Nineteen
Summer woke up, rolled over, and looked at the clock on the bedside table. It was 1AM. She leaned over to push the curtains apart to try to get a breeze through the window. As she did, she glanced out and saw two figures standing in the shadows on Cary’s front porch. She blinked and realized it was Cary kissing a woman.
Now who would he have brought home? She didn’t even know Cary ever had ‘visitors’. The kiss went on for a while, and she smiled, thinking she would have to tease him about it in the morning. Then, as Summer watched, the two parted, the woman stepping down one step, and then another, their hands holding until the very last second, then the woman turned and headed toward…the farmhouse.
Summer sat up further, leaning to look more closely. Now why would she be heading this way, and where was her car?
Summer noticed that Cary stood watching from his porch. When the woman got closer, Summer’s mouth opened as she realized the woman was Jessie! Summer’s eyes flicked back to Cary, still standing on his porch.
Good Lord, what has he done?
Summer heard the screen door squeak as Jessie opened it slowly and quietly snuck in. Summer lay back and stared at the ceiling, a million thoughts racing through her mind. How long had this been going on? If Steve knew about this, he’d kill him. Should she tell him? She had to, didn’t she?
Maybe it wasn’t what it looked like.
But Summer knew what she saw, and that looked exactly like lovers parting after…
No, she couldn’t even think it.
Summer heard the stairs creak as Jessie came up, and then a door closed quietly across the hall. Maybe she should go and talk to her right now. On second thought, maybe it was Cary she needed to talk some sense into!
*****
The next morning, Summer was up making breakfast, thinking about what she had seen last night, and trying to think of what to say to Cary. Oh, she certainly had a few things on her mind to tell him! But, this could be a delicate situation. Well, probably the best way was to just say it out plain. No pussyfooting around it. This was serious.
She looked out the window and saw the guys heading up for breakfast. Steve was animatedly telling Cary something, a big smile on his face, his arms gesturing as if explaining the size of something. Cary laughed and slugged him in the shoulder. They stomped into the mud room, and Summer heard the water come on in the utility sink. She could hear them talking.
“You never caught a fish that big in your life. Your brains were addled from too much sun,” Cary teased.
Summer could hear Steve laugh.
Then he was walking through the door, smiling. “Morning, Summer.” He pecked her on the cheek and plopped down in a chair.
Pop and Cary followed.
Summer brought over a platter of scrambled eggs and sausage, set it on the table, and then sat down. The men bantered back and forth and were soon telling jokes. She smiled at all the right places, but she couldn’t help feeling sick inside knowing that when this secret came out, things would never be the same between Steve and Cary.
Soon they all trouped back out to do more work. Summer stood at the kitchen sink, steam rising from the hot dishwater she was running. She watched the men walk across the yard, and she tried to think of when she would be able to talk to Cary alone.
As it turned out, she didn’t have to wait long for her chance. That afternoon, Steve drove Pop into town for an eye appointment. Jessie was still at school and wouldn’t be home for a couple of hours. Summer waited a few minutes trying to steel herself for the confrontation, and then she took a deep breath and went in search of Cary.
She found him in the barn, cleaning the milking equipment.
As she walked in, he glanced up from what he was doing. “Hey, Summer, how are you?” She came to a stop in front of him, her arms folded. She glanced at the ground, and then up at him. Cary knew right away that something was wrong. He straightened and laid the equipment aside. “What’s up?”
“Cary, I…I need to talk to you.”
“Sure,” he replied, his smile disappearing.
“It’s about…something I saw last night.” Summer watched his eyes. He immediately stood a little straighter, and everything about him came alert, but he didn’t say anything.
She continued, “I saw you kissing a woman on your porch last night.”
“Did you, now?” he asked softly.
Summer held his gaze. “Yes, I did. I wasn’t spying, I just happened to be opening my curtain to get some air and, well, I saw the two of you.”
“Okay,” he conceded slowly. “So, you saw me kissing a woman. And?”
“Cary, I saw who it was. It was Jessie.”
He closed his eyes and blew out a breath. Then he looked her straight in the eyes and nodded his head slightly. “Yes, it was Jessie.”
“Cary, what’s going on between you two?”
“That’s really not your business,” he pointed out, turning back to the equipment. He began to wrap some hosing up in a roll, his movements filled with tension.
“Cary, please. Talk to me.” Summer reached up and touched his arm.
He turned back to her, and there were tears in his eyes. “What do you want me to say?” He stood looking at her a long moment, and then looked away. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. I swear to God, I didn’t. It…it just did.”
“What…what are you saying? Are you and she…”
“Yes,” he whispered in a tormented voice.
Summer was taken aback. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “But, Cary, she’s only eighteen, and you’re…you’re…”
“Twenty-six,” he finished her sentence. “I know. I know everything you’re going to tell me. I’ve been over all of it again and again in my head.”
“But, then why? Why would you get involved with her? And Steve…God, when Steve finds out…”
“I know.”
“You’ve got to put a stop to it, Cary.”
He just looked at her, a tortured look in his eyes. “I don’t think I can.”
“Oh, dear Lord.” Summer stared at him, shaking her head, and then she spun, dashing out of the barn.
Cary caught up with her a few strides later. He grabbed her arm and spun her around. “Wait, Summer. Please. You’re right. I know you’re right.” His jaw clenched, and he dropped his grip on her arm. “I want you to know…I care about her. This wasn’t…this isn’t something cheap or dirty. I really have feelings for her.”
“And what? How’s that going to end? Are you going to marry her? Or are you her summer fling until she goes off to college next year?”
“Stop it,” Cary ordered, shaking his head. “Don’t make this ugly. It wasn’t like that.”
“But that’s what it will look like to her father. Have you thought about that? Have you thought about him? Cary, for God’s sake…you work for the man. He trusts you. This will break him.”
Cary nodded. “I know. God, I know.” He closed his eyes and resigned himself to what had to be done. “I’ll end it.”
*****
Steve returned from taking Pop to town. He pulled into the drive and parked around back. He reached for the door handle, grabbing the bag off the seat as he slid out of the truck.
Pop got out and met him at the front of the truck as they both headed into the house. Nodding toward the bag in Steve’s hand, he asked, “Do a little shopping in town while I was at the eye doctor?”
Steve looked down at the bag in his hand. “Just a little something I picked up for Summer.” He still had a hard time thinking of her as CJ.
When he didn’t say anything further, Pop let it go and just nodded.
They walked inside. The kitchen was empty, so Steve headed upstairs in search of her. Glancing in her room he saw it was empty. A sound coming from his room drew his attention down the hall, and he followed it. Pausing in the doorway, he saw Summer bent over his bed, smoothing the sheets she’d obviously just changed.
He leaned against the doorframe, watching her finish the simple chore. His eyes slid over the curves of her hips and ass appreciatively, and a smile pulled the corners of his mouth. His grip tightened on the bag in his hand, and the paper crinkled.
At the sound, Summer’s head swiveled around as she glanced back over her shoulder. “Steve,” she said, straightening. “You’re home.”
He nodded. “Um hmm.”
“I was just putting clean sheets on your bed.”
“I see that. Thank you.” He pushed off the doorjamb and strolled toward her. Stopping in front of her, his hand reached up, his fist nudging her chin up as his lips brushed hers.
It wasn’t enough.
He tossed the bag to the bed and took her face in both his hands deepening the kiss. His tongue delving deep as his fingers threaded into the hair behind her ears. He heard her groan, felt the vibration through his mouth and broke off the kiss. Another minute and he’d have her down on the bed, pinned beneath him.
He looked down at her flushed face, watching her pull her breath in raggedly and smiled. “Maybe you could help me mess those sheets up tonight,” he suggested, his glance going beyond her to the bed.
She followed his gaze.
He saw her eyes land on the large bag. “I bought you something.”
She looked up at him. “You did?”
He let her go and reached for the bag. Handing it to her, he acknowledged, “Um hmm.”
Taking it, she peered inside. Frowning at him, she reached inside to pull the items out. There was a set of paintbrushes, a blank stretched canvas, and what looked like a small wooden cigar box.
He watched as she set the canvas and brushes down on the bed and opened the hinged box.
Inside was a set of tubes of oil paints. She ran her hand reverently over the rainbow of colors. “Oh, Steve.”
He shrugged. “I thought you might want to give it a try.” He’d had to search the whole damn town until he’d finally found these buried in the back of an office supply store. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, and he swore it was all worth it.
“Thank you.” Her lip trembled.
He wanted to cut it short before she broke down in front of him, so he chucked her under the chin and winked at her. Then he walked out.
Summer ran her hand over the paints again and smiled.
*****
Jessie walked out of school that afternoon and headed across the parking lot to her car. She unlocked the door and climbed inside, tossing her book bag in the backseat. Jamming her keys in the ignition, she glanced through the windshield and froze.
There, fluttering in the wind, trapped under the wiper, was a piece of paper. She threw the door open, set her foot on the pavement and twisting out through the wedge of the door, she snatched the paper up and got back into the car. Slamming the door, she opened the folder piece of paper.
Meet me in the alley behind Margie’s. Now.
Jessie crumpled the note, her fist clenching, and she glanced nervously around the parking lot. She knew immediately who had written the note. He didn’t need to sign it and he knew it. Was he here? Was he watching her? Oh, God! If she didn’t do what he said, what would he do?
With a shaking hand, she slid the gearshift into reverse and pulled out of the lot. Five minutes later, she found herself sitting at a red light at the corner of Main Street and Second Avenue. She stared through the windshield at Margie’s half a block down on the left, debating, biting her lip. Then her arm lifted, and she flipped on her left turn signal.
The light turned green, and when traffic cleared she turned left and then immediately right, turning into the alley. Her eyes took in the alley. It was empty, except for the squad car parked half a block down. She crawled to a stop about a car length behind it.
Deputy Wilcox was leaning against the side, his arms folded. His head was turned her direction. His eyes were covered with mirrored aviator sunglasses, and even though she couldn’t see them, she knew his eyes were intent on her.
She slid the gearshift into park as he straightened and headed toward her. Studying him as he walked, she noticed he was hatless, his blonde hair gleaming in the sunlight. As he got closer, she saw a smile pull on the corners of his mouth. He stopped next to her door, reaching for the handle and pulling it open. Leaning one arm on the roof of her car and one arm on the top of her doorframe, he leaned down toward her.
“I’m glad you follow directions so well, Jessie. I would have hated to have had to chase you down the highway and pull you over,” he said with a grin. And there it was. She had her answer to what he would have done if she hadn’t shown up.
Swallowing, she asked, “What do you want?”
He straightened, and she saw him reach up into his breast pocket. He pulled out a stack of photos and squatted down between the door and car. Holding the pictures out to her, he said, “I wanted to show you these. Let you see how pretty you are.”
Jessie looked down at the stack like he was holding out a snake to her, her eyes wide. She didn’t want to take them.
“Look at them,” he ordered, his voice deepening, and his smile disappearing. Reaching out a shaking hand, she complied. She flipped through the stack quickly, bile rising in her throat. He reached out his hand, grabbing her wrist, and stopped her on one particularly vile photo. “That one’s my favorite.”
She shoved them back at him.
He took them and smiled at her. “I see we aren’t all coinsurers of this art form
.”
“I’ve seen them. Can I go now?”
Standing, he reached forward unbuckling her seatbelt, his face coming just inches from hers. She gasped, shrinking back, not wanting him to touch her. When the belt was out of the way, he hooked his arm across her knees and swept her legs out the door, until her feet were on the pavement, and her body was turned toward him. She had a little summer dress on, and her skirt rode several inches above her knees. She gasped again. Squatting in front of her, he ran one hand up over her knee, until the tips of his fingers were just skating under the hem. Jessie grabbed at his wrist, trying to stop him. She knew she really had no hope of it. He could easily overpower her. “Jessie.” His soft-spoken word had her eyes darting up to meet his. “Let go.”
“Please. Don’t do this.”
He smiled. It was an evil smile. “Four o’clock tomorrow. Room 108.”
She shook her head. “No. I won’t. You took your pictures. I did what you said. Now leave me alone.”
He nodded. “You did do what I said. You were a very good girl. Now you’re going to be an even better girl, and you’re going to keep doing what I say.”
She looked at him, her eyes filling with tears. “No. I’m done.”
“Jessie, Jessie.” He shook his head. “You’re done when I say you’re done. You’re going to meet me. Because if you don’t, those pictures will end up on the Internet, or maybe I’ll mail them to some of the boys in your high school.” He grinned. “I bet they’d appreciate them.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks. “Why are you doing this? Please, don’t do this.”
He reached up a hand, gripping her chin. She tried to pull away, but he yanked her head around. “Buck up, princess. A few more times, and maybe I’ll let you go.”
She watched as he stood and walked back to his squad car, got in and pulled out. Shaking, she shut her door and put her head down on the steering wheel, breaking down into sobs.
Chapter Twenty