by Ivy Asher
I try not to visibly deflate in front of them. “Then what do you have to say to me?”
Alder opens his mouth to answer, but Mama comes walkin’ back over, fresh off her phone call. “Sorry about that!” she says with a smile as she returns. “So, what can we help you boys with? You said you wanted to talk to my Medley here.”
“We have a job opportunity for her,” Alder cuts in, and the two of them share a look.
I rear back, completely taken off guard. I stumble into my seat, mouth gapin’ like a fish. “What?”
“Oh, how nice!” Mama beams from across the table. “See, Medley? The Lord works in mysterious ways. It’s good that that woman fired you. Now you can move on to somethin’ better!”
I swing an incredulous gaze over to her. “They own a dingy bar down by the swamp,” I tell her.
“We prefer rustic to dingy,” Alder quips, and I roll my eyes.
“You know what I always say,” Mama tells me as she sips her tea. “There are no bad jobs, just bad attitudes.”
Flint grins and shoots her a wink. “Too true, ma’am.”
I scoff and then have to dodge the swat my mama sends my way. “Lemme walk you two out, and we’ll set up a meetin’,” I lie as I get back to my feet and start walkin’ out of the kitchen, hopin’ that they’ll follow. I need to get them away from here. I don’t know what exactly they want from me, but I need to speak to them outside, away from my mama’s ears.
“Oh, but they just got here!” Mama says with disappointment, and I nearly facepalm. She looks positively smitten with the two of them. “And they’re so handsome, Medley, don’t you think?”
Oh, God. My face feels like it’s on fire.
“Mama, can I talk to you for a minute?” I grit out.
“Alright, HB,” she says, gettin’ to her feet just as I round the table and practically drag her all the way to my bedroom. I lock the door too, just in case.
“What in the world’s gotten into you?” Mama asks, bewildered.
“I don’t trust them. What did they say to you when they got here?”
“Well, they introduced themselves. Told me they made sure you weren’t too intoxicated last night, made sure you were fine and well before you drove yourself home.”
“Yeah, but I don’t remember any of it, so that could all be a lie!” I whisper-shout.
“You’re just jumpier than a cat on a hot tin roof. What’s gotten into you?” Mama demands.
“I don’t know,” I say, lettin’ out a sigh as I swipe the back of my hand against my forehead. “I haven’t had a tribulation in a while. It makes me nervous, and...”
“And? And what?” Mama presses, her eyes fillin’ with concern.
I chew on my lip for a moment. “And...they look strange.”
Mama tilts her head with exasperation. “Medley Bell, I raised you better than to judge someone by the way they look.”
“Yeah, but...they don’t look strange to you?”
Mama’s red eyebrows pull together. “If you mean strange as in a couple of handsome, strappin’ boys with muscles you could bounce a quarter off of, then yes. Very strange.”
I snort. Well, I guess that answers that. Mama doesn’t see what I’m seein’. No way could Flint’s marble skin get overlooked.
“There’s nothin’ wrong with talkin’ to them about this job opportunity. Don’t ignore signs that the good Lord gives you,” Mama says, but I’m only half listenin’, my mind whirlin’ with what the hell to do.
“Just hear them out,” she says.
“You’re too trustin’ for your own good,” I tell her with a shake of my head.
“Heavenly Bell,” she begins before comin’ up and placin’ her hands on my shoulders so she can look in my eyes. “I trust that things are gonna be okay, because of you. Lord knows that you were left on our doorstep for a reason, and your daddy and I have loved you ever since. So yeah, I might trust the things that find their way to us without our askin’, but that’s because that’s how we got you, and you’re the best thing that ever happened to us.”
A sheen of moisture coats my eyes at her words, and I swallow thickly. “Thanks, Mama.”
She pats my shoulders and then places a kiss on my forehead. “Now go talk to those two very fine male specimens who have brought themselves to our door. At the very least, I’ll get to have a few more minutes of lookin’ at them.”
My mouth pops open with a surprised laugh. “Mama!”
“What?” she says with a shrug. “I think your daddy hangs the moon, but that don’t mean I don’t have eyes. Those two out there are hot enough to lick a campfire.”
“Oh Lord,” I say on a groan as Mama opens my bedroom door. She ain’t wrong, but damn.
“Go on, HB. Scoot,” she tells me, holdin’ out an arm for me to precede her.
I take a deep breath and walk out, not at all sure what the hell I’m walkin’ into. One thing’s for certain, though. I have a feelin’ that my life changed the moment I stepped foot onto Hairy Dog Tavern’s property.
And now...I’m either hallucinatin’ and crazy, or...somethin’ else. And damn it all if that somethin’ else doesn’t seem worse.
7
I shut the door behind me, my mama’s hollers of y’all be sure to come back now, ya hear? now muffled by the barrier. Flint has a wide grin on his face like he’s lovin’ every minute of this, but Alder is watchin’ me intently, as though if he just stares hard enough, he’ll be able to figure me out.
I move past them down the steps of the porch and further away from the trailer just in case my mama embraces her curious side and has a cup to the door or somethin’. I spot a couple golf balls in our yard and pick them up, droppin’ them in the half-full bucket next to the car port.
The two men watch me as though they’re in no hurry to get on with things, and I once again get the distinct impression that they’re studyin’ me somehow, like I’m an enigma to them or somethin’.
“Y’all ain’t mafia or somethin’, are you?” I ask, once again takin’ in their T-shirt and jeans and general casual vibe. They don’t scream gangsters, but I’ve only ever seen the Hollywood version, so really, what do I know? They did say they were interested in the things I’m capable of, and that’s downright ominous. When the blackness hits, it’s like a hurricane that leaves nothin’ but broken things in its wake.
Alder snorts out a laugh at my question, and Flint gives me a smile that I know he thinks is sexy.
“You practice that grin?” I ask him, ignorin’ the butterflies that are once again flutterin’ around in my insides. “Bet you time yourself too, keep a log of just how long it takes between givin’ that smile and a girl’s panties endin’ up on the floor.”
My mama would give me the look if she heard the rude tone I was usin’, but I can’t seem to help myself. They’re too pretty despite their odd appearance. There’s somethin’ a little too smooth and temptin’ about them, and I trust it about as much as I’d trust a dog to watch over a juicy steak.
“A minute six seconds is my best time to date,” Flint answers without missin’ a beat, and as much as I want to roll my eyes, there’s a part of me that’s wonderin’ if he just might be tellin’ the truth. I wouldn’t mind puttin’ that time to the test...
“No, we’re not mafia, and yes, he practices that grin,” Alder tells me evenly as he smoothly slips his hands into his front pockets.
Flint shoots him an unamused look before turnin’ back to me. “So, your parents are…” he trails off.
“Saints,” I fill in for him. “They’re also off-limits. Which means if I see you here again, uninvited, we’re gonna have an issue.” These two can pretend to be harmless, but an undercurrent of intuition tells me they’re anythin’ but.
Flint holds up his hands placatingly and tilts his head like he’s tryin’ to calm a spooked horse. “You’ll have no trouble from us, darlin’, but we’re worried you may run into some trouble on your own, or at least the other Guardians sa
id Delta did when they first found her,” Flint offers, as though that should make sense to me.
It doesn’t.
My brow furrows. “What the hell are you talkin’ about?”
“Well, we’re not exactly sure how it happened. We have theories, but we’re waiting to hear back from Rafferty and his Guardians to see if they can shed any more light on this. Strut said he wasn’t sure when they’d get back from their trip down under, so it may be a bit before we hear back.”
I blink at Alder, waitin’ for anythin’ to make a lick of sense, but it doesn’t. “Yeah, I’m still not catchin’ what you’re throwin’,” I tell him, completely bewildered.
The guys share another loaded look. I really wish they’d stop doin’ that.
“Shit, I wish we knew how this went over with Delta. She didn’t know either,” Flint mutters to Alder as he rubs the back of his neck, worry pooling in his dark gray gaze. “This is harder than I thought.”
“If I had known we would stumble across our own, I certainly would have procured more information,” Alder admits.
I have never been so confused in my life.
“Are you two messin’ with me?” I demand. I have no clue what they’re talkin’ about, and every time I tell them that, they just get even more confusin’.
“Well, here goes nothing…” Flint announces awkwardly, and for some reason, I tense, like he’s gonna hit me or somethin’.
“We’re demons, and we think you’re supposed to help us guard our Hellgate,” Flint blurts in a rush, like he’s verbally rippin’ off the Band-Aid.
I stare at him blankly for a moment, waitin’ for him to crack a smile or for humor to twinkle in his eyes. You know, somethin’ to give away that this is all some game they’re playin’.
But I get nothin’. Nothin’ but serious stares as they watch the information sink into my expression.
“Did Shelia Dumarsh put you up to this?” I ask, crossin’ my arms over my chest and feelin’ very suspicious.
That stupid bitch has been tryin’ to get back at me for years, and this just reeks of the kind of nasty shit she’s been pullin’ since I “dumped” her brother half a dozen years ago. Not that Allen and I were ever anythin’, but he was goin’ around tellin’ people we were, and I had to set that shit straight. It would be just like her to try and convince me of some outlandish thing like these two bein’ demons, and then make fun of me for the rest of my life for fallin’ for it.
With a scowl, I close the distance between Flint and me, then immediately pull up his shirt.
“Whoa,” he objects in surprise, but he doesn’t do anythin’ to stop me as I feel the hem of his cotton top for some wires or a hidden camera. I check all the way up to the neck of the T-shirt for good measure, and sweet molasses, he is ripped. Lines and dips and hard ridges stare back at me, and I freeze for a second, just to ogle his fine body.
“Find anything?” he teases as I continue to stare at him for way longer than can be considered polite. I quickly blink and get back to the mission at hand. But there’s nothin’. No wires or anythin’. I quickly drop his shirt, my face burnin’ at how blatantly I just checked him out. I will never get that delicious sight out of my brain.
I clear my throat. “Take your pants off,” I order him, movin’ from Flint to Alder so I can check his abs too. I mean shirt. Check his shirt.
My stars and garters, I am in trouble with these two.
“Now, darlin’, if that’s how you wanna play, I’m in, but I just met your mama, and I don’t want to ruin her good name, so why don’t we just shift this to our place?” Flint offers, his tone teasin’ but husky.
Yes, please, my inner hussy says, but I manage to scoff as I reach for Alder’s shirt. He just looks at me, his warm gaze intense as he says, “Help yourself,” in a way that sends my thoughts to all kinds of inappropriate places.
I try to shake the lust from my mind as I feel around his white V-neck shirt for anythin’ electronic and incriminatin’, but all I feel is sculpted muscles and warm skin. My downstairs basement might start floodin’ if I’m not careful.
I make sure to keep my eyes averted from his as I respond to Flint’s flirtatious dodge. “You wish, Countertop. I’m not puttin’ moves on you. I’m checkin’ you for wires and cameras. Allen knows his way around hidin’ those damn things in places they don’t belong.”
“No cameras, but I promise you that a night with me would have you wishing you’d recorded us,” Flint retorts with a wink and a confident smile that makes my vagina zing with anticipation.
I pretend like I’m not affected at all. “Please, all that bravado tells me is that you rely on your looks too much and either have a small pecker or no idea how to use it.”
“Damn,” Flint declares incredulously...and then he starts unbuttonin’ his pants as though he’s ready and willin’ to prove me wrong.
My gaze widens with surprise, and I freeze, waitin’ to see if he’ll really drop his pants right here on the overgrown lawn. If he thinks I won’t stare my fill, he’s got another thing comin’. I can’t help it—somethin’ about these two have me all revved up.
“What in the hell is goin’ on over here?”
My head snaps in the direction of my daddy’s voice. I feel Alder chuckle, like he thinks the scene we’ve just set is amusin’, and I can only imagine what this must look like from the outside lookin’ in. Me with my hands under a guy’s shirt, like I’m about to strip it off, and Flint rumpled and readyin’ his pants to be ’round his ankles.
Just peachy.
I snatch my hands away from Flint’s lavender chest, already missin’ the feel of all those muscles. “Hey, Daddy,” I greet innocently, but even I can hear the oh shit in my voice.
Luckily, Todd comes runnin’ from the side of the house just then to welcome my daddy home like he always does, and I immediately take advantage of the momentary distraction.
I step back from Alder, who just shoots me a wink, and I quickly straighten his shirt so it doesn’t look like I was just gettin’ fresh with two men in the front yard of my parents’ house for all of heaven’s angels and the neighbors to see.
Flint rushes to do up his pants, while my daddy strolls over to Todd and rubs him under his chin and coos at him like he’s just the most precious thing on this planet.
Flint blanches. “Uhh, is that a…”
“Yep,” I clip in answer to his half-asked question as the three of us watch my daddy as he grabs the bucket of golf balls and calls Todd the alligator, who comes wigglin’ to his side like an armor-plated dinosaur dog.
“I’ll be right back,” my daddy announces, but I hear it for the warnin’ it is.
He disappears around the side of the house with Todd in tow, and Flint and Alder just gape.
I roll my eyes. “That’s Todd, and yes, he’s a gator. He lives in the golf course lake behind the neighborhood. Yes, we’re aware that gators are dangerous, but he loves my daddy almost as much as I do and would never hurt him.”
“Where are they going?” Alder asks, shock leakin’ out of his tone and gaze.
I blush a little, because the answer is a little unsavory.
“Umm...well...see…” I stammer. Nope, there’s just no way to make this sound better than it is. “We take the balls we find back to the golf course lake. Todd likes it when we spread them around so he can have a go at the golfers who try to collect them,” I explain.
Their wide eyes make me release a deep sigh, and I look off to where my daddy and Todd disappeared from view.
“Yes, I am aware of how bumpkin that makes us sound, but it makes my daddy happy, and that’s all that I care about,” I defend.
I leave off the part where it’s funny as all get out, but I can only imagine the level of judgment these two are experiencin’ right now, and they really don’t need any more food for fodder.
Flint looks to Alder. “I want a pet gator,” he announces, a hint of a whine in his voice.
Alder rolls his e
yes. “No.”
“Why not? That’s about the most kickass thing I’ve ever seen,” he counters.
“No,” Alder replies evenly again.
“He pet his chin!”
Alder gives him an exasperated look. “No.”
I try not to laugh at the back and forth. I’m surprised that I don’t see even an ounce of judgment in their eyes. Instead, Flint looks downright jealous.
“Come on!” Flint says with a grin that makes me smile. “We could get a whole congregation of gators going, train them to do things, entertain the bar patrons.”
“Our bar patrons scare off the gators, so I doubt that plan’s going to work out well for you,” Alder provides, like he’s used to talkin’ Flint down from his cockamamie ideas.
“Fine,” Flint concedes with a sigh, and they both turn back to me. “So. Any questions about us being demons?” he asks me, bringin’ us back to what was goin’ on before Daddy showed up and Todd rocked Flint’s world.
My smile falls and my brow furrows. I didn’t get a chance to check their pants, but there weren’t any cameras on their shirts, they’re not wearin’ any jewelry that could hide one, and their hair is too short to be buried in there. I start lookin’ around me, like maybe the camera is hidden somewhere else, but how would Shelia have known that I’d come talk out front? I check the cars parked on the street, but none of them have glass dark enough to hide a camera or Shelia and her brother sittin’ in one and watchin’.
“What are you looking for?” Alder asks, his own eyes scannin’ everythin’ around us.
“Shelia or Allen, or a camera or somethin’ that helps the crazy you’re talkin’ make sense,” I confess.
“We don’t know Shelia or Allen, and we’re not here fucking with you. We’re serious, and I think deep down, maybe you know that,” Alder tells me matter-of-factly. “You can see us clear as day. This is what we really look like, Medley, and we’re telling you the truth. We’re demons.”
We stare at each other, neither of us blinkin’ or sayin’ another word for a beat.