Wrong Side of Forty

by DeLeon, Jana

  Avery gasped. How could he be so cold? This was her dad. The man who was supposed to love her. The man who…and that’s when it hit her…the man who went to work.

  It was her mom who walked her to school and cooked the meals. Who read her bedtime stories and slept with her when she was sick. It was her mom who’d tried to help her learn baseball when she’d gone through her tomboy phase and wanted to make the middle school team. And it was her mom who’d taken her out for ice cream when she didn’t make the cut. It was her mom who helped her fill out her college and scholarship paperwork and went on campus visits. It was her mom who helped her pack her things and stood in the driveway crying as she drove away a week before.

  “Fine,” she said. “So I choose to deal with it by not dealing with you.”

  “You don’t have a choice in the matter. I’m your father.”

  “A real father wouldn’t do this.”

  “What’s wrong, Pookie Bear?” Chastity’s voice echoed down the hall. “Is that little girl of yours giving you problems?”

  Chastity walked into the living room and circled her arms around Harold’s waist and kissed him on the cheek. And if that wasn’t enough insult, the whore was wearing Avery’s clothes.

  Avery blinked as blood rushed to her head, causing the room to spin. She thought she’d been angry in the past, but those times were nothing compared to that moment. If there were a way she could have killed Chastity with her thoughts, the bitch would have dropped on the floor that very second.

  “Now, Bunny,” her dad said, casting nervous glances between Avery and Chastity. “Let me handle this. You just head on to work and I’ll catch up with you.”

  “Not in my clothes, she’s not!” Avery yelled. “Take my clothes off now, bitch, or I’ll rip them off of you.”

  Her dad’s expression shifted from nervous to Oh Shit.

  “I live here now,” Chastity said. “I can use whatever I want here. Right, Pookie Bear? What’s wrong, Avery? Afraid I’ll take your cheap wardrobe and your daddy?”

  An explosion went off in Avery’s head and any sliver of control she might have been holding on to fled completely. She launched into Chastity, tackling her to the ground. Chastity clawed her arms with her pointed hooker nails and Avery screamed in pain. Her loosened grip allowed Chastity to get up and run for the door, yelling at her dad to do something.

  Her dad stood completely still, his face pale. What a shock. And all Avery could think as she ran by him and out the door after Chastity was how it was no surprise that her dad stood by doing nothing.

  She caught Chastity as she made it to her car and yanked her backward by the collar of her bright blue shirt. This time Chastity didn’t have a chance to get away. Before she could regain her balance, Avery punched her dead in the face. Blood exploded from Chastity’s nose and she screamed in pain, throwing her hands up in front of her and trying to flee. Avery ran forward, arm cocked and ready to finish the job. Chastity stumbled backward into her car and huddled there, wailing.

  “Avery, stop!” her dad yelled.

  Avery paused and looked back at him. All the bravado he’d worn before had fled and now he just looked scared. Good.

  “I didn’t know she was wearing your clothes,” he said.

  “All the more reason to keep hitting her,” Avery said as she moved toward Chastity again.

  “Help,” Chastity said, and Avery turned to see her on her cell phone.

  She snatched the phone from Chastity’s hand and threw it into the street. “Take off my clothes right now or I will throttle you to death.”

  “We’re outside,” Chastity said, sniveling.

  “Everyone in this town has seen you naked. Now!” Avery lifted her fist again.

  Chastity looked at her dad, obviously expecting him to intervene, but Harold had always been allergic to actually doing something.

  “Now!” Avery repeated.

  Chastity undid the skirt and let it drop, then pulled the shirt off and tossed it in Avery’s face. Avery wrinkled her nose at the streetwalker undergarments Chastity had on. God, those panties were nothing more than strings.

  “Satisfied?” Chastity yelled. “That shirt’s ruined, you know.”

  Avery smiled. “It was ruined the second you touched it. And yes, I’m very satisfied.”

  A siren sounded behind her and Avery whirled around as Deputy Kyle Pitre stepped out of the patrol car.

  Crap! Kyle was Preston’s cousin and only had his job because Preston had something on the sheriff.

  “Chastity?” Kyle looked confused as he approached. “Are you all right?”

  “What the hell, Kyle!” Chastity yelled. “Do I look all right? She broke my nose and took my clothes.”

  Kyle looked over at Harold, who still hadn’t moved. “Jesus Christ, Harold! What the hell is going on here?”

  “They got into a fight,” Harold said.

  “And you couldn’t handle two little girls?” Kyle asked.

  Harold winced at the phrase “little girls” but didn’t even bother to answer.

  Kyle shook his head in disgust and went back to his car. A minute later, he returned with a jacket and handed it to Chastity.

  “Put that on,” he said. “I called your dad. You need to get home now.”

  Kyle pulled out a pair of handcuffs and motioned to Avery. “Turn around. Hands behind your back.”

  Avery stared. “You’re arresting me? She started it!”

  “I did not!” Chastity yelled. “She jumped me. I was just trying to leave.”

  “Trying to leave wearing my clothes,” Avery said. “That’s theft. Are you going to arrest her for stealing?”

  “That’s bullshit!” Chastity said.

  “Go home now, Chastity,” Kyle said.

  Chastity gave him a dirty look but stomped off to her car and squealed out of the driveway, giving Avery the finger as she went.

  Kyle turned Avery around and grabbed her wrists. “You can take everything up with the judge.”

  “You’re such a loser, Kyle,” Avery said, struggling to maintain control. “Maybe while I’m locked up I’ll tell the sheriff how you kept hitting on me when I was a minor…while you were on duty.”

  “Tell him anything you want,” Kyle said and yanked her. “We both know who he’ll choose to believe.”

  He shoved her in the back of his car and she slumped onto the seat, trying to position her arms where she could sit upright. It was a lot harder than it looked, especially if you had no experience. He slammed the door and stomped back over to her dad. Avery saw him pointing to her and wagging his finger in her dad’s face. Her dad never said a word.

  Coward.

  Avery felt the tears rushing in and sucked in a deep breath, not about to let Kyle see her cry. He’d tell Chastity and they’d have a good laugh over it.

  And Avery was done being Chastity LeDoux’s laughingstock.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Marina screeched to a stop in Halcyon’s driveway. Before the car had even ceased swaying, her sister bolted out her front door and jumped inside. Marina glanced over at her, wondering how she managed to do it. Regardless of the amount of notice, Halcyon never appeared outside without her hair styled and makeup on. Marina, on the other hand, had run out the door in green shorts and a purple shirt, hair looking like a rat’s nest up in a clip, and not even so much as a swipe of lip balm.

  “What happened?” Halcyon asked as Marina threw the car in Reverse and flew out of the driveway.

  “I don’t know exactly. I just got a call from Adelaide, who said she saw Kyle Pitre at Harold’s house, shoving Avery into the back of his deputy car in handcuffs.”

  “Where the hell was Harold?”

  “Standing there doing nothing.”

  “What a surprise. I’m going to say something now that I should have said twenty-eight years ago. I don’t like Harold. He’s a useless, sniveling piece of crap. I didn’t tell you before because that’s the man you chose and I always hav
e your back. But now that I don’t have to pretend anymore, I’m going to call it like I see it.”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way. And I agree. I’m seeing a lot of things differently lately.”

  Halcyon nodded. “Which we can discuss at length as soon as we get your daughter out of the clink, save the world, and get you changed into matching clothes.”

  “I haven’t exactly finished unpacking yet. These were the first things I pulled out of a box.”

  “I’m sure you were wiped out after yesterday.”

  “I was, and then I had this ridiculous run-in with the new game warden while I was chasing Snooze.”

  “Why was a game warden on your property?”

  “He said he was looking for a poacher.”

  Halcyon frowned as Marina pulled into the sheriff’s department parking lot. “Sounds like a good story. You can tell me all about it just as soon as we straighten these idiots out.”

  Marina took a deep breath and slowly blew it out.

  Just stay calm. Calm will accomplish more.

  She nodded to Halcyon, who was waiting for her cue, then they got out of the car and headed for the front door. As soon as she stepped inside, Kyle Pitre, who was sitting at a desk up front, smirked.

  “Guess you’re here to see about your little angel,” he said.

  “Why did you arrest her?” Marina asked.

  He shook his head. “I’m not even getting into that with you. Take it up with the sheriff.” He rose from his desk and headed out the door. “Good luck,” he called over his shoulder as he left.

  Halcyon’s face flashed with anger. “Kyle Pitre has always been a—”

  Marina put her hand in front of her sister’s mouth. “Whatever you’re about to say I totally agree with, but there could be cameras and recording devices and God knows what else in here.”

  They headed to the door with “Sheriff” stenciled on it and knocked.

  “What do you want?” the sheriff barked from inside.

  Marina opened the door a bit and poked her head in. “I need to speak to you about my daughter.”

  Sheriff Randy Owen looked up in surprise, then his expression changed to one of frustration. “Sorry. I thought you were Kyle. That boy can’t so much as date a form without asking me a damn question.”

  Since the “boy” in question was almost forty years old, his statement was both unfortunate and revealing. But then, everyone in Last Chance had always known that Kyle only had his job because of Preston. The long-running suspicion was that Preston had something on Randy that he was desperate to keep quiet. Marina had never heard any gossip about Randy for the fifteen years he’d been in Last Chance, but he was a Texas transplant. It would be just like Preston to go poking around the man’s past to ensure he had leverage. None of that boded well for Avery but Marina had to get this sorted.

  “Come in and sit,” Randy said.

  “Why was Avery arrested?” Marina asked as she sat down. “Can I see her? What do I have to do to get her out of here?”

  “Slow down,” Randy said. “Let’s take one thing at a time. Avery is locked up in the back.”

  Marina gasped. “She’s in a cell?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Randy said. “I’m sorry, but I have to follow protocol.”

  “It’s protocol to put children in jail?” Halcyon asked.

  “In the eyes of the law, she’s not a child,” Randy said.

  “But why is she there?” Marina asked.

  “She attacked Chastity LeDoux this morning,” Randy said. “I’m waiting to hear from the doctor, but Kyle seemed to think her nose is broken.”

  Marina clasped the top of her head with both hands. “I don’t understand. Avery is supposed to be in New Orleans. How could this happen?”

  “You’ll have to get the details from her,” Randy said.

  “Can I take her home?” Marina asked.

  Randy hesitated a minute and she could tell he wasn’t happy about what he was about to say. “I’m afraid not.”

  “Because?” Halcyon asked, leaning forward in her chair.

  Randy shot Halcyon a nervous look before turning back to Marina. “Chastity is pressing charges. I’m trying to get Avery in front of the judge today so he can set bail. If everything lines up, you should be able to get her out by this evening.”

  “Pressing charges?” Marina felt as if she were going to be sick. “You can’t be serious. She could lose her scholarship. Surely something can be done. I’ll pay the medical bills.”

  Randy squirmed in his chair, looking miserable. “I’m really sorry about this, Marina. Truly, I am. But Preston is involved…”

  “So your hands are tied,” Halcyon said. “Because in all the years you’ve been here, you still haven’t figured out how to stand up to the biggest asshole in town. What the hell does he have on you? Is it so bad you’re willing to be the devil’s puppet and ruin a girl’s future?”

  Randy stared down at the desk. “Leave me your number, Marina. When I get a court time, I’ll call so you can be there. You should probably find a lawyer.”

  He never looked back up and Marina knew that was as far as things would go with him. Preston held all the cards. Again. She grabbed a pad off his desk, jotted her phone number on it, and practically threw it back at him. How the hell was she supposed to find a lawyer when the only one in town was Preston? And on such short notice. Was there even such a thing as a public defender for a place like Last Chance? Good Lord, she was so far out of her territory that she wasn’t even on the map anymore.

  “Can I see her, at least?” Marina asked. “Unless Preston has video cameras in the sheriff’s department, he’ll never know. His spy left when we came in.”

  Randy blushed and grabbed a set of keys from his desk. Then he headed out of the office without so much as saying a word and they followed him to the end of the hall where the holding cells were. As he unlocked the metal door that led to the cells, Marina grabbed Halcyon’s hand.

  “I’ve never seen a jail cell before,” she whispered. “Randy never put Letitia in one.”

  “I have,” Halcyon said. “Don’t worry. We’ve got this.”

  But for the first time in as long as Marina could remember, her sister’s voice didn’t hold the same confidence that it usually did.

  Randy pushed the door open. “I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

  Marina walked through the door and into a space in front of the two holding cells. The instant Avery saw her come in, she jumped up from the cot she’d been sitting on and ran for the bars.

  “Mom!” she said.

  Marina put her arms through the bars and tried to hug her daughter. She could tell Avery had been crying and her heart broke all over again. Damn Harold. She didn’t even care about the affair anymore but why did it have to be Chastity? Why did he have to pick the one person that would make his daughter even more miserable than Marina?

  Marina released Avery and studied her face. Her daughter was clearly stressed and upset but there was still a bit of anger lurking. Good. They hadn’t broken her spirit. If that had happened, Marina didn’t think she would have been able to handle it.

  “What happened?” Marina asked. “Why aren’t you at school?”

  Avery sniffed. “I didn’t want to believe it. I mean, you never lie and I checked with Simone, but it just all sounded so f…messed up.”

  “So you came here to confront your dad?” Marina asked.

  Avery nodded. “But she was there. Mom, you know I’m not extra, but she started flexing on Dad and that thot was wearing my clothes!”

  “Jesus H. Christ!” Marina’s carefully contained control flew out the window. Just when she’d started to believe that nothing about the situation could surprise her anymore, Harold sank to a new low.

  “I didn’t understand any of that,” Halcyon said.

  “I’ll explain later,” Marina said and looked back at Avery. “Tell me what happened.”

  “I told her to take off
my clothes and she refused, so I jumped her,” Avery said. “She ran out the door with them on. That’s stealing, right? Dad can’t give her permission to take something that belongs to me, can he?”

  “I don’t think so,” Marina said, but she really had no idea. Even more reason to need an attorney. “So you followed her?”

  “Yeah, I grabbed her by my shirt when she went for her car door.”

  “Did you hit her in the face?”

  “Damn right I did! Just like you taught me.”

  “That was meant for if you were being attacked,” Marina said.

  “I was being attacked. And robbed. Don’t forget that part.”

  Marina’s stomach rolled. This was bad. So incredibly bad. Avery didn’t stand a chance in Last Chance. Kyle and Randy were both beholden to Preston and the judge was his second cousin. Even if she could get a jury trial—which Marina had zero idea about—how many locals were also obligated to Preston in some form or fashion? And if the university even got wind that Avery was being charged, they could revoke her scholarships, or worse, kick her out if she was convicted. Good God, what if she was convicted?

  “Okay,” Marina said, trying to hold it together in front of Avery. “Randy didn’t give us much time so I’m going to have to leave soon. He’s trying to get you in front of the judge today. I’ll see what I need to do. But I don’t want you to worry, okay? This isn’t your fault.”

  Avery looked down at the floor. “Yes. It is. I lost it. I’m so sorry.”

  “Baby, you have nothing to be sorry for,” Marina said. “Just try to stay calm and let me handle this, okay?”

  Avery nodded and looked back up at Marina, her eyes filling with tears. “I love you, Mom. I know I never say it, but I do.”

  Marina reached through the bars and squeezed Avery’s hand. “I know you do. I’ll be back as soon as I know something. Just hang in there.”

  The door opened and Randy stuck his head in. “Time’s up.”

  Marina practically ran out of the sheriff’s department. As soon as she slammed the door on her car, she burst into tears. Halcyon reached across the center console and wrapped her arms around her.