Rebel of My Dreams
By
G.L. Snodgrass
Copyright 2020 G.L. Snodgrass
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof in any form. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means. This is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author's imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Dedicated To
Sarah Simmons
Other Books by G. L. Snodgrass
Regency Romance
The Reluctant Duke (Love’s Pride 1)
The Viscount's Bride (Love’s Pride 2)
The Earl's Regret (Love’s Pride 3)
Marrying the Marquess (Love’s Pride 4)
Confronting A Rake (A Rake’s Redemption 1)
Charming A Rake (A Rake’s Redemption 2)
Catching A Rake (A Rake’s Redemption 3_
Challenging A Rake (A Rake’s Redemption 4)
Duke In Disguise (The Stafford Sisters 1)
The American Duke (The Stafford Sisters 2)
A Very British Lord (The Stafford Sisters 3)
A Duke's Desire (The Duke’s Club 1)
A Duke’s Dilemma (The Duke’s Club 3)
Western Romance
Lonely Valley Bride (High Sierra 1)
High Desert Cowboy (High Sierra 2)
Sweetwater Ridge (High Sierra 3)
Young Adult Romance
Certain Rules
Unwritten Rules
Unbreakable Rules
My Favorite Love (Lakeland Boys 1)
One Night (Lakeland Boys 2)
My Brother’s Best Friend (Lakeland Boys 3)
Worlds Apart (Lakeland Boys 4)
My Brother's Bodyguard (Hometown Heroes 1)
My Hidden Hero (Hometown Heroes 2)
My Best Friend’s Brother (Hometown Heroes 3)
Our Secret (The Benson Brothers 1)
Hidden Truth (The Benson Brothers 2)
Deception (The Benson Brothers 3)
Rebel of My Dreams
Chapter One
Jess
The first time in forever that Danny Parsons acknowledged my existence, he was handcuffed, and on his way to jail. But then, what could you expect from the school’s resident bad boy?
His face looked like it’d been used for batting practice. One eye was swollen shut, his cheek was cut in two or three places and both lips had been split. My initial gut reaction was that it was a crime to damage such a handsome face. In my limited, or really, non-existent experience, I thought he’d been beaten pretty bad until I saw the other two guys.
The cops pulled him out of the way as they brought the stretchers out. One of the men on the gurney twisted in his straps trying to get at Danny. Reaching out with a blood-caked hand. The look of hate in the man’s eyes made my blood run cold.
The other guy just moaned and rocked from side to side.
Danny, being Danny, ignored them. Instead, he shot me a crooked smirk and said, “Hey, Jess, how you doing?”
My jaw dropped. First off, the fact that he even remembered my name was the shock of a lifetime. Danny Parsons traveled in rarefied air. A place a girl like me never visited. Second of all, how had I ended up here? This was the most excitement we had in this town since Billy Jensen stole the mayor’s car and dumped it in the river.
Somehow, I had ended up in the right place at the right time. A witness to a real drama. Bella and Katie were going to be so jealous. I’d be eating out on this story for a couple of weeks for sure.
I had just gotten off the bus and was going to the Pine’s Care Facility on Prescott, one block over. A teacher conference day, no school, and I was spending it volunteering at an old people’s home. Not because I am special. But because I have no life.
I had only taken a few steps when all three of the town’s police cruisers slammed to a diagonal halt in front of the only pool hall in town. Their lights flashing and the ear-piercing sirens echoing off the storefronts.
Six of Everton’s finest had rushed in like they were storming the Normandy beachhead. By the way, my history teacher, Mr. Hall, would have been proud of me for coming up with that reference. In the meantime, I could only stand there and stare in disbelief. Things like this did not happen in Everton Washington.
Not five minutes later, they led Danny out, his hand’s cuffed behind his back. My mind whirled as I tried to understand what was happening and again, how did he even know my name?
“Hey,” he said to me as he lifted his one uninjured eyebrow. “Your dad’s a lawyer, right?” The cop tugged at his arm, obviously pissed off to the max.
All I could do was nod as I tried to process what Danny said. It seemed as if my mind was three steps behind, the world had shifted too much to catch up. Did he know my name because he kept track of the town’s lawyers? You know, just in case.
“I’d owe you big time,” Danny continued as he pulled back from the cop. “If you could ask him to help. The charges are bogus, and the public defender is crap.”
Again, my mind spun out of control. What? And if he hadn’t done anything? Why did his face look like raw hamburger and they didn’t put cuffs on innocent bystanders? At least not in our town.
“Tell him I can pay,” Danny said over his shoulder as the cops started to put him into the police cruiser. As they pushed his head down and into the back seat, I thought to myself that the TV shows were right. Cops really did do that.
When they slammed the door, Danny looked through the window and mouthed the word, “please.”
My stomach turned over. Danny Parsons had asked me for a favor. How could a girl say no? Of course, it would mean asking my dad. A gut-wrenching thought. It was too easy to imagine him laughing at his silly daughter, then ignoring the entire thing. Or worse, asking a dozen questions I didn’t want to answer.
After watching the police car pull away, I turned, forgetting about volunteering. I’d just push it back a couple of hours and make it up later. Instead, headed for Dad’s office down by the courthouse. My mind raced with a thousand different plans. None of which looked promising. My Dad could be obstinate. I think it was the lawyer in him.
When I stepped in, Margaret, my Dad’s secretary looked up with a bright smile that quickly dropped when she recognized the concerned worry in my eyes.
“Is he available?” I asked as my heart raced. This was Dad’s place. Sort of off-limits. His world, not mine.
“Sure,” Margaret said as she nodded to the back office.
Taking a deep breath, I knocked on his office door and waited for him to say, “Yes.” Both of his eyebrows rose halfway up his balding forehead when he saw me. “Jessica? Is everything all right? Your mom?”
“Everything is fine Dad,” I assured him, deep down it was nice to see the concern. His immediate thought was to worry about me and Mom. Sort of how a Dad should be.
“I need your help,” I managed to get out as my stomach continued to churn.
His frown deepened as he motioned for me to have a seat in the chair across from his desk. “Legal or personal?” he asked. I could see a thousand thoughts dancing behind his eyes. Was his daughter pregnant? Gay? Quitting school and joining a circus?
/> “Legal,” I answered. “A boy I know needs a lawyer.”
His shoulders slumped in relief. We were now on his territory. Breaking out a legal pad, he clicked his pen and said, “tell me everything.”
I took a deep breath. This was the critical bit.
“Danny Parsons was just arrested by the cops. He looked like he had been in a fight.”
Dad jotted down some notes then looked up at me, obviously wanting more. I stared back. What more could I say?
“Why are you delivering this message?” he asked with a deep frown. “What is this boy to you?”
“Nothing,” I blurted out before he got the wrong idea. “We go to the same school.”
He continued to frown and I became very worried that he was going to ignore the whole thing.
“Listen Jessica. I know it is hard to believe but I don’t need you drumming up business for me. In fact, I’m sort of swamped at the moment.” He gestured to the piles of papers on his desk to emphasize the point. “I’m going to be working through the weekend.”
My insides tightened into a ball. Danny was going to think I had let him down. “You have to help him.”
Dad frowned as he leaned back, folded his hands over his stomach, and gave me a look that told me I was going to have to come up with a good reason.
I sighed. “Danny Parsons saved me in fourth grade. If it hadn’t been for him, I would have had a miserable life instead of a just normal messed up one.”
Dad laughed, then said. “How did this boy save you?
Taking a deep breath, I said, “I was being bullied by two boys. Pretty bad.”
His frown instantly changed over to a full scowl as he sat forward. His pen hovered above his pad. “Who were they?”
“It doesn’t matter, Dad,” I said as I shook my head, he needed to focus on Danny’s problems. Not mine from seven years ago.”
“It matters to me. I’ll see them strung up by their heels.”
I knew he was just exaggerating. Or, at least I thought so.
“Tom Pardy. He moved away in seventh grade. And, Charlie Archer. He dropped out of school freshman year and no one has seen him since. They are not the issue, Dad. Danny is the issue.”
“What happened, in fourth grade?”
I took a deep breath. It was all so long ago. But it seemed as if it had happened yesterday.
Taking a deep breath, I told him. “I was back behind the portables looking for ladybugs. I wanted to do a science project.”
He nodded for me to continue. “These two boys found me. They grabbed my arms and said … nasty, nasty things. It wasn’t the first time. But, way more serious. No one was around. I couldn’t get away.”
My Dad’s face turned red as he fought to hold back his emotions. Suddenly, the hanging by their heels comment didn’t seem so far-fetched. “You should have told me.”
That sense of fear filled me again, reminding me what it had been like. The utter hopelessness of the situation.
“I didn’t have to. Danny appeared as if out of nowhere and stared at them like they were dirt. Both boys dropped my arms. Everyone knew you did not mess with Danny Parsons.”
“What happened next?”
I smiled at the memory. “Danny told them that if they ever bothered me again. He’d flush their heads down the toilets in the girl's bathroom. And like I said, they knew he would.”
My dad shook his head. “Sounds like he has a bit of anger management issue.”
Now it was my turn to shake my head. “This from a man who would prefer to hang them by their heels.”
Dad laughed and looked down at his notes. “And, that is it. Back in fourth grade. When was the next time you saw him?”
“I saw him every day. We went to the same school, remember. He’s a senior. And Danny Parsons just naturally stands out in a crowd. But, to answer what you really want to know. We never spoke again. Until today, I thought he didn’t know I existed.”
Dad nodded as he looked off into the distance. He was right on the cusp of walking away. My gut just knew it. “He said the charges were … bogus was the word he used.”
A small smile cracked my dad’s lips. “Almost every client says something similar.”
“Dad,” I pleaded. “This is important to me. He said he could pay you.”
Dad waved his hand as if the money was not the issue. He studied me for a long moment, his eyebrow rising the way it did when he was deep in thought. He glanced at the papers on his desk, then let out a long sigh.
“Okay, let me look into it.”
My entire body slumped in relief. It felt as if I had started to pay Danny back.
Chapter Two
Danny
Jail has a unique smell. They never tell you about that. But it does. A combination of gut-wrenching fear and a busy bathroom. It was emphasized when the heavy clang of an iron door down the way echoed through the holding cell. A man called out and someone answered with a growl to shut up.
To make it worse, I don’t look good in orange coveralls.
Inside, I wondered if I’d screwed up big time. Granted, I didn’t know what I could have done differently. Maybe all those prior run-ins with the cops wasn’t that smart of an idea though. They were going to take one look at my record and throw the book at me.
And then there was the whole grandfather issue. I sent up a silent prayer of thanks that there were people who could look in on him, at least for the next few days.
I shook it off and focused on ignoring the pain in my face and the pounding headache chewing at the inside of my skull. Instead, I paced. What else are you going to do in a six by ten cell? As I walked back and forth, I thought about Jess Dunham and the look in her eyes when she saw me being led out in cuffs. I swear, you’d think she’d just seen an alien eat an elephant.
There is something about a pretty girl looking at you like you’re some kind of monster that can ruin a guy’s entire day. It was worse than getting clobbered from behind by two freaked out brothers. Both of whom should have been locked up in a psych ward years ago.
God, she’d looked good. A nice rack that complimented her jean-clad curves. That perfect girl shape couldn’t be ignored. But it was the eyes that caught you. Filled with worry, yet wary, too intelligent to be easily deceived.
Yes, Jess Dunham had grown all the way up.
My next thought sent a bolt of fear to my gut. What if she was the last female-type person I saw for the next five to ten years? A definite possibility, I realized with a sinking feeling of despair. Well, at least I would have a pretty picture to remember.
The loud thump of approaching footsteps made me stop pacing and face the bars. The heavyset guard stopped in front of my cell, unlocked the door, and swung it open.
“Your lawyer is here,” he said as he nodded back up the walkway.
My first thought was to wonder if my grandfather had found out. I was eighteen and had told them not to contact him. He didn’t need this added to his worries. Next, I wondered if it was the legal aid people. One of those kids just out of law school looking to build up brownie points.
When they ushered me into a small conference room, I was surprised to see an older guy. Too well dressed to be legal aid. And too expensive to be my grandfather’s first choice.
“Mr. Parsons?” he asked as he stood up and held out his hand his eyes quickly scanning my face, cataloging each bruise and blemish. “I’m Jack Dunham. My daughter asked me to look into your case.”
I rocked back, surprised. She’d actually done it. I’d been half kidding. She actually had asked her father to help.
“Before you say anything,” Mr. Dunham said as he waved me to take a seat across a small table from him. “Do you want me to be your lawyer? If not, I suggest you keep quiet until you get someone you want. If you accept, then anything you say can be kept confidential.”
“No, I mean yes. I want you to be my lawyer.” I would figure out how to pay for it later.
He smiled, “Jess did
say you were smart.” He flipped open a manila folder and began to read, occasionally shaking his head. Obviously, the police report. With each second, my heart fell further and further. When he was done, he looked up and sighed.
“In case you are interested. Jimmy Burk,” he began, “has a broken nose, a broken arm, and a ruptured spleen. His older brother John Burk has a dislocated knee, two missing teeth, and a ruptured testicle.”
At the last comment, he winced. Even I felt sort of bad for John, not a lot, but a little.
“Tell me what happened,” he said as he pulled a yellow pad from his briefcase and a pen from his inside suit pocket.
I sighed, no one was going to believe me but … “I was playing pool at Bayside …”
“Why weren’t you in school?” he interrupted.
“It was a teacher conference day.” He should have known. That was why his daughter was walking down main street.
He nodded and I realized he’d asked that to try and catch me in making something up.
“… Anyway. I was shooting pool. Alone. When Jimmy Burk broke a pool cue across my back.” My lawyer had the good grace to wince then nod, but I could tell he didn’t totally believe me. Good, a smart man. I didn’t want a fool for a lawyer.
“The only thing that saved me is it knocked me onto the table. If I’d gone down, they’d have gotten their boots into me.”
He nodded for me to continue.
“So, I grabbed a cue ball and used it to punch Jimmy in the face. That must have been when I broke his nose. His brother jumped in and after that things sort of went red. I don’t really remember. It was fists and feet, teeth, and nails for a few seconds. The next thing I remember is standing over them sucking in air.”
He frowned for a long second then asked, “Why did Jimmy attack you?”
I shrugged, “It could have been any of a thousand reasons. Jimmy isn’t known for being very smart. And his older brother is even worse. Both of them are a severe detriment to the gene pool if you ask me.”
Mr. Dunham put down his pen and leaned back while he looked at me as if I was the stupid one. “You should know, the DA isn’t going to believe it is self-defense, unless there is a good motive for these guys to attack you. After all. It all comes down to the paperwork.”
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