Enigma

by Laramie Briscoe

  “Lucky my ass!”

  I laugh again. “More like nose up your ass.”

  “Did you tell him about it?” Nick grins as he sits next to us, drinking an energy drink.

  “Yes!” I blow out a breath trying to keep my shit together.

  “At least you didn’t get a phone call at 5 a.m.

  “You called him at 5 a.m.?” I give Ransom a look.

  “He was up with the baby,” he defends. “And so was I, plus I had to share with someone.”

  “Not sure I’d share with my wife’s brother, but you do you, fam.”

  “What the fuck are you ladies making so much noise about?” Caleb comes in, having a seat in front of us, but turning around so that he can be in on the conversation.

  Ransom huffs, but gets ready to tell the story again. “So last night Stella was off, I’d had the day off too. I cleaned, made her dinner, made sure Keegan was good. He went down super easy and early. She drank a glass of wine, I had some whiskey and I was like fuck yeah, I’m gonna get some tonight.”

  Caleb laughs. “Famous fuckin’ last words my man.”

  “Right?” Nick laughs along with him. “One day he’ll learn.”

  I give Nick a look, reminding him of what I did on the last night him and Kels spent together.

  “So anyway, she’s a little tipsy, I’m a little tipsy, we’re doing a few things we haven’t done since the baby.” He scratches his chin, before tilting his head back. “In the middle of it, I thought I heard something, you know, like a door opening. I forget about it though, I set the alarm. It hasn’t made any noise, we’re good. So I keep on, when all of a sudden, I feel something wet at my ass. At first I’m like, it’s just sweat, no big deal, but then I realize it’s cold, and it’s moving. I try to ignore it, but it keeps on, and I’m like what the fuck is happening? I stop, turn around, and fucking Rambo is on the bed, sniffing around like he’s looking for a goddamn bone.”

  “Well,” Nick holds onto my shoulder as he bends over at the waist, laughing, “he kinda was.”

  “Real fuckin’ funny.” Ransom flips him a middle finger.

  “I mean I thought so.” He’s still laughing and I can’t help but laugh too.

  “You two leaning into each other like you’re a couple of old women.” Ransom folds his arms over his chest.

  “Don’t get butt hurt.” Caleb’s grinning too.

  “He can’t when his dog is sniffing it.” I crack up hard this time, not sure why I’m laughing so much.

  “I hate you all.” He gets up, going to sit a few seats over.

  “Ransom,” Nick purses his lips, throwing him a kiss and a wink, “you know we love you.”

  He turns his head. “Not talking to any of you fuckers.”

  Mason comes in, giving us a glance as he walks up to the front of the room. “I don’t even want to know what you guys are talking about, but I’m gonna need you to tighten it up.”

  “Yeah,” Caleb says to his dad. “That’s what Ransom needed too.”

  The group erupts again. There have been so many days and nights of us all being on edge, trying to figure out what was going to happen with Karsyn. Now that she’s okay - I especially - feel like I can breathe again.

  “We’ve gotten some more information from our prison informant,” Mason continues as he stands in front of us. So far the meeting has been just like any of our normal ones, but this news makes me sit up a little taller. “The escape looks to be a go. We’re still unsure of when and how, but I need you all to be ready to report.”

  I make a note to talk to Karsyn about this. She’s been feeling a little more freedom in the past few days since the parole hearing and with whatever this may be, I’d rather for her to be safer than sorry.

  “Any questions?” he asks as he goes to end the meeting.

  “Yeah.” I raise my hand. “Are you coming to help us wash cars this afternoon?”

  “Shit,” he sighs. “Is that this afternoon?”

  Everybody in the room answers him with a yes.

  “I feel like y’all would get more money without me there.”

  “Oh c’mon, old man,” Caleb ribs him. “You know there’s plenty of ladies out there that like a silver fox.”

  “There’s also your mom who would kick my ass if she thought I was helping just for my ego.”

  “Dad’s coming,” Nick mentions. “So you won’t be the only one out there with some silver showing.”

  “You young shits are going to be the death of me.” He runs a hand through his still-thick hair. “Yeah, put me on the list.”

  “I’ll have Karsyn send you a time.”

  “Okay, y’all get to work.”

  Normally we’d all be heading for our patrol cars, but today our work is a little bit different.

  * * *

  Karsyn

  “Bring it just a smidgen to the left,” I tell Kels as she helps us set up for the car wash. We have a booth where people can have their pictures taken with Rambo and Major. “There ya go!”

  With that step, we’re done. All we need is for the guys to show up and help get the public here.

  “Do you even feel the least bit guilty for subjecting your boyfriend’s body?” Stella asks, hitching Keegan up on her hip.

  “Nope, not even a little. While everyone else is watching him work in no shirt, I will also be watching him work with no shirt,” I smirk. “Win-win for me.”

  “True, do you like my tank top and his shirt?” She moves Keegan so I can see what’s printed on it.

  Ransom is my baby daddy. Rambo is my big brother.

  I roll my eyes, but can’t help the giggle that comes out. “Staking claim, I see?”

  “I mean after those Facebook posts when we were dating? I will always stake claim when it comes to my man.”

  Those messages were so long ago in the grand scheme of things, but I can tell Stella is sincere in her statement. “Just don’t threaten anyone who looks at your husband with lust.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  “Your parents are going to be here to watch the kids, right?” I confirm with her, looking again at my clipboard.

  “Yep,” she confirms. “They texted before I left, they’re going to get some water and snacks, in case we need them. They should be here shortly.”

  “Awesome! My parents are on their way. They went to the bank to get change for us.”

  “They’re working the entrance and exit?” she asks.

  “Yeah, Mom will be in charge of taking the money, and Dad’s gonna be directing traffic.”

  “Here’s the real question.” She winks. “Who will be holding the sign to let people know we’re actually doing this today?”

  “Caleb and his kids.” I wink back at her.

  “Oh my God! You really went for the heart with that one, considering Levi is the spitting image of Caleb and Mason.”

  “I know, he’s young, but he’s super cute. Molly looks like Ruby, and let’s face it - Caleb is a DILF. With them all standing out there, we should get really good traffic.”

  “We should get really good traffic regardless, everybody in this community loves to support the guys. You did a great job of planning this.”

  “You think so?”

  Stella and Kelsea’s opinions always mean the most to me because I’ve looked up to them since I started working with Dr. Patterson. I try not to let it show a lot, but sometimes I’m more transparent than I want to be.

  “Yeah.” She grins. “You’ve come into your own these past few months, Karsyn. I know Kels and I used to joke about you.”

  “No.” I shake my head. “You two were kind of right, but it wasn’t because I didn’t have common sense, it was because I was scared to trust myself.”

  “Well,” she puts Keegan down, hugging me tightly, “you should always trust yourself. You’re a very smart and beautiful woman who doesn’t get the credit you deserve.”

  Keegan looks up at me, holding his arms up. I grin down at him. �
��You want me?”

  It’s taken him a bit longer to talk. They found out recently he needed tubes and more often than not couldn’t hear. He’s trying to make up for lost time, as he babbles at me.

  Hardly anyone can understand what he says just yet, so we all just nod in what we think are the appropriate spots. As he’s talking my ear off, the guys show up with the dogs, as well as what appears to be our entire volunteer group.

  Tucker grins as he walks over to me. “That looks good on you.”

  “This suit? I know.” I look down at the one-piece with the sides cut out. “I don’t wear it often, but I love it.”

  “No, I mean holding him.” He nods at Keegan.

  Before I can ask him what he means, Ransom yells, requesting help with the dogs. Instead of questioning him, I put that question in my back pocket for later.

  Chapter Thirty

  Tucker

  Walking over to where Ransom stands with the dogs, I am slightly freaking out. Did I really just say that to Karsyn? Yeah, I decide, I did really just say that Karsyn. The next thing I ask myself is did I mean it?

  It takes me all of fifteen seconds to realize I meant it.

  Now that I’ve learned more about her, about the fact she may have possibly never been around for me to get to know, I’m beginning to understand how much I need her in my life. Not only that, but I’m beginning to understand how much she adds to my life.

  “We need to take them over there.” Ransom points to the spot they’ve decided to hold the dog photos at. “Dad and Mason are going to be heading up this part.”

  “Gotcha.” I grab Major’s leash.

  “Hey.” Ransom stops me. “You okay? You look like you’ve either seen a ghost or like you’re about to pass out.”

  Glancing back over at Karsyn, I see she’s still holding Keegan. That same feeling swamps me again. “Nah, I’m cool.”

  He looks over to where I was. “Oh I get it,” he chuckles.

  “You get what?” Now he’s just irritating me.

  “That first time you see your girl hold a baby, it makes you think shit. Shit you never thought you’d be thinking about. It’s confusing, like you’re all, I’m not ready for this, and the other part of you is like let’s go fuck now.”

  I seriously hate when Ransom reads me so well. I’m not even sure how he got to be one of the people who reads me as well as he does. “Maybe.”

  “So that’s all you’re gonna say about it?” He shakes his head. “You got it bad my man.”

  “I don’t have anything.”

  “Yes you do, and it’s called settle-downitis, next will be baby fever.”

  “Stop it.”

  “Dude, you should just let it happen. Like now that you’ve started thinking about it, it’s not going to go away. Trust me, I know this.”

  We’re waiting for Havoc and Mason to get here, so I turn to face him. “It won’t?”

  “Nope.” He leans down, giving Rambo a treat. He hands me one for Major and I do the same. “Once you get to that point, like you know she’s the one for you? You know you’re not going to let her go, there’s no other woman for you. It’s almost like everything reminds you of what you can have with her. Whether that be a kid, a life, whatever. It won’t stop until you decide what you want to do.”

  If there’s anything I know about Ransom, it’s he’s not shitting me. Out of everyone I know, Ransom has always been completely honest. So I guess the ball lies in my court. What do I want to do about the situation I find myself in?

  “I know you’re about to welcome everybody here, but come with me for a sec.” I grab Karsyn’s hand, dragging her behind one of the buildings in this area.

  “Tucker, what are you doing?” She laughs as she follows behind me.”

  “Just getting a few minutes alone with you before the craziness starts.” I push her up against the wall, letting my gaze take her in. “I really like this bathing suit.”

  It has cutouts on the side, which show just enough skin to make me want to see what’s underneath. The top cups her tits, pushing them slightly over the top of the suit, and her legs? I don’t get to see them nearly enough. They’re strong, slightly muscular and I find myself wishing I could reach down, grab those thighs, spread them, and have a few moments alone with her.

  “I like it too.” She grins, tilting her head to the side. “Kinda love what you’re wearing.” She hooks her fingers into the waistband of my shorts, pulling on them slightly.

  “Wore it for you.” I grin back at her.

  She leans in, capturing my lips with hers. It’s not often Karsyn takes the upper hand in anything we do, but I enjoy it no matter what. When she pulls back, we’re both breathing a little harder.

  “Proud of you.” I push my hands into her hair. “You organized this all on your own, and you got everybody here today.”

  “Not on my own,” she argues.

  “Yes you did, I didn’t do much at all.”

  “You’ve done all the heavy lifting.”

  “But this? It was your idea, and I know you. It scares you to come up with ideas, and say them in the presence of others.”

  “That has been a fear of mine, but when you broke my heart,” she raises her eyebrows at me, “I decided I was done with waiting for things to happen. I made a deal with myself that I would do my best to do things I wanted to, instead of waiting for others to realize I wanted to do them. Like we talked about before, as much as it hurt for you to break up with me,” she pulls bottom lip between her teeth before blowing out a deep breath, “it was needed. I had to grow up, and I never would have. I would’ve always expected you to make things better for me. And that wasn’t fair to you. It wasn’t fair to me either, but it really wasn’t to you. You deserve a woman who knows her own mind, who isn’t easily swayed by others. Before, I wasn’t like that, and it wasn’t because I didn’t know my own mind, it was just I wasn’t confident.”

  “You’re right.” I grab her hands, entwining our fingers together. “You weren’t confident, and that’s why I could run all over you back then. You should still tell me I’m a dick.”

  She giggles. “What would it help if I called you a dick now? I called you plenty of names back then, Tucker. Don’t think all I did was cry. There were some voodoo dolls, not even kidding.”

  “I knew you were evil.” I pull her hands hard, so that she stumbles into me. “But whatever it took, I’m glad we’re back together.”

  “Me too.” She tilts her head up to kiss me.

  “We should get you back out to your adoring public,” I joke when we break apart.

  “I definitely think you’re the one who will have an adoring public today.”

  I can’t even begin to explain how proud I am of Karsyn when she stands in front of everyone, waiting to get their attention. Some of them stopped talking as soon as she got up on the chair. Others are still having their own conversations, so I whistle loudly. She mouths a thank you to me.

  “I just wanted to take a minute to thank everyone for coming. I know it’s hot today, and if you’re like me, you have a to-do list a mile long. The fact you’ve taken personal time out of your day to come and help us means so much. It won’t be forgotten and you have our eternal thanks.”

  The group claps at the appropriate time.

  “A few things, and then we’ll be able to start letting people in. Whitney is doing childcare over there under the canopy.” She points to where Whitney’s standing with the kids she’s already got for the day. “She also has some drinks and snacks. Leigh’s graciously opened The Café to us if you want an actual meal. Just tell her you’re with us, and it’ll be free. Also, after we close for the day, they’re feeding us, so stick around! The goal for today is at least ten thousand dollars, so we’re hopeful to get enough for at least one dog.”

  There’s another round of applause, and I slightly feel like I’m part of a football team who is getting a talking to by their coach before they go play in the big game.
<
br />   “Those of you running the photo booth, please only allow people to take one picture. If that gets backed up, we’ll never get them out of here.”

  She looks around at the group one more time, before she claps her hands.

  “I’m pretty sure that’s it. If you have a problem, please come and let me know. We’re hoping not to have a huge back-up on the street, but that seems inevitable. We’ll deal with it as things happen. I’ll be around everywhere, and we have four teams of volunteers as well as members of LSERT washing cars. Please wear your sunscreen, and if you get too hot, we have Cutter representing the EMT’s and he’ll help you cool down.”

  Cutter raises his hand to let the volunteers know who he is.

  “Other than that, let’s just have a great time and raise money for these dogs. Rambo and Major need a few days off,” she jokes. “Again, thank you all so much for being here. We honestly couldn’t do it without all of you.”

  She hops down from the chair. I watch her and the Harrison family head to the entrance, taking the rope down, allowing our first group to come in. Glancing down the road, I can already see them lined up, and I can’t help but be proud of what we’ve all come together to do.

  Being a part of a family this big is one of the things I never expected, but I’m thankful it happened to me.

  Laurel Springs takes care of its own, and I’m beyond grateful for being one of the people who call this amazing town my home.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Karsyn

  Taking a look at the line to get into the parking lot where we’re washing cars, and I mean we’re washing them, I’m so fucking proud. It travels at least a mile down the road. Other members of the Laurel Springs Police are directing traffic around it. There’s also a few people taking donations only. In my wildest dreams, I couldn’t have imagined this would be happening.