Boomtown (3 page)

  Feeling better now, I looked around thinking that maybe it would be nice to go on a long road trip to see the sights.  Finally we arrived at my truck, and he pulled up on the driver’s side.   

  He held his hand out as if motioning for me to get off, so that's what I did.  Thinking that was a nice brush-off, I turned and started to round my truck when he looped a finger through my belt loop and yanked me so that I landed in his lap.  His hands shot out and up and buried in my hair as his mouth connected with mine.

  Moaning into his mouth he finally let me go and helped me stand.  My legs felt wobbly, so I waited a few moments until I could get my wits about me again. 

  He held out his hand, so I did the first thing that popped into my mind and have him a high five. He shook his head like he couldn't believe that I had just done that and laughed.  

  He snapped his fingers and said "Phone" to me. How the heck was I supposed to get phone out of that, I don’t know.  Assuming he meant that he wanted me to hand him my phone, I reached into my pocket and gave it to him.

  He fiddled with it for a few minutes and I heard his phone chirp.  

  Handing it back to me he said, "Gotta go.  Call me when you get off.”

  Nodding my head I rounded the truck, started it up and was out of the parking lot with a whoosh. I glanced in my rear view mirror and noticed that he waited to leave until he could no longer see my truck anymore.

  Oh my god. That was the best night of my life. By far. Hands down. No holds barred. Better than cookie cake from the Great American Cookie Factory. Yes, nothing for the rest of my life would ever top this night. Too bad I would never call him, and he would probably never call me.

∞ 

   Arriving home, I went straight to the kitchen and thanked Mrs. Kowalsky for watching Janie for the night.  After my third thank you she gave me a knowing smile.  What did I have de-flowered stamped on my forehead now?

  “It was a birthday present dear; I know you don’t get out enough.  I enjoy little Ms. Janie, she was the highlight of my week.  I haven’t had much use since Darryl died.  Watching her makes me feel alive again.  I am here anytime you need me.” She gushed. 

  Giving her a warm hug, she left briefly after.

  Turning around to look at Janie in her high chair, I smiled and said, “You look so much like your daddy.  You make me miss him even more. I can’t wait until he comes home!”

  She gave me a happy smile, and continued babbling about something that I couldn’t understand. 

  “Alright my favorite little hellion, it’s time to get going.  I have to be at work shortly, so let’s get a move on!”

  I tried hard not to think about Sam, and our wonderful night we spent together as I got Janie ready and started my day.  I had way too many things to do today to be worrying about any of the consequences that night may have had.  I told myself I would worry about it tonight, when I had more time to think rationally, and maybe I could share with Ember and she could give me a better perspective on things.  Or maybe not, because Ember was a romantic, and she would probably make more of this that there was to make. 

SAM

Same day 8:00 p.m.

  “Motherfucker!” I yelled when the wrench slipped off the bolt scraping my knuckles on the nut I was tightening on the latest job.

  I was having a problem concentrating.  She hadn’t called.  It had been hours, and I was getting tired of waiting.  The guys were giving me a wide birth, trying not to disturb me.  I felt bad, but I couldn’t seem to help it.

  Deciding to take a break, I put the wrench into my back pocket, and then pulled out my cell phone thinking for the 100
^th
time that maybe I should just call her.  But I had a rule, I didn’t chase, so if she wanted me she would have to be the one to make the first move.

  Shoving the phone back into my pocket, I walked past Max, Gabe, and Elliott, who were each working on different bikes. 

  When Max was injured in the IED in Iraq, I decided that I was plain tired of all the bureaucracy bullshit, and came to the decision that I wanted to take my skills and put it to use elsewhere, somewhere that I didn’t have so many restrictions and unknowns.

  Max’s accident had been a wakeup call for me.  The road we were on was supposedly checked over right before we were to pass through it; time was of the essence, so we entrusted the higher ups with our lives and took them at their word that the road had been checked over thoroughly.  We were supposed to go extract a hostage and get out, but before we even got there the Vee was struck by an IED beside the road that had been “checked” not only minutes before. 

  Jack had warned Elliott with seconds to spare, and he changed course just enough that we took only minimal damage.  Everyone was alright except for Max, who had bleeding from his ear and had passed out.  When he regained consciousness, he could no longer hear what was being said out of that ear, but we just assumed that his hearing would come back.

  We made it to where the hostage was being held, but there was no sign of anybody throughout the deserted houses, and likely there hadn’t been for a long while.  The superior officers blamed bad intel, but if the bad intelligence was going to get my men and I killed, I didn’t want to be a part of it anymore.  So I had the discussion with my men, and we all agreed that we would get out as soon as possible.

    So I decided to start a garage in Kilgore as a front, and we helped those in need of the type of services that we excelled at.  The services ranged from hostage recovery to making abused women disappear so they could live a better life away from those who harmed them.

  Max and another under my command were from Kilgore.  I didn’t have a real home, so I decided that Kilgore was as good as any.  We moved around a lot when I was a kid; my mom and I were on the run from my abusive old man.  He always seemed to find us, which I later found out was quite easy for him since he was a powerful man and could hire anyone to get the job done.  He was the president of a MC, and had the help of around one hundred people that pledged their loyalty to him.  They did highly illegal things, which made their profits astronomical.  The MC wasn’t all bad, but for the most part I detested my life with them and couldn’t wait for the day I could get out. 

  I thanked God at eighteen that I could join the army and be somewhere that was out of his reach.  I vowed that I would become someone that he would think twice about messing with.  I worried about leaving my mom behind, but she explained to me that not having me to worry about any longer would make it easier for her to disappear as well. 

  The sound of an air wrench pierced the silence of the garage.  Shaking my head to rid myself of my trip down memory lane, I walked into the office to the fridge and grabbed a Dr. Pepper.  I sat down at the desk, propped my feet up on the top and leaned back in the chair while closing my eyes. 

  My moment was interrupted by my phone ringing in my pocket.  I dug it out and tapped accept with my finger, putting it up to my ear. 

  “Yeah?” I said into the phone. 

  “I sent a woman to you.  Abusive ex.  She should be there late tomorrow.” I heard Jack say over the airwaves. 

  “Ok, I’ll keep an eye out for her, thanks for the heads up.  Anything new with your old man?” I asked 

  “No, he won’t make it through the end of the week.” He said gruffly. 

  “I’m sorry man, take the time.  We’ll be alright till you get back.  Keep me updated.” I said.  He agreed and hung up. 

  Jack’s old man meant the world to him.  He was the type of father that every kid wished to have.  He would move heaven and earth for his son, and taught his son to do the same for his friends and loved ones.  His old man would send care packages, knowing what we needed because he had been a soldier himself.  We were claimed by him, whether we had fathers or not.  He would do anything he could for us.  He even checked in on my mom when I wasn’t able to get a hold of her for a week. 

  This news put a damper on the moods of all the men, and we were waiting for the call that he had passed before we packed up shop and headed to Odessa for his funeral.  Hopefully it wouldn’t be much longer, the old guy had suffered a lot towards the end, he had pancreatic cancer, and by the time the doctors had found it had been too late and already had spread to his lymph nodes.

  “Max!” I yelled out. 

  Max lumbered into the office raising his eyebrows at me in question. 

  “Just got a call from Jack, old man is still alive, but they don’t expect him to make it through the end of the week.  He sent us a woman.  I want you to keep an eye on her and take point on this.  You may need to stay behind when we take off for Odessa and stay with her, teaching her what she needs to know.” 

  “Okay, I’ll do that.” He said lightly, and then headed back out to the garage bay. 

  I headed back into the garage and started back working on the chopper.  Time to get some work done; we were going to have a few extra expenses soon.  My grandmother set up a trust fund to be released to me when I was thirty, and I had used around half of that money to build the compound and fund the FreeBird project.  I was paid rent monthly by the guys who stayed here, and our bike business was nothing to sneeze at either.  We had a lot of business since our shop was one of only two in the area.

  The call came later that night that Jack’s father had died right after his phone call with me.  Everyone but Max got packed. We headed for Odessa to stay for the funeral, and then help with the house if Jack needed it.  The only good thing coming from this was that I wouldn’t worry about Cheyenne.  If she still hasn’t called by the time I get back, then I will make the move.  

Cheyenne

Later that same night

  I stared at my phone for the umpteenth time.  I wasn’t waiting for his call or text.  No.  Not me.  Fuck.  Who was I kidding?  No one.  I hoped he would call.  I know he got my number, but it was probably for just in case he needed a woman again who would come when he called.  I wasn’t that lucky. 

  I threw the phone down onto the coffee table and went back to watching the movie that Ember had rented.   

  “I’d do him.” She gestured to the TV screen.

  We were watching Thor for the umpteenth time.  This was one of our go-to movies when we didn’t like any that were out at the RedBox. 

  “I’d do Loki too.” I said back. 

  “Thor can use his hammer on me anytime.” Ember laughed out. 

  I rolled my eyes.  I’ve learned to not be surprised by anything that came out of her mouth.  Nine times out of ten it was something vulgar and offensive.  The movie ended about a half hour later and we both sighed.  It always ended crappily.  There was supposed to be a happily ever after.  

  “Do you want to watch something else?” I asked her.

  She looked at me like she knew I was off my game.  She got an evil gleam in her eye and tilted her head slightly to the right.  Her stare made me start squirming so I hopped up and ran to the kitchen when I heard the oven start dinging.  I pulled our cookies out of the oven and placed them on a plate, taking them back into the living room with me, grabbing two cokes on the way. 

  She gave me a weird look, but didn’t say anything.  I was grateful because I wasn’t quite ready to share Sam with anyone else right now.  He was mine for the moment, and I also didn’t know how exactly to say I was a hoe bag.

  The rest of the night was spent laughing and carrying on, gorging on coke and junk food.  This happened more often than not, and was the reason I had a little ass to spare.  Too bad all the junk food didn’t go to my boobs instead of my thighs and love handles.

  I walked Ember to the door three hours later.

  “I know something is going on with you, I’ll be here when you are ready to tell me.  Yo’ homes, smell ya later.” Ember said and ran to her car.

  Weirdo.  I loved her anyway though.

  I tossed and turned for another hour in my bed replaying the best night of my life.

 Chapter 2

A week and three days later.

 "Daddy!” Janie said.  James smiled and asked "Hello, sweet girl. Do you miss me?"

  "Miss me, miss me, miss me!" Janie squealed while putting her face so close to the screen that her runny nose smeared snot all over my brand new, twelve hundred dollar shiny blue dell laptop computer. Fuckin' A. 

 I got up and cleared the dishes off the table and threw them into the sink to soak, or more just sit there while I procrastinated. I hate doing the kitchen. I wet a wash cloth and brought it back over to the table and wiped up the macaroni and hot dog up off the table that failed to make it into Janie's mouth onto the floor for Chewy.  Chewy had the mess on the floor covered; he acted like I didn’t feed him morning and night, and snacks from a two year old who didn’t care where she dropped whatever she was eating.  Chewy was my five year old English Mastiff.  He was a light weight for his breed at a modest one hundred and two pounds. I gave his head a ruffle and continued to scrub at the smears of macaroni that covered a three foot section of the four foot table.

  I was getting pretty good at this child rearing by myself since James was deployed. Four more months, four more months I chanted to myself when I dumped the stray noodles into the trash.

 I went back to Janie and wiped her snotty nose and dried on cheese off of her mouth and cheeks. I glanced at the screen and made a face at James when his mouth quirked up at the side and his eyes danced with laughter.

  My older brother by four years knew how much I hated bodily fluids. But I would do absolutely anything for my big brother, and I loved my niece more than my hatred of those said bodily fluids.

  When I was a child I couldn’t stand to have a runny nose, so James and Mom would walk around with tissues in their pocket.  They learned that it was easier to have tissues than to deal with the tantrum that would follow if they didn’t.