Rough Tumble (10 page)

He shifted against her. Pushed on his jeans. He was saying her name again. Faster. Harder.

She stroked as he spoke. He tried twisting and turning, but the more he moved, the deeper he sank against the back of the couch. His jeans were twisted and turned against his thighs.

“Tonya.”

Her name sounded torn from his gut, gravely like it ripped over sandpaper before coming out.

The moment was lost on her. The heat of everything. Of him, them together. Her swollen and damp center. He groaned, chest and abs smashed against her side firmed.

Warm liquid spilled along her arms and she grinned against his mouth, opened for him, tipped forward and kissed him harder as she stroked him more, the last of him spilling in her hands.

His chest was full, pressing against her, pushing her against the couch with each deep breath of air he took. He tried shifted and lifting, then relaxed with a curse. “I don’t know why I didn’t take you to the bedroom.”

“Told you so.”

He chuckled and eyed her. “I didn’t think it would go this far.”

She wiped her hand clean best she could on a nearby blanket and caressed along his ribs. His skin was so soft, but the muscles firm. “I didn’t think there was a chance of it stopping.”

He pushed hair back from her face again. “This is going to change things.”

“I know. I’m going to see you more.” She stared toward the ceiling, unable to stop the completely satisfied smile she was feeling. “You’re going to be in the diner all the time. I’m going to be feeding you.”

He slapped her on the hip. “Smart ass.”

She caught his whiskers under her nails. “We’re good. I’m ready for this. I’ve wanted something more for a long time.”

“Just so we’re clear, I don’t share.”

“I don’t either.”

“And I like extra fabric softener on my underwear when you wash my clothes.”

She laughed. “I’ll get on that when I get breakfast in bed.”

He mocked hurt feelings. “You’re at the diner for breakfast every morning. That’s impossible for me to do!”

“Dang, that’s unfortunate.”

“Uh-huh. In that case, my first task is going to be finding you more help at the diner. I’ll trade breakfast in bed for extra soft boxers any day.”

She
hmm’d
. “And I’ll work on—”

“Telling the town the truth.”

All those feel good warm feelings cooled as he dropped a fast kiss to her lips.

He sighed and pushed off her to standing, pulling up his jeans. “Fact is, Tonya. We can’t do anything until people know you and Marc are no longer together. Otherwise I become the jerk who stole you away.”

“Oh.” She slouched, wrapped her arms around her knees as he walked to the kitchen and came back with his shirt back on. He tossed hers across her head and she held it against the front of her. “I’ll get it done. Somehow.”

He squatted before her. “Go see Lucille.”

Chapter Eight

Tonya sat in her truck, hands gripping her steering wheel and facing the wide front windows of Apple Blossom’s Beauty Parlor. Now or never. Trent was right. This was the best chance. No one liked gossip more than the women who hung out here and if all else failed, she had Flora as her wing woman to break the ice and get it all out there.

Flora held her seatbelt in a white-knuckle grip. “Swear to God, Tonya, if I come out with blue hair, I am going to kick your ass.”

“It’s just a cut. The worst Lucille will do is gap you on one side.”

“What?”

Tonya pulled the keys out and pushed open her door with a chuckle. “Kidding. She’s never gapped me, colored me wrong or waxed my eyebrows wrong. Seriously, you’re overpaying for that cut you have now.”

“My hairdresser didn’t go to beauty school in the thirties,” Flora tossed at her from her seat. While still wearing her seatbelt.

“Stop!” Tonya pushed her door closed and walked around the front side where she stood and stared at Flora through the windshield. Fact was, Tonya was Flora’s bread-n-butter for lunch the majority of the time. So for Flora it was a matter of dragging her ass along or cooking her own lunch for two weeks.

Tonya held up two fingers. After a sixty-second stare down, Flora mouthed off what looked to be a colorful strand of curses and jumped from the truck. “This could have waited another week until Gretchen was back. Just saying.”

“No it can’t. It should have been done a long time ago before this whole mess ever got started.”

“Or…thinking out loud here, after this long another week isn’t going to kill anyone.”

“It might kill me. And I’ve been dishonest enough. I told Trent I would do this. It’s time to do it. I think he’ll be glad to hear I left the diner early and already got the news going.”

Flora shook her head and grabbed the shop doors. “Changing your routine and life around for a man already. Pathetic. We need to get drunk and have us a chat after we do this.”

She laughed. “Have you told Jacob you loved him yet?”

“Bitch.” Flora tugged open the door and walked in.

Tonya took a second to grab another breath then walked in to get this started.

“Tonya!” Lucille crossed the shop, arms up. Bright blue moo-moo swishing around her legs. “Glad you called this morning.” She faced Flora. “And Flora! My sink has been working like a charm since you fixed it a month ago.”

Flora smiled. “Good. Tell all your friends I do good work.”

Lucille laughed. “Already have. Even if the job would have been half-assed, at least when you came in I didn’t have to stare at the crack of a hairy ass.”

Tonya laughed. An ease settled through her. Worrying had been as stupid as it could be. Lucille was darling. Sweet. And on occasion funny and crude. Tonya slid in the thick padded chair, sat back as Lucille snapped the bright red apron around her neck and pumped the chair up high.

Lucille combed out her hair. “What are we doing today?”

“Just a little trim.”

Lucille frowned. “Are you ever going to let me perm it?”

From the corner of her eye, Tonya couldn’t help but notice Flora’s eyes grow to the size of extra value meal dinner plates. “Never, Lucille! Not since I was twelve and never again.”

Lucille pushed up on the ends of her hair. “Just so beautiful. Little ringlets would be lovely against your heart-shaped faced.”

Tonya shook her head. “I would have a two foot tall frizzed out beehive on top of my head.”

Lucille laughed. “Yes, if you don’t style it.”

Tonya laughed too, more and more tension falling out of her shoulders. “You do remember I get to work between three and three thirty in the morning, right? I barely get my teeth brushed.”

“Liar,” Flora announced from the chair next to her. “You roll out of bed, completely dressed, get to the diner where you turn on the grills and oven and then you brush your teeth and do something with yourself.”

“You’re not supposed to tell anyone that!”

Flora laughed, looking relaxed too. The bell rang over the door and Tonya remembered why she’d been dreading this. Charlene walked in with a couple bags in her hands. If it was just Lucille, Tonya could handle anything.

It was the audience and Charlene was a tough as nails audience.

Charlene all but beamed as she walked. “Oh, Flora, darling. Can you help me grab another bag?”

Flora slid off the chair, a tight smile pulling on her lips. “Be happy to.”

“Thank you. These bony arms aren’t as strong as they used to be, just don’t tell my husband I said that.”

“Of course not.”

“Oh never mind.” Charlene flipped her wrists. “Tell him! I hate pulling weeds out of his garden.”

The front door closed, ringing the bell over the door again. Lucille was shaking her head before Tonya could get a word out. “Damn health food. Charlene is going almost-vegan.”

“Almost?”

Lucille combed her out, twisted up the top sections and worked on the bottom row of strands. “She likes her husband’s steak and potatoes. So she’s vegan unless he cooks that. And she thinks I should be vegan too. It’s why I haven’t been in the diner. She’s got a nose like a bloodhound and could smell the beef and bacon on me.”

“Oh my.”

“That sack she brought in is hiding our mid-morning snack or something. It’s going to be some black bean dip and celery. Or hummus. I can eat sausage and eggs at five in the morning and not be hungry until noon. On that stuff she’s feeding me, I’m never full.”

“Never?”

She huffed. “Never. Never ate so much food in my life and feeling puny for it all at the same time. I eat when I get home, naturally, but during the day she’s always in here bringing stuff by.”

“You could just tell her no.”

“Honey, nobody tells Charlene no. You know that. You’ll never hear the end of it.”

Yeah, she did know. And now that Charlene was walking back in the door, it was too late to whisper out the truth about her past.

Flora’s eyes were big as she walked ahead. “Guess what Charlene brought and is going to share with us. Spinach and soymilk shakes.” Flora put the bag down. “Oh, no. My phone is ringing.”

Tonya blinked. “I don’t hear anything.”

“Vibrating. Let me take this.”

She grabbed her phone from her back pocket and ran out the front door and Tonya saw why. Charlene was in the corner pulling out a blender. And sacks of what appeared to be grass and leaves. No. No no no no no. She swallowed. “What do you have there?”

“It’s just the best thing. I feel so good after I drink it.”

“But you feel like shit while you’re stuffing it down,” Lucille muttered.

Charlene continued on, bubbly as can be, ignorant to Lucille’s comments. “It’s soy milk shakes with spinach and bananas.”

Oh god. A little vomit rolled up the back of her throat.

Charlene opened the milk and poured it in. “You’ll see. I’ll make enough for you.”

“Oh, wow. That’s so sweet of you, but I had a huge breakfast.”

Charlene frowned. “It’s almost lunch. You need something now.”

“Twice. I had a huge breakfast twice. I can’t help but eat again when I’m putting away the breakfast stuff.”

The door opened, the bell over the top dinged again and Charlene beamed at Flora. “I just about have these shakes ready and one has your name on it.”

Flora wore the biggest smile Tonya had ever seen on the woman’s face. “Gee, can we rain check? I just got a call out. Gas station down the road. Apparently some overweight trucker…well, no need for details. Lucille, do I owe you anything for canceling my appointment?”

Lucille steadily worked on Tonya’s hair. “No, go on honey. Just stop by whenever you can and we’ll do it then.”

Flora’s smile never even faltered. “I’ll do that. I’ll see you Tonya.”

And out the door she went, practically skipping down the street to the diner where her truck was parked. Worst wing woman ever.

Payback was going to be a bitch for that one.

Charlene brought over a drink, and thankfully Lucille waved her off. “I’ll get hair clippings all in it.”

Well, damn. Nothing like,
oh there’s hair all in my drink
to get out of it.

Charlene sat with it in the next chair and sipped. If Tonya wasn’t mistaken, she grimaced with each sip too. “How are things at the diner?”

“Busy. Can’t complain.”

“Do you need any workers?”

“I actually do. I’m short one on the evening shift right now.” That Trent was sweetly filling in for since he was there anyway, but she didn’t mention he did that often. “I need someone who can stand over the grill and learn to wait tables too.”

“Does it matter if it’s male or female?”

“If I could train wild animals to do the job, I’d have them working.”

Lucille nodded. “About right. Everybody wants a job, says they need the money. Don’t want to work the hard stuff though.”

“You nailed it, Lucille.”

Charlene nodded. “I’ll send my nephew by. He’s a couple towns over, able to just get temporary work here and there. Pay is probably lower than he’s used to, but anything is better than living on his momma’s couch.”

Lucille nodded. “You got that right.”

Lucille worked in silence for a moment while Charlene looked to be working on her drink. And by work, Tonya meant actual work because each sip seemed to be a serious chore. Lucille was nearly done with her hair and if she didn’t figure out a way to work this conversation in soon without just coming out with the truth, she’d have to drink one of those to have a reason to stick around.

She swallowed. “You know, Charlene, if your nephew can handle construction work, they are about to start on Trent’s house. He might check with the contractor in charge of that. Probably be better pay.”

“Good to know. What company?”

Tonya gave her the business name and Charlene put her drink down as she wrote. “It’s a big house, so I expect a lot of workers will be involved in it.”