questions than it answers.”
“Man, you said it. Who knows what else she’s dealing with. Seems like the last thing she needed was expensive car repairs,” Brannon murmured.
“I’ll pay for the alternator,” I said without hesitation. “The labor, too.”
“Cody,” Brannon said, “I know you've got a little crush on her, but I don’t think—”
“It’s more than a crush, Brannon,” I replied. “Things have gone a lot farther than anything so innocent.”
“Seriously?” Brannon asked, his mouth dropping open in surprise.
I gave a curt nod.
“Like how much farther?”
I clenched my teeth.
“Jesus, did you fuck her?”
I slanted a murderous glare over at him.
“Holy shit… dude, she barely even talks to anyone.”
“Yeah, well she didn’t do a whole lot of talking with me either.”
“Holy fuck.”
“Yeah… so just do me a favor and let me pay for the expensive shit.”
“What do we tell her?”
“Tell her it was just the belt,” I replied, looking at the soft little baby T-shirt in my large, grubby hand. “That’s a cheap thing to fix, and we had to replace it anyway. We can write the bill separate for that, but keep it low. I’ll pay the bulk of the repair cost.”
“I dunno, Cody,” he hedged, “maybe—”
“She’s got a kid, dude,” I interrupted, sweeping my hand over the contents of her trunk. “She’s a barmaid. She hasn’t been here long, seems to pretty much be living out of her car, and, as far as I know, she doesn’t know anybody. She can’t afford a bunch of fucking repairs, so don’t tell her it’s that much. Even say you had the belt lying around and don’t charge her for that either. Something. But I’m paying for the damn parts.”
Brandon looked a little surprised by the adamant demand I was making.
“Are you sure you know what you are doing?” he asked.
“Nope,” I replied, “but I’m taking her car back tonight… and we’re going to have a little talk.”
My stalkeriness went into overdrive. I told myself it was a necessary evil. I needed some answers and had to do some drastic shit to get them.
Knowing she was working that night, I called the Copperline to ask Doug to give her a message for me, to let her know I wouldn’t have her car done until the next morning. It was complete shit since Brannon and I had already fixed it before I even called, but I didn’t want her expecting me that night.
I was setting the stage for an intervention of sorts.
Then I drove her car to the Copperline after it got dark, parked way in the back corner of the lot where she wouldn’t notice me, but I could still see the door.
And I waited.
The Sunday night crowd was sparse. At a little after ten, I saw her come out of the building and head for my pickup. As she left the Copperline, I followed.
Towards Butte, on the outskirts of town, she pulled into the driveway of a small square house. There were a couple cars parked in front of the garage, making me wonder if she lived here, but not alone. Not that it was a fancy place, but maybe she wasn’t as destitute as I’d thought.
After she went inside, a middle-aged man came out of the house, went to a sedan parked near the front steps, and opened the back driver-side door.
I bristled the moment he’d appeared.
I wondered how he was related to her… if he was related to her. He was old enough to be her father, but I was trying so hard to consider all the angles. For all I knew, he could have been her man, and that thought made me ill to no end. Even more so than when I thought Doug was hot for her. This was worse, though. If this was where she lived, and it seemed like it was where he lived…
Had she cheated on him with me?
But then Ilsa came back out of the house… and she was carrying a small child with light blonde hair. The kid’s head was tucked against her shoulder and little legs hung limp when she walked. The man reappeared from reaching into the sedan with a
“Man, you said it. Who knows what else she’s dealing with. Seems like the last thing she needed was expensive car repairs,” Brannon murmured.
“I’ll pay for the alternator,” I said without hesitation. “The labor, too.”
“Cody,” Brannon said, “I know you've got a little crush on her, but I don’t think—”
“It’s more than a crush, Brannon,” I replied. “Things have gone a lot farther than anything so innocent.”
“Seriously?” Brannon asked, his mouth dropping open in surprise.
I gave a curt nod.
“Like how much farther?”
I clenched my teeth.
“Jesus, did you fuck her?”
I slanted a murderous glare over at him.
“Holy shit… dude, she barely even talks to anyone.”
“Yeah, well she didn’t do a whole lot of talking with me either.”
“Holy fuck.”
“Yeah… so just do me a favor and let me pay for the expensive shit.”
“What do we tell her?”
“Tell her it was just the belt,” I replied, looking at the soft little baby T-shirt in my large, grubby hand. “That’s a cheap thing to fix, and we had to replace it anyway. We can write the bill separate for that, but keep it low. I’ll pay the bulk of the repair cost.”
“I dunno, Cody,” he hedged, “maybe—”
“She’s got a kid, dude,” I interrupted, sweeping my hand over the contents of her trunk. “She’s a barmaid. She hasn’t been here long, seems to pretty much be living out of her car, and, as far as I know, she doesn’t know anybody. She can’t afford a bunch of fucking repairs, so don’t tell her it’s that much. Even say you had the belt lying around and don’t charge her for that either. Something. But I’m paying for the damn parts.”
Brandon looked a little surprised by the adamant demand I was making.
“Are you sure you know what you are doing?” he asked.
“Nope,” I replied, “but I’m taking her car back tonight… and we’re going to have a little talk.”
My stalkeriness went into overdrive. I told myself it was a necessary evil. I needed some answers and had to do some drastic shit to get them.
Knowing she was working that night, I called the Copperline to ask Doug to give her a message for me, to let her know I wouldn’t have her car done until the next morning. It was complete shit since Brannon and I had already fixed it before I even called, but I didn’t want her expecting me that night.
I was setting the stage for an intervention of sorts.
Then I drove her car to the Copperline after it got dark, parked way in the back corner of the lot where she wouldn’t notice me, but I could still see the door.
And I waited.
The Sunday night crowd was sparse. At a little after ten, I saw her come out of the building and head for my pickup. As she left the Copperline, I followed.
Towards Butte, on the outskirts of town, she pulled into the driveway of a small square house. There were a couple cars parked in front of the garage, making me wonder if she lived here, but not alone. Not that it was a fancy place, but maybe she wasn’t as destitute as I’d thought.
After she went inside, a middle-aged man came out of the house, went to a sedan parked near the front steps, and opened the back driver-side door.
I bristled the moment he’d appeared.
I wondered how he was related to her… if he was related to her. He was old enough to be her father, but I was trying so hard to consider all the angles. For all I knew, he could have been her man, and that thought made me ill to no end. Even more so than when I thought Doug was hot for her. This was worse, though. If this was where she lived, and it seemed like it was where he lived…
Had she cheated on him with me?
But then Ilsa came back out of the house… and she was carrying a small child with light blonde hair. The kid’s head was tucked against her shoulder and little legs hung limp when she walked. The man reappeared from reaching into the sedan with a
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