Tyler

by Kathi S. Barton

  Burying her only child, seeing her son put in a hole, had devastated her. He had been all she’d had, all she ever wanted, and now he was gone—thanks wholly to Jazzie. She’d overridden her when Glenda had said he would pull out of this, and had them fucking kill him. That was why she accused her of murder. Jazzie hadn’t given him enough time to heal before she’d just wrote him off. Grief—nothing like she’d had for her own parents, or even that worthless husband—hadn’t prepared her for what she was feeling about Ryan. He was gone, never to hug or love her again.

  There was talk about him being with another woman when he’d been murdered. So what? What was he supposed to do about sex when his wife was as large as a fucking truck? It was only natural that he was getting him some on the side. People just had never understood her son, and that was what made them hate him like they had.

  Now she was prepared to do anything to get her grandson, including killing Jazzie. She’d been nothing but a worthless piece of shit from day one. And whatever she’d done to make Ryan hit her—well, she should have reflected on what she might have done to have caused him to be pissed off. Whatever it was, again, she’d given more thought to leaving him by the side of the fucking road than she did pulling the plug. Ryan had come to live with Glenda when Jazzie had locked him out.

  Glenda was walking down the sidewalk when she noticed that all the shops and stores were closed. Not a single light on, no one moving around in the places, nor did she see any of the outside shit that she kicked over every time she saw it. Even the gas station, which seemed to pride itself on being open all the time, was locked up tighter than a virgin’s thighs. Shaking on a couple of the doors, she paused long enough to see the sign posted in the grocery store window.

  “Thanksgiving? It’s after Thanksgiving? What happened to shopping all day the entire weekend after?” She noticed then that there were decorations up for Christmas too, like they were just waiting for someone to tell them that it was all right, the perfect time to turn them on. She wanted to rip them down, tear them all off the buildings, because they were having a holiday and she was alone. Just as she was trying to figure out how to get high enough to do just that, a cruiser came slowly down the street and stopped not five feet from where she was. The cop rolled down his window and asked her if she needed help getting to the diner. That everyone in town was there.

  “I’m not doing a damned thing wrong. Just get on with your day and leave me alone.” He paused but then finally moved on. “Fucker.”

  Smiling, Glenda knew that she was going to have to come up with a different name to call people who pissed her off. It was everyone, really, but she needed something with more impact. The word fuck or fucker had lost its power to make people look shocked. Now all they did was walk away. She thought she hated that almost as much as she did losing a fight.

  There was nowhere for her to sleep tonight, so she started keeping her eyes open for somewhere she could lay her head. Glenda almost wished that she was still in her cell. At least there she got a meal three times a day and had a bed and blanket. As she got off Main and onto the next street over, she watched as two cars pulled into a driveway. Everyone, it seemed, was having a good day except her.

  “If I had little Ryan and my son, I’d have had a ham and all the trimmings. We’d have mashed potatoes, green beans, and biscuits.” Glenda prided herself on her biscuits. And Ryan had always asked for more when he ate with her. “Pies. Man, my son sure did love my pies too. I don’t know that he ever figured out that I just got them from the grocery store and popped them in the oven. He was so great.”

  He, however, wasn’t perfect. But then who would be? Ryan had been in and out of trouble since he’d been a child, getting into scrapes with other children and coming home bloodied and dirty. She’d always made sure that he’d come out on top—Glenda wasn’t raising a pussy of a boy.

  Following the cars up the driveway, she noticed the name on the mailbox was the same as that guy who come to see her—Winchester. They were still in the car when she got to the house. Damn, but it was a big fucking house, and it had been newly done up too. There was a big dumpster in the yard and a whole lot of empty crates in front of it. She watched as the people finally got out of their car and ran up to the house. Then the man returned, getting something out the trunk of the big car. It was a gift that was wrapped up in shiny white and silver paper. It looked to her like a wedding gift. Then it occurred to her. That fucking bitch had lied to her.

  Jazzie was getting married today, to that fucking Winchester person. Well, she had to put a stop to that. There wasn’t any way she was going to have to fight someone else for little Ryan. Stomping up to the house just as the door closed, Glenda pounded on the door as hard as she could.

  “May I help you?” The man standing there was huge, but not the one that she’d met. He loomed over her, making her feel small and worthless. And when he looked her up and down, she felt her temper rise to new heights. “Mrs. Scott, I presume. I don’t believe you were invited here today.”

  “Is that bitch here?” He laughed and told her there were quite a few of them here today. “What? Never mind. Where is Jazzie? And little Ryan? My grandson. Tell her that I want to see them both out here right fucking now.”

  She started forward, thinking that he’d invite her in as he went to find her. But no, he slammed the door in her face and the wreath that was there, all covered and pumpkins and shit, hit her right in the nose. Just as she was reaching up to snatch it off the door, the door came open and Jazzie was standing right there.

  “Where is little Ryan? Bring him and his shit out here right now. I want to spend the day with him.” Jazzie said that there was no one there by that name and started to shut the door. “Damn it all to fuck, that kid. My grandson. You didn’t name him after his daddy, and you can bet your ass I’m going to take care of that too. Now, you heard me. I want to spend the day with him.”

  “His name is Joey, and will be that forever. You’re not going to be spending the day with him at all, nor are you going to be changing his name to anything. I don’t know why you’d think I’d name anyone after that piece of shit son of yours.” Glenda doubled up her fist, and was bringing it back to slam Jazzie in the face when she took a step toward her. “Do it, and I swear to you that the only thing you’ll be seeing is the underside of a casket. Because I will kill you.”

  This was the second time that Jazzie had stood up to her, and she didn’t like it any more than she did her keeping little Ryan from her. Dropping her fist, she tried to barge into the house to get her grandson. Before she got both feet in the door, a large man, bigger than the first one, was holding her up like a person did a fucking dog.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” It was then that she realized it was the man that had come to see her before. “You? You lied to me. Both of you did. You ain’t no more married than she is a sweetheart. Fuck. Let me go, you moron, I want to find that kid.”

  When she was tossed out of the house and off the porch steps, it took her several seconds to catch her breath. As she got her feet under her, she looked up on the deck and took two steps back.

  There was the man again with his arm around Jazzie. But it was the wolves, six of them total, that scared the shit out of her. When they growled, their hair standing up, teeth bared, she took another step back and bumped into a car behind her. The man, she thought his name was Tyler, spoke in a calm soft voice that she was sure didn’t match how pissed off he was.

  “Now, as you have been told, several times I believe, you are not welcome here. Not only that, but you aren’t getting my son. And yes, he is my son as of seven this morning.” She pointed out that it was a holiday weekend, thinking that she’d caught them in another lie. “When you have money, as we do, then doors open for you that otherwise wouldn’t. Now, the police have been called, and if you’re smart, which you’re proving that you aren’t even close, you’ll run now. But then, you might be safer in jail. You never know when one of my brot
hers will come hunting you.”

  They each shot off the porch and toward her. She had nowhere to go, and nearly screamed when they stuck their nose to her hand. Then they licked her. It was as if they were tasting her for a treat later. As they moved back to the porch, the last one stared at her in the face. As he stood up, his paws on either side of her, she felt something warm run down her leg. The fucking thing had just pissed on her. Knocking him off her seemed like a bad idea, so she just let him have his fun. But she’d get him. Glenda always got the people who did shit to her.

  The police arrived just as the wolves all made their way into the house, except the last one. He didn’t move when the cops patted him on the head and thanked him for helping them. These fucking morons had not a care in the world that this thing had just attacked her.

  The police put her in the back of a car. While she was stewing about this shit, they stood up there on the porch and talked to Jazzie and Tyler. It was like they all were conspiring against her. Did they not realize that Jazzie was a murderer? That she’d killed her son as if she’d been driving the car?

  All the bitch would have to have done was to put up with his moods. Sure, he would have knocked her around a bit. He might even have killed her. That would have been all right too. Ryan might have had to serve some jail time, sure, but she’d raise his son for him while he was gone. And when Jazzie had kicked him out of the house, changing the locks so he’d not be able to get in at all, Glenda felt as if she’d driven him to drive off the road and into the tree. Jazzie had killed him, and she was acting like it was no big deal.

  The cell she’d been in before was occupied. They nearly shoved her into one on the other side, and told her that she’d be getting a cold plate tonight as they’d not known she was coming back so soon.

  “But then, I guess we should have expected it with you. The other inmate will be having a dinner of left over turkey. You will have a sandwich.” She asked why she couldn’t have the turkey dinner and the other person the sandwich. “Because I don’t like you.”

  ~*~

  Tyler was trying to calm himself after the encounter with Glenda. He was as pissed off as he’d been in a while, and shook himself several times to try and shake it off. His dad came up to him, pulling at his own tie, and asked him to fix it.

  “Dad, what would you do if we hadn’t learned how to tie a tie from Mom?” He said he’d find her. “There is that, I guess.”

  “You don’t need to be all ticked off, son. She’s been taken care of for now, and as it stands right this minute, she might even be there until after Christmas.” He told his dad that he wasn’t that lucky. “She sure is a mite set on having that little boy, ain’t she?”

  “She called him little Ryan. That ticked me off, as you called it, more than anything. But I have to say, I was proud of Jazzie. She sure didn’t back down, did she?” Tyler got his dad’s tie fixed, and then hugged him. “I have no idea what I would do if something happened to you guys. I know that’s not the right conversation to have on my wedding day, but I love you and Mom, so very much.”

  “Now don’t you be making me all sobby, son. I tell you.” Tyler smiled at him. “Well, now that you’ve got me all fixed up, I gotta go and give that gift of yours to your pretty bride. That was right good of you to do that for her too.”

  “Thanks. I have a good idea once in a while.” Dad left him, and his brothers, all of them in their suits as well, started teasing him about not being able to take a bite out of Glenda. He was fine with that, and their joking lessened his bad mood a great deal. “You guys are the best. I couldn’t have asked for better brothers.”

  “Aww, now you’re being all mushy.” Caleb smiled at him and hugged him tightly. When he spoke next, Tyler was a little shocked by what he said to him. “I need your help with something that Quinn and I are into. It’s to do with the pack. I have an issue that I think you can help me with.”

  “Of course. Anything you want.” Caleb nodded and told him he’d talk to him about it tomorrow. “All right. But not too early. It is my wedding night.”

  When they were told to come out of the room they’d been in, he made his way to the fireplace, where everyone was waiting for them. Tyler was happy to be having his wedding here in his parents’ home. It seemed right somehow.

  Looking around the large living room, he thought about all the times they’d been in this room as a family. The holidays that they’d spent here. Games that they watched on the television. And now he had his own home and his own family to make memories with.

  When his sisters-in-law come in the room first, he had to laugh when he saw that they were all dressed up. Addie looked the most uncomfortable, but it was Penny who was pulling at her dress. She was pulling a little red wagon that was decorated with flowers, with a large pillow that Joey was riding on. He was eating up all the attention that was bestowed on him by waving at anyone that would laugh. The kid was going to break a lot of hearts when he was older. Penny was handing him petals every few minutes too. He was glad to see that she stopped him from eating them several times. Cameras and phones were being used to catch the sight they made.

  When the music turned to the wedding march, he felt his heart pound. Picking up Joey when he started to fuss, he looked for Jazzie just as her sister and mom came around the corner to walk her down the aisle. The gift that he’d given his wife, her family, and they seemed to be happy that they’d made it to the wedding. Carmen had gone to get them last night. Since then, the two of them had been at Caleb’s home, hiding out and excited to have been able to make it on time. It had been so much fun for him to be able to get this for his bride to be.

  Then Jazzie came into the room.

  It was all he could do to to hold onto and not drop Joey. She looked magnificent. And he knew that the dress that she had on was his mother’s. The veil didn’t cover her face, for which he was glad. To see her like this was just simply perfect.

  The dress looked as if it had been made just for her. The pearls shimmered in the light, and the lace was so white that it seemed unreal. And the flowers, the palest pink roses and white carnations, made her look like one of his relatives’ pictures that he’d seen a long time ago. And right now, Tyler knew that he was the luckiest man in the world.

  The ceremony went on for so long that it made him think that it was never going to end. He wasn’t bored, Tyler just wanted someone to tell him that she was his. That from now on, she’d be with him. And Joey as well. When it came time for her to say her vows, she asked if she could say something first. At the reverend’s nod, she looked up at him.

  “Thank you. For everything. For making me happy. Rescuing me when I thought that all was lost. Bringing my family to me when I thought they’d miss this day with me. For loving my son as much as I do. For just being you, Tyler Winchester.” She looked at the group of people there, asking them to hang on for just one more moment and she’d shut up. Then she looked at him again. “I love you, Tyler, with my heart and soul. I don’t know what I would have done had you not had me brought here, saved me from living on the streets. I love you so very much, my love.”

  She looked down at her sleeping son, and he could see the love that she had for him when she looked at him again. Christ, all he wanted to do was pick her up and take the two of them away to some deserted island so that they could spend forever together.

  When they were pronounced man and wife, he kissed her with all the pent-up love that he had inside of him. And when they both kissed Joey, he woke long enough to open one eye and look at them. Tyler thought he was trying to figure out what all the fuss was about.

  Everyone in the room with them shouted and threw confetti at them. Mom was crying, and Dad was wiping his face with his handkerchief. He loved them, all his family. And when they started to mingle around, they were both patted on the back and took time to admire little Joey. The kid was a hit no matter where he went, and he was showing up his pretty momma as bride today.

  The cake had
been made by the local bakery. It seemed that neither one of them had expected it, but it was wonderful to have. He was careful not to shove it in her face, but she had no such qualms about it. Tyler knew that he’d be blowing white and blue frosting out of his nose for a month. But all in all, it was a wonderful evening.

  It wasn’t until nearly nine that they were able to break away. His parents were watching Joey for the night, and he was happy when Jazzie asked them. The roses and the champagne were already set up, and there were candles all over the room when they got there. He’d have to tip the staff very well for the amount of work they’d done for the two of them.

  There was a nice basket of fruit from Caleb, and a cheese tray with crackers and meats from Dom. The rest of them had sent the biggest box of chocolates that he’d ever seen, as well as two dozen of the prettiest roses that he’d ever witnessed. Jazzie ate several of the chocolates with their drinks, and when she went off to change, he got out his gift for her.

  Tyler had spent as much time as he could sneaking off to the jewelry store, looking for the right gift for Jazzie. He knew that she wasn’t terribly flashy. Mom had told him that she only wanted dull colors in the way of clothing. He knew that from when he’d taken her into a couple of stores. It had taken him some fast talking to get her to even try on something with a bit of color—some pizazz, he’d called it. Once she had it on, however, she was ready to buy more like it. He was glad. Tyler thought that she looked the best in bright green.

  “Tyler?” He turned just as he was taking a sip of the wine. And when he saw her, the glass just spontaneously shattered in his hand. “Did you cut yourself?”

  She came rushing to him, checking out the small wounds on his hand. As she fussed at him about breaking a glass, he just stared at her. There wasn’t any way that he was going to make it any further than taking his pants off. He was as good as gone already.