by Sarah Hegger
Chapter Thirty-Five
Blythe drove past Cranks on her way home from seeing Carly. On a whim, she pulled into the rutted dirt parking lot.
So much of her life that taken part in and around that bar. There, she’d first learned what an alcoholic was, dragging Pat out and getting him home. There she’d also learned how liquor made some men violent. Her fight with Brett that day had started in this parking lot.
She’d spoken to Eric there for the first time.
Was Cranks where she really belonged? Maybe she was kidding herself with her new apartment and her new life.
Opening the door, she stepped into the dim, dusty interior. As always, it smelled of stale beer and cigarettes, marijuana, and urine from the permanently leaking bathrooms. Gazes swung her way as she walked up to the bar.
Pat had always sat in this exact place. Damn, even the barstool with its definitive Africa-shaped crack looked the same. She had thought she’d traveled so far, but here she was again.
All her pretending to be someone else had gotten her a gut load of pain. She got to the bar and rapped her knuckles on it for attention.
“Hey, Blythe.” The bartender gave her a toothy grin. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”
His name popped into her head. “Hey, Slade.”
“What’s your pleasure?” Slade sidled closer to her and leaned both elbows on the bar. “Say me and I’m yours.”
See there, Slade knew where she belonged. The only person who had forgotten was her. “Why don’t we start with a beer?”
He winked. “You got it.”
She sipped her beer and surveyed the bar. To the left of the battered dartboard was the table Barron always sat at, and before him, Brett had held court there. The Barrowses must have sunk a good portion of their income into Cranks.
When she’d found Eric outside, and he’d not only acknowledged her but spent most of the afternoon confiding in her, it had felt like confirmation that she could be different. That maybe her dreams of a different future were not so outlandish.
What a joke.
A tall man sidled up next to her. Most of his face was covered in a thick, dark beard, and he wore an MC cut. He looked like exactly what he was: trouble. The sort of trouble she attracted. The sort of trouble that was Carly’s legacy to her.
She’d been all kinds of stupid to ever think she could have Eric. She’d always known that. It had just taken her all this time to cut ties. She wasn’t that different from Carly when it came down to it. The only difference between them was their drug of choice. Carly hit the sauce and couldn’t shake her Pat Barrows habit. Blythe’s drug of choice was Eric Evans.
Good old Mom was right. You couldn’t change who you were. Barrows mud always rose up and sucked you back down again.
“Hi.” She smiled at the man next to her.
He leered down at her, his gaze eating up every inch of her. “Aren’t you just a sweet thing?”
She almost winced. Eric had started calling her that as a joke, when she’d said she hated men who called girls babe.
The man jerked his head at the bartender. “Buy you a drink?”
“Sure.” She shoved aside her misgivings. This was her. There really was no point in trying to change the way things were. It hurt too much to keep trying. “Whatever you’re having.”
He ran a forefinger over her bare shoulder. “What’s your name, baby?”
“Blythe.” She shifted away from his touch. “Blythe Barrows.”
“Barron’s sister?” Her new friend’s eyebrow rose. “Damn, girl.” He ogled her. “How come Barron never told us he had a smoking sister like you?”
The bartender delivered two beers with Jack Daniels chasers.
The man lifted his beer and toasted her. “Name’s Razor.”
“Nice to meet you, Razor.” She clinked her beer against his, then turned to survey the bar.
Razor’s was not the only attention she’d captured.
Across the bar, a guy playing pool rested his weight on his cue and stared at her. Heavily tattooed and wearing a muscle shirt, he rivaled Brett for size.
She’d been punching above her weight class with Eric. This was her division.
The big guy strolled over to the jukebox and keyed in a selection. “Pour Some Sugar On Me” pounded out of the bar’s speakers. His gaze met hers, and Blythe smiled.
Beside her, Razor stiffened. “You looking for trouble, baby?”
“I’m just looking.” She let her gaze wander over him. The beer tasted bitter, and she suppressed a wince. “Step back if you don’t like it.”
A large shadow loomed over her.
“You play pool?” The big guy had a raspy voice, and she had to look up at him to maintain eye contact.
Blythe stamped on the warning sounding in her mind. “Depends who’s asking.”
“Fuck off, Griff.” Razor shifted. “I saw her first.”
Griff’s gray gaze turned harder. “And?”
“And you can both step back.” Liz shoved her way between the two men.
Looking bemused, Griff stared down at her. “Who the fuck are you?”
“I’m the one who’s going to tell you to go and sell it somewhere else.” Liz went toe to toe with the behemoth.
Blythe didn’t know what she was doing there, but she couldn’t let Liz get hurt. “It’s fine, Liz. We were only talking.”
“Right.” Liz sneered up at Razor. She took Blythe by the arm. “And we’re out of here.”
“What’s your hurry?” Razor took hold of her other arm. “You haven’t finished your drink yet.”
Griff’s gaze focused on Razor’s hand on her arm. “Get your hands off her.”
“I bought her a drink.” Razor led with his chin.
“Here.” Bella appeared beside Liz and thrust a handful of bills at Razor. “And now she’s paid for her own drink.”
Razor stepped back as if he’d been stung. “Sorry Miz Evans. I don’t want no trouble.”
“Evans?” Griff scowled.
“Sheriff’s woman,” Razor said and pushed the money back at Bella. “You tell your man that Razor took care of your girl and even bought her a drink.”
“Holy Crap!” Liz looked impressed. “You’re useful to have around.”
Bella made a face. “It could have gone the other way too.”
“True that.” Liz picked up Blythe’s shooter, downed it, and then made a face. “I saved you.” She shuddered as she looked at Blythe. “You can thank me later.”
Pippa arrived, out of breath. “What did I miss?”
“Blythe’s swains.” Bella giggled. “I scared them off.”
“Good thing, too.” Pippa looked at Razor and Griff standing at the other end of the bar and swallowed. “Can we leave now? This place makes me nervous.”
“You shouldn’t be here.” Blythe finally found her voice. She had no idea what they were doing there but they were completely out of place.
“Neither should you.” Bella cocked her head.
Pippa studied her. “What are you doing here?”
“It’s where I belong.” Blythe stared forward. She didn’t want to see the disappointment in their faces.
“Like hell you do.” Liz snorted. “What made you decide you did?”
She couldn’t explain it and they probably wouldn’t get it, so Blythe waved a hand dismissively. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It certainly does matter.” Pippa turned Blythe to face her, and her expression softened. “I don’t know who this person is, but she’s not the woman I know and respect.”
“This is where I belong.” Blythe stayed right where she was.
Pippa stared at her, and then sighed. “Right.” She dug out a wet wipe and cleaned a stool before she perched on it. “If this is where you’re staying,
then we’re staying with you.”
“What’s going on?” Bella climbed onto a barstool beside her and grimaced down the bar. “I don’t suppose they do cranberry martinis here.”
Liz snorted. “I doubt it.” She motioned the bartender over and ordered beer for all of them.
Blythe looked at the three women as they settled themselves in. “What are you doing here?”
“Brett called and told us you were here.” Bella took a tentative sip of her beer and shuddered.
Still no clearer, Blythe asked, “How did Brett know I was here?”
“Oh.” Bella wrinkled her nose and fluttered a hand. “A friend of Brett’s called to tell him you were in here. Then Brett called Eric, who called Nate. I was standing there, and I called the girls.”
“And what?” Blythe looked at each of them in turn. “You decided to come slumming it for a drink?”
“No.” Pippa cleaned the rim of her beer glass before taking a cautious sip. “We came to find out why you felt the need to slum it.”
“Pippa thought you might be punishing yourself for what happened to Will.” Liz swigged her beer with a sigh of relish. “I really like beer. If it wasn’t so fattening, I’d drink more of it.”
“Like you have to worry about that.” Bella gave her a hard side glance.
“This isn’t half bad. But that could just be because I’ve been nursing for so long I’m in withdrawal.” Pippa took another, longer sip of her beer. “Are you punishing yourself for Will?”
Blythe’s mouth opened to utter a hot denial, but no words came out. Was she? “I don’t know. I went to see my mother.”
“What did she say?” Bella edged closer to her.
“Pretty much what I was thinking.” Blythe tried to shrug it off. “That no matter what we do, or try to do, nothing much changes. This is what I was born to.” She motioned at the bar. “I was driving by and something made me come in. It struck me while I was sitting here that there really is no point in continuing to try to escape my reality. I might as well embrace it.”
“Bullshit.” Liz sniffed. “What?” She gave them all an unrepentant look. “She’s had a crappy couple of days and her brothers are mostly assholes. But that doesn’t have to be you.” She looked at Blythe for the last part. “Because if this is you, then it’s Kim as well.”
Everything in Blythe rejected that notion. She hadn’t been thinking of Kim when she came in.
“Kim was born to the same thing you were.” Liz sipped her beer and looked about the bar. “This is as much her reality as it is yours.”
“I want more for Kim.”
“I know you do.” Liz tucked her arm into Blythe’s. “She deserves more, and so do you. So did I.”
“You?” Pippa looked at Liz.
“Yup.” Liz finished her beer. “My childhood wasn’t that different from Blythe’s. Nobody was all happy and fulfilled when I was born. I was one more mouth to feed in a family that already had too many mouths.”
Bella stared at Liz. “How come I am only now finding this out about you?”
“Because it’s my past.” Liz shrugged. “Like breast cancer is my past and splitting up with Noel is my past. We can’t keep groveling around in there if we want to move on.”
Pippa smiled at Liz. “You’re an amazing woman, Liz Gunn.”
“I am.” Liz nodded. “But that doesn’t mean I’m perfect or that my life is perfect. I go through my shit, same as everyone. Sometimes I handle it brilliantly, and sometimes I screw things up all the ways to next Sunday.”
She knew all about that, and Blythe nodded. “It seemed like a good idea to come here at the time.”
“Really?” Pippa looked about her. “Not even Brett thought it was a good idea to set foot in this place.”
“He was not happy about you being here,” Bella said. “He was all for marching in here and dragging you out, but we persuaded him that you needed a bit of girl time more.”
“And then Eric got on his case as well.” Liz looked at her meaningfully. “Apparently he regards it as his right to drag you out of here.”
“Speak of the devil,” Pippa murmured.
Eric walked into Cranks and made straight for her. Several hostile gazes swung his way.
He reached her side and nodded to the three women. “You ready to go?” he asked her.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m here for you,” Eric said.
“Evans.” A man had stood up near the door and approached them. Two of his friends flanked him. “You shouldn’t be here.”
Eric stiffened. “Why Ray? You three going to attack me without your buddies this time?”
These were the men who had attacked Eric, and part of Blythe wanted to break bottles over their heads. A more sensible part of her recognized the need to get Eric out of there.
The man shifted and stared down at his feet. “About that.”
“What?” Eric tensed. His hands curled into fists by his side.
“I’m ready to go.” She tugged Eric’s arm, but he remained in a stare-down with the stranger. “Come on, Eric. Let’s get out of here.”
“We’ve been talking.” Ray motioned his buddies. “We got stuff to tell you. If you want to hear it.”
Eric growled. “And let me guess. In exchange for this information, I don’t file charges against you.”
Griff approached them and stood behind Eric. But his gaze locked on Ray. “Problem?”
“No, Griff.” Ray backed up with his hands raised. “I just wanted to clear the air.”
“How about you clear the air without conditions attached?” Eric said. “And then we can talk about pressing charges.”
Griff stood beside him, arms crossed. “And how about you try coming at my man here one at a time, or even two next time.” He nodded at Eric. “I’ll hear what Ray and those pricks have got to say. I’ll let you know.”
“Who are you?” Blythe looked up at Griff, and up some more.
Griff’s mouth tipped up in one corner in what was very nearly a smile. “I’m Brett’s friend. The one who called him to let him know his kid sister was about to get her pretty ass in a whole heap of trouble.”
“Thanks.” Eric held out his hand to Griff. “But don’t make a habit of checking out her ass.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Eric drove her home in silence, which she didn’t break. Exhaustion slammed her and all she wanted was to take a hot bath and get into bed.
She didn’t fit into her old world either. Liz was right. There was no going back.
Without asking, Eric followed her into the apartment.
Brett sat on her couch, dwarfing it with his sheer size. He stood when he saw her. “Kim had pizza for dinner and now she’s sleeping.”
“Thanks.” Brett in her space would still take some getting used to. The part of her still stuck in the past would take a bit longer to learn to trust him. Unfortunately Blake had made that part of her even more alert for any sign of betrayal.
Brett folded his arms and scowled at her. “And what the hell, Blythe?”
“What?” The parental look of disapproval on his face made her want to smack him. It also made her want to act out like a rebellious teen. “What does any of this have to do with you?”
“It has to do with me because I chose to make it that way,” Brett said. “You’ve got no business going to Cranks.”
“And you do?”
“Do you see me there now?”
“Enough.” Eric cut through their stare down. “It’s been a shitty couple of days, and we could all do with some time out.”
For a moment Brett looked like he wanted to carry on arguing and then he nodded and walked to the door. “I’ll see you around.” He opened the door and looked at her. “But you can be damn sure we’re going to talk about you
r choice of drinking buddies.”
Blythe suppressed her super mature desire to stick her tongue out at him.
That left her alone with Eric. He moved about her kitchen, finding a bottle of wine and opening it. She hadn’t bought that, so it must have come with him.
“This seems to be getting to be a habit,” she said when the silence felt too long for her.
Eric glanced at her. “Me being around?”
“More like you being around when things are imploding for me.” She wanted to wash the stench of Cranks from her skin. “You aren’t going to ask me what I was doing there?”
“Does it matter?” He brought her a glass of wine. “You’re here now, and that’s what matters most.”
She didn’t know what to say to that, and she didn’t want him seeing her like this. “I’m going to take a bath. You should go.”
“You can take your bath.” Eric shook his head. “But I’m not going anywhere.”
“Even if I don’t want you here?” She really didn’t have the energy to fight him.
Eric walked past her to the bathroom and turned on the bathwater. “You keep saying that.” He glanced at her as she stood in the doorway. “And I don’t believe you any more than I did the first time I heard you say it.”
“What the hell does that mean?” She put her glass beside the bath.
Eric poured some of Kim’s bubbles into the water. Lavender scented the steamy air. “It means I’m tired of standing back and waiting for you to wise up.”
Words escaped her and she gaped at him.
“I’ve listened to everything you’ve had to say.” Eric tested the temperature of the water. “I’ve stood aside and let you call the plays because I thought you needed space.”
Blythe stared at him. “I told you what I needed.”
“You said you wanted a forever kind of thing.” Eric motioned to the bath. “Get in.”
“With you standing there?” Blythe crossed her arms over her middle.
“Get used to it.” Eric folded back the sleeves on his shirt. “I intend to stand right here for the rest of your life.”
