“Of course. I’m not ripping off a place called Love Ur Lobes. That would just be bad karma.” He reached up with his free hand and rubbed at the prickling nerves that danced on the back of his neck. “But I’m warning you in advance, Mary, if you cry, I’m probably going to cry, too. It’s been a while since I wept, but if memory serves, my repressed male emotions cause me to do a lot of dry hiccupping. It’s uncomfortable for everyone.”
“I won’t cry!” she assured him, laughing.
Tucker made a sound in his throat and squeezed her arm. “Hey there,” he called to the shell-shocked employee. “We would like you to gently put some holes in this girl’s ears, please.”
“Uh. S-sure.” The girl straightened, her phone clattering onto the counter. “Did you bring earrings with you? Or would you like to pick some out?”
“Pick some out, please,” Mary answered, brightly.
“Great.” The girl—and now that they were closer, Tucker could see her nametag said Courtney—gestured shakily to the store. “G-go right ahead. I’ll get my station set up.”
“Poor Courtney,” Tucker chuckled, when the girl was out of earshot. “All right, so this place is entirely pink. Pink…you’ve never seen the color, so that really doesn’t mean anything to you, does it? Well, it’s like…the color equivalent of a giggle. There are rows and rows of maiming devices—sorry, earrings. A lot of unicorns and hearts and astrological signs. Do you have any idea what kind ones you want?”
“How many choices do I have?”
“Thousands.” Tucker studied her expression which was beginning to grow worried. “How about this? I’ll pick out three I think you’d like. Then you can feel them and decide.”
Her distress cleared. “Yes. That’s perfect.”
“Okay.” Tucker brought Mary to the counter and settled her palm on top. “Stay here. There’s barely enough room for my bulky ass to walk through the aisles, let alone two of us. Be right back.”
He waited for Mary’s nod, then squared his shoulders, sauntering through rotating stands of bright sparkly jewelry, so far out of his depth, he couldn’t see the surface. Why would anyone want to wear bacon and eggs earrings? Or ones that identified the wearer as a bitch? These things made no sense to him. But he wanted to pick out the right ones for Mary, so he concentrated, scanning rack after rack until three pairs jumped out at him.
“Here we go,” he said, returning to Mary where she stood at the counter. He arranged three sets of earrings in a row and set her right hand on top of the first, watching her fingers travel over them, a smile flirting around the edge of her mouth. This was supposed to be a friendly date, so he shouldn’t be imagining her with that same flirtatious expression while down on her knees, fingers toying with the fly of his jeans, should he? Eager, a little nervous. A lot excited. Her lips damp, pliable. Ready for a taste of the hardest part of his anatomy. Enough. “I can get different earrings if you don’t like them,” he added hoarsely.
“What color are these?” she asked, indicating the pair of studs.
“Light blue. They’re…they reminded me of your eyes. And these ones,” Tucker continued quickly, the tips of his ears hot. “These are watermelon slices with smiling faces. I thought they were kind of fun.”
Her eyes were trained on his throat, voice soft. “And the last one?”
Tucker moved her fingers to the final pair, watching her index one trace the edge. “Milkshakes. Like the one you had at the diner.”
“Oh,” she breathed. “You did too good of a job. I can’t decide.”
“We can get all of them. You just have to pick the ones you’ll wear first.”
Mary nodded decisively. “Milkshakes.”
Tucker picked up her palm and smacked it against his own. “High five. That was my choice.” He kissed her forehead before he thought better of it, backing up immediately with a hard clearing of his throat. “Come on.”
A minute later, Mary was settled into the chair beside a visibly nervous Courtney. He felt guilty as hell for stressing the girl out, but he couldn’t help but hover, watching how carefully she cleaned her earring gun—they did this shit with a gun?—and making sure she put on a fresh pair of gloves. Tucker crammed a fist to his forehead when the girl asked, “Are you ready, miss?”
Mary chewed her lip. “I don’t know.”
Tucker’s hand dropped away. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know! I just want to wear pretty jewelry without any of the pain.”
“It’ll be over real quick,” Courtney said. “I promise.”
Mary hesitated, scrubbing her palms up and down her black pants. “I’m being ridiculous, right?”
“No,” Tucker said right away.
Then he frowned at Courtney until she said it, too. And when his guilt prodded him in the gut, he reminded himself the girl wouldn’t remember being utterly terrified, so it was fine.
Mary crooked her finger at him and he leaned down so she could speak in his ear. “What does the piercer look like?”
No way he was going to tell her it looked like a gun.
She wanted to do this. How did he help her feel safe about it?
When the answer came to him, there was no further question in his mind that he was in love, through and through, with Mary.
Christ, did he love her.
His chest felt like it had been filled with ten gallons of cement.
Earlier, before Jonas interrupted them, he’d admitted to himself he was falling for Mary. Even then he’d known that was an understatement. Part of him had fallen in love with her during the poker game when he drank the concoction and saw her in his dream. Of home. The rest of Tucker had been ready to worship eternally at her feet the moment she led herself onto the Enders dancefloor with a broom in hand. Now? Now it wasn’t merely that he would die for her, his soul begged the universe for the chance to prove he would.
Let me die for you, he almost growled.
Right there in Love Ur Lobes.
Affection, love, and yes, obsession, hardened his resolve when it came to the plan he’d devised with Jonas earlier, too. None of it would be in vain. Not when his heart rose and set on this girl’s safety and happiness. She was worth the sacrifice and more.
“All right, look, I have an idea.” Throat constricted, Tucker settled a hand on top of Mary’s head. “How about I let Courtney pierce my ear first? Would that help?”
“You would do that?”
“Fuckin-A,” he managed.
Mary threw her arms around his neck. He absorbed the warmth and shape of her as long as he could without seeming creepy, then rearranged them so he was sitting in the chair with Mary perched on his knee. “All right, Courtney. Nothing silver.”
“Uh, okay…”
“Do you have bitch in a gold option?”
Based on the girl’s nonplussed expression, it was possible she thought she was having a bizarre nightmare and hoped it would be over soon. “S-sure.”
Courtney returned a moment later with the earring, loading it into her weapon and disinfecting Tucker’s ear with shaking hands. “There might be a little blood,” she explained.
Tucker winked at her. “There won’t.”
It hurt like a son-of-a-bitch.
“Oh no,” he said, right away, shaking his head. “No, you’re not doing that to my Mary.” He stood them both up, took her hand and started marching toward the register. “Let’s pay and get the hell out of here. No holes in your ears tonight, honey. No offense, Courtney.”
Mary dug her heels in, forcing him to stop walking so he wouldn’t drag her. “But I want to do it now! There was a sharp click, then it was over. You took the mystery out of it. That’s what I needed.”
“Mary, it’s like childbirth, I’m guessing.”
“You’re being crazy,” she laughed.
She pulled her hand free of Tucker’s and felt her way back to the chair, climbing onto the leather seat with her chin raised. “I’m ready now, Courtney.”
/> “Okay, miss. If you say so…” murmured the girl, throwing a nervous backward look at Tucker over her shoulder while cleaning off the gun and loading the milkshake earrings.
Tucker yelped when the gun went off this time, impaling Mary’s sweet little ear with the thin post, driving an invisible stake into his gut. No, no pain for this girl. And on the heels of the blast, a horrible reality occurred to him. “Oh my God, I forgot you have to do two of them.” He paced, knocking into one of the jewelry stands, barely catching it in time before it hit the floor. “Jesus Christ, please, can’t one be enough, kid? I’ll draw the other one on with a sharpie.”
Mary’s giggle carried through the store.
Click.
Tucker’s legs almost collapsed.
Even Courtney was laughing at him.
“I guess I picked the right earring for myself,” he muttered, making his way back to Mary. He handed Courtney a handful of cash out of his wallet, positioned Mary behind him and looked into the barbaric ear mutilation expert’s wide eyes, letting the power of hypnosis swell in his mind. “Courtney, can you hear me?”
“Yes,” she said in a monotone.
“Good. We’re from out of town. A couple of friendly people just passing through. That’s all you can remember about us. Our faces will be hard to recall. You won’t remember what we spoke about or the names we called each other. But you had a nice time getting to know us and we left a great tip, right? That’s what you’ll say if anyone asks.”
The girl nodded slowly. “Great tip.”
Tucker blinked and Courtney slumped back against her work station.
“Thank you!” Mary sang over her shoulder as Tucker led her to the door. “That was impressive. Are we going trick or treating now?”
He put an arm around her shoulder and tugged her in close as they crossed the parking lot toward his Impala, wincing over the redness of her perfect earlobes. “Why not? I’m already going to be haunted by memories of tonight. Might as well double down.”
* * *
Mary twisted the earring in her ear, unable to keep the smile off her face.
She couldn’t recall a single time her life when she’d been this happy. Not having to think about anything beyond tonight was like a vacation from anxiety. She rolled down the window of Tucker’s Impala and let her fingers play the breeze like harp strings.
Back at Love Ur Lobes, she’d found herself sitting in a high chair with nowhere for her feet to anchor her, no arm rests. No idea what Courtney was going to use to impale her ear with the piece of jewelry and all those unknowns had built up, intimidating her. Coming very close to stopping her from doing something she’d always wanted to do. But Tucker…
Tucker.
He’d pierced his ear for her.
His overreaction to the pain had validated her fears and it turned out, that was exactly what she needed. Just to not feel alone. To not feel as if the world is easy for everyone besides her. Tucker gave her the kind of friendship she’d never dared hope for and leaving him—
No.
No, she wasn’t going to think about that tonight.
“Thank you for what you did back there,” she said, a tug in her breast bone.
“It was nothing, kid.”
“It was something.” She rolled her lips inward. “Does you earring really say bitch?”
“Yup.” The direction of his voice shifted downward. “It’s decorating the cup holder now. My ear healed and pushed the sucker right out. So much for my new swashbuckler vibe.”
“I liked your vibe the way it is, anyway.” Odd, the moment she said that, his energy changed. It hummed like a tuning fork and made her sit up straighter in the passenger seat. “Is everything okay?”
“What? Yeah.” He chuckled, but it lacked his usual warmth. “We just passed a turnoff for the highway that leads to my home town. I guess I just wasn’t prepared to see the name all lit up in big green and white letters like that.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize we were so close.”
“Pretty much passing right by.” His fingers drummed on the wheel. “I’ve been on this highway before. Many times. But nothing looks the same. New billboards. Bushes planted in the center divider…”
It was impossible to miss the forlorn quality to his voice and it shifted something in her stomach. Made her want to reach for his hand.
Instead, she settled back into her seat. They were near enough to his home town that he recognized the highway. That meant they might only be minutes from Tucker’s house. His father. The place he grew up in. She’d been replaying their conversation through the bathroom door since having it and knew deep down he had so many regrets. Regrets he would have to live with for an eternity. There was only a small margin of time left where Tucker’s father would still be living and if he didn’t make things right, he would never have the chance.
And Tucker…he was giving Mary the chance to make things right with her family.
Shouldn’t she try and do the same for him?
This was one of those times she didn’t have an explanation for doing something. But acting on her gut feelings was happening more and more. Since she’d left Enders, she’d been overwhelmed by a need to seduce Tucker. To tempt and touch him.
Now there was a whisper in the air convincing her to bring him home.
Since Mary could remember, she’d had the ability to read the mood and energy of others, but those abilities almost seemed to be expanding in Tucker’s presence. Or perhaps, the change in her surroundings had given them room to grow.
What if she wasn’t simply acting without a reason?
What if she was reading the signature of the universe?
She felt arrogant for even pondering it. Who was she to have the universe’s attention? But she couldn’t discount the whisper that grew louder, urging her toward Tucker back in New York—and now to his birthplace. It was insistent and…felt like an old friend. Trustworthy.
“We should go,” Mary blurted. “To your town. Tonight.”
Tucker barked a laugh. “I’m wanted for questioning in three murders, Mary. I’m already running a pretty serious risk just being this close.”
“Tucker, you’re thinking like a human.”
He considered that a moment. “Thank you.”
“In this case, it’s holding us back. We can easily get ourselves out of a situation with the police, if necessary.” She was so excited her radiance was spinning fast enough to make a whirring noise. “I know the idea of seeing your father again might be scary. I’m scared to face mine again, too. But…won’t you always wonder what if? A hundred years from now, when he’s gone, do you want to sit around wishing you’d said goodbye? What if he’s sorry about the way things were left between you two? Don’t you want to give him the chance to…to purge the regrets?”
“Jesus, you make a compelling case.” She could sense him shaking his head. “But, nah. I’d just be opening up old wounds.”
“Sometimes wounds don’t heal right and need a little surgery.”
Tucker made a sound.
Mary managed to stay quiet for a full minute of driving, before saying, “Why don’t I go trick or treating at your father’s house? I can just knock on the door. You can stay hidden and decide whether or not you want to make your presence known.”
“The plan was to compel people into giving you candy, kid.” He was starting to budge! She could feel the thinning of his barriers. “I don’t want to compel my father.”
“I’m a blind girl. I got confused about the date of Halloween.” She pursed her lips. “See? I think I can manage to get candy from a kind old man without employing your vampire magic.”
Tucker hedged. “Mary…”
She felt her way over to his forearm and held. “Do you ever have a feeling about something? Like your bones are telling you…this is important? It’s the feeling I got when we met in Enders. There isn’t always an explanation. You just have to trust your gut.”
A beat passed. “A
nd your gut is telling me to visit my pops?”
“Yes,” Mary said firmly, squeezing his arm. Meaning it. Yes.
They drove for another few moments, before Tucker signaled and Mary felt them traveling downward, as if on a highway off-ramp.
She slumped, but tension remained inside of her.
Please let me be doing the right thing.
“I’m probably going to scare the living shit out of him,” Tucker muttered.
“At least you don’t have to explain the bitch earring.”
“There is that.”
Chapter 13
Lying low while in his hometown was imperative, but Tucker couldn’t help pulling the Impala to a stop outside the edge of a street light’s glow and taking a glance down Main Street. Couldn’t help but recall the last time he’d driven through the main drag of Buckhannon, waving at some neighbors, being laughed at by those kids. A lot had changed since that day.
Instead of advertising prepaid phone cards, the drug store promoted Juul pods in their window. There was a banner hanging high above the street announcing a fall festival, attracting people with the promise of pony rides and a pie eating contest. That was familiar. Except for the social media handles included along the bottom of the banner. Little things that signaled an entirely different world—and yet, the changes meant nothing to him.
Tucker was a part of no human world. Not new or old.
He looked at Main Street now the way people stare up at galaxies through a telescope. It was always there, hovering on the edge of his consciousness, but it would only ever be something to watch and marvel over. Never a place he could set foot.
The heel of his hand lifted to rub at the nostalgic pull in his sternum.
“What are you thinking about?” Mary asked.
He cleared his throat and forced a smile onto his face. “That I’d give anything to walk into the diner and order a stack of pancakes. Bacon on the side.” He tapped a finger against inside of the driver’s side window. “Sign is the same, so I’m guessing the place hasn’t changed hands. Bet their daughters are helping out now, though. Junie and Melissa. They were just kids last time I was here.”
Today, Tomorrow and Always Page 14
