Cash's Fight

by Jamie Begley

  He skillfully waited for her body to soften against his before he pressed her harder against the wall as he lured her into responding to him. His hand went to her gown, tugging it downward so his fingers could find a nipple, brushing it with the tips of his fingers, teasing it with soft touches.

  A tell-tale soft whimper passed her lips, and his mouth left hers to trace the line of her jaw until he felt her abruptly stiffen as she pushed herself away from him.

  “Don’t try to freakin’ seduce me when you smell like another woman.”

  “If I was trying to seduce you, you would be lying on the bed, and I would be fucking you by now,” Cash snapped back.

  “Get out!”

  “I’m going. I think I made my point.”

  “The only point you made is that you’re good at playing with a woman’s body. You should be; you have enough experience,” she bitterly remarked.

  “Experience I plan to use until you’re underneath me again. I’m giving you fair warning, Rachel; I’m done trying to make up for embarrassing you. It’s time to move on. I’ve got a news flash for you: most of those people sitting in church next to you do engage in sexual activities.” His voice dropped to a seductive whisper. “They may even enjoy fucking as much as I do.”

  While she gaped at him, Cash couldn’t resist smiling at her expression. “Don’t worry. I’ll take it easy on you until you can accept we’re together.”

  “We’ll be together over my dead body. My brothers will kick your ass.”

  Cash had a sudden idea that could save him a lot of aggravation. It wasn’t the brightest idea he had ever had, but he was willing to do anything to reach the stubborn woman staring up at him defiantly.

  “If I can get your brothers’ permission to date you, will you go out with me?”

  She laughed in his face. “If you can get my brothers’ permission for me to go out with you, then yes, I’ll go out with you.” She kept laughing at him unwisely. “Hell, Cash, I’ll even give you a blowjob to top the night off.”

  “Really?” Cash gave her a sinister smile, which she failed to recognize.

  “Really,” she mocked.

  “Goodnight, then. If I’m going to be dealing with your brothers, I’m going to need my rest.”

  “If you’re going to be dealing with my brothers, you’re going to be needing a bulletproof vest.”

  Cash opened the door, pausing before he left. “Don’t forget, I was in the military. I’ve dealt with terrorists, sneak attacks, and snipers. I have all the skills I need to deal with your brothers.”

  “If you’ve got a death wish, I can’t stop you.”

  “I’ve handled worse. They’ll be a piece of cake.” Cash went out the bedroom door, laughing softly when it slammed behind him. He loved riling her temper.

  He whistled all the way to his bedroom, stripping off his clothes before stepping naked into the shower, washing the bar whore’s scent off his skin. Drying off, he lay down naked on his bed.

  Rachel thought he was joking. She would find out just how serious he was when she was planting her ass on the back of his bike. He was willing to put up with her brothers long enough to get their permission. Hell, her promise was enough to put up with a lot of shit. How bad could it be?

  Chapter 18

  It was bad, really bad. Cash wanted to kick the Porters’ asses so bad he was ready to do a stint in the jailhouse just for the pleasure of doing it.

  The brothers had been sitting in Rosie’s, having a beer, when he had gone in with Shade. He had psyched himself up to walk over to their table to greet them. Their hate-filled expressions and lack of response had him gritting his teeth, though. He felt the silent amusement of Shade by his side.

  “Mind if we join you?” Silence met Shade’s request.

  They didn’t wait for acquiescence, both of them taking a seat at the table. The brothers might hate Cash, but Shade was a regular customer and he would be harder to piss off.

  The men looked like the beer in their stomachs was turning sour as Cash and Shade both ordered their drinks.

  “What do you want, Cash?” Tate didn’t hesitate to bring out in the open why Cash would be willing to sit down at the table with them.

  He decided to be honest with the Porters. He wanted a relationship with Rachel, and to accomplish that goal, he was going to have to get along with these three yahoos.

  “We need to come to an understanding and cut out this bullshit between us.”

  “Why? It works for us.” An evil grin came to Tate’s face. “This has to do with Rachel, doesn’t it?”

  The smug bastard was going to be picking his teeth up off the floor if he wasn’t careful.

  “Why does his talking to us have anything to do with Rachel?” Dustin confirmed Cash’s opinion that he was the slowest of the group. His two older brothers rolled their eyes at the question. Realization slowly hit Rachel’s youngest brother. “Hell, no.” Dustin’s reaction mirrored his brothers’.

  “We can keep fighting between us and we’ll all lose Rachel, or we can pretend to get along and keep Rachel in Treepoint; it’s up to you. I’m willing to tolerate you three for Rachel.”

  Without another word, the three brothers got up from the table, leaving him and Shade staring at their backs as they left the bar.

  “That went well,” Cash said drily.

  “Did you expect any different? You four have spent years pissing each other off. It’s going to take more than a meet to change that.”

  Cash studied Shade speculatively. “I gave Lily my vote for your marker.”

  Shade’s amusement died. “Yes, you did. So?”

  “I want your help to bring those assholes around,” Cash laid out his terms.

  “I promised you my marker, not a fucking miracle.”

  “Shade, you’re the most manipulative bastard I know. If anyone can get those assholes to tolerate me, it’s you. Can you think of a bigger challenge for your skills?”

  “Actually, no.”

  * * *

  Rachel opened the door to Pastor Patterson and his wife.

  “Good morning, Rachel.” Pastor Merrick led Brooke inside the small house. Rachel closed the door behind them; she had dreaded this day.

  Once a month, the pastor visited Mag. He ritualistically visited all his homebound parishioners to talk and pray with them.

  Rachel led them into the kitchen where she had already prepared sandwiches and ice tea for them.

  “Afternoon, Pastor.” Mag’s jovial greeting lightened the atmosphere as Brooke’s superior gaze lit on the simple food.

  “Good afternoon, Mag. How are you feeling?”

  “Right as I can be.”

  Rachel had to keep her temper under control at Brooke’s slight wince.

  They sat at the table, the pastor graciously eating a few of the sandwiches while Brooke refused. To give Mag credit, she ignored the cold reception of Brooke, concentrating her attention on the pastor.

  “May I use the restroom?” Brooke interrupted the conversation.

  “It’s around the corner. The door’s open,” Mag directed her.

  Brooke rose from the table and the conversation resumed. Rachel enjoyed listening to Pastor Merrick discuss the Bible so much she became lost in the conversation. It took several minutes for her to realize that Brooke had not returned to the table. She was about to go check on her when she returned, retaking her seat.

  Rachel took another sandwich and had just taken a bite of the roasted chicken salad when the front door opened and Cash walked into the kitchen. He was shirtless and his jeans clung low on his lean hips. Why was he showing so much flesh when the weather outside was frigid?

  While Rachel almost choked on her sandwich at his appearance, Brooke’s veiled eyes did little to hide her appreciation of his masculine appeal.

  Mag introduced the Pastor and Brooke.

  “Want to join us?” Mag invited.

  Rachel expected him to refuse and had to hide her surprise when
he accepted.

  “Let me get cleaned up; I’ve been working on my truck.”

  Cash left, returning within minutes, freshly showered and having changed his clothes. He sat down next to her, grabbing several sandwiches and pouring himself a glass of tea.

  “You don’t attend church, Cash?” Brooke spoke for the first time, actually trying to participate in the conversation.

  “Afraid not. It’s still standing, isn’t it? I would hate for the pastor to have to rebuild just because I walked through the door,” Cash joked.

  “You can’t be that bad.” Brooke’s voice lowered with innuendo.

  As Cash’s hand paused halfway to his mouth, Rachel’s stomach churned at his recognition of Brooke’s interest in him.

  “My wife has a true calling to get new members into our church.” The pastor patted his wife’s hand affectionately.

  Seriously? Surely the pastor couldn’t be as dense as he seemed not to recognize his wife was coming on to Cash in front of him. The woman had unfortunately underestimated Mag, however.

  “She’s calling for something that’s going to get her an ass-whooping if she doesn’t stop.”

  Rachel’s mouth dropped open at her sarcastic remark, and Cash broke into laughter.

  “What she means, Pastor, is that people around here take church seriously, and I happen to be one of Treepoint’s citizens who isn’t very well liked,” Cash tried to explain his grandmother’s lack of manners. Rachel, personally, thought Mag was the only one in town who had the nerve to call Brooke out.

  “‘We’re all God’s children in the search for salvation,’” Pastor Merrick quoted.

  “Some need salvation more than others,” Mag agreed.

  Rachel wanted to slide under the table, praying Brooke would be wise enough not to set Mag off again. Luckily, Cash changed the subject to fishing, which was one of the pastor’s favorite topics. Rachel was able to relax until the Pattersons rose to leave.

  At the door, Cash shook the pastor’s hand as he went out.

  “It was nice meeting you, Cash.” Brooke waited until her husband stepped out the door, blatantly ignoring the two women also by the door, taking Cash’s hand in hers. “If you need any help getting caught up in your Bible studies, give me a call.” She then released his hand, following her husband out the door.

  Rachel had to grab onto the handlebars of Mag’s wheelchair to hold her back.

  “Let my chair go, Rachel. That good man needs to know what kind of woman he’s married to.”

  Cash quickly closed the door, standing in front of it with his arms crossed in front of his chest. “Calm down, Mag. You’ll give yourself another stroke.”

  “That’s okay. The good Lord will reward me for shining a light on that bitch’s behavior. No Christian woman would behave like that.”

  Rachel rolled Mag into the living room before getting her some tea. It took several minutes for the old woman to calm down. She sat down next to her until the anger passed and Mag decided to go take a nap.

  “Don’t forget to pray,” Cash said as she rolled herself out of the room. Mag turned to face him, pointing a long, bony finger at him.

  “You stay away from that skinny bitch; she’s trouble. That God-fearing man has no idea what he got himself tied to.”

  “I’ll stay away,” Cash said solemnly with twinkling eyes.

  Rachel had learned that Cash liked to rile his grandmother and couldn’t help her own lips twitching in amusement at Mag’s anger.

  “You should be ashamed of yourself. If she had a stroke, it would be your fault,” Rachel accused as soon as Mag left.

  Cash leaned back against the couch, putting his booted feet up onto the coffee table. “I couldn’t help it. When she gets like that, it reminds me of when she was younger and she was like that all the time. I’ll never forget when two drunks got in a fight in her back room on moonshine. She broke them up by beating them half to death with a mop handle. Even drunk, they didn’t want to hit a woman, and she took advantage of it. She’s got a mean streak a mile wide. Don’t let her fool you.”

  “I won’t. I remember her before she had her stroke, too. My brothers are scared to death of her. They broke her window out one time when Dad took them to her house, and she wore them out with a switch. They never went with Dad again; they were too scared of her.”

  Cash laughed until he couldn’t breathe at the idea of his grandmother spanking Rachel’s brothers. Mag had been the biggest bootlegger in the county for decades until the county went wet. Shortly thereafter, she’d had a stroke. She had barely survived, only to be left in a wheelchair, but her fighting spirit had accepted it and had adjusted.

  Rachel went into the kitchen and began cleaning up the table, washing the dishes before putting them away. Cash watched television as she worked, aware she was trying to ignore him, but occasionally, he felt her eyes on him.

  “You done?” he asked when he saw her put the last dish away.

  “Yes.”

  “You want to go for a ride on my bike?” He saw the refusal on her face. “You scared to ride with me since I wrecked?”

  “No, everyone in town knows that the wreck wasn’t your fault. The driver crossed the center lane. Knox said anyone else less experienced would have died on impact.”

  Cash shrugged. “Been in a couple of them. That one was the worst.”

  “Why do you keep riding, then?” She came farther into the room, taking a seat in one of the chairs.

  “Because there’s nothing else like it on earth. It gets in your blood; the freedom of movement, how it feels when you ride it. It’s hard to explain. Go for a ride with me and you’ll see,” Cash prodded.

  “All right. Do I need to get changed?”

  “No, your jeans are fine. Grab a jacket, though.”

  Before she could change her mind, he led her outside to his bike. Handing her his helmet, he climbed on.

  “What about you?”

  “Woman, you trying to insult me? I usually don’t ride with one. The only reason it’s on my bike was because I was hoping you would take a ride with me.” He saw it was the wrong thing to say. She was about to change her mind. “Get on, Rachel. We won’t be gone long,” he lied. He planned to keep her out as long as he could.

  Gingerly, she climbed on his bike. As soon as she wrapped her arms around him, he turned on the motor, going slow until he felt her begin to relax. They rode through the mountain roads. It was still winter, and the massive pine trees hung over the road creating a canopy, shading them from the bright sun.

  He drove until he came to his old homestead, pulling in to stop by the fire pit.

  “Come on; I want to show you something.” Cash got off the bike, holding out his hand to help her off.

  Rachel climbed off, removing the helmet. The trail was opposite the one she took to her parents’ graves, winding deep into the woods. Both of them walked steadily until they reached a small stream.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “It was my grandfather’s favorite place to fish.” Cash squatted down to pick up a small stone before tossing it across the water.

  “You’re pretty good at that.”

  “He taught me, like he did most everything.” Cash’s voice wasn’t bitter, merely matter of fact. He had made peace with his lack of a relationship with his father years ago.

  “Your father and you didn’t get along?” Her tentative question brought a wry smile to his lips.

  “No, I couldn’t understand a grown man standing back and watching what went on in that church while he called himself a Christian.”

  She didn’t question what he was talking about. She had attended the same church he had. Her parents had left the church, she returned only when Dean had taken over as Pastor.

  “Mag quit going, your parents stopped attending. Only the self-righteous idiots like my parents kept going.”

  Rachel reached out, touching his arm. “You stopped it, Cash.”

  “I didn’t stop any
thing. I left town and sent someone in to do what I didn’t.”

  “But your conscious didn’t let you forget. Ultimately, you showed your Christianity more than they ever did.”

  “I’m no Christian; I’ve committed every sin in the Bible and then some.” Cash looked at her and wanted to lower her to the grassy bank and show her exactly how pleasurable sinning could be. However, being here had brought back bad memories of his mother’s and father’s disapproval of Mag’s life.

  They had cut her out of their lives and had attempted to cut him out of it. He had learned early to use the mountains to run to his grandmother and grandfather, despite their attempts to keep him away.

  “Let’s go.” He walked away, forcing himself to slow so she could keep up.

  As soon as she got on the bike behind him, he drove back onto the road and headed to where he knew he could find the answers he needed.

  He drove until he came to the turnoff to the lake. Slowing down, he turned into the spot where The Last Riders often went swimming. Some of them were there now. The January weather was cool, but for the last couple of days, the weather had been unseasonably warm. A large cooler was placed on the picnic table and several of the members were enjoying their Saturday off from work.

  When he turned the bike off, he felt Rachel stiffen at his back.

  “What are you doing? I don’t want to stay.”

  “Come on, Rachel; I’m thirsty. One drink, and then we’ll leave if you want to.”

  He felt her hesitation before she climbed off the bike. They walked to the picnic table where Stori, Raci, and Jewell were sitting while Nickel, Train, and a couple of the other brothers were lying on a blanket with Ember.

  Cash pulled a cold beer out of the cooler. “Get a drink. There’s different ones inside.”

  As Rachel opened the cooler and pulled out a bottled water, Cash sat down at the picnic table and began talking to Nickel.