by Tess Oliver
Once the waves of pleasure subsided, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her against me. She rested her face on my shoulder, still holding my spent cock snugly inside of her.
The thunder had quieted, but raindrops still drummed a steady beat on the roof. Occasionally, a howl of wind would start up, circle the house close enough to rattle the windows and then swirl away. The sheen of sweat on our bodies and the cool air in the room sent us to my bedroom and beneath the quilt.
Charli had her face tucked against my chest. “I dread to think what this storm has done to the carnival. I’m sure we’ll be closed tomorrow for clean-up.” She sighed. “With the exception of our new star attraction, the fight ring. Something tells me that tent will be repaired first.”
“That’s good, isn’t it? Then the carnival can still make money even if it’s closed? Gideon and I watched a few fights. That Hector has certainly earned his strongman title.”
She rolled her head back on the pillow but reached for my hand. When we were together, it seemed impossible for us not to be touching each other in some capacity. I squeezed her fingers in mine.
“I suppose it is a good thing,” she sighed. “I can’t help being worried though. Buck has aligned himself with a devious partner, and my stepfather doesn’t always make the best decisions when he has dollar signs in his eyes. Sometimes it’s profit over common sense.” Her voice trailed off, and I sensed that she was thinking about her mother’s death.
I lifted her hand to my mouth and kissed her knuckles.
“It had been Buck’s idea, adding fire to my mother’s show.” Her voice sounded small and tight as if she was somewhere far away and not lying right next to me. She gazed up at the ceiling. “And she never said no to Buck. In her own way, I guess she really loved him.” She grew quiet. The rain outside had slowed to a mild hissing sound as the mist tapped the windows. “It happened so fast. She rode through the first circle of fire, and by the time she’d emerged on the other side, her shoulders and back were covered in angry flames.” She blinked into the dimly lit room. “She hadn’t realized it.” A stifled sob followed. “She rode right on through the next burning hoop. By that time, Buck and I and dozens of people were racing toward her. The bike burst through the second hoop. The figure on top was completely engulfed. At the time, I’d convinced myself it wasn’t my mother on the bike. It was some other person being swallowed by the bright yellow and red flames. She fell off and the bike kept going, eventually crashing into some of the spectators. I just remember the deafening screams around me. But I couldn’t scream or breathe or think. By the time Buck had managed to throw a tarp over her to put out the flames, she was gone. I felt so helpless and stunned. I remember thinking, someone please turn back the clock. Let this day start again.” Her voice trailed off, and she wiggled back into my arms.
“I know that feeling, that helpless, this can’t be happening feeling.” I never talked about that day. Never. And something told me that Charli had never talked about her day either, the day when one short moment of time had changed her life forever. I wanted to tell her. There was something about Charli that made me want to bare my soul to her. She was someone who I could tell everything to, and she’d listen and take it in and maybe even tell me her blunt opinion. I hadn’t had someone like her in my life . . . since Ella. The words just started rolling off my tongue and I didn’t stop them. “We’d been up at the river, at Harper Falls. Ella’s pa hated my guts, and my house was always crowded with people, neighbors, friends. My parents were well-liked. So, whenever we got a chance, Ella and I would sneak off to our favorite shady spot by the river.” I pulled in a long, slow breath wondering if I could continue. Ella’s death and the war were memories I kept locked up way back in my mind. When I’d gotten back from France, everyone had told me I needed to talk about it, get things off my chest, but I’d always found that keeping hard to understand shit buried helped ease the pain. “She wanted those damn wild flowers, a clump of wild geraniums. She said they were the last of the spring and that they’d bring good luck. Ella was like that. Always looking for the storybook ending, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. She insisted on climbing up there. Just seconds after she climbed the rocks, she disappeared into the churning water rushing over the falls. I dove under again and again, but I couldn’t find her.” My throat clamped around the invisible lump that had formed. The story had brought it. It was always there when I thought of Ella, but tonight, it was bigger and harder than ever.
The storm had quieted to nothing more than an occasional wisp of wind through the trees. It had left behind a quiet chill, and I pulled the quilt tighter around us. Charli hadn’t said a word. Her cheek was warm and soft against my chest. I was sure I felt the moisture of a tear against my skin.
“I wanted to follow her to the bottom. I wanted to die with her.”
Charli tried indiscreetly to wipe her eyes. I held her tighter. How the hell was I going to let her just drive off and leave me forever?
Car lights flashed in through the bedroom window, and the car motor followed. Doors slammed and Gideon’s loud voice rumbled across the yard. He was pumped up about something. “Well, that’s the end of our quiet evening.” I kissed her forehead.
Charli sat up clutching the quilt to her.
“Don’t worry, he wouldn’t dare bust in here,” I said.
She lowered her feet to the floor. “I should get dressed and head back to the carnival. I have a feeling we’ll be woken at dawn for clean-up.” She got up, and I watched her walk naked across my floor. Her movements were more like a ballerina than a motorcycle stunt rider. In fact, nothing about her said stunt rider. She lifted up her costume from the dresser where she’d draped it to dry. Her button nose crinkled. “It’s still wet.”
Gideon and the others had walked into the house. Their booming voices and laughter vibrated the bedroom door. I climbed out of bed. “I’ll get you one of my shirts. It’ll probably hang to your knees like a dress.”
Charli smiled. “It sounds as if Rose has had a little too much to drink. I need to get her home to her cot.”
She called it home. It was four panels of canvas with a few buckles to seal it shut, and she called it home. Something about that made my chest feel heavy.
I went to my dresser and pulled out a shirt. Charli pushed her arms through the sleeves. My dress length assessment had been right. She was swimming in the shirt.
I pulled her into my arms and kissed her. “Seeing my shirt on you is making me want to climb back into that bed.”
A loud scraping sound came from the kitchen. Someone was breaking a piece of ice from the ice box.
“Something tells me the mood might be spoiled by the roomful of obviously drunk people just past this door.” She rolled up the cuffs. A loud knock startled her.
“What do you want, Gid?” I called.
“Get out here, Jacks. You need to hear what happened tonight.”
“Shit. That doesn’t sound good.” I pulled on my pants as Charli buttoned the shirt.
Gideon had lit the lamp over the sofa. Bodhi was sprawled on the cushions holding what I could only guess were the ice pieces in a kitchen towel. I could see a bruise forming on the side of his face.
Gideon was straddling a kitchen chair. Rose was wiping blood from his chin.
“What the hell happened?” I asked.
Charli hurried over to the sofa and knelt down to help Bodhi hold the ice on his face.
“This cut is pretty deep,” Rose said as she patted Gideon’s face with the cloth. “I could sew it up for you. I’m real good with a needle and thread.”
“That’s all right. Must have been the man’s ring.” Gideon took the cloth from her hand and held it against his chin to staunch the flow of blood. His white shirt was splattered red, and the knuckles of his hand were swollen.
“Who were you fighting? Christ, Gid, tell me you weren’t fighting with the Griggs crew.”
“Nah, it wasn’t them, but they were watchi
ng. We were at Breakers, the four of us.”
I glanced around suddenly realizing they were a man short. “Where’s Noah?”
“We dropped him at home,” Bodhi muttered from under the towel. “He was fine.”
“Anyhow, like I was saying—” Gideon winced as he moved his shoulders. His earlier charged-up mood had darkened. As the excitement of the fight wore off, the physical pain, no doubt, became too real. “These three bellbottoms walked in. I think their ship was docked in the Chesapeake or something like that. Anyhow, they came into the joint like they owned the place. Must have been on shore leave for a day or two cuz they were already pretty lit as if they’d been drinking for awhile. They were big mouths, but everyone pretty much just ignored them. You know, servicemen blowing off some steam. Most of us in Breakers had been in France, so we’d all done the same at one time or another. But then they started ribbing Noah and Bodhi, calling them sissies and kittens and all kinds of shit.”
“So I belted one of them in the mouth,” Bodhi said proudly.
I walked over and motioned for Charli to lift the cloth. “Then he belted you back, apparently. That’s going to be black and blue for awhile.”
“How is your head feeling? Any blurry vision or dizziness?” Charli asked. “I’ve had more than one good bump to the head that left me out of sorts for a day or two.”
Bodhi reached up and lightly touched the bruised area under his eye. “Except for feeling like someone took a hammer to my face, I feel pretty good.” He stared at the red knuckles on the back of his hand. “You should have seen it, Jacks. That bellbottom flew right back into the barstool.”
“Then his two pals went after Bodhi and Noah,” Gideon said. “But I took care of them.”
“I’ll say you did.” Rose was holding back a proud grin. She picked up his hand and kissed the swollen knuckles. “Those sailor boys will be regretting it for a week.”
“Where the hell were Griggs’s boys when all this was going on?” I asked.
“That’s just it,” Gideon said. “They were standing right there, even Griggs himself. They were watching it almost as if it was entertaining. And the place had some damage by the time I was through wiping up the floor with them. Lots of broken glasses.”
“Fucking hell, Gideon. That’s not good. After my last meeting with Griggs when he threatened me—” I stopped, but even though I cut the words short, I had everyone’s rapt attention, especially Charli’s.
“Ah ha, I knew you came out of there with your fists in a curl,” Gideon said. “What did Griggs say at your last meeting?”
“Nothing. It was about that tail he put on us, remember?” I switched the topic quickly. “I guess I should drive you girls home.”
Charli stood up, and everyone in the room finally noticed that she was clad in nothing but one of my shirts.
“That’s a nice look,” Gideon said. Rose thumped him on the arm. He winced and grabbed it. “Shit, I think I threw out my shoulder on that giant sailor. He was as solid as he was big.”
Rose got up. “I’ll get you some ice.”
“No, don’t bother. It isn’t anything that a few shots of whiskey can’t cure.” Gideon pointed to his lips. “Give me some sugar, my peach. That’ll take away the pain real fast.”
***
The road was a myriad of puddles and broken tree branches, but the clouds had cleared and a bright yellow moon grinned down from the black sky. Charli pulled her coat tighter around her. My shirt and her slightly moist coat hardly provided enough protection from the frigid night air.
“Why is it that it’s always colder once the clouds leave?” Rose asked.
“I always figure the clouds act a little like a blanket.” Charli turned to the backseat to look at her as she spoke.
“Hmm, never thought of that way.” Rose yawned. “What a night. My goodness, Jackson, that brother of yours throws a lethal punch. Those navy boys went down one, two, three, like trees being felled in a forest. I think he might even give Hector a run if he stepped into the ring.”
“He would.” That’s when it occurred to me that the whole thing might have been a set-up. Griggs had mentioned something to me about Gideon fighting in the ring. He also knew that Gideon was a regular at Breakers. He might very well have set something up so Gideon would be forced to display his fighting skills, and from Rose’s description, display was exactly what he’d done. It was a stretch, but Griggs had numerous connections, and devious plans were his specialty.
“What’s on your mind, Jackson?” Charli asked. “It looks like you’ve got little gears spinning in your head.”
I smiled. “I do occasionally have thoughts. And some do not actually include these legs.” I reached down and smoothed my hand over her bare thigh. “Although, those are rare these days.”
She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “Then you keep those thoughts churning.”
I pulled the car off the road into the empty lot that had been serving as the carnival parking. The moon was just full enough to shed a decent amount of light on the carnival grounds. Most of the tents sagged under the weight of rainwater. Several of the game booths had been ripped apart by the wind. While the first rainstorm had dried up fast, it didn’t seem the puddles were going to evaporate as quickly after this second deluge.
Both women groaned simultaneously at the sorry sight.
“Oh my gosh, it’s going to be like that time when we were in upstate New York,” Rose said. “Mud, everything was covered in mud, the people, the tents, the animals. And it never seemed to stop. Buck sure picked a doozy of a place to park this parade.”
“There isn’t another place this side of the Appalachians that you’re going to meet men like the Jarrett brothers,” I reminded her with a wink.
“True. In fact, when you put it that way, what’s a little mud? Thank you for the ride, Jackson. And tell that big brother of yours to come see me tomorrow. We didn’t get to finish our date.”
“I probably won’t have to remind him.”
Rose opened the door. “I’ll let you two have your good-bye kiss.” She climbed out and then leaned back into the car. “And, Charli, when you get back to the tent—” She tugged at the collar on the shirt Charli was wearing. “I’ll want details. I’ll have to walk fast or these heels will be sucked right off my feet.” With long, fast strides, Rose sashayed toward the carnival.
I took hold of the sides of Charli’s coat and pulled her closer. “Now, about that good-bye kiss.” We kissed long enough to steam up the front windshield and give me an aching erection.
She pulled away first. “Jackson, I really need to get to bed. They’ll be ringing the up and at ‘em bell as soon as the sun rises. At least I won’t have to ride tomorrow night.”
I sat back with a disappointed grunt. “All right, it’s against my better judgment, but I will let you leave. Oh, and, Charli, watch yourself when Griggs is around. I think he might have worked out some deal with Buck that includes you.”
Her brown eyes flickered with confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“I just think Griggs has more than a monetary interest in this place and his partnership with Buck.”
Confusion turned to anger. “Are you trying to tell me that Buck has traded me off like a— like a damn whore?” It was then I realized that the anger I saw was not for Buck. It was for me. “Buck is my stepfather.” Her voice wavered. “He’d never do anything like that. He might not be much family, but he’s all I’ve got.”
I reached for her hand, but she yanked it away. Her eyes were glassy and her bottom lip trembled as she turned her face away and reached for the door.
“Charli, I’m sorry.”
“You’re wrong.”
As she went to step out, I reached for her again. I’d fucked up, but I’d done it out of concern.
She spun back to face me. “You don’t know him. You don’t know Buck. He’d never do that.” She slammed the door so hard, the passenger window slid down. She raced
away with the white tails of my shirt hanging below the hem of her coat.
Chapter 16
Charli
The clang of the bell nearly sent me off the edge of the cot. When Rose had seen my face as I entered the tent the night before, she hadn’t prodded me for details. I’d climbed under my blanket and tossed around a good half hour before finally falling asleep.
Cold moisture had filled the inside of the tent. I sat up groggily and scrubbed my face to wake up. My head hurt and every part of me felt filled with lead. It had been a wonderful evening, but it had ended on such a bleak note, I was sure I’d be dragging around in a state of melancholy all day.
Rose glanced over at Emma’s empty cot. “Can’t believe Emma got up before us. I never even saw her come in last night. Must have been late.” Rose covered her ears as the bell sounded again. “Why don’t they stop that racket. We already know we have to get up. Sometimes I think your stepfather has a sadistic streak in him.”
“He’s just trying to make sure everyone comes out to help,” I said sharply.
Rose caught my tone and lifted up onto her elbow. She stared at me with a smooth raised brow. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Talk about what?”
“Come on, Charli. When I left you in Jackson’s car, your face was pink with the blush of true love, and when you got to the tent, you looked as if someone had punched you in the heart.”
“I don’t want to talk about it, Rose.” Jackson’s shirt was draped over my trunk. I smoothed my hand over it. My eyes ached thinking about the end of the night. It had been too ugly to even consider. It would be the ultimate betrayal from the man who had loved my mother and helped raise me. I knew when money was involved Buck could be as ruthless as— as ruthless as a gangster like Griggs. But to even toy with the notion that he would trade me over to a monster for profit made me sick to my stomach. And having Jackson be the one to put the idea in my head made it that much worse. It felt like the ultimate betrayal on both their parts.
