Walk the Line (Kings of Chaos Book 5)

by Shyla Colt

  “Wasn’t sure if you were coming today,” Echo says walking over to shake my hand.

  “Least I can do for Dixie Rose. She put in a lot of long hours and hard work,” I say as I nod toward the woman of the house who’s talking with Tinley.

  “Yeah, she’s happy to be getting back to dealing with kids again,” Echo says.

  I nod my head and glance over at the girls. “This is my girl, Blanche, and her best friend Jesslynn.”

  “I’m sorry, your what?” Echo says.

  “My woman,” I say glaring at him.

  “Good to have you two here,” Echo says quickly recovering. “Why don’t we introduce them to everyone?”

  I give a curt nod. B looks at me, and I nod my head. Yeah, this was what I warned you about.

  We walk over to the area where everyone is gathered. Stone turns to me, grins, and lifts an eyebrow. I nod my head and gesture toward Blanche with my head.

  “This is my girl, Blanche, and her friend, Jesslynn.”

  “I’m the President, Stone. It’s good to finally meet you, Blanche. Nice to have you here too, Jesslynn.” It’s a lot of introduction and small talk. Well, B and Jess make small talk while I hang back. I like the way she refers back to me when she’s unsure.

  “She’s pretty, brother.”

  I look at Stone and nod. “Yeah, she is.”

  “Older.”

  “Experienced,” I correct.

  He laughs. “Damn you’re serious aren’t you?”

  “As hell.”

  “Make sure you both know what you’re getting into before you put ink on her.”

  “I will.”

  He claps me on the back, and I watch as she leaves the area and heads toward the bathroom with Jesslynn. They’re stopped by a tall, rail-thin blonde woman in a white linen outfit that screams money. Her shoulders tense and she shakes her head. Her body tenses. A man in a pair of chinos and a white button down approaches from the opposite side. She peers up at him and takes a step back.

  “I’ll be back,” I say as I leave the room.

  “You poor thing. What are you doing here out in the open? I don’t think I could stand it. Everyone staring at me and whispering. The worry must be exhausting.”

  Blanche’s chest heaves, and I know they’re backing her into a corner. She’s not ready for this. Now I see why she was always hiding.

  “Have they found him yet?” the man asks.

  “I’d rather not talk about it,” she says quietly.

  “Do we have a problem here?” I ask.

  The two turn to me.

  “Oh, honey, you’ve really fallen from grace haven’t you?” the woman whispers.

  “Excuse you?” Jesslynn says.

  “Are these two upsetting you, B?”

  “We’re her friends. You’re the scum taking advantage of a woman during a vulnerable time. Is he holding you hostage? Do you need help?”

  “Is she fucking serious?” I ask.

  Blanche nods and licks her lips. I can practically see the waves of anxiety pouring off her. “Unfortunately. Joyce, I appreciate the concern, but I’m fine.”

  “Clearly you’re not,” the man says.

  “Charles—” She takes a shaky breath.

  “Listen, Charles. Blanche is just fine. I’d say appreciate the concern, but I don’t. I can take care of my woman just fine. The only one in danger right now is you.”

  “Are you threatening me?”

  “No, I’m promising you.”

  “We got a problem, brother?” Stone asks. I glance back proud to see my family behind me.

  “No, just a case of mistaken identity. They though they knew my woman, but they really don’t.”

  “Apparently not,” Charles says.

  “Shameful, Blanche.” Joyce shakes her head and clucks her tongue. I put a hand on her shoulder, squeeze and pull her back to stand behind me. “We’re done here.”

  “Connie and James will not be pleased when they hear this,” Charles says as they walk away toward a set of mini clones playing skeeball.

  “I’m sorry about that. I had a nasty divorce, and I’m currently the thing to gossip about.”

  “Oh my God, you’re Blanche Birling,” Dixie Rose whispers.

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Wait. The chick whose old man—” Echo begins.

  “Ex-husband,” I correct.

  “Something I need to know?” Stone asks.

  “I’ll fill you in later,” I say willing him to let me handle my woman.

  Stone nods. “Alright. Let’s play games. I didn’t buy all those tokens for nothing,” Stone says effectively ending the conversation. The others start to disperse.

  “You okay?” Jess asks.

  “I’m not going to lose it just yet. But I could use a walk outside.”

  “Take her?” Jess asks.

  “I got her,” I say as I meet her gaze. We’re talking about more than me walking her outside for fresh air. Jess is leaving here next week, and she’s entrusting me with Blanche’s care.

  Chapter Seven

  Blanche

  “You ready, baby girl?” I ask as I close the lid on the trunk after our last trip down from the condo.

  Whitney scans the area and releases a deep breath. “Yeah, Mom. I think I am.”

  “Then let’s get this road trip started.” This week has been an emotional rollercoaster. I said goodbye to Jess a few days ahead, packed up my only child for a trip across the country where she’ll attend college, and battled with my in-laws. Dating that type of man so soon since my incident was embarrassing and improper. I love the way they pretend like Brooks, and I just got a divorce. There are bonuses to my eighteen-year-old child attending college in Virginia. There’ll be very little contact with Connie and James Birling.

  We climb into the SUV, and I pull away from the parking lot with the knowledge that it’ll look completely different when I return. We hit the road with coffee and deli sandwiches. We’ll be traveling at night in an attempt to beat the horrific traffic California is known for.

  “Are you still going to see Jagger when I’m gone?” she asks.

  “I planned on it. Does that bother you?”

  “No. I mean. It’s weird seeing you with another man, but. He’s pretty cool, and Mom you’re a cougar cause he’s young.”

  “Stop it,” I say with a shake of my head.

  “What? It just proves you’re a fox. We have good genes.” She pats her face, and I laugh.

  Over the summer she’s come into her own, working with her therapist to accept what’s happen and look ahead toward a bright future with enthusiasm. I know she’s got a lot of work to do before she’ll be one-hundred percent, but we’ve got a reference for a good Psychologist in Virginia, and she’ll have room to breathe there unlike here where everything, and at times, everyone reminds her of what once was.

  “It makes me feel better knowing you’ll have someone capable to watch your back. I mean, who in their right mind is going to mess with him?”

  “Do you think I need protecting?” I ask.

  “Yeah, Mom I do. Because…when I think about how close I came to losing you, it scares the shit out of me.”

  “Whitney.”

  “I know, ladies don’t use that kind of language, but no other word was going to fit.”

  “Honey.” I reach over and pat her hand. “I am going to be just fine.”

  “I get scared that he’ll come back and try to finish the job.”

  The words are a roundhouse kick to the face. “I don’t think Brooks is dumb enough to come back here. He’s holed up on an island somewhere with money he’s stashed in an overseas account.”

  “What if he isn’t, though?”

  The fear in her voice fills the cab.


  “Then he’ll get a taste of lead. It’s different now, honey. Last time he caught me by surprise. I have no reason to hesitate to defend myself, and he’s lost the element of surprise. I don’t want you worrying about this. We agreed it was time to work on moving ahead with our lives.”

  “I know, Mom. I’m trying. I just. I worry.”

  “That’s my job, Whit.”

  “I thought we were in this together now.”

  “We are.”

  “Then it’s our job to worry about each other.”

  I snicker. “Are you sure you’re not planning on being a lawyer?”

  “No way. I’d be bored to tears and falling asleep over thick bound leather books.”

  “I’m sure there’s more to it than that.”

  “Yes, but that’s a huge part of it. Are you going to return to physical therapy?”

  “I’m going to try. My license is good, I’ve been reading up on advances, and I have an appointment to meet up with an old friend who has her own practice when I get back.”

  “Really?” she asks excitedly.

  “Yes, do you remember Ms. Julie?”

  “I do! She always gave me peppermints.”

  “That’s her.”

  “I’m glad. You loved it, Mom, and you were good at it. Your patients always looked at you the way I’d imagine someone would an angel. I remember thinking, I want someone to look at me that way when I grow up. It’s part of why I choose this degree. I get to help people one on one. There are few things more important than the ability to speak when it comes to being able to communicate.”

  Her words fill me with pride. “That’s very true, and I’m proud of you for going after your dreams.”

  “How could I do anything else after watching you do it for years? Are you ready to get the playlist going?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’m naming you the D.J. for the first leg of the journey.”

  As the sound of pop music comes over the speakers and California becomes an image in the rearview mirror I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I roll down the windows, let the wind play with my hair, and just breathe.

  ***

  As we pull into the tiny town where I was born and raised, my soul rejoices. It’s our last stop before we reach our final destination. I drive down the familiar streets, marveling at the way things haven’t changed. In California thing are constantly closing and opening. It’s reassuring to return to the slower pace and all the memories I have associated with my cozy town where I was taught right from wrong, made to play outside and shaped into the woman I am now.

  “It hasn’t changed at all,” I whisper.

  “That’s one of the things I like most,” Whitney whispers. “I mean, California has nice weather, great food, and tons of festivals, and cool cities. But it’s always so fast paced, and superficial. I chose Virginia because I wanted to get away from that. I want to focus on my degree and figuring out who the hell I want to be in four years when I’m expected to be an adult.”

  “You don’t think you can do that back home?”

  “Not when everyone knows who I am and what— What happened.”

  “I understand.”

  “Have you thought of coming back home, Mom?”

  “No. My life’s in San Diego. Maybe after I get some time on the books again I can think about transferring, but at the moment my business connection are all there, and I’m going to need every one of them to get my career off the ground again.” I drive by the small white church where I spent every Wednesday for Sunday School and Sunday during the summer and smile.

  “And Jagger?”

  “Yes, he plays a part in my decision too, but only a small one.”

  “Hmm.”

  I shake my head and let it go as I pull into the driveway. My mom steps out on the porch, and suddenly I’m fighting back the tears as I put the car into the park. I unbuckle my seatbelt, hop down and rush over to the arms that held me when I scrapped my knee, had my feelings hurt, and experienced my first heartbreak. I inhale her vanilla scent and hug her tight as she kisses my cheek.

  “Hi, my baby.”

  “Hi, Mama.”

  “It’s been too long since I saw you last.”

  “I know, Mama.” It always hits me when I’m with her again how few and far between our visits are. I’m changing that now. There’s no one else’s schedule to consider but my own. I step back and let Whitney take my place.

  “Hi Nana,” she says brightly as they hug. It always does me good to see the generations of my family together.

  “Hi, baby. You look so grown up I hardly recognized you. And now you’ll be closer. I can’t wait to spend more time with you.”

  “You two grab your bags and come on in. I have the guest room and your old room ready. Dinner is warm and on the stove.”

  My father steps out with a grin. I peer up at the man who was always larger than life with his rich baritone, slender oval-shaped face with a wide forehead, and a strong jaw that made him seem stern to those who didn’t know him. An Army man, he’d done eight years of services and returned home to work at the post office until he retired almost six years ago.

  “Hi, Daddy.” I hug him tight.

  “Hi, Sweetpea. It’s good to have you home.”

  He smells like pipe tobacco and sandalwood it’s a comforting combination I’ve grown used to over the years. “I bought you something from the cigar shop you like so much in Old town.”

  His dark brown eyes light up, and his lips curve upward. “You know you’re my favorite child, don’t you?”

  “I’m your only child,” I say as we laugh at the old joke.

  “I’ll grab our overnight bags and meet you inside, okay?” I say to Whitney who nods. I retrace our steps and remove the carry ons from the back seat. I shut the door and pause to pull out the phone.

  Safe and sound in TN ~ B

  Call me later? ~ J

  Yeap, before bed. ~ B

  Don’t tempt me. I’ll have you coming over the phone and biting your lip, so your parents don’t hear you ~ B

  The ridiculously naughty imagery makes me wet. Jagger’s good at doing that. I don’t know why I bother wearing panties with him. I can picture him now with that wicked smile that makes me forget all reason and pain. He’s the drug of choice to numb me out when the world gets to be too much. I used to question his place in my life, and if it was wise to let him remain. But now, I couldn’t turn back if I wanted to. In a world that’s turned upside down and left me on the outside, we fit. It’s everything I need.

  Content in a way I couldn’t fathom ever being again nearly a year ago. At this moment, I’m okay. I take the suitcases inside, put them in our room, and wash up in the sink. I know when I enter the kitchen Mama and Daddy will be stuffing Whit full of food. My mouth waters and I put a little pep in my step to get their faster. The scent of Chicken and Dumplings makes my stomach growl as I enter the dining room.

  “You made my favorite,” I say as I walk inside and grab a plate from the kitchen island.

  “And peach cobbler for dessert,” Mama says.

  “You’re going to have to roll me to the bedroom, but I love you anyway, Mama.” I kiss her cheek as I dish up a bowl from the Dutch oven on the stove.

  “Nothing wrong with a woman has meat on her bones. Girls are walking around here looking like skeletons these days,” Dad grumps.

  I clear my throat to hide my snicker. A group of mean girls had given me hell in junior high before I outgrew my baby fat, and Daddy had never forgotten it.

  “Everyone’s built differently, and that’s okay,” I say, patting his hand as I move to sit beside him with a bowl loaded to the brim.

  “Humph.”

  I tuck in closing my eyes as the taste brings me back to my youth. “Mama, you know you put your foot in
this,” I say as she laughs.

  “Thank you, baby. I imagine you don’t eat things like this often.”

  “Not during the summer season. It’s too dang hot.”

  “She makes plenty of your other recipes, though, Nana.”

  “Good to hear you’re keeping up the traditions.”

  “She learned how to cook just the way I did,” I say silently promising her I hadn’t gotten that caught up in the Birling hype.

  We play catch up between bites, and I listen as Mama fills me in on all the local gossip, I mean news.

  “Are you coming back this way after you get Whitney settled?” Mom asks once Whit excuses herself to get ready for bed.

  “No, I have to be getting back. I. I’m getting back into the workforce.”

  “Oh, my God. Did they freeze all your accounts again?” She places a hand on her chest.

  I smile and shake my head. “No, Mama. I just miss the work.”

  “Praise be to God. I’ve been praying you’d find your passion again. Even before what happened, you’ve been a dull version of the woman I know you were meant to be. I know you said everything was fine. But I can’t help but wonder if something else went on.”

  I reach across the table and grab her hand and look and meet my father’s questing gaze. “There was nothing else. I’m not a battered wife. The only thing I was hiding was discontent. I promise.”

  She sighs, and I see the anxiety leave her chocolate-brown eyes. “Okay. I had to ask,” she says.

  “We’re here for you whatever you need, Sweet pea. You know that, right?” my father says.

  The self-doubt I see in his eyes is a mule kick to the gut. “I do know, Daddy. Pride is a sin for a reason. I didn’t want anyone to know my perfect looking family was anything but. He was never cruel before that night. He didn’t hit me or push me. We just drifted apart until oceans lay between us. I don’t know why he did what he did. I’m not hiding some deep dark secret that would make sense of this mess. I’m just trying to recover from it one day at a time. I have my good days, and I have my bad ones.”