Racked and Stacked

by Lorelei James

  “Great. I’ll let Rocky know you’re here.”

  Rocky?

  Lonnie caught Ike’s amusement. “As a matter of fact, the owner was named after Rocky Balboa.”

  After passing through a concrete hallway, they entered the main part of the club. Ike didn’t take time to look around until after he’d followed Lonnie to the top of the bleachers.

  Six rings filled up the space, three of them in use. On the floor a dozen guys milled about, working speed bags, jumping rope, running on a treadmill. In the back corner was an entirely separate weight room, completely glassed in. Ike whistled. “This is some boxing club.”

  “Serious boxers train here from all over. I’ve been coming here since high school.”

  “Did you ever bring Riss?”

  “I tried. She did develop a decent uppercut.”

  “I can attest to that.”

  The heater kicked on, masking the thud of gloves and coaches yelling.

  “So how do we do this, Palmer? Do I ask what gave you the right to take my sister away from her family when she wasn’t in any shape to tell you to fuck off? Because if she hadn’t been drugged up, she wouldn’t have let you get within a mile of her.”

  “You’re so sure of that?” he said coolly. “We do work together.”

  “Rarely. You were forced to spend time together during all the prewedding crap. But she’s never hinted that you’re in a ‘secret relationship.’” Lonnie snorted. “Louie is a dumb-ass. Can’t believe he fell for that.”

  “He fell for it because he was happy to see Riss leavin’. Outta sight, outta mind. She became someone else’s responsibility. Louie didn’t care who was watchin’ over her, as long as he didn’t have to do it.” Ike paused. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

  “You’re not. But you’re assuming that me’n Lloyd felt the same about it as Louie and that ain’t true. I don’t appreciate you talkin’ shit about how we neglected her ‘basic needs.’ We were at the hospital and dealt with her medical stuff—not you.”

  Ike knew continuing along these lines of accusations, he and Lonnie would come to blows. “Why did you call Jade?”

  Lonnie looked at him like he was a moron. “Because she’s Riss’s best friend.”

  “Did Riss ask you to call Jade and let her know what happened?”

  “It was a little goddamned hard for my sister to dial a phone when she left it in her trailer.”

  He remembered Riss saying Lonnie had chewed her ass for that oversight.

  “When I retrieved her cell after they released her from the hospital, she lost it. Took me a couple hours to figure out she’d hidden it on purpose because she didn’t want me calling anyone or anyone contacting her. She was embarrassed about getting hurt. Embarrassed.” He scrubbed his hand over his jaw. “She said she’d handle telling people about her ‘little accident’ in her own time frame. Meanwhile, she’s out of the hospital one damn day and me’n Lloyd and Louie are getting phone calls up the wazoo demanding to know what happened. It seemed Larissa’s buddy who was visiting her grandma at the hospital saw Riss in the cafeteria and started passing news of Riss’s hospitalization around to their other friends, assuming she’d want their help, sympathy and support, right? Not my stubborn goddamned sister. That girl’s pride has always been an issue between us. So when Aunt Bernice lit into us about not contacting her . . . that was the last straw. On the third day of Riss’s recovery, I called Jade, not because I expected she’d offer to take Riss in, but I hoped she’d talk some sense into that pigheaded girl.” He sent Ike a menacing look. “But instead, Jade tells you and the two of you conclude that we’re holding Riss against her will, starving her and denying her basic hygiene. You figure it’s your job to charge in, in your white pickup, and save her. And because it’s easier for her to manipulate one guy with a hero complex than her three brothers wise to her scheming ways.”

  Lonnie finally paused to breathe. “That’s the truth, but it’s probably not the way you heard it.”

  Ike’s jaw hung open. Too pissed off to speak, he stood and walked to the end of the row. He closed his eyes and inhaled a few deep breaths before he’d calmed down.

  The bleachers wobbled as a kid raced up the steps and handed Ike two bottles of water.

  “Good timing, kid.”

  Ike rejoined Lonnie and tossed him a bottle.

  “Thanks.”

  Neither spoke as they watched the action below them. Ike appreciated the distraction so they didn’t have to look at each other.

  “Maybe you don’t know this, but Riss and I mended our fences a while ago. The last time I saw her after the wedding? She hugged me good-bye. So we were on good terms then.” Ike took a drink. “We’re on different terms now.”

  Lonnie remained quiet.

  “I was there when Jade got your call. She was pretty freaked out when she told us what happened . . . so I’ll admit maybe I didn’t catch every detail. Maybe Jade exaggerated Riss’s situation, but I believed her concern was genuine.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she was ready to order a hospital bed and move Riss in. Bein’ a newlywed just back from her honeymoon . . .”

  He sighed. “Okay. Point taken.”

  “Riss hadn’t given Jade a good impression of life at the Thorpe brothers’ place, which Jade shared with me. I thought I’d show up at your house and give Riss the option of stayin’ with me.”

  “You just happened to show up when the weakest link was the only one on duty?”

  “Easier to deal with one brother than three. Anyway, seein’ Riss in that kinda shape? No way was I leavin’ her there.”

  “You make it sound like we locked her up and beat her.”

  “There’s the problem, Thorpe. You’re making this about you. Your pride. As the oldest, you’ve made the hard decisions for your siblings. I know exactly how it is. You struggled to keep a roof over their heads and food in their bellies. You prayed there’d come a day when you weren’t awake at night worrying about fucking everything up.”

  Lonnie tilted his head to scrutinize Ike. “You weren’t just selling me a line about knowing how it is.”

  “No, sir. Then something like Riss’s accident happens and you’re back in that place where you think you have to decide what’s best for her. So you can try and convince me that only giving her cast-off men’s clothes was a safety measure to keep her in the house. Ditto for not allowing her any personal items. But where that scenario fails . . . none of you were willing to give up your personal space. You expected her to adjust and that put her recovery in jeopardy.”

  “Damned if I do, damned if I don’t,” he bit off. “What’s your angle for volunteering to take her in? Sex?”

  “We’re not sleeping together.”

  “No shit. If you were fucking she’d be in a much better mood.”

  “Are all of you so blunt?”

  “Pretty much. I take full blame for that. Hard to be a role model when you’re a punk-ass kid yourself. Lloyd, Lou . . . even Larissa started to talk like me after Dad died. Truth was, I’d rather have them mouthing off than mealymouthed. My dad was one of those quiet guys who figured things would get better if he didn’t make waves. So he took shit, kept his mouth shut and nothin’ ever got better. The only unexpected thing he did was die when he was fifty-five.”

  “How old were you?”

  “Nineteen. Worked three jobs and lied my ass off to make sure they didn’t split us up.” He squeezed the water bottle. “Native kids have a high rate of foster care. I wasn’t gonna let that happen to my family. No one would ever convince me my brothers and sister would be better off with strangers than with me. I ain’t gonna tell you it was easy. But we stuck together.”

  “You’re still together,” Ike pointed out. “Riss is the only one who’s struck out on her own.”

  “Lloyd joined the air
force right out of high school. Saw some crazy shit. He came back different. So I wasn’t supposed to take him in after you got him fired from his first job outta the service? Fuck that. It’s his house too. And Louie . . . he’s a thirty-three-year-old frat boy. But he’s got a good job, pulls his weight, pays his fair share. So as long as he’s doin’ that, I’m fine havin’ him around.” He sighed. “Riss had enough of living with the three of us, and I’ll admit any guys that came around we were pretty clear on what we’d do if he crossed the line with her. So yeah, she grew up too fast. Always had a million irons in the fire, figuring out how to squeeze another nickel out of a dollar. I’m proud as hell of her. And the last thing I’d ever willingly do would be pass her off to someone else. That said, I knew we weren’t set up to take her in and I was workin’ on a solution when you swooped in.”

  “I’m not sorry she’s been with me the last two weeks.” Ike took a drink of water. “I don’t think she wishes she woulda been somewhere else either.”

  “I know.”

  “How?”

  “Bernice. She gets off calling and telling us how well Riss is doin’ with you. So much better than she’d be doin’ with us.”

  Ike frowned. “That’s a dick move. Why would she rub it in?”

  “’Cause we’ve gone head-to-head on what was best for Riss since a week after my dad died. She wanted to take Riss in. Just her. Not Louie. Not Lloyd. Not even me. Pissed me off. I think she even went behind Uncle Bob’s back.” Lonnie looked Ike in the eyes. “I never told Riss about that so I don’t know why the hell I’m telling you.”

  “It’s a test to see what I’ll do with the information. If I use it to drive a wedge between you two because you kept this from her. No matter how she finds out, it’ll hurt her, so yeah, I’ll pass on passing it along.”

  Lonnie didn’t respond right away.

  After a bit he said, “Put yourself in my shoes, Palmer. Your youngest sister is injured, facing major recovery time, and a guy you don’t know shows up and takes her away for ‘her own good.’ How would you handle that?”

  Jesus. He hadn’t thought of it that way. “Honestly? Not as well as you have.”

  “Your sister ain’t any more precious to you than my sister is to me.”

  “I get that.”

  “Last thing I’ll say is fuck you for your assumptions about my so-called neglect of her basic needs. Riss hadn’t showered because she wasn’t supposed to shower for seventy-two hours after they put the cast on. She refused to eat the healthy meals I cooked and convinced Lou to go to the C-Mart for cupcakes and corn chips because she prefers to eat processed crap.”

  Fuck. “I apologize for my assumptions about you.”

  “But?”

  “But nothin’. I’ve said what I intended.”

  A match started in the far right ring. After the second round, Lonnie started commentary on what the opponents were doing right and wrong. After the match ended, Ike said, “You know a shit ton about boxing. Just from hanging out in the club?”

  “Partially. I spent a lot of years and hours here, dreaming on making it big. Made it to the Golden Gloves championships three years. Won all three years too. Then reality set in and now I keep up with it because I still love it.”

  “What happened? You get injured or something?”

  He shook his head. “After my dad died I couldn’t train and work and take care of my family. So I had to choose.”

  “And boxing lost.”

  “Yep.” He stood and looked at his phone. “It’s been almost two hours. We’d better go.”

  When they were in the freezing cab of Lonnie’s truck, Ike said, “What’s your cell number? You can hear directly from me how Riss is doin’ instead of thirdhand from Bernice.”

  Lonnie rattled off the number, then said, “Don’t forward memes. I hate that shit.”

  “Got it.”

  Ike had hoped Lonnie would just let him go in and retrieve Riss, but nope, they both went in.

  Wanda looked them both over and frowned. “Why are you two here again?”

  “You said to return in two hours. So is Riss finished?”

  “Miss Thorpe finished an hour ago.”

  Shit. Now she’d chew them out for being late. “Then where is she?”

  “With the friend who picked her up.”

  “Which friend?” Lonnie snapped.

  “I don’t know. She called someone for a ride and left. But she did give me a message to pass along.”

  “Which is?”

  “She’ll find her own way home.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Thanks for rescuing me, Jade.”

  “I’m glad you called so I can see for myself that you’re on the mend.” Jade turned out of the parking lot. “Where to?”

  “The closest bar.”

  She laughed.

  “I’m serious. I need an hour or two of loud music and regular people enjoying happy hour and life.”

  “All right. But I’m not familiar with the bars in Casper.”

  “The Friendly Ghost is downtown.”

  Jade shot her a dubious look. “Right. It’s next to Richie Rich’s Bank. I’m not nearly as gullible as I used to be.”

  “This time I’m not yanking your chain. There really is a bar in Casper called the Friendly Ghost. It’s in one of the old stone buildings that’s supposedly haunted.”

  “You’ve been there?”

  “Not for a year or so. Book club met in the back room a few times when we didn’t have other options.”

  Jade put the car in park and pulled out her cell phone.

  “Are you calling Tobin for permission to go to a bar?” Riss asked her, slightly horrified.

  “No. I’m looking up the address on Google Maps.”

  “Uh, you’re not in New York anymore. How about if we do this the old-fashioned way and I give you directions?”

  “That’ll work.”

  It cracked Riss up to ride with Jade. She took driving seriously. Using her turn signal. Hands on the wheel at ten and two. Never venturing even one mile above the speed limit.

  Riss prided herself on being a safe, aware driver. Driving big vehicles gave her a different perspective, an impatient one. She knew she made a lousy passenger, because she hated being a passenger. She’d rather be behind the wheel. It took every bit of her control not to critique Jade’s snail-like pace.

  “There it is,” Riss said, pointing. “Looks like there are parking spaces out front.”

  The frigid Wyoming wind practically blew them inside the building. The sign by the coatrack read:

  Wipe Your Boots And Seat Yourself

  “It’s usually warmer in the back,” Riss suggested.

  Jade chose a booth in the middle section, fussing over Riss as she helped her remove her outerwear and then insisting she sit on the side that allowed her to rest her cast on the table and against the back wall.

  Happy hour special was two for one so Riss ordered two margaritas. Jade, considering herself the DD, opted for soda.

  “This is a cool place,” Jade said. “I’ll have to come back with Tobin.”

  The exposed rock, scuffed wood floor and two-story ceiling hit the mark between hip and vintage. The second floor above the curved bar was an open dance floor, where the upstairs drinkers could watch the people sitting in the booths and tables below.

  “It’s a serious party bar. They don’t serve food, they don’t have TV for the sports crowd, so I’d avoid it on the weekend.”

  “Then it is a meat market?”

  “Yep. It’s a younger crowd than the bars I’ve taken you to in Rawlins.”

  Jade sent Riss an arch look when Riss sucked down half of her first margarita in one swallow. “Thirsty?”

  “Stressed.”

  “What’d the doctor
say?”

  “That I still have a broken arm.”

  “Riss. I’m serious.”

  “So am I. She went over the list of answers I gave the nurse and asked if I needed refills on pain meds.” She smirked. “Which I immediately said yes to. With me not workin’, I might have to resort to selling them for quick cash.”

  “Omigod, don’t even joke about that!”

  “You’re too easy to tease, New York. I’d think a married woman wouldn’t be so gullible.”

  “Bite me. What else did the doctor tell you?”

  “Evidently the danger of my brain leaking out passed, so they snipped my stitches. My head is fine.”

  “Eww. Gross visual. Did it hurt to get the stitches out?”

  She shrugged. “It pulled some. I’ll be happy to wash my hair on my own again.”

  “What else?”

  “The doc did say I could ditch my babysitter. So I’ll be back at my trailer as soon as it’s livable.”

  “That’s great! What about driving?”

  “An automatic is okay.” Riss assumed that was the restriction. The doctor hadn’t specifically said no driving, so in her mind, that meant yes.

  “But your big-girl toys aren’t automatic. So she didn’t clear you to go back to work?”

  Riss shook her head. “Not even light duty.”

  “I have no idea what ‘light duty’ means to a truck driver.”

  “It’s essentially fifty percent of my job.” Riss raised her glass for a toast. “If I can’t drive I might as well drink.”

  “You drinking a lot at Ike’s house?”

  “At every opportunity and with unrestrained gusto.”

  At seeing Jade’s immediate concern, Riss felt guilty for her breezy response. “I’m kidding. There’s a whole lot of nothin’ goin’ on at Ike’s. And no, I’m not picking fights with him to entertain myself.”

  “A whole lot of nothing?” Jade repeated. “That’s not what I heard.”

  “What did you hear?”

  “That you’ve been doing livestock checks with Ike every morning.”

  “So?”

  “So in rancher culture, a new woman riding along with her man to open gates means you’re going steady, you’re sweet on each other . . . in other words, you’re involved.”