It Took a Rumor

by Carter Ashby

  Jake watched him go and didn’t feel pride. He didn’t feel victory. He felt more guilt. Wasn’t it unnatural for a man to cower to his son? Shouldn’t a good son submit to his father until his father was no longer capable of ruling? Of course in his mind he knew these concepts were outdated if they were ever valid. But his heart ached at what was happening.

  Jake left the hospital. He would visit Dallas another time. For now, he had some bedtime plans with a certain cowgirl.

  Ivy assumed she wouldn’t be seeing her lover anytime soon, so she got into her pajamas and settled in to read. The pebbles hitting her window at eleven that night caught her by surprise. But then she smiled and went to her window.

  Down in the shadows cast by the light from her bedroom lamp stood Jake, like a teenage boy, waiting for her to let him up. “How come you can’t knock on the door like a gentleman?” she asked.

  “Shh. I didn’t want to wake up your old man,” he whisper-yelled.

  “He doesn’t care. I’ll wake him up myself, let him know I’ve got company.”

  “I can’t do what I gotta do if I know your Pa knows I’m doing what I’m doing.”

  “Huh?”

  “Never mind. Just let me in.”

  “Aren’t you gonna climb up the drainpipe?”

  “You serious?”

  “Sure. As long as we’re playing Romeo and Juliet, you may as well climb up here and take my virtue without my father’s permission. Go the whole nine yards with this little charade.”

  He tipped his stetson up, put his hands on his hips, and leaned back on one foot. “You making fun of me?”

  “Always.”

  “Listen, I can turn around and walk back home if you want. I mean, if you don’t want what I’m offering.”

  “We both know that’s a bluff. And a bad one. Go ahead and walk away, cowboy.”

  He shrugged, turned on his heel, and started walking. Ivy laughed until he vanished into the shadows. Then she stopped laughing and held her breath. Come back, she thought. Come back, come back. If it was a bluff, he won. “Jake? Jake! Get back here!” She heard his laugh from the darkness.

  She ran downstairs and unlocked the front door, letting him inside. He grinned all the way upstairs and into her room. He stopped inside her door and looked around. “This is a lot more girly than I expected,” he said, tossing his hat on her dresser and running a hand through his hair.

  “I like pink. I’m not ashamed.” She watched as he roamed the room, running a fingertip along the sheer pink window dressing, picking up a music box and putting it back down. He wore a hint of a smirk and seemed completely absorbed in his exploration. Ivy sat on the edge of her bed and waited. His back was to her at her dresser. He was fiddling with her top dresser drawer. He looked up, catching her eye in the mirror, and held up a finger—a pink, lacy bra dangling from it.

  “I like pink, too,” he said with a grin.

  Ivy bounded off the bed. “I’ve got something way better. Go sit on the bed, I’ll be right back.” She dug around in her drawer for a cute garter set she’d had for ages and hardly ever wore. She grabbed a matching bra and some black stockings and headed for her bathroom. She left the door cracked just a bit so she could talk to him. “You should strip, cowboy. You’re not going to wanna waste any time when you see me in this.” Her voice echoed in the bathroom. The tile was cold beneath her bare feet.

  “I like your confidence, Ivy, but I plan on taking it slow tonight.” She heard the sounds of a boot hitting the floor.

  “I don’t want it slow. I want it fast and hard and thrilling.”

  “Well, you shouldn’t have insulted me the other day at the diner, then. I got something to prove to you and I’m bound and determined to do it.”

  In spite of herself, she felt her cheeks flush. She stripped out of her pajamas, strapped herself into the underwear, reapplied deodorant, tossed her hair around a bit, and checked herself out in the mirror. Pleased with the effect, she opened the door and strutted into her room.

  Jake paused in the middle of removing his second boot, his eyes and smile widening. Ivy fought like mad to keep her cool, but he’d already removed his shirt and there was nothing in the world sexier than Jake without a shirt.

  “Wow,” they murmured simultaneously.

  Jake dropped his boot and padded over to her. He trailed a fingertip down her sternum between her breasts, sending goosebumps all over her skin, making her nipples tighten. “I’ll never see another sight. For as long as I live, wherever I look, this is what I’ll see. Burned into my retinas for all eternity.”

  She grinned. “I’m glad you like the look.”

  “I like you.”

  “I’m glad you like me.” She pressed her hands to his chest and let them slide down his well-defined abs to the waistline of his jeans. “How’s Dallas?”

  “He’s fine. Please don’t say his name right now.”

  She started to unfasten his jeans, but he grabbed her hands and brought them around his neck, leaning down to kiss her. It was impossible not to melt against him, and so she did. His hands roamed her back and waist and ass, stopping to squeeze. She moaned against his mouth. He moved up her back, unclasping her bra and letting it fall to the floor.

  He backed away far too soon, turning to pull down the covers on her bed. “Get in,” he said.

  More than willing to obey, she crawled in, making a production of it, on her hands and knees with her ass swaying.

  Jake’s hand pressed into the center of her back, pushing her down on the bed, her ass remaining in the air. He grabbed her hips and pressed himself against her. She felt his erection through his jeans. “Stay like this,” he commanded in a husky voice.

  She stretched her arms across the bed, rested her cheek on the cool sheets, and smiled. A moment later she heard the tell-tale signs of a condom being ripped open and his pants hitting the floor. So much for taking his time. His hands came to her hips and before she could take a breath, he was inside her. The shock of it sent her passion into the stratosphere. He thrust into her, slow and deep, and slid his hand around front to massage her. She was coming, crying into her sheets, before they’d even reached the two minute mark.

  While she was still trembling, he pulled out and rolled her to her back. He straddled her hips and grabbed her breasts, massaging them and moaning. His brown eyes were dark with lust and the grin he gave her as he met her gaze held a glint of wickedness she’d never seen in him before. As she watched his expression, she realized that she’d gotten too cocky too soon. Jake had just been nice, up until now. He’d just given her the power to direct their sexual encounters because he was a gentleman and didn’t want to intimidate her. But Jake was a cowboy. And as she regarded the knowledge and greed and intense desire in his gaze, she finally fully realized that she was in for one hell of a ride.

  The bed rocked, it’s springs squeaking, and more than once Jake had to cover her mouth with his hand to stifle her cries. Well into the night, her body and sheets were drenched in sweat and her muscles trembled, weak from the power of his lovemaking. He’d penetrated her so many times she’d lost count. She was sore from it so much that when he finally lay on top of her and began to press into her, she cried, “I can’t! I can’t anymore, Jake.”

  He chuckled softly in her ear. “If you mean that, I’ll back off. But I’d sure like to finish the job. I’m about at the end of my energy and you’d make my night if you’d let me have you like this.”

  Her legs shook from being held open so long, but she managed to wrap them around his waist. She met his smiling eyes and nodded. He smiled even wider, slid into her, and closed his eyes. “You fit me like you were made for me, Ivy.”

  She slid her hands into his hair and held on. His expression grew darker and more intense. He stared into her eyes as he made love to her steadily, faster and harder, his breathing quickening with hers. They rocked together into hot, blissful orgasms, groaning into each other’s mouths, and trembling against each other
’s bodies.

  At last he rolled off of her and pulled her against him, kissing her hair and stroking her back. Ivy wanted to talk. Wanted to tease him and then stroke his ego by praising his outstanding performance. But her body was satisfied, her mind exhausted, and her heart full. She fell asleep in his arms.

  When she woke up, it was full daytime and Jake was gone, his hat on the pillow next to her head.

  “The old man catches you smiling like that, he’s gonna slap a knot on your head,” Cody said.

  He, Boone, and Jake were driving to church in Jake’s truck. Gideon and Clara followed in the car. Dallas would be coming home tomorrow, so everyone’s tensions had eased quite a bit. But Cody was right. If Jake didn’t stop smiling, Gideon was gonna be pissed. Jake was supposed to be in a penitent mood. He was supposed to go forward after the sermon, hang his head, confess his sins, and ask forgiveness. What he’d rather do, however, was drag Ivy out the back door, into the woods, and have her out in the open underneath God’s cathedral with the sun and wind on their sweat-dampened skin.

  “Seriously,” Cody said, “what’s got you in such a good mood?”

  Jake just shook his head.

  “Must be a girl,” Boone said, his voice uncharacteristically monotone. He’d tried to plead sick that morning, but Gideon would have none of it. “That’s the smile of a man who hasn’t been laid in forever finally getting some.”

  If the boy didn’t look like he’d fall over with a light breeze, Jake would have slapped him. It wasn’t a girl putting a smile on his face. It was the girl. Trouble was, he didn’t quite know how to broach the subject with Gideon.

  Boone suddenly jumped in his seat. He scrambled in his pocket, pulling out his cell phone. He stared at the screen and then laughed hysterically.

  “Jesus Christ, Boone,” Cody said.

  “It’s nothing,” Boone said. “Just a notification from some game I haven’t played in forever. Holy shit,” Boone sighed, leaning back on the bench.

  Jake pulled into a parking spot near the back of the lot to the side of the church. He looked at his younger brother. Boone’s eyes were closed, his body visibly shaking. Jake met Cody’s frown, both of them shrugging. Cody reached up and placed the front of his wrist against Boone’s forehead, feeling for a fever. Naturally Boone slapped him away, but still, Jake waited for the verdict. Cody shrugged again, shaking his head. No fever, then.

  They got out and met up with Gideon and Clara on the way to the front door of the church. People flowed in, a steady trickle of souls seeking salvation. Jake got in line behind Cody who was behind Boone who followed Clara and then Gideon. They strolled through the foyer, took a sharp turn to the left behind the back row of pews, and made their way up the side aisle to their favored pew. Except Jake stopped at the left turn while his family went on without him.

  Because Ivy was across the aisle, a few rows up, about to take a seat. She slid her purse off her shoulder and sat it in the pew next to her Bible. When she looked up and caught his gaze, her cheeks flushed and she smiled—brightly and with an earnest joy. She was happy to see him. He was happy to see her. He’d left her late in the night collapsed in her bed, disheveled and satisfied. The blankets had been down around her waist and her arms had been flung to the sides. He’d gazed at her naked breasts and long throat and sweet, sleeping face before covering her up, kissing her, and leaving her his hat. It had been a silly, sentimental gesture, but he’d wanted her to wake up next to something besides an empty pillow. And now she was wearing his hat. She touched her fingertip to the brim, giving it a tip, and winked at him before taking her seat.

  That was it. He was sitting by her. She was his girl and people ought to know it.

  Except that as soon as he stepped toward her, Pastor Allen slid in next to her, taking her hand and leaning in. Probably apologizing for losing his temper yesterday. That’s what it looked like, anyway, given the heartfelt expression on his face and the way Ivy nodded reassuringly. They hugged, the pastor stood, and Jake took yet another step toward her. This time his path was blocked by Myra Tidwell, looking prim and full of life in a turquoise jacket with matching earrings. She held her trusty iPhone and stylus at the ready.

  “I see your hat on little Ivy Turner’s head, I suppose I can take that as confirmation of a relationship?”

  “It’s none of your business, Myra.” She had him blocked in. He couldn’t squeeze past her without knocking her over.

  “It’s mighty big of you considering she was sleeping with Cody not a week ago.”

  “For God’s sake!”

  The people in the pews nearest turned and gave him a dirty look. Jake smiled apologetically and lowered his voice. “Can we do this later?”

  “Did you poison your brother, Jake?” she asked as she wrote on the screen of her phone.

  “Of course not. Not on purpose.”

  “You sure? Because it does tend to look like you were jealous and angry, what with Dallas having slept with Ivy, too. My, my, that girl has just worked her way through you boys, hasn’t she.”

  “She never slept with any of them.”

  “Only you? You sure about that? Or is it wishful thinking?”

  “Let me pass, Myra, I—” Just then a bony but powerful hand gripped the back of his collar.

  “Get your ass in your seat right now,” Gideon growled.

  Jake didn’t want to make more of a scene than he already had, so he allowed his father to shove him toward their pew. “You stay away from that woman. She’s got the devil’s tongue in her mouth.” Gideon climbed over his sons and Clara and took his seat at the end of the pew closest to the center aisle, and then the choir began singing.

  Jake stood with the rest of the congregation, and though he fought the urge, he couldn’t help glancing over his shoulder at Ivy. He should go sit by her now. It would go a long way toward proving to her that he was man enough to stand up to his father. Trouble was, he’d actually have to stand up to his father, and he wasn’t a hundred percent certain he was ready for that.

  After the first two songs, Ellis Henry got up to read announcements followed by a prayer. Jake bowed his head and listened to all the people being prayed for. They included Dallas, Molly, Molly’s husband and family, and even Jake and Eloise. Jake couldn’t help smiling at that. How many churches were there that included a sick horse on their prayer list? All that mattered was that this one did. He wouldn’t go anywhere else because of it.

  After the prayer, they sang a few more songs, then sat and waited as Pastor Allen took the podium. There had been a lot of speculation as to whether he would actually preach that morning. Being a grieving man, no one would have blamed him a bit for taking off a few weeks. But there he was, tall and strong, if not a little dark under the eyes and wan in complexion.

  “Let us all open our Bibles to second Corinthians chapter four:

  “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.”

  Pastor Allen paused, his head hanging low, a solemn expression weighing down his brow. “Friends, here we see the purpose of our suffering. There has been a lot of suffering for a lot of people this week. We look to God and we ask why. Why would he place such burden on us? On mere earthen vessels? My friends, it is so that we may show the light of the glory of God to the world. It is so that Christ can arise. For how could he arise without first dying? We are that death. Through our suffering on this earth, we are the death of Christ put here so that he might save us and show his awesome power to the world.

  “My friends, Christ does not want your suffering on this earth. He wants to deliver you from it. It is up to each of you to be worthy of that delivery. If you’re burdened with sin this morning, come forwar
d and hand it to Christ. Endure your suffering on this earth for the sake of the glory of God. Come forward and offer yourself a living sacrifice to the Lord. Confess your sins, accept His forgiveness, and walk again in the newness of life!”

  The congregation stood and sang. This was the part where Jake was supposed to go to the front and confess to nearly killing his brother. He truly felt horrible for what had happened to Dallas, but he had a hard time accepting that it was totally his responsibility. It seemed like an accident more than anything. But Gideon was unwilling to absolve Jake, and so it would take God’s forgiveness to convince his father that he was worthy to be called son again.

  Jake glanced at his father and, sure enough, the man’s steely glare was locked on him. If he didn’t go forward and do this, he’d hear about it for sure. Might even have to take a beating for it. And he knew in his heart he wouldn’t fight back. He’d give the old man the victory just to assuage his own guilt.

  With a heavy sigh, Jake went up and sat on the front pew. As the congregation sang, the pastor sat next to him and leaned into him, their lowered heads nearly touching so that they could hear one another. “Would you like me to speak on your behalf?” Richard asked.

  “No, thanks, preacher. I can manage.”

  Jake felt the warmth of another body to his left. He turned and found Ivy sitting next to him. She placed her hand on his back. The hat looked cute with her sundress and boots. She leaned in close to his ear. “Are you up here for fornicating with me? Because that’s my sin, too, and I’m not quite ready for this level of confession.”

  He grinned at her. “I think in order to confess, you have to first feel guilty about it.”

  “You don’t?”

  “Not the least bit.”