by Jack July
Sky smiled back and said, “Welcome to the family.” After a moment passed Sky said, “Would you mind if I invite Colette down for a drink?”
Amy looked a little sheepish when she said, “Please do.”
Jack and Bogus worked steadily on Joseph’s racecar. Jack soon discovered that, even though he didn’t have much experience working on cars, Bogus knew his way around a toolbox. Jack wasn’t too concerned about his intentions when it came to Amy. However, there were a few other things that bothered him. Jack finished cutting off the front clip with a band saw, and they dragged it away from the car. Jack tossed Bogus a rag to wipe his hands, and mopped the sweat from his brow. Bogus looked at him and said, “You have questions.”
“A few.”
“You know, when I was at Sennybridge, you were very much a hero to many of us. The stories of your operations still amaze me, and I’ve been on quite a few of my own.”
Jack nodded, gave a little shrug and said, “I was young and half-crazy. I didn’t know any better. It comes easy when you don’t know what you can’t do.”
Bogus laughed and said, “Yes, ignorance can be bliss. So, what is it you want to know?”
“Let’s start with that young lady you’ve been on TV with.”
“I bought a residence where I think Amy and I can live in security and comfort. Colette is one of the better interior designers in Europe. I’ve also been like an Uncle to her since she was ten. We are very close. As we speak, Amy, Sky and Colette are having lunch. Amy will leave with a new perspective.”
Jack nodded approval and said, “Are you still active?”
“I’ve maintained many connections over the years. There are times when I am called upon to assist governments and old friends. I enjoy getting my feet wet, but I don’t get over my head.”
“You do wet work?”
“I have but I would rather not.”
“How many contracts are out on you?”
“There is an old one I know of, former KGB. However, there has not been an attempt in several years.”
“I was afraid of that. How are you going to protect her?”
“I have a well-paid, highly skilled security staff that operates in the shadows. I am rarely alone, and she will never be alone.”
“I saw ’em, I figured those were your people. Where are you two gonna live?”
“Ireland.”
“Ireland?”
“Yes, it’s very pretty. I also have many connections in both the government there and the, um, underworld I guess you would call it. The home is very private, way out in the country and easy to secure.”
“What about her job?”
Bogus looked at him and said nothing. Jack said, “Look, I know what she does.”
Bogus smiled a controlled smile and said, “No, I don’t think you do.”
A quick, cold chill shot through Jack. He wasn’t going to ask, but it slipped out. “Does she do wet work?”
Bogus didn’t answer; he just looked at Jack without twitching a muscle.
“Give me a hand with this,” said Jack. They grabbed the new front end and placed it on dollies to roll it to the front of the car. Jack went quiet and looked deep in thought. Bogus watched him clamp it together and prep it for welding.
“What are you going to do if she gets homesick?”
“She has a fleet of aircraft at her disposal; she can be here in less than eight hours.”
“Alright. Well, I guess that’s it for me.” Jack smiled, put out his hand and said, “Welcome to the family.”
“Thank you, it means a lot.” They shook hands, then Bogus asked, “Would it be okay if I called you Uncle Jack?”
Jack shot him a hard stare and gave him a strong, “No.”
Chapter 17
The 3:00 p.m. rehearsal went off without a glitch at the Black Oak Baptist Church. The florists were still bringing in flowers, studying the drawing made by the wedding planners Carla Jo had hired, and the arrangement was already spectacular. A caravan made its way to the rehearsal dinner at the VFW building that had been rented for the weekend. There were much nicer venues, but not many as remote and secure. The finest French restaurant in the south, Chez Geraud, redecorated the seating area and turned it into a 5 star establishment, although the smell of cigarette smoke and stale beer was difficult to hide.
The only family member not present was Bogus’s mother who was suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s and could not travel. Everyone present sat around the table drinking, laughing, getting to know each other and having a great time. The band, setting up in the dance hall, made frequent sound checks. The fabulous meal was followed by an open bar, and there were a couple mason jars floating around. People got up to stretch, and began to lean against the bar and talk. Amy and Cyla were laughing, undoubtedly talking about Bogus, who just shook his head. Suddenly the band began to play the song “The Bluest Eyes in Texas.” Joseph said, “Aunt Carla Jo, where did you get the band. They sound just like Restless Heart.”
Carla Jo took a drink of wine, smiled and said, “That’s because it is Restless Heart.”
Everyone who knew who Restless Heart was, including Sky who went to school at Baylor in Texas, headed for the dance hall. Amy shouted, “HEY!”
Everyone stopped. She yelled, “That’s rude!” got up, and said, “Wait for me!”
The band was staying in a hotel and had little else to do, so they were accommodating. They sat around and played favorites, also practicing new material. The families danced and drank and had a wonderful time. After the musicians quit around 9:00 p.m., everyone went home. Well, almost everyone.
“Hey Jack,” whispered Leon.
“Yeah.”
“What do ya say we take our boy down to the River.”
Joseph heard them talking and said, “Now, you both know if something happens to him, Amy will kill us all.”
“Nah, he’s a big boy, he can take care of himself, right Jack?” said Leon.
“Well yeah, he’ll kill half the people in the building. That’s really not a good thing. There’s other things too, things you don’t know about. It’s not a good idea Leon.”
“Aw hell, we’ll just see how acts. To be honest, I still ain’t too sure about him,” said Leon.
Joseph leaned over to him and said, “Daddy, it’s a bit rougher than it used to be. JR Gossett turned it over to Kirk Canavas to run. Anything goes, and I mean anything.”
“Yep, should be a lot of fun,” said Leon with a smile. “Bogus,” Leon yelled across the room, “What do you say we take a ride?”
Jack and Joseph locked eyes and their minds were easy to read, Oh shit.
Carla Jo and Amy made their way back to the house. Amy changed into jeans and a T-shirt and sat on the porch. Lightening bugs flashed, and cicadas and crickets played their tune, the tune of Amy’s childhood. Off in the distance she could see the lone light that still shone over Ed Gwinn’s store. It was closed now; Ed had passed away and his sons didn’t want to run it. Amy smiled when she remembered time spent with her older brother sitting on the bench out front, really little more than a two by six and a couple of cinder blocks. She would drink a Dr. Pepper and eat a triple-decker Moon Pie without a care in the world, a world filled with love and innocence. Fifteen years later, it was her job to preserve the innocence of others, and when that innocence was violated, she avenged it. She took a moment to smile to herself because she was proud of it and good at it. Then something made her frown; a little shot of fear and anxiety gave her a chill. As if on cue, Carla Jo came out and sat beside her. She handed Amy a glass of ice tea and said, “Beautiful night, isn’t it. It’s supposed to be beautiful tomorrow, couldn’t ask for better.”
“Yeah,” Amy didn’t quite know how to bring it up, but it was Aunt Carla Jo. There was nothing they hadn’t discussed at some point. “I have a problem.”
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“What would that be?”
“Tomorrow I’m marrying a man who is a world-famous lover of women. At some point, I’m going to, ya know….”
Carla Jo smiled and said, “Get to sleep with him.”
“Yeah, but, well, I don’t know one end of a penis from the other. What am I supposed to do?”
The way Amy said it struck Carla Jo as funny and she began to laugh. She tried to stop but she couldn’t.
“I’m not laughing,” said a very serious Amy
Carla Jo tried to gather herself, but the more she thought about it, the funnier it got. Amy became flustered and stood up to leave. Carla Jo grabbed her arm and said, “No honey, don’t go, sit. I’m sorry, sit. Sit down, please, sit.” Amy sat back down. Carla Jo tilted her head in disbelief and said, “You mean all of those sailors and marines you were around every day and you never did it? Not once? Not even with Matt?”
“No. I was, well, afraid.”
Carla Jo thought back on what Amy had been through and nodded. I certainly understand that. “I’m going to explain something to you about him. I talked to Cyla and she told me that he has only been in love once. She was killed in a car wreck twenty years ago. All these women he has supposedly been with? That was just sex. That was not love. Trust me, there is a big difference. This will be as new to him as it is new to you. Now, you do get the biology of it, right?”
“Yes, I get that,” she said with an eye roll.
“Okay, well, that’s really all you need to know.”
“Yeah, but what do I do? I don’t know what to do. He’s gonna expect me to do stuff, and I have no idea what that is.”
“Amy, you’re a woman, not a circus acrobat.”
Amy nodded while becoming increasingly flustered, and said under her breath, “You don’t get what I’m asking.”
“No, I really don’t. Let’s start from the beginning. After the wedding, he’s probably going to take you somewhere beautiful. At some point, you are going to find yourself in a bedroom. It will no doubt be warm and romantic. You will probably excuse yourself, and go to the bathroom. That is when you will decide how to present yourself. There are no rules. Some women wear lingerie and makeup, doll themselves up like they never had before. Some women don’t. It’s up to you. You’ll walk out of the bathroom, and probably lie down together. That’s when the most beautiful part of your relationship will happen. Luckily for you, he’s not a kid. He’s not gonna pounce on you like a horny tiger. You will spend hours with him discovering each other, what each other likes, how you want to be touched, held, kissed. The rest of it nature takes care of. I promise you, it will be fine. He will make it that way.”
Carla Jo reached over and gave her a little hug and said, “There is no way you will disappoint him. It’s going to be wonderful, I promise.”
Amy hugged her back and said, “Okay, thank you. Thanks for being here for me. I couldn’t love you any more if you were my Mom.” They both began to tear up a little.
“I think I’m going to call him and say goodnight.” Amy walked inside, picked up the phone and dialed her daddy’s house, just a mile away at the top of the hill.
Carol sat in the kitchen feeding Sam when the phone rang. “Hi, Carol, can I speak to Bogus? I just want to say good night.”
“Oh, yeah, he isn’t here.”
“Where is he?”
“He went with your Dad, Jack and your brother.”
“Okay, where is he?”
“I really can’t, um, say.”
“Where is Bogus?”
“You know ah…”
“Carol, I love you, I really do. But don’t make me come up there.”
“They took him to the river.”
All Carol heard was the slamming of the receiver.
Carla Jo walked in the kitchen and saw her face. It was The Face, the one that preceeded violence. She was raging. She looked at Carla Jo and in that eerie voice said, “Has Uncle Jack changed the combination on his safe?”
“No, not that I’m aware of.”
Amy nodded and said, “Will you please bring the ‘vette around?”
“What’s wrong?”
“They took him to the river.”
“They did what?”
“You heard me. Now I’m going to get my man.”
“Dammit, Jack,” Carla Jo growled. “I’m going with you.”
Amy opened the safe and made a couple of quick choices. She grabbed the AK-47 and two magazines. She put one magazine in the rifle, and the other in her back pocket. Then she took the Desert Eagle, loaded it and stuck it in her belt. Amy heard the rumble of the ‘vette as it pulled up to the front of the house. Carla Jo jumped in the passenger seat as Amy climbed in. The twenty-two miles of twisting roads usually took forty minutes. Amy would make it in about twenty.
Chapter 18
The River, as it was called, was actually a bar and grill on a very rural, out of the way part of the Indian River that had been around since the 20’s. It had gone through several owners. At one time Leon’s Grandfather, Lethal Braxton, owned it. He had been killed in a moonshine war in 1960. Since then it had been run by two generations of the Gosset family. J.R. Gosset had enough of it and allowed the Canavas boys to run it. The father, J.P. Canavas put his son Kirk in charge. The Canavas family and the Braxtons had been friends for decades and maintained a good working relationship in the moonshine industry.
The men climbed out of Joseph’s truck and headed for the front door. Harleys were lined up out front, their tattooed color-flying owners along with a gaggle of less than virtuous women congregated around them. Leon, Jack and Joseph put on their man faces and with shoulders back, walked the tall tough walk of men who would not be messed with. Bogus stopped to look at a bike close to the entrance that was covered in chrome and flames. Bogus looked at the owner, a very large man, smiled and said, “Sir, that is a lovely motor bike.”
The owner of the bike looked at his friend then back at Bogus and said, “Ah...thanks?”
The men walked in the front door. Smoke hung thick around the room and the juke box blasted “Heading To the Highway” by Judas Priest. The building was rectangular, an eighty-foot-long U shaped bar at one end and tables and chairs filling the other. The walls were lined with booths, and the place was packed. Every outlaw and thug in a three county area congregated here on the weekend. It was a place where anything could be had for a price. There was always an air of menace as the bikers, cons and red necks kept a tenuous truce. The four men headed to an opening at the far end of the bar and ordered beverages. Bogus had a beer.
As they drank and looked around, a woman approached Bogus and began to chat him up. Bogus was polite as usual, until the event that Joseph had feared began to play out. Three rather large rednecks approached the bar. The biggest roughly elbowed Bogus out of the way. Bogus stumbled a bit, bumping into Joseph. At first glance Bogus was not visually intimidating at six feet and one hundred ninety pounds. However, if you looked closely you would see the thick wrists and neck. His muscles were like steel cables, not blown up and on display like those of a bodybuilder. He was built for speed and agility. Leon went to step in and Jack grabbed his arm and shook his head. “That’s why you brought him here right? To see this? Well, you asked for it.”
Bogus smiled at the large man and said, “Pardon me sir, I see you would like this spot, so I would like to retrieve my beverage.”
“What are you, some kind of God damn faggot?” He nudged his friend and said, “Bobby, listen ta this boy talk.” Then he turned to Bogus and said, “Hey, faggot, say something.”
Bogus smiled and said, “Faggot? I believe that is slang for homosexual. I assure you I am not, as I am getting married tomorrow.”
Bobby looked momentarily confused and then said, “Yep, that’s a faggot.”
The larger one turned toward Bogus
and said, “Ain’t no faggots allowed, now get the fuck out.”
“Oh, I see. Your psychosis lies in the territorial. You feel a need to dismiss all of those who you feel do not belong. Well, I am sorry but I am here enjoying time with my future in-laws so I cannot leave just yet. Now I am sure that my refusal will be met with physical confrontation, is that correct?”
Before the man could reply, Bogus’ hand shot up burying two fingers into his throat compressing the larynx. He staggered back holding his throat, unable to breathe. The second man swung at Bogus, who side-stepped and laid a crushing blow to the man’s neck, disrupting the blood flow to the brain from the carotid artery. He collapsed to the floor. The third man lifted a beer bottle and swung it at Bogus’ head. Bogus ducked and planted a vicious shot to the diaphragm and finished with a savage blow to the neck. The third man also collapsed to the floor. Then Bogus turned and stepped to six inches in front of Leon’s face, his former congenial look gone and replaced with the raging cold face of a warrior. Then he spoke. “I’m sure this was a little test to see if I could defend your daughter. Well sir, I assure you that any threat she may encounter will be handled quickly and without remorse. Do you have any other concerns?”
Leon meekly shook his head and said, “No.”
Bogus turned to Jack and a wide eyed Joseph and said, “How about either of you.”
They also shook their heads. Bogus nodded and said, “Good.” Then, like throwing a light switch, the affable friendly Bogus returned. He looked down and saw the big man struggling to his feet and said, “Here, let me help you.” He reached down and pulled him to his feet as the other two also got up. “Now gentlemen,” Bogus said with a smile, “according to redneck convention it is my responsibility to purchase beverages, and then we shall all become friends. What is your name sir?”
“Uh, Bubba, Bubba Johns.”
