by June Kramin
“Which is a lot of the time,” Dusty said as if he knew the answer. She couldn’t return her attention to him. “I know some people. I’ll find you some help.”
“Why do you care what happens to me?”
“Because he’s involved with a friend and he could end up hurting her someday, too. What he’s doing—all the different partners—it isn’t safe.”
“I know. We only…when he…” she bit her bottom lip.
Dusty held his hand up. “You don’t need to tell me. I’ll be back. I’m going to help you. You have my word on that.”
Gina addressed Katie. “I’m especially sorry for what I said to you. You look like a really nice lady.”
“That’s okay. You seem to have more than your share of reasons.”
“It’s just…this isn’t the first time one of his whores have come looking for him. Not that you’re…”
Dusty could see Katie fighting tears. Gina had placed her hand on the door. Dusty placed his hand on hers. “We’ll be back soon.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, but I won’t be holding my breath.” She walked away, brushing tears from her cheek.
As Dusty pulled away, Katie went into a tirade. “That fucking asshole! She barely looked eighteen! He beats her and probably rapes her? Go to the police station, Dusty. This Ronald is going down.”
“Hold on. We can’t go in there and make accusations. She’s so afraid of him, she’ll deny every one of them and that will only get her in more trouble with him later.”
“Then what now? You get me involved in this and then you tell me I can’t do anything?”
“I didn’t say that. We need to figure out what to do.”
“Can’t we get her to a women’s shelter?”
“She already said she’s afraid of him finding her.”
“Then what?”
“Can I break our deal?” he asked.
“What deal?”
“I want to involve my mother. If you’re going to ride this out with me, you’ll have to meet them sooner than I planned.”
“Is it really that bad?”
“Mom and May are great. Dad and I don’t always see eye to eye.”
“Who’s May?”
“The housekeeper.”
“You have a housekeeper?”
“Um, yeah. Sorry. My family is kinda loaded. I was going to get around to that later, too.”
“The BMW kind of gave you away, law-boy. Sorry to burst your bubble.”
“So, will you only love me for my money now?”
Her eyebrows raised as if he was crazy. “I never said I loved you.”
“Yet,” he said with a grin.
“You’re certifiable.”
“Crazy for you, cupcake.”
“Oh geez.”
“Don’t worry. It’ll grow on you, sweetness.”
Dusty called his mother, but she was out of town until tomorrow afternoon. He and Katie made a plan to drive out and talk to her then. He didn’t want to give her any details over the phone. She was about to give a lecture at what he called her “Estrogen Fests”; he didn’t want anything else on her mind. Not having a better plan at the moment, they decided to go out for the burger they discussed earlier.
After Dusty paid the check, someone by the bar shouted. “Katie? What the hell?”
Katie mumbled, “Crap.”
Dusty said, “Oh shit,” under his breath as Rex rushed over to their table.
“We had a date. Thanks for calling me.”
“I’m so sorry, Rex. We got busy. I completely forgot.”
“Who’s this clown?”
“This is my friend, Dustin. We had an errand today, trying to help a girl.”
“Help a girl, huh? By the looks of you, I’d say you just crawled off the couch with this asshole.”
“Hey. Knock that shit off. Don’t talk to her like that,” Dusty said. He stood and gave Rex a shove.
“Make me,” he said, shoving back.
Dusty knew how this was likely to end, but he had to play somewhat dumb. “Is this your boyfriend, Katie? I’m sorry if I created a problem.”
“Boyfriend? She ain’t spreading them for me if that’s what you mean. Congratulations, asshole.”
“That’s it!” Dusty shouted, shoving Rex again. “Outside!”
“Why wait?”
Rex punched Dusty again, but this time it landed on his cheek. The force of it sent Dusty back a few steps, but he wasn’t knocked out. Other patrons were there to break it up quickly. Katie continued to voice her anger at Rex and pound at his chest, while strange men held him back.
Dusty took Katie by the arm and led her out of the bar. When they were outside, she stopped him. “I’m so sorry, Dusty. He’s never been so angry like that. We’ve only had a few dates and he was always so sweet.” She touched the small cut and he winced. “I want to take you to see Court.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“I want her to look at it, Dusty.”
“What if she and Dean are busy…y’know,” he said as he made a cup out of one hand and poked his index finger in and out of it.
Katie laughed at him. “I’ll call her first.”
“You want to tell her about Ronald right away, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do.”
“I appreciate your restraint in at least getting through the meal before bolting over there.”
“You’re the one that wanted me to do it.”
“I know. I’m glad, really. We’ll do it together.”
Dusty and Katie showed up at Dean’s. He and Courtney were doing pretty much what the two of them would be doing later. Movies and sex. They happened to catch them on a break; Courtney was happy to look at his cut.
“Hell of a shiner,” she said as she examined it. “I didn’t think Rex had it in him.”
“I don’t know why he flipped out so bad,” Katie said.
“’Cause you have ‘fucking hair,’ hon. Mother Teresa would think you just had sex, seeing you from a mile away.” Self-consciously, Katie ran her fingers through her hair. Courtney laughed at her. “You know that guy has been wanting in your pants.”
“I wasn’t ready,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. Dusty fought his grin. She always did look cute when she got pissed.
“So. Do tell. What does wonder-boy bring to the table that Rex didn’t?”
“Courtney!”
The men laughed at Courtney’s boldness.
She gave a final glance at the butterfly bandage she put on Dusty and stood up straight. “You’ll live.”
“Thanks. I owe you a big favor, but I’m afraid all I have is some bad news instead.”
“What bad news?”
“Dusty, let me,” Katie said, stepping forward.
“Be my guest.” He made a sweeping motion with his hand, as if giving her the floor to speak. He went over and sat with Dean on the couch.
“There’s no easy way to say this.” She motioned her head in Dean’s direction. “Should we really do this in front of him?”
“Dean’s a big boy. I’ll only tell him later anyway.”
Katie rolled her eyes. “Jackass.”
“See. I knew you’d start using pet names soon, too, pumpkin.” She ignored him and returned her attention to her best friend. “Ronald is married.”
“He is?”
“Yes. His wife is barely old enough to drive, she has a small child, and we’re sure he’s abusive.”
“What? How do you know this?”
“We talked to her today.”
“You talked to her? How did you find out?”
“Dusty knew the guy. He did some background checking on him. He’d seen you with him and knew the guy was bad news. We did it for you, Court. Don’t be mad. You’re not the only one he’s sleeping with and that came straight from his mouth. He’s a man whore. He has no decency and deserves to be shot.”
“So let’s go shoot him,” Courtney said with a shrug.
“Really? That’s it?”
“What did you want from me? I love him? I don’t care what he’s done? He has a dick the size of King Kong and you gotta take the bad with the good?”
“I…I guess I didn’t know how you’d take it.”
“I’ll go to his work right now and send his nuts into next Tuesday and tell him to stay away from me.”
Dusty stood. “As much as I’d like to see that, I’d like his wife to be free and clear of him first. He has an angry streak in him and I don’t want her catching the brunt of it. This will have to wait a day or two until we get this sorted out.”
“What’s with you taking this on, Dusty?” Courtney asked as she walked over to him.
“You’re important to Katie, so you’re important to me.”
“Really?”
“Of course.” He shrugged as if it were no big deal. “My mom has always done charity work for single mothers and such. It got ingrained in my head. It will be right up her alley to hop in and help this girl.”
“And what about Ronald?”
“I imagine after she’s gone, it’ll only make things easier on him. He can bring chicks back to his place now,” Dean said.
“That’s not good enough,” Dusty replied. His thought went to Courtney getting the disease again. She might be saved now, but there would be other girls. This wasn’t over.
“What are you thinking?” Katie asked.
“I’m not sure. We’ll take this one step at a time.” He turned to Courtney. “If he calls you, please blow him off. Don’t say anything about this. Just make an excuse to not see him, okay?”
“Make up your mind, Dusty. You want me to blow him off or not see him?”
He dropped his head to his chest with a chuckle. He forgot how he had to watch his mouth around Courtney. Everything he said, she could and would turn into a dirty phrase when given the chance.
Dean reached for her and pulled her on his lap. She squealed as he did so. Dusty took that as their cue to leave. “Thanks for looking at my cheek.”
“You two stay out of trouble. You hear?” Courtney scolded.
“We’ll try.” Dusty counted out the score so far. One chin shot, one eye, and one cheek. He was pretty well rounded. He hoped this was over. Maybe he ought to take a boxing lesson or two when this was all said and done.
Katie and Dusty were once again in a tangled mess of sheets, pillows, and comforter a while later. Katie was lying on top of Dusty and rested her chin in her hands. “Why am I so comfortable with you?”
“My relentless charm and good looks?” She kissed over to one of his nipples then gave it a playful bite. “Ouch!” he half laughed, half screamed. He rubbed it for a second then flipped her to her back as she squealed. “Foul, missy.”
“I was serious, Dusty. I’ve pretty much pushed everyone away most of my life. I had a lot of boyfriends, but nothing I let get very serious. I’ve certainly never gone to bed with someone so soon before.”
“You were just saving yourself for me.”
“You’re awfully sure of yourself.”
“I knew we were meant to be when I saw you. The fact that Courtney and Dean get along so well is a bonus.”
“You really seem intent on keeping an eye on her.”
He grinned. “Jealous?”
“No. It just seems like there is something more I should know about this.”
“There is nothing else you need to know, sweet cheeks. I hate any guy that treats a girl like that. I don’t know if I could look the other way, even if Courtney wasn’t involved. Like I said to her, I guess it was my mom rubbing off on me. She dragged me to enough black tie fundraising events; that stuff starts to sink in.”
“I suppose.”
“You’re just as kind-hearted. You can’t tell me when you’re a successful vet that you won’t volunteer your time at a local animal hospital and do spay and neuter clinics.”
Her eyes went wide. “I always planned on doing that. How would you know that?”
“I told you. I can tell.” He gave her a gentle kiss that turned into something that lasted much longer. Their tongues intertwined and low growls escaped their throats. The lovemaking began again with Dusty still only feeling a little guilty for cheating on his wife with herself.
Chapter Twenty
Katie shook Dusty out of a sound sleep. “Dusty, wake up.” He sat up quickly. “What’s the matter?”
“It’s time.”
“Time?” He was confused. It was pitch black. He was waking up enough to realize he wasn’t when he just was. Which Katie was this? A realization hit him as she placed his hand on her large, pregnant stomach.
“It’s time to go. I’ve been lying here watching the clock. They’re coming every seven minutes.”
“Shit! Seven minutes, Katie? Why didn’t you wake me sooner?” If there was one thing Dusty didn’t want to live again, it was this.
“They were kind of wonky for a while. They were twelve, then six, then fifteen. I didn’t think it was happening.”
He threw the sheets off and hit the floor, running to the dresser. Maybe if he moved faster this time, they’d make it to the hospital. She let out a loud moan, and he rushed to her side. “You okay?”
“That one friggin’ hurt!”
“Come on, babe. Let’s get you going.” She cried out again as he stood her up. “Jesus, Katie. I don’t know. Let me call an ambulance if you’re that bad.”
“No. I’m fine. What if it’s a false labor? I’m not going through the embarrassment. I’m not due for another nine days.”
“This has to be it with the way they’re hitting you. Let me call.”
“No! Please, Dusty.” She placed her hand on his face. “I want you to take me. I’m fine.”
“Okay. But will you please put a comfy maternity dress on this time?”
“This time? I like my jeans. They’re comfy and it has to be ten degrees outside.”
She let go of him and walked to the closet to pull her jeans on. He sighed and pulled a sweatshirt off his closet shelf. “I’m going to pull the car up. I’ll come back up and get you. I don’t want you taking the stairs on your own.”
“Yes, Daddy.”
When Dusty ran back up the stairs, she was waiting for him with her overnight bag. He took the bag then her arm and slowly walked down the stairs with her. A strong contraction hit as they were halfway down. Her nails dug into his arms as she let out a scream. Crap! It’s happening just as it did before.
“Babe. Please. Let me call an ambulance.”
“No, Dusty.” Tears began to stream from her face. He never could stand to see her cry. “Please, no. First babies take forever. I’m just some kind of weakling that can’t take the pain. What kind of mother will I be? What was I thinking? Maybe we shouldn’t do this.”
He couldn’t hold back his laugh. “It’s a little late for that, sweetness. This kid is coming out. He or she is excited to meet their beautiful mama.”
She sat down. “I can’t do this.”
“Babe, please. We don’t have time to mess around here.”
“Oh, so you sit with me for some Lamaze classes and now you’re a professional on childbirth?”
“Come on, Mommy. You can call me every name in the book, but I’d like to get going.”
“Kiss me.” He gave her a quick kiss and tried to stand her up. “No. Kiss me right.”
“Baby, come on.”
“Not until you kiss me. If I ever needed to get lost in you, Dusty, it’s right now. Please kiss me.”
He didn’t want to stall, but he knew there was no changing their history. He sat next to her on the stair and brought her to him, both hands holding her face. His gentle kiss quickly turned into one of entwined tongues that made him forget for a second what was going on.
When they finally broke apart she said, “You know, Dusty. If we have sex, maybe the kid will want to stay put for a while.”
“Nice try, cupcake. Let’s go.” He helped her to h
er feet and made it out the door and in the car without any more incidents.
“Are we in a storm watch?” she asked.
“I haven’t heard anything other than we’re getting eight to ten inches.” He grinned at her. “Of snow between now and noon.”
“I’m about to pass a watermelon from my crotch and you’re making sex jokes?”
“You just…never mind.” He gave her hand a squeeze. “Sorry, babe.”
She shook his hand free. “Both hands on the wheel, Dusty. This shit looks nasty.”
Oh, how he loved these hormone swings. Not. After they drove for a while, he realized the radio was off. What they both needed was a good distraction. “I’ll see what we can get on the radio for an update.” After a few channels, he caught one that said the winds were picking up and they were indeed in a weather advisory and unnecessary travel was discouraged. “I think we qualify as necessary travel. At least the plows have been out. The roads are fine.” Katie hadn’t said anything for a while. “Babe? You okay?”
She had both hands on the sides of her stomach and was panting in quick breaths. “Bad one?”
After a few more breaths she said, “They’re all bad.” She then let out a scream that made Dusty hit the brakes. The road was slick enough to send them sliding a little.
“Shit! What was that?”
“This kid isn’t waiting!” She screamed and threw herself back. She grunted hard through more breaths and reclined the seat back. “Oh God, Dusty. Do something! Make it stop!”
He flung his car door open and tried to stand. A curse escaped him after he got hung up on the seatbelt. You think I’d remember it this time! He ran around the front of the car. His feet slipped on the icy road but he caught himself on the hood before he fell.
“Dusty! Where are you?” Katie screamed.
He reached the door and flung it open. He saw her scrunch up and squint her eyes shut. She looked like she was bearing down. It was then that he remembered the jeans. Quickly leaning in, he grabbed hold of them and pulled them down to her knees. A scream came out of her that ripped him in two. He placed his hands down just in time to play the first game of catch with his daughter. Only her head was out and she wasn’t crying. Even though he had been through this before, he was scared at the silent infant. Katie’s water never even broke, but it wasn’t something he realized the first time. He had remembered an old Rescue 911 about a couple having a baby at home and it wasn’t crying either. The guy said, “I wanted my son to cry, so I knew I needed to make him mad.”
