Holden turned to face the room as Tallulah prepared to walk away to join her brother and Janie. Good Lord, she was a fine woman. Her hand grazed across his abdomen when she turned, intentionally tugging in his belt loop. “You can start warming that up now. I am feeling mighty powerful tonight,” Tallulah whispered.
He didn’t respond, but looked up in time to see Orlando Flynn watching him. Watching them. Holden angled his head, allowing the heaviest portion of his hair to fall to one side. He tossed it over his shoulder as he made visual contact with Orlando and winked at the man.
Orlando’s face contorted. He mouthed the words, “I still don’t like you.”
Holden mouthed back, “But your wife does...”
Tallulah had stopped in the floor and looked back at him. He smiled at her, causing her to blush more than she should have. Holden’s gaze went back to Orlando. “She likes me too...”
Holden threw up a two finger salute and made his way to the door. He needed to hydrate and get ready for his late night date with a pretty doctor. She had a way of leaving him dry-mouthed.
Chapter Twelve – The Shocker
It took Orlando Flynn nearly three months, but somehow he managed to convince his wife to invite a few other singles to their Friday night couple’s dinner. Janie and Ethan were standard at the first Friday of the month gathering. Once the crabby neighbor Guy moved out, Jack and Samantha Fischer moved in next door.
Jack Fischer had the same effect on him as counting loose bolts and nuts in the hardware store. He desperately wanted to replace the couple with someone more interesting. Since Guy had moved, he didn’t have a sparring partner, but Holden Cimoc gave as good as he got. Something about him he liked. He also knew his little secret. It was going to be fun to expose them both.
“Quetta? Quetta? Did you invite them?” he called from the back room.
“Who?”
“Did you invite Doc Strom? I mean she is going to be our pediatrician, ain’t she?” he asked.
“She declined because of that reason. She said she doesn’t mix business with pleasure,” Jacquetta responded.
“We’ll get another pediatrician,” Orlando said happily.
“What are you up to, Orlando Flynn?”
He was almost giddy. “Doc Strom is getting it on with Holden. He practically lives there, but he leaves his truck at his apartment at night and rides his bike to her house, parking it in the garage. They have been going strong for several months now,” he told her with a toothy grin.
“Orlando, you need to a find a new hobby,” his wife told him.
“I did. I’m thinking about opening a Private Eye business,” he said proudly.
“Stop being silly. All you have to do is go to the butcher shop to hear Mr. Baldwin tell everything going on in the neighborhood. Besides, why do you care?”
He shrugged his shoulders.
“He loves her, but wants to let it evolve at her pace, but she is tough. She’s not going to give in easily,” Orlando said.
“Inviting them to dinner is going to do what exactly?”
“It’s going to put it all out in the open,” he told her with a smile.
Orlando had also invited Sheriff Hill as well as Lucy Pastmire, a pretty single young woman whom Orlando had just hired in his store. He was also aware of the past relationship between the Sheriff and Doc Strom. For good measure, he also invited an old Army buddy that could charm the hood off a cobra.
Friday night was going to be the best dinner ever.
“I’m thinking about getting out my action camera and wearing it on my head to get everything on film,” he said, bouncing.
Jacquetta never thought she would say the words, but she missed Guy. He was a crotchety pain in the ass, but at least he helped her husband burn off some of the expendable energy he was not using at the hardware store. This is going to be bad. I can feel it in my bones.
Little did she know, it was going to go from bad to worse.
Tallulah was dead on her feet. Back to school time was the possibly the most horrendous portion of her job. Since winning the grant on childhood allergens, additional funding included a broader population base for immunizations. The week before school meant she went into the office at 7 AM and came home around 7 PM.
Monday was only the first day. Her feet were swollen, her ankles merged into her calves, and she wore several different flavors of baby vomit. It was days like today that she hated her job. She limped into the living room, plopping down in her favorite dent in the couch with her feet propped high. Holden said nothing but instead brought her a soaking tub for her feet along with a plate of whole wheat pasta. A cup of his peach pantomime tea was set beside her to sip along with her meal.
“Tallulah, I got an invite from Jacquetta Flynn for dinner on Friday night. She said I could bring a date. It will be us, Ethan, Janie, a few other couples,” he said.
“I don’t want to go,” she said.
“You haven’t even heard about it yet,” he said to her. He took a seat with a frown on his face.
“I am familiar. Ethan and Janie have been going every week for a while. On Friday’s, I meet Ursula for a drink,” she told him.
“I thought you met her on the second Friday of the month. Besides, will Ursula fall apart if you miss one Friday?”
“No, but why are you so set upon going to this? I don’t like crowds Holden. I really don’t like group interactions with all the cool kids. They are bullies. It makes me all itchy. I don’t want to go.”
He stood up, pacing. “I’m feeling like a caged animal in here, Tallulah. We don’t even have dinner with your brother or family,” he said adamantly.
“We don’t have dinner with them because my brother is married to your sister. It’s just so...incestuous,” she said, twirling the pasta in the plate.
“It is not going to be a crowd, just a few people. I like people in general. I would like for us to be around some other people Tallulah. I can’t be locked up in here all the time. I am feeling...,” he started to say.
“Feeling what Holden? Like an old married man?”
“That’s not what I’m saying. I’d like to go to the lake on the weekends with other couples, go out to dinner, have a card night, share some wine,” he said to her.
“You don’t even drink,” she told him.
“Tallulah, I want to be more social,” he said. “Are you embarrassed to be with me...to be seen with me...are you ashamed to have me as your man?”
She set down her plate.
“No, Holden. That’s not it,” she said, moving closer to him. She placed her hand on his heart. “Your heart is as big and wide as the Grand Canyon. You are loving, trusting, and free spirited. We live in a small town filled with small minded people who will crush that spirit because you are with me. I can’t live with that. I won’t live with that.”
“I think you’re full of crap,” he told her. “You’re self-conscious that you are sleeping with the younger hippie white boy. I’m good enough to screw and help pay the bills but not good enough to take out in public.”
“Holden...no Baby...no,” she cried.
“I get it,” he said. “No worries.”
It was a bad call. She knew it. Holden had become a part of her world. If it was important to him to go, she would go.
“I’ll go,” she said. “I’m getting off later that day, so I will have to meet you there.”
Tallulah had never been on the inside track with the cool kids. Ethan had always managed to find a balance between being the Reverend’s son and the ways of the world. The Reverend’s daughter was held to a different standard. There were so many things she was unsure of, but the one thing she was certain of beyond a reasonable doubt was that cool kids were mean. She avoided so many of the gatherings for the same reason she dearly wanted to avoid this one.
It was their way to find the weakest in the pack and attack it like a band of rabid dogs. She had been on the end of many of such attacks, which is why she pr
eferred her life of solitude. She had been groomed to look a certain part. Jealously had a way of making even the nicest girl turn into a vindictive bitch. One such girl had nearly pulled her hair out by the roots after school. Another such girl tried to strip her naked and throw her out into the gym full of guys. Her father had taught her basic self-protection, but against a gang of mean girls, she also learned to run fast. Her mother had trained her to carry herself a certain way, to speak a certain way and with Holden, she had been free to speak her mind, exactly the way she wanted to say the words. Unseemly or not.
Being with Holden was freeing.
If the stupid party meant so much to him, she would attend. He made her happy and in return, she wanted to do the same. In the past few months, he had become so much to her and in truth, he had become almost her everything. She was in love with the man although she had yet to confess it to him.
It was going to be a bad night. She knew it because Orlando Flynn knew something. He intimated as much when he and his wife had come by her office to make sure she would come to the party. He had a shifty look in his eyes and he was up to something. He was a mean kid with a spiteful streak up his back. Her Holden was about to come face to face with a new reality about the good people of Venture and the people he called friends.
Holden was about to find out just how lowdown they could be.
Chapter Thirteen – 40,000 Volts
Tariq Wells was by all accounts a very good looking man who worked diligently to keep himself in shape. Every woman in the room kept an eye on him. However, something sleazy was sliding over him that Holden could almost visibly witness run down his lying lips. Holden didn’t like Tariq from the moment he walked into Orlando and Jacquetta’s home. He really didn’t like him after he caught Tariq watching Jacquetta’s ass.
Tariq watched Janie’s ass.
In Holden’s eyes, the man was an ass himself.
“Hey, electrical man,” Jacquetta said happily. “I want to introduce you to Lucy. She works over at the hardware store.”
The introductions were as brief as his conversation with the young woman. Although they were close in age by numbers, they were miles apart mentally. Lucy Pastmire had to be the vapidest woman he had ever met in his life.
“Your hair is amazeballs,” she said after the introductions.
“I take it that is a good thing,” he mumbled.
“Totes,” she said.
“Like in a bag?” he responded.
“No, like totally, totes, gorgeous,” she said. “Can I feel your hair?”
“No,” he said firmly. This elicited a pout from the woman, who then took out her phone.
“Let’s do a selfie,” she said, moving closer to him.
“No,” he said again.
“Wow! Like you are intense,” she said with a blank stare. “I take it you aren’t playing PokemonGo?”
Holden wanted her and her Pokemon to go somewhere else and bother someone else. His mind was on Tallulah. For a brief second, an unusual feeling beset him, giving him an instant desire to run. Seldom had the sensation come over him and the last time it did, someone had burned down his sister’s building with Janie in it. He closed his eyes, centering his breathing, trying to settle his nerves. This was not a few couples like Jacquetta had implied, this was a party with a small crowd. He was getting uncomfortable. He knew Tallulah would be as well. Even with his eyes closed, the air in the room shifted when the door opened.
Tallulah had arrived.
So did the bad feeling.
Orlando Flynn was Johnny-on-the-spot introducing her to Tariq. He also made a point to let her know Sheriff Hill was present as well as the blowhard from the used car lot. A cute redhead Holden had never met before walked in the door behind Tallulah. This woman, Orlando shuttled over to Holden. She was a talker.
She shopped at Whole Foods.
She made candles.
She preferred to shop at Trader Joes.
“I’m Sonja. People call me Candy,” she said. “They call me that because I am so sweet.”
“I bet you are, Sonja,” Holden said with no expression on his face. “Excuse me for a minute.”
He worked his way through the crowd to get to Tallulah. The discomfort she was experiencing was all over her face. The men all zoomed in on her all, vying for her attention. Her flirting skills were non-existent and he recognized the panic building in her.
I get it now.
She stays home because it is where she feels safe.
This is out of her element.
“Hey there, Doc, can I get you a glass of wine?” Holden asked.
“That would be lovely, Holden. Thank you,” Tallulah told him.
His hand on her elbow, he escorted her to the kitchen. “Are you friends with Jacquetta?” he asked to change the subject and help her focus.
“No, but we have met,” Tallulah said. Her hands were shaking as she took the wine glass from him.
“She studied art in Italy and lived in Paris. She is like world famous or something,” he said to her. In a lower tone, he whispered, “Sip the wine slowly and breathe. We can make the rounds then leave.”
“I need some air,” she said. “I am having a panic attack, Holden.”
Louder this time, he spoke up, “There is a nice patio out back. They have a deck that faces Jacquetta’s studio. Let me show you.”
In a hushed tone he whispered, “I got you Baby, this way...we will get you some air.”
They walked separately to the back porch, and he stood close enough to give her the secure feeling that he was there next to her, but he didn’t touch her. On the back deck, she took a seat.
“Wait here. I’ll get you something to eat with that wine, okay?”
“Okay,” she said, gripping the glass.
“Be right back,” he told her.
Inside the house, he was waylaid by Lucy and her Pokeball. Janie stopped him to talk about a new lighting scheme for the store. He wasn’t sure what Ethan was saying, but out of the side of his eye, he saw the Tariq guy headed for the back porch. Through the glass, he saw Tallulah come to her feet. Fear gripped him as he made a beeline for the back porch, followed by Ethan.
Tallulah was fighting the man off of her while Tariq was trying desperately to kiss her.
“What in hell are you doing?” Holden asked, grabbing Tariq by his arm.
“We were just having a moment,” Tariq said with a huge grin.
“It doesn’t look like the lady was enjoying it,” Holden said, stepping between them.
“Hey man, we were talking, one thing led to another, I went for a kiss. Maybe I read it wrong,” Tariq said shrugging his shoulder.
“You sure as hell did. You read it really wrong,” Holden said. “You are lucky I don’t knock your block off.”
Ethan had come outside, along with half of the party, to see what was happening. Orlando had come out as well with a bowl of popcorn, eating the popped kernels gingerly as he watched the action unfold.
“Calm down, Holden,” Ethan told him. “Tallulah, are you okay?”
Her eyes were wide. The wine had stained her light pink pants when she jumped to her feet. She tried to upright herself. “I’m okay,” she murmured.
“You calm down, Ethan! What if I hadn’t been paying attention? What if he assaulted her...” Holden said with anger trembling in his voice.
“None of those things happened, Holden. She’s okay. You need to be okay as well. Tallulah, can I give you a ride home?” Ethan asked.
“I am not okay with this, Ethan. As her brother, you shouldn’t be either. Your sister walks in the room and every man thinks she is fair game,” Holden said, raising his voice.
“Seriously, Holden, you need to calm down,” Ethan encouraged him. Holden’s face was getting red, the anger in his eyes evident as he looked at Tariq.
“Would you be calm if you walked out and saw some leech trying to put his mouth on your woman?” Holden asked. The crowd all sucked in their brea
th.
Ethan raised his eyebrows. “Your woman?”
A very frustrated Holden reached in his pocket and pulled out a wad of bills. A crisp twenty was pulled from the stack and handed to Ethan.
“Here man, go buy a damned clue. I have been living with your sister for the past five months. My clothes hang in her closet, I go to bed every night beside this woman, and I wake up beside her. I pay bills, I buy groceries, I take care of the maintenance on her vehicle, her lawn, and any damned thing else she needs. Did you happen to notice the ruby ring on her hand? My woman! My damned woman!” he said with such force that spittle was spraying from the sides of his mouth.
Murmurs went through the crowd.
“Did he say he has been living with the Doc?” a woman in a red dress asked.
“He wakes up next to her?” mumbled Lucy, who had come out to show Holden her phone with her Pokemon Go status.
“Are they engaged?” another man asked.
“I see the ring,” said Sheriff Hill.
“Hmmpf. Miss High and Mighty screwing a hippie white boy,” said one of the ladies from Tallulah’s father’s church.
“No wonder a brother can’t get no play. She on the playground with a little white boy,” said the used car salesman.
“Is he one of her patients?” asked the lady with a plateful of meatballs.
Tallulah was mortified. Her hands went to her cheeks as the tears began to roll. She pushed her way past Holden to get to the stairs. She ran down the few stairs, bolting as fast as her legs could carry her to her car. Ethan had no words.
“Hmm...Janie knew something was going on with you, but she never thought it was that!” Janie told her brother.
Holden only frowned at Janie while his eyes located Orlando in the crowd. “You did this on purpose. Inviting that horny asshole into your home. I hope you’re satisfied. He has spent more time watching your wife’s ass than anything. I hope you are happy and got what you wanted, Flynn!”
Orlando’s eyes were wide like he had done nothing wrong.
Holden Page 9
