Delivering Decker

by Kelly Collins

“Mrs. Riley,” I teased, “I’d just buy you another one.” I swatted her fabulous ass as she walked past me.

  One thing about Hannah was she was pretty low maintenance. I’d waited for hours for some women to get ready, but I imagined Hannah would be back in thirty minutes, and I was right. She walked out of the bathroom with her damp hair hanging around her face in waves; her cheeks were pinked by the heat of the water. Her eyes shone clear and happy for the first time in days, and that dress…it was pure sex appeal draped in innocence.

  We’d spent the afternoon exploring the town. Everything she stopped to look at, I bought. So what if she didn’t need salmon-tooth earrings or chocolate-covered ants? I wanted her to get used to my money.

  “Stop buying me stuff I’ll never wear, eat, or use.” She stood in front of the cashier and begged her to put the chocolate-covered bugs back. “That’s just gross.”

  We’d barely made it out the door when her phone rang. “It’s Stacey. She’s probably thinking someone kidnapped me.”

  “Hey, Stace. I’m fine, I’m with Decker,” she answered. “What? What bad news?” Her pitch hit hysteria in three words. “Oh. My. God.”

  I had thought we’d be free of drama today. I’d checked in on my father while Hannah was in the shower. He was alive and kicking and not happy I’d taken the day off. I’d ignored his rant and hung up. No one was going to ruin my time with her—no one that I knew anyway.

  She ended the call. Her cheeks had lost their pink tone and turned into the sickly color of ash. She looked like she’d drop to the ground any second.

  My hands went to her shoulders to steady her. “What’s wrong?”

  Tears ran from her eyes. “Stacey has been arrested.”

  “For what?”

  “Robbery. I need to get home to get her out. She’s pregnant and alone.”

  “Let’s go.” I hailed a cab to get us to the hotel quicker. Once there, we collected our belongings and headed back to Fury. Seventy miles an hour was pushing the speed limit, but Hannah was so visibly upset that the risk of a ticket wasn’t even a concern. “It’s going to be okay.” I reached across the center console to hold her hand, but she brushed my hand away.

  “Nothing is going to be okay.”

  Those were the exact words I’d told her days ago, and I’d been wrong. She was wrong, too, but I knew this wasn’t the moment to tell her.

  “We were stupid. We can’t pretend we’re other people. It doesn’t work that way. We should grow up and be the people we have to be, even if it means we can’t have what we want.”

  “Hannah, that’s not true. It might not be easy, but we’ll work it out, and it will be worth it.”

  As soon as I stopped in front of the sheriff’s station, Hannah had her hand on the door handle, ready to jump out. “Just go, Decker. I’m not the girl for you. You need someone whose life isn’t as screwed up as yours.” She left me alone in the car with only her words echoing in my head.

  But she was wrong. If she left me, my life would be messed up beyond reason. She was the only thing that made sense.

  Chapter 20

  Hannah

  I gathered my sister from the sheriff’s station where I found her sitting behind Sam’s desk eating a burrito like she was enjoying a lunch break.

  When we walked outside, Grace was leaning against her car, waiting. Decker, Nate, and Silas were in a huddle off to the side. That was the problem with small towns. Fishbowl living was never private. By supper, the entire town would have some version of the story. It would go all the way from her shoplifting a pack of gum to armed robbery. Fury might not have much, but it had its share of busybodies.

  “I can take you home,” Grace said.

  I looked at my sister. I wanted to hug her and slap her at the same time. Instead, I shook my head. “No thanks. My car is at the diner. Stacey and I need to talk, and the walk will do us good.”

  Grace gave me a hug and whispered in my ear, “Call me if you need anything.”

  “I’ll take a ride,” Stacey piped in, obviously wanting to avoid the guaranteed confrontation.

  “You’ll walk,” I said in a clipped tone that should have left no room for negotiation.

  “But I’m pregnant.” She placed her hand on her stomach for effect.

  “Was that a consideration when you were robbing the gas station?” I gripped her elbow in that place where if you pinched too hard it could fold a person to their knees.

  She pulled away with a tug. “I didn’t rob the gas station. I left an IOU at the pump.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. This is all over gas money?” My voice was the type that carried on an average day. Add to that the anger and frustration I felt, and I was sure the entire town of Fury could hear me.

  “Wait up.” Decker ran to my side. “Let me help.”

  “I’ve got it under control.” At least Stacey was out of jail, and the crime was a misdemeanor. She’d have her day in court, and she’d get a fine, but at least she wasn’t looking at any real jail time … this go-around. With Mark, you never knew what the future held.

  “Who are you?” Stacey eyed Decker like he was a window display.

  “I’m your sister’s boyfriend.” He looked at me as if waiting for me to argue.

  I had no idea what we were to each other, and I didn’t have time to ponder it. “This is Decker.”

  He offered Stacey his hand, and she took it in a shake that was far too long and friendly for my taste. “Nice to meet you,” she said in an uncharacteristic breathy voice.

  He paid her no attention, which was one of the things I was beginning to love about him. He was solely focused on his task at hand, and right now that task was me.

  “You need to go,” I repeated. I felt bad for pushing him away. He was everything I wanted, but I couldn’t pull him under the black cloud that hovered endlessly over my head.

  His face fell, but he nodded. “The guys need my help with something. I’ll stop by your house later with your things.” He cupped my cheek and leaned in for a soft kiss. “We need to talk.”

  He was right. I needed him to understand that this bad luck followed me everywhere. He’d be wise to cut his losses now. “You know where I live?” I asked.

  He gave me a slight smile. “I do. I’ve got connections.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Understatement.” I turned around and marched my sister toward the diner.

  Once we were out of earshot, I laid into her. “What the hell were you thinking? If you don’t have money, you don’t get gas.”

  Stacey stepped farther away from me. “That’s rich coming from the girl who climbed out of a Range Rover minutes ago.” She touched the fabric of my dress. “And where did this come from?” She laughed. “That must have been grade-A sex if he bought you a dress.”

  I wanted to slap the smug look off her face. She had no right to judge me when she’d just pulled a Bonnie and Clyde for gas. “I’ve sacrificed everything for you and Mom. You are such a bitch.”

  “You sacrificed? I trudged into class every damn day because of you. I gave up Mark two years ago because of you. He begged me to come with him, and I said no because you wanted me to go to college.”

  “Stacey, he left you anyway. People who love you don’t leave you. He’s no good for you. Don’t forget that I just picked you up from the sheriff’s station. Speaking of Mark, where was he during all this?”

  “He had a meeting at his club, so he left. Sheriff Anders called you and told me to wait. That was illegal, right? He couldn’t keep me. I’m over eighteen.”

  “He was paying you a courtesy. Stop being an ass.” I stomped a few feet ahead of her trying to get a block between Decker and me. It would be so easy to run back to him and fall into his arms, and I knew he’d be there to hold me, but how fair was it for me to saddle him with my problems when he had so many of his own? Right now, Stacey was my most pressing problem. If this was what parenting was like, I couldn’t blame my mother for numbing herself. “Did
you call Mom?”

  “No, she left this morning with that guy, Tanner. Maybe he’ll keep her, and then we’ll both be rid of the burden.”

  Despite the anger and frustration I’d felt with regard to our mother, I was still compelled to defend her. “She’s our mother.”

  Stacey was at a near run to keep up with me. “Some mother she turned out to be.”

  Anger coiled inside me. “How did you grow up to be such an ingrate?”

  Stacey hopped in front of me and poked me in the shoulder with her finger. “How did you grow up to be such a bitch?”

  I fisted my hands and pressed them to my sides. It was all I could do to not punch her. “She’s our mother, and let’s hope you’re as good a mother as she was in her early years.”

  “You’re not setting the bar too high.”

  I pushed past her. “Are you listening to yourself?”

  “Yes, are you? You drive up with your booty call in a fancy Range Rover with a guy that looks like he’s walked off the cover of GQ, and now you’re qualified to give me advice? Wake up, Hannah. Guys like him aren’t going to stick around girls like you. They’re interested in what’s between your thighs, and now that he’s had it…well, you know the storyline.”

  “You’re probably right, but at least he talks in full sentences and bathes.” I was about to ask whether the day could get any shittier when Cameron Longfellow walked out of the diner. “Why me?” I screamed at the sky.

  He stopped dead in my path. “Just the woman I wanted to see.” A smarmy smile froze on his face. “I told you I’d see you soon.”

  Nausea churned in my stomach. Acid burned my throat. How had I ever found him attractive? He had a good-for-nothing look that went perfectly with his overpriced suit and soulless eyes.

  “Go screw yourself, Cameron.” I flinched, expecting him to hit me again. He didn’t. “You need to leave.” His presence made my jaw ache the same way it had the day he punched me. Just seeing him was like getting hit in the head with a brick.

  He held up his hands in surrender. “I’m here to apologize. It’s the last thing I have to do in order to be considered cured.”

  “Great, you apologized, now get the hell out of here.”

  Stacey eyed Cameron from head to toe. “Who the hell is he?” she asked. “Are you doing all the pretty boys?”

  I whirled around to face her. “This isn’t your business.” I hadn’t told anyone in my family what had happened. I didn’t want to burden them with my issues when they couldn’t even handle their own.

  With his hands still raised, Cameron stepped forward. “I never had your sister. She’s a teaser, not a pleaser.” He lowered his hand and tapped my sister on the nose like she was a four-year-old. “You, on the other hand, might be fun.”

  I’d had it. Today I was taking Mona’s advice. I was putting on my mask first. I fisted up and punched Cameron so hard in the nose he landed flat on his ass.

  “I’m pressing charges,” he yelled while the blood ran between his fingers to land on his pristine white shirt.

  “Because that worked so well for you the last time? I owed you that one. Now stay away from me and my family.” I stormed past him to my car. “Get in the car, Stacey.”

  My sister looked at me, then back at Cameron, who was trying to stand unsuccessfully. She didn’t ask another question. Instead, she raced to the passenger side and hopped in.

  Miracle of miracles, the car started right up. Once we were on the road, I told my sister everything that happened between Cameron and me.

  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  I pulled into our overgrown yard and killed the engine. I turned to my little sister and sighed. “I didn’t want to burden you with my shit. I wanted your mind clear and focused on school.”

  “I’m sorry to weigh you down with mine.” For the first time in a long time, Stacey looked remorseful.

  “Are you really in love with Mark?” I asked. I picked up my purse and exited the car.

  “I’m more in love with the idea of him than him. He’s kind of a douche bag, but he’s great in bed.”

  With my arms wrapped around her, I hugged her tight. “He’s not father material, Stacey. You have to think about your baby.”

  “You’re right. That’s what started it all. I spent my last twenty bucks on a home pregnancy test, and he was pissed.”

  I shook my head, hoping I heard her right. “You don’t know for sure if you’re pregnant?”

  She shrugged. “I feel bloated, and I’m late.” She reached into the paper bag and came out with an unopened First Response box. “Let’s go inside and see if you’re going to be an aunt.”

  We walked inside, and she went straight to the bathroom.

  She spoke through the door while she peed on the stick. “Can you believe he pumped the gas and took off?”

  “He what?”

  “He left me there with no money and no way to pay, so I wrote an IOU and stuck it on the pump handle before I started to walk back. That’s when Sheriff Anders swung by and picked me up. Roy had called in the theft.”

  I leaned against the wall and waited for what seemed like an hour but was minutes. “So how did Silas and Grace end up at the sheriff’s office?”

  She opened the door with a smile on her face and breezed past me toward the kitchen. I wasn’t sure whether that meant positive or negative. I didn’t have a good handle on where her feelings were concerning Mark. They seemed to have a love-hate thing going on. “They showed up with Nate and a bag full of burritos. Which was awesome because I was hungry.”

  She grabbed for the teapot, and I gripped her hand. “Stacey, what the hell did it say?”

  “I’m not pregnant.”

  I wanted to jump to the heavens, but I also didn’t want to be insensitive. “How do you feel about that?” That was one of the first phrases I learned in my psychology class.

  She lit the gas burner under the kettle and walked to the table where she plopped down onto a chair. “I don’t know. Relieved. Pissed at myself that I even considered having his baby. He doesn’t love me. Once he bailed on me today, I realized he only loves what I bring to his life, which is occasional cash and a willing body when he strolls through town.”

  “What now?” I took the chair across from her. “Do you want to go back to school?”

  “God no, I hated school. It’s pretty bad when Mark seemed like a better alternative.”

  “You should have told me.” My hand rested on top of hers.

  “I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

  Uncontrollable laughter bubbled up inside of me. “We are quite the pair. I want desperately to go back to school, and you were willing to get pregnant to escape it.”

  “We are a pair. You have a super-hot boyfriend, and I attract men who are worse than maggots.”

  I got up to make an ice pack for my bruised hand. “I’ve had my share of maggots.” The cold pressed to my knuckles hurt like hell, but it hurt in the best of ways. “You know, Decker isn’t really my boyfriend. He’s…I’m not sure what he is.”

  “He’s in love with you. I saw the hurt in his eyes when you told him to leave. It’s a good thing that Silas and Nate were going to find Mark to beat him up, otherwise, I’m pretty sure your puppy would have followed you all the way to the car.”

  “They’re going to what?” I reached for my phone to text Decker.

  “That Silas guy has a real problem with men mistreating women. He said he was going to teach Mark a lesson. I only hope it’s super painful.”

  “Oh, shit,” I said as I sent a where are you text.

  Chapter 21

  Decker

  Kicking someone’s ass wasn’t my average pastime. I was more of a lover than a fighter. In fact, I couldn’t remember a time I had ever hit anyone, but I was game to tag along with Nate and Silas. Maybe I could keep them out of jail or out of the hospital. At the very least, it kept me near people I felt a strange kinship to, and it gave me a reason to
not visit Dad in the ICU. My daily visits were riddled with emotions that ran the gamut from regret to rage. And now that I hadn’t shown up for work for two days, he’d be furious.

  Dad would never understand the need to set a man straight for wronging a woman. He’d never put his neck on the line for anyone else, family included. Dad was more of a survival-of-the-fittest type of guy. A real Darwinian cultist. Only the strongest survived. And the strong tended to be savvy swindlers like him.

  As for women, I would never hurt one physically or emotionally—on purpose. I’d taken the upfront approach all my life. I’d always told them it was a swipe-right date—simply a hookup. If they thought they could change my mind, they were lying to themselves. That was until I met Hannah. She was not a swipe-right chick, she was simply right. She was unlike anyone I’d dated before. She wasn’t refined. She wasn’t rich. She wasn’t over-educated. Hannah was real, and I liked real.

  “You ready?” Silas asked. He looked at my clothes. “Hope you’re not attached to that outfit, there’s a real chance you’re going to get dirty.”

  “I’ve been dirty before.” I rolled up my sleeves and showed off the beef-jerky texture of my still-healing arm. Every move made the scab crack and bleed. I might have grown up wealthy, but I didn’t grow up a wuss.

  “I’ll drive.” I led the two men to my Ranger. It still smelled like Hannah’s perfume. After one long inhale, I was ready to face anything. “Tell me what’s going on so I’m up to date.”

  Silas and Nate tag-teamed the story of Hannah’s little sister and the man she’d fallen for. I knew a lot of other men who were also the love-them-and-leave-them type, but the difference between them and me was the disclosure part.

  In college, my roommate often went what he’d called “slumming,” which meant he preyed on women of lesser means. He enticed them with promises of more, and they fell for it. Yet in the end, when women compared the two of us, I was known as the asshole because I’d been honest with my intentions and he’d been the one that got away.