Folding Hearts

by Jennifer Foor

  Get a grip.

  “Hey, you look like you are havin’ fun. Good thing Courtney came along.”

  He shrugged and looked over at her talking to Van. “She’s alright.”

  “You do know she is the former Ms. Kentucky?”

  “She told me, like ten times already. It’s getting old.” He said close to my ear in an almost whisper.

  I pulled away from him and looked at his face, but before I could say anything else he smiled at me and looked down at my body. I started to shiver as his eyes started at my face, but slowly moved down every inch of my figure. When his eyes met mine again, I felt like they were on fire, burning into me. Before either of us could say anything, he was handed two beers by Courtney and being hauled back out to the dance floor away from me.

  He turned to look back at me as he walked away, giving me a half smile.

  Van filled the empty gap between us and giggled as Colt came up behind her. I spotted my brother and his slutty girlfriend grinding all over each other in a corner of the bar, while Colt and Van made company next to Ty and Courtney. I found a stool located at the bar and sat down on it, spinning around every now and again to watch everyone else having a good time except for me.

  My brother was such an asshole for bringing me out, but making sure that I couldn’t hang out with Ty. Maybe nobody else noticed his schemes, but I wasn’t going to pretend Ty’s hookup was a coincidence. He was rubbing Ty’s love for anything with a vagina in my face. He wanted me to see that he was the type of guy I didn’t need in my life.

  A few mixed drinks later, a slow song came on. I didn’t even want to turn around and watch Ty grinding all over that blonde tease, so I just kept flirting with the bartender. When I felt someone spinning me around I started to scream. Ty’s face lit up in front of me. “How about a dance?” He asked while offering his hand.

  I didn’t waste a second as I grabbed his hand and let him guide me onto the dance floor. “Where is your date?”

  “She ain’t my date and she went to the bathroom. I hated seeing you over there all by yourself. I thought we were going to hang out more tonight,” he admitted.

  I could feel the redness rushing to my cheeks and tried to look down so that he couldn’t notice. His hands were wrapped around my waist, and he kept them there instead of letting them linger around my ass. I would have been fine if they wandered around, but he seemed content the way they were. “I thought we were goin’ to hang out too. I think my brother thinks there is somethin’ goin’ on between us. I told him that he was crazy and we were just friends.” You smell so good that I want to take you outside and let you do whatever you want to me.

  “Yeah, I told him we were just friends too. He is just looking out for you. He knows my track record and doesn’t want you getting hurt. He is your brother and it is his job to protect you. It doesn’t help matters when you look so fucking hot in that dress.”

  Ahh, he did notice.

  “Well I just wish he would mind his own damn business. If I want to hook up with someone than I can damn well do it. He can’t control my life ya know.” Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.

  The man smelled so good. I felt like I could just lick every inch of his skin. His hands remained firm on my waist, but it made me hot just thinking about what else they were capable of doing to me.

  Ty slowly pulled his face back enough to be able to look at me. “It’s not like you have someone in mind to hook up with right?” He asked with a smile across his face.

  I opened my mouth to speak and felt someone tapping on my back. “Mind if I cut in?” Courtney asked.

  Yes I mind. Damn, I was in the middle of something. “No he is all yours,” I said as I let go of Ty’s shoulders and backed away from them. Before I turned to walk back to the bar, I caught Ty glaring at me. When he caught my gaze, he smiled back at me.

  Was something really happening between us?

  I glanced over at my brother and his girlfriend and then back to Colt and Van. They were all too busy with themselves to even notice Ty and me dancing. I headed in the direction of the ladies room to freshen up, but felt someone tugging on my arm. I really thought it was Ty, just trying to get me alone for second, but the face in front of me wasn’t him. Tucker gritted his teeth and spoke into my hair. “Walk outside with me and do not make a fuckin’ scene if you know what is good for you.”

  Chapter 10

  Tyler

  I never expected my visit to Kentucky to result in me having fantasies of being with someone I had always just considered my family, but every damn time I got around Miranda now, I felt like it was undeniable. She was gorgeous and witty, and not to mention an excellent mother. Who cared about her past relationships, or her taste in men? It was obvious that she had bad luck with guys and I could understand how her sex appeal would get her into trouble.

  The girl could walk into a room and turn heads. She didn’t have to wear skimpy dresses or doll her face up in makeup. She had it naturally. I know because I had seen the way she looked when she woke up. Her hair may have been a mad mess, but she was adorable anyway.

  I knew what Conner was doing when he picked up Courtney, and part of me wanted to thank him for the gesture, the other part, well not so much. If I were at home and met this girl under different circumstances perhaps I would have liked to take her home and show her a good time, but ever since I walked down those steps and saw Miranda, she was all I could think about.

  I don’t think she had any clue what she was doing to me. While Courtney continued to throw herself all over me on the dance floor, I couldn’t stop peeking over her shoulder to catch just a glimpse of Miranda. The way that dress came down so low and showed off her breasts made me crazy. It also made her ass pop and I wanted to reach my hands under it and touch her soft skin. She could have been a swim suit model. The girl was perfection.

  My leg was really starting to throb, so I excused myself from the next dance to take a seat at the bar. I headed in the direction of where Miranda had been sitting, not noticing yet that she was nowhere to be seen. I took a few more looks around the crowded bar as I sat down and ordered a drink. Courtney plopped down in the stool next to me and slid her hand up the thigh of my jeans. I still couldn’t believe I was considering turning down such an easy lay.

  “You’re even hotter than I pictured,” she purred.

  I considered allowing her to keep thinking that she had a chance with me, and maybe even being nice just in case my next visit here didn’t go as well and I needed an easy out-of-town booty call. She was definitely going to be pissed if I told her I wasn’t interested and part of me was saying what a fool I was being for denying myself a piece, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Miranda. Hell, I didn’t even know if I even had a chance with her at this point. Not only had we both talked about just being friends, but also we had never made a move on each other. I just had this feeling that I couldn’t shake. I needed to find out why I couldn’t stop thinking about her.

  Reluctantly, I grabbed Courtney’s hand and pried it off of my leg. “Look, you are really hot and I appreciate you hanging out with me tonight, but I just can’t hook up with anyone right now.”

  I thought that my words were nice enough to get her to back off. “I know all about your relationship with Savanna. I wish you would reconsider, because I am sure that after one night with me, I will make you forget all about her.”

  Don’t picture her naked…

  “Yeah, it’s just not going to happen. I am sure it would be a great time, but I just can’t tonight.”

  “It’s too bad. You don’t know what you are missing. I have a lot of special talents that you don’t know about.”

  “I bet you do.” I shot her a smile and continued to look around the bar. “Have you seen Miranda? I haven’t seen her since our dance ended and she doesn’t have a car here to leave.”

  Courtney crossed her legs and gave me a dirty look. “I can’t believe you are actually blowing me off to look for your whore
of a cousin.”

  I tried to remain calm to the best of my ability, but I knew I was doing a piss poor job. “What the hell did you just call her?”

  “I called her a whore, a slut, a ho, because that is what she is. Everyone in town knows how easy that girl is. Then she went and got knocked up by that drifter criminal. How much lower can you get? Look, I am sorry, but your cousin is far from perfect. She probably left with some stranger, knowing her.”

  I wanted to smack the bitch. I knew to never lay a hand on a female, but this chick was asking for it. Even if I only considered Miranda my family, I couldn’t believe she would have the nerve to say such horrible things about her. “The person you are calling a whore is someone that I care about. She isn’t just family to me, she is one of my closest friends. How can you sit there and hit on me, after only knowing me a couple of hours, but accuse her of being easy? If you ever had a chance in hell at being with me, you just lost it all together, you spoiled little cunt. If you’ll excuse me, I need to find Miranda because I know she isn’t doing anything like you suggested.”

  Yeah, I said that word. The word I never should say to a woman. She deserved it! Screw her and her little God damn title. She can take that little crown and shove it up her tight ass!

  As I walked away, I caught the appalled look on Courtney’s face. I wanted to walk back and jump in front of her yelling ‘HA’, but I kept on walking. Conner must have spotted our confrontation, because he walked toward me, while his girlfriend ran toward Courtney. “What happened?”

  “Look, that bitch was talking trash about your sister. Maybe I was out of line, but I told her where to go.”

  “She don’t like my sister cause Randa slept with her boyfriend a while back. My sister doesn’t have the best track record with guys. Most girls can’t stand her around here.”

  “Your sister is my friend and I didn’t appreciate that bitch saying those things about her. She is a good girl who made bad choices. She is a great mother and an honest friend. She didn’t deserve that.”

  “Thanks for takin’ up for her. So where is she? She didn’t hear ya’ll talkin’ did she?”

  “I haven’t seen her for at least two songs. I thought maybe she went to the bathroom, but nobody has come from that direction in a while.”

  Conner finally seemed genuinely concerned for his sister. He began probing the entire bar again for any sight of her. “I will go check the bathroom. Do me a favor and go check out by the car. Sometimes phone service in here sucks. She might just be checkin’ on the baby.”

  I gave Conner a nod and walked in the direction of the exit. After walking toward the back of the bar I could hear someone talking. When I saw Tucker, I ducked down behind a car to see exactly what he was doing. From the angle I was standing, I couldn’t see who he was talking to. My first instinct was to just jump him before he caught wind of me being behind him, but I didn’t have anyone there to back me up and he was obviously with someone. One wrong kick to my leg and I would be back in physical therapy again.

  I could hear him gritting his teeth, but couldn’t figure out exactly what he was saying, or who he was saying it to.

  Slowly, I crawled one more car closer, trying to get a better look. Immediately, I spotted Miranda. He had her by the throat and was licking her cheek. I still couldn’t make out his words, but it didn’t matter because I ran right toward him, throwing myself full force at his pathetic ass. He went down quickly and Miranda backed away from us. With two swift punches to his jaw, I had forced his face to hit the concrete.

  I could hear Miranda crying as I watched Tucker try to get back onto his feet, the whole time spitting out blood from his mouth. “Stay down if you know what is good for you!” I threatened.

  “Fuck you. The bitch deserved it.”

  Since I had no idea what he meant, I looked over toward where Miranda was standing. She was hunched over a car and holding her face with her hand. “Hey, you okay?” I asked.

  She just nodded and never took her hands down. I turned my attention back to Tucker who was now sitting down, leaning against his car. “What did you do to her?”

  He didn’t answer. I kicked him. “What the hell did you do to her?”

  “I taught the bitch a lesson about runnin’ her mouth. What’s it to you anyway?” He asked.

  Conner came up behind me before I could answer. When I heard him approaching I turned to look at him heading in the direction of where his sister stood. He leaned over her and pulled her hands away. Her face and hands were covered in blood. She was crying. I heard Colt’s voice behind me, giving the address to the bar. Assuming that he was speaking to the police, I looked back to Tucker. Before I could react, he took out my legs and sent me flying down to the ground.

  As I moved myself away from his legs, I saw Conner jumping on top of him. They started rolling around on the concrete parking lot. Within seconds, Conner had Tucker pinned down to the ground. “Stay down you little punk ass bitch!”

  “Fuck you!”

  I couldn’t contain my anger. I took my foot and forced it hard into Tucker’s side. The sudden pain must have ripped through him. He crunched himself up into a ball holding where my foot had been. “That is for laying a hand on a female.” I kicked him in the face. “That one was for busting out my mirror.”

  “This changes nothin’!” He yelled from on the ground. “She is still nothin’ but a common whore. You think your family can keep all of her dirty laundry hidden? Everyone knows it.”

  I gave him one final kick in the side before I heard the sirens coming our way.

  I have no idea how long it really took, but the police arrived and Colt forced me to walk away. While Tucker was being subdued and put into handcuffs, I rushed to Miranda’s side. She was already surrounded by Conner’s girlfriend and Van. Colt suggested I steer clear of the cops due to the fact that I already was on probation in another state. Even though it was nothing compared to a violent type of crime, it still wouldn’t help with my future if I continued to get into trouble with the law.

  They had to force me away from Miranda’s side. Colt handed me his keys and suggested I wait it out in the back of the car. All I could do was think of Miranda. I needed to see that she was okay. The last thing I saw was her face covered in blood. She needed to go to the hospital.

  After at least thirty minutes, I noticed the police cars driving away. Colt headed in my direction, followed by Van holding a very distraught Miranda. Colt leaned over and got the seat pushed down so that Miranda could climb into the back. Just like when she was giving labor, I pulled her head on top of my lap. I stroked her hair away from her face. She was still crying out and it wasn’t just from being upset. I could sense from the way her body was tensed up that she was in a bunch of pain.

  “Are we taking her to the hospital?” I asked as we pulled out of the parking lot.

  “Yes, we will be there in fifteen minutes. Van, can you call my aunt and tell her to meet us there?” Colt handed her his phone as he continue to drive.

  “What the hell happened back there? Did anyone see that asshole come into the bar?” Colt asked.

  “Not that I know of. She was dancing with me ten minutes before. That bitch Courtney cut in and the next thing I know Conner and I were looking all over for her,” I explained.

  “I told Conner that his threats were goin’ to cause more problems. Damn him for not listenin’.”

  Colt was pissed and I could tell from the way his foot hit the accelerator on the stang. “Let’s get her taken care of and we can figure out what to do next.” I suggested.

  Van turned around and shot me a look. “There is no ‘we’. You are going to go home Ty. You can’t be here for any of this. You are on probation already. We don’t need you being involved in any of this anyway. We can handle it ourselves.”

  “You can’t ask me to leave, not now.”

  Colt looked in the rearview at me. “She is right Ty. You need to pack up your shit and head home. We can take care
of things here. You don’t need any more trouble on your plate.”

  I kept shaking my head. “Hell no! I am not leaving!”

  We pulled up to the hospital and got Miranda inside. Luckily there was no wait and they took her right back. Conner came rushing in behind us and went into the back with her, while me, Van and Colt waited in the designated waiting area.

  Miranda’s mother came running in a while later. She had Izzy with her and approached us as soon as she spotted us sitting there. “What happened?”

  “It was Tucker. He got her alone and jumped her,” Colt explained.

  “Oh my God! I need to go see her. Can you take the baby for me?” She cried.

  I stood up and grabbed Izzy out of her reluctant arms. I think it still shocked the family that I had a connection to her the way I did. “It’s okay. Go ahead. We have her taken care of.”

  She handed us the diaper bag and made her way toward the triage nurse to be let into the back where her daughter was being cared for. Two hours later, they came back out. Miranda’s face was cleaned up, but it looked so bad. The bridge of her nose was busted open and had butterfly stitches. Her left cheek was swollen and already turning purple. Dried blood was caked over her scalp. Her busted lips were both swelled to double in size. Miranda had a sling on her right arm and walked like she was in pain elsewhere.

  We all rushed to her side, but she never spoke. Her mother took Izzy out of Van’s arms and the three of them made their way to her car instead of Colt’s. I understood, but I couldn’t help but want to make sure she was okay.

  The ride home was quiet, with the exception of Colt and Van telling me I needed to pack up my shit and leave first thing in the morning. They didn’t want the police to know that I had been involved. The plan was to say that I came home a day earlier and had nothing to do with being at the small dive bar.

  I argued with them, but left as they suggested. I was so pissed that I made it home in record time. I was glad that I could kiss Izzy goodbye, but Lucy said that Miranda stayed the night with her mother and I didn’t want to wake them to say goodbye.