by Debra Kayn
At her age, he was already having sex. With her mom at work, Scarlett better not have any ideas about taking the boy into the house.
As he rounded the corner, he spotted them walking up to the front door of the house. Four houses away, he barely kept his feet on the pegs for how slow he was going. At least she kept the porch light on, and they weren't out in the dark.
Scarlett stood on the step, making her head reach the boy's shoulders. After several seconds, she put her hands on the boy's arms and leaned in.
He hit the throttle, letting his pipes rumble.
She kissed the boy's cheek quickly and looked out at the street. He rode past the house. That was enough for a first date.
As he turned the corner, he looked back and found the boy jogging to his car. Scarlett was out of sight. The pressure in his chest that'd bothered him all night eased a bit.
Pulling into Steel Mechanics, he parked in the strip of grass in the front and got off the bike. After tonight, he needed to smoke a Marlboro, and then go to bed.
Looking around, he couldn't find his dad's car parked anywhere near the customer's rigs. His step lightened. If he lucked out, his dad would be out all night, preferring to crash at the casino.
His dad spent more and more time gambling now that Olin and Josh had been in prison for two years. With everyone gone, he had full run of the garage until his dad came storming in when it was time to clear out the cash drawer at the end of the day.
Walking around back to avoid turning on all the lights downstairs when he entered, he crossed his arm over his chest and pulled his elbow closer, stretching the tight muscles in his back.
A thunk of wood on wood came from the back of the parking lot. He looked past the glow of the floodlight and found Scarlett hurrying toward him in the shadows.
A pit deep inside of him rumbled, wanting to think she wore the green, scooped-neck shirt and tight jeans for him, even though he knew she wore the same outfit on her date.
She stopped in front of him and planted her hands on her hips. "Why?"
"Why what?"
She glared. "Why did you spy on me and my date all night?"
"You noticed." He shrugged. "I was hungry, so I stopped in at the restaurant."
"Uh." She gawked. "And the movie theater? You just felt like sitting on your motorcycle for almost two hours."
"Who says I did?"
She wrinkled her nose. "I went to the bathroom twice during the movie and looked out the door because I knew you'd followed us. You were there the entire time."
He chuckled, pleased that she'd noticed. He'd gotten her to think about him during the movie, instead of her date.
She crossed her arms. "That's not cool, Nelson."
"It is what it is." He walked to the back door.
She followed. "You didn't answer my question. Why did you follow me?"
"Why did you kiss him on the cheek?"
"Why?" Her back stiffened. "I'm not going to kiss him on the lips."
"Why not?" He lowered his gaze to her mouth.
She refolded her arms in front of her. "Because you were watching."
"Have you kissed a boy yet?" Just knowing he'd asked; he'd gone too far.
"No," she mumbled.
"Do you want to?"
She looked off to the side. "Not with you watching."
"Did you want to kiss that boy?"
Her mouth tightened. He studied her, trying to understand what she'd see in someone so young and inexperienced.
Boys that age couldn't give her what she wanted. They were clumsy, selfish, and quick. He'd been one of those boys.
Scarlett deserved more than being someone's notch on his belt.
"He's nice, but..." She shook her head slowly. "I don't know."
He hooked her chin with his finger and turned her toward him. "Tell me."
"I don't know how to kiss a boy." She lowered her gaze. "Not, so they like it and want more."
His breath caught in his chest. She could ask him for anything, and he'd try his best to make sure she got it.
He'd lost track of how many times, she'd come over to clean him up after his dad beat the shit out of him or how many times, she stood in the upstairs window watching to make sure he came home safe and wouldn't be greeted with a fist in the face.
A little warrior. His biggest supporter.
"Will you show me what boys like?" she whispered.
He exhaled. "Scarlett."
"Please?" She stepped closer. "You're the only one I can ask without feeling stupid."
"Ah, fox." He trailed the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip. "There's nothing stupid about being curious."
She rubbed her lips together. "Then, you'll show me?"
He slowly lowered his head, giving her every chance to change her mind. Her quick inhale proved she was serious as she tipped her head.
Her warm breath fanned his face, pulling him in. With his thumb on her chin, he parted her lips and put his mouth on hers, softer than he was feeling. Softer than he wanted. Softer than anything he'd ever felt in his entire life.
Her pulse raced under his fingertips. His cock hardened at her innocence.
It took all his strength to pull away. Her eyes fluttered open, and she stared up at him lazily.
"That's all there is to it," he whispered.
"Can you do it again." She swallowed. "Longer this time."
He slipped his hand behind her neck and pulled her closer. Capturing her mouth, he kissed her, easing back on the pressure, taking a little more, and then retreating, only to come back and explore again.
Afraid taking a taste of her would scare her, he kept it to only exploring her lips. Tugging, rubbing, until she became lax and caught on to how he was moving. When she sucked his bottom lip and then opened her mouth, he pulled back, putting his forehead on hers.
"That's it." He kissed her softly. "No boy would be disappointed in that."
"What about French kissing." She panted. "Will you show me?"
He growled on his way to kissing her again. When her mouth opened, he dipped his tongue, gently sliding against hers. Expecting her to pull away, he grabbed her hip when she used all her curiosity to draw his tongue into her mouth.
Arousal punched him in the gut. He wrapped his arm around her back and pulled her fully against him. There was no way she could miss his cock pressed against her stomach. He could start a damn earthquake with the way he vibrated.
She moaned. He swallowed the sound, keeping it, owning it.
He deepened the kiss, needing more. Her hands came up and held his head, and his eyes closed at the onslaught of lust rolling through him. He sprawled his hand on her lower back, bending with her.
She melted against him. The slight movement rubbed on him.
The natural instinct to lift her higher until she put her legs around his hips shocked him. He pulled back, breathing heavily.
She blinked at him, lost on what was happening. He stared back at his own need through her eyes.
He knew damn well what he was doing. She hadn't a clue why she was feeling the way she was.
"Fuck," he mumbled, rubbing his hand over his face.
Scarlett stood in front of him. The little neighbor girl.
One more second and he would've been stripping her clothes off her, and she would've let him.
"Go home." His voice rough against his throat.
"Nelson?" She reached for him.
He stepped back, grabbing his pack of smokes, knowing how tempting those hands were to have on his body. "That shouldn't have happened."
Her eyes welled with tears, and she wrapped her arms around her middle, cupping her elbows. "Did I do it wrong?"
As if punched, he inhaled deeply. "Nah, fox. You did everything right."
She frowned. "Why did you stop?"
"I can't do more with you." He slipped his free hand in his pocket and gripped his cock.
Her eyes rounded. "Did you...?
What the hell was she talk
ing about? He was right fucking here, kissing her.
"Did you like it?" she asked.
"Go home, Scarlett." He groaned. "Now."
She backed away, turned, and slowly walked toward the back fence. He inhaled a hit of nicotine, hoping for peace, and exhaled frustration. Afraid their friendship would never be the same, he stayed outside and smoked the whole thing.
Chapter 10
Scarlett
September 1986
LOUD VOICES PERMEATED Scarlett's bedroom through the open window. She sat on her bed, hugging her knees. Mr. Steel was fighting with Nelson again.
The drunken ramblings were too confusing for her to make any sense of them. Over the last year, the two of them had gone head to head more often than in the past. Things always escalated quickly, and more often lately, she wished Ollie and Josh had never got arrested for selling drugs out of the building. That way Mr. Steel would have someone else to fight with instead of Nelson.
"Get the hell...," shouted Mr. Steel, followed by metal hitting metal, ringing through the air.
Scarlett scrambled off the bed and looked out the window, trying to see Nelson. The last time she'd gone over there to try and break them up when they were punching each other, Nelson hadn't talked to her for two months. That'd happened the night after he'd shown her how to kiss.
When he finally broke his silence last week, he'd unleashed all his anger on her and made her cry.
Swearing to never try and help him again, she hid in her room away from the fighting. She wished things could go back to how they were between them.
Worrying about their friendship every second of the day, she hadn't even gone out with her friends. She walked to the store and back four times a week to work. Having a driver's license, she couldn't even afford an old car or insurance.
She had one hundred and five dollars in her dresser. If it would help Nelson, she'd give him everything so that he could leave and get away from his dad.
Her vision blurred. She rubbed at her face, wiping the tears away. One of these nights, Nelson and his dad were going to kill each other, and it would be her fault for not going over there and stopping them.
Her bedroom door opened, and the light came on. "Scar—"
"Sh!" She turned from the window. "Hurry. Shut off the light."
Her mom turned off the light and came to the window. "What are you doing?"
She faced outside again. "Mr. Steel is fighting with Nelson."
Her mom sighed and pulled her away from the window. "Just ignore them. It's none of our business what they do at their own house."
"I can't ignore it." She plopped on the bed. "Mr. Steel is so mean. He's a drunk. I hate him."
"Nelson can take care of himself. He's a grown man. If he wanted to, he could move away from his father." Her mom sat beside her and pulled Scarlett's head onto her lap.
Nelson was bigger than his dad, and twenty-four years old, but she'd witnessed the many times over the years when his dad would beat him up. Every morning, she expected to wake up and look out the window, only to find Nelson's Harley gone.
She sniffed. And, she'd never see him again.
"You son of a bitch," shouted Mr. Steel.
A gunshot pierced the air. Scarlett jerked up. Her mom grabbed her arm and pushed her back as they both rushed to the window.
"Mom?" She scrambled her way to the glass, straining to see in the light of the floodlight at the back of the building.
Unable to see anything, she held her hand on the window, plastering her nose to the glass, trying to see through the darkness and past the glare. A loud roar of an engine cut through the pounding of her heart. Not waiting for Nelson to show up under the light, she ran out of her room and away from her mom yelling her name.
Running out of the house, she sprinted across the backyard and pried the fence boards apart. She slipped underneath, ignoring her shirt snagging on the old wood. Panting hard, she skirted the broken-down automobiles parked in the back lot, searching for Nelson.
Her mom called her name in the distance. The urgency and fear in her mom's voice only made her more determined to find Nelson.
Stopping under the light, she turned in a circle, searching the shadows and spotted a pair of worn-out black boots by the tire rack. Tears blurred her vision. She ran to the spot, falling to her knees beside the prone body.
In the dark, she grabbed his shirt to shake him, and wetness coated her hand. The body underneath the clothes softer and rounder than expected, she recoiled, falling back, and landed on her butt. Panting for breath, she squinted and made out the heavy beard on Mr. Steel's face.
Looking down at her hand, the warm, sticky wetness took on a deep, red color. Scrambling backward, she pressed her back against a tire and hugged her knees to her chest.
"Nelson?" she whispered, afraid of yelling.
Her heartbeat raced. Mr. Steel's body never moved.
Blood on her hands. The fighting. The gunshot.
She shook uncontrollably, crumbling in the cool night air. Understanding skewed her sense of being there, of seeing Mr. Steel and not Nelson.
Sirens played in the back of her thoughts. She flinched, burying her head against her knees. Squeezing her eyes shut, she silently screamed for Nelson.
Darkness covered her. The sirens continued. Jumping to conclusions, she wanted Nelson to run away fast. Wherever he was, he needed to hide.
"Scarlett?" Her mother's panicked scream lifted her head.
Then, her mom was wrapping her arms around her, lifting her to her feet. She stumbled away, holding on to her mom, sobbing.
Policemen with flashlights rushed past them, shouting. A female voice squawked over a radio. Scarlett looked up at her mom, "Nelson? Where's Nelson?"
"I don't know." Her mom pulled her toward the building.
"Hold it right there." A policeman approached them, shining light in Scarlett's eyes, blinding her.
Scarlett turned her head and leaned against her mom's breasts, wanting to go home, wanting to find Nelson, wanting to forget Mr. Steel dead on the ground.
"Is this the child that witnessed—"
"She didn't witness anything. We both heard a gunshot from inside the house, and I called the police station." Her mom pointed. "We live right behind Steel Mechanics."
Scarlett peeked at the officer. His light lowered, and she followed the beam with her gaze and seen her bloody hand. Her stomach cramped. The contents burned her throat and pitched her forward.
Vomit splattered the ground in front of her. Her mom's arm wrapped around her, keeping her on her feet. Her body seized with each retch until she had nothing left.
"Please, can I take my daughter home," pleaded her mom.
"We'll need to get a statement."
"She's a child. She doesn't need to be out here with...with him."
Scarlett cried, reminded that Nelson killed Mr. Steel. She wanted to ask the policeman where Nelson was but was afraid it would make them search for him, in case he got away. If he killed his dad, there was a good reason.
Since as far back as she could remember, Mr. Steel fought with his sons. She'd witnessed the yelling, the slaps, and even the punches. Nelson's dad had a violent streak, whether he was drinking alcohol or not.
"We have a situation over here," shouted a police officer.
The policeman near her looked away. "You both need to sit in the patrol car until I can take your statements."
"Are we under arrest?" she whispered to her mom.
"No, honey." Her mom guided her around the building.
She dragged her feet and stopped. "I can't. Butch."
"Who's Butch?" Her mom's arm tightened around her.
"Th-the dog. The Doberman." She looked behind her. "He'll bite me."
"I don't think that's going to be a problem." The police officer motioned them to keep walking. "The dog was shot, too."
Scarlett's breath escaped her. Her mom cupped her hand over her ear and pressed her face against her shirt as if
to protect her from reality. Nelson would never shoot his dog.
Not wanting to see Butch, dead or alive, she buried her head against her mom and walked to the police car. When the door shut, she grabbed her mom's arms.
"We need to find Nelson before the police." She turned in the backseat and searched for the door handle. "I can't get out."
"There's no door handles inside. We need to wait," said her mom. "I'm sure they'll let us out when they know what is going on and can ask what we witnessed."
An officer walked past the vehicle. She pounded her fist on the window. "Hey, let me out."
"Scarlett." Her mom grabbed her, hugging her tightly. "They're not going to let us out. It's a...Mr. Steel was...they're investigating a crime."
But what about Nelson? She clamped her teeth closed, not wanting to voice her worries. Nelson and his father fought hard, often, and violently.
If Nelson killed his father, he'd done it to protect himself. The police had to know that.
"It'll be okay." The quiver in her mom's voice and the way her hands shook said otherwise. "Once the policemen talk with us, we can go home. Then, I never want you to come over here again. What they do is bad, honey. Those two older boys are in prison. Mr. Steel, whatever he does, it isn't good. I wouldn't doubt that Nelson has his hands in something dirty, too."
"He doesn't." She pulled away from her mom. "You don't know him."
"I know enough. I don't want you on their property again." Her mom got that look on her face that told her not to argue. "It's not safe, and you've gone behind my back through the years after I've told you to stay off their property and away from Nelson. It isn't right that he lets you hang around. You're getting older and—"
Shouting came from outside the vehicle. She pressed her forehead against the window, straining to see what was happening.
A low rumble vibrated the police car before she saw the single headlight pull into the parking lot. Her heart raced.
Banging against the window, she screamed, "No."
