Texas Hellcat

by Shelley Stringer

  “I need to talk to you. I had an early morning visit from my friend Senator Reeves. It seems he met you last night. He’s concerned about this little piece of trash you’ve picked up. He knows her, and he knows her past.”

  “Dammit, Dad…You’ve got this all wrong. What the hell did Reeves say?”

  “That he made the mistake of going out with her mother several years ago, and the little slut daughter threw herself at him when she was just a teenager. He said she’s trouble, and she’s just like her mother. She’s only looking for money, and he’s afraid she’s attached herself to you.

  “Shhh….dammit, Dad! Lower your voice! I’m not alone,” Liam admonished. I stood motionless, horrified, listening through the crack in the door.

  “So, you are sleeping with her. We warned you, son, and now I’m afraid your latest escapade might have cost me the friendship of a very powerful man, a man I hoped might do things for us once he got in the governor’s mansion.”

  “Dad, you’re wrong. You need to hear me out,” Liam interrupted.

  “I thought you’d grown up, and I made the mistake of listening to your mother. You’ve done well since I’ve turned some of the business over to you, but I see you’re still making decisions with what’s in your pants, not what’s in your head.”

  “Dad, hear me out for a moment. Reeves isn’t the man you think he is. He’s twisted this all around. He’s good at lying. I’ll give him credit. When he saw me with Kelly last night, I could tell he was uncomfortable. You only had to look at him and look at the horror on poor Kel’s face to know the truth.”

  “What truth, son? That he doesn’t want anyone to know he once associated with the kind of trash her mother was? Who could blame him! He’s probably afraid she’ll go to the press to ruin his reputation, or worse, she’ll try to extort money from him.”

  Liam paused, and in horror, I realized he might believe his dad. I grew nauseated and dizzy as I looked frantically around the room. I was suffocating and had to get out. I had to put as much distance as I could between us. I couldn’t take what I knew would come next. If Liam believed his father, he would dump me. If he didn’t, his father would force him to dump me anyway. I would never have been good enough for his family to accept me. I clutched my fist to my chest as a jagged hole opened there.

  “Son, come to breakfast with me. After I’ve talked some sense into you, we’ll decide how to deal with this. I need to assure Reeves this won’t become a problem.”

  I couldn’t hear Liam’s answer. He’d lowered his voice to the point I couldn’t hear him anymore. I could only guess why. He didn’t want me to hear him. An angry sob escaped as I pushed the French doors open to the balcony, and then shut them behind me. It was only a short drop to the courtyard directly under us that led to a restaurant on the level below Liam’s suite. When I landed, I barely contained a yelp as I re-injured my sore ankle. Limping through the open doorway, I tried to make my way quietly along the far wall of the restaurant as several patrons paused to stare at my bare-footed state. Once in the hallway, I darted to the elevators and punched the ground floor. Not wanting to exit through the lobby, I ducked out a service entrance and then half- hopped down the alleyway toward Lady Bird Lake.

  I was humiliated. My anger fueled the walk, and after a couple of blocks I totally forgot about my ankle or my bare feet. I finally reached my apartment, finding the weekend doorman in attendance.

  “Juan, I don’t have my key. Could you let me in our apartment?”

  “Miss Kelly, are you okay? Do you need help?” he asked. His kind, grey eyes were full of concern as he took in my bare feet and disheveled appearance.

  “No, I’m fine. I’ve just had a trying morning. Would you let me in?”

  “Certainly, Miss Kelly. Just let me get the master key,” he answered as he stepped into a security closet off the main lobby. After riding up the elevator in the uncomfortable silence, he let me into the quiet, dark apartment. Thankfully, my roommates weren’t home to see my dramatic return. After thanking Juan, I melted against the closed door, and then slid to the floor as tears filled my eyes, spilling over uncharacteristically.

  “Damn you, Liam Covington!” I picked up the first thing I saw, one of Tana’s boots by the front door. I threw it across the room, knocking a poster off the brick wall opposite the kitchen. I knew the moment I’d admitted to Liam I was in love with him I’d made a huge mistake. I’d let him in. I’d vowed time and again when I was little I would never trust a man. My dad, whoever he was, had left us before I could remember him. All the men in my mother’s life had left her. My vow had been reinforced at the age of fourteen when the Senator had taken my innocence. It had been further enforced when I’d watched my uncle leave Aunt Deb when she got sick, saying he didn’t want to be married to someone who was ill all the time.

  I took a deep breath, and fought the tears back. Find that hard place, Kel. The hard place deep inside that says you don’t need anyone. I opened my eyes, and glanced at the calendar on the wall. Tomorrow was payday. Our payroll was probably already posted and I had money in my checking account. I needed to get away from all of this and bury myself in another project. I thought of Dana Rae and Masen. Pushing up, I winced as I placed weight on my ankle again. I limped to the shower, stripped Liam’s offending clothes off, and stepped hurriedly in. After taking the fastest shower ever, I braided my wet hair in a loose braid and wrapped my terry robe around me, hurrying back to the loft to get dressed. After donning my weekend jeans and a sweatshirt, I threw a change of clothes in a bag and hurried back to the front door.

  “Damn, my purse,” I cursed, remembering I’d left my purse at Liam’s apartment. After searching through the plastic storage drawers in my room, I finally found my spare debit card and spare key to my car. I would just have to withdraw enough cash to fill my gas tank and get me to Houston. I scribbled a quick note to Tana telling her I’d lost my phone, I wanted to go see Dana, and I’d be back in time for work on tomorrow morning. After I left the note taped to the front of the refrigerator, I flipped the lock, securing the apartment behind me.

  I’d driven about fifty miles before I began to relax, the ache in my chest becoming more bearable as I steeled myself with anger. I wasn’t angry with Liam. He would only believe what his father told him. Why would he believe me? I’d admitted it myself. My mother had been a cocaine addict and had slept with men for drugs and money. He knew from what I’d told him my sister was going down the same path.

  I sighed as I leaned my head against the window, watching the cars rush past me on the Interstate. No, I wasn’t mad at him. I was mad at myself for being so naive. I had my job, and I was making my own money. My only goal in life was to make enough money to support me and Dana, and take care of Masen. I didn’t want Masen to grow up being fearful of the men coming and going out of Dana’s life, and I didn’t want him to be hungry or afraid of storms when his mother left him alone for two days while she slept a high off in some random guy’s apartment. I’d made up my mind–I’d find another job in Austin or Houston, and a small apartment for Dana, Masen and me. With me pushing her, Dana could clean her act up and enroll in school. She’d qualify for all kinds of financial aid and child care since she was a single mother.

  As I made plans in my head to take our future firmly in my hands, I realized I was on the outskirts of Houston. I prayed as I neared Dana’s apartment building she was still with the same dirt bag, and I could find her place again. When I pulled into the parking lot outside the dingy red wood apartments, I breathed a sigh of relief. Dana’s beat-up cavalier was parked in the second space from the end. I remembered their apartment was the last one on the top floor.

  “Kelly-cat?” I heard Dana’s voice the second I shut the car door.

  Dana sat on the bottom stair-step to their floor with Masen sitting on her lap. She looked awful, her dark eyes large in her too-skinny face, her hair limp and lifeless. As I came near, she stood to greet me and faint bruises became apparent.
She was sporting one large bruise on her right brow, and more dark blue splotches marred her bare arms sticking skeleton-like from her tank-top.

  “Dana, you look like shit,” I admonished as I hugged her. Quickly taking Masen from her, I checked him for bruises. Thankfully, he looked unharmed and very healthy.

  “Thank God you seem to be taking care of him,” I said as she nodded.

  “I’m not Mamma, Kel. I would never let anything happen to Masen,” she shot back as I shook my head.

  “Not while you’re sober, anyway,” I retorted. She paused, giving me the look that let me know she wasn’t enjoying my visit so far.

  “Come on, I didn’t come here to fight with you. I just wanted to see how you and Mase were doing,” I said, attempting to smooth things over. I kissed a sleepy Masen on top of his bald little head. He smelled like baby wash and lotion. I was so relieved he seemed so well cared for, and it lifted my spirits a bit.

  “Is the asshole in?” I asked. I hated to admit it, but I couldn’t even remember her current boyfriend’s name.

  “No, he’s at work. He got a new job at one of the refineries.

  “Good. Maybe he’ll keep this one long enough to fail a drug test,” I replied sarcastically.

  “Really, Kel…if you wanted to pee all over my life, you could have done it by phone,” she scolded.

  I shook my head and then sighed. “Sorry, I’m taking my crap out on you. Your big sister pulled a good one last night, and ran out without her cell phone or her purse. Don’t ask,” I finished as she opened her mouth in surprise. “I guess I need to go somewhere and buy a wallet and a prepaid cell. Any suggestions? You wanna go shopping?”

  Dana smiled for the first time. “Sure.”

  Twelve

  As soon as I’d found a suitable purse and wallet at Goodwill, I looked through the kids clothes and found some things for Masen, and then found a top and some jeans for Dana. All total, I didn’t even spend $50. After we’d paid for our purchases, we walked down three blocks to a convenience store that sold cheap pre-paid cell phones. I bought one and one-hundred minutes to use until I could retrieve mine. As soon as we were back in my car, I called Tana to leave my new number in her messages.

  “When was the last time you ate?” I asked Dana. She was sitting in the back seat, struggling to get Masen to take a bottle from his car seat.

  She shrugged. ”Yesterday, I think.”

  Without a reply, I wheeled into a Denny’s parking lot. After I made sure she ate a cheeseburger, we visited for about an hour, lingering over two pieces of chocolate cream pie that Dana swore tasted just like Aunt Deb’s. I tried to focus on her problems and how to solve them, but all I could think of was Liam, and how he’d held me after the shock of seeing Reeves again. I forced myself to shake it off and focus on Dana. I told her about my plan to find a new job and relocate with her, but she didn’t seem as thrilled as I’d expected.

  “You don’t love this guy,” I argued as she shook her head defiantly.

  “You don’t know him,” she countered. “I want to make things work with him.”

  “What are you going to make work? A hundred dollar-a-day habit? And as many bruises to match the hits? What have you been on?”

  “Nothing! I swear it! I wouldn’t do that with Masen,” she argued as I shook my head. She sounded just like my mother.

  I was getting nowhere with her. I paid the check and then we took a sleepy Masen back to her apartment. We climbed the steps to the second floor, me carrying the baby as Dana fished for the keys in her purse.

  “Kelly?” a man’s voice startled me out of the darkness.

  I whirled to find Liam waiting against the railing at the end of the deck.

  “What are you doing here? How did you find me?” I asked, incredulous. He closed the distance between us, looking down at the infant seat I carried in my right hand.

  “I called Tana and she said you left a note. It wasn’t hard to find the apartment. The lease is in Dana’s name,” he explained.

  I pulled Masen up into both arms. “Liam, this is Dana Sanger, my sister. And this is Masen Ryan Sanger, my beautiful nephew.”

  He nodded to Dana. “Nice to meet you, Dana. Kelly’s told me a lot about you,” he said softly. “I’m Liam, Kelly’s friend. Boyfriend, I’d hoped, that is, until this morning,” he continued his explanation as he turned his attention to Masen. Masen’s eyes were heavy, his battle with sleep nearly lost.

  Dana pushed her dingy apartment door open, inviting him in. He held the door as I stepped through with Masen, crossing the room to place him on the threadbare sofa. I caught Liam scanning the room discretely as Dana put her bags away.

  “I’ll ask again…what are you doing here?” I demanded when I thought Dana was out of earshot.

  “You don’t actually think I’d let you get away with sneaking off a second time? Dammit, I thought you trusted me. I know you overheard my dad this morning, and I’m really sorry about what he said. But what I don’t understand is why you left again without a word!”

  I realized I was standing with my mouth open. I shut it, staring at him for a beat before I replied. “I had to. I couldn’t face you after what I heard him say. His story sounded a lot more believable than mine. Anyway, this isn’t going to work. I thought I’d save you the pain of having to let me off easy,” I half-whispered, trying to keep my raging emotions out of my voice.

  The color rose in his face. “Now I’m pissed. I poured my heart out to you last night, Kel. I told you how I feel about you. I’ve never told a girl the things I’ve told you.”

  He stood in the center of the room, staring at me, his nostrils flaring. “Nothing my dad has to say about you is going to change that. I told him so, but I guess you didn’t hear me telling him I care for you.”

  I shook my head, the tears threatening again. I bit the inside of my lip, trying to hold my emotions in check.

  Liam crossed the room and reached his hand out to touch my cheek. “What do I have to do to make you realize I want you? Don’t bolt on me again, Kelly. I don’t like having to chase you and play detective,” he said as my anger flared.

  “No one asked you to, Covington! Don’t give me ultimatums! I’m not like my sister,” I pointed into Dana’s bedroom. “I’ll never let some guy dominate me or tell me when I can come and go…and I definitely won’t take threats from any man!”

  The look on his face scared me. He looked angry, like the day in his suite when he’d told me not to ever yell at him. I was afraid I’d crossed that line. I felt it again. The static electricity I’d always felt whenever my mother fought with one of her boyfriends. A fist to my cheek was what I most expected next. I took one hesitant step backward as I began to shake.

  “I didn’t mean it that way. I’m not giving you ultimatums. If you don’t want me, then I’ll deal with it. I want you to be happy. I’m so sorry that my dad is such an ass and jumped to the wrong conclusions. I told my dad that I’m in love with you, and that we’re in a relationship.”

  I’d been staring at a dark stain on Dana’s living room carpet, but my head snapped up at his admission.

  “You did? But your parents will never accept me. You can’t want that,” I argued. My heart, however, was pounding with the knowledge that he’d fought for me.

  “You’re wrong about them, Kelly. My mother just has to meet you for her to be thrilled. My dad will come around. He’s already agreed to meet you.”

  Liam reached for me again, pulling me into his arms. I relaxed, the awareness that I’d jumped to conclusions sinking in. After a moment I asked, “What about Senator Reeves?”

  “What about Senator Reeves? Did he come to see you, too?” Dana asked from her bedroom doorway.

  I whirled, breaking his embrace. He reached out, resting his hand intimately on my back as I faced Dana.

  “That sleaze-bag has been here?” I whispered.

  “Yes, a couple of days ago. He was looking for you and said that he just wanted to check
on us and see how we were doing. I told him you were in Austin, but I didn’t give him your address. I never liked him, Kelly,” she said as she shook her head. A dark veil seemed to cover her face.

  I crossed to her and took her hands in mine.

  “Dana, did he ever hurt you?” I whispered. Dana looked over my shoulder at Liam, and then back to me.

  “No…but he hurt you, didn’t he?” she asked, her eyes round with the realization.

  I nodded once, and I closed my eyes. I could hear her intake of breath as Masen began to fuss on the sofa. We both turned to see Liam cross the room and pick Masen up. It startled me. I thought it unusual for a man like Liam to seem so comfortable picking a baby up. Especially one he’d never been around.

  “Kelly, I’m so sorry. I think I’ve always suspected,” she said as she searched my eyes. “You know he killed our mother,” she added bitterly.

  “What do you mean?” I asked. Liam stepped nearer, cradling Masen on his shoulder and patting his back.

  “He gave her the drugs. She was clean, until he came back. I saw him that day. I was sitting on the couch, waiting to go to the bus stop with you. He came out of her bedroom, winked at me as he put one of those awful paper bags on top of the TV and left. I remember it, just like it was yesterday. I worried all day at school she would be sick again…and then you wouldn’t let me in the apartment,” she sobbed out. I pulled her into my arms.

  “Why haven’t you ever told me this?” I said as I stroked her hair.

  “I figured you knew it. Why didn’t you tell me what he’d done to you? Why didn’t you tell Mama?” she asked, sniffing her runny nose and wiping the back of her hand across her face.

  “Because I was scared. He said he’d do the same thing to you if I told,” I whispered as Liam pulled me against him.

  “Oh Kelly-cat, you’ve been keeping me safe for so long, taking care of me,” she said. “It’s okay, you don’t have to any more. I’m a big girl, and Rick and I are going to be fine. He’s got a job, and he’s clean again. As soon as Masen is old enough to leave at the county help day care, I’m going to get a job. You’ll see. Everything will be fine. You don’t have to change jobs and take me in.”