by Vicki Green
He walks off, and I turn to Taren and shrug. Craig sets down a plate of assorted food, and I don’t wait to dig in. “Damn! This is amazing.” My eyes shift to Taren. She’s sitting there just watching me.
“Ha. I know how great her food is. Eat up.” She smiles, leaning her chin in her hand watching me devour everything on the plate.
We sit there and have a few beers, laughing, listening to the music and seeing some people I know. Taren’s smile is huge and as beautiful as she is. She overwhelms me with her gorgeousness as she meets everyone. Some she knows from a long time ago but hasn’t seen them in a long time. A few hours fly by in no time and we’re getting ready to go home. My girl has had a few too many, but it’s been nice just to kick back and have some fun, relieve all the stress she’s been under. “Come on, baby. Let’s get you home to bed.” She sways as I help her off the stool, so I tighten my grip around her waist. She giggles, and my heart beats faster.
“You don’t have to ask, babe.” More giggles ensue.
It takes me a few minutes to get her through the thick crowd. We’re almost to the door when there’s a firm hold on my arm. I turn my head to see alarm on Irish’s face. She’s out of breath, gripping my arm so tight it almost hurts. “Irish, what’s wrong?”
As she tries to calm her breathing, I watch her swallow hard. “Kane. He….”
I turn and grab her arms, shaking her a little more than I mean to. “Irish! What the fuck?”
My eyes move to Pop walking up to us then look back at her. “He’s in the hospital. They found his truck in a ditch. I don’t….”
I grab Taren’s hand, pushing through the last of the crowd then once outside, I run to my truck, not waiting to help Taren inside. “Brock! Wait!” Pop runs up behind us and gets in the back seat. My heart is beating so fast it’s pounding against my chest. I feel like I can’t breathe. I tear out of the parking lot, trying to be careful not to hit any of the parked cars. My eyes shift to Taren quickly then back to the road. She’s got a firm grip on the door handle, her other hand holding on to the belt buckle around her waist. I make good time getting to the hospital, parking half crossed in a space by the emergency room, my tires squealing in protest as I come to a stop.
I run around the front, meeting Taren getting down from her seat. Pop is behind us as we run into the emergency doors and straight over to the front desk. “Kane Evans. Where is he?” My breathing coming out in heavy pants.
The nurse looks up at me, her eyes wide. “Uh, yeah. Just let me look.” She looks down and starts clicking away on the keyboard in front of her. “Yes….” She looks up at me. “He’s still here in emergency. Please take a seat and someone will let you know as soon as they can.”
She jumps as I smack my hands down on the counter. “We’re family. Now. Tell me where my brother is.” I feel Pop’s hand on my back, Taren’s is around my arm. Both are trying to steady me.
“Sir. I’m sure you’re….”
I’m about ready to go around the counter and look myself when someone speaks to my right, all of us turning our heads simultaneously. “Kane Evans’ family?”
I pull away from Pop and Taren, jogging over with them right behind me. “We’re Kane’s family. How is he? When can we see him?”
The nurse’s eyes scan mine then look at Pop and Taren then back at me. “He’s stable. Has a broken right forearm, some pretty bad cuts and bruises. I’ll take you to him but only family.” She eyes Taren warily, and I put my arm around her.
“She is family,” I state simply.
The nurse nods, turns, and we follow her through two wide doors. Everything’s bright, smelling of cleaner. She stops at the last small room on the right and I peek in. He’s lying in bed, eyes closed. His arm is casted from right below his elbow and covers down over his hand, only his fingers showing. “I’ll let you have some time.”
“Uh, will he be able to go home?” Pop asks quietly. I can tell he’s really shook up.
“I’ll tell the doctor you’re here. He’ll be by and will talk to you.” She smiles then leaves and we all just stand there looking into the room. Pop moves first, walking into the room and right to Kane’s side. He puts a hand on his shoulder and Kane’s eyes flutter open.
“Pop,” he croaks.
“Son. You look a little worse for wear. That woman must have been a wild one.” Kane laughs then winces. “Sorry. Bad timing. We’ll get you home, help you recoup. No need to go into what happened now but clearly I want to know.”
“He’s coming to our place,” I state, matter of factly. I’d finally managed to get the nerve to walk into the room and stand at the foot of the bed. Pop looks over at me and nods. His eyes tired and looking older than he should.
We stayed in there, took a couple of hours with Kane nodding off and on, while we waited for the doctor and then for them to release him. Doc confirmed he has the broken arm, which we could clearly see, cuts and bruises, but he also has a bruised chest from his seatbelt when his truck went down in the ditch. He also said the seatbelt saved his life. They wheeled him out after I brought my truck up to the entrance. I helped him get inside while Taren and Pop got in the back. I dropped Pop off at home, and by the time we got to our apartment, Irish was sitting on the front steps waiting. Taren ran in to unlock our door, and Irish helped me get Kane inside. By the time we got Kane into the spare bedroom bed, I thought he’d want to go to sleep, but he stopped us before we could leave the room.
“It was a setup,” he says. He struggles to sit up, Irish helping him quickly. He sits back against the headboard as she props a pillow up for him.
I sit down at the foot of the bed while Irish stands beside him and Taren behind me. “What do you mean? How do you know for sure?”
“SUV chased me then caused me to go over into the ditch. Kept hitting my truck with theirs. No plates. I saw the guys inside. Friends of Jeffrey Stratton.” I hear a gasp behind me and turn my head. Taren’s eyes are wide, brimming with tears, and her hands are covering her mouth. “Guess it was some kind of message. Never did make it to my night out with Colleen. Think she was in on it. Bitch.”
“Colleen Maxwell?” Taren asks.
He nods, looking at Taren. “Yeah. Met her at the bar last night. Didn’t know she knew him.” He looks back at me. “The stakes just went up. We need a plan.”
I nod, standing up, and walk over to Taren, putting my arm around her. She’s shaking and looks so pale. “Maybe I should….”
I kiss the side of her head. “No. You shouldn’t do anything. We’re family. We stand together.”
“Brock’s right.” We look at Kane. “We stand together. United front. Always have, always will.” He looks at Irish and she nods then looks back at us. “He’s not giving up. He must want the power and money of your families coming together really bad. From now on, no one is alone. You go somewhere, you take one of us with you.” He looks at Irish. “That goes for all of us.” She nods and I do too. “Now, let me get some shut eye. Got work to do tomorrow. Not having the use of one hand’s gonna take a little creativity but no biggie. I got this.”
Irish leans down and kisses his cheek, then we all walk out, closing his door. Taren walks into the kitchen, opens a cabinet and gets three glasses then pulls out the bottle of Jack from another cabinet, pouring us all a shot. She hands us our glasses then picks hers up, holding it out in front of us. We touch glasses, and I smile. God, I love her! “Here’s to sticking together and to family.” We all give our “Here, here,” then clink glasses and drink.
I watch Irish go over and pour another one, downing it quickly. “You’re not driving if you keep that up,” I say as she pours yet another.
She tips her head back, slamming it down. “I’m sleeping on the couch. I want to be here in case he needs anything.”
“I’ll get you a pillow and a blanket.” Taren smiles, setting down her glass, and walks out of the kitchen.
Irish has always been strong, been there for us whenever we needed her. Toni
ght’s no different. I give her a kiss and then walk to our bedroom. By the time I’ve gone to the bathroom, removed my clothes and gotten into bed, Taren walks in and goes into the bathroom. I close my eyes and am about to fall asleep. The drinks I had at Pops and then what happened to Kane makes me feel exhausted. I feel the bed dip and open my eyes a crack watching Taren get settled up against me. I put my arm around her as she lays her head on my chest.
“It’s all my fault. I keep causing your family so much trouble. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt or worse.” She looks up at me as I play with the long strands of her hair with my fingers.
“Baby, you are family. We protect our own. Besides, it’s not your fault. Let’s put blame where blame is due. Your dad and Jeffrey. What I want to know is, is your dad still pursuing this after everything that’s happened or is Jeffrey acting out on his own now?” She bites the inside of her cheek. I reach over and push her bottom lip down, my way of telling her to stop. “I think Jeffrey is money hungry and wants this union to push your family’s money together. He’s an asshole and I don’t think he’ll give up.” She nods but doesn’t speak. I tighten my hold around her, and she closes her eyes, burying her head into my chest and laying one of her legs across mine. Suddenly, I can’t sleep. I need to figure out what to do to protect my family. Especially my girl.
Chapter Ten
Taren
I awaken to a slight hangover, my head throbbing, but I know it’s not just the alcohol I consumed last night. Stress has taken up residency in my head and heart. I feel beaten down with everything that’s happening. I’m squeezing my pillow as I open my eyes. The brightness of the day shining through the blinds is not helping. I feel cold when I notice Brock isn’t wrapped around me, so I get out of bed and go into the bathroom hoping a hot shower will help. Sadly, it didn’t. I get dressed in a sluggish state and wonder how in the hell Brock is gonna work today. I walk out of our room and stop short in the hall. Brock and Kane are sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast and talking quietly. I move over behind the wall, feeling a little sneaky. Kane looks horrible. His face is bruised and cut, his casted arm in a sling.
“I know how her mind works. She’s gonna think of something to get us all out of this and get hurt in the process,” Brock’s voice is serious.
Kane nods. “Yeah or worse. She’s a little spitfire but I’m also concerned about Irish. She’ll go after him, knowing her.”
My eyes snap to the couch. It’s empty with the blanket folded and pillow on top. I decide to quit spying and walk in there. “Morning.” I try to sound a little cheerful, but I’m sure I didn’t succeed. I lean down and kiss Kane on the cheek then sit down in the chair between them and lean over to Brock, kissing his full lips. “Kane, you look horrible. I’m so sorry. How are you going to work?” I look at Brock. “And you. I feel like shit today so I can only imagine how you feel. How are you going to work? You can’t feel any better than I do.” He picks up his cup of coffee, and I look down to see I have a plate full of food and much needed coffee sitting in front of me. Thank God!
“Pop called off work today due to family illness. His words,” Kane speaks as I take a drink of heaven. “I could have handled it,” he whispers.
“Geez, bro. It’s a day off. Chill.” Brock laughs and then looks at me. “I’m glad he called it off. I feel like shit too. I see some napping in our future.”
I giggle, but move my eyes to Kane. He’s not laughing. I press my lips together and then pick up my fork. I set it back down, suddenly losing my appetite. I caused all this. Kane’s hurt, they’re both missing a day of work, and their dad has a day when nothing will get done for his business. I feel horrible and sick to my stomach. I feel Brock’s hand cover mine on the table, and I look up at him. “Baby. It’s not your fault. Quit beating yourself up.”
“Brock’s right,” Kane’s voice makes me look his way. “This is the doing of your dad’s selfishness, his business.” He leans his good arm on the table. “What I haven’t figured out is if your dad knows what happened, orchestrated it, or if this is all Jeffrey’s doing. Would be nice to find out.”
“Kane! No! I told you. She stays out of it. I’ll handle the asshole, find out what he knows and what he’s up to. I don’t want Taren anywhere near him.” Brock growls, his eyebrows low and forehead creased in anger.
I shake my head. “Stop!” Their eyes both turn to me. “I’m a big girl. I can handle this. And it is my fault. If I had given in to what Daddy wanted you both wouldn’t be hurt, none of this would have happened.”
“But….”
I look at Brock and smile, not feeling it at all. “No. Brock, I can text him or talk to him on the phone. I won’t meet him in person, unless one of you are with me. I’m smarter than that. I just think I should talk to him, find out what’s going on. If he’ll even tell me. Okay?” I cover our hands with my other one and squeeze. “Trust me?” My smile is genuine now as I look into his eyes.
His hand moves under my hair, grasping my neck and pulling me towards him. He kisses me then presses his forehead against mine. “With my life.” I smile and kiss him again.
“Okay, you guys. Go to your room if you’re gonna do that.” Kane chuckles.
I chow down on my food, getting my appetite back but I do dread calling Jeffrey. Maybe I’ll start with a text and hope that’ll be good enough. Knowing him, it won’t be.
Later that day, Kane and Brock are sitting in the living room, watching some football game and drinking beer. I kiss Brock and tell them I’m gonna take a nap, which doesn’t sound like a bad idea. I did take some aspirin earlier and my head isn’t as bad, but I am tired after everything that happened. Once I’m in our room and climb into bed, I decide to send the text to Jeffery before I lay down. Might as well get it over with.
Me: It’s Taren. Need 2 talk
I start to lay down, thinking it will take him a while, when my phone vibrates.
Jeffrey: Ah, new number? Trying to hide?
My face heats as anger brews within me. What a jerk!
Me: No! Daddy shut off my phone
Jeffrey: Aww 2 bad
Me: Try and be just a little nice
Jeffrey: I wish u could see my eyes roll. What do u want Tare?
Tare. I wanna tear his rolling eyes right outta his head.
Me: Leave me, my friends and my family alone
Jeffrey: I don’t know what ur talking about
Me: Save it. I know ur the one hurting everyone I love. Stop it
Jeffrey: Ha well even if I was which I’m not – what the hell would u do about it?
Me: I know it’s you. Just stop. U have more than enough money. Why do u need my family’s 2?
Jeffrey: Money is power. I want it all. But I grow tired of this “talk”. I have no idea why u think it’s me. Maybe u should find out who it really is. Until we meet again, Tare
Me: Jeffrey! I know it’s u. Quit playing games!
I sit here staring at my phone. Nothing. He’s not gonna reply. Asshole! Now, my head hurts again, and I’m too pissed to lay down. I get up and go into the bathroom, find the aspirin, and take two more. I hear the guys out in the living room yelling at the TV, so I lay back down. I’m worried about what Jeffrey will do. How can I protect the ones I love? I need a plan. A good plan. I just hope I can figure out some way to stop him. I close my eyes, trying to find sleep but all I see is Jeffrey’s smug face and Brock and Kanes injuries.
“Baby,” Brock’s voice fills my head and I slowly open my eyes. “Hey.” His gorgeous smile appears as my eyes focus. I am the luckiest woman alive. His thumb brushes back some of my long hair from my forehead, and he keeps rubbing into my hairline. So soothing. So sweet. “Irish is coming over so I thought maybe we could go to our special place. It’s beautiful outside.” I nod, lazily. He kisses my head and moves back. “Good. I’ll get everything ready.”
Yawning, I stretch and notice my headache is gone. Sitting up, I rub my eyes, get out of bed and take a quick sh
ower. Once done with all my bathroom business, I put on my black, barely there bikini, throw on a t-shirt and my jean shorts, and step into my flip flops. I grab a duffle bag, put towels and lotion in it, and grab my sunglasses. Maybe we can have a fun day and leave all the horrible things for a bit. I’m a little worried about going out, but with Brock there I feel safe.
He makes me laugh all the way to where he parks his truck. I love how he always holds my hand as we cross the creek on the slippery rocks. Once we get to the beach area, he spreads out the blanket, and we lay there soaking up the sun for a while before we decide to take a dip. The water feels heavenly as we splash each other and laugh, and we swim around. I decide to get out after being in there for a bit, wanting to get some more sun and a little heat. When I step onto the beach, I look up and gasp. Was that someone ducking behind a tree?
“What’s wrong, Taren?” Brocks asks, panting from running to me.
I point over to the thick area of trees. “I thought I saw someone. Over there.”
“Stay here.” He grasps my arm, and I nod. He bends down and hands me my phone. “Get ready to call 911 if needed.” I nod, and he kisses me quickly. “I’ll be right back.”
“Please, be careful.”
He turns his head as he walks, giving me his gorgeous smile. Suddenly, I’m cold and shivering as I watch him walk off. Soon, I can’t see him anymore and my heart takes a leap into my throat. I walk over to our things and put my dry clothes on over my wet bathing suit. The thickness of the tall grass and brush beside the trees start moving, my hand moving up to my face as my heart feels like it’s going to pound out of my chest. Brock appears and I slump in relief. I slip my feet into my flip flops and take off running towards him, throwing myself into his arms when I reach him. “Whoa! Baby! I’m fine.” His arms wrap around me. His strong hands rub up and down my back as I try to slow my heart rate. Finally, I pull back and look into his eyes, concern showing.
