Love Unclaimed (The Red Truck Series)

by Jennifer Benson

  “What the hell happened? What is going on?” Ruby asked, following Audree over to the table where Gavin sat her down.

  “Scotty attacked her.” He kicked Scotty’s foot on his way past him to the landline phone on the counter.

  “Holy shit, I knew he liked you, but he attacked you? Are you okay? Did he hurt you? I’m going to kill him if he hurt you.” Ruby brushed Audree’s hair away from her face.

  “She took him down with a knee to the nuts before I got here.”

  “Good girl.”

  “He scared the shit out of me.” Audree covered her mouth and barreled out of the kitchen to the bathroom in the hallway.

  “We got the truck star… What the hell? Audree?” Travis chuckled as Audree nearly bumped into him in her rush down the hall. “Is she okay… What the fuck happened to him?” Travis dropped to his knees in front of Scotty.

  “He assaulted Audree,” Ruby said, keeping her eyes on Harry, who had just stepped in behind Travis.

  “He assaulted Audree?” Travis asked, looking down at his friend’s beat up face and then over at his brother. “You beat the shit out of him?” He looked back down at Scotty when Gavin nodded at him. “Consider your ass lucky it was just my brother and not Audree’s, too.” He looked down at the battered face of his former friend. “You better have your shit out of this town as soon as possible, because I am restraining myself from finishing what my brother started.”

  “Audree started the take down, she kicked him in the nuts.” Ruby chuckled.

  “That’s our girl.” Travis stepped across the room to talk to Gavin.

  “I’m sorry about all this.” Harry spoke up. “I wish I had known he would take it this far,” he said an all heads turned toward him.

  “Excuse me,” Gavin took a step forward.

  “Harry, you knew he was capable of this?” Ruby asked, concerned.

  “No, I didn’t know he was capable of actually going after her.” He nodded at Audree when she stepped back into the room and Gavin pulled her close to his side. “He was just going on and on about how much he wanted her.” He shook his head. “I kept telling him to stop wasting his time; anyone who has eyes could see that you two were together. I mean, shit the heat between you two alone could heat a small town for years.” He winked at Audree. “I would have told you if I thought he would do something like this.” He shook his head and dropped it down to his friend. “Was this why you couldn’t keep a girlfriend?”

  “Fuck all of you,” Scotty said, lifting his head from the floor and quickly dropping it back. “The heat between them… what bullshit. He comes home to fuck her and leaves and she lets him.” He laughed.

  “Shut up while you still can do it on your own.” Audree took a step toward him, but Gavin wrapped his hand around her arm. She smiled back at him and he released it. “The day a piece of shit like you gets to judge me is the day I take my last breath. Now, shut the fuck up.” She grabbed Ruby’s hand on her way to the back door. “And like Gavin said, don’t ever come back, or next time, I’ll cut them off.” With that, she disappeared through the open door and out onto the deck where she fell into Ruby’s arms—just out of the sight of the men in her kitchen.

  Gavin and Travis exchanged a look then looked back at the door that Audree had just exited through. Gavin knew that Audree had gone out there to fall apart. He also knew she’d thrown up in the bathroom when she ran out of the room.

  Audree had gotten upset like this when she’d gotten into a fight with a boy in elementary school, too. She was proud that she’d taken care of herself, but the boy had her pinned down on the ground and was teasing her before he and Clint had gotten to her and beat him up. Gavin carried her almost a mile to his house where his mother cleaned her up and called her parents. The boy ended up with a broken arm, a black eye, and his pride hurt. After he recovered, he went to her house, apologized to Audree for being so stupid, and actually became one of their good friends.

  Today, all grown up and walking through Audree’s front door, that boy is the Sheriff and a family friend. “So what the hell is going on here?” Alex Canter and a deputy walked into the kitchen to find three solemn looking men and one beat to shit man leaning against the cabinet with his head in his hands. “Who wants to start?”

  “I will,” Audree said as she stepped back into the kitchen.

  “Edgar, will you kindly help this man to the back of your car and escort him to the hospital, unless you feel you need an ambulance.” He raised an eyebrow at Scotty.

  “Nope, just get me the fuck out of this whore’s house.” Scotty struggled to his feet.

  “Well, first you will apologize to Ms. Edwards for such a comment then we are going to take care of your broken body and try not to laugh that she kicked you in the nuts and took down a man twice her size. You’re lucky that Gavin got to you and not her brother, or you wouldn’t be walking out of here on your own.”

  “Whatever,” Scotty grumbled again.

  “I don’t need or want his apology; I just want him the hell out of my house.”

  “Gladly.” Scotty limped out of the kitchen.

  ***

  After Audree had given her statement to Sheriff Canter, he was almost as pissed off as Gavin was. Travis, Harry, and Ruby sat off to the side, listening to Audree recount the attack. Audree could see the tension in both of the men’s jaws and really was glad that Clint wasn’t there. She hadn’t really been able to look at Gavin, because she did feel somewhat guilty and responsible for leading Scotty on. She had told him several times over the last few weeks that she wasn’t interested in anything more than friendship with him, and he’d seemed to understand. She had no idea what had sparked his actions today. Right now, all she wanted to do was go up, take a shower, and wash Scotty’s touch off her body.

  “Do you want me to come up with you?” Ruby asked; her arm around Audree’s shoulder as they walked to the stairs. Audree just nodded and they moved up the stairs toward her bedroom.

  “Ruby, could you just stay in here with me?” Audree asked when she stepped into her bathroom.

  “Of course, sweetie.” Ruby closed the door behind them.

  When Audree turned off the water in the shower, Ruby handed her the towel from the back of the door and slipped back into Audree’s bedroom while she dried off. When Audree came out of the bathroom, Ruby was sitting on the edge of the bed.

  “Do you want to go downstairs or just hang here for a bit?” She watched Audree pull black yoga pants and a tank top out of her dresser. “Canter left and said you could call him and talk to him about the charges. Gavin is adamant about you pressing charges. Travis and Harry agree thinking this might not be the first time he has done something like this. People don’t just wig out like that all of the sudden. Harry feels terrible.”

  “Why would Harry feel terrible? He isn’t responsible for Scotty attacking me.” She slid the purple tank top over her head.

  “He said Scotty has been obsessing over you since he kissed you.” She raised an eyebrow at Audree.

  “It was a small kiss and, it was,” she paused, “it was the night I left with Eva, but seriously, it wasn’t that big of a deal. At least I didn’t think it was.”

  “No one blames you, sweetie.” Ruby put her arm around Audree’s shoulders when she sat on the bed next to her.

  “I just feel like, maybe I led him on,” she blew out a sigh. “I’ll talk to Gavin about pressing charges. I really just want to forget about him and this whole thing. We have so much left to do for the party tomorrow.”

  “No we don’t; the guys actually finished up the decorations and I have my crew doing the food, so we are good.”

  “You are awesome, do you know that?”

  “Yes, yes I do.” She nudged Audree’s shoulder as the both laughed. “Do you want to hang up here for a bit longer or do you want to go downstairs? Gavin was beside himself and came up at least twice while you were in the shower.”

  “He was?”

  “Y
eah, he tapped on the door and asked if you were okay.”

  “He scared me when he was beating on Scotty.”

  “He was afraid Scotty had done more to you before you were able to get him off of you.”

  “Thankfully, no, he didn’t. It scares me how far he might have gone if I hadn’t been able to stop him.”

  “Well, the sandwich signal you gave Gavin got him up here pretty fast.” She laughed.

  “I was just happy he remembered it.”

  “How could I forget?” Gavin whispered from the doorway. “You know I hate jelly, and I knew there was no way in hell you would be putting it on any sandwiches of mine. Then it hit me; the signal that Clint and I had for warning each other in school about shit hitting the fan. I didn’t know he told you about that.”

  “He told me Travis knew and that it would help if we ever need to use a secret code, so …”

  “I’m glad I was able to get to you in time.” He took a step closer.

  “Me, too.” Audree brushed a tear from her cheek.

  “I’m going to go get you something to drink.” Ruby stood up and made her way to the door. “Want anything to eat?” She nodded when Audree shook her head no.

  “She thinks she is so stealthy.” Audree laughed.

  “Yeah, she does.” He looked back over at the closed door.

  “How are you doing?”

  “I’m okay, just tired. I feel like I was hit by a bus. My emotions are all over the place.” She wiped away another tear.

  “Please, tell me those are not tears for him.”

  “No, not for him. They are for what could have happened. I keep thinking what if Eva had been here. What if I was totally alone? What if I hadn’t been able to get him off of me?”

  “Sweetie, you will drive yourself nuts with the ‘what ifs’. Please stop.” He moved to kneel in front of her.

  “I was so scared when he…”

  “Sshhh, I want you to stop thinking about this for a little bit. We will talk about it later, but right now, I want you to lie down and try to rest a bit.”

  “You were supposed to call me later and ask me out.” She scooted back to the top of the bed.

  “I would be more than happy to call you right now and ask you out, but I’d rather just lay here and hold you, if that’s okay.” He stood next to the bed.

  “Would you do that?”

  “I would love nothing more than to hold you in my arms right now.” He pulled off his boots then crawled up the bed next to her, pulled her back against his chest and tightened his arm around her waist. “God, I miss this.”

  “We never cuddled like this.”

  “Yes, we did. I just wore you out too much for you to remember and enjoy it.” He chuckled behind her.

  “What?”

  “Afterwards, you would curl up with me and fall asleep and I would hold you for hours and just watch you sleep.”

  “But I always woke up in my own bed?”

  “I wouldn’t take you back to your bed until hours later or I would stay with you in there. I didn’t want Eva to find us in bed together if she happened to go into your room in the middle of the night. Also, I didn’t want Travis or Ruby to see one of us leaving each other’s rooms in the morning.”

  “You never told me.”

  “I figured it would be easier that way, and you would just be mad at me afterwards and we would keep it on a physical level rather than make it more. We should have talked about this, years ago. I’ve been so stupid about us. And so totally selfish.”

  “I have been, too. I should have told you what I wanted and how much I wanted to be with you.”

  “I…”

  “What the hell is going on? I just got a call from Canter to let me know that … What the fuck … you two aren’t… Oh my God. Did I just walk in on you two…? Oh my ….”

  “Calm down, we are both dressed,” Audree called tiredly over her shoulder to Clint, who was standing in the doorway covering his eyes.

  “Gavin, can you tell him I really just want to get some sleep,” Audree yawned.

  “Sure, sweetie.” He kissed her temple and regretfully slid out of her bed. “Let’s go downstairs and I’ll fill you in.” Audree waited until she heard her bedroom door close before she leaned over to the end of her bed and saw that Gavin hadn’t taken his boots with him, which meant he planned on coming back to her when he was done talking to Clint. She yawned again and curled back up under the covers.

  Audree tossed and turned all night and didn’t really get much sleep, but every time she woke, she felt Gavin tighten his hold around her waist and pull her closer to his chest. He would whisper in her ear to go back to sleep, that he wouldn’t leave her, and that she was safe.

  “Audree?”

  “Hmmm?”

  “Audree, we have to get up. Eva will be home soon.” He brushed a fallen strand of hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear before grazing the back of his knuckles down her neck.

  “Ah, yeah, I should get up. I have so much to do before everyone starts showing up in.” She looked over at the clock on her nightstand. “Ugh, in like three hours.” She ran her hands over her face.

  “You really are beautiful in the morning,” Gavin said in his raspy, morning voice.

  “I slept like crap and I’m sure it shows all over my face." She threw her arm over her eyes.

  “I know. You were very restless.”

  “I’m sorry if I kept you awake.”

  “There is nowhere I would have rather have been.” He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

  She smiled at him and trembled when his lips moved down the side of her face, pausing when a knock sounded on the door.

  “Audree,” Travis called from the other side of Audree’s bedroom door. “Can I come in?”

  “Of course.” She laughed when Gavin groaned and rolled away from her.

  “Ugh, am I interrupting …?” He stepped into the room and instantly covered his eyes with his hand.

  “No.” She chuckled at the same time Gavin said. “Yes, Asshat.”

  “Sorry, Asshat, but Brooks called. He couldn’t get a hold of Audree on her cell so he called me to say they should be here in here in a couple of hours.” He hadn’t moved any further into the room. “Also, your mom is downstairs getting breakfast together and wants to know why Canter was here yesterday afternoon.”

  “Damn it,” Audree sighed. “How did she even find out?”

  “Gossip in town, after Scotty was brought in, was running rampant. She called last night and Ruby told her everything was okay and that you were sleeping; now she wants to see for herself that you are okay.”

  “Ugh.” Audree threw herself back down to her pillow.

  “Audree!” Talia called from downstairs. “I would like to talk to you,”

  “I’ll be right down,” she called back and scrambled out of her bed. “Am I facing her alone, or are you two going down with me?” She moved to the bathroom.

  “Yeah, I’ll see y’all down there,” Travis piped up from the doorway and turned to leave.

  “You know I’ll go with you,” Gavin said as he rolled out of the bed and headed toward her at the bathroom door.

  “And where do you think you are going, now?” She held her hand to his chest.

  “I was going to clean up.” He pointed to the open bathroom door behind her.

  “Not going to happen, we were taking this slow, remember. I appreciate you staying with me last night, but we…”

  “I gotcha.” He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll meet you in the hall in ten minutes,” he said and disappeared out of her room.

  ***

  After talking to Audree’s mother, Gavin reassured Talia that he would be staying and not leaving Audree alone. Talia was so upset when she heard about what happened that she called Canter to make sure that Scotty was still locked up. Canter confirmed that Scotty would be spending the weekend in a cell since the Judge and public defender just happ
ened to be spending the day at a friend’s barbeque and would be unavailable until Monday.

  Everyone agreed that Audree’s father and uncle shouldn’t be told until after the party, they didn’t want to ruin Eva’s homecoming and the last shindig of the summer. Clint being home was, thankfully, still under wraps. After Gavin had spent the morning helping to put the finishing touches down in the barn, he went to hang out with Clint. Ruby was staying at the house with Audree keeping her busy with party stuff.

  “So the fucker is definitely locked up for the weekend?” Clint paced back and forth clenching his fists.

  “Yup, he will be in there all weekend, and Audree still hasn’t decided if she wants to press charges.”

  “What do you mean if she wants to press charges? Of course…,” he stopped when he noticed Gavin shaking his head.

  “Seriously? Shit, I have to get out of this friggin’ house already. And I have to have a serious chat with my little sister.”

  “She had a really rough night last night. She tossed and turned like crazy.”

  “You slept with her?” He was shocked.

  “Didn’t really sleep much, with her…”

  “Aw man, I don’t want to hear that shit.”

  “I held her. That was it. We didn’t…”

  “Stop. I don’t want to know any part of that.”

  “I wasn’t sharing, man.” He laughed. “We’re takin’ it slow. We are doing this the right way this time. If that fucker hadn’t pulled that shit with her yesterday, I would have called her and asked her out like I promised her that I would.”

  “At least you got to beat the shit out of him before Canter got him.”

  “I told you yesterday, Audree took him down and got him good before I even got there.”

  “See, and when we were young, you said we should take it easy on her.” He laughed.

  “I was trying to protect her. I didn’t like seeing my girl hurt or upset.” He shook his head, realizing what he had said.

  “Still gonna take me some time to get used to you referring to my sister as your girl.” He laughed and shook his head.

  “You got a long time because I’m not letting her go ever again.”