by Brent, Cora
“Not a goddamn thing.”
“Is your dick hard?”
“It is now.”
“Good. Touch it.”
He groaned on the other end. “I wish to hell it was you touching it.”
“I can’t. I’m too busy touching myself.”
“Fuck, Promise.”
“Yes, you do fuck Promise. I wish you were fucking her now.”
“Jesus, you wet?”
“I’m so damn wet you wouldn’t believe it. Gray? Shit, it’s building, Gray.”
“You’re gonna make yourself fucking come.”
I was kneeling on the floor of the bathroom with my hand between my legs, pressing, playing. I knew the more I held it off the sweeter the reward would be.
His breathing was thick and rapid.
“Stroke it hard, Gray. Pretend my mouth is on you.”
He groaned again. “And you’ve got such a dirty fucking mouth.”
“I do have a dirty mouth that likes nothing better than sucking your big dick. Oh god, Gray, I’m so close.”
“Let it take you, baby. Aw shit, I’m coming now.”
We reached our peaks at the same time. I had to bury my face in a bath towel to muffle the pleasure screams as my core pulsed with crazy passion.
I heard his spent sigh on the other end. “My sweet angel, you slay me.”
“Always?” I asked, knowing the answer.
“Always.”
“I love you, Grayson.”
Chapter Twenty Nine
It was early when Gray came back with a box of donuts. Jenny squealed with delight as treats like that were rare in Jericho Valley. I could feel her eyes on me as I fell into my lover’s embrace, kissing him deeply and without holding back.
Jenny seemed won over by the end of breakfast. Gray talked to her as I sat nearby and watched the two people who were most important to me. He’d just finished telling Jenny about how the city of Phoenix was actually built over the bones of an ancient civilization. The canals which wound through sections of the metropolis had been channeled untold centuries earlier.
“Where are you from?” she asked him curiously, biting into a powdered donut.
“New York,” he said with a wink. “But my heart is in Arizona.”
My brother Daniel must have been on the road in the middle of the night. He arrived shortly after nine am. Though Jenny was very young the last time she had seen him, she was beside herself with joy over the reunion. Daniel showed her pictures of Lupe and Bella, who remained back in San Diego.
As Jenny scrolled through the pictures on his phone with a wide smile on her face, Daniel pulled me aside. Alice stood in the kitchen talking to Grayson about the history of the Phoenix tuberculosis colonies.
“Promise,” my brother said, “I talked to Alice last night. About what comes next for Jenny.”
“Yes, she’s appearing before a judge this afternoon. Alice thinks it’s just a formality and the judge will certainly grant guardianship.”
Daniel’s eyes rested fondly on our young sister. “I was wondering,” he said slowly, “if you would consider allowing Lupe and I to be her guardians.” He was eager to elaborate. “We live in a nice neighborhood, good schools, not too far away from the water.”
It hadn’t occurred to me that Jenny’s guardian could be anyone other than me.
Daniel touched my arm gently. “You’re still so young,” he said quietly, “and you’ve had so much life stolen from you. You need to take some time to learn about the person you are.”
I looked at him flatly. “I know who I am, Daniel.”
He ran a hand through his blonde hair and grimaced. “Of course you do. And you’re wonderful. You would take fantastic care of Jenny, I’m sure. But I would love the opportunity to be the brother that I never got a chance to be. She could go to high school, be a regular teenager.”
“What does Lupe say?”
Daniel smiled, visibly relieved that I hadn’t automatically shut the idea down. “She would love for Jenny to come live with us.”
I stared down at my hands. I thought about what I had to offer my sister. I knew bringing her back to Quartzsite was not best. Gray knew it too. He was willing to stay in Phoenix. But then what? Daniel was right about me. I was still learning how to live independently. Perhaps it would be better for Jenny to be in a more settled environment. I thought about her going to school, to the beach, doing the carefree things a girl her age ought to do.
“You can visit all the time,” my brother told me, putting his hand on my shoulder. “You and Grayson both. In fact, I insist on it.”
Daniel seemed startled when I abruptly hugged him. I was so grateful for him, my big brother. He was a good man. Once I had believed there were none, and now they were everywhere in my life.
Alice was correct. The appearance before the judge was swift and positive. Jenny did need to give an official statement, and was told she would be called on again as the authorities tried to figure out what to do next. But when it was over our brother was named as her legal guardian.
Jenny needed some clothes so we brought her to a nearby mall. She gaped at the retail cornucopia and left the place looking like a contemporary American teenager. We all ate dinner together at a Mexican restaurant. Anyone happening to observe us wouldn’t find anything unusual. It just goes to show that you never really knows what’s going on in the lives of the strangers who surround you.
Daniel was eager to return to San Diego. He said Lupe was busy getting Jenny’s room ready for her and couldn’t wait for their arrival. I regretted not having more time to spend with my sister but Daniel made me swear once again that Gray and I would visit soon.
“Now promise me,” he joked, winking.
“I promise,” I said, hugging him one more time.
Jenny grew a little emotional when we embraced. She touched my hair with a grin.
“I think I’ll get mine cut too.” Her face fell a little. “What do you think Mother is doing right now?”
I looked away. It hurt to think of my mother sitting sadly in an empty house, her children gone, her husband almost certainly in another woman’s bed. Or maybe that wasn’t right at all. Maybe she was content in the knowledge that her daughters were free. At least, I liked to think so.
After we’d waved goodbye to Jenny and Daniel, I buried my face in Gray’s arm.
“You okay?” he asked, holding me.
I tipped my head up, looking him in the eye. “I’m fine.”
Alice approached quietly. “The story is running tomorrow,” she said.
Gray rubbed my back and I put my arm around his waist. “What do you think will happen?”
Alice Carter shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
The three of us spent a quiet moment, thinking about the day’s events. Another ball game was in progress and the nearby stadium roared.
I tugged on Gray. “You’ll have to take me to one of those sometime.”
Alice smiled at us. “You’re both welcome to stay with me tonight if you’d rather not drive back until morning.”
Gray waited for me to answer.
“No thank you,” I said slowly. “I think we ought to go home.” I looked up at Gray. “Can we?”
His face was serious. “We can, Promise.”
There is nothing comparable to careening through the desert night on the back of a bike. It was, I mused, most likely similar to hurtling through space. The sky was a yawning cavern dotted with the orderly chaos of the universe. Mile after dark mile passed as I held on to Gray.
Gray had intended on driving straight through to Quartzsite but before we left I asked him if we could make one stop along the way. He listened and nodded, saying he thought he knew where the place was.
The Interstate wasn’t terribly busy, and the further we got from Phoenix the more sporadic the traffic was. The air had cooled off only a little from the day’s highs but I rather enjoyed the feel of the hot wind as it played rowdily with my hair.
He drove past the gas station which I had had last seen when I was imprisoned with evil. I remembered looking at that one happy family as they paused briefly in their travels on a meaningless, ordinary stop. They had not even noticed me but I would always remember them.
Gray coasted slowly past the smattering of buildings which comprised the tiny town. He found the sign easily on the way back to the Interstate. It was not illuminated but I could read the darkened letters with no difficulty.
“You are now beyond Hope.”
A clever play on the name of the tiny town.
“Never,” I answered in a loud, clear voice and Gray turned, glancing at me quickly before picking up speed and returning to the I-10.
The Riverbottom was busy. I held Gray’s hand as we waded past the riot of bikes and crookedly parked cars. Casper was standing outside smoking a cigarette and he came to us immediately. He jerked his head inside the bar.
“She’s been waiting for you.”
Rachel Talbot; beautiful, strong, tough. She broke into a rapturous smile as soon as she saw us. She pushed past the hulking men and the sloppy couples who swayed drunkenly to the music.
“I’m so glad you’re home,” she said, hugging me.
“I am, Rachel.” I hugged her back. “I’m really home.”
She backed away several inches and searched my face.
“Tell me all about it tomorrow,” she said, releasing me to Gray and returning to all the demanding customers who clamored for attention.
Gray and I held onto one another as we made our way beyond the radius of the bar, retreating to the dark trailer lot. I looked around with affection, thinking about how to the eyes of strangers who didn’t know any better, it may not seem like much. Those same people might gaze at the desolate surroundings with a grimace, perhaps pitying the rough souls who made their homes here. But they would be wrong. It was beautiful, all of it. The trailers, the desert, and most of all the small collection of free spirited men and women who had cobbled together a family.
Maddox and Brandon hailed us from the front step of Orion’s house and we waved. Tomorrow I would be happy to talk to them all but tonight I just wanted to be alone with Gray.
We undressed completely as soon as we were inside the quirky antique trailer.
“I just want to feel you,” he said in a husky voice as he lay back on the bed and pulled my body over his.
We were both hot, dusty, and full of need. It was as incredible as it always was and afterwards I listened to the best sound in the world, the beat of his heart.
EPILOGUE
GRAYSON
Gray looked dubiously at the karaoke machine as Brandon dragged it into Riverbottom.
“Who the hell is gonna use that thing? I mean, without sounding like a slowly tortured cat?”
Brandon looked insulted. “I can.”
Maddox guffawed. “Bull fucking shit.”
“Fuck you, Mad.”
Maddox took his sweaty shirt off and climbed up on a rickety chair to hang some silver streamers. “Don’t overestimate yourself, B. Never works out well.”
“I’ll show all you fuckers,” Brandon muttered as he fiddled with the machine.
“Gray!” Rachel called from the door. “She’s here!”
Kira clapped her hands and looked down at her sequined dress. “This is so much fucking fun!”
Orion had been napping on one of the tables. At the sound of Kira’s voice he raised his head and grunted blearily.
“What the fuck are we doing again?”
Grayson went outside to meet her. Promise had started her job at the clinic in Parker this week. She was driving around in Rachel’s car for the time being, until there was enough money to get something else.
Her smile, when she saw him, was brilliant as always. Too much had been weighing on her these days. Alice Carter’s work exposing the Freedom Cooperative had shaken some branches, even caused a cleaving down the trunk as all the private money which had attached itself, however obliquely, to that business was abandoning it in droves. The press was merciless. More women and girls began to come forward with awful stories. Winston Allred’s name was intricately tangled with the schemes of the Freedom Cooperative. He was the first to be arrested.
Thus far, more than a hundred women and their children had left Jericho Valley. Alice was working with many of them, helping them get resettled in Phoenix.
And then yesterday came the news. John and Aston Talbot, Promise’s father and uncle, had both been arrested. The list of charges was long. Fraud, child endangerment, assault.
Jenny was thriving in her new surroundings. Grayson and Promise were driving out to San Diego in the morning to visit her. But first he wanted to give his girl, the love of his life, something else. Something she had mentioned sleepily one night and then probably forgot about.
She jumped on him and he spun her around as she laughed. When he put her down she tried to go into the bar but he held her back.
“What are you up to?” she asked, her green eyes twinkling.
“Just a minute,” he said, peeking inside. Rachel gave him the thumbs up. “Okay, now.”
She gasped as she walked in and turned to him in astonishment. “What?”
Kira and Rachel were both dressed to the nines. Rachel held out a lovely silver gown which matched the decorative streamers Maddox had grudgingly stapled to the ceiling.
Promise was still blinking at everything in confusion.
Gray kissed her cheek and grabbed a small box which had been waiting on a nearby table. “You regret missing high school,” he told her, taking the corsage out and sliding it on her small wrist. “So this is your prom.”
She stared at him for a moment and he wondered if she was embarrassed. But then she looked down at her corsage and softly fingered the white petals.
“Wow,” she whispered.
Rachel hustled her into the office to change into the silver dress while Brandon cursed and kicked the karaoke machine.
“Told you not to fuck with that thing,” Maddox laughed.
While Gray waited for her, Teague wandered in. He took one look at the silvery bedlam, said “Fuck this,” and left in a huff.
The door to the office opened and she was beautiful. But then, she was always beautiful. As she melted into his arms he resolved not to let in the ugliness tonight. There would be no Faithful, no grim tales of abuse and corruption. There would be only the two of them.
Brandon finally got the machine running. Everyone in the room paused and gaped at him when he launched into a song. He had a smooth, melodic voice which instinctively knew when to draw out for maximum effect. Brandon smiled underneath his beard, clearly enjoying the surprise.
Grayson walked over and whispered something in his ear. Brandon thought for a moment and then slowly nodded. When he finished his song he searched the machine menu for a few minutes until he found the one he wanted.
“What song is this?” she asked as her arms went around his shoulders.
He smiled at her as his arms went around her waist. “It’s an oldie. From way back in the fifties. It’s timeless though, this song. Called Earth Angel.” He pulled her in closer, feeling emotional. “Because, baby, you’re my angel.”
She closed her eyes and rested her cheek against his chest. He wondered if she often thought about their first dance together. It was the first moment he’d truly held her in his arms and realized that she felt about him the same way he felt about her. The moment when he understood how they fit together like two lost pieces of a puzzle.
He was vaguely aware that Rachel and Casper were dancing beside them, absorbed in their own story. Kira loudly complained until she coaxed Orion to his feet but when he got there he held fast to her.
“Gray,” Promise sighed.
“I know,” he kissed he
r. “Me too.”
She shifted slightly, looking up at him and touching his face.
“It’ll always be like this,” she said.
“It will,” he agreed, tightening his hold on her until she could feel all of him. “I promise.”
From the author: This novel was an emotional journey as the story tackled some weighty subjects which I struggled to handle with sensitivity.
I hope someone out there enjoyed it.
By the way, I sincerely love to hear from readers so drop me a line if you want to say hello.
[email protected]
***
The dessert recipes referred to in Chapter Twenty were culled from my personal collection of antique handwritten recipes. I do not know who wrote them down or where they originally came from, but here they are nonetheless:
Dead Man’s Bones
1 Cup White Flour
3 Egg Whites
1 tsp Vanilla
1 Cup Sliced Almonds
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
Dash of salt
Beat the egg whites stiffly.
Add sugar gradually and beat with enthusiasm.
Using a fork, fold in the flour and salt.
Slowly add almonds.
Pour in vanilla.
Drop by teaspoonful onto oiled cookie sheet.
Bake at 300 Degrees until cookies are a rich cream color.
Cherry Nut Cake
1 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
2 Tbsp Melted Shortening
1 Cup Flour
1 Cup Canned Cherries
1 tsp baking soda
½ Cup Walnuts
Dash of Nutmeg
Mix all ingredients.
Pour in greased 9x9 pan.
Bake at 325 Degrees for 45 Minutes
Cherry Sauce
1 Cup Sugar
½ Tbsp Cornstarch
1 tsp Butter
1 Cup Cherry Juice
½ Cup Water
½ tsp vanilla
¼ tsp almond extract
Blend all ingredients in sauce pan.
Cook until clear.
Serve over cake.
