Hot Southern Nights

by Gen Griffin

“I am,” Trish nodded.

  “I'm assuming this is your mother?” David focused his green-eyed gaze on Nanette. “Addy told me that he'd been eating dinner with y'all when he got the call about Grover.”

  “Yes.” Trish finished cleaning the wound. She dug around on a nearby medical supply cart until she found a large bandage. She pulled the plastic backing off the adhesive and stuck it on the bite wound. She turned to face Nanette. “Mom, this is-.”

  “David Breedlove.” Nanette spoke softly but as if she were quite sure of her words.

  David and Trish both looked at her in surprise.

  “I'm sorry. I didn't realized we'd met?” David made the statement into a question.

  “You're the spitting image of Ricky.” Nanette looked David up and down for a minute. She had a small smile on her face. “To be honest, when I first saw you I thought a ghost had walked into the room.”

  David hesitated and then nodded. “You knew my father?”

  “He and Grover were always very close friends. I'm not entirely surprised to see you still have contact with Grover. Are the two of you friends?” Nanette looked more than slightly shaken.

  “Me and Grover?” David was clearly startled. “No. Sorry. I can't stand him.”

  “Then you're here because of Trish?” Nanette asked.

  David hesitated and looked to Trish. She turned her attention solely to him. “My mother and I were in the middle of a very awkward conversation when Grover decided to put us all out of our misery by shooting a Jehovah's Witness.”

  “Ah. Gotcha.” David wrapped one arm around Trish's waist and pulled her closer to him. He looked over at Nanette. “I'm in love with Trish. I proposed repeatedly until she agreed to marry me.”

  “Oh,” Nanette considered him for a moment and then took a deep breath. “She told me she'd gotten engaged to someone named David. It never occurred to me that it would be you.”

  “Is that a problem?” David bristled slightly. Trish tightened her grip on David's waist.

  Nanette hesitated and then shook her head. “No. I'm glad Trish has had you to help her and take care of her while she's been in Possum Creek. I just....seeing you all grown up took my breath away.”

  “Seeing me all grown up?” David looked at her curiously.

  “I hadn't seen you since you were in diapers,” Nanette explained. “I guess I've never thought much about what you would be like as an adult. It never crossed my mind that you and Trish might meet and fall in love. I wish Maury were here to see you two together. She would have been ecstatic.” Nanette's eyes filled with unexpected tears. She reached her hand to her eyes and quickly wiped them away. “I'm sorry.”

  “Maury?” Trish asked.

  David frowned at Nanette. “You knew my biological mother?”

  “She was my best friend in high school,” Nanette explained. “We were almost inseparable before she married Ricky.”

  “Oh. Well, you probably knew her better than I did then,” David said. “I've never met the woman.”

  Nanette opened her mouth and then closed it. She swallowed visibly. “Your mother was a beautiful person.”

  “You mean before she became a drug addict?” David asked skeptically. “Sorry, but I prefer not to think about either one of my biological parents if I don't have to. As far as I'm concerned, Jerry and Loretta Walker are my parents.”

  “Jerry and Loretta Walker?” Nanette's disbelief showed in her expression.

  “Momma and Dad, as I call them to their faces. They took me in when they didn't have to. They raised me and Cal like we were really brothers. They get the credit for the fact I didn't grow up to be a methamphetamine addicted convict.” David shrugged at Nanette but his expression was deadly serious. “I'm nothing like Ricky or my mother.”

  Nanette appeared genuinely taken aback. “I'm sorry. I didn't realize you didn't-.”

  Nanette's apology was cut off by the sound of Grover's renewed screams coming from down the hall. Something hit the wall in the examining room with a loud crash. A nurse stuck her head out into the hallway and quickly focused her gaze on David.

  “Sir, we need your help with your grandfather,” the nurse said.

  David sighed. “Fuck me.”

  An even louder crash echoed through the air.

  Grover was now screaming obscenities at the top of his lungs.

  David turned to Nanette. “I'd say we could continue this conversation later, but honestly, I really don't want to. I'm nothing like my biological parents. You don't have to worry about me abusing Trish or getting her hooked on drugs. I may look like Ricky but I don't act like him.”

  Grover howled again.

  “I understand,” Nanette said, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

  “David- it's okay.” Trish put her hand on his arm as Grover's yowling increased in volume.

  “Sir?” The nurse was waiting for David in the hallway. “Can you please hurry.”

  David pulled Trish to him and gave her a quick peck on the lips. “I love you. I've got to go restrain your grandfather and hope he doesn't tear my jugular out with his teeth.”

  “I love you too,” Trish said with a small wry smile. “It's going to be a long night, isn't it?”

  “Without a doubt,” Nanette agreed.

  “We've had worse nights,” David reminded her.

  Grover's howls were echoing through the hallway now.

  Trish shook her head at him and laughed softly. “You're right. We've had worse nights. And better.”

  “Last night was better,” David confirmed.

  “I agree.” Trish pressed her forehead into David's chest.

  “Sir!” The nurse was starting to look frantic. David reluctantly released Trish and headed down the hall. A moment later he was gone into the depths of the chaos and Trish was left standing in the hallway with her mother.

  Nanette sighed. “I'm going to go find a vending machine that sells coffee. Do you want some?”

  “Sure,” Trish said. “Coffee would be good.”

  “Do you think David wants coffee?”

  “Probably,” Trish said. “He drinks it black.”

  “So did Ricky,” Nanette said. “Trish, about David-.”

  “He's a good guy. He's been there for me every time I've needed him.”

  “I'm sure he is a good guy,” Nanette said with a small smile. “I didn't mean to upset him. I had no idea he felt so strongly about his parents. Or so badly.”

  Trish shrugged. “He's talked about his real dad to me some. He's never mentioned his mother at all.”

  “Maureen's been gone a long time,” Nanette said softly. She looked away from Trish. “I'll go get that coffee.”

  Chapter 52

  “David. Hey, David. Wake up.”

  Trish opened her eyes to see Cal standing in the doorway of Grover's hospital room. He was wearing a leather jacket and looking decidedly wet. Trish blinked at him through the gray and bleak morning light. She decided she must be hallucinating and buried her face back into David's chest.

  “Morning.” David shifted his weight in the uncomfortable reclining chair, forcing Trish to sit up. “You here to swap me keys?”

  Cal nodded. He dangled a set of keys in mid-air as he walked into the room.

  Nanette, who had been dozing on a cot that the nurses had brought in late last night, rolled over and then hastily sat up when she saw Cal. She pulled the thin hospital blanket halfway up her chest.

  “You better have brought me the gold truck.” David shifted his weight so that he could unhook his own keys from the clip that was on his hip. “I don't want that godforsaken devil truck you let Gracie drive.”

  “Gracie drives the devil truck because she's the only one it actually runs for,” Cal pointed out. He traded keys with David. “I brought you the gold truck.”

  “Good.” David closed his eyes and leaned back against the uncomfortable chair he was sleeping in. He ran his fingers through Trish's dark curls.

  �
��Where is your grandfather?” Nanette asked Trish.

  Trish frowned at the empty hospital bed and then looked at David.

  “They took him down to pre-op about an hour ago,” David supplied. He had a 5 o’clock shadow under his jawline. “You were sound asleep.”

  “Was he still fighting with them?” Trish asked.

  “Not after I threatened to have him sent to the worst nursing home I could find for him.” David stretched. His back made a loud popping noise. “Damn this chair is uncomfortable.”

  “From what Sheriff Chasson was saying last night, it sounds like Grover might skip the nursing home entirely and go straight to jail.” Nanette sighed unhappily and then looked up at Cal. “I'm sorry, I'm being rude. I'm Trish's mother, Nanette.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Cal said to her. “I'm Cal Walker.”

  “He's David's best friend,” Trish explained sleepily.

  “Not that I'm claiming him,” David grumbled. He slid out from behind Trish and stood up, cracking his spine loudly as he stretched. His t-shirt was wrinkled beyond repair and he had dark circles under both eyes.

  “You better claim me.” Cal dug down into his pocket and pulled out a fat black smartphone with a wide screen and passed it to David. “I brought you a present.”

  “You got me a new phone?” David inspected the gadget curiously.

  “Momma bought you a new phone. She didn't figure you were ever going to get around to replacing yours, so she did it for you. Got you a nice one too. Try not to break it within the first month.” Cal pulled his wallet out of his pocket and began extracting bills.

  “I figured that was why she'd bought the case,” David said as he tapped on the box that was covering the exterior of the phone. “This is one of those life-proof things, right?”

  “Probably.” Cal dangled a handful of cash in front of David's nose. “She also sent you three hundred dollars cash and her debit card. She says she knows the bank won't have your new one to you for another week. She's worried you'll need something and not be able to get to the bank.”

  David pocketed the cash and card. “Tell her I said thanks.”

  “Call her and tell her thanks yourself. Why do you think I brought you a phone?” Cal asked.

  David half-way smiled. “Yeah. Okay. Fair enough.”

  “You can call her while we're on our way to the far end of the county,” Cal said. “The west creek bridge flooded out and roughly a dozen people have tried to drive across it anyway. Marty's busy dealing with some massive pileup on the interstate so Frank bribed me to come get your truck and go deal with the sunken car carnage.”

  “So go.” David made a dismissive gesture at him. “The whole point of swapping trucks is so I don't have to go anywhere.”

  “You're coming with me,” Cal informed him. “I'm not driving the wrecker into a flood alone.”

  “Damn it,” David cursed. “If you're making me come with you, then why did you just give me your keys?”

  “Because I thought Trish might want to go home and shower at some point today,” Cal said. “All the roads heading back into Possum Creek are flooding. She's going to want a 4x4 with some ground clearance.”

  “Oh.” David considered what Cal had said and then nodded. “Good point.”

  “We need to buy you another truck,” Cal told him.

  “I know,” David agreed. “I just ain't got around to it.”

  “Momma asked me if I thought she needed to do it for you,” Cal said.

  “What did you tell her?”

  “I said I didn't think it would be a bad idea. I kind of doubt that Trish really likes riding around in the wrecker. It smells like wet feet.”

  Trish giggled. “You're being too nice to the wrecker. It smells way, way worse than wet feet.”

  Cal's cell phone started ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket and scowled at it. “It's Frank.”

  “Tell him he can kiss my ass. I don't want to go out in this damn shit.” David stared out the window at the pouring rain that was pounding against the thick glass.

  “Me neither.” Cal pressed the button to send the call to his voice mail. “But you know we've got to go do our civic duty.”

  “I thought I was doing my civic duty by staying here.” David held his right arm out to Cal. It was covered in gauze and band-aids. “Grover keeps biting me. He's drawing blood.”

  “Knock his ass out,” Cal replied with a completely straight face. His phone started ringing again. He didn't even look at the display.

  “Frank again?”

  “You know it is.”

  David nodded. He looked down at Trish. “I'm sorry. I need to go.”

  “I know. It's okay.” Trish stood up and wrapped her arms around David's waist. He automatically hugged her back. “Do you want me to come with you?”

  “I wish you could come with me. Unfortunately you probably need to stay here and make sure Grover doesn't find a way to murder someone with a hospital tray.”

  “Don't say that.” Trish stood on her tippy-toes and gave him a small kiss. “I don't want to think about how many potentially dangerous weapons Grover can improvise from standard hospital equipment.”

  David laughed and kissed her back. “Try to stay out of his biting range.”

  Cal snorted. “And make sure to have the staff check him thoroughly for hidden weapons. Maybe run him through a metal detector.”

  “You are so not helping,” Trish told Cal. She looked over at Nanette. “Think we can handle things here for a couple of hours?”

  “With any luck, Grover will be in surgery the whole time David is gone,” Nanette replied. “Actually, it might not be a bad idea for Trish and I to take advantage of the time he'll be under total anesthesia. We do need showers and clean clothes. At least, I do. Trish probably still smells like roses.”

  “Trish always smells good.” David sniffed at Trish's hair. She swatted him away. “Go deal with your tow jobs. Mom and I will go back to the house and then come back here. Do you want me to grab you anything?”

  “Clean clothes would be nice,” David admitted. “Dry clothes would be even nicer.”

  “You want to meet back here or at the house?”

  “I'll call you when we get done dragging drowned sedans out of the swamp,” David promised. “We'll figure out what to do from there.”

  “Sounds good,” Trish said.

  Chapter 53

  Addison was on his way home from work when he saw the bumper of a car sticking out of the ditch beside the Cutter Road Bridge. He was already exhausted and soaking wet from dealing with the last two wrecks he'd handled before going off-duty for the day. The last thing he wanted to do was stop for yet another car that had managed to run off the road in this morning’s bad weather. Unfortunately, he was still in uniform and driving his Callahan County Fish and Game truck. Off-duty or not, he couldn't just drive past a citizen in distress.

  Especially not a citizen who had just leapt out of the trees and was waving at him hysterically from the side of the road, crossing both arms over one another into a giant “X”.

  Addy wished that people who couldn't drive on wet roads had enough sense to live somewhere besides the middle of a swamp. Or even just stay off the roads when flood warnings were in effect. He hit his brakes and eased the truck onto the shoulder of the road. He made sure to leave two wheels on pavement so he'd be sure to have enough traction to get back out of the mud after he saw to the motorist.

  “What the hell took you so long?” The motorist demanded, stomping through a mud puddle as he approached the pickup.

  “Excuse me?” Addison scowled as the rain once again began hitting his shoulders. He'd given up on his rain jacket two hours ago. The jacket was soaked through and so was his uniform.

  “I called 911 more than four hours ago,” the man said angrily. He was wearing a designer label rain jacket and had the hood pulled up so that it obscured his face almost completely. Addison could see a tie poking out of his pants pocke
t. His khakis had been soaked through by the rain and had adhered to his skin, giving Addison an all too revealing glimpse of his pudgy stomach and the colorful print on his boxers.

  “You called for help four hours ago?” Addison repeated his words just to make sure he had heard the man right.

  “Damn right I did. No one ever showed up. Not until now. What if I had been seriously hurt?” The motorist crossed his arms over his man-boobs and glared angrily at Addy. “I could have died while I was waiting on you to show up.”

  “I'm sorry, sir. Sometimes the cell phone towers around here don't route emergency calls properly. Your call probably didn't go to the right county's emergency dispatch.” Addison tried to sound as calm and soothing as possible. Misrouted emergency calls were a semi-regular occurrence in Callahan County.

  “You mean to tell me we're so far out in the sticks, 911 doesn't work?” The man appeared to be infuriated by the news.

  “Basically.” Addison was forced to nod. “Most locals have learned to tell the 911 operator that they want response from Callahan County Emergency Services. Its the best way to make sure we get your call. Or you can call our office directly, the number is 939-.”

  “I don't want your stupid number.” The man cut Addison off mid-sentence.“I've been sitting out here in the rain all morning. My car, which I'm sure costs more than you earn in a year, is hood first in a fucking creek – just in case you haven't noticed, officer.”

  “I see it,” Addy said. He did see it too. The car in question looked like it was doing a headstand in the creek. It had come off the road right before it would have hit the bridge, probably due to the massive pothole that the county road crew had been pretending to repair for the last 8 months. It had landed on the bank of the creek, taking out 2 small pine trees and a heck of a lot of scrub brush before coming to rest, nose first, in the shallow water. The entire passenger's side was dented and the hood itself was pretty smashed up.

  “I ruined a pair of thousand dollar loafers just trying to get out of my car,” the man continued. He stuck one pudgy foot in Addison's direction, displaying a sopping wet piece of tasseled leather. Addy decided now probably wasn't the best moment to inform the out-of-towner that there was a valid reason most of the men in Possum Creek, even the business men with office jobs, wore boots.