by Nicole Snow
As if I could ever forget. These were the arms that saved me, loved me, dark and devilish with their inks as they were delightful.
He let me lift his hand to my face and I kissed it. I still wanted to worship every inch of him.
“What're we doing out here?” I asked, as if in a dream.
“Having a moment, babe. Just you and me. I told you before, you're gonna remember tonight for the rest of your damned life.”
It was his turn to take my hand. He pushed it against the bottom pocket. My eyebrows flicked up when I touched the hard little box there. Without another word, he grabbed my hand and pushed it inside, pulling it out a second later with –
“Oh my God.”
The little black box sat neatly in my palm. Amazing how something so small could hold the key to the rest of my life.
“Skin...”
“No, baby. Don't talk. Not yet.” He pushed a stiff finger against my lips.
His other hand circled to the black box in my hand, and he flicked it open. The world's most beautiful gold ring sat there inside it, a tiny silver dagger molded on the loop, with diamond in the middle.
“When I told you I wanted you to remember today forever, it's not because we're moved in. It's not even because we're fucking like wild animals. We've been living together for weeks back at my cabin before we landed this place, and I cherish every damned day with you. But you're gonna remember tonight because it's the night you became my wife. All you've gotta give me is one simple word.” He paused, tense and dramatic. “What do you say, Megan Wilder?”
I could barely think. There wasn't time when it all came rushing out.
“Yes!” I whispered, turning toward him, pushing my lips against his.
At some point we stopped kissing long enough for him to take the ring out and shove it on my finger. Its coolness surrounded my finger, but more importantly, it was right.
“Don't ever forget I loved you before you just made me the happiest outlaw in the whole damned world.” He grinned, gazing into my eyes.
I eyed the scar running down his face and smiled, a beautiful imperfection as beautifully imperfect as all of this.
Fuck perfect. Fuck the man with the trust fund and the job with a suit and tie. Fuck everything I'd thought was grand, what I'd feared had been stolen from me forever by the pimp.
I had the only man I'd ever want right here, the one who'd shown me there was more life on the back of a motorcycle than a lifetime in a stuffy mansion.
“I'm not sure about that, Skin. I think I can make you a whole lot happier before the night's through.” I reached down, feeling his muscular thighs, rounding my fingers to his cock, hard again and pulsing for attention.
“Fuck, you know I love a challenge, babe. Show me. I already know my old lady gives good head, and now I wanna feel my fiance's tongue on every inch of me.”
Smiling, I dropped to my knees. I worshiped his body all night, the same way I knew I would for the rest of my life.
Alive, loved, and finally free.
I never thought I'd love an outlaw, much less marry one. Now, I couldn't imagine being happy with anything less.
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Kisses,
Nicole Snow
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I: Cursed Bones (Missy)
“It won't be long now,” the nurse said, checking dad's IV bag. “Breathing getting shallower...pulse is slowing...don't worry, girls. He won't feel a thing. That's what the morphine's for.”
I had to squeeze his hand to make sure he wasn't dead yet. Jesus, he was so cold. I swore there was a ten degree difference between dad's fingers in one hand, and my little sister's in the other. I blinked back tears, trying to be brave for Jackie, who watched helplessly, trembling and shaking at my side.
We'd already said our goodbyes. We'd been doing that for the last hour, right before he slipped into unconsciousness for what I guessed was the last time.
I turned to my sister. “It'll be okay. He's going to a better place. No more suffering. The cancer, all the pain...it dies with him. Dad's finally getting better.”
“Missy...” Jackie squeaked, ripping her hand away from me and covering her face.
The nurse gave me a sympathetic look. It took so much effort to push down the lump in my throat without cracking up. I choked on my grief, holding it in, cold and sharp as death looming large.
I threw an arm around my sister, pulling her close. Lying like this was a bitch.
I wasn't really sure what I believed anymore, but I had to say something. Jackie was the one who needed all my support now. Dad's long, painful dying days were about to be over.
Not that it made anything easy. But I was grown up, and I could handle it. Losing him at twenty-one was hard, but if I was fourteen, like the small trembling girl next to me?
“Melissa.” Thin, weak fingers tightened on my wrist with surprising strength.
I jumped, drawing my arm off Jackie, looking at the sick man in the bed. His eyes were wide open and his lips were moving. The sickly sheen on his forehead glowed, one last light before it burned out forever.
“Daddy? What is it?” I leaned in close, wondering if I'd imagined him saying my name.
“Forgive me,” he hissed. “I...I fucked up bad. But I did it for a good reason. I just wish I could've done it different, baby...”
His eyelids fluttered. I squeezed his fingers as tight as I could, moving closer to his gray lips. What the hell was he saying? Was this about Mom again?
She'd been gone for ten years in a car accident, waiting for him on the other side. “Daddy? Hey!”
I grabbed his bony shoulder and gently shook him. He was still there, fighting the black wave pulling him lower, insistent and overpowering.
“It's the only way...I couldn't do it with hard work. Honest work. That never paid shit.” He blinked, running his tongue over his lips. “Just look in the basement, baby. There's a palate...roofing tiles. Everything I ever wanted to leave my girls is there. It was worth it...I promised her I'd do anything for you and Jackie...and I did. I did it, Carol. Our girls are set. I'm ready to burn if I need to...”
Hearing him say mom's name, and then talk about burning? I blinked back tears and shook my head.
What th
e hell was this? Some kinda death fever making him talk nonsense?
Dad started to slump into the mattress, a harsh rattle in his throat, the tiny splash of color left in his face becoming pale ash. I backed away as the machines howled. The nurse looked at me and nodded. She rushed to his free side, intently watching his heartbeat jerk on the monitor.
The machine released an earsplitting wail as the line went flat.
Jackie completely lost it. I grabbed her tight, holding onto her, turning away until the mechanical screaming stopped. I wanted to cover my ears, but I wanted hers closed more.
I held my little sister and rocked her to my chest. We didn't move until the nurse finally touched my shoulder, nudging us into the waiting room outside.
We sat and waited for all the official business of death to finish up. My brain couldn't stop going back to his last words, the best distraction I had to keep my sanity.
What was he talking about? His last words sounded so strange, so sure. So repentant, and that truly frightened me.
I didn't dare get my hopes up, as much as I wanted to believe we wouldn't lose everything and end up living in the car next week. The medical bills snatched up the last few pennies left over from his pension and disability – the same fate waiting for our house as soon as his funeral was done.
Delirious, I thought. His dying wish was for us, hoping and praying we'd be okay. He went out selflessly, just like a good father should.
That was it. Had to be.
He was dying, after all...pumped full of drugs, driven crazy in his last moments. But I couldn't let go of what he said about the basement.
We'd have to scour the house anyway before the state kicked us out. If there was anything more to his words besides crazy talk, we'd find out soon enough, right?
I looked at Jackie, biting my lip. I tried not to hope off a dead man's words. But damn it, I did.
If he'd tucked away some spare cash or some silver to pawn, I wouldn't turn it down. Anything would help us live another day without facing the gaping void left by his brutal end.
My sister was tipped back in her chair, one tissue pressed tight to her eyes. I reached for her hand and squeezed, careful not to set her off all over again.
“We're going to figure this out,” I promised. “Don't worry about anything except mourning him, Jackie. You're not going anywhere. I'm going to do my damnedest to find us a place and pay the bills while you stay in school.”
She straightened up, clearing her throat, shooting me a nasty look. “Stop talking to me like I'm a stupid kid!”
I blinked. Jackie leaned in, showing me her bloodshot eyes. “I'm not as old as you, sis, but I'm not retarded. We're out of money. I get that. I know you won't find a job in this shitty town with half a degree and no experience...we'll end up homeless, and then the state'll get involved. They'll take me away from you, stick me with some freaky foster parents. But I won't forget you, Missy. I'll be okay. I'll survive.”
Rage shot through me. Rage against the world, myself, maybe even dad's ghost for putting us in this fucked up position.
I clenched my jaw. “That's not going to happen, Jackie. Don't even go there. I won't let –“
“Whatever. It's not like it matters. I just hope there's a way for us to keep in touch when the hammer falls.” She was quiet for a couple minutes before she finally looked up, her eyes redder than before. “I heard what he said while I was crying. Daddy didn't have crap after he got sick and left the force – nothing but those measly checks. He didn't earn a dime while he was sick. He died the same way he lived, Missy – sorry, and completely full of shit.”
Anger howled through me. I wanted to grab her, shake her, tell her to get a fucking grip and stop obsessing on disaster. But I knew she didn't mean it.
Lashing out wouldn't do any good. Rage was all part of grief, wasn't it? I kept waiting for mine to bubble to the surface, toxic as the crap they'd pumped into our father to prolong his life by a few weeks towards the end.
I settled back in my chair and closed my eyes. I'd find some way to keep my promise to Jackie, whether there was a lucky break waiting for us in the basement or just more junk, more wreckage from our lives.
Daddy wasn't ready to be a single father when Mom got killed, but he'd managed. He did the best he could before he had to deal with the shit hand dealt to him by this merciless life. I closed my eyes, vowing I'd do the same.
No demons waiting for us on the road ahead would stop me. Making sure neither of us died with dad was my new religion, and I swore I'd never, ever lose my faith.
* * * *
A week passed. A lonely, bitter week in late winter with a meager funeral. Daddy's estranged brother sent us some money to have him cremated and buried with a bare bones headstone.
I wouldn't ask Uncle Ken for a nickel more, even if he'd been man enough to show his face at the funeral. Thankfully, it wasn't something to worry about. He kept his distance several states away, the same 'ostrich asshole' daddy always said he was since they'd fallen out over my grandparent's miniscule inheritance.
All it did was confirm the whole family was fucked. I had no one now except Jackie, and it was her and I against the world, the last of the Thomas girls against the curse turning our lives to pure hell over the last decade.
A short trip to the attorney's office told me what I already knew about dad's assets. What little he had was going into state hands. Medicare was determined to claw back a tiny fraction of what they'd spent on his care. And because I was now Jackie's legal guardian, his pension and disability was as good as buried with him.
The older lawyer asked me if I'd made arrangements with extended family, almost as an afterthought. Of course I had, I lied. I made sure to straighten up and smile real big when I said it.
I was a responsible adult. I could make money sprout from weeds. What did the truth matter in a world that wasn't wired to give us an ounce of help?
Whatever shit was waiting for us up ahead needed to be fed, nourished with lies if I wanted to keep it from burying us. I was ready for that, ready to throw on as many fake smiles and twisted truths as I needed to keep Jackie safe and happy.
Whatever wiggle room we'd had for innocent mistakes slammed shut the instant daddy's heart stopped in the sharp white room.
I was so busy dealing with sadness and red tape that I'd nearly forgotten about his last words. Finishing up his affairs and making sure Jackie still got some sleep and decent food in her belly took all week, stealing away the meager energy I had left.
It was late one night after she'd gone to bed when I finally remembered. It hit me while I was watching a bad spy movie on late night TV, halfway paying attention to the story as my stomach twisted in knots, steeling itself for the frantic job hunt I had to start tomorrow.
I got up from my chair and padded over to the basement door. Dust teased my nose, dead little flecks suspended in the dim light. The basement stank like mildew, tinged with rubbing alcohol and all the spare medicine we'd stored down here while dad suffered at home.
I held my breath descending the stairs, knowing it would only get worse when I finally had to inhale. Our small basement was dark and creepy as any. I looked around, trying not to fixate on his old work bench. Seeing the old husks of half-finished RC planes he used to build in better times would definitely bring tears.
Roofing tiles, he'd said. Okay, but where?
It took more than a minute just scanning back and forth before I noticed the big blue tarp. It was wedged in the narrow slit between the furnace and the hot water tank.
My heart ticked faster. So, he wasn't totally delusional on his death bed. There really were roofing tiles there – and what else?
It was even stranger because the thing hadn't been here when I was down in the basement last week – and daddy had been in hospice for three weeks. He couldn't have crawled back and hidden the unknown package here. Jackie definitely couldn't have done it and kept her mouth shut.
That left one disturbin
g possibility – someone had broken into our house and left it here.
Ice ran through my veins. I shook off wild thoughts about intruders, kneeling down next to the blue plastic and running my hands over it.
Yup, it felt like a roofing palate. Not that I'd handled many to know, but whatever was beneath it was jagged, sandy, and square.
Screw it. Let's see what's really in here, I thought.
Clenching my teeth, I dragged the stack out. It was lighter than I expected, and it didn't take long to find the ropey ties holding it together. One pull and it came off easy. A thick slab of shingles slid out and thudded on the beaten concrete, kicking up more dust lodged in the utilities.
I covered my mouth and coughed. Disappointment settled in my stomach, heavy as the construction crap in front of me. I prepared myself for a big fat nothing hidden in the cracks.
“Damn it,” I whispered, shaking my head. My hands dove for the shingles and started to tug, desperate to get this shit over with and say goodbye to the last hope humming in my stomach.
The shingles didn't come up easy. Planting my feet on both sides and tugging didn't pull the stack apart like I expected. Grunting, I pulled harder, taking my rage and frustration out on this joke at my feet.
There was a ripping sound much different than I expected. I tumbled backward and hit the dryer, looking at the square block in my hands. When I turned it over, I saw the back was a mess of glue and cardboard.
Hope beat in my chest again, however faint. This was no ordinary stack of shingles. My arms were shaking as I dropped the flap and walked back to the pile, looking down at the torn cardboard center hidden by the layer I'd peeled off. Someone went through some serious trouble camouflaging the box underneath.
I walked to dad's old bench for a box cutter, too stunned with the weird discovery to dwell on his mementos. The blade went in and tore through in a neat slice. I quickly carved out an opening, totally unprepared for the thick leafy pile that came falling out.
My jaw dropped along with the box cutter. I hit the ground, resting my knees on the piles of cash, and tore into the rest of the box.
Hundreds – no, thousands – came out in huge piles. I tore through the package and turned it upside down, showering myself in more cash than I'd seen in my life, hundreds bound together in crisp rolls with red rubber bands.
