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CHAPTER 172

Author: Holly S Roberts
last update Last Updated: 2024-10-29 19:42:56

MY BROTHER IS IN his heated garage working on the upholstery of his 1969, 350-horsepower, Lyman Sleeper that he picked up for ten grand last spring. It’s made for speed and family fun. He and I took her out on a test run after he bought her and we ripped it up on the lake. It’s been his ongoing project since the season ended and she’s looking good. Tally is now written in bold black script on the side. Tally was our mom, and the boat couldn’t have a more fitting name.

“Dadadadada,” Lilly alerts her father we’re near. Joel’s head comes up.

“Hey, bro, what’s up?” I nod to the two front seats that are now reupholstered and looking sharp. Joel is currently working on one of the bench seats.

He runs his hand lovingly over the boat rail. “The hull needs a few more coats of varnish. I won’t put those on until the weather heats up in the spring and I can open the big door so I don’t asphyxiate myself. I should have the seats finished in a few weeks. As soon as she’s ready, and it’s warmer, we
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    I’M MORE COMFORTABLE ON the field taking a pounding than watching a match and seeing it happen to others. Danny owns the field, but takes one hit too many a few minutes before the end of the match. She’s slow to rise and then stays hunched over as play continues downfield. She drops to a knee and looks toward the blood bin.Crap, I can see red streaming down her face. It’s obvious another player’s cleat connected. She’s holding her side between her breasts and belly, which is a good indicator of a problem with her ribs. A referee notices Danny and stops the game. Two of her teammates run from the sideline and assist her to the blood bin. A blood replacement is called out from her teammates who are not playing, and the game continues. Danny takes a careful seat on the bench while holding her side. Normally, she would have fifteen minutes to reenter the game without it counting against her team, but the game’s almost over.I’m sitting a few rows up and focus completely on Danny. Her tee

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    Estella is working behind the bar and has pitchers of beer lined up. I whistle her way and twirl three fingers over my head, so she knows this first round is on me. Estella’s been a fixture here at the tavern for as long as I can remember. She’s in her fifties and practically runs the place. My brother and I own half the tavern, and Estella looks out for us. She doesn’t approve of my bad boy rep, but we’ve managed to become friends since Joel found Cami. Estella knew I blew things big time with Cami and, for some reason, took me under her wing after that.She’s one of the few people who know how much I regretted what happened with Cami. She also sees through my bad boy vibe and gives me lip whenever she gets the chance.I turn and not so subtly look over the women from the opposing team. There’s a few blondes and brunettes, but no one catches my eye. Danny grabs my earlobe and moves in so her warm breath slides over my neck. A strange feeling settles in my gut at contact. I ignore it.

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    I’M KEEPING A FIRM grip on Danny’s arm. “If you can’t walk, I’m putting you over my shoulder,” I tell her as she stumbles a bit.“Nope, that would hurt my ribs, pretty boy.”Okay, she’s really drunk. Danny never admits to pain and she usually only calls me pretty boy over the phone. She stumbles again and I’ve had enough. “Arms around my neck; I’ll cradle you.” I sweep her up and she giggles, which is totally unlike her, as she places her arms around me. “Are you putting me to bed shoo, pretty boy?”I don’t bother correcting the shoo into too. It won’t make a difference. “That’s the plan, Danny girl.” God, she smells good. Soap and woman. No perfume. Her body is hard and muscular, and I think of this to remind myself I like soft and voluptuous. Now that I’ve taken notice of Danny, it’s hard to turn that notice off. I keep reminding myself that Danny’s a friend—one of the guys. For some reason, carrying her in my arms this way no longer makes me think of the guys. She wiggles a bit and

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    Something’s changed, and she looks sad. “I’ll check your ribs and then leave. That’s my final offer.” I add a smile to put her at ease, but she doesn’t return it.She heads my way and I move back to let her pass. She walks to a side table next to her bed and I’m right behind her. She gives me a look then looks at the drawer. Her face flushes and I know something is up.“Stand back there while I get the cream out.” She points toward the door. “We’re heading to the couch,” she adds. I can see she doesn’t want me anywhere near her nightstand and then it dawns on me.I back away. Well, well this is interesting. “I’ve seen your bras tonight, so the least you can do is let me see your vibrator.”And that’s when the Danny, my friend, decides to play. A small, blue silicone vibrator flies directly at my head. I duck and slap it away. It bounces off the wall and lands at my feet. It doesn’t look like much—more of a finger than a dick. I step back a bit and bend over to lift it up. That’s when

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    I DIDN’T SLEEP WELL. Hell, I didn’t sleep at all! It’s now Saturday morning and I have no plans other than calling Danny and setting things right. I eat a bowl of cereal and wait for the clock to hit eight. Danny needs sleep, so this is me being patient. The minutes refuse to go by fast enough and fifteen seconds before the designated hour, I hit speed dial.She doesn’t answer. I’m holding a rugby ball in my hand staring at the phone in consternation. “Just pick up,” I say out loud, the cell plastered to my ear while I toss the ball from one hand to the other. I receive no answer from the room and decide to try again at eight-thirty.Once more, no answer. I try to keep my frustration on the downlow and barely manage.At nine I get the same “leave a message” request and, again, I don’t bother leaving one. After a shower and endless minutes of contemplation, I jump in the Rover and head to her apartment. We are getting this out of the way and going back to friends. I don’t care how badl

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    IT’S NOW MONDAY, AND Danny hasn’t returned my calls. I work the front office at Slam headquarters on Mondays and Wednesdays, and Joel takes Tuesdays and Thursdays and we’re closed Fridays and weekends. I wait until a quarter till noon and take off to the office where Danny works. She just so happens to be the legal secretary for the team’s lawyer. A business attorney, not a dick-face.Jeff is standing in front of Danny’s desk and talking to her about some legal document.“Hey, Jeff, my man. What’s up?” I ask as I move closer to the desk.Jeff turns and a large smile spreads across his face. He’s a good guy. “We don’t have an appointment, but I can always make time for you, Van. I’ve been betting on a paternity suit for a few years now.” He laughs, like this is the funniest joke on earth.I might take back the good guy thought. “Ha ha,” I mutter as I look over Jeff’s shoulder. Danny has her head down and is typing furiously. I can see the large bruise on her cheek, but she’s removed th

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    I can see the steel in her watery gaze, which is zeroed in on me. I give in. “I’ll follow you.”She nods and climbs out of the Rover. I wait for her truck to pull in front of me then keep her in my sights all the way out to my place.My house isn’t exactly close. I grab my phone from the middle console while driving, find Jeff’s number, and dial. I don’t let him finish saying the name of his law office. “Danny won’t be in for the rest of the day. She’s not feeling well. She’ll be in early tomorrow to do whatever it is she needs to work on.”“Okay, Van, but do not hurt that girl.”“Got it.” I end the call and drive. Finally, my house comes into view. I drive up to the front porch and climb out. Danny, who’s already parked, does the same. I walk around her truck and take her hand, leading her up the steps. I don’t know why I suddenly need all this hand-to-hand contact with her. I’m not a hand-holder. For some reason, I’m just afraid she’ll slip through my fingers if I don’t hold onto he

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    DANNY’S FINGERS SQUEEZE AROUND my biceps. Mine leave her breasts and glide down past her waist, so I can run my hands beneath her T-shirt and glide my palms over her skin. I can’t get enough of the feel of her. I pull her closer so my erection hits her belly. She moans into my mouth and I growl back into hers.Her hands move up until her fingers tangle in my hair. She pulls her lips away as she pulls me back by the hair. “The sofa,” she whispers. Our lips are almost touching, her breathe punching me with need.My mouth quirks. “So you can yell at me again?” I say between just as heavy breathing.Her eyes have gone so dark they’re almost black. “Probably.”I groan and thrust just a little bit harder into her belly. “My rocket can’t take much more.”She shoves me back with a husky laugh and I love the sound. “Come on, lover boy.” She takes my hand and heads to the sofa. It’s the formal one that my mother loved. It’s where Joel and I got most of our mom lectures. It’s as uncomfortable as

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    Two days later, the doctors discontinued the medication that kept Brack in a coma. My father showed up the morning after surgery and made me go home, shower, and change clothes. Brack’s parents were staying in shifts. His mom promised she wouldn’t leave his side until I returned. I hadn’t really spoken to them. We stayed relatively quiet in Brack’s room. I whispered encouragement and told him I was there. They gave us privacy, too. That’s when I told him I loved him. Again and again, I whispered the words.My father and Senator Jacobs were cordial. Brack’s mother treated my dad like a family friend. Apparently she’d been friends with my mom. I tried not to think about the ramifications of our two families tied together through me and Brack. It was too much to take right now.Brack still had the ventilator. The doctor reviewed best and worst case scenarios with us. I refused to listen to brain damage, paralysis, learning to walk and talk again, and so on. My focus was full recovery. I

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    I ran toward Brack, who had fallen to the floor. There was so much blood and I tried wiping it off his face. My hands turned dark red.“You did it, baby,” he whispered before his body went completely limp.Sander and a woman who must be Molly ran into the enclosure with guns drawn. I could barely hear them. Echoed gunshots continued ringing in my ears.“Call an ambulance and please someone check on my father. He’s in the van,” I said as I held Brack’s head in my lap. Blood soaked my panties and covered my legs. Head wounds bleed, I kept saying to myself. Sander practically jumped over us and went straight to Ty’s body. He turned back when he had assured himself Ty was no longer a threat.“Where were you?” I asked softly. I didn’t want Brack to hear me yelling at his team.Sander sat down next to me and took Brack’s arm checking his pulse. “The bastard used some kind of scrambler. It took us a while to figure out the van didn’t leave the premises. We recovered the phones. Brack had a t

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    Kids laughed. A mother scolded a young child for attempting to go under the bar and get closer to one of the cages. Brack and I stood in the center of the primate exhibit. My phone chirped. It didn’t startle me this time; I was too numb. “Yes.”“Walk over to the primate exhibit sign and you’ll find another cell phone behind it. Exchange it for the one you’re using. Have Mr. Jacobs leave his phone behind, too.”Brack followed me to the sign and I did exactly as told. The phone was there. I picked it up and lay mine down. “He said to leave yours, too.” Brack took his from his jeans pocket and placed it beside mine. Thankfully, no one paid attention to us. I had no idea what we needed to do next. The phone in my hand vibrated. This time I clicked the call button without saying a word.“Go to your left and keep walking on the path. Did you bring my present?” I carried a bag with the dress inside so both of Brack’s arms would be free. He carried a gun in a hidden leg holster.“Yes, it’s in

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    The inside of my father’s home was a crime scene. We sat on the couch in the front room away from the forensic team that arrived a few minutes before. The media camped at the gates added to the growing chaos.Even knowing Ty would eventually call, I jumped when my cell phone chirped. The display read “Unknown.” My fingers trembled as I picked it up and answered, “Hello, Ty, or should I call you Leo?”His husky laugh sent goose bumps across my arms. “I told you not to call the police. You wouldn’t listen and you’ll pay for disobedience.”My voice remained steady. “It wasn’t me. You killed your mother, so what exactly did you expect? She worked for my dad for over thirty years. One plus one equals two, Leo.” Fuller and Brack told me not to push him too hard. I had to make him believe I hadn’t gone to the police, though.“My mother had cancer and it was eating away at her. I did her a favor. She didn’t walk in God’s light. By making her repent and then killing her God may show mercy.”He

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    My heart stopped. Dread and terror filled me. Colors danced before my eyes making it hard to see. The whoosh of blood traveling into my head made it hard to hear. I had to get control of myself. I gulped in air. “You goddamn son of a bitch. If you hurt my father I’ll kill you.”“He that blasphemeth the name of the LORD shall be put to death and stoned. Remember that when you feel the pain of my hand, Olivia.”Brack startled me by gathering me close and placing his head against mine so we both listened. “Where’s my father?” I demanded.“That’s better. I have instructions for you, Olivia. You will follow them to the letter. Please bring that man with you. The one you’ve been with lately.” His voice took on an eerie quality. “If a man commits adultery with another man's wife, both the man and the woman must be put to death.” He breathed heavily and then gave a sadistic laugh. “You may choose your father or lover to pay for your sins. One shall die and the other walks away.”“But…”He lau

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