Two weeks later, Jackie and Barb were reviewing reservations when Jodi and Billy walked into the hotel lobby. They had gone out for a swim. Billy wore checkered swim shorts. Jodi wore a green one-piece bathing suit.They were breathing heavy, but they were smiling.“You didn’t overdo it out there, did you?” Jackie asked with concern.“No, Mom. I didn’t,” Jodi joked.Jackie and Billy had taken Jodi to her old doctor in Phoenix two days ago. He had told her light exercise would do her good, but Jackie didn’t want Jodi to push herself. He had also renewed her medications and put her on the pill. Other than going to Phoenix, Jodi hadn’t left the hotel.“She’s fine. So much so, Jodi wants to go into town for a party. The town’s anniversary is it?” Billy asked.Jackie’s eyebrows shot up. Oh no, Matt will more than likely be there. Even though Jodi is a lot better than what she was, she can’t handle seeing him, yet. Knowing Matt, he’ll approach her and fire off questions like a pop gun.“It
Jackie, Trina, Barb, and Daniel sat at a table at Garvey’s. They were kicking around ideas for Saturday night. Their brainstorming session was interrupted by Jodi bursting the doors open. She strode to the back of the bar. Billy was behind her, but he stopped to sit on a bar stool.“I need a fucking drink!” Jodi yelled.They all got up from the table and went to the bar.“Careful. The claws are out,” Billy said lazily. “Meow.”“What happened?” Trina said.Jodi found her bottle of choice. Tequila. She slammed two shot glasses on the bar in front of Billy and started twisting the cap off the bottle with a purpose. Jodi hadn’t had a drink since she had found out she was pregnant. She was getting back on the horse.“You ran into Matt, didn’t you? I knew this would happen,” Jackie groaned.“Did you know he was fucking someone else and didn’t tell me, too?” Jodi barked and sloppily poured tequila in the two shot glasses.“Wha . . . what?” Jackie stuttered. She knew some of the ladies in tow
Billy had taken the soft top off of Jodi’s red jeep. Trina and Billy had put posters on the front and back bumper of the vehicle to promote Red Light Special night at Garvey’s tonight. Trina and Billy waited for Jodi in the lobby. She finally came down in a red string bikini. It showed off a prominent amount of her breasts because there were only patches that covered up her nipples. A red patch covered her vagina and C-section scar. A string ran up the crack of her butt. She had curled the ends of her hair. “Oh, my,” Barb said as she stood at the front desk. “You said you wanted some attention,” Billy stated with a grin. “Not to give a hard-on to every man on the street.” Jodi laughed. “I don’t think there will be that many people out at 8 am on a Saturday. But, hopefully, Matt will be. If not, he’ll hear about it.” “If you still want to do this, let’s go,” Trina stated. “Are you sure you remember ho
Matt had left Mindy’s house around 2 a.m. Cindy had spent the night at a friend’s house, which gave Matt and Mindy time alone. Needless to say, he was pretty tired when he left. Yet, he had a good night’s sleep. So, good that he had overslept. He didn’t get to the station until 9:30.He parked his black truck at the side entrance to his office. He unlocked the door and walked in. He fired up his computer to check his email, and then he heard boisterous laughter.“What the hell?” Matt murmured. He walked to his office door and opened it.The talking and laughing was louder.Matt wanted to know what was going on. He quietly snuck down the hall and stopped a few inches from the corner of the wall - a foot away from the reception desk.“Carter, you still looking at that video?” Goldman asked.“I’m showing it to Patty and Dalton,” Carter said.“I’m sticking around to look at it again,” Lawrence stated. “I’m not ashamed to admit it.”“Oh my goodness,” Patty said in a high-pitched tone. “It
For the last fifteen minutes, Matt laid on his couch in his office staring at the ceiling. Six weeks. Jodi had been back for six weeks, and she hadn’t called him or tried to see him. She had to have been at the hotel the whole time. Garvey’s was at least three miles from the rest of town. No one would have seen her unless she wanted to be seen.Boy, was she seen today. Matt felt his blood warm with anger again at the thought of men gawking at her, whistling at her - desiring what was his. What he wanted to be his. There was a tap on the door.“What!” he roared.Williamson opened the door. Matt figured it was him. Anyone else would have been too afraid to disturb him, now, and they should be.Williamson closed the door. He pulled a chair around to face the couch. “I see you haven’t cooled off, yet.” He sat down.Matt didn’t say anything.“I’ve been talking to the guys. They honestly didn’t think you would care. You two broke up months ago. Plus, you’re seeing Mindy, now. What’s the big
Matt was surprised by the woman who sat down on his lap who loudly said, “How you doing, sweetheart.”He looked up at the woman to politely get her off of him. He almost had a heart attack when he saw the cool dark eyes of Jackie Garvey staring him right in the face.“A lot of people have gone through a lot of trouble to help you get where you are today. We’ve all gone through great pangs to keep your reputation clean. How could you come here tonight?” Jackie asked with heat.Matt couldn’t respond because he was still adjusting to what she had on. Jackie was the conservative twin. She didn’t wear skirts or shorts that were too short and she never showed too much cleavage.Tonight, Jackie was dressed like a madam. She wore a black leather corset that was pulled so tight that her tits looked like they were going to pop out. Pants? She wasn’t wearing any. She had on a black lacey thong and black thigh highs that were being held up by a garter belt.“Cat got your tongue?” she asked.“Um .
Matt squeezed by dancers on the dance floor. He found Jodi. She and Billy were slow dancing. They were too close for Matt’s liking. It looked like they were talking. Matt walked up behind Billy and slapped him on the shoulder. “May I cut in?”“Holy shit,” Jodi said as her brown eyes grew wide.“Whoa, partner,” Billy said and shrugged away from Matt’s hand. “That’s a hell of grip you got there.”“Are you nuts? What are you doing here on orgy night?” Jodi asked with a horrified expression.“I came to see you. Isn’t that what you wanted?” Matt replied with twisted lips.“No,” Jodi said firmly.“Well, he’s here, now,” Billy said and moved to stand behind Jodi. “Do you want to dance with him?”“I’m not leaving until I do,” Matt stated.Jodi thought for a moment. “Yes, if I do, he’ll go.”“All right, Kitten. When you’re done with him, meet me at the bar. I’ll buy you a drink,” Billy said and bent his head down to kiss Jodi’s shoulder.Matt wanted to fling him across the room.Jodi smiled.
Williamson held Matt back from going after Jodi. Jackie, Williamson, Lance, and Matt watched as Billy ran after her.Once Jackie saw Billy run out the door to follow Jodi, she whirled around on Matt. He held his hat in one hand and was trying to push Williamson’s hold off with the other.“What the hell did you say to her?” Jackie asked angrily.“Nothing,” Matt answered with bewilderment.“Lance, please go back in the bar. I can handle this,” Jackie said as evenly as she could.“Just holler, if you need me,” Lance said, and then quickly went back through the doors they had run out of.“It had to been more than just nothing,” Jackie stated.“I . . . I . . . noticed a scar. A long red scar between her belly and . . . private area, okay,” Matt answered defensively. “I asked her about it and all of a sudden she had some sort of panic attack. What the hell happened to her while she was gone?” he asked in a demanding tone.Shit, Jackie thought and put her hand on her forehead. Jodi’s C-secti
Matt knew Billy acted too familiar with her. Suspecting it and hearing about it from Billy’s mouth were two different things. The sight of Billy lying on the bed with his hands behind his head and his chest puffed out next to Jodi made Matt’s blood boil. He didn’t know whether to just kick his ass out right or throw him out by the scruff of his neck. Once Billy got over the initial shock of Matt coming out of the bathroom, he had the nerve to smirk at him. “There’s no way in hell that thing is real.” “Billy, this is not the time for your cute zingers,” Jodi said with her head down. Her fingers pressed against her forehead. “Yeah, Billy. Take her advice,” Matt sneered as he approached the foot of the bed. “You said you two were just friends in college,” he said to Jodi. She lifted her head to look at him. “We were friends.” “With benefits,” Billy added. He was still in that same ridiculous pose on the bed.
An hour later, they were in the shower. Matt tickled her as she tried to wash his hair. She giggled so loud that she was afraid that everyone upstairs heard her if they were awake. Matt rinsed the soap off of her.Jodi got out and grabbed a soft towel. She was drying herself. She turned around and stopped when she noticed Matt watching her. The water beat on his chest as his head leaned to the side – checking her out.“Stop it,” she said and swung the towel at him.He let out a playful chuckle.“Wash the rest of that soap off before you turn into a prune,” Jodi said as she held the towel against her.“I will if you promise to get back in bed and wait for me,” he said with a smirk.“I promise,” she said and wrapped the towel around her.He winked at her.Jodi giggled as she left the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Jodi hummed as she picked up their clothes. She folded Matt’s clothes on a chair across the room and placed his boots under the chair. Jodi hung Matt’s black Stetson o
Jodi woke up with Matt’s arms around her. She looked up at his sleeping face. He looked so peaceful. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 5:03 a.m. Jodi sighed with regret. She had to wake him. He had to get back to his cabin.“Matt, Matt. Wake up,” Jodi whispered and lightly patted his shoulder.“Mmm,” Matt groaned and kept his eyes closed.“Matt, come on. It’s 5 a.m.” Jodi said and kept patting his shoulder. “Matt, it’s 5 a.m.”He groaned and slowly opened his eyes. “So,” he said hoarsely and tightened his grip around her.“So? You should go before the sun comes up.”“Bunny, don’t you think we’re safe out here? Everyone in both houses knows about us for Pete’s sakes.” He seductively growled.She smiled. “True, but I don’t want to shock them to death. As far as everybody knows you went back to your cabin last night. People have a way of flooding my bedroom in the mornings - whether I’m here or at the hotel.”Matt groaned in protest.“People are going to start stirring in an h
Jesse gave Jodi a small jar of moonshine and an envelope with cash in it. She tried to refuse the money, but Jesse wasn’t having it. He told her to buy something nice for herself.When she got back in the cabin, Matt wasn’t in the kitchen. She wasn’t sure if he was still there or not. Jodi didn’t see him walk back to the cabin when she was outside, but it was dark. She looked around and she didn’t see his hat or jacket.She went downstairs to the office to check on Billy. He had on his gold wire-rimmed glasses. He was rubbing his head as he was pouring over information on his laptop. His next conference call was in thirty minutes. Jodi made Billy a fish sandwich and warmed some fried potatoes. They were leftovers from last night. She sat them down on the desk along with a can of soda. Billy looked up at her and mouthed the words thank you as a man was frantically talking on the speakerphone.“Going to bed?” Billy mouthed.She shook her head and leaned down to give him a kiss on the ch
Matt looked up at her. A tear came down her face. He lay down next to her and wiped it away with his finger. He propped his head up on his hand and looked down at her. “No, I’m sorry. I was an asshole two weeks ago. A monstrous asshole. I know you were taking care of yourself. I know you loved our son. I’m sorry for being stupid; for not seeing it before. You were sick before you had left town. Fainting in the diner, you were fatigued, how pale you were. In hindsight, it was obvious you were pregnant. I was too self-absorbed to see it.”“No. My god, you were working around the clock. You were dealing with all the awful things Marty, Paul, and Ghost were doing. There was no way you could have known.”“That’s another thing. You had to have been frightened during that time. You were sick and pregnant while bodies were piling up around you. Your sister was being threatened and your friends were being killed one by one. You didn’t tell me because I was stressed. You were trying to protect
Matt went outside. Billy stood next to Jodi on the deck. She held a small red cooler and the shawl Rita knitted her. A large wicker picnic basket was propped on a rocking chair.Jodi’s hair was tied in a ponytail with a sheer white scarf. It hung down her shoulder. She wore a yellow sundress that came above her knee. Her feet sported white flat sandals. Jodi smiled as Matt approached them. He smiled back.“There you are,” Billy said cheerfully. “The path is a few feet that way,” he said as he pointed to the far left. “You probably saw it when you pulled in on Monday.”“We did. You sure walking a quarter of a mile won’t be too much for you?” he asked Jodi.“No. I need the exercise,” Jodi said with a smile.“She’ll be fine, just don’t let her carry the basket. It’s heavy,” Billy said.“All right,” Matt said.“Have fun, Pussycat. I’ll see later,” Billy said and kissed her on the forehead.“Don’t work too hard,” Jodi said softly.Matt balled his fists in his pockets to keep from punching
Later that day, Jodi sat at the kitchen table with a wicker picnic basket and a small cooler in front of her. She was waiting for Billy to get off the phone so they could go on a picnic and watch the sunset.Jodi’s mind drifted to the service. She was glad she had invited Matt. It gave him peace. That’s what she wanted. Jodi was surprised Matt didn’t bring Mindy. At the town celebration, he had seemed completely taken with her. Jodi had figured he had confided in her. She had to admit that she was a little too gleeful when Mindy wasn’t at the cabin last night. Not that she had a chance with Matt anymore.Jodi let herself get caught up in the memory of how handsome Matt had looked this morning; the captain with his soldiers behind him in dark suits and ties. They all had looked good. Jodi put her finger to her mouth. Her mind drifted to last night. The sight of Matt – rugged and shirtless; his tan muscles proudly out for her to admire. Her lips parted, her tongue wetted the tip of her
Matt, Patty, and the deputies walked down to the lake shore. The deputies marched in formation behind Matt and Patty. They all wore dark clothing. Patty held a lantern and a white rose. Carter held a lantern as he walked in front of the deputies and behind Matt and Patty. Williamson held a lantern as he walked behind the rest of the deputies.Jackie had come over last night and gave them lanterns. She had given Patty a rose to drop in the water. And she had given Matt a bottle with a cork and a bag of blue sand. She had said it was for him to write a letter to his son. Matt was to put his letter in the bottle with the sand. When Matt was ready, he was supposed to drop it into the water. Once they got to the lake, Williamson stood next to Matt. The sheriff’s department stood perfectly still as they watched a row of lights come from the direction of the Garvey cabin. The clergy walked in front of them with a lantern.The two groups stood at the lake’s edge. The clergy stood in front of
Matt couldn’t believe how his men rallied around him. As soon as Jackie had left his house, Dalton had started making coffee. Williamson had grabbed trash bags to put all the beer cans, liquor bottles, and various other garbage in. Matt had drunkenly gone upstairs to take a shower.The deputies had insisted on coming with Matt to Lynx Lake. Patty, the switchboard operator, did, too. The three college students from Phoenix who worked the late shift had been happy to cover for Patty while she was gone. They needed the money. Williamson had been able to get six cops from surrounding counties to watch the town while they were gone. Williamson had told Mayor Walker that they were taking Matt away for some R&R. Walker had been ecstatic and had no problem with all the guys leaving town at the same time. Walker believed it would do Matt a world of good.They pulled up to the cabin late Monday afternoon. Daniel’s car was at the other cabin when they arrived. Matt assumed Barb was with him. The