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Chapter 109
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The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 110
Leighton"Did you hear about the barn party?" I ask Brooks as we sit in the same room we occupied the first time I came here."Yeah." His voice is devoid of emotion. "It was Dad, wasn't it?"I nod, I can't put it into words. Not here, not now, not when I feel like I'm failing everyone by not being able to put the man who raised me behind bars. That's mostly Holden's doing though, and not mine. He doesn't want me involved, but I don't see how he's going to prevent it."It's not our fault," Brooks' voice is strong in his conviction. "I've done a lot of things that are my fault, and a ton of shit I'm not proud of, but this, Lee Lee, isn't us. It's time Dad takes responsibility for the lives he's wrecked, just like I have."The phrase is jarring coming from him, and I realize he's right."It's not going to be easy." I push my hair back behind my ears, in a gesture that's more nerves than anything."Nothing we've ever done is," he reminds me. "But I suggest you listen to your husband
The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 111
LeightonStella and I are slowly making our way up main street from where we've been playing at the park. Whitney had a meeting, and asked me to watch her. Violet's been working half-shifts the past couple of days, and sent me off with an encouraging smile, telling me she had to watch the place by herself at some point. Which leads me to where we are right now."You thirsty?" I ask her. It's still a mile before we get back to The Café, and it's a scorcher today. We'd taken some bottles of water with us, but we'd drank them dry about thirty minutes ago. I know if I'm thirsty, she probably is too."So hot," she pushes her hair out of her face from where she stands next to me, as she nods."I know, Stellbelle," I pull us into the shade of a building's awning, reaching into her diaper bag to see what I can find. "Oh yeah, here we go," I grab out a hairbrush and a ponytail holder. Having a seat on the sidewalk, I motion for her to stand in front of me. "Let's get that hair up off your n
The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 112
Leighton"I'm so excited!" Blaze literally bounces in the seat next to me as I navigate Holden's truck through traffic. Normally I hate driving it, but tonight I'll make an exception."Me too," I mumble as I try to jockey for position in the VIP entrance line.Holden and Tank surprised us two days ago with tickets to a Brantley Gilbert concert. Both of us had been under the impression it was sold out, but the guys had been tapped to work, and had gotten free tickets for their service."This guy's going to let you over," Blaze waved back at the person behind them, flashing them a smile and the horns."Thank you!" I yell through the window, appreciating someone not being a douchebag.The person directing traffic at this portion of the parking lot sees the pass Holden hung on his mirror before he and Tank left, and motioned me to another line, that was less crowded. "Holy shit," I sigh. "This is worse than driving in rush hour in Birmingham.""People wanna see the man," Blaze takes
The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 113
HavocH: Do me a favor, babe. Whatever you hear through the grapevine today, give me a chance to explain when I get home.I wish I had been able to tell her what's going down, what's going to happen now that I've spoken with Brooks and gotten approval from the state. I wish I could have let her in on all of this, but I couldn't. I couldn't make her keep a secret, couldn't let her feel any more guilty than she already does. I promised her I would take care of Jefferson, and that's exactly what I'm going to do. This man will never have a hold over us anymore.L: That makes me nervous, Holden. Please don't do anything stupid.H: I'm doing my job, Leigh, just don't worry. I love you, no matter what you hear, I love you.L: Doesn't make me feel better, but I love you, too. I trust you with everything.H: That's all I ask. I'll be home as soon as I can."We ready to do this?" Tank asks as the group of us suit up.Normally it wouldn't take all of us to go arrest someone, but you never
The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 114
Havoc"You ready to go, babe?" I watch as she grabs her purse, before waving a goodbye to Ernie."Yeah, I'm ready to spend the week, just with you," she gives me a gorgeous smile, "then watch our friends get married."We never really got a honeymoon. I try to think back now to why, but I know a part of me worried that trying to make it look too official would somehow jinx us. Today, a year and a half later, I'm no longer worried about that. We're solid, and I know we're solid. Doesn't mean there isn't a part of me that worries her grandfather won't manage to reignite the family business on his own, but knowing that Jefferson is behind bars lets me sleep at night.For the first time since we got married, we're planning, making a future a huge possibility. I want the whole nine yards with her – kids, growing old, grandkids later on down the road. Our lives are open, and there is no damn expiration date on anything."We'll see you down there?" I yell to Ace, watching as he stands nex
The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 115
VOLUME FOUR: ACEViolet"Mrs. Miller, is there someone who can come get you?"The voice speaking to me is careful. Almost as if she's scared to use her normal tone. Everyone who's walked through the door since I got here, has treated me as if I'm about to break. Truthfully, I think I am.My eyes travel along my blanket covered legs, past the IV in my arm, over the identification bracelet on my wrist, and then up to the face of the nurse asking me the question. She's been the one taking care of me for the last few days. Everyday she's looked at me with pity in her eyes, and I can't say that I'm not looking forward to getting away from her knowing gaze. All I want right now is to go home, lick my wounds, and try to gather the pieces of my tattered pride. Try to make a life out of the smoldering wreckage left behind after the beating. I realize with great clarity my life has now been split into two parts – before the beating and after the beating. The beeping of the monitors ha
The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 116
VioletAlone. It's an emotion I've felt for years, but it's never consumed me until this moment. Fact is, even when I've felt alone in this home, I've been here with Brent, and the loneliness was figurative, not literal.This afternoon it's literal. The clock on the wall ticks loudly in the silence. He's not sitting in his favorite recliner, watching some game on TV, drinking a beer, and smugly asking me when lunch will be served. I don't have to stand at the stove with my back to him, every retort running through my head to the foulness he speaks. My back doesn't have to stiffen when I hear him get up and feel him come behind me. I don't have to cringe as he touches me, pretend to enjoy the way his hands caress my body. Never again will I have to zone out as he finds pleasure in an act I haven't found pleasurable for years. But the silence - the being alone –gets to me.Truly, I can't remember the last time I was alone in this home physically. Brent never allowed me to be
The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 117
VioletIt's been a week since I got out of the hospital, and I'm settling into a new routine, a new normal for me. Part of that new normal is having Anthony parked in front of my house almost every night. The other day he even did it in his own personal vehicle.I've taken to texting him when he arrives, to thank him for being out there, but we haven't really had a conversation since he brought me home. I have a feeling that's more my doing than his, and he's waiting for me to give him an opening. Tonight, I'm trying to create that opening.Taking the hamburger off the grill pan I've cooked it on, I plate it on a bun with the ketchup, mustard, mayo, and relish I know he likes. Every time he comes into The Café, it's how he orders his. I have one for myself too; eating is still a little difficult, but not as much as it had been when I first came home. Grabbing both of the plates and a bag with drinks and chips, I take a deep breath and head out my front door, toward the squad car
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The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 214
CruiseFive Years Later"Molly's asleep." I press my wife up against the door to our bedroom, spreading open-mouth kisses along her neck as we grind against one another. Pulling back, I push my hands up her tank top, palming her breasts, moaning as I feel her nipples peak against her bra. "I paid Kelsea her stupid-ass babysitting fee, she's gone. We're alone." I can hear the annoyance in my voice. It's been an on-going argument between the two of us, how I'd watched her for free as a kid, and now she charges us.We've been out with friends and family, had a DD, and both of us have had a little too much to drink. Her with the margaritas she likes to indulge in with the ladies, and me with the whiskey Morgan and I were shooting straight with my dad."God, I want you." She rakes her nails across my neck, down my back, and fists my shirt in her hands.I want her too. Molly is three now, born within the first two years of us getting married, and we've finally got this parenting th
The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 213
Ruby"Where are you taking me?" I watch as Caleb drives through the streets of downtown. This fall night is cool as rain falls from the sky. It's not sheets like the day he shot the armed man, but a steady drumming against the roof of the Jeep."You'll see." His deep voice has a secretive lilt to it, one that I've come to know well in the year we've been together. He's not great at keeping secrets, but when he does, they're the best kind.As he turns in front of The Café, I grin. No matter what's happened inside the building or in front of it, this is still one of our favorite places to go, to be. On any given night, we can walk inside and find any number of friends or family inside. It's darkish in there tonight, but I figure maybe the electricity is flickering because of the rain storm we're in. Earlier in the day, the school had lost power.He snags a parking spot near the door. "Don't touch the door, I'll come around for you. I don't want you get wet."Since the first nig
The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 212
RubySeptemberBack when I bought this dress so many months ago, I had assumed I would wear it for Valentine's Day, but because of Caleb's schedule we were never able to make a special date work. He never did take me to that dinner, but we've had so many other special moments that I truly can't complain. Tonight, however, I'm thrilled to be wearing this dress to watch him get an award for bravery."You look absolutely gorgeous." He comes up behind me in the mirror as I'm applying a layer of lipstick."You don't look so bad yourself." I turn around in his arms, helping to straighten his dress uniform.I don't think Caleb has ever looked as hot as he does right now. There's something about him being so buttoned-up that I'm loving. "It's cutting off my circulation." He pulls at the fabric around his neck."You're fine." I slap his hands away. "Are you nervous?""Not really," he says with a shake of his head. "Nerves was playing for the college football championship. This is
The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 211
RubyI'm lying on my couch, re-watching some TV show I've seen a million times, trying to figure out how to get through to Caleb when the doorbell rings. At first I ignore it, not wanting to disturb my brooding, but then I hear his voice."Red?" It's unsure and soft as he knocks on the door this time. "I know I don't deserve for you to let me in, but I'm asking you to. Please?"For a moment I think about ignoring him, I think about letting him sit out there and sweat. Give him the same type of reaction he's given me, but I realize quickly one of us has to be the bigger person. That person is me, because I know he's hurting and I know he's dealt with the situation he's been thrust into the best way he knows how.Opening the door, I stand there with my arms crossed. Until I see what he's carrying in his hands.The ugliest looking cupcakes I've ever seen in my life."I finally realized why he made them, even though they looked like shit," he gives me a slight smile. "It's the
The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 210
Cruise"How'd you get in here?"My dad is waiting on me, probably ready to rip me a new one, just like Ruby did. I'm so not in the mood for it tonight."You don't need to know how I got in here." He gets up from where he's sitting on my couch. "Instead, what we need to do is talk about how we're going to get you to where you need to be.""What the fuck is that supposed to mean? This is me.""This isn't you, we both know that. I didn't raise you to be a fuck face. You haven't been answering my calls, your mom's, Kelsea's, or come to find out Ruby's, so let's talk about this Caleb. What the fuck is going on?""Nothing." I grind my teeth together, not wanting to do this with him."We've done this once before son, and we won't do it again. Do you remember when your friend died? Remember when you pushed everyone away? How'd that work out for you?""How does having a murderer for a son work out for you?" I fire back at him. "Because I'm on administrative leave for committing
The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 209
RubyI'm sitting in my car watching Morgan and Caleb eat through The Café window. This is what I've been reduced to. It's been a week since the shooting, and so far, Caleb's refused to see me. I went to see him the other night, and it was a bad scene."What are you doing here?" Caleb opens his door, arms crossed over his chest. "I figured me not answering any of your calls let you know I'm not up to talking to anyone right now. Including you."Not gonna lie, this hurts. Seeing him like this hurts, hearing him talk to me the way he is hurts. But I won't give up on him. I promised Kelsea months ago that I would be here if he needed me, that I could handle whatever was thrown at me."You need me," I talk against the tightness in my throat."I need to be left the fuck alone. You. Mom. Dad. You all need to leave me the fuck alone.""We won't," I shake my head standing my ground. "We won't leave you alone to deal with this by yourself.""Fine, then if you won't leave, I will."
The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 208
CruiseThe July sun is beating down on the pavement as I make my drive around the streets that make up Laurel Springs. It's been a boring day, for the most part, but I'm not stupid enough to think it'll last. Lately it's been slow and I've been feeling a lot like the other shoe might drop. This nagging feeling hasn't let go for the last week, but I know eventually either that shoe will drop or I'll get over it.Rain came through over an hour ago, but it did nothing to cool the day down. It's now a sauna outside. In certain parts there's actually steam coming up off the road. Behind the sun that's moved in, you can see more clouds behind. A dark hazy threat looming in the background, more storms are moving in. The stillness of the day threatens to break wide open when they do.Because of the heat that's been baking the ground and asphalt for days, most people are inside this afternoon, enjoying the air conditioning and not wanting to have heatstroke. Probably one of the reasons th
The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 207
CruiseI love the smile on Kelsea's face, love even more that I'm the one who put it there. "You excited Kels?" I grin into the rearview as we make the drive to Birmingham."So excited, like I knew you knew him." She bounces in her seat. "But I didn't really know!"Him references my college roommate Slater Harlow, known by everyone who watches professional baseball as Savage. He's a formidable force on the baseball diamond, having the best season of his career. We're not as close as we once were, because life took us two totally different directions, but we still hang out every once in a while. Typically I like to keep the fact I know him from just about everyone, because I know he values his privacy. Now though? Kels is old enough to go to a major league game, and I'm doing my best to impress Ruby."I've known him a long time." I think back to our college days, how both of us had been so damn homesick. Him more than me, since I could at least head home on the weekend. Slater w
The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 206
RubyIt's a hot summer day, as I walk onto the practice field. Since school let out in early June, I've been catching up on sleep, taking a summer class, and spending as much time with the man in my life as I can. Neither Mason nor Caleb are here today. Both are on duty, so another parent has offered to help the girls practice. Karina is sick with a summer cold and me? I'm here, not sure what the hell I've gotten myself into. Kelsea and I are spending the afternoon together, beginning with me picking her up. So we'll see how this goes."Ruby!" I hear as I shield my eyes and look out along the field. Kelsea is running toward me, her backpack bouncing as she runs."Hey Kels," I greet her, a real smile on my face. She and I haven't had a ton of time with one another, but as Caleb and I have gotten closer, the same has been true for the two of us. "You ready?" I wave to today's coach as she walks beside me."I am, it's hot out here." She pushes her hair back from her forehead.Ta
