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Chapter 176
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The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 177
KarinaNovemberSchool is routinely kicking my ass. Even though I've just passed my three-month mark in the pregnancy, I'm not feeling much better than when I started, and I'm still getting sick on a regular basis. It doesn't matter, though, the show must go on and I don't want to take time that I don't need yet. Because the due date is around the first week of May, I'll more than likely be taking maternity leave at Spring Break, so I don't want mess with any of the plans I already have. It's taking me longer to finish grading papers and make lesson plans. Pregnancy brain is really a thing, and I'm suffering from it, all the time. I'm finding more often than not, it's easier for me to get things done at school, so I'm staying a little later than normal every night. The librarian keeps the library open since she does work too, and I've been finding going in there with her helps keep me on task. Grabbing my laptop and my water bottle, I close up my room and head to the front of th
The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 178
Karina"You don't have to do this," I plead with him, trying to think of ways to get him to leave me alone and walk out on his own. I'm sure there are countless possibilities, but right now I'm coming up with nothing. The only thing I'm worried about is making sure my baby is okay. The baby we just announced that I'm having to our friends and family."No, I do." His hand shakes as he holds the gun on me. "You don't understand, I've been planning this for a long time.""What?" I'm confused as I hear him speak. His brows furrow as he looks at me, and it's almost as if I can see him arguing with himself, trying to decide if he wants to tell me the truth. A part of me doesn't want to know, because then it gives me hope. Hope that I'll make it out of here alive, and that he doesn't plan to kill me. If he's going to tell me everything, it would make sense he'd want to get rid of any evidence, but if he's not going to harm me, then why would he tell me anything? My stomach drops as h
The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 179
Karina"Can you cut this off of me?" I ask Mason after he's laid me down in our bed. His eyes flash to the hospital bracelet I'm wearing, and I can tell it annoys him as much as it annoys me. I don't like the reminder of what went down earlier today and honestly could do without anything ever reminding me again. After the hospital had pronounced me and the baby, which after some testing they told me they think is a girl, were okay, Mason had brought us home. "I'm so sorry this happened to you," he whispers as he cuts it off, rubbing at the irritation the plastic edges had left on my skin."Look at me." I give him my most stern teacher's voice. "This wasn't your fault. He was an unhinged psychopath who thought he'd get away with potentially killing kids. This isn't you, Mason. This is him.""You could have died," he argues.Grabbing his chin with my fingers, I force him to meet my eyes. "You could have too. What if he'd turned the gun on y'all? What if he'd decided to go d
The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 180
KarinaApril"Are you ready?" I ask my two guys as they both shuffle into the kitchen, both wearing suits. "Damn, don't y'all look good?""I need help with this tie, Dad." Caleb holds his tie up in his hands.Mason motions for him to bring it over. "Who does this for you when you're at school? You wear a suit to the game.""My roommate, Slater," he answers. "He's there on a baseball scholarship. We're keeping each other out of trouble.""Well, at least someone's there to keep you under control." I run my hand over my stomach, grimacing. Baby girl is dropping and my hips feel it like no other. "You okay?" Mason asks as he eyes me."I'm fine," I assure him. "High heels may not have been the best idea, but I want to look like my old self today. Especially on Easter." I curl my lip up. "But I may have to change into flats."Mason finishes up Caleb's tie. "Someone told me that you might have to, and they also gave me a heads up on a pair of shoes you wanted." He winks at
The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 181
MenaceMayThere have been four days that have been the most important in my life. When Caleb was born, I joined the Moonshine Task Force, married Karina, and now this moment. When our daughter entered the world."Caleb should be here in the next fifteen minutes." I read the text I just got from him so Karina knows what's going on. "There was a wreck on I-65 and he got stuck in the traffic coming home. I told him we won't let anyone else meet her until he does."Karina looks up at me, smiling. "Sounds good, I want him to be the first."This woman, looking at me the way she is, has blown my mind today. After waking up at three a.m. with her water breaking, she went through seven hours of active labor, refusing to call anyone until it was time to start pushing. She didn't want anyone to have to wait around on her. By the time I called Caleb, I knew he wouldn't be here in time, but I figured that saved us all from some major embarrassment. I'm a hundred percent positive he didn'
The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 182
VOLUME SIX:CRUISECruiseFive Years LaterSeptemberIt's a rainy night in Laurel Springs as I pull my Rubicon into one of the only empty spots in front of The Café. For just a moment, I turn off the ignition and sit, still amazed at how many people can fit inside. My rookie year on the MTF, Ernie passed away and Leighton had used her business smarts and degree, purchasing the place that meant so much to all of us. Ernie had no family, and her stepping in to keep an important part of the community alive had brought us all closer together.We'd had an old-fashioned type of barn raising. People from two counties over in each direction came to help us remodel and expand The Café. It's now doubled in size, with updated everything, and I knew from talking to Havoc that Leighton was doing very well for herself. So well, in fact, she'd brought Brooks into the business two years ago, and they have become a formidable team. Once their family name was known for moonshine. Now? The Strat
The Moonshine Task Force Series Chapter 183
Ruby"This is me." I point to the duplex I'm renting while trying to figure out how to live on a first-year teacher's salary. It's not as easy as I assumed it would be back when I was still in the dorms taking classes.He chuckles as he pulls his Jeep into the gravel lot. This Jeep is the manliest thing I've seen. Completely blacked out with all the bells and whistles anyone could ask for. The glow of the dashboard is blue, and the contrast between the light, his coloring, and those soulful brown eyes of his is almost my undoing as we sit here in the dark, alone."Why the laugh? I know it's not much." I'm slightly offended by the way he's reacting to where I live. And really disappointed."I'm not laughing at you, Ruby." He grips the steering wheel with those long fingers of his, causing his forearms to flex tight. "It's just that back in the day, a couple of my co-workers lived in this duplex before they fell in love and got married.""They allow women on the Moonshine Task
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RubyListening to the rain beat against the roof has always been one of my favorite pastimes. And now that I live on my own, not at my parents' house and not at a dorm full of loud roommates, I can be lazy and listen to it whenever I want to.On mornings like this, I think. And since I'm thinking, I'm rehashing everything that happened last night in my mind. To me, life has never been lived in hours. It's been lived in moments, goals, achievements, and special occasions. Hours though, hours mean a lot too. Take roughly ten hours ago.If Caleb hadn't been there to save me last night, who knows where I'd be at this hour. I could be lying in this bed hurting, contemplating an entirely different trip today. It might be one to the ER, instead of a few counties over. It could be spent making police reports, rather than trying to decide what I want to wear. Last night I was taught a valuable lesson. I'll never take hours for granted again.Throwing my covers off, I shiver at the chill
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
