Small Town Scandal: A Wingmen Novel, page 23
“Pretty sure it was just Tom and Dick.” Erik breaks the tension with a bad joke. He’s an idiot but I know he always has my back.
“Thanks, Dad, but you still got one thing wrong. I love her. Present tense.”
Like kids released from school, Erik and I can’t get out of the house fast enough. We end up stuck in the door as we both try to shove through it at the same moment.
“Holy effing mother of shit,” he curses a random string of words together on the way to our vehicles.
“No kidding.” I reach for my keys and realize I’ve left them inside. “I’ll be right back.”
“It’s a trap. If you go in there, you’ll have to listen to more stories and you’ll be scarred for life. I’ll drive us.”
I’m willing to delay the inevitable and jog around the side of his ancient Bronco.
“Where to?” he asks as he reverses out of the driveway of our parents’ simple rancher.
“Anywhere but here?”
“My house it is.” Erik turns onto the main road and heads north.
While he drives in silence, the only sounds are the Bronco’s wheels spinning on the pavement and the wind blowing in through the open windows.
I bend my left knee and rest my foot on the seat, then pull out my phone. With my leg as a shield, I can scroll through my texts without Erik being able to read them.
“Shit,” I mumble as I see ten more texts and a two-minute voicemail from Ashley.
“You okay over there?” Erik asks as he takes a fast left onto 525.
“I think I need to catch the next boat.” I scroll through all Ashley’s messages. “Can you turn around and take me down to the dock?”
He takes his foot off the gas and pulls over to the shoulder of the two-lane road. “What’s going on?”
“I need to get to town.” My words are blunt with urgency.
Glancing in his rearview mirror and over his shoulder, he spins his tires as he peels a U-turn. “You want to go back and pick up your truck?”
“No time. Drop me off and I’ll walk over.”
He stares out of the corner of his eye at me while he speeds down the road. “This have something to do with Ashley?”
“What makes you ask?” My thumbs fly over my phone’s screen as I text her.
“Heard about you punching Tom.”
I cringe. “Who spilled?”
“Olaf told Dan when they played chess this week.”
“That old troll. I should’ve known he was hiding out in the hall. He disappeared and came back after the fight with a case of beer. Doesn’t take him that long to grab a case.” Sneaky bastard. Of course he knew what was going on inside his bar.
Erik chuckles. “Dan spilled about his conversation with you. How come he knows more about what’s going on with you and the love of your life than I do?”
Guilt settles like a sharp rock in my stomach. “You’ve been busy.”
“Bullshit.” We come to a stop at a light. “You’ve been avoiding me since the fair. I haven’t seen or spoken to you in weeks. That’s never happened before.”
He sounds like my little brother and I realize I have cut him out of my life recently.
“I’m sorry.” I seem to be Mr. Apology lately. “It’s new with Ashley and we’re trying to figure out things.”
“You’re back together?” The light changes and he hits the accelerator too hard. We lurch forward. “Because if you aren’t serious, what the fuck are you doing fooling around with her again? Jonah’s my partner. You know how awkward it’ll be if you fuck this up again.”
A strong sense of déjà vu settles over me. “Shit.”
“Now what?” He pulls into the line for cars instead of the drop off area.
“I think I already have fucked up. Big time.”
“Nothing can be as bad as last time.” He hands over a ticket to the middle-aged blond woman in the booth.
“What are you doing?”
“Being your wingman. What are you going to do when you get to the other side?”
“I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”
“Figured.” He stops in line and puts the Bronco into park. Pulling out his phone, he taps the screen while we wait to be loaded.
“Who are you texting?”
“Backup.”
Outside the sun sparkles off the water and gulls swoop around the arriving ferry as it churns water into a white froth. Given it’s nine on a Sunday morning in the summer, I’m impressed we have such a short wait. Too early in the day for the tourists and weekenders to be headed home I guess.
I keep checking my phone for a response from Ashley as the boat unloads and loads.
While we wait for the next ferry, Erik steps out of the car to take a call from Cari. I use his absence to listen to Ashley’s voicemail.
Expecting more of her ranting, I hit play.
Her voice shakes with emotion. At first I assume it’s anger, but as she continues speaking, I can hear the tears.
“Carter.” The way she says my name breaks me. If I could swim across the Sound faster than waiting for this damn boat, I would.
“I know I’ve told you over and over I don’t need you. I hope you know it’s not true. Not one hundred percent. I don’t know why you’re not answering or ignoring me, but if you care about me, if you,” she pauses and swallows audibly, “if you love me, please call me. I need you. I love you and I need you.”
The message ends and a shadow passes over my window. A tapping on the glass startles me. When I look up, Jonah’s dark eyes meet mine.
“Let me in.” He tugs on the handle.
I open the door and lean forward so he can climb in the backseat. “What are you doing here?”
Erik climbs in the driver’s seat. “I called him and offered him a ride to Ashley’s.”
“Why?” The dread in my stomach grows.
“Dad showed up at her condo this morning.” Jonah keeps his voice neutral like everything is fine and normal.
Meanwhile, my world has exploded.
Erik drives up the hill like his Bronco is racing in the latest Fast and Furious movie. I’m pretty sure he caught air disembarking from the boat. The tires squeal as he speeds around corners.
I double-check the coffee stand for Ashley’s car as we speed by. It’s not in the lot behind the building and the front windows are dark.
“She closed today. Called the baristas and cancelled their shifts, with pay.” Jonah leans between the seats and explains.
“Is she safe?” I have to clear the gravel from my voice.
“She’s okay.” Jonah remains his normal stoic self.
I give directions to Ashley’s place. Neither Jonah or Erik comments about how I know where she lives.
“Back in July, Ashley called me about being followed home,” I volunteer. “Said it wasn’t the first time she’s been followed.”
“You mean besides you, Bro?” Erik’s teasing falls flat.
Jonah sticks his head between the seats. “She’s joked about Carter stalking her, but I never knew she had a real stalker. That’s nothing to joke about.”
“You know Ashley, she’s too stubborn and independent. She’s not going to make a big deal out of something and ask for help if she can avoid it.” I stare out of the passenger window.
“But you knew,” Jonah says, his hand resting near my shoulder. “She called you. Not me. That says a lot.”
I guess it does.
“Did the stalker ever come back?” Erik asks, making the turn onto Ashley’s street.
“I don’t think so. She was on the island at Dan and Roslyn’s the rest of the summer. She’s been back in the condo less than two weeks.”
Unlike my first and only time here at the condo, Erik has no problem parking his old sun-faded red Bronco in front of Ashley’s place and blocking the garage. He even revs the engine before shutting it off and we pile out of the Bronco and pause.
“Now what?” Erik rubs his hands together and rolls back on his heels. “Go in guns blazing?”
“This isn’t a western or horror movie, baby bro.” I grin at his goofiness.
“We knock. Like mature adults.” Jonah leads the way to the door.
“Huh.” I raise my eyebrows at Erik.
“That’s right, we’re grown ass men.” He grins back at me.
“Yes, I see your ‘ass’ pun.” I bump his fist with my knuckles.
Some of the tension I’ve been carrying for the twelve-plus hours disappears. Our dad might be a flaming mess, but I have an awesome brother who will always have my back. Same could be said for Ashley and Jonah.
Jonah raps his knuckles on the door. Erik and I stand behind him. Jonah in his faded black CBGB T-shirt and black jeans, me in my wrinkled dark tee and gray shorts from yesterday, and Erik in a mis-buttoned blue button down and cargo shorts, we’re a pretty motley crew of musketeers. I scan the area behind us and see the flutter of a curtain in the condo across the way. I’m sure we’re an unexpected sight early on a Sunday morning.
The door opens and a messy, but beautiful Ashley peeks out at us. “Where the fuck have you slackers been?”
Jonah hugs her. “When did he get here?”
“He showed up early this morning after calling me yesterday.” Her red rimmed eyes seek mine.
I step forward and envelop her in my arms, pressing her cheek to my chest. Running my hands over her hair and down her back, I try to comfort her. “I’m here. We’re here now.”
“Where is he?” Jonah asks, already moving around us into the house.
“In the kitchen. He’s made himself right at home.” Ashley sounds resigned. Her hands grip the back of my shirt tighter.
“We can stay out here. If you want,” I offer. “Erik can take you somewhere while we get him out of here.”
“I’m not letting him drive me out of my house.” I can feel the resolve flow through her body. With a gentle push, she silently asks me to release her.
I hesitate a moment before I step away.
Grabbing my hand, she twines her fingers with mine. “Come inside. Seeing us together will probably make his head explode. The cleanup will be messy, but so worth it.”
Her tone is serious, but I see a spark of mischief in her eyes.
After all this time, we’re an us again.
Raised voices greet the three of us as we walk down the hall. Jonah’s blocking my view of the counter where he’s shouting at his dad.
Seeing Jonah lose his normal chill persona is almost as shocking as seeing the man he’s yelling at. The past thirteen years haven’t been kind to Ron Curtis.
THE PONY-TAILED PERVERT from the coffee hut sits at Ashley’s counter like he belongs there.
“You fucking asshole.” I lunge at the overly tan bastard with the bald spot on the top of his head. Erik manages to grab my arms and halt me.
The toasted toadstool has the nerve to smile at me and wiggle his fingers in a condescending wave. “If it isn’t Carter Kelso. Still a fuck up?”
Erik’s hold on me loosens slightly, probably in surprise over Ron’s hostility. Given what he said to a teenage girl, nothing that passes his lips would surprise me.
“And his baby brother. Fuck Up One and Fuck Up Two.” He rubs his stubby hands together. “Saw your ass all over the Internet last year. Your mother must be so proud.”
“What the fuck?” Erik releases me.
Jonah blocks us. “Don’t give him a reason to call the cops. This scum would probably press assault charges.”
Ashley’s breath catches in her throat next to me. Gone is the bravado she wears daily in defense, replaced by the sadness I haven’t seen since she was seventeen.
“I see you inherited Carl’s loser genes.” Ron gives us an oily smile. “I came here to see my kids. I’m disappointed in your choice of friends, Ashley. Spreading your legs for island trash. You know he’s never going to amount to anything. Just like his father. You and your pops hanging out at the bar at the Legion together? Cursing ol’ Ron Curtis for ruining your lives?”
“Fuck off,” Erik growls.
“You need to leave,” Jonah calmly tells the burned tater tot who provided half their DNA. Calling him a father is an insult to every other dad.
“Not yet. I have some business here. Unresolved impediments to my current life situation.” He uses big words like he’s going to impress us with his brilliance. “See, my life’s been pretty good, but I’ve come to an impasse which needs resolution involving my first wife and the progeny we created.”
“The fuck?” Ashley spits out. “Enough with your bullshit vocabulary and word spin. Tell us what you want, and then disappear again.”
“Such a mouth on you. I told your mother no matter how much praying she and your grandmother did, you’d always be a little cock loving tramp.”
Jonah shoves the old man off his stool so fast and hard, I don’t realize Ron’s on the floor until I hear him curse.
“You little shit. That’s assault.” Ron gets to his feet. “I have witnesses.”
Erik, Ashley, and I meet eyes and nod.
“I saw you slip and fall all on your own. You see the same thing?” Ashley asks us.
“Same,” I agree.
“Were you always this much of an asswipe? Or did you get worse after you stole all my dad’s money, almost two hundred grand, and left your wife and kids with nothing?” Erik rounds the corner of the island.
“Pretty sure he was always more scum than human.” Jonah crosses his arms and rests his back against the counter.
“Not until I got trapped by your mother with you two rats sucking me dry. I had big dreams and you all were holding me back.” Ron spits as he speaks.
“Right. What were we holding you back from?” Ashley stands opposite the kitchen island from him. She’s smart to keep the space between them. I flank her side and rest my hand on her lower back to reassure her.
“If you think I’ve been pining for you, sweetheart, you couldn’t be more wrong. My life’s been tip-top down in Baja. Invested my money in real estate. I have a sweet place south of Tijuana near the beach. Even have a little mamacita who cleans and cooks for me.”
“Then why didn’t you stay down there? No one here cares. We all hoped you were dead.” Ashley’s anger is palpable, she practically vibrates with it.
“I met a woman. Isn’t it fucked how it always comes back to tits and ass?” He curls his lips into a lecherous smile aimed at Ashley while straightening the collar on his ugly, cheap Hawaiian shirt.
Unfazed, Ashley laughs in his face. “Right. Is she blind, deaf, and mute?”
“She’s a lady. Something you’ll never be. I want to marry my lady and she said yes.”
Jonah snorts. “Hope she knows what a turd she’s getting.”
Ron grunts and glares like a bull getting ready to charge. “I knew you little shits would be difficult.”
“Then why even bother showing up here?” Ashley asks, her anger at a low boil. “Oh.”
All eyes turn to her.
“You’re married to Mom.” Her hand comes up to her mouth. I can’t tell if she’s going to laugh, scream, or cry. “You can’t remarry. At least not legally in this country without adding bigamist to your list of crimes.”
Tan and nasty grins at her. “Such a waste of a brain in a woman’s body. You can change your name and pretend you’re not mine, but you’ve got my smarts.”
Next to me, Ashley gags.
Ignoring her reaction, Ron continues, “But you’re wrong about crimes. I’ve never been charged with anything. Carl was too loyal to press criminal charges. And he had no proof the money wasn’t owed to me. Given it was in an account we both had access to.”
“You’re dead.” Malice fills my voice.
“I’m not lying. Ask your father how hard he fought to find me and get his money back. I’ve been hiding in plain sight. Hell, I’ve been coming and going off the island all summer and no one’s recognized me. Must be the Mexican sun agrees with me.” He has giant cohones to look smug.
Erik stares at me. “Is this true?”
Keeping my eyes on Ron, I shrug. “If it is, proves Dad’s a better person than this oil slick has ever been or will be. Loyalty and friendship are two things Dad values alongside family. Without those three, you have nothing.”
Dad’s familiar words ring true.
You move on and do your best, even if you don’t forget.
More truth dawns on me. “Dad knew you were fucking around on your wife. He knew you were bad news. Shit. He let you fuck him over to protect your family. Because he knew they’d be better off without you. And you know what, they are.” I pause and look at Erik. “Even as fucked up as we’ve all been picking up the pieces, we did it. We survived you. You didn’t ruin anyone’s life but your own.”
Silently, Ashley slips her arm around my waist and Erik comes to stand on my other side. Jonah remains between Ron and the door.
Even though I spoke the words, I’m in shock. All these years Dad took the hits, suffered financially, and became a walking punchline to get rid of Ron. Left on the hook, he floundered to pay back debts and refund clients, even going into bankruptcy. Over the years, he’s become more than a little bitter. Secrets will do that to a person. Doesn’t forgive his snide comments about Jonah and the accounts or insults slung at Ashley. I guess when you sacrifice yourself for the greater good, you hate to see the effort wasted on who he saw as a wild woman and her punk brother.
“Carl Kelso and his sons are real men. You’re a toddler who thinks the rules don’t apply to him, distracted by the next shiny object.” Jonah stands his ground.
“You’re an ungrateful brat,” Ron spits. “I sent these losers ten grand, with a promise of more.”
“We don’t want your money.” Erik speaks for the both of us.
“Don’t act like you can afford to refuse. I’ve seen where your parents are living now. Kind of a dump. Maybe buy some more goats.” Ron aims his insult at me.
“We’re all set. Thanks.” I don’t give him the satisfaction of a reaction.
“Tear it up. I’ve got more than I know what to do with.”
Ashley plasters a fake smile on her face and claps her hands together twice. “Okay then. Well, this has been lovely. I’ll tell Mom to expect the divorce papers. You should probably mention a hefty settlement or alimony in the letter. I’m sure she’ll happily take your money.”
