Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
Y ou’re a good driver.”
“You mean for a girl,” Opal says, laughing easily. “My brothers taught me.”
“I’m not used to being a passenger,” I admit. “I don’t know the last time someone drove me someplace.”
Opal is silent for a moment as she passes a truck on the freeway, then glances at me. “It seems you do a lot of taking care of other people. Maybe let people in so they can take care of you, too?”
Opal’s comment takes me by surprise. There’s no teasing or malice to her statement. It’s not like we’ve seen each other that much because Opal did most of her training in Jefferson. Yet she seems to see through to the person I am, not the gruff exterior that everyone else sees.
“Mm, possibly. One day.” I look out the window of her SUV, enjoying the sight of the changing leaves. Before she can say anything else, I steer the conversation in another direction. “ So tell me about yourself. I know you’re in college, and I know it must be awful to have the twin you do.” I chuckle. “But tell me more about you.”
“I’m not sure what there is to tell,” Opal says, though her cheeks flush with heat. “What do you want to know?”
“What drives you? What do you want to do when you get out of college?”
“I want to work helping the community. You know that Doyle is a firefighter, and my other brothers are, too. We believe in giving back. I’d love to work with Warrior Cares. It would be great to help them expand the reach of their programs, so they can help more veterans. I believe in supporting the community and those who need help in supporting themselves. Warrior Cares is only a local organization now, but what if they could make it regional? Or national? It would be an honor to help them do that.”
Of all the things she could’ve said, I’m both surprised and not surprised that this was her response. “That’s impressive. I know a couple of people at Warrior Cares. I can put in a word for you if you like.”
“I’d appreciate that!” Opal’s smile is instant and bright. “Beth has introduced me to Antonia and Colleen. They host fundraisers for Warrior Cares, but they don’t work for them. Any introduction helps, you know?”
“Of course. I’m happy to help, though that leaves me in the position of finding another person to help in the office.” I suppress a sigh. Sometimes I wish I didn’t have to deal with the business side of running a business, but I’m the first to admit that I don’t like giving control or access to other people, especially strangers .
“I’m sure Shelly or I could help you with that when the time comes.”
Realizing how much I’d miss Opal if she left catches me off guard. She’ll mostly be working in the Jefferson gym when it opens soon, but the idea that I wouldn’t see her at all makes me rethink my promise to help her find a different job.
A comfortable silence falls between us as Opal drives on. Dusk is starting to fill the sky when we take the turnoff to reach the two-lane road that will take us up to King Mountain.
“Champ,” Opal says, glancing at me, “I need you to be straight with me.”
“What’s your question?” I ask, uneasy. It’s never a good sign when a woman asks you to be straight with her.
“Are you going to give me an honest answer?” she persists, gripping the steering wheel tighter.
“It depends on what you’re going to ask me.” I’m not in the habit of lying, but I am in the habit of being private. People spend far too much time these days sharing things that should be kept private.
“Alright. Does this trip and all the stuff in the back,” she jerks her head to the bags piled up in her backseat, “have anything to do with the cash withdrawals you won’t explain?”
I take a deep breath. When I asked her for help today, I knew explaining everything to her was unavoidable. To my surprise, I’m not hesitant to do so. “Yes, it does.”
“Champ,” she says, a hint of exasperation in her voice. “Will you tell me, or are you going to make me grill you? ”
“Sorry. I’m not used to talking about this, so I don’t know where to start.”
“Okay. How about explaining what all these bags are about?”
“Right. Those are supplies for women.”
Opal turns to me and raises an eyebrow.
“You’ve probably heard me talk about my buddy Harley.”
“Yes, I’ve heard his name. I don’t know who he is to you, though.”
“We go back a long way. To make that long story short, he, and now his wife, help to fight human trafficking. Mostly, he sends money to people in other countries to prevent these women from ending up here or in another country. But he also works to rescue those women if they do end up here.” I pause to look at Opal. She nods, but her jaw is clenched. “These bags are for some women he rescued this week.”
Opal pauses as she takes this in. “So why are they up on King Mountain?”
“We have some buddies up there. Waylon and his men own a bunch of property. Well, they own half the damn mountain. Some of it they run as a business. They have vacation cabins they rent and cabins they use to hide people until it’s safe for them to go home or find a new place to call home.”
Opal keeps driving, her fingers wrapping and rewrapping around the steering wheel. “Is this where the money from the cash withdrawals goes?”
“Some of it, yes,” I say simply. “Some of the money is for supplies like we’re bringing. Most of it goes directly to Harley. There’s a lot of bribery and payoffs involved in working to shut down these operations, whether it’s here or in the countries these women are taken from.”
“How did you get involved in this?”
I inhale and wait as Opal navigates a busy intersection. “We met through mutual friends. He’s an unaffiliated biker. He used to belong to a club, but he struck out on his own. When he first told me about what he does, I thought about what I would do if something like this happened to Beth, and I was immediately on board. These women and their families don’t deserve this kind of cruelty,” I tell her, unable to keep the passion out of my voice. “We give money and supplies; people like Waylon and his crew offer safe shelter and protection. Harley is a loner, but he’s built a rock-solid network. He’s been at this a while. This works on absolute trust and secrecy.” I look at Opal, making sure she understands. “That means you can’t talk about any of this, not even to Beth or Shelly.”
“I understand. Beth and Shelly know about this?” Opal asks, clearly surprised.
“No, they don’t, and they don’t need to.” I emphasize my words. It’s no secret women love to gossip, but I’m taking a chance with Opal. I’m confident she can keep her mouth shut, but I still feel the need to drive home the importance of the secrecy of this.
“If this is so secret, how come you’re letting me come up here with you?”
I take a deep breath. “Well, the damn truck crapped out on me, for one. More than that, I know what you went through trying to help your sister. We don’t know each other well – yet—but I know someone like you understands this more than the average person. You don’t seem quite as much of a gossip as my sister or other women.”
“Thanks, I guess?” Opal says, but her joyful laugh fills the car. “But wait. How did Beth and Shelly deal with the cash withdrawals? They’ve both worked on your books.”
At this, I chuckle. “They classified them as something. I’m stubborn, and they didn’t need to know.”
“Shocking!” Opal’s voice is teasing, and it makes me smile. More seriously, she adds, “I understand about keeping this private. You can rely on me.”
“That’s what I’m counting on.” I reach out and touch her arm, and she turns to me and smiles.
Fuck. I want to see that smile for a long time to come.
“Take a left at the fork. We’re here.”