Bed of Roses

CHAPTER SIX THE POT AND THE KETTLE PART ONE

CHAPTER SIX

THE POT AND THE KETTLE

PART ONE

D on’t let him come in here. Lord, please don’t let him come in here,” Sam whispered when a shadowy figure passed by the window and blotted out the stars. Jack Reynolds had this thing about him that she couldn’t explain, but Sam knew it was him just from his shadow. He was a hard man to miss.

God must have sent her prayer to voicemail because Jack pushed open the door and strutted past the dance floor. He slapped a couple guys on the back as he approached the bar and winked at a sour-faced Rita Jo.

“Hey, Red,” Rita Jo hollered over the noise, “do you want a refill yet?”

God hadn’t heard the prayer, but it sure seemed like the devil took up the challenge.

Jack whipped around and locked eyes on Sam like a hawk on a hare. One of his signature wolfish grins spread across his chiseled face. “She wants another one, Rita, and I do too.” Jack said something that made the guys at the bar laugh, then shook his friend’s empty beer bottle at Rita as he set it on the bar.

Yep, time to go , Sam’s gut yelled at her, and she started to slide to the end of the booth. She had only taken a step or two when Jack’s presence pressed itself against her and a shot glass was shoved into her hand.

He made a tsking noise at her and shook his head slowly. “It ain’t time to leave yet. I just got us drinks, sweetheart.” He had moved in record time across the room, but now he talked as slow and sticky-sweet as molasses.

Allie headed to the bathroom, and Buster ambled over toward Sam’s booth. “Well, where’s mine, boss man?” Buster asked.

“Somewhere behind that bar, I reckon.” Jack smiled offhandedly at him and then turned back to Sam. “Buster, I just got here, and Sam was about to go. Tell her she needs to stay just a bit longer. She’s got a full drink left.”

Buster looked from Jack to Sam to Jack again. His eyes reminded Sam of an eager dog confused at a command, not knowing if he should sit or roll over, but his smile never faded.

“Sam, sit down and stay awhile. I’m gonna get another, and I’ll be right back. We can talk about some of the cars I’ve seen at the auction lot this week.” He waved toward the booth and headed to the bar, leaving Sam looking up at Jack.

“Come on, just one drink, then you can go home to Grandma,” Jack baited her.

“I already had one drink.” She didn’t rise to his barb, and her tone sounded bored in her own ears.

Her aloofness seemed to spark a glint in his eyes, and he moved one step closer. “Just one more, then. You’ll have fun. You ain’t had a real night on the town in Homestead yet, and I wanna be your welcome wagon.”

Sam barked a laugh at that. “Tell me. How many times have you used that line, and how many times has it actually worked?”

He took one more step forward. “Just enough to lead me here to you.”

Sam backed up one more step. Then her calves hit the booth, and she plopped down abruptly.

“Buckle up, honey. And scoot in.” He leaned over to pull the shot glass directly in front of her before sliding into the other side of the booth with all the swagger of a panther, drunk on a new kill. He smelled like Old Spice with a little bit of sweat and grease underneath it all—the scent of a pure man, through and through. He kicked his cowboy boots up on the seat beside her, blocking her way out of the booth and grinning at her as he took another swig.

“Some would call this forced entrapment,” she warned and took the first sip of the second shot she had sworn she wouldn’t have.

“Some would call this love.”

“I’m starting to think you are truly crazy.”

“Only ’cause you’re so pretty.” He leaned on his elbows across the table and grinned at her boyishly.

She was beginning to understand why women flocked to him and believed his obviously bald-faced lies. He was a tad menacing one moment, then could be endearing in a sincere way two seconds later.

Before she could think about Jack any more, Buster and Allie joined them, and the conversation turned to Mustangs and mutts for what seemed like hours.

Jack kept the flirting to a minimum in mixed company, and Sam found it comforting to hang out with people her age in a party dynamic again. She hadn’t realized how much she had isolated herself.

This is nice. I needed this , she told herself.

Jack ordered another beer, and one more shot for her. Was that the third one? Fourth?

“I need food,” Sam finally stated.

“And I need to dance.” Allie smiled at Buster.

He promptly took her hand and pulled her from the booth as “Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)” started up.

“Where’s Rita Jo? I need some good greasy fries,” Sam said, knowing that she needed carbs to balance out all the whiskey.

“She clocked out, and Viper took over.” Jack nodded toward the balding man with a braided goatee and a tattoo sleeve, who was walking food out of the kitchen and to the bar. Jack whistled loudly, and Viper came right over to the booth.

“Alright. What can I get ya?” he asked.

“We wanna get two burger baskets and an extra order of fries.”

“Do you have onion rings?” Sam asked.

“No, you don’t need onion rings.” Jack shook his head.

“On second thought, Mr. Viper, I want onions on my burger too. Double the onions please. Oh, and a large order of onion rings.” Sam smiled sweetly and blinked at Jack. “You want anything else?”

Viper smiled, but Sam thought that if looks could kill, Jack would’ve buried her right there on the spot.

“Another beer,” he grunted.

Viper walked back to the bar, and a man came up to the booth to talk about a car part he needed to order from Jack. They were visiting about carburetors when Sam realized that since Jack walked into the bar that night, she hadn’t thought of Noah once.

This might not have been such a bad idea after all , the devil whispered, and Sam couldn’t disagree. After the man shook Jack’s hand and left, Jack leaned back in his seat and eyed her. “You paying for dinner tonight?”

“For mine, obviously.” Sam went to pull her wallet from her purse, and reality shattered her buzz. “Oh shit.”

“What is it?”

“I left my wallet at the house.”

Jack erupted in laughter. “Oh, I’ve heard this one before. Now tell me something, just how many times have you used that line, and how many times has it worked for you?”

“Shut up. I didn’t mean to.” She patted her leggings down though they had no pockets while her brain raced.

“This is quite a predicament. You better think quick because it’s close to closing time, Sam. Ticktock, ticktock,” he sang as he raised his beer bottle and swigged down the last of it.

“Buster will cover me, and I’ll pay him back.”

“Buster left a few minutes ago, honey. Allie wasn’t feeling too spiffy, so they slipped out. Oh, Sam, I really hope you can wash dishes.” Jack shook his head sarcastically.

Sam looked up and realized the bar had somehow almost completely emptied out while she talked to Jack, took time to use the restroom, and then ordered every onion on the menu just to spite him.

“How about I’ll be a gentleman and buy you dinner tonight? I asked to do this back when we met, remember?”

Sam laughed at that. “Well, I guess you actually got your way after all, Mr. Reynolds.”

“I always do.”

Viper rang a big brass bell by the bar and declared it was last call to the few remaining stragglers. Then he walked over their burger baskets and tab to close. “Y’all got about fifteen minutes, and then the doors get locked.”

“How much of the town have you truly got to explore?” Jack asked as they ate their food.

“Not much outside of Kathleen’s places and the bookstore.” She didn’t want to say Noah’s name.

“Well, that’s nothing. I got something I wanna show you. I think you’d like it.”

“Sounds like fun!” She pasted on a wide, fake smile. “Are we meeting Kara there?”

His cheek twitched a bit. “No, me and her ain’t a thing anymore.”

“She was in the bookstore the other day, and she seemed so sweet. I don’t get why you’d want to run around on her. That’s really messed up,” Drunk Sam said through a mouthful of onion ring.

“Who said I cheated on her?” His tone was edgy.

“Umm, like, the whole town? You don’t hide it.” Sam swung an onion ring wide for emphasis.

Jack grinned wryly and then sobered, averting his eyes to the table in front of him. “I haven’t been the best to her, I know. She deserves better than I can give her. I tried, Sam, I really did. I wanted to be what she needed, and it’d work for a little while. But then I’d find myself wanting more. I didn’t feel that spark with her that I know is out there. It’s like my body knew deep down she’s not my person. It was painful to finally accept it. And I hurt her for longer than I should have by not accepting it before now.”

Okay, ouch. Sam bit the inside of her cheek as Chase came to mind. And the hundreds of small things Sam tried to be, the things that she thought Chase wanted of her had only mocked her. The Lilly Pulitzer dresses she wore because his mother loved them even though Sam hated them. Straightening her naturally wavy hair every morning because Chase liked it that way. And all the other things that the mirror couldn’t detect.

A thousand little paper cuts were needed to trim her down into the shape and size Chase had wanted, and it still wasn’t enough. Years of passive-aggressive ways to get his point across had shredded the person that was Samantha into nothing but what he wanted. The memories themselves like asbestos into Sam’s softest spots, and over time carved her out as a new person. She was made in God’s likeness but had molded herself for a man’s liking.

“Ground Control to Major Sam.” Jack snapped his fingers in front of her as he pushed his empty basket to the end of the booth. “You still in there?”

“Yeah, sorry. I had a lot on my mind today. It’s past my bedtime anyway. Your story got me thinking about my past, and I zoned out.”

Jack leaned forward now and covered her hand with his and squeezed it. “Hmm, well I’m here whenever you wanna unload. We could find a quiet place to talk.”

The warm roughness of his hand felt good on Sam’s knuckles, but suddenly she felt the overpowering need to get out of there. She refused to let herself fall for Jack’s charm. There were already enough notches on his bedpost without her adding to it.

“Maybe another day.” She pulled her hand back and started to stand up. “I gotta head back to Rose Garden now. Thanks for dinner. I promise I’ll pay you back.”

“You ain’t paying me back. Besides, I’m walking you home,” he said, getting out of his booth.

“I’m fine on my own, Jack.”

“No you aren’t. You ain’t got that mutt of yours, so somebody’s gotta make sure you get home alright.” He waved to Viper as he opened the door for her.

The moon was full and brilliant. The dirt road glowed like a silver snake winding through the trees up ahead. Jack reached out and grabbed her hand and told her to mind the step when the sidewalk ended. He didn’t let go as they started into the wooded section of the path, and she let him hold it.

Isn’t this what I wanted with someone? she asked herself.

Someone to hold the door for her, to put her hand in his, to walk her home, and to make her laugh. Her past was aching proof that she had been known to misjudge character. Maybe she had been all wrong about Jack Reynolds as well as Noah. A pang ran through her when she thought of him. At that exact moment, Jack squeezed her hand silently—like somehow he knew.

“I wanna show you something.” Jack tugged at her hand, but she pulled back.

“Another night. I wanna get home.”

“Fine.” His tone told her that he didn’t like her answer, but he didn’t argue. “Go to the back door. Kathleen has a key behind the red flowerpot near the swing. The floors are less creaky in the kitchen anyhow. It’s easier to slip in that way,” he said and led the way around the house.

“How do you know all this?” Sam asked.

“My great-uncle Thurman was married to Kathleen. I used to spend the summers with them.” He shrugged and flashed a smile toward her.

As they were about to round the corner of the house, Jack pushed Sam back against the clapboard siding and kissed her.

She wasn’t expecting it and nearly gagged when he forced his tongue into her mouth. The clapboard siding hurt her back. She tried to step forward, but his hand cupped her face roughly, and his mouth locked on hers again while his arm held her steady against his chest. She didn’t know if it was Jack Reynolds or Jack Daniels, but something made her kiss him back. They made out like high schoolers, his hands raking down her body and pulling her closer, while her hands tugged at his hair in the spotlight the moon provided.

He was a good kisser, but when his fingers brushed the top of her yoga pants and touched skin, her whole body rebelled. She pulled back and promptly puked down the side of the house and onto Jack’s Lucchese boots.

He cursed and jumped away.

Oh God , Sam moaned, not knowing if she just thought the words or if she said them aloud. She held herself up with one hand on the house. Her other hand tried to keep her hair back the best she could.

She wondered where Jack had gone, and then she saw him walk back around the side of the house with a water hose in his hand that was already sputtering water. He sprayed his boots and then the house, washing her embarrassment down into the rose bushes lining the wall.

Jack had evidently had enough of her at that point. “Well, darlin’, it’s time you got some sleep. Didn’t know you had a weak stomach.”

“Yeah.” Sam couldn’t say more.

She was mortified, but more than that, she clenched her teeth and kept swallowing to keep from throwing up again. She didn’t remember getting to her room or the bathroom, but she did remember throwing up again and brushing her teeth before crawling into bed. She had fitful dreams and woke up with a blistering hangover, the likes of which she couldn’t compare with anything she’d suffered in the past.

She slowly dragged her wretched body downstairs after dry heaving by the door and was immensely relieved they didn’t have any guests at that time. The smell of greasy bacon or scrambled eggs would send her into a sick tailspin for sure.

Kathleen grinned when Sam made it down to the kitchen, and she poured coffee into her mug. “Look what the cat drug in this morning! How’s that head of yours feeling, honey?”

Sam would’ve rolled her eyes if she didn’t think that would make her barf again. “If you could keep your berating to a whisper today, I’d greatly appreciate it.”

“Poor thing.” Kathleen chuckled. “I got a fix that’ll get you back on your feet. Loretta and I were just sitting in the garden since it’s a pretty day. You go out there, and I’ll bring you some coffee and toast and a quick fix of our own making to get you back right. And then I want to hear all about last night.”

Sam almost groaned but instead made her way outside, following a plume of smoke to where Loretta sat on a white wrought iron lounge that matched the tea table and chairs. She was chewing on a cigar, staring past the roses and the barricade they had built around this sitting area and scanning the tree line, lost in thought. The fact that the roses created a sort of privacy fence made Sam think of The Secret Garden , a book she had read as a child.

“How do you feel?” Loretta smiled around her cigar, squinting through the smoke at Sam once she realized she was approaching.

“Exactly how you’d think I’d feel, smarty-pants.” Sam groaned as she sat down as far away from Loretta’s cigar as possible to keep from going back into a fit of nausea.

In a few minutes, Kathleen joined them with a little wooden tray full of Sam’s saving grace. Coffee with a splash of cream, white toast with strawberry jam, and a mixture that looked like a potion that she would mix up in the yard as a child.

“Drink that first, it’ll help the most.”

“Do I have to?” Sam winced at the smell.

“Yes!” the old women answered in unison.

Sam held her nose and shot it down. It tasted as bad as it smelled, and Sam’s whole body shook as she swallowed the last of it. She quickly followed it with big mouthfuls of hot coffee.

“What in the hell was in that?” she sputtered through a gag.

“Everything good that these woods have to offer. You know, the more I work with nature, the more firmly I believe God didn’t forget a thing when He made this earth. All the cures for everything that ails us can be found if we look close enough.”

“Amen,” Loretta puffed out.

“Oh, Rita Jo called this morning—she said you need to be on the lookout for Kara. She may seek you out for a good old catfight because you left the bar last night with Jack,” Kathleen said as she took a sip of her coffee and leaned back into her chair.

Sam’s face reddened. “Do people literally have nothing else to talk about in this town?”

“Nope.” Loretta puffed out her second ring of smoke with her answer.

“Sam, I know we’ve warned you about Jack before, but I feel the need to warn you again,” Kathleen said seriously. “I know that you’re a grown woman and you’ve proven that you can take care of yourself, but Jack’s got demons he’s fighting. There’s a curse on men in the Reynolds bloodline, and there’s a mean streak through all of ’em. My Thurman was pretty like Jack, and he couldn’t keep his belt buckled either.” She spread butter on a second piece of toast and passed it to Sam. “It’s going to take a woman willing to put the fear of God into Jack to ever make him settle down, and I don’t know if that would even work. I tried with Thurman, but nothing stopped him from doing what he wanted. He cheated on me when we were just starting to date and too many times to count after we were married.”

“Why did you marry him, then?”

“Because I was told to. I thought my daddy was God when I was a girl. Whatever he said was law. I didn’t know about Thurman’s running around at the time. I only found out once he got sloppy with his alibis. I didn’t know that I had any other options than staying with him. Besides, I had my boys to look after,” Kathleen’s answered.

She stared out at the tree line just visible above the rambling roses, her eyes setting in the same space Loretta seemed to gaze at earlier. “I was in the hospital in labor with Bubba when I found out Thurman was sleeping with that rat-faced Tammy Cox. I’d hired her to keep Andrew while I was in the hospital on bed rest near the end of carrying Bubba, and Thurman was already running round with her right under my nose then. I moved all my stuff to a spare bedroom when I came home after delivery. I ripped some of my stitches doing it too, but I didn’t give a damn. I couldn’t share a bed with him anymore. He demanded a divorce that day, but I wouldn’t give it to him.”

“Why?” Sam was intrigued, watching Kathleen clench her jaw slightly and tighten her eyes on the woods beyond the yard.

“This house was built by my ancestors when this area was tobacco and cotton country instead of piney woods. It passed down from mother to daughter until it reached me. If I had divorced him, I would’ve had to sell it and give him half or else buy him out. I didn’t have enough money to do that, so I turned the place into a bed-and-breakfast and made sure that the lawyer fixed things so that Thurman couldn’t get his greedy little hands on a dime of my money. We lived together until the boys were grown and gone,” she explained, “and then he died.”

“Was it cancer or something else?” Sam asked.

“Nope, he just went to sleep and never woke up. The old doctor we had in those days said it was probably a heart attack,” Kathleen replied.

“Did your sons know? About him cheating on you?”

“Not ’til their teenage years. By then, Thurman was about as good at hiding his running around as Jack is. Both of my boys blamed me too. They thought their daddy did no wrong. Besides, they couldn’t judge him for that. It would just be the pots calling the kettle black. Andrew’s on his fourth wife now, and Bubba has been divorced twice already. All their ex-wives filed on charges of adultery,” Kathleen answered. “I’m telling you to be careful with Jack. There’s something that taints a bloodline. I don’t know what it is or what caused it. All I know is I’ve never met a woman who could break it.”

Sam had a million more questions but read the energy surrounding her and held her tongue. She had known Jack was a rake from the moment she laid eyes on him, and she needed to heed their warning when it came to Jack—she knew that instinctively.

“What led you to the bar last night anyways?” Loretta looked over and tapped her cigar over the crystal ashtray.

Sam told them everything.

“Seems to me like we’ll need to have another little prayer session soon,” Loretta said. “We need to get to church too. Sam, honey, come with us this Sunday. It’ll do us all good. You’ll also get to meet a little more of the community. There’s more men than Jack and Noah in Texas. You need to remember that.”

Sam just nodded, the lump in her throat slowly dissolving the more coffee she drank and the longer the three women sat in the garden, trying to solve all the problems of the world.