Chapter 11
Eleven
Do you think you can stick raw spaghetti through your nipple piercing and take a hot shower to see if it’ll cook?
—Weaver to Romeo
Romeo
“Hi, who are you?”
“Weaver,” Weaver answered. “Who are you?”
“Ummm,” Mable hesitated. “Hold on. I have it around here somewhere…”
I could hear the amusement in Weaver’s voice as he said, “Take your time.”
“Thanks,” Mable chirped. “I love when men are patient.”
“She reacts kind of strongly,” Cody said once we got out into the open air. “She’ll need to be watched closely…are you okay with doing that?”
“What happens if I don’t watch her closely?”
“The last time this happened, she ended up almost getting frostbite because she walked out into the snow barefoot and didn’t take any clothes, boots, or protection. We had to send out a search party in my dad’s neighborhood. We found her sleeping in a doghouse with a dog.”
“Smart cookie,” I said as we walked toward my truck. “She’s not suicidal or anything, is she?”
“Not suicidal, no. But she’s crazy. She’ll do things that she shouldn’t. Say things that are way inappropriate. And when she’s done offending the whole entire world, she’ll pass out and forget everything that happened.”
“I think I can handle it,” I said. “Can you give your number to Weaver to share with me?”
Cody said something under her breath I didn’t catch, but slowed so that she could talk to Weaver.
Weaver murmured something quietly.
“They all hate me,” Mable grumbled.
“Who does?” I asked.
“Everyone everywhere,” she muttered.
It was then that I realized she was crying.
How did I realize that? Because she lifted my shirt up and wiped her damp face along the bare skin of my back.
The freezing cold temperature made her hot tears all but freeze in an instant.
“No one hates you,” I said as I paused at the passenger door to my truck.
Her fingers clenched in my shirt, causing the fabric to go taut across my chest.
“Everyone does!” she wailed.
Cody came back to my side and opened the door as she said, “She gets like this. She’s a very depressive Benadryl junky.
She’ll cry for the next several hours, I’m sure.
But don’t worry, she won’t remember any of this.
If you lie and tell her she just slept, she’ll probably believe you. That’s what I sometimes do.”
I gently placed her in the passenger seat of my truck and buckled her in.
“You’ll need to get your chains on before you leave if you’re heading out of town,” Cody mused.
I looked down at the snow chains that were on the floorboard with Mable’s feet resting on top of them and said, “That was my plan, actually. Being outside of town sounded like a great idea until I realized I had to deal with snow.”
“You’re not from here?” she asked.
“Texas,” I said. “But I’ve driven in snow before. My grandparents lived in Idaho before they retired to Texas. We spent most of our winter break up there.”
“Good.” She paused. “Make sure that she doesn’t freak out and reach for the wheel. It’s best to lock the seat belt.”
“This seat belt doesn’t lock. Truck’s too old,” I answered. “But I’ll be careful of her.”
She grabbed a snow chain and started walking to the back of my truck. I grabbed the rest and laid them out before starting the truck and moving it into place so I could attach the chains.
Cody helped me on the passenger side and then looked worriedly through the glass of the truck. “I’m serious. You’ll have to watch her every single second.”
“Okay.”
“I had to handcuff her to the bed last time she had to have Benadryl.”
My lips twitched. “Bet she loved that.”
Cody’s eyes were mischievous when she said, “When she woke up, she said it was a good thought, but she’d rather wake up to a man on the other side of the bed she’s handcuffed to next time.”
“She might have her wish then,” I joked. “I don’t think her going outside tonight would be a good thing.”
Cody’s eyes went serious. “No, definitely not.”
“You have her dog? I don’t mind stopping for him.”
Her head tilted toward me. “You miss him, huh?”
I wouldn’t lie to her about that. “He was a good friend over the last half a year.”
“I have your number from the Hulk there,” she said. “How about we meet at her place and I help you get Brawny in the truck.”
“Show me the way,” I said.
She headed toward the truck that was halfway across the parking lot.
“You sure about this?” Weaver asked.
“Yes.”
Weaver nodded. “Let me know if you need anything.” He paused. “I’ll head back inside and listen in on what’s going on.”
Meaning, he would go as far as he needed to, and not a single inch closer.
“Thanks,” I said. “Be careful going home.”
Weaver gave me a chin jerk and headed back toward the bar.
I got in my truck and held my hands out over the heater that was on full blast.
I hovered there as I waited for Cody to start moving, but kept glancing back and forth between Cody and Mable.
Mable who was staring morosely at the road in front of her. “I miss the sunshine.”
My gaze went to her. “You do?”
“It never seems like it’s bright enough during the winter,” she grumbled. “I have seasonal depression.”
I turned to face her. “You do?”
“Yeah.” She scrunched up her face. “Sometimes I think about moving to Florida so I know that I’ll have sun year-round. It’s the only thing that really seems to help.”
I idly wondered if the reason that Benadryl did this to her was because it was taking away her ability to hide.
It was something I’d have to ask her about when she was sober.
Between her two shots and the Benadryl, she was definitely flying high.
Honk. Honk.
I reluctantly pulled my head up and glanced to the side to see Cody’s truck idling at the entrance to the bar.
I put the truck in drive and followed her to a home that was just shy of being considered in town.
Cody pulled right up to the front door and headed inside.
I waited for her to come back out, not wanting to invite myself inside Mable’s home without her permission.
“These last six months, I couldn’t even enjoy the sun because Brawny wasn’t here,” she slurred. “I never wanted to murder someone so much in my life.”
“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” slipped out before I could stop myself.
I could feel her eyes on me, and I winced.
What the fuck was I thinking?
I couldn’t be admitting that to people!
Luckily, she was impaired.
She wouldn’t remember…hopefully.
“I think you’re wrong,” she murmured. “I think it’ll be great to feel the fight leech out of her.”
I twisted in my seat, the leather underneath my butt creaking as I did, and got a good look at Mable.
“Tell me more about your sister,” I urged.
“Well, for starters.” She held out her hand, one finger up. “When Dad first got married to her mom and they moved in, they forced me to move out of the room that my mom and I decorated. She liked it better than the guest room.”
The anger was back inside of me.
What kind of people raised her?
“Bitch,” I grumbled.
The door to the house opened and Brawny came out, dragging Cody along in his wake.
I got out and opened my door wide.
Brawny took one look at me and barked in happiness.
He ran up to me and barreled into my thighs. “Hey there, buddy.”
He wiggled his big ass, his tail whipping my legs, a little excited bark leaving his jowls every few seconds.
“Looks like he missed you, too,” Cody said, over her shoulder, a bag likely filled with some clothes for Mable to change into.
“Up.” I snapped my fingers.
Brawny took off, then got excited all over again when he saw his person.
“Thanks,” I murmured. “It’s good to see him.”
“Mable will be happy to share custody of him. Come over and see him any time you like.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “You hurt her, I’ll murder you in your sleep. I know every single place that people will never look for your dead body.”
I held my hand out for her bag.
She handed it to me without a word, and I threw it into the floorboard between the two seats.
“I won’t hurt your friend,” I promised as I turned back to her.
“Hold on,” she muttered as she went back inside.
“It’s cold, Brawny,” I heard Mable say. “I think we need to curl up by the fire and rot.”
That actually sounded like a pretty damn good idea.
Mable’s house door slammed, and I looked up to see Cody coming toward us with a box in her hands.
She held it out to me once she got close and said, “Perishable stuff in her fridge. She was going to have chicken fingers tomorrow. Maybe you can make them for her.”
I didn’t bother telling her I couldn’t cook worth a damn.
Instead I said, “I’ll see what I can accomplish.”
“If you keep her fed and watered, she tends to do a little better.” She looked in the car. “Don’t freak out if she tells you crazy things. She doesn’t mean most of them.”
I had a feeling she meant a whole lot more than Cody knew.
“I’ll text you when I get her settled. And get her to update you when she’s feeling up to it.”
“Thanks,” Cody said, her eyes narrowing on me for a few seconds before she turned and walked away.
The trip to my house took twice as long as it usually did, but I didn’t think the snow had much to do with it.
It all had to do with the continuation of Mable’s childhood trauma.
“When I was thirteen, I wanted to go to the homecoming dance,” Mable murmured, holding on to Brawny’s big head.
“Some boy asked me. I got all dressed up and ready to go—by myself, might I add. My stepmother was too busy helping Birdee get ready. So when I get down the stairs because my date arrived with his parents, it’s to find my date putting a corsage on Birdee’s wrist. When I asked what was going on, my stepmother told me to stop talking until they left. ”
Anger surged through me at her words.
“They left, and I got a lecture about how I need to ‘learn my place’ and realize that ‘Birdee is better than me in every way.’”
I had to take the turn into my driveway much slower than I needed to, mostly because I was so angry I wanted to fucking gun it.
“When I was sixteen, my dad bought us both a car. Birdee got a Range Rover. I got a Range Rover, too. But the only difference was that Dad paid for Birdee’s Range Rover.
They put mine on credit. My credit. I had to pay monthly for a car that was impractical.
I would’ve never purchased a Range Rover with a car payment that high.
It ate up my monthly allowance from my trust fund. ”
I pulled up to my house and shut the truck off once I nosed under the carport.
Brawny woofed in happiness, which made me happy.
It was good to have him back here.
Shadow hadn’t looked at me the same since Brawny had left.
If horses could get depression, Shadow definitely had it.
I opened my door and Brawny launched himself over me, his leash handle catching me on the left nut as he went.
I grunted and placed my hand over my balls. “Fuck me.”
“What’s wrong with them?”
I looked over to the woman in my passenger seat with a pained expression on my face as I said, “His leash handle clipped my nut.”
“Oh.” She paused. “He has bad manners still. I thought you fixed them all, but I think you might’ve missed one.”
I snorted out a laugh and got out, my feet sinking into snow.
“So much for a carport,” I grumbled. “What’s the point?”
“You’ll find that garages are way better here,” she said.
“When it’s snowing normally, it’s not a problem.
The carport will do the job you’re intending it for.
But when it’s like this? You’ll get snow all the way up to the front of the carport.
Honestly, sometimes having a cover is more work than it’s worth. ”
I could see that.
“I’m going to unlock the door so you…”
My words trailed off as I followed her into the snow.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“Do you have horses in that barn?”
I smiled. “I do.”
“Brawny loves horses. That’s why he’s over here, isn’t it?”
I trailed after her, matching my strides to hers.
She hugged her arms over her shoulders, and I realized that she had to be fucking freezing. All she had on was a sweatshirt and a beanie.
“Here,” I said as I shucked my jacket. “Put this on.”
“What? No,” she complained, pulling away.
“I have a jacket I change into inside,” I said. “Since we’re here, I’m going to feed them and get them bedded down for the night.”
She reluctantly took the coat, and I helped her zip it up.
It swallowed her whole, and the hem hit just past her knees.
She looked adorable.
“This is awkward.” She laughed, but it sounded completely hollow.
I pulled the hood up over her head, then opened the barn door.
Brawny barked and headed inside, and I could hear Shadow’s happiness upon seeing his friend even from here.
“Get inside,” I urged as a sudden burst of wind felt like it cut straight through my soul.
Snow followed us inside as I shut the barn door behind us.
I wasted no time grabbing the jacket that I rarely ever used and shrugged it on.
“One time, I asked my dad if I could have horses,” Mable mused as she walked right up to Shadow and held out her hand.
When he nuzzled her, she lifted up on her tippy toes and petted him on the side of the face.
“He said no. Years later, Birdee asked, and all of a sudden we had horses. When I asked my dad why he said yes to her, he ‘joked’ and said, ‘because I don’t like you as much.’” She smoothed her hand down Shadow’s neck.
“He immediately said he was joking. But I knew he truly felt that way.”
I got to Shadow’s stall and unlatched it.
He came out all excited, nosing his way around Brawny and Mable.
Mable continued her petting, and I hastily cleaned up the stall and fed Shadow.
When he was done, I let Mable feed him the apple and did the same with the next horse. And the next. And the next.
When I was done, Mable had another round of carrots and apples ready for them all.
“You’re going to spoil them,” I teased.
“I think they’re allowed to be spoiled on special occasions.”
She still hadn’t smiled.
“You know,” I said as I thought about it. “Maybe you don’t have seasonal depression at all. Maybe you only have parental depression. Maybe all you need to do is distance yourself from them completely, and see if your life gets better.”
Mable turned to me. “You think?”
“I think anything is worth a try. And cutting them completely out after this latest stunt with Brawny…” I jerked my head toward the barn door to get her moving. “It might just be the best thing that ever happened to you.”