Chapter 22
I go outside to the stables to find Dalton, but instead I find one of the other bunkhouse boys. “Ma’am,” he lifts off his hat and smiles at me playfully.
“Where’s Dalton?” I ask, searching around for him.
“Day off. Name’s Tate,” He extends his hand to me, and when I take it, his strong grip almost crushes my bones.
“I need you to give me a ride to the Mayor’s house,” I order, and when he raises his eyebrows at me, I realize I may have spoken a little too harshly.
“Please,” I add, none of this is his fault.
I just hate being kept in the dark. Wade was gonna kill that boy last night, I saw it in his eyes, and today he’s cracking jokes.
Even Garrett seemed in a good mood, and he’s never in a good mood.
I need answers, and since Leia Walker is now the closest thing I have to a friend in this weird-as-fuck town, it’s her that I’m gonna go to.
“Well, since you asked so nicely…” he shakes his head and laughs to himself as he passes me and steps out onto the yard. I follow him, and get into the passenger seat of the truck he climbs into.
Tate drops me off at the gates, and after he drives off, I realize I probably should have asked him to wait. I tried calling Leia on the way over here, but she didn't pick up, and when I walk past the staff ,who are scrubbing the blood off the fountain, to knock on the door, I hope she’s in.
The door opens, and I’m taken off guard by the 6ft tall silver fox, who answers it.
“Mr. Mayor,” I drop my knee to curtsey, and instantly feel foolish when I realize that isn’t his actual name.
“Maisie Wildman,” knitting his brows together, he studies me hard.
“I remember you from the wedding.” He opens the door wider so I can step inside.
“Your mother said you would probably be calling around. Glad to see you’re settling in.
” I look over my shoulder at the fountain and wonder if he’s going to mention it.
“Leia,” he calls out for his daughter, and when she appears from the living room she looks nothing like I expected her to.
I imagined she’d be a mess; almost being raped is a big deal, and I can’t imagine her head’s feeling all that clear either.
Yet she stands in front of me, dressed in a blue dress that finishes respectively at her knees, with her hair pinned up in a pleat.
“I’ll leave you girls to it. We leave in ten, sweetheart,” he reminds her, stepping away into the room I guess is his office.
“What the hell?” I grab her by her arm and drag her into the living room. “Are you ok?” Searching her over, I look for any evidence of last night’s trauma. I’m really starting to think I imagined it.
“Of course I’m not ok,” her eyes fill up with tears and as sad as it is, I can’t help feeling relieved that I’m not going crazy.
“Does he know?” I look over my shoulder, toward her father’s office.
“Yeah, Wade and him talked before he left here this morning.”
“Wait, Wade stayed here last night?” I don’t why I’m so shocked by that. Wade was never gonna leave her.
“He slept on the floor. We’re just friends.” She passes it off as no big deal, but I know that, to Wade, it’s much more than that.
“Do you know what happened to Tyler?” I ask.
“I was gonna ask you the same thing. I take it from the state of outside that Wade got to him?”
“Wade nearly killed him. Garrett had him taken somewhere by those guys with the tattoos.”
“Noah,” she corrects me.
“No, not him, he stayed behind. The other two took him.”
“That’ll be Sawyer and Zayne.”
“Yeah, about them, who the hell are they? Garrett and Wade seem to have some kind of control over them.”
“They don’t control them. No one controls the River Boys,” she shakes her head.
“The River Boys, that’s what they call themselves?” I try not to laugh. What the hell is this place?
“No, people call them that, and no one fucks with them. Not even your brothers. They just all seem to have a mutual respect for each other.”
“They’re not my brothers,” I snap. If they were, it would make the fact I constantly think about Garrett’s hands on me, really wrong.
“Whatever, all you need to know is that Wade won’t be in any trouble,” she assures me, and when I hear footsteps come from behind me, I turn around and face Mr. Walker.
“Maisie, will you be riding with us to church?” He buttons up his suit jacket and looks up at me, expectantly.
“Church?”
“Of course she’s coming with us, Daddy,” Leia answers for me, linking her arm to mine and smiling sweetly. He turns around and heads for the door, and she leans in a little closer. “If I’m going down, you're coming with me,” she smiles.
Mr. Walker makes polite conversation as he drives us to church and yet there is still no mention of what happened last night.
I’m really not dressed for church. Ripped jeans and a top that shows off half my midriff hardly seem appropriate, but when we pull up at the chapel and head inside, I figure it’s too late to worry about that.
Mr. Walker opens the door for me and flashes me a handsome smile before I step into the chapel, and I’m surprised to see that it’s full.
Who knew that the people of Fork River were so religious?
I follow Leia up the aisle, straight to the front, and when I glance to my left and see all three Carson brothers sitting on the opposite pew, my knees almost buckle with shock.
Garrett does a double-take when he sees me and keeps a stern look on his face as he focuses back at the priest, standing at the altar.
I never had the Carsons down as religious men, and throughout the whole service I feel him side-glancing at me.
When the organ starts to play, Wade sings loud and unashamedly, without the need of a hymn book.
While Cole and Garrett’s lips barely move, and I take it all in, wondering how everyone can act so normal.
After the service is over everyone congregates on the lawn outside, and I watch all three Carsons step out of the church doors, and place their hats back on their heads.
Cole takes off first, heading to where his truck is parked on the other side of the street, while Wade and Garrett make a beeline toward us.
“Mayor Walker,” Wade lifts his hat, like he’s seeing him for the first time today, and I want to scream. Garrett must sense it because he wraps his hand around my arm and pulls me tighter to his body.
“We best be on our way,” he excuses us, and despite wanting to protest, I don’t pull away.
“Tell your father I said hello.” Mayor Walker nods at Garrett, before looking at me.
“And to your mother, of course.” I wonder if she’s already lined him up to be her next victim.
He’s younger than Bill, presumably richer, and he holds a much higher status.
I know Leia has a mother. I saw her at the wedding, but I haven’t seen any signs of her since.
My mother’s never let a simple problem, like a wife, stop her before.
I play my part in this little charade and smile back at him.
“Of course, and thank you for the ride.” I nod politely and let Garrett lead me away.
When we get to Garrett’s truck he opens the door for me, and I can tell by the way he slams it shut once I’m in, that he’s pissed.
“What the fuck were you thinkin’, leaving the ranch without tellin’ me?” He growls, once he’s in the driver’s seat. I can sense the heat coming off him, and I know I shouldn’t make him any angrier but, fuck it.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I thought we lived under the premise of not telling each other what’s going on,” I bite back sarcastically. “How about you tell me what the hell happened last night, and then we can get on to the subject of why I need your permission to do anything?”
“You were there, you saw what happened,” he says impatiently.
“I saw Wade nearly kill someone.” The fact he isn’t seeing that as a big deal scares me.
“Yeah, well that weren't anythin’ that someone didn’t deserve.” Garrett can’t look me in the eye.
“Is he… dead?” I question, wondering if that’s the reason why.
“No, the River Boys took care of it.”
“The River Boys, and what exactly is it that the River Boys do?” I cross my arms and wait for an explanation.
“They do what they're told,” he shrugs, and I try my best not to be distracted by how hot he looks driving and focus on what’s important.
“See, I’ve heard different. I heard that…”
“It’s a small town, you’re gonna hear a lot, but that don’t mean it’s the truth.” He cuts me off. And then comes the silence.
“How did you get there so fast?” I ask the same question I did last night. The one he avoided, and when he slows down and pulls over, he looks really pissed off that I’m asking him again.
“Does it really fuckin’ matter?” He shakes his head at me, like I’m exhausting him.
“Yes.” I stare right back, he’s as handsome as he is intimidating, and I can’t help wondering if he’ll give in to what we have between us, before I leave for L.A.
“I got there fast…” he closes his eyes, and for a second, I don’t think he’s gonna finish.
“I got there fast… because I never left,” his nostrils flare, and his forehead furrows, like he’s mad at himself.
“That makes no sense.”
“I parked around the corner because I wanted to be close just in case anythin’ happened, which it turns out, was a pretty good fuckin’ call,”
“Why?” It’s a simple question, but it seems a hopeless one. I already know he’s not gonna give me an honest answer.
“Because… because I care. Alright, ya happy now? What happened to her could have happened to you, and the thought of that…”
“Thank you.” I put him out of his misery when I see him struggling, and reaching across the seat between us, I take his hand in mine and bring it to my lips. Slowly I kiss his rough, broken knuckles, and he closes his eyes again like I'm causing him pain, rather than showing tenderness.
“The River Boys do the Mayor’s dirty work, and sometimes our paths cross. We have a shared interest in this town, and when it comes to lowlife’s like Tyler Phillips, we help each other out. There’s a history between us, and they respect it.”
“Ok,” I don’t press him for more because I sense what he’s just told me has cost him enough pride, but as he turns his head and re-starts the engine, I promise myself that I’ll find out what that history is.
“So church, huh?” I feel the smirk pull on my face as he pulls back onto the road,
“It’s good to keep up appearances,” he points out.
“A Mayor who needs three hot guys to do his dirty work, turning up to church on a Sunday, all seems a little corrupt to me.”
“Darlin’, this whole town’s corrupt.” Garrett lets out a deep-throated laugh, and the half smile he makes, has my stomach doing that weird, flippy thing again.