Chapter 13 #2
I sputtered with laughter at the thought, and Sarge smiled before saying, “They’re all too sweet to off her, but I imagine they’d enjoy making her life miserable, since she’s spent years trying her best to make theirs harder than they need to be.”
“What has she done to them, and why would she bother?”
“She needs a target to feel good about herself, and my brothers’ wives have all found themselves in the spotlight at one point or another. I’m afraid it’s your turn, sweetie.”
“I’ve gone toe-to-toe with much bigger bullies than that bitch,” I scoffed.
Sarge sighed. “I have a feeling she’s out of her element and too stupid to realize it, but fair warning–she’s tenacious and will stop at nothing to make someone’s life hell when they cross her. Look at how she treats me, and we’ve been divorced for ages.”
“As far as I’m concerned, she’s an annoying little gnat who should be squished if she gets too close again.”
“When we go on our date tomorrow evening, I have no doubt that some of her trashy cronies will report back every detail, which will make her focus on you even more.”
“Why?”
“I’ve been asking myself that since I got out of prison. Every time I showed even the faintest interest in a woman, she’d start sharpening her claws and eventually run them off.”
“Well, I’m not going anywhere but the shower,” I declared. “I am almost positive I smell like fried fish.”
“I’ve got a better way for us to get cleaned up,” Sarge suggested.
“I don’t see a pool around here to jump into.”
“There’s no pool, but there’s a very nice pond that has been calling my name since the sun came out with a vengeance this morning.”
“Is it still as clear and beautiful as it used to be?”
“Wanna go see?”
I bit back my nervousness at the thought of skinny-dipping with Sarge and decided to take the plunge–literally. “Let’s go!”
Luna jumped into the back of the Gator, excited for another adventure, which made me laugh.
“If I had half the energy my dog has, I’d be unstoppable.”
I reached back and scratched her head, laughing when she tilted it to help me find her favorite spot. “She’s a beautiful dog, but I didn’t realize pitties were farm dogs.”
“They’re smart, strong, and loyal, and they can do any job with the right training. Ruckus has taught her more than any of us have, but she’s a great hand. The poor girl takes her protection gig a little too seriously sometimes, and it gets her down, but she bounces back after a few days.”
“What part of her job makes her sad?”
“We grow our own meat, so at least three times a year we harvest chickens. Luna loves the baby chicks and watches over them throughout their lives, visiting the coops with me every night before bed, and then she gets sad when they’re gone.”
“She probably doesn’t understand what’s going on.”
“Probably not, but when we get another round of meat birds, she repeats the entire process again.”
“Poor baby,” I murmured, leaning between the seats to kiss her wide forehead. “You’re just too sweet for your own good, aren’t you?”
“Not many people would say that while their face is inches from a mouth that could do serious damage, especially on a dog that weighs at least ten pounds more than they do.”
“I’m not sure what scale you’re using, but I like it.”
The path through the woods was well worn, which told me they used the area just as much now as they had when I was a kid.
That made sense because the secluded pond–fed by an underground spring–helped irrigate the land.
The pumps the Brick family used for irrigation weren’t running when we arrived, but I knew they would be before dawn and again tomorrow evening for a few hours.
Ma had glossed over the watering schedule, only telling me that Paxton was in charge of irrigation and managed the schedules and machinery like a cranky despot. The way she described him sounded like how someone might describe her–if they had the balls to do such a thing.
Sarge drove us around the pond–which in my opinion was more like a small lake–and parked beside the fishing dock I remembered jumping off as a kid to beat the summer heat.
The dock had changed since I left the Brick farm, but all of those changes were for the better.
Someone had added rails down both sides and even cut out cup holders and several holes sized to fit the handles of fishing poles.
It seemed longer than before, and there was even an addition on the side with a roof for shade and several lounge chairs to relax on.
I was surprised to see a brick platform in the middle that held the remnants of a fire in the box, and I imagined how perfect it would be to sit out here on a chilly fall evening around the fire while listening to the world go to bed for the night.
As if he’d read my mind, Sarge announced, “I’ll bring you out here when it’s too cold to skinny-dip, and we’ll sit around the fire.”
“That sounds wonderful,” I said honestly, considering I was thinking the exact same thing.
“I’ve wanted to bring you out here since that first night we sat together on the porch, but I didn’t want you to think I was some perv just trying to get into your pants.”
“Please,” I scoffed. “If I’d known the pond was still in such great shape, I’d have dragged you out here and done exactly that!”
“Damn. Look at all I’ve missed out on.”
Suddenly, I became a little more daring than usual, and like a child, I blurted, “Last one in the pond is a rotten egg!”
I could hear his heavy footsteps running behind me, echoing around us as we rushed onto the wooden planks of the dock.
I’d already kicked off my shoes and tossed my shirt aside before I was a quarter of the way to the water, and I’d just paused to drop my pants when I realized Sarge was no longer behind me.
I was shimmying my jeans down over my thighs as I looked around for him, and I froze when I saw him standing there with only his boots off, leaning against the rail and watching me hurry to get undressed.
“Don’t mind me, pretty Star. I’ve been accused of much worse things than being a rotten egg, and I’ll gladly take that title if it means I finally get to see you naked.”