Chapter 16 #2
I shake my head. “You know everything I do. Bruce was supposed to be here, but he no-showed and he didn’t call.
” I pause to check my phone but hold it up to show her that I have zero missed calls and no text messages.
“We had that argument on Thursday, but I didn’t think he’d take our shit out on the boys.
What if something’s wrong, like really wrong? Like a car accident or a farm mishap?”
Okay, so maybe I sound a bit hysterical because she tilts her head, a bemused smirk on her face. “Is this the part where I get to smack you and tell you ‘get ahold of yourself, woman’? Because I could be in for that.”
I mean-mug at her. “No.”
She fans herself with her hand, holding her hair off her neck.
“Look, I’ma be straight with you. Practice?
It sucked ass and those boys nearly did you in.
We need him. Go get him, beg him if you have to, Allyson.
Hell, beg him on your knees if you have to.
” Her eyes glint with mirth. “Or just drop to your knees and get dicked for shits and giggles if you want to.”
“Michelle!” I hiss, “We just had a fight, he left me high and dry, and I am not doing that with him, anyway. We’re not going there. I’m not going there.”
“No shame in it, Ally,” she says with a shrug.
“I told you, climb that man like a damn tree. Whether you kiss him or smack him when you get there is up to you. But go see him, find out if he’s quitting or if something happened.
Don’t go in blazing double barrels, but don’t let him keep you on a chain either.
You’re too good for that, even for a specimen like him. ”
God, she is hung up on him. Not really. I know she’s ass over teakettle for Michael, but every time she says something flirty or sexy about Bruce, I wanna claim him.
I licked him, he’s mine!
And doesn’t that bring up images that Michelle’s trying to plant in my head.
Me on my knees in front of Bruce, his cock tracing my lips before he tells me to open my mouth. And when I do, he feeds me every inch until my tongue touches his heavy balls. I’d close my mouth, hollow my cheeks, and suck him down.
No. No, I wouldn’t. No, I’m not.
But checking on him sounds like a good plan. Reasonable and safe. Logical, even.
She must be able to see that I agree with her, at least about going to see him, because she asks, “Want me to keep Cooper? We’re going to visit my mother-in-law this afternoon, but I can take him if you need some privacy for this visit.”
Michelle’s mother-in-law has Alzheimer’s and lives in a memory care facility. It stresses her out to take Liam there, always worrying that he’ll confuse his grandmother because she’s thought he was Michael more than once. Another kid tagging along is a recipe for disaster.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll take Cooper with me. A drive to the country will be good for us both.” Even I don’t sound like I believe that.
“And he can be a buffer so you don’t bend over and present your dried up, unused lady bits to Bruce and beg him to go easy on you.” Michelle jumps out of reach, knowing that I was about to slap my hand over her mouth.
“Girl, the shit you say! Do you use that mouth with Michael?” My cheeks are pink, flushed with embarrassment.
She laughs heartily. “Honey, that’s me with a filter.
You should hear the things we say when it’s just the two of us in bed and Liam’s at your place.
Dirty, filthy, sexy things that’d make a porn star blush and cause a sweet, innocent thing to have a heart attack.
” She steps closer and flicks my ear, leaving me in no doubt that I’m the innocent she’s talking about.
I’m not. It’s just been a while. A long while. Like since those post-divorce dates kinda while. But that’s not changing anytime soon.
Cooper’s excited to go for a drive, even though I don’t tell him where we’re going. I want to hedge my bets.
What if we drive by the farm and he’s just sitting on the porch sipping lemonade like missing practice was nothing? Or what if we see his truck, upside down with wheels spinning in the air, along the way?
No, I don’t say a word to Cooper.
But I head toward the Tannen farm by memory, not needing a map or directions even though it’s been so long since I made this drive. I feel like I’m heading straight toward the lion’s den.
There’s been quite a few changes, landmarks I remember gone. Like old man Sampson’s field, the site of our infamous mudding. It’s a pharmacy now, the rough turf replaced by the growth of Great Falls. It stings more than I let on, and I wonder if Bruce realizes.
Bruce. If he’s okay, I’m walking right into a trap, admitting that I need him, that the team needs him. Will he hold it over my head? Take delight in leaving me to fail?
I don’t want to think he’s that cruel, but I’m not sure.
The moment of truth arrives too soon, and I pull into the open gate at the Tannen farm. Except the metal arch says Bennett Ranch now. It tugs at something deep in me I didn’t even know existed. A bit of nostalgic sentimentality, a touch of sadness at the way things change.
I pull up to the house, and the front door opens.
A tall, dark-haired guy steps out cautiously. He could probably be described as handsome, but there’s something cold and scary about him, like without even knowing who’s come onto the property, he’s already half-planned your burial site on the back forty.
A thin, honey-brown-haired woman dips under his crossed arms, smiling at the car and waving like she was expecting us.
The two welcomes couldn’t be any more diametrically different.
I blink and realize who they are. Brody and Shayanne. Older versions of the people I used to know, but I can see it now.
“Uh, stay in the car for a second, baby. Let me talk to these folks real quick.” I unbuckle my seatbelt, eyes locked on Brody.
“Who are they?” Cooper asks from the backseat, trying to lift up to see over the edge of the door.
“Old friends,” I say, praying that’s true.
I get out slowly, approaching cautiously like they might attack me. I hate moving like this, willing myself invisible and non-threatening, but it seems to settle Brody a bit.
“What do you want?” he barks from the porch.
Shay smacks his chest with the back of her hand. “Ignore my rude brother. He’s Brody, I’m Shayanne, and you are . . . ?” She trails off, waiting for me to finish the introductions. She was so young the last time I saw her. I guess she doesn’t remember me.
“I know who you are,” Brody growls. Apparently, that’s a family trait, as is the ‘fuck you’ stare that makes me shrink from several yards away. “What are you doing here, Allyson?”
I swallow, my throat constricted tight with nerves.
Absently, my fingers do a trick my therapist taught me to use when I feel anxious.
I tap my thumb with each finger . . . 1, 2, 3, 4 .
. . and then in repeating patterns . . .
index, ring, middle, pinky, and then reverse the whole thing.
It’s a little thing, but it helps focus me, helps me feel in control of something.
“Bruce didn’t come to practice this morning. We were . . .” I breathe deeply and try again. “I was worried because I didn’t hear from him.”
Shayanne’s smile is huge and bright. “Oh, you’re the mom coach!
Dumb ass probably forgot to text you. He’s been helping me this morning, you see.
I had a bit of a goat milk soap emergency and it was all hands on deck.
” She talks fast, one word on top of the last, and the energy coming off her is more than I could get from a double espresso.
But I still have no idea what’s going on or why Bruce no-showed.
“Goat milk soap . . . emergency?” I ask in confusion.
She nods and taps her nose. “You got it.”
I don’t have it. Goats can have emergencies? Or was it the milk that was the emergency? Or the soap? And what would be a soap emergency, anyway?
I am so lost, so I stick to what I do know.
“Could you point me toward Bruce? I thought I’d better touch base with him before Tuesday’s practice.”
You know, to see if he’s even going to come or if this so-called ‘soap emergency’ is going to keep him tied up? The least he could do is come up with something believable.
Brody grunts again, his dark eyes narrowed as they scan me. “I’ll take you to him. On one condition.”
I nod, because what am I gonna do . . . say no?
“Don’t fucking hurt him again. We got more than enough shit on our plate and don’t need to add your fucking him over to it.” His thick finger points at me threateningly, his lips curled.
Familiar. So fucking familiar.
My jaw drops in shock as a shiver of recognition runs through me, but I straighten my spine and talk back just as forcefully. “It seems that was a bit of a misunderstanding. We hurt each other.”
He scoffs, and Shay’s eyes are ping-ponging between us like we’re a tennis match, a grin spreading on her energetic face.
“Damn, girl. Not many folks bite back at Brody. I like you already.” She hooks her elbow through mine, pulling me along with her, and I follow even though I have no idea where she’s taking me. She’s preferable to Brody, at least. “What’d you say your name is again?”
“Allyson. Allyson Meyers. We met several times when you were little, used to have dinner with your family,” I explain.
Shay’s eyes flicker. “That was a long time ago then, wasn’t it?” I can see that she still feels the loss of her mom and dad, and I hate that I carelessly brought it up. I’m just distracted . . . by Bruce’s MIA routine, by Brody’s glare, by my own heart’s racing.
I call out to Cooper, and he steps out of the car, looking at me for guidance. “Honey, this is Brody Tannen and Shayanne Tannen. They’re Bruce’s brother and sister.”
Brody’s eyes go downright black as coal, burning me with questions.
I hadn’t considered that he might be confused by Cooper’s appearance and jump to the wrong conclusion.
“Brody, Shayanne, this is my son, Cooper Meyers.” As Brody shakes Cooper’s hand, I give the slightest shake of my head and Brody visibly relaxes, the coiled tension in his muscles dissipating the tiniest bit.
Shayanne’s all smiles, though. “Well, hey there, Cooper! Wanna see some goats?”
He looks to me for permission, and when I smile, his excitement bubbles up. “Yes, ma’am!”
So I guess we’re going to see goats, and hopefully, Bruce.