Chapter Twenty-Two
Waylon
I help Oakley dress before we go to see if my sister is up. She’s already rattling around the kitchen when we come in. I can tell by the look Oakley sends me that she’s worried she’s up because we were too loud.
“Terry, how did you sleep?”
She doesn’t turn around or reply.
“Terry,” I touch her shoulder, and she jumps and squeals.
“Holy shit, Waylon! Why? Why would you sneak up on me?”
Oakley relaxes beside me.
“Sorry, we thought you…”
“Oh my God! Did my banging around wake you two?”
Oakley smiles at Terry, “No. We were up before…”
“Oh my God! Did you two sleep with one another?”
Oakley reaches out for me as she goes pale.
“Terry, what happens between me and Oakley is between me and Oakley.”
“That means you did! Holy shit! Oakley, you slept with my brother.”
“I…we…I’m…,”
I spin Oakley around and silence her with a kiss before I look back at Terry. “Get used to it, sis.”
Terry rushes over and tries to hug both of us at the same time. “I’m so happy for you two. You all are so perfect together. I’m making pancakes! With fresh strawberries on top!!”
We all finish breakfast and start making plans for the day when there’s a loud knock on the door that brings silence to the three of us.
“I got it!” I move towards the door after grabbing my gun from the side table. Then I put it down when I recognized the person on the other side of the door.
“Landry, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“How old is your sister?”
“Excuse me?” He was on call yesterday when the wreck happened, so maybe the guy is sleep-deprived and out of sorts.
“How old is Teresa?”
I’m shocked for a few minutes by the sheer fact that he just called my sister by her given name. I’ve not heard anyone call her that in…years.
“Land, are you feeling alright, buddy? Do you want to come in for a minute, maybe sit down for a while?”
“I just need you to tell me how old your sister is, Waylon. Can you do that for me? Please.”
“She’s twenty, Land.”
“Son of a fucking bitch! I knew it! I knew she wasn’t twenty-fucking-four.”
“Wait…she told you she was twenty-four?” Oakley comes up beside me to question Landry, and I can’t help but put an arm around her, even if I'm sure she doesn’t look at Land as anything but a friend. I still want him to understand she’s mine.
“Yeah, she did! Actually, at first she told me she was twenty-eight.”
“And you believed her?” I have to choke back a laugh. That explains why he’s been serving them alcohol.
“Yeah. I didn’t think she would lie to me. Where is she? She said she was coming to check on you last time I talked to her.”
“Oh my God! She wasn’t blackmailing you about watering your beer down. You thought we were way older!”
“Watering my beer down? What the hell, Oakley? I’ve never watered my beer down! Wait a minute! She told you I was serving her beer because she caught me watering down my beer?”
She nods slowly with a look of absolute shock on her face.
“Where is she?” Landry all but growls the question out. I back up still with my arm around Oakley so Landry can see…nothing but an empty kitchen.
“Give me a minute, Land. She might have tried to hide in the back.” I finally disconnect from Oakley to go in search of my sister.
When I come back into the room, Oakley looks like she might be trying to defuse a bomb. And I’m about to make it worse.
“Land, it seems my sweet sister has snuck out a window. I suggest you look for her halfway to Mom and Dad’s house. And hurry. She seems to know the jig is up.” I reach out before he can leave. “Don’t make me regret telling you anything, Landry.”
He looks past me to where Oakley is standing and then back at me. “I’ll take care of Teresa, Waylon. Just like you take care of yours.”
I remove my hand and give him a big grin before slapping him on the back. “She takes Cherry Street when she wants to get there fast without being seen.”
He nods, “Thanks, buddy.”
When I turn back around after shutting and locking the door, Oakley is giving me a little smile that lights her eyes and warms my heart. “She’s going to be in so much trouble.”
“Yes, she is.” Especially if Landry gets his hands on her before she gets home.