Chapter 5
Country
When Kiersten said her stuff was the best around, she wasn’t kidding.
I hadn’t smoked pot in years, but when I did, I smoked the hell out of it.
I acquired the habit when my grandfather got cancer.
He’d shared a bit of his medical marijuana with me from time to time, and I liked the feeling.
I actually liked it a little too much, so I knew first hand Kiersten’s shit was the real deal and had me thinking I might pick up the habit again.
I’d never felt so mellow—like I was dreaming but I was wide awake.
Everything had stilled, and for the first time in months, I could actually just sit and breathe without feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders.
It was a good feeling—a really good feeling.
I looked down at the fire and watched as the flames danced and flickered about, and before I realized what I was doing, I started mumbling the song Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash.
After a few lines, I looked over to my brothers who were also feeling the effects of Kiersten’s powerful marijuana.
They were all leaning back in their chairs, silently studying the fire like they didn’t have a care in the world.
I, on the other hand, had a hundred thoughts running through my head which led me to ask, “Y’all ever wonder why Viper doesn’t have an ol’ lady?”
Each of them shrugged and grumbled, but none gave a real answer. Unable to just let it go, I took another drag, then said, “I mean, I’m no expert, but I wouldn’t think a man like him would have any trouble snagging himself a woman.”
Still nothing from the guys, so I just kept at it. “Maybe it’s the whole running the club stuff. It’s gotta be tough dealing with all the bullshit, and we don’t make it any easier on the guy.”
“You seem awfully concerned about Prez and his fucking love life,” Hawk grumbled.
“Only cause I care.” I shrugged as I told him, “I mean, come on. Pappa Bear needs love, too.”
“Don’t gotta worry about Prez, brother.” Menace sounded sure of himself when he said, “If he wanted an ol’ lady, he’d have one.”
“No doubt,” Hawk mumbled. “Chicks are all over him at the club.”
Rafe looked down at his joint and studied it for a moment. “I gotta say, this is some pretty good shit right here.”
“It’s one of our most popular hybrid blends,” Kiersten replied proudly.
“Hybrid?”
“You’ve got three types of cannabis... sativa, indica, and hybrid, and they each have a different effect.”
Rafe looked down at his joint with confusion. “Different how?”
“Sativa gives ya boost for workouts and shit like that, but indica is more of a chill kind of weed,” I answered. “Almost like a sedative or something. Keeps you calm and relaxed, and hybrids are basically mix of the two.”
“Holy shit. This must be better than I thought.” Hawk shook his head and laughed. “Country actually sounded like he knows what he’s talking about.”
“Fuck you, brother.”
The guys snickered and made their side comments, but Kiersten didn’t join in. Instead, she waited until they grew quiet, then smiled and said, “I’m impressed. Most people don’t know about the different types of weed. Most just want to feel the high and move on.”
“I learned a thing or two from my grandfather.”
Maybe it was just the pot talking, but there was something about the way she smiled at me that got me right in the gut.
I held her gaze for a moment, soaking her in as long as I could without the others noticing, then quickly turned my attention back to the fire.
Damn. It had been a long time since a woman had gotten to me like she did, and I had no fucking clue what I was going to do about it.
For now, I just had to bide my time and pray the feeling would fade with time.
I don’t know how long I’d been staring at that fire when Rafe, who was feeling all kinds of good, said, “I’m gonna learn to play the guitar...
Been wanting to since I was a kid, but just kept putting it off.
Yep. I’m gonna get me a guitar, and I’m gonna start learning to play. ”
“Hope that doesn’t mean you’re gonna start singing, too,” Hawk grumbled. “Don’t think my ears could take it.”
“Nah, I’ll leave the singing to Country.”
“Awe, that outta be good.”
“Yeah,” I chuckled. “Rafe couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, but I stay one step away from stardom.”
“Oh, good Lord.” Hawk grumbled with a shake of his head. “You two are gonna drinking me to drinking.”
I gave him a nudge with my elbow as I asked, “Isn’t that the point?”
“You two already drive us all to drinking. Don’t need you adding guitar playing and singing to the mix.”
“You gotta be kidding me.” Rafe threw up his hands. “We could be the next Willie Nelson and Waylon Jenningson or Brooks and Dunn.”
“Nope. Never gonna happen.”
“Still gonna get me a guitar,” Rafe argued. “I’m gonna learn to play, and then I’m taking Delilah down to Mexico. We’ll sit on the beach and have a few drinks while I play my gee-tar.”
“Poor girl doesn’t stand a chance,” Menace teased, then stood and tossed his empty beer bottle into the trash. “It’s been fun, boys, but I’m gonna call it a night.”
“Seriously?” I fussed. “It’s not even ten o’clock.”
“I need to call and check in with Parker.”
“Ah, yeah.” Rafe chuckled as he teased, “He’s still in that puppy love stage where he’s gotta check in with his ol’ lady every five minutes.”
“Might do you good to do the same.”
“Don’t worry about me, old man. Me and my woman are just fine.”
“Don’t be too hard on him, brother.” A smirk crossed his face as Rafe poked, “Our boy here is just getting too old to hang with us like he used to.”
“Not too old, smartass. Just gotta limit my time with you people to small doses.” Menace gave us both a look as he said, “It’s the only way I can keep my sanity.”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, boss.”
“Keep running that mouth, brother, and see what it gets ya,” Menace warned as he turned and started back to the guest quarters.
“After all that, I think I’m gonna call it a night, too,” Hawk announced as he stood up. “And don’t give me any mouth about it, either.”
“Who? Us?”
“You two need some help?” Before getting out of earshot, he shouted over his shoulder, “Thanks for dinner, Kiersten. We’ll be ready to roll first thing in the morning.”
“Sounds good,” she shouted in return. “Sleep well!”
Once they both went into the house, Rafe looked over to Kiersten, and then to me. I was worried he was about to say something about us hooking up, but instead, he simply stood and said, “I’m starving... Are there any leftovers from dinner?”
“There’s tons.” Kiersten pointed to the church’s kitchen back door. “It’s all in the fridge.”
“Awesome.”
Moments later, Rafe disappeared into the kitchen, leaving me and Kiersten alone at the fire. I was still feeling the effects of the marijuana when I glanced over to her and said, “You know, you did good tonight.”
“Oh? And how’s that?”
“By coming clean with the guys.” Even high, I knew better than to say too much, so I simply told her, “I think it was a step in the right direction.”
“I hope so.” She studied me for a moment, then asked, “Was I right when I said I didn’t do anything you and your brothers wouldn’t have done if you were in my shoes.”
“Can’t say for sure, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.”
“I thought so.” She shrugged. “I just hope I didn’t go to all that trouble for nothing.”
“Only time will tell.” Seeing the worried look in her eyes made me ask, “So what makes a girl like you decide to start up a marijuana farm.”
“A girl like me?”
“Your beautiful and smart with a good head on your shoulders.” Her gorgeous eyes were locked on mine as I continued, “I know your father does well, so it’s not like you’re doing it for the money.”
“Money has nothing to do with it.” She turned her focus to the fire, and the flames illuminated her face with an angelic glow.
Once again, I was mesmerized by how beautiful she was.
The tone in her voice changed from light-hearted and free to strained and full of anguish.
“I hadn’t planned on doing this. I went to college thinking I would study botany or biochemistry and I’d make some amazing discovery that would change the world, but I lost interest in saving the world when I discovered what my father was doing. ”
“So, you know?”
“Not everything, but I know enough.” She brushed her hair out of her face and turned to look at me as she said, “I’d always thought he was this great man who could do no wrong. I always thought he’d love me and protect me from the evil in the world. Instead, he brought it into our home.”
The girl who seemed to be so strong and had it all together wasn’t as tough as she tried to make us all think.
I knew it might’ve just been the effects of the pot, but I liked the fact that she’d given me a glimpse of her vulnerable side.
Hoping she might open up a little more, I asked, “How did you find out?”
“I heard a noise, I went to check it out, and I saw things that I never should’ve seen—which would’ve never happened if Dad hadn’t forgotten to shut a door.
If he just kept it closed, I would’ve never known he wasn’t the man I thought he was.
” She shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong. I love my father.
I really do, but I grew up thinking he was this great man who wouldn’t hurt a fly.
I was wrong. He thinks I’m just a college student studying to be a biochemist. Turns out he’s wrong, too. ”
“So, you decided to grow pot as a way of getting back at your father.”