Chapter Twenty

Leandra

I rolled over and stretched my aching limbs, fully appreciating the workout they received yesterday during my temporary job as a lumberjack.  Rapidly blinking my eyes as the harsh sun shone in the window and sent beams of hot light upon me, I suddenly realized several things at once.

First of all, no warm man shared my bed, thus leaving me cold and grumpy.  Second, my stomach rumbled in protest at a lack of morning nourishment.  Thirdly, and most important, I stank with an unholy odor somewhat resembling a pig that’s been rolling in its own filth for days.

Not that I’d know what a pig smelled like because I’m a city girl, but still.

Holy shit.  Look at me!  Only living ‘rural life’ for a few days and I’m already using farm animal references.  If Ian and Shorty could see me now, they’d have a total fit teasing the living shit out of me.

Shrugging my shoulders, I scooped up some sexy new Wal-mart clothes along with much needed hygiene products and headed to the bathroom.  No one made a peep to alert me of their presence, so I assumed I had this part of the house all to myself.

Now comes the fun part.  How can I most effectively use my few minutes of shower time before the water gets cold?  After a bit of strategizing, I decided to rinse my body, turn off the water, lather up with soap and shampoo, and then wash it all off.

This was good in theory, but the refreshing stream turned ice cold while I still had conditioner deeply embedded in my scalp.  I decided to shave my legs while I waited for the water heater to kick in and do its job.  Oh, how I missed my luxurious bathroom at home. 

Once all the suds were gone, my hair was combed and thrown into a sophisticated high ponytail, and make-up expertly applied, it was time to start my day.  Fortunately the bathroom had a full length mirror hung behind the door and I could examine my outfit for any flaws.

None at all.  I was fucking perfect.

From the black tennis shoes to the daisy duke jean shorts to the tightly clinging royal blue tank top, everything was flawless.  Sticking up a fist in victory, I sent out a ‘thank you’ to the universe.  You can take Leandra Donahue out of the big fancy city, throw her in desolate farm country, and remove her luxuries, but she still reigns supreme over all she surveys.

“You can take my extravagant living, but you’ll never take my ability to be amazing!”

 Or is it, ‘you can take my life, but you’ll never take my freedom?’  Eh, same difference. 

Clomping down the stairs with the notion of devouring a good breakfast of eggs, toast, and coffee, I was met with a most alarming sight.

Sam’s mother sat regally at the kitchen table as though it was her throne and she waited for a disloyal subject to appear for punishment.

I think I can safely assume that I am the target of her ire.  Lovely.

“Good morning, Leandra,” she stated snidely before I had the chance to speak.  “Please, take a seat.  It’s time we had a little chat.”

Hmm.  I know what this is.  She’s not about to welcome me with open arms and offer up the keys to the kingdom.  I’ve had that exact same expression on my face before I had a ‘sit down’ with someone.  They usually ended up swimming with the fishes.  This ought to be interesting.

I grabbed an apple from a bowl on the table, wiped it on my shirt, and took a large bite before sitting down.  Taking on an air of disinterest, I fully intended to convey that I was not frightened in the least.  Bring it on, Katherine.  Let’s see what you’re made of, honey.

“As you may or may not be aware,” she began in an even tone as though she had practiced this speech a million times in order to make sure everything went her way, “we haven’t had a minute alone to discuss any of the events that have unfolded in the last few days.”

I nodded my head and took another bite.  Where the hell was Sam?  Or Chrissie?  Or even the angry dad in the wheelchair?  Did Katherine plan to have no witnesses lest she have to murder me and bury my body in the backyard?

“You’ve had more than enough opportunity to approach me and show an interest in becoming part of this family.  I was a bit concerned that you might actually want to thrust yourself into the thick of things and brown nose enough to pretend you belonged here.  I half expected you to beg me to teach you Sam’s favorite recipes or show you how he likes his laundry cleaned.  Some half-hearted show of acting like a good wife would normally occur in a situation such as this.”

She held up a hand and waved it around like that would prove her point.  I’m not quite sure what she wanted me to say.

“Your son is a grown man and I am not his maid, Katherine,” I explained slowly and articulately.  “He’s fully capable of doing his own laundry.”

Judging by the way her face turned red, that’s not the response she was looking for.  Excellent.  The woman is clearly not here to counsel me on the ways of the spin cycle or extra fabric softener.  Let’s get to the heart of the matter.

“That’s exactly what I expected coming from you,” she replied, narrowing her eyes in disdain.  “I have no clue what the hell my son sees in you, or why he insisted on bringing you home when there’s obviously no future for your relationship.  Samuel is a decent man.  He’s supposed to be marrying a good woman, taking over the farm, and raising a family.  Not tying himself to some brazen hussy who paints her face like a street walker and wears immoral clothing with the goal of attracting too much attention to herself.  We taught our son better than that.  Better than you.  I’m not sure what type of pull you have over him, but I can promise you that I’ll do my best to break the spell.  This marriage will not last.  My Samuel deserves a good, Christian woman and not a piece of trash.”

Wow.  I think spittle might have flown from her lips as she delivered that passionate speech.

“I’m not sure where all this is coming from,” I stated politely in attempt to calm her down.  Under normal circumstances I would have told her to go fuck herself, but I didn’t have that much experience in ‘meeting the parents’ with prior boyfriends.  Carlos’ mom was in jail, and Shorty’s mother was best friends with mine so I already knew her and she loved me.

“I want the best for my son, Leandra.  You are clearly not it.  Ever since you sauntered into my house and acted like you were better than everyone, I could see the bad influence you’ve projected onto Sam.  He never talked back to his parents, never raised a voice in anger, and certainly never treated us the way that he did yesterday morning.  His life is here in Kansas, not the big city where temptation lurks around every corner.  You have two options.  Either walk away of your own free will, or refuse to leave and I will make things very, very difficult.  Don’t underestimate the power of a righteous woman, Leandra.  You won’t win.”

I raised an eyebrow and forced myself to keep cool.  Don’t underestimate the power of an Irish Mob Boss, Katherine.  There’s nothing I love more than a challenge.  You throw down the gauntlet and I will pick it up with a glimmer in my eyes the likes of which you’ve never seen before.

Opening my mouth with the intention of telling her to suck a giant dick, I was immediately thrown off my game by a quiet voice that spoke up in my defense.

“Mom, why are you speaking to her like that?  She doesn’t deserve to be treated that way.  Leandra is a good person.  I don’t understand what’s going on here.”

Fuck.  If it had been anyone else, I would have told them to walk away and mind their own business.  But I couldn’t do that.  Not with her.

“It’s okay, Chrissie,” I soothed, desperate to keep her out of the middle.  “Katherine and I were just discussing a few things.  No need to worry.”

“There is a need to worry!  I heard the whole conversation and I don’t like it.  Unless there’s some big secret I don’t know about…why would my mom try to break up your marriage, Leandra?”

“She wants Sam to be with a nice girl, Chrissie.  Not someone like me.”

I got up and walked away from the table, out of the kitchen, and out of the house.  Maybe Katherine could see through my act of attempting to fit in here.  Maybe she knew I had a darkened soul tainted by all the acts of violence, selfishness, and greed that I’d perpetrated over the course of doing business in my line of work.  Maybe she just wanted Sam to live under her thumb and be a dutiful son for the rest of his life.

I’m not sure.  But I do know that I have no intention of sticking around and finding out. 

I ignored Chrissie’s shouting of my name and kept walking as far away from the house as possible, brushed off Sam’s strange look when I passed by the barn where he was working, and let go of everything and everyone around me.

The whole point of this cross country road trip was to get away from the stress of my life, regroup, and clear my head.

Had I done that?

Fuck no. 

Instead, I’m confronted with the reality of my bodyguard and his mystery life, which just brings more questions than answers.  Despite my best efforts at some much needed downtime, things are crazier than ever.