Chapter Ten
Hollis
I had to call a glazier from the city to come fix the glass in the greenhouse and the warehouse. There was only one company in Silver Valley that could do the work, but it was owned by a Clancy family member so I knew there was no way they would come to my farm to do the repairs.
After the blowjob Eddie gave me to cheer me up, I felt blissfully relaxed. I’d sucked him off as well and he seemed to especially like when I’d used my fingers to hit the spot inside of him that practically made him purr.
We worked quietly until lunchtime and then dined together on soup and sandwiches. It had become our ritual, and I liked the comfortable familiarity of having a routine with Eddie.
After lunch, the glazier showed up and I told Eddie he could cut out early for the day. He’d mentioned an errand he still needed to run, and he hadn’t gotten to the courthouse that morning because of helping Harris.
The glazier took his measurements and told me he’d call me to schedule an installation appointment. When he was gone, I went up to put Jada in the house. I needed to run to the store for milk.
I’d contemplated going to the next town to get it, but it seemed ridiculous to drive all that way for a gallon of milk. I told myself that perhaps Mavis would be out. I wasn’t sure if Bud York disliked me or not because he never said a word to me. That was fine by me. I’d rather be ignored that harangued.
I parked as close to York’s entrance as possible so that I could get in and out quickly. My teeth ground together as I forced myself to walk through the door. Perhaps, I thought, I should have just gone without milk.
When I was passing the frozen foods to get to the refrigerated section, I saw something that made my blood boil. Colton Clancy, Mead’s teenage son, and his punk friends had Eddie backed against a freezer case. They were harassing him about something.
I didn’t wait to hear what it was about, but instead stepped into the fray and put my arm protectively around Eddie’s waist. “I know your father raised you better than this,” I said to Colton as I looked him dead in the eye. “How about we go over to his office and ask him what he thinks about you and your little friends here backing an Omega into a corner and harassing him.”
“There… There’s no need for that.” Colton went from menacing to scared little kid in two seconds.
At fifteen, I knew Colton was just starting to find his identity. It seemed that he’d gotten himself wrapped up with some bad seeds. Whether Mead and I were close or not, I knew that Colton’s father wouldn’t stand for his son harassing an Omega.
“Let’s get out of here,” one of the other boys said.
“Good. That’s a good idea,” I said. “I’ll walk you out just to make sure you don’t get lost along the way.”
I followed the group of boys to the doors of the store. Bud York gave me a nod and a half-smile that told me he appreciated the assistance. As I’d hoped, Mavis was nowhere to be seen.
One thing I noticed as the boys walked out to the parking lot was the truck they all got into. I’d missed it when I drove in. They all piled into a black pickup truck with a license plate that matched the one I’d seen the other night. I snapped a few photos of it with my phone, and even got one of the kid driving giving me the finger out the window.
I told myself that I’d show the pictures to Bran Tyler and file another report, but I knew that wasn’t going to do any good. At least I knew who the sheriff was protecting.
After watching the teenage punks who had damaged my property and harassed my Omega drive off, I went back into York’s to stay with Eddie while he finished shopping. It wasn’t until later that it occurred to me that I’d begun to think of him as my Omega.
“Why were they bothering you?” I asked as I helped Eddie put his groceries in the car.
“It’s nothing,” he said quietly. “Don’t worry about it, please.”
“Okay, now I can’t help but worry,” I said. “Please tell me what’s going on.”
“It was about you and me,” he said. “They were harassing me about being with you. They said that they couldn’t believe I was fucking the town freak.”
“How would they even know what was going on between us?”
“This morning I went into the drugstore to get Plan B, you know, because the condom broke. I thought it was the thing to do. I’m sorry that I didn’t talk to you first. But I guess that doesn’t really matter,” Eddie said and swallowed hard. “The pharmacist refused to sell it to me.”
I could feel the blood rush to my face. My hands clenched into fists. “He refused to sell it to you?” The words ground out of my mouth like broken glass.
“Yeah. He said they didn’t have any, but I could see it on the shelf. He told me to leave or he would call the police,” Eddie said and looked at the ground. “I’m so sorry, Hollis. Are you mad that I was going to take it?”
“Wait here,” I said.
I stormed into the drugstore and marched back to the pharmacy counter. The pharmacist paled when he saw me. I didn’t even have to tell him what I wanted. He turned around, took a box of Plan B off the shelf, and put it on the counter. I slammed down the money and left with the box.
When I got back outside, Eddie was shaking and looked near tears. I put the box in his hands.
“I’m not mad at you for making decisions about your body, Eddie. I support you no matter what, and no one should treat you the way that pharmacist did. You have every right to buy those pills.”
I wasn’t sure what Eddie was going to do, and I was surprised when he threw his arms around me and kissed me hard. For a moment, I thought about pushing him away. Eddie was already suffering because of his relationship with me.
Instead, I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him back. I decided the best way to protect Eddie was to claim him as mine publicly. People in Silver Valley had gone from hating me to fearing me instead, so I’d made up my mind to use that to my advantage.