Cornflake Chicken and Wine Barrels
Asa
“Fuck, man. How many times do I need to tell you? I don’t know them.”
I press my forearm into the back of his neck with his face pressed against the brick of the building where we followed him. After watching a woman come and go from the address listed on his most recent arrest record, we trailed her and found him. We made our approach here, at a building in a warehouse district in Vienna. Lucky for me, it’s sparse and deserted, making it easy for us to talk to him.
Not that Crew and Grady have done any talking. They’re standing behind me and the last time I glanced back, they looked bored as hell.
Raymond Wallace is a street dealer for a reason—he’s a moron who doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing.
“You were making a delivery last week to those young girls. Who sent you there?” I press harder and listen to him groan.
“Who are you?” he mumbles out the side of his mouth, the rough brick biting into his skin.
“Trust me, you don’t want to know who I am. You tell me your connection to those girls and we can forget we ever met.”
He winces as I pull his forearm farther up his back, but that doesn’t keep him from spitting, “No way. I’ll get killed. Do to me what you want, but it won’t be as bad as I’ll get from my boss.”
I lean in and give more weight on his skinny, squirrely frame. “You don’t get it. I know where you live, I know where you’re hiding out, and if you move, I can find you again. Today was child’s play. I find people—it’s what I do. You flip for me and tell me who sent you there, I won’t call your parole officer. He and I have become buddies and bonded over your drug-peddling ass. You choose.”
“I’ve never seen those girls before.” He tries to appease me.
“You’d better never see them again. Tell me who sent you.”
“This is boring as fuck,” Grady mumbles from behind me. “I need to get home. Are we going to make him talk or what?”
“Give us thirty seconds,” Crew adds, his cool and calm voice laced with a warning. “He’ll be inviting you to Christmas dinner with his boss.”
“They’re getting antsy, Ray. They also don’t mind getting their hands dirty. This is your last chance to talk before I let them at you.”
It’s easy to feel his chest rise and fall with his labored breaths. If he pees himself, I’ll be annoyed as hell.
I push him into the bricks one more time before stepping back. He slumps against the building and holds out a hand to Grady and Crew who have stepped in front of me. “No wait—”
But he doesn’t get a chance to say anymore because Grady wasn’t kidding when he said he was bored. He grabs Raymond by the collar and throws him forward. Landing on his hands and knees with an umph, he falls forward on his face, skidding across the cement.
“Who the fuck sent you,” Grady waits for Raymond to push back up on his hands and knees and then kicks him to the side with his boot, “to peddle that shit,” he kicks him one more time and Raymond lands on his back, “to young girls?” Grady puts a foot to his chest and presses down.
“I wasn’t peddling anything,” Raymond croaks. “I was making a delivery, I wasn’t even supposed to collect money.”
“Who was the delivery from?” Crew demands as he steps forward.
Raymond finally closes his eyes and exhales. “My bud. I work for him on the side. I have a real job, too.”
“I don’t give a shit about your real job.” I glare down at him. “I want to know who sent you to those girls last week.”
“I’m about to get you up and let you spar with my buddy here.” Grady presses harder and motions to Crew. “He’s taken down badasses around the globe with a hand tied behind his back. You talk or I let him at you.”
He groans. “Fuck, okay. His name is Dooley.”
“That’s not a fucking name. Give me a real name,” I assert.
His eyes get wide and he panics. “It’s his name!”
“Where’s his territory?” Crew asks.
“Here and some of Fairfax. Maybe the District.”
Grady pushes off him and steps away. “Get the fuck out of here and don’t ever step outside of the beltway. You ever go that far west again, you’d better be on a fucking plane. And stay away from young girls.”
Raymond rolls to his side and scuffles to his feet. He never looks back and runs around the side of the building.
“I’ve gotta buddy who’s a detective at Fairfax PD. If he’s on the up and up about the location, we might be able to find this guy by his street name,” Crew says.
“I need to find out how this ties into Terry Mosher, the kid who tried to fuck with Levi.” I run my hand through my hair. “I’ve gotta go. Traffic’s gonna be a bitch and I’ve gotta pick up Emma. We have plans tonight.”
Crew looks at me and frowns. “You have plans?”
“With your kids?” Grady confirms with a question.
I glare back. “Can I not have plans?”
“Sure,” Grady gives Crew a look, “but you never have plans.”
Crew crosses his arms and gives me a smirk. “You gonna tell us or do we have to follow you, too?”
I shake my head. “I met a woman and we’re going to her place for dinner.”
Grady furrows his brow. “Where did you meet this woman? You don’t go anywhere that doesn’t have to do with your kids or our work.”
“I changed her tire, but she was on a date. Since she was on a date, I put her out of my head. Then I walked into my kids’ school and there she was.”
“Wait.” Crew drops his arms and he smiles. No, he grins, which is out of character for him. I only ever see him look like this with Addy and Vivi. “She’s one of your kids’ teachers?”
“Counselor,” I correct him with a grimace, as if being with their counselor is better than being with one of their teachers.
“Nice,” Grady drawls and steps forward to slap me on the back. “It’s about time. You’re depressing to look at some days.”
“Fuck you.” I glare at him. He was one of the most ill-tempered people until he met Maya. Now he’s just ill-tempered with the recruits and only mildly-so with me.
“I’ll tell Addy,” Crew says. “She’ll want to meet her. I’m sure she’ll plan a wine thing.”
“She’s got kids,” I add. “We’re both busy. I’m not even sure how it’s going to work with the kids, let alone socializing.”
“Addy’s pregnant,” Crew announces out of the blue. This halts both Grady and me. Crew and Addy lost two babies before they had Vivi. Crew’s mentioned she wanted to try again, but he didn’t want to. “I can’t seem to say no to her. She’s almost twelve weeks.”
I know that doesn’t mean shit. They lost the second one after that, but I offer my hand and mean it when I say, “Happy for you.”
Grady grasps his shoulder and Crew keeps on. “She promised me she’d hand over the daily business to Evan and that’s happening now. So, when I say Addy’s gonna want to meet your counselor, she’s gonna want that to happen soon because I’m about to put her in bed for the next six months and not let her up.”
I smirk. “She’s not my counselor.”
“You should rethink that. You could use a counselor.” Grady deadpans. “Come on, I want to get home. Maya and I haven’t been sleeping for shit. Just when we thought Chloe was sleeping all night, she’s going through a growth spurt and does nothing but eat. Maya’s exhausted.”
We head back to our cars. I’ve got to pick up Emma and think of something to bring to Keelie’s for dinner. After I start up my truck, I pull out my phone.
Me – You drink beer, but do you drink wine?
She hits me back immediately.
Keelie – Does a fish swim?
I smile at my screen.
Me – See you at six with the masses.
Keelie – Saylor told me she’s giving one of her goats to Emma. Be prepared to take one home. This is your last chance to bail.
Me – I don’t have the space for a goat, it’ll have to stay at your place. Just another reason to visit you, so this is your last chance to bail. I don’t want to make a commitment to a goat and not follow through.
Keelie – Well, fuck me. I thought the goat would scare you off.
That, I felt in my dick.
Me – Baby. That mouth.
Yeah, I can’t wait to fuck that mouth.
While I fist her strawberry blonde hair, guiding her every inch of the way.
Keelie – I didn’t realize you were so sensitive.
Me – I’m not. I like your mouth, but we need to switch over to an encrypted app for any more talk about your mouth.
I get nothing. Then I see she’s writing. Then nothing.
Finally, she hits me back.
Keelie – I don’t know anything about encrypted apps.
I grin at my phone.
Me –I’ll teach you.
Moments pass.
Keelie – Asa.
I imagine my name, a whisper across her pink lips.
Me – We’ll talk about that later. See you tonight.
Keelie – Yes. Tonight.
I toss my phone in the console and pull out from between the shitty warehouses to stop by Whitetail and get her some wine. The first thing I’m going to do when I get to her house tonight right after I find a closet to put her in so I can kiss her without her kids seeing, is download an app on her phone where we can talk.
Really talk.
*****
Emma
I’m so tired. I thought I was tired before, but after all the school drama yesterday and dad on my ass asking me every little thing, I didn’t sleep at all last night. The rumor today is that Maggie is suspended and Terry Mosher might be expelled.
The last bell rings and I blink, looking up at the Smart Board. Shit, I glance down at my paper and wonder how long I’ve been zoning. I missed most of the notes again, but I manage to quickly scribble down the assignment.
I throw my stuff in my bag, relieved the day is over. Levi has practice, so I’m stuck waiting for Dad to pick me up. Not that he’s ever late, he’s always on time. But his constant questions make my head spin—I’m sure it’ll be off the charts after yesterday.
I thought living with him would be cool. He’s always been chill and low-key, but there’s nothing laid-back about him now. I’m not looking forward to time alone with him in the car. And worse, he informed Levi and me this morning that we’re going over to Ms. Lockhart’s for dinner.
She’s nice and pretty, so I guess I should be happy for my dad. As far as I know, he’s always been alone. This still doesn’t make me want to go to her house for dinner. I’m dreading it like finals week.
“You okay, Emma?” I look up and realize everyone’s left the class but me, and Mrs. Trudeau is looking at me from the front of the room.
“Yeah, sorry,” I mutter and grab my bag to leave. Just when I wasn’t in a hurry, now I am because I have no desire to talk with anyone, let alone my teachers. They all look at me different lately, and I know it’s my grades. I used to be a straight-A student, but trying to focus now is a monumental task that’s become impossible.
I walk down the hall and there are some stragglers, but it’s mostly cleared out for the day. When I get to my locker, I flip the combination so I can get what I need for the night—not that I have the energy to study. I don’t have the energy for anything lately.
When I reach for my books, there’s a stray piece of paper laying on top. I pick it up, wondering if it might have fallen from a folder, but that’s impossible since I carry everything with me.
When I unfold it, my heart races and I’m frozen in my spot. Standing here, staring at the piece of white paper, there are three sentences typed in plain, boring Times New Roman:
IN CASE YOU WERE GETTING ANY BRIGHT IDEAS, YESTERDAY PROVES WE CAN FUCK WITH YOUR FAMILY. NEXT TIME WE’LL FINISH WHAT WE START. WE’RE WATCHING YOU.
Oh, shit.
*****
Keelie
If I wasn’t so busy I might be nervous, but after hitting the store and tackling the kids’ homework, there hasn’t been time for my nerves to explode into fireworks. We didn’t even get to Saylor’s reading time, she kept putting it off and I’ve had enough to do. She hates sitting long enough to read for just fifteen minutes and we’re in the last quarter of the year. I don’t know what I’m going to do with her.
But the second I hear new voices ring through the house, my nerves ignite like a tiny sparkler. Saylor comes skipping in first, followed by Knox and a very unhappy Emma with her backpack slung over her shoulder.
Emma gives me a forced smile. “Hey, Miz Lockhart.”
I don’t have a chance to respond, because Saylor announces, “I’m gonna show her my room, then Knox’s room, then the playroom, then we’re gonna play with the goats.”
I look down at my bossy daughter. “Baby, you need to let Emma do what she wants to do. She might have homework or want time to herself.”
“It’s okay,” Emma adds.
“See?” Saylor gives me her big eyes telling me she’s right. She thinks she’s always right.
“You just don’t want to read,” Knox points out, sticking it to his sister, and he’s right.
I sigh and wonder if my daughter will be the one to scare off Asa and his kids. “Fine, but after dinner you need to leave her alone if she has to study.”
Emma drops her bag in the family room and follows my kids up the stairs as I hear the door to the garage. And the sparkler sizzling in my belly explodes into a burst of fireworks worthy of Independence Day from having Asa Hollingsworth in my space.
His eyes are on me and their intensity says more than thanks for the dinner invite. I’m not familiar with his eye-speak yet, but I think they’re saying he wants to press me up against things and teach me about encrypted apps. I should welcome him, ask what’s in the enormous box he’s carrying, or give him the pick of all Saylor’s goats to ensure he comes back every day, but I don’t have the chance to do any of this.
He plops the box down on my island and announces, “I didn’t know what you liked, so I got you a case.”
I feel my face crinkle in confusion at the same time I note he’s wearing another pair of old jeans with a t-shirt sporting the logo from the last winter Olympics. He looks so comfortable in his clothes, I could curl into him and take a nap. “A case of what?”
He doesn’t answer, but he proves I was right by moving around the island, and his intent is obvious. I see him look around quickly as he takes my hand and the next thing I know, he’s pulling me into the pantry, shutting us inside. The motion light flickers on the moment his lips touch mine. Just like last night, his tongue delves into my mouth and he tastes of mint and a man capable of changing tires. Fresh excitement stirs inside me, causing me to press into him. His soft beard scratches my face reminding me I’m alive. I’m in a flux of emotions that are nothing short of exhilaration laced with anxiety.
All this, coupled with his big, warm hand sneaking up into the back of my shirt creating tingles on my bare skin, is too much. When he pulls his lips from mine, I’m left wanting more. How can his kiss be too much and not enough at the same time?
He looks over my head and frowns. “Where are we?”
My hands flex on his chest, but I make no move to leave his arms. “What do you mean?”
“Do you have two kitchens?” He looks around but doesn’t let go. His fingers trail up and down my back, teasing my bra strap, making me wonder what he’s going to do next.
I can barely focus on our conversation as I wonder if he’s going to pop my bra. “It’s just the pantry.”
He looks down at me. “Where’s the food?”
I give my head a little shake because I don’t understand why he’s so confused. “In the cabinets. Where else would it be?”
“Keelie.” He gives me a squeeze. “I’m not sure what I expected since the outside of your house is torn to shit and you have a million goats, but you have a microwave, coffee maker, a,” he pauses and cranes his neck to the side before he smirks, “wine refrigerator that’s stocked full of juice boxes, and all kinds of other fancy shit. This looks like another kitchen with as many cabinets as you have in here. You wanna see a pantry, come look at mine. It’s full of cereal, power bars, and protein powder.”
“Oh.” I don’t know what to say other than he needs to branch out at the grocery store. “The main floor was gutted before we moved in. It was done before the budget went to hell.”
He nods like he gets it, and since I’m not at all anxious to delve into my shitty past, I change the subject.
“What did you bring me a case of?”
His arms convulse around me. “Wine.”
I push him away and exclaim, “Why would you bring me a case of wine?”
His shoulder hitches. “Because I didn’t know what you liked. And since fish can swim, I figured you really like wine. I was right since you have a wine refrigerator.” He leans in to kiss me fast and reaches around to his back pocket and shoves a stack of papers in my hand. “Here, I also got you a barrel, but you can’t have it for three years. You can visit it, though. Addy said they’ll burn your name into it.”
“A barrel? And who’s Addy?” I ask, opening the papers that are haphazardly folded. Asa leaves me standing in my pantry and I hear the clinks of bottles hitting marble.
“My buddy’s wife,” he calls from the kitchen. “She owns Whitetail.”
I skim the document outlining my member benefits for the Elite Barrel Membership program at Whitetail Farms Winery. From the looks of it, I get two cases of wine a year for the next three years, unlimited complimentary wine tastings, annual passes to the Harvest Celebration, Grape Stomping, Spring Blooms Celebration, and the list goes on, but I stop reading because Asa comes back in the pantry holding three bottles in each hand.
“Move the kiddie drinks and make room for these.”
I don’t do either. “Why would you do this?”
He looks taken aback. “Do what?”
“This has to be ridiculously expensive and extravagant. One bottle of wine would have been fine.”
His head lists to the side a bit and he shrugs. “I went to get you wine, read about this, and thought you’d like it. It’s no big deal.”
He steps toward my wine refrigerator, but I cut him off. “You have to return it, and do it fast before they burn my name into anything.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because I don’t know you!” I exclaim. “Just because you’ve given me two crazy-intense kisses doesn’t mean you can do things like this. This,” I shake the papers at him, “is not what you bring someone when you come to their house for a dinner of cornflake chicken and Caesar salad. Cornflake chicken, Asa, because it’s one of the five things Saylor will actually eat without throwing a mother-fucking fit and I don’t want her to throw a fit in front of you yet. It’s gonna happen eventually, but it’s ugly, so if I can put that shit off I’m going to. I can’t accept this and feed you cornflake chicken.”
He smirks, still holding all six bottles of wine and steps forward pinning me to the counter where the juice box refrigerator hums away at my ass. Leaning in close, he says against my lips, “When you say fuck, it makes me want to kiss you.”
I try to push him away with the crinkled contract that basically promises me wine and all its accompanying activities for years to come. “Did I mention the Caesar salad is from a bag? All of it. Even the croutons.”
He kisses me and continues to smirk. “We eat food from a box all the time, so a bag is no big deal.”
I feel my body slump. “Asa, please. I can’t accept your barrel of wine.”
“Baby,” he whispers against my lips. “The barrel doesn’t come full of wine. You get it empty. Now move your pretty little ass so I can put these bottles in the fridge for you.”
This is ridiculous. I roll my eyes. “Oh, well, I didn’t know the barrel came empty. That makes it all better.”
He chuckles and I move, because I could stand here all day and argue, but I have a feeling it wouldn’t make a bit of difference. I leave him to rearrange juice boxes and go straight to the island to search for my trusty wine bottle opener. I don’t even look, but grab the first bottle I come into contact with in the box. Asa exits the pantry as I’m pouring myself a glass. I have a feeling I’ll need it since he’s barely been here fifteen minutes and I’m pretty sure he’s just given me a gift worth a lot of money.
He snakes his arm around my waist and leans down to kiss my neck when he murmurs, “I like your pantry.”
I close my eyes to overcome the goosebumps when the doorbell rings.
He lets me go. “That’s Levi. I’ll go let him in. Pour me a glass of that.”
The next thing I know, Asa’s mini-me waltzes into my kitchen. “Hi, Ms. Lockhart. Dinner smells good. I’m starving.”
“Cornflake chicken and Caesar salad,” Asa announces bringing his son up to speed. “Park yourself on the sofa to start your homework before Saylor gets wind you’re here. Once that happens, she’ll talk your ear off.”
Levi looks between his dad and me, shaking his head. “Yeah, this isn’t weird at all.”
Asa barks out a laugh as Levi moves to my family room.
I take a big gulp of wine and look at the clock. It’s only six-thirteen. I guess it’s a good thing I have a case of wine to get me through the night.