four
rutledge
Twenty-nine fucking hours later and I was still fuming.
Fucking hung up on me.
Who in the fuck did this chick think she was? For one, she was fucking nuts, she said so herself, so I should only agree, right? But I did my best to keep calm, reel it in, and not go the fuck off at her. That may have had something to do with her voice. It was soft and sweet and a vision of that voice moaning my name as I slowly entered her body might have flown through my head when she had been rambling on. But the bitch hung up on me. Me! So that image had quickly exited my mind.
A gentle breeze causing the house to crumble? What the fuck was she talking about? Had she really looked at the pictures? I mean for fuck’s sake, the structure of the house was built to withstand gale-force winds, fucking category five hurricanes. The paint might be chipping, the railings falling apart, but that house was solid. Not like houses nowadays where they slap up some wood, nail it together, and call it a house.
And a B&B? Jesus. That totally gave me the image of a schoolmarm, a fucking dried up spinster. She was probably one of those crazy cat ladies who knitted fucking sweaters for them, all with their names neatly stitched onto the collars to tell them apart, not that she needed the names because the crazy bitch probably knew every single one of them by sight.
“Fucking hung up on me,” I grumbled to the windshield as I pulled onto Clover Lane. “I’ll show her.”
Grabbing for my cell in the console, I pulled her number up and hit call.
She answered in a question, but I didn’t miss the undertone of annoyance. She knew it was me. “Hello?”
And her tone only added fuel to the fire that’d been raging inside for twenty-nine fucking hours.
“Make it four,” I snapped and hung up.
There was no way I was giving this bitch a chance to hang up on me again. Now the playing field was even. Tossing my cell back onto the console, the first thing that came into sight was the widow’s walk. Sitting far above the matured tree line, it stood out like a beacon, calling you. My heart began to race, then came the pounding, causing pain to radiate in my chest. After that first time, it was where I’d escaped to, crouched in the corner, knees to my chest, only breathing when necessary, as to not make a sound. Sometimes, I’d gripped the balustrade, nails digging into the flesh of the wood, wishing I was far away; a dot on the horizon. Anywhere but here.
I pulled the truck over as the sweat began to bead along my forehead. Breaths coming in pants, numbness crawling through me, keeping me paralyzed in the seat.
It’d never crossed my mind that after all these years that the house would have the same effect on me. Holding me like a prisoner in my own body and mind.
Fuck! I couldn’t do it. In truth, I was grateful to feel numb because it hardened me to the past and kept my ghosts at bay, selling the house was going to stir it all back up again. My hands fisted the steering wheel because I wanted to grab the cell that was just inches from my fingers, tell the woman no deal but that gave my demons power, and I fucking took the power back a long time ago.
Rolling my shoulders, I closed my eyes and took a deep inhale. Slowly, my hand moved from the steering wheel to the shifter.
Progress.
Another deep breath and I put the truck in drive.
I could fucking do this.
Foot off the brake, the truck began to roll and with every creep it took along the desolate street, the hard-earned power slowly returned.
I pulled onto the worn, discolored driveway with cracks so large that the suspension on my truck was taking a beating. Guilt flooded me that I had allowed my grandmother’s place to get into such a state. My eyes scanned the vast area that at one time had been lush lawns, and the memories came rushing back. A white and red checkered blanket laid upon the green, my grandmother blowing bubbles, the ever-present jar of honey she prided herself on, obtaining the honeycomb herself, right from the hive. That honey on her homemade biscuits, fucking heaven on earth. The smile died on my lips because out of the corner of my eye, I saw it.
The numbness began again, starting at my feet, crawling up my body like a snake slithering in the grass. My hands gripped the wheel, my foot slammed on the brake, causing my body to jolt forward. With shaky hands, I pulled the keys from the ignition and fled the truck, like it held all the demons inside me, but it didn’t. It was the decaying, rotting shed that sat in the corner of the property. Taking a few deep breaths of the salty air, I leaned back against the warm metal. As I closed my eyes, the cool October breeze coasted over my dampened skin. A few more deeps breaths. I hadn’t realized how much time had passed when the sound of a car had me quickly opening my eyes. Who knew that disdain and anger were remedies to demons, but my nightmares took a backseat to irritation.
She wasn’t alone. The SUV came to a stop, and when the passenger side door opened, my eyes flew to the woman who exited it. As she folded out of the car, the first thing I noticed was her long wavy hair. She came out from behind the door, and it was her body that took the spotlight. All the visions my brain had conjured about her went up in smoke because she was fucking beautiful. It wasn’t until her gaze hit mine that I had to acknowledge she wasn’t just beautiful, she was stunning. Her light green eyes were like a siren’s call, I couldn’t look away. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t. Her pale skin was flawless was like that of a porcelain doll that sat on top a shelf, untouched and unmarred by hands.
The slamming of the driver’s door had me reluctantly taking my eyes from her beauty. Scanning the guy, he was a big dude, but if she thought to intimidate me, she had another thing coming. My focus returned to her. This couldn’t be the same sassy bitch that I spoke to. She had an air about her; calm, shy, timid and maybe with a splash of sassy laying underneath. This had to be the cat lady’s daughter. What kept me from getting completely behind that idea was the fire in her eyes, and one I recognized since I felt it too.
Annoyance.
She held my stare, and what she felt was written all over her face. So I gave her a slight smirk, knowing damn well she was eye fucking me. Who was I to interrupt? But fuck, I found myself doing the same. Her faded t-shirt stretched across tits that were rather generous given her petite frame, and jeans that fit so snuggly I didn’t need much of an imagination.
When she turned her sights toward the house, I saw the glow in her eyes. I wondered for a second if that’s the same glow they had when she came. As she turned, taking the stone steps one by one, my eyes went to her ass. My hands balled into fists as they itched to feel the curves that filled out the denim.
Wait!
Did she just fucking ignore me?
It was then I realized it was her: the sassy, bitchy, cat lady.
I may just have to teach her who the fucking boss is around here.