“I’ll go with you,” Jessie responded, getting up.
Cary turned to watch them go, glancing toward the door and finding Justin gone. He quickly scanned the dance floor and bar, but couldn’t locate him.
When the girls got to the entryway, they turned down the hall toward the restrooms.
“Oh, wait. I don’t have my purse,” Summer said, coming to a stop.
“You didn’t have one,” Jessie informed her.
“I did. I must have left it out in the truck. I guess I’ll need to get the keys from your dad.”
“Dad never locks the truck, Summer.”
“Oh, okay. You keep our place in line. I’ll be back in a second.” She moved toward the door, went out onto the dark porch and down the steps. She was crossing the gravel, when she heard a voice. “Hey, darlin’. You not speaking to me anymore?”
Summer whirled around and saw the glow of a cigarette in the shadows next to the porch. And then a man stepped into the pool of light. “Justin. You scared me,” she gasped, her hand over her heart. “I didn’t see you standing there.”
“Sorry, sweetheart. I was just out here havin’ a smoke.” His eyes traveled over her, and he emitted a low whistle. “You sure are lookin’ pretty tonight, Summer.”
“Why, thank you, sir.”
“I didn’t know you were here. Are you alone?” he asked, tossing the cigarette into the night.
“No, no. I’m here with Steve, Cary, Jessie, and Pop. We came up to have dinner.”
“I see,” he said, turning to look back at the roadhouse. “Are you leaving so soon?”
“Oh, no. I was just going to get my purse. I left it in the truck.”
“I’ll walk you.” They walked across the gravel lot, until they came to the truck. She caught her high heel on a large piece of gravel and stumbled, falling against Justin. He reached up and caught her arm to steady her. “You okay, darlin’?”
“Yes, it’s just these shoes. They’re not exactly made for walking on gravel.”
“They sure do look good on you, though.” He grinned.
“Thanks.” She smiled back at him.
“Hey, your brownies sure were good. I shared some with Billy.”
“Billy?”
“Yeah. He’s a high school kid that comes in the afternoon and helps me. He’s in a work/study program, taking auto-shop.”
“Well, it’s nice of you to do that. Mentor him, teach him the trade.”
“Does that mean I’m scoring some points here with you, then?” he teased.
“Maybe.” She couldn’t help but smile back.
“Well, maybe I could give you a ride home,” he suggested, taking a step closer to her. He picked up her hand and kissed it.
“Summer!” She heard Steve’s voice calling her from a distance. “You out here? You forgot the keys-” He came around the side of the truck, his eyes sweeping over them.
“Steve,” Summer whispered, stepping back from Justin.
“Get your hands off her,” he growled at Justin.
Justin released her hand, but stepped between her and Steve. “Or what?”
“Stay away from her. You understand me?” Steve came toward him.
“She’s a grown woman. I guess she can talk to whoever the hell she wants, Steve.” Steve shoved past Justin, took her by the hand, and moved to take her back inside. “You’re not married to this one,” Justin called after him.
Steve whirled around and threw a punch, connecting with Justin’s jaw, and knocking him to the ground.
“Steve! Stop!” Summer cried, stunned by his behavior.
“You son-of-a-bitch,” Justin growled, spitting blood, and rubbing his jaw.
Steve stood over him. “I’m not gonna fuckin’ tell you again, Morgan. Stay the hell away from her.” Justin just stared up at him. Steve turned and grabbing Summer by the hand, pulled her back across the parking lot, up the steps, across the porch, through the door, into the bar, and straight out onto the dance floor. He pulled her into his arms.
She tried to struggle for a minute, but with everyone watching, she didn’t want to make a big scene.
“I thought I told you to stay away from him?”
“Steve, we just ran into each other when I walked outside. He walked me to the truck.”
“I would have walked you to the truck, Summer. Jessie told me you’d gone out there. She was worried when you hadn’t come back.”
“Steve, what’s this about? This animosity between you and Justin-”
“Nothing. This goes back a long way. It has nothing to do with you. I just don’t like the guy.” Summer just stared off, not saying anything. Steve clenched his jaw.
“Maybe you should just take be home.”
He blew out a breath. “I’m sorry, Summer. It’s not you I’m angry with. I just can’t stand the guy. I don’t mean to take it out on you.”
“Can we sit down now?” she asked stiffly.
He nodded.
They went back to their table. Summer tried to make the best of the rest of the evening. She danced with Cary and Pop, while Steve brooded and drank. Summer noticed Cary had stopped drinking after the beer he had at dinner. She was returning to the table after another dance with Pop and noticed Steve was at the bar, downing a shot. She looked over at Cary as she sat down. “Cary, he can’t drive home.”
“Don’t worry darlin’. He’s not going to. Jess can drive my truck back, and I’ll drive his.”
“Are you about ready to go, because if we wait much longer you’re going to have to carry him out of here?”
“Yeah. You’re right. It’s getting late.”
When Steve returned to the table, Pop told him he was getting tired and was ready to go. They all headed to the parking lot.
Cary got the keys from Steve and loaded him in the truck. Pop rode back with Jessie, and Summer squeezed in between Cary and Steve.
When they got back to the farm, Cary helped Steve up to his room, where he passed out on the bed. Cary came downstairs and found Summer sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee. Walking over to the pot, he poured himself a cup and carried it to the table. He sat down across from Summer, lit a cigarette, and looked over at her. “I know you’re pissed. But, I’m sure he didn’t plan on the night turning out this way. Cut him some slack, sweetheart. There’s a lot you don’t know.”
“So, tell me, Cary.”
He blew out a stream of smoke. “Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good father and usually responsible, but every once in a while he has to let it all out, and I could see it coming now for weeks.”
“What do you mean?”
“He hasn’t cared about much of anything except Jessie, since Rita disappeared. When it first happened, he about lost his mind. Not only did he have to deal with losing Rita, but also not knowing what happened to her. It was killing him. Was she out there somewhere, in trouble, needing him and he couldn’t get to her? Was her body lying in some ditch somewhere, or had she just left him? He was torn between feelings of love, anguish, and anger. Not to mention the guilt he felt for feeling angry.”
Summer hung on his every word.
“He didn’t sleep for days, and for weeks he drove the highways, searching for her. He even hired a private detective, but the guy didn’t find anything. It just ended up costing Steve all his savings. It’s a wonder he held it together at all. So, be understanding of what you see now. When you go to judge him, consider what he’s been through.”
Summer stared off, thinking about all that Cary had told her. Steve had been through hell and back. She knew, from her own circumstance of not knowing what had happened to herself, that it could drive you crazy if you let it. You began to imagine all sorts of scenarios, most probably much worse than what may have really happened. To lose someone you love and not have closure had to be one of worst nightmares of all.
Cary stood and looked at her as he leaned over and stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. “Get some sleep, Summer. Things will be fine tomorrow. He’ll apologize for being an ass and if you care about him, you’ll forgive him.”
Summer looked up at him, a smile trembling on her lips and her eyes glazed with unshed tears. She nodded.
Cary saw her expression and pulled her out of the chair and into his arms. “Aw, darlin’, come here.” She melted against him with a sob, as he enfolded her in his arms. “Sweetheart, don’t cry. I swear, it’ll all work itself out. He just needs some time. He hasn’t had a woman in the house in a long time. It’s just been stirring up some memories for him.”
“Maybe I should go,” she murmured, her voice muffled against his chest.
He whispered against the side of her head. “Summer, you’re the best thing that’s happened to him in a long time. He needs you, whether he’s ready to admit it or not. Just be patient with him, okay, please?”
She nodded.
He pulled back and looked down at her. His hand came up and his thumb gently brushed the tears from her cheeks. Then he kissed her forehead. “Goodnight, sweetheart.”
Summer smiled as she watched him walk out the door.
*****
The next day, Cary was on his porch drinking coffee, Rocky lying at his feet, when he saw Summer climb in the old pickup and drive off. He watched the trail of dust fading down the drive. A few minutes later, he heard the screen door bang on the main house, and he glanced over to see Jessie emerging. He watched as she walked over to his place and up his porch steps. Rocky’s tail immediately started thumping against the floor.
“How’s your dad feeling this morning?” Cary asked her, rocking back on the rear legs of his chair.
She sat down on the chair next to him. Rocky rose and padded over to her to say hello. She stroked his head and neck. “Hung over. He didn’t help with milking this morning, did he?”
“Nope. Didn’t expect him to after last night.”
“Daddy hasn’t done that in a long time.”
“What? Tie one on?”
“Yeah. I mean, since Summer’s been here, he’s seemed so happy. I don’t get it. Was it that guy you pointed out last night?”
“Part of it.” Cary took a sip of his coffee, his eyes on the horizon
“You’re not going to tell me, are you?”
“Jess, sometimes a man just needs to tie one on. Stress relief.”
“You didn’t.”
His eyes moved to her. “What? Tie one on?”
“Yes.”
He grinned and rubbed his stiff neck. “Nope. I still got all
my
stress.”
Jessie got up and moved behind his chair, her hands closing over the muscles where his neck met his shoulders, kneading them. “Man, your muscles are tight.”
“Umm. God, baby-doll that feels good.”
She continued to massage his neck and shoulders. “Guess you didn’t get much sleep last night, huh? What with us getting back so late, and then having to be up at four-thirty to milk the cows.”
“Not much. I guess I’m getting used to it. I don’t seem to sleep much lately.”
“Why is that?”
He shrugged. Not about to admit to her that it was sexual frustration. Of which she was a big part of the cause. She stopped rubbing his shoulders and ran her fingers up through his hair, her nails scrapping softly on his scalp. “Umm. Where’d you learn to do that, Jess?”
She grinned. “You like it?”
“Fuck, yeah. It feels great.” She continued stroking through his hair and massaging his scalp. He could feel all the tension leaving his body. “Damn, babe. You could put me to sleep like this.”
“Maybe you should go lay down.”
“Yeah. Sounds good.”
“I could rub your back, if you want,” she offered hesitantly.
Immediately his body tensed, some parts getting tenser than others as the thought of her hands running over his bare back flashed through his mind. “Jess, that’s probably not a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“Because you don’t go to a bedroom with a man, Jess.”
“Cary, it’s just you and me. I can trust you.”
He grinned. She didn’t have a clue. Or maybe she did and she was playing him. Well, if she was curious about her seduction skills, better she practice them on him, than one of the boys her age. At least she was safe with him, because he’d stop before it went too far. He could almost guarantee that wouldn’t be the case with the boys in her high school. “Yeah, you can, Jess. I hope you at least know that. All right, babe, I’m all yours.”
Her hands dropped away.
Cary stood up, took her hand, and led her inside. Rocky followed them through the screen door and sprawled out on the hearth in front of the fireplace. Cary stopped in the living room, thinking maybe this was pushing it far enough. He grabbed a throw pillow off the couch and tossed it on the braided rug on the floor. “How ‘bout right here, Jess?”
She glanced down at the pillow on the floor. “Okay. Lie down.”
He dropped to his knees, moving to lie on his stomach.
“Wait, you have to take your shirt off first.”
Cary sat back on his heels, his palms resting on his thighs, and looked up at her. Then a slow grin spread across his face. “Whatever you say, babe.” His hands moved to the buttons at his cuffs, working them loose. Then they moved to the buttons running down his chest. He peeled the shirt back off his shoulders and tossed it aside, watching Jessie the whole time.
He saw her gaze fall to his muscled chest, down over his pectorals to his abdominals. As she watched, he lay down on his stomach, his head on the pillow, his arms up, elbows cocked.
Jessie dropped to her knees next to his hip, her palms going to his back, and she threw her leg over him, settling on his upper buttocks, straddling him. Cary tried to think of anything else other than the fact that her long gorgeous legs were wrapped around him. And then her hands slid up from the two dimples at the base of the small of his back, up along his spine, between his shoulder blades, and up to his neck, and he couldn’t think of anything but her hands on him. Then she moved her palms out and over his shoulders, along his biceps and back again. She pressed down on his shoulders, applying pressure, and worked her way down his spine again, pressing in small circles with the heel of her hand and then her thumbs. Cary groaned, “God, Jess that feels great.”
She continued massaging his back. As time went on, every tense muscle in his body began to relax under her hands, and he slowed his breathing.
Resting her palm on the rug near his head, Jess leaned down, brushed the hair back from his forehead, and kissed his temple. “Night sweet baby.”