Town Darling (5 page)

I
t was a little after ten
o’clock that night.  Casey and Dina played pool in the back along with a few
other patrons.  The mood was genuinely upbeat and friendly.  Casey and Dina
appeared to be having a good time joking with each other while playing their
game.  Four men ranging from their early to late twenties entered the pool area
in a bustle of commotion, causing the mood of the entire room to change
drastically.  The four men were the infamous Harford boys, Wayne, Ryan, Blain,
and Fred.  They laughed loudly, talked dirty, and joked around inappropriately
with the other patrons.  The few other women who were in the backroom made a
hasty departure almost immediately.  Several men appeared disgusted shortly
thereafter and left rather than confront the four.  It was almost sinful how no
one in town was willing to stand up to them.  They were even above the law. 
Wayne and Ryan took the recently vacated pool table that had mysteriously
opened.  Casey and Dina glanced at the terror train that was the Harford boys. 
Both women exchanged looks and appeared disgusted. 

“Ten o’clock.  They’re
early,” Casey muttered.

“They’re also bombed,” Dina
added while casting a stray glare at the four repulsive men.  “Do you want to
leave?”

“No, we’re going to finish
our game,” she replied.  “We can’t let them intimidate us, or they’ve already
won.”

“More words of wisdom from
your father?”

“Actually, from his mildly
psychotic military buddy,” Casey replied.  She appeared to consider.  “I
suppose that doesn’t help my case much, huh?”

“No, but you’re absolutely
right,” Dina replied.  “Someone has to stand up to them.”  She sighed softly. 
“I just wish it didn’t have to be us.”

Ernest’s four sons were
tall and built like college linebackers.  None were overly muscular nor
excessively round.  Ryan would probably be considered the ‘pretty boy’ of the
group.  He was reasonably attractive with shorter hair that he’d actually taken
time to comb.  He was also the only one who had taken time to shave that day. 
The others appeared unshaven for days or longer.  Although none dressed to impress,
Ryan made an attempt with moderately clean jeans free from holes and a shirt
with few wrinkles and stains.  Wayne was the undisputed leader.  He was the
loudest and had the foulest mouth.  His hair was unkempt and nearly to his
shoulders.  Although sometimes the style of young men, his hair was long out of
laziness.  He had a day or more growth of stubble on his moderately creepy
face.  Casey wasn’t sure if it was his beady, little eyes or his twisted smile
that created the creepy effect.  His slightly tattered, moderately stained
jeans and wrinkled, torn shirt screamed hillbilly.  The only thing missing from
his ensemble was the bib overalls and a banjo strumming “Dueling Banjos” in the
background. 

Blain and Fred were bottom
feeders.  Void of their own personalities, they fed off their two dominant
brother’s insolence and reacted accordingly.  If separated from the pack, they
would almost be considered tolerable.  An odd odor wafted from the four men. 
At times, there were often strange odors from the good old boys hanging out in
the tavern, but it was usually a farming smell.  With the Harford boys, it was
an unidentified cross between body odor, cheap cigars, and what could only be
described as fungal stench.  It was a repulsive combination, and in confined
quarters, the fumes could potentially be lethal. 

Within twenty minutes, the
four boys managed to clear the entire backroom without trying.  Casey and Dina
were all that remained in the room, which being alone with those boys was never
in any woman’s best interest.  Wayne and Ryan stared at the two women and
grinned most sinister.  Neither woman gave them a second look.  It was a
repulsive feeling of being mentally undressed by the most loathsome of
creatures.  One of the young waitresses, Jeannie, entered the back with their
pitcher of beer.  They taunted and flirted with her as if she was their
personal plaything.  It was nearly impossible for her to avoid their groping
hands.  She obviously wanted nothing to do with them and managed to pull away,
which infuriated them even more.  Casey had heard stories from Grey about their
treatment of the waitresses, Melanie being the exception, since she was related
to them.  It seemed surprising that their taunting and groping never led to
something worse.  Casey wondered if they just never took it that far or if they
did and it just went unreported.  Others who had complained about the Harford
boys were met with protest when it came to actually pressing charges.  That’s
where the law fell short.  Sheriff Wiley was at the top of that corruption
chain.  It was a pick your poison sort of deal.  Even if charges were pressed,
Ernest would somehow pull strings to get them off and then the victim would be
made to suffer.

“See if you get a tip,
bitch,” Ryan scoffed at poor Jeannie, who’d already had most of her body
fondled by each of the four at that point.

Jeannie hurried from the
pool area without a word.  It seemed obvious she didn’t care about getting a
tip from them.  Dealing with human debris such as the Harford boys couldn’t be
easy for the young, moderately attractive woman.  Casey glared at Ryan and his
cheap, perverse grin.  She couldn’t get over her feeling of detest for him and
his brothers.  She never knew it was possible to loathe another human being that
much.  And what was that damned smell?  Wayne caught her disapproving glare,
stared back at her, and appeared humored by her look.

“I’m sorry about my
brother’s language,” Wayne said with a chuckle.  “He didn’t know there was a
virgin present.”

Dina immediately tensed. 
She no longer wanted to be there.  Casey glared at Wayne with a cold stare and
didn’t take her eyes off him.  She knew she was inviting trouble and that her
father would be disappointed that she didn’t steer clear of the infamous boys,
but something inside her wouldn’t allow her to back down.  Wayne appeared to
tense from the strange way she stared at him then laughed and returned to his
game.  Oddly enough, she had intimidated him!  Her small victory empowered
her.  Casey finally dismissed the four mad dogs and focused her attention on
her game with her friend.  They briefly exchanged looks.  Dina’s concerned look
told her she was ready to leave. 

“Last game,” Casey informed
her softly, having read her thoughts.

Dina appeared grateful and
moved between the two pool tables to line up her next shot.  Wayne studied her
buttocks as she was bent over.  He slid the thick end of his pool stick between
her legs, grazed her crotch, and moaned mockingly.  Dina jumped with a startled
gasp and spun toward them with a look of surprise and anger.  All four
snickered and smirked.

“Knock it off!” Dina cried
out.

Casey glared at the four
loathsome men then shook her head with disgust.  It wasn’t the first time Dina
had been groped by one of the Harford boys.  For a woman, turning your back on
any of them was a serious mistake.  The four seemed to be on their worst
behavior tonight.  The fact that they were mostly drunk didn’t help their
charming dispositions any.  Casey and Dina attempted to finish their game without
giving the appearance of rushing it along.  They played for a few more minutes
before the four men start making dirty comments and suggestive remarks while
jokingly grabbing their own crotches.  Dina became increasingly tense while
Casey became more agitated.  It was a bad situation brewing.  Casey eyed an
easy shot from the far end of the pool table.  She hesitated and reconsidered. 
Something at that moment snapped inside her head.  She wasn’t sure if it was
her mother or her father in her coming out, but she opted for the more
aggressive move.  Casey went for the shot between the two tables closest to the
Harford boys, placing her back to them, which was something she never did, and
leaned over to make her shot.  She wasn’t just setting up one shot but two. 
Wayne moved behind her, grabbed her hips, and grinded against her with a
groan.  Casey suddenly thrust the butt of her pool stick back and into Wayne’s
groin, dropping him to his knees.  Two ball corner pocket.  She’d succeeded on
making her first shot.  She turned toward them with the pool stick aggressively
clutched in her hands and glared at the three standing men.  She was well aware
of the repercussion that was certainly about to follow.

“You bitch!” Ryan shouted
and leapt for her.

Casey swung the pool stick
for his head with intent to drop him.  Ryan caught the pool stick just short of
his head and backhanded her across the face.  He slammed her backwards against
the pool table.  Dina appeared alarmed and ran for the opening to the bar area. 
Blain caught her around the waist and held her against him from behind while
laughing.  Dina fought Blain’s hold and attempted to keep his hands from
grasping her breasts as he grinded his hips against her backside.

“Grey!” Dina cried out
across the noisy bar.

While pinning Casey against
the pool table, Ryan grinned lustfully, grabbed her hair, and roughly kissed
her on the mouth.  He suddenly tensed and broke off the kiss with a gasp. 
Casey stared at him through narrow eyes as her hand clamped with a vice-like
grip on his crotch.  She stared into his horrified eyes with a cold and almost
psychotic look and straightened as he began to sink.  Fred bolted toward them
as Ryan was halfway to the floor.  Casey released Ryan as Fred swung his pool
stick at her.  She dodged the stick, causing it to strike the pool table with a
loud clatter behind her.  In the distance, Grey was seen leaping over the bar
and pushed through the crowd.

“Get your hands off them!”
Grey shouted as he ran for them, alerting the entire bar.

A crowd quickly followed
Grey.  Casey darted away from the table as Fred leapt for her.  She turned and
karate kicked him in the ribs, knocking him backward.  He tumbled over Ryan and
crashed to the floor.  Wayne finally returned to his feet and grabbed Casey
from behind, partially subduing her.  Grey repeatedly punched Blain in the
back, kidney area until he finally released Dina.  Dina jumped away from Blain
and kicked him in the shin.  Blain jumped in pain and turned toward Grey, who
was about to hit him again.  Blain punched him in the abdomen then across the
face, sending him into the gathering crowd.  Within seconds, half the tavern
was throwing punches, chairs, and beer bottles.  Glass was heard shattering,
women screamed, and chairs broke.  Casey continued her struggle to break free
from Wayne’s bear hug from behind.  She aggressively threw herself to one knee
and catapulted him over her shoulder.  Wayne harshly struck the floor and
gasped with agony.  As Casey moved to her feet, Ryan suddenly appeared before
her and backhanded her across the face.  She fell backwards and onto the pool
table.  He attempted to jump on top of her with intent to harm.  Casey used her
leverage from the pool table to kick him in the chest and threw him backwards
into several fighting men, knocking several to the floor.  Sirens were heard in
the near distance.

“Cops are coming!” someone
yelled.

The few people who heard
the sirens scattered.  People screamed as the three deputies and Sheriff Wiley
entered.  Few of the fighting patrons in the back saw them arrive.  Grey leapt
onto Blain’s back and punched him on the back on the head.  Blain slung Grey
from his back, turned toward him, and punched him in the mouth.  Grey was
thrown roughly into a nearby chair.  Dina saw the deputies in the next room. 
Grey was about to leap to his feet to rejoin the fight when Dina jumped on his
lap, knocking him back into the chair, and kissed him.  Grey appeared surprised
but returned the kiss regardless.  Wayne lunged for Casey.  Casey kicked for
his groin.  He deflected the kick, and she struck his thigh instead, nearly
knocking him over from the force.  Fred appeared alarmed and pulled Wayne
away.  Someone grabbed Casey’s arm from behind.  She turned and punched Vaughn
in the mouth.  Vaughn appeared momentarily dazed then glared at her.  Those
still remaining within the tavern appeared to fall suspiciously silent.  Casey
gasped and covered her mouth.  She couldn’t believe she’d hit Deputy Holt!

“I am so sorry--”

Vaughn grabbed Casey’s wrist,
spun it behind her back, and tossed her across the pool table while handcuffing
her.  His aggressiveness surprised her.  She honestly didn’t think he had that
much fight in him.

“That’s striking a police
officer.”

“Come on,” Casey protested
from her forward position across the pool table as he placed the cuffs on her
behind her back.  “I barely even hit you.”

She knew that was a lie. 
She’d given him a good shot.  She was actually surprised he was still
standing.  If he hadn’t been handcuffing her, she’d almost be impressed. 
Vaughn pulled Casey up from the pool table and spun her to face him.  She
stared at the wildly unpredictable look in his eyes and his bleeding mouth. 
She felt both concerned and bad at the same time.  Tucker and Mitchell were
already taking others out in handcuffs.  Most of the bar had cleared out in
only a few minutes.  Sheriff Wiley approached Vaughn and Casey with a look of
surprise.  Dina remained on Grey’s lap as both watched in silence.  There was
no way this was ending well.

“What’s going on here?”
Wiley demanded in a gruff tone.

“She struck a police
officer,” Vaughn informed him and dabbed the bleeding cut on the corner of his
mouth.