Payback (15 page)

“Sorry, I have to get going, but I understand we’ll see you and the guys later?”
Caden said.

“I doubt the guys will be moving from their couches, but Marie and I will be down. You’re looking very handsome, Caden. Someone would think that you were a movie star or something.”

They both chuckled.

“I’ll see you later
. Merry Christmas.”

“Okay!” Ona waved as Caden drove to the next block. 

I watched him park in front of a house and shook my head, “Why doesn’t Jason live out in the country?  He seems so at home on a ranch.”

“He lost his parents and his parents
’ ranch when he was a teen. The only thing they could afford after the estate was settled was the little house down the road. He’d love to sell and rent something in the mountains, but he can’t do that to his sister. She loves the house, so he works with Caden and gets his ranching fix that way.”

We walked in and I began peeling potatoes for the mash while Ona started the
, green bean casserole. She had on a red sweatshirt that had Mickey Mouse wrapped up in Christmas lights over a pair of Wrangler jeans.  She looked at home with her kids and husband. There were lots of jibes, some yelling to take out the trash, and plenty of hugs whenever they came into the kitchen. She was a good mom.

“So what did you get for Christmas?” I asked.

“Oh, I got a new Carrie Underwood CD and the kids gave me
Justified
on DVD although I suspect that’s more for them than me. I got a new iPod and a new purse—that I bought for myself.”

I laughed. “I have something for you.”  I went over to the bag and pulled out two tins. “These are for the guys—they’re chocolate-peanut butter toffee bars.”

“Oh, they’re going to love that!”

“And this is for you. Not much, but you know why.” I alluded to my lack of money.

She opened the wrap and seemed to be pleased with the mauve-colored scarf I had crocheted. “Oh, wow, this is lovely. I was going to buy a scarf, but really, this is much prettier than the one I was looking at. You should sell these.”

“Thanks.”

“Hon, I’m sorry, but I didn’t get you anything.”

“I didn’t expect anything. My gift is being allowed to share your Christmas with your family.”

“So, did you give asshole a scarf?”

I shook my head. “I made him a cap, but, as you saw, he didn’t wear it today.”

“Did he give you anything?”

I should have just said no, but I froze so she knew something was up.

“What? What did he give you?”

“A box of tampons.”

“What the fuck? That son of a bitch!”

“Well, the good thing about it is that I don’t have to borrow five bucks
the next time we go to the grocery store.”

“I used to really like that guy, but he’s just plain mean!”

“No, I think he’s plain hurt.”

“After six
years? Come on, he’s a big boy. Get over it.”

“But he didn’t have a chance to really deal with it.
He moved away, and then I walked back into his life and pulled the scab off. This gives him the chance to punish me and heal properly. I’ve decided that I’m going to take whatever he dishes out. I’m strong enough to take it.”

“Not very mature
of him to be such a bastard.”

I
turned my palms up.  “I agree. I could abandon my car and hitchhike out of here if I couldn’t handle it. There’s a part of me that must feel like I need to be punished or I would be out of here. I think if we go through these next few months and I pay off my so-called “debt,” he’ll finally have his pound of flesh. Who knows, maybe he can learn to trust a woman again. Sounds like a cliché, but I really want him to be happy.”

“Spoken like a woman who truly feels guilty.”

“I am guilty.”

“Yes and no. His buddy had a lot to do with leading you down the proverbial path.”

“And I fell for it when I should have trusted Caden. Plus, even if he had messed around with Valentine, I should have never screwed his best friend. I know because I got a taste of what it felt like to find the person you love in bed with someone. I walked in on him, Twyla, and Nicky in bed.”

“Screwing?”

I shook my head. “But they were all naked.”

“You do know that th
ey’re a couple of working girls?”

“Yes. H
e paid them in front of me. He also paid for a few others that had been at their party the night before.”

“Ah, that must have been Larry’s bachelor party.”

“Oh, was that it? Someone thought I was Larry’s present.”

She started giggling.
“They wish! You’re like champagne compared to their sparkling cider.”

We sat down to eat
, and I had a blast with her two teenage boys, teasing them about their non-existent love lives. Ona put her foot down and made them load the dishwasher and wash the overflow, giving us a chance to go down the street for a drink.

I was very excited about meeting Chris.
Grabbing their gift bags, I tugged on my work jacket and we walked to the next block. The house was a two-story saltbox with cream vinyl siding.  The front door only had a knocker, so I used it. A pretty woman, about my age, answered with so much enthusiasm I knew it had to be Chris. I was excited too.

“Ona! And you must be Marie!
My brother is always talking about you. Please come in! I was just watching the guys play Halo on Xbox.”

I laughed. “Are men the same everywhere?”

She nodded. “It’s hard to believe that they’re so captivated by video games.”

We walked straight into the
living room with lovely cherry floors and modest furniture. On the couch sat Jason and Caden with game controls in their hands, staring intently at the television.

“Of c
ourse, Caden would give us a 52-inch flat- screen television that was delivered last night. It’s only going to make the addiction worse!” she said with a laugh.

“I brought you a few gifts.” I held up the
gift bags with the wrapped gifts in it.

“Jason!  Jason!” Chris yelled to get his attention.

He jolted and finally looked over, pausing the game. Caden looked over too.

“We have guests
, and Marie brought us some gifts!”

Jason stood and
crossed the room to give Ona a hug and then turned to give me one. I took a seat on the loveseat and was soon joined by Ona. Jason sat back down and opened his gift. I’d crocheted him a hat too, only his was blue and aqua green.  He immediately tried it on.

“Wow, it’s not only good looking, it’s very warm.”

“Oh! Slippers! How nice! And red is my favorite color,” Chris said, as she showed Jason the slippers I’d crocheted. “You made these?”

“Yes.  I’m sorry it wasn’t more. There are some goodies in the bag that I baked.”

Jason pulled out a tin and opened it. Grabbing one of the toffee bars, he grinned. “Oh, yeah…you know I love these!”

I had to laugh because he already had an entire one in his mouth.  He gestured to the tree
, and Chris nodded. “Yeah, okay.  I haven’t forgotten.”  She pulled a box out from under the tree the same size as what Caden had given me.

I blushed bright red as I caught Caden’s look.  He was amused and knew what I was thinking. I could just see him telling Jason that I needed tampons and that’s all I wanted for Christmas.  Jason and Chris saw how uncomfortable I was.

Chris tried to reassure me. “It isn’t much.  We just wanted you to have something under the tree.”

I opened the wrapping and sighed with relief when I saw a bottle of
Obsession
perfume.  “Oh, wow.  This is too much…way too much.”

Jason shook his head. “
It’s not really much, especially since you do a lot for me. I wanted to buy you something else, but I wasn’t really sure what to get you. I remember you said that you loved
Obsession.
I snooped around and didn’t see any.”

“That’s because I can’t afford it. Wha
t an incredibly thoughtful gift,” I said loudly so Caden would be sure to hear. “Thank you.” I stood and gave him a kiss on his cheek and then one on Chris’s. “You’re both too kind.”

“What can I get you two to drink?” Chris asked.

“Uh, what do you have?” I asked.

“I’ll have a beer,” Ona said.

“Caden brought Jason a bottle of some fancy whisky,” Chris offered.

“Tal
isker,” Jason chirped.

“I love Ta
lisker.”

Caden sighed. “I brought that for you, Jason.”

Everyone stopped and looked at him in astonishment.

Ona piped up, “Yeah, and he’s offering it to his guest. If you wanted control over who drinks it, you shouldn’t have given it as a gift.” She shook her head. “Damn it, Caden, I never thought of you as a cheap son of a bitch.”

Chris gasped, but Jason laughed. Caden stood up and walked into the kitchen. I followed him.

“I’m not going to have any Ta
lisker, so you can join us back in the living room.”

He was clenching his fist. “God, I don’t know why I said that; I just reacted. Something in me doesn’t want you to have anything or enjoy anything. Being around you makes me toxic.”

“Loan me the money to leave and I will.”

“Yeah, you’d like that
, wouldn’t you?”

“
You are toxic, and your friends are starting to dislike you for what you’re doing. You should loan me the money and let me get the hell out of here.”

He grabbed the Talisker and poured himself at least a double.

“If you’re going to drink, then I’ll stay sober to drive us home,” I offered.

“Do what you want. I don’t really care.”  He pushed past
me and out the back door with his drink.  Jason walked into the small, L-shaped kitchen with a two seat bistro table and gave me an eye roll as he walked by and out the back door into the flurries that had only started a few minutes ago.

Chris walked in and apologized. “I don’t know why Caden said that! He’s really a nice guy usually.  Wait until you get to know him
. He’s very generous.  I mean, taking you in and getting your car fixed, that was nice, right?”

I almost broke out laughing.
Apparently, Jason hadn’t shared my history with her. “Yes, he didn’t have to do that. I just think I remind him of his time in Hollywood and he’d prefer to forget about it.”

“I don’t know why he came up here. He’s the definition of eye candy
, and I used to go to see every movie he was in. I salivate whenever he’s within sniffing distance. Of course, my boyfriend doesn’t know this.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Yeah, Dustin.  He’s a chief in the Navy, but he’s on a WestPac cruise for six months.”

“Oh!”

“He keeps hinting that he wants me to marry him, but I really don’t know what to do. I’ve never been out of Montana. I’m not sure I’d do well living in some city like San Diego.”

“San Diego is gorgeous! I’m sure you’d do just fine.”

I looked at Chris and couldn’t help but like her.  She was about five foot three inches and a size ten.  Not skinny, but not really fat.  Short, curly brown hair hugged her head and large brown eyes stared out from under her bangs. Chris was very cute and perky, the kind of woman you’d like to have as your best friend—the kind that spoke the truth but also saw the way things could be.

“Anyway, I
just have to say that I don’t know why Caden hasn’t taken to you. You’re so damn pretty and petite, and Jason says you’re real smart.  It’s a shame. Caden is a real catch, but he doesn’t see anyone steady. Oh, he takes Lucy out a couple of times a month ,and sometimes Crystal, but nobody really steady. We all think he got kicked in the nuts by some woman back in La-La Land and hasn’t been able to put it in his past.”

I smiled and nodded. “Sounds like you’ve hit it on the head.”

I looked at Ona, who was standing in the doorway listening and shaking her head. “Aren’t you going to tell her?” I tried to give Ona a look to stay quiet, but she ignored me. She turned to Chris and then nodded at me. “You’re looking at the nutcracker.”

“What?” Chris asked.

“The gal who kicked Caden in the nuts…you’re standing next to her.”

Chris was baffled, not sure she understood what was being said.

I sighed. “Caden and I lived together for a year, and then we broke up and he moved up here. I stayed in Los Angeles.”

“But Jason says he treats you like horse manure.”

“We didn’t end on good terms, and things haven’t improved since I arrived. If I hadn’t wrecked my car, I’d be back in Los Angeles, and Caden would have his sanity back.”

“Oh, I see. I’ve been in the dark. I don’t know why Jason didn’t tell me, but then he keeps his cards close to the vest.”