Turn & Burn (19 page)

Thank God, the board with keys to every vehicle was still on the wall beside the bar. I grabbed the spare key to Mom’s Volkswagen and stormed out the side door, even though the damn car was underneath the carport. Stalking down the driveway, I glared at the seven doors fronting the massive new garage. What the fuck did a car have to do to rate an enclosed space?

Racing up the hill, I wanted to be anywhere but here. I should’ve caught a ride back to Spartanburg with Harry last night. I was no closer to finding a way to strike back at my stepbrothers, but they just kept ripping open old wounds.

The single thing that made me take the turn that led to the mall, rather than heading toward the interstate was the idea that Mom would stick the family portrait over the mantle in their new house. If Colt fucking Hannah wanted a home cooked meal, at least he’d have to look at my goddamn face on his way to put his feet under Mom’s table.

Small comfort, but the only one I could find.

Was the bastard lying now or telling the truth?

Would he risk a new lie after Dale’s ultimatum?

Of all the photography studios there must be in town, why had Mom chosen one inside the mall? I cruised the crowded lot, hoping to find a parking space that wouldn’t make me hike a mile in high heels. A few shoppers struggled alone with their packages, but there were several families, arms laden and laughing, as they made their way to their vehicle. I wanted to hold on to my anger with Colt, but watching two boys about fifteen tease a younger sister brought tears to my eyes.

So, Caine used to love me and Colt had to get rid of me because he was jealous? Neither tale sounded remotely like a reasonable explanation for what... whatever it was they’d done to me. I had no idea what to believe anymore. Did they take money from their friends to have sex with me, or not?

Maybe it was time to talk to Caroline. After all, Colt said she’d known of their plans. Maybe guilt had kept her from calling me, too.

Red taillights caught my eye. I braked and waited while the sedan reversed. I dived into the space. Adjusting the rearview mirror so I could see myself, I finished applying my makeup and jerked out my hot curlers.

I had ten minutes to find the photography studio, and no idea where it was inside the building, so I texted Mom before I jumped out of the car and rushed into the crowded mall. With a groan, I eyed her answer. I wasn’t moving the car again. I’d just have to hoof it.

The place was exactly the zoo I’d expect two days before Christmas.

I dodged a line of children and disgruntled parents waiting to have their photo taken with Santa Claus. The holiday music grated on my nerves and I muttered curses at the crowds thronging the concourse.

Teenagers running through the melee, four abreast, sent me careening into some poor soul holding a handful of shopping bags. The man jerked away from his perusal of a window display to glare.

His eyes went wide. “You!”

My heart jumped inside my chest when I recognized his thin face. “You! I have some questions for your ass.”

“Well, thanks to you, I already had an unpleasant chat with the sheriff. Nice touch, siccing him on me at Christmas, bitch.”

“I want the truth.” I grabbed his jacket sleeve and glared at the man I remembered from that horrible day in the grocery store. “Gerald, is it? Just what exactly did Colt do or not do to me?”

“Oh, for pity’s sake.” He broke my withering glare to glance around before looking at me again. “Me and Colt did make a deal, but it sure as hell wasn’t to have sex with you.”

What the fuck is wrong with you people?
“Then why would you say all those things to me?”

He dropped his head to study the floor. “Because I wanted to rattle Colt.”

I shook my head back and forth slowly. “Not following. You told me he owed you a refund, because—you know why. So, if not me, then what did you pay for?”

“Nothing.” His dark eyes darted around the crowd.

The guy felt guilty about something, but what? This was getting out of hand. I jerked my phone out of my purse.

“I have to be somewhere in two minutes, asshole. Spit out the truth, or I swear to God, I’ll call the sheriff right now. In fact, I see mall security.” I lifted my hand to flag down the hired security guard.

His face paled. He grabbed my arm. “Okay, okay, don’t have a hissy fit. You know what goes on out on Old Cottonmouth Road when y’all aren’t racing, right?”

I knew what Mack Brown said went on out there, so I nodded.

“I was there one night when Colt and Brandon McKenna showed up. The rest of the racers didn’t come, just those two. They raced in their trucks. Colt won.”

“So what?”

“Colt
won
,” he repeated. “And I saw what happened next. So, the next time I ran into Colt, I told him I’d do a much better job, if he was interested.”

Better job at what? Dude, I know you can’t drive.

Something Caine said came back to me.
Girl, no man wants to lose out here.
My mouth fell open. “He and Brandon raced... for head?”

Gerald smirked. “Oh yeah. Hottest thing I ever saw in my life, those two studs going at it. Next time I saw Colt out there, I told him I’d love to tune up that monster of his.” He darted another look around. “Colt said he’d think about it, but I knew he was just blowing me off. I mean, after all, the man’s fucking gorgeous. So, I offered to pay him. He said I had to race first. He took my fifty bucks and told me when to show up.” Gerald screwed up his face and shuddered. “You know how that turned out.”

I jerked as upright as possible on my high heels. “Wasn’t so good for me, either, asshole.”

I was having an out-of-body experience. Had to be, because Colt Hannah didn’t stick his dick in other guys’ mouths. Did he? Except, according to Harry, Phillip’s curiosity led to their meeting in a gay bar. Curiosity had made me jump into the Hannah brothers’ game with both feet.

There was only one thing worse than being a slut—at least to the folks around here. Being gay. The truth of that hit me like a fist. This was something Colt would lie, cheat, or steal to keep buried.

“So, why in the hell didn’t you just tell me he was—you know?”

“Bi-curious? I’m not gonna out no man, but I wanted him to get in touch. I figured he’d at least come ask me why I’d tell you something like that. Didn’t you ask him about it?”

“Yes. He said every word was true. Did he ever let you... um...?” I couldn’t help laughing. “Have a taste?”

Gerald shook his head. “I’d forgotten about it, really. Like he’s the first pretty boy to play me? But when the sheriff showed up asking questions, I couldn’t tell
him
the truth, now could I? You’ve got to get him off my ass. The last thing I need is a cop following me. They put us in jail if they catch us out there, and they tell the rest why we got arrested. You have any idea what the straight inmates do to us? The guards just watch.”

I thought about punching the man. This was so
not
about him. “It was seriously just something you made up off the top of your head? How in the hell does that happen? I mean, I have a good imagination, but, damn.”

He shrugged. “I was reading this trashy gay novel. Two brothers sold their sister and her boyfriend did bad, bad things to them.” The avid look in his eyes made me think that he wanted those bad things done to him.

Then, it hit me. I knew exactly what to do to even the score. The idea was pure perfection.

I gave the man my widest smile. “Gerald, I promise, Colt’s gonna pay up. Consider it my Christmas gift to you.” I even exchanged numbers so I could text him. “Gotta go. See you soon.”

“The sheriff—”

Fuck you, Gerald. It’s your turn to lose a few nights’ sleep.

By the time I found the portrait place, Colt was already there. Mom fussed, but I had my mind on other things.

“Let’s just get started, shall we?” I stepped in front of the backdrop and gestured impatiently to the harried photographer. “I have some last minute shopping to do.”

“What happened to your face, bro?” Caine demanded, eying Colt.

I
passed the Cabarrus County Saddle Club, then rounded a curve before I saw the small cemetery, covered with granite markers and the occasional angel. Adjacent to the graveyard, a well-kept brick church peered down from a small hill. The sign near the road proclaimed,
Jesus is the Reason for the Season.

I slowed and looked in the opposite direction, hoping to see Caroline’s Viper. I knew the house was somewhere near here, but Caroline had always either picked me up or met me somewhere.

The nice ranch-style home on the other side of Zion Church Road was built of the same red brick as the church, so I guessed it was the parsonage. The next house was a cottage, wrapped in white vinyl siding. Perhaps four rooms, five at the most, but the huge yard was dotted with massive oak trees. The driveway held a silver SUV and an older Ford sedan, so I kept going.

I’d passed the little house before I spied the Viper parked around back, so I had to turn around and double back to the long gravel-covered drive. Both the small SUV and the sedan gleamed under a fresh coat of wax.

Triple sets of electric candles, decked out in white bulbs, already glowed in the four front windows. The wreath on the door boasted red poinsettias and sprigs of mistletoe. The jaunty bow was made of red and white ribbon, striped like candy canes. I climbed the steps to the covered porch, smiling at the little red convertible parked between a pair of wide, green-painted rocking chairs. There was a doorbell, but I tapped with my knuckles.

The door opened, and I knew right away, Caroline and Colt got their height from their fathers. I smiled at the plump woman. “You must be Robyn Mason. I’m—”

“Shelby Roberts. I’d know you anywhere. The hair.” She opened the screen door and stepped back, gesturing for me to come inside.

Grinning, I stepped into the tiny foyer. She closed the door, then led me into a cozy sitting room. Multi-colored lights blinked on the limbs of a six-foot, artificial tree. Gifts crowded the space under the branches and spilled around a loveseat.

Robyn’s voice had the same girlish timbre as Caroline’s. She gestured to the tree and rolled her eyes.

“We go overboard for little Shelby. Won’t you have a seat? How about a glass of iced tea? Caroline had to lie down with that child to get her to nap. She’s so excited about Santa Claus. I can wake her, though.”

I knelt and added my gift to the pile. “Don’t wake them, I just saw something at the mall that reminded me of Caroline, so I bought it for Shelby. I’d love to have a seat, and tea sounds wonderful. It’s so nice to meet you.”

Thick streaks of white bracketed her face, but the rest her smooth, chin-length bob was the same ash blonde as Colt’s. Her eyes were a shade brighter than Colt’s, and so vivid, I barely noticed the lines that alcohol had etched around them.

I sat on the loveseat and peered around curiously while she fetched the drinks, but I thought about all the things I wanted to ask. Things about Dale. Why she never had anything to do with Colt, even though they lived less than three miles apart.

She returned, extending a frosty glass. “Your mama and Dale, are they happy?”

So I wasn’t the only curious one. “Seem to be. I’m not around much, but Mom’s e-mails are upbeat, unless she’s bitching about the things that keep him away from home.”

Robyn took a seat on the matching sofa and sipped her tea. “She should go with him. Lord, those women that follow the racing circuit would sure make me set my butt in that motor home every time it left the drive.”

Did Dale screw around on Mom? “I guess, but that seems out of character for him nowadays. He’s quite the family man.”

She placed her glass on a coaster on the end table. “He used to be so damn good-looking, I wondered if he’d ever settle for just one woman, you know? He grew out of his wild streak, I guess. That’s good to hear. Since Jesse’s coming around some to see Caroline, maybe one day, he’ll let Colt see me.”

Colt was twenty-six. He hadn’t needed Dale’s permission to see Robyn since the day he got his driver’s license, a decade earlier, but I didn’t contradict her. “Can’t figure out how you don’t trip over him every day,” I blurted.

Her smile seemed so sad, I ached for her. “I guess I know what Dale gave up for his boys. Since I didn’t give up nothin’ but his son, I stay away. Dale knows where I live. He coulda brought Colt by anytime. Since he didn’t, I took that as a sign to avoid ‘em. He’s done a good job raisin’ those boys. After Caine’s mama killed herself, I realized some mistakes are just too hard to fix. No sense in rockin’ the boat.” She turned the glass around in her hands, fixing her eyes on the tea. Dragging a fingertip through the condensation, she asked, “So, you’re about to graduate?”

I wanted to ask about Caine’s mother so bad, I could taste the words on my tongue. I hadn’t realized Robyn knew her. Instead, I replied, “Yes, ma’am. Please don’t ask what I plan to do. I have no idea.”

Robyn had the kind of smile that made me want to curl up on her lap so she could stroke my hair. “Caroline worked her way into accounting at the cigarette plant. Took a few classes at UNCC and now, she’s the head guy’s right hand.” Pride rang in Robyn’s voice. “She has a head for numbers. She didn’t get that from me.”