The One Place (14 page)

I was worried she was going to overload with this new information and with the effort of trying to exert just the right amount of attitude. “Look, just be yourself. Act like you always act with me. That’s it. Just have a good time and I guarantee everyone else will too.”

That seemed to ease some of the tension around her eyes and she nodded. Then, remembering something else, she lifted a bag in her hand and said, “I brought a skirt like this so that you and Tuck could continue stealing my clothes and sucking them into your world of disgusting sex.”

Oh, yeah. Ruthie was going to be fine. And this night was probably going to be hysterical. I put an arm around her shoulders and steered her toward the kitchen adding, “Thanks, but if our sex life is disgusting, I don’t ever want to be clean again.”

Ruthie snickered and answered, “I bet you don’t!”

We both dissolved into a fit of giggles, and that’s how we entered the kitchen to find Tuck and Jace standing at the island with drinks.

Tuck took the lead by asking, “What’s funny ladies?”

I bit my bottom lip and responded, “Oh, Ruthie brought me a skirt like the one she’s wearing.” That one statement had a profound effect on the room. Tuck’s eyes shot to mine and darkened and Jace’s shot to Ruthie’s legs and back and
then
darkened.

Ruthie waded in right away snapping, “Geez, Tuck! I see that look! The skirt is yours Nattie! I definitely do
not
want it back! Gross!”

Jace burst out laughing and a small smile crept onto her face. Excellent.

I had a thought and figured I would use it to keep Ruthie talking. “Can we go to Zumba tomorrow? I think Tuck is trying to plump me up. He’s making barbecue london broil with mashed potatoes and green beans tonight and I know I’m going to eat way to much of it. Not to mention all the other stuff he’s been cooking me.” I turned towards Tuck and finished, “I know you like my ass big, but the rest of me is going to be big too!”

He just laughed and shook his head muttering, “Well, someone has to cook and usually ain’t you.”

Ugh. Whatever. “So we should go. Maybe invite Jezzy, too.”

Ruthie groaned and gave in, but did so grumbling. “Okay, fine. We can go and invite Jezzy too, but only, please God, if she doesn’t wear the top she wore last time! I thought I was going to lose a freakin’ eye!” Tuck and Jace shared a look that they knew exactly what we were talking about.

I laughed but nodded in whole-hearted agreement. I also turned to Tuck because this brought up something I had forgotten about. “By the way, Sweetheart, I forgot we didn’t talk about that last night when we got home from the Lizard.” He started to smirk, but I charged on. “I saw you-” I paused and turned and pointed at Jace before continuing, “-and you with your eyes locked on those things last night.”

Tuck chuckled, “Yeah, Babe. And before you looked over at me, your eyes were locked on ‘em too. In fact, so were hers.” He pointed to Ruth to emphasize his point.

She turned herself in immediately stating, “Shit yeah, I was lookin’ at them! It isn’t possible to look away. They have powers! Powers of hypnotization!”

“Is that like endolphins?”

Ruthie shot me a deathly glare. “I will cut you, Bitch. May I remind you, that you are the crazy one who came to my house at the ass crack of dawn and
beat on my door
until I woke up to ask me to dinner.”

Jace and Tuck were in a full fit of laughter and Jace turned to me, “Is that true?”

I shrugged. “Guilty.”

He burst out laughing even harder and shouted through his chortles, “Oh my God! That is fuckin’ awesome!”

Ruthie turned her glare on him and attacked. “Awesome? Are you kidding me? I almost peed myself in a panic when I heard the pounding!” Jace continued laughing until Ruthie finished, “I answered my door in nothing but my underwear because I didn’t know what was going on!”

That sobered him up quickly. He mumbled, “Add to checklist. Pound on Ruth’s door unexpectedly, early in the morning, until she answers.”

This time, Tuck and I lost it. Ruthie blushed, but Jace had never looked more serious in his life.

********

When dinner finished cooking we sat down and ate way more than the recommended serving size. We also continued the night cackling and smiling and just generally enjoying each other’s company. When dinner was finished and we were cleaning up, we decided we should do this at least once a week.

We were getting ready to say goodbye for the night when Tuck’s cell phone rang. He went to the island and picked it up, accepted the call, and put it to his ear. “Yeah? Right. On my way out.”

That was a confusing call and it worried me. “What’s going on?”

Tuck smiled, which eased my fears that something was wrong. “That was Chuck. Shell’s droppin’ her foal. Gotta get out there.”

Chuck was the kid that did foal watch for Tuck sometimes so that he didn’t have to be out there all the time, but we would know when a foal was coming.

Jace instantly caught onto what was going on. “You want some help, Tuck?”

Tuck shrugged and answered, “Sure, man. You wanna hang around, I can always use the help.” He turned to Ruthie and continued, “In fact, you wanna stay too? I know Talie’s been lookin’ forward to seein’ this. You two can spectate.”

Ruthie nodded and Tuck and Jace didn’t waste any time headed out the door on the way to the barn. I had met all of the mares awhile ago (Shell, Peanut, Macy, Jasmin, and Twist), and it looked like Shell was going to be the first to have her baby.

We went out to the barn to the birthing stall that Tuck had set up (it was a little bigger so that there would be more room for the actual birth and then for the mother-baby bonding afterward.

Ruthie and I looked on as Tuck and Jace went into the stall with Shell. She was laying on her side and working hard to push her baby out. Jace rubbed shell in soothing strokes, pulling her tail out of the way occasionally, while Tuck helped Shell by pulling the foal out while she pushed at the appropriate time. He also pulled the amniotic sac off of the foal’s face as he came out.

When the foal was all the way out Tuck declared that it was a colt and he was a black and white paint. He was absolutely beautiful and I really hoped Tuck would keep him.

Ruthie leaned toward me and whispered, “I think that is the most beautiful,
absolutely
most disgusting thing I have ever seen.”

I thought her description was completely accurate. I also realized how much I loved this place and the life that I was living here.

********

For three weeks, anytime all four of us were free we did something together.

Jace and Ruthie were not dating, but they sure as hell had chemistry, and they were an absolute blast to hang out with.

We went to a fair that was happening a couple towns over a week after Shell had dropped Colt.

I had requested that we name him that, and Tuck easily gave into my demands. He also agreed to keep him. Of course I made these demands while wearing the skirt Ruthie had brought over with nothing under it and Tuck inside me. There probably wasn’t much that he wouldn’t have agreed to now that I think about it.

Ruthie was a little quiet and I knew the reason why. She had seen Bobby the night before, and he let her have it for hanging out with the three of us. I could tell she had let him make her feel a little guilty, but not enough to keep her from coming out with us again. This was good. She was obviously getting a little bit stronger.

Jace came up beside her and gave her a bump with is shoulder. “Hey Ruth, come do the bumper cars with me.”

The corners of her mouth turned up and she answered, “Okay. The four of should do it!”

I groaned audibly and she snapped at me, “Oh, shut up Nattie! You are such a damn whiner!”

Jace and Tuck burst out laughing and I turned to Tuck. “Do I whine all the time?”

He pretended to ponder it for awhile, and then answered with mock seriousness, “Nah. You’re more of a moaner. And you love to say-”

I covered his mouth and the three of them laughed at me some more. I couldn’t help but smile. Tuck put his arm around my shoulders and whispered in my ear, “Come on, Babe. It’ll give me a chance to ram you hard and fast.”

“Jesus, Tuck. That’s not even creative! You’ve got to do better than that! I think you’re losing some of your game since you got together with me. I have a town full of women who you managed to nail in the past as evidence, and I’m sure you didn’t do it with a line like that.”

He threw his head back and I watched his face as it got beautiful with laughter. He brought his blue-green eyes back to mine and said, “Don’t need game anymore, Babe. Already got the woman I want. I passed my legacy onto our good friend Jace, though.”

Ruthie’s head whipped toward Jace. “What you’re sleeping with the whole town now?”

Jace glared at Tuck who smirked. “Just returning the favor buddy.” Jace and I both knew he wasn’t referring to the women. He was talking about when I had helped herd Jace’s cattle and Jace had kindly informed me of all of the women in Tuck’s past.

Jace tried to dig his way out of the hole. “Nah. I’m not sleepin’ with the whole town. I mean I got around in the past, but just doesn’t seem to fit anymore.” He stared directly into Ruth’s eyes when he said it and Ruth immediately adverted hers when he was done.

At some point the tension between these two was going to break, and I was pretty sure it was going to include a lot of sexual activity but we had to get rid of Bobby first. He was like a tick that you couldn’t get out. It just kept infecting you and sucking your blood.

Okay. So, I didn’t like Bobby. But he didn’t like me either.

A week and a half later we were out again (we had gone out or stayed in and cooked several times in between) at the Dizzy Lizard. Ruthie and I were reenacting our “Jessie’s Girl” performance as requested by the men. They had both missed it the first time and only gotten 3rd person accounts. They had steadily kept feeding us more alcohol until we agreed.

Ruthie had screeched, “Alright, we’ll fuckin’ do it! Get off our backs!” She turned to me and did the familiar yelling whisper of a drunken individual. “Jesus, it’s like their fuckin’ dogs with bones! Or. Or. Or. Cats with catnip!” She thought this was the absolute height of hilarity. I was thinking it was going to be an interesting performance.

We were just getting to the best part, dancing on the bar, and singing along, albeit off pitch and out of tone, but singing at the top of our lungs all the same.

Jace’s eyes were locked on Ruthie, and I knew this song had to be hitting a little too close to home for him.

Before we could finish the verse, Ruthie suddenly wasn’t up on the bar with me anymore. I looked down to see Bobby was there, in her face yelling, and Tuck and Jace were on their way over. Both of them had muscles in their jaws ticking with their anger.

I jumped down off the bar and tried to wade in before this got out of hand. “Hey this isn’t-”

Ruthie cut me off, “Nattie, stop. He’s right. Just leave it, I don’t wanna do this here!”

I shut my mouth and Bobby added, “Yeah, fuckin’ shut your mouth! This is none’a your business!”

Ruthie grabbed his arm and they left the bar before I could say anything and before Tuck and Jace got to me. It was crowded and it had taken them awhile to make their way through all of the people.

Tuck was not in the mood for wasting time. “What’d he say to you?”

I shook my head. “Nothing new. Just to shut my fucking mouth, that it was none of my business.”

Jace had different objectives. “What about Ruth? Is she alright?”

I just shrugged my shoulders. “He was yelling, but I didn’t hear exactly what he said. And Ruthie agreed with him. She told me that she didn’t want to do this here and wanted to leave with him.”

Jace’s face may as well have been made of granite it was so hard with anger. “Why the fuck is she with that guy? What the hell does she see in him?”

I reached out and put a hand on his arm in a comforting gesture as I spoke. “It’s not what she sees in him. It’s what she doesn’t see in herself. She doesn’t know how great she is. But she’s getting there.”

Jace’s face was incredulous. “How is that even possible? She is the most fuckin’ beautiful, funny, amazin’ girl I’ve ever fuckin’ met.” He paused and flashed his eyes at me. “No offense, Nattie. Fuck.”

Unbelievably, something I didn’t know was possible after an event like that, I beamed and answered. “None fuckin’ taken.”

Tuck murmured, “I respectfully disagree.”

We both ignored him, and I smiled at Jace who was still looking at me after my response. I lifted a shoulder and said, “You’re language really escalates when you’re passionate. Tuck’s the same way.”

Jace’s face started to soften a little and I knew we were out of the woods, so to speak.

I started to shake my head and then paused for dramatic effect. “I just can’t believe he ruined ‘Jessie’s Girl’. Jesus, at least wait for the end of the performance.”

We only stayed a few minutes after the drama. Tuck took me home and proved to me that he did, in fact, disagree- three times! And in a different position every time!

Chapter 19

Three days later Jace called to ask if we would help herd cattle and suggested we bring Ruthie.

Okay, he didn’t so much suggest it as demand it. Actually, he had said, “And bring fuckin’ Ruthie. I don’t care if you have to kill Bobby and drag her out of the house to do it.” Someone had run out of patience. Tuck and I ceded to Jace’s demand because quite frankly, he didn’t leave us any other options.

We got to Ruthie’s townhouse to surprise her and walked to the door tucked into each other with his arm around my shoulders and mine around his waist. We knocked, but there was no response. After a couple of minutes I got tired of waiting and tried the knob. It turned, so I pushed the door open and stepped inside in front of Tuck. I could hear yelling at the top of the stairs.

“Bobby just go! I don’t wanna talk to you!”

That was all I needed to hear. Before Tuck could grab me, I took off up the stairs on a mission.

I was greeted by Bobby’s, “Jesus, this bitch! I can’t seem to get fuckin’ rid of you!” He reached out and put a hand to my chest and shoved me. I went back a couple steps, but at seeing him shove me, Ruthie jumped in and started throwing little fists at him, and screamed, “You leave Nattie alone! She didn’t do anythi-”

She was cut off by him shoving her off of him, like he had me, but she went tumbling down the stairs.

Looking at Ruthie laying at the bottom of the stairs motionless, I lost it. My brain immediately spasmed into a flashback and all I could see was Jenny laying at the bottom of the stairs of the apartment in New York.

********

I had finally found out as much information as I thought I was going to get without talking to Jenny, so I rushed as fast as I could to get to her apartment before Andrew got home. I got to the door and knocked furiously, screaming for Jenny to let me in. She opened the door and started with a pleading look in her eyes, “Talie, this is not a good time. Please, come back later. I can’t talk to you right now!”

Too fired up and blind to see the scared look on her face, I charged on. “No, Jenny. We are going to talk and we’re going to talk now. I need explanations.”

Her face paled even further, but I kept going.

“I know that you deserve better than this, and I know you know it too. What the hell are you doing with this guy?”

I was too upset and charged to notice Jenny trying desperately to stop me as my voice escalated.

“I know you came here with him four years ago, and I know you tried to leave a year after that. Then, you just come back? No way. I know you better than that! What happened Jenny? -”

Smack.
Ouch. Holy hell that hurt. Jenny slapped me right across the face. When she started talking I realized she was trying to get my attention. She started whispering, faster and more forcefully than I had ever heard her talk.

“Listen to me, Talie. Forget you ever knew anything! Stop looking into this! I’m trying to protect you! And for God’s sake, you aren’t the only one I’m protecting. If something happens to me there’s a safe deposit box in my and your name at First Trust Bank on 72nd. Don’t go there unless you absolutely have to and pay attention to your surroundings. He will have you followed. Now, shut up and pray that he hasn’t heard you. You don’t know anything, do you hear me? You know
nothing
.”

Two seconds later, Andrew rounded the wall at the top of the stairs and
my
face paled.

“Jenny, come here.”

Jenny put on her best cheerful expression and rushed up the stairs. It was painfully obvious how much practice she had at playing this role.

“Oh, Andrew, sweetheart, Natalie stopped by to tell me about a date she had last night! She was so excited that she rushed over to tell me!”

Andrew’s face turned into a sneer and he spoke in a deadly voice.

“I heard everything, you bitch.”

Not even waiting for a reaction from her, he reached out and viciously shoved her down the stairs. She laid there not moving. My beautiful Jenny. I brought this on her.

Before I could check for any signs of life, though it didn’t look good, Andrew pulled a gun from behind his back and trained it on me.

Standing immobile next to Jenny’s body, I watched him pull out his phone, push a button and put it to his ear. He waited a beat and then spoke into the phone. “It’s Andrew. I need you to take care of something for me. Jenny. Right. Like she took off.” Not even saying goodbye, he ended the call and shoved it back in his pocket.

“Natalie, get up here.”

I didn’t even flinch. He could kill me for all I cared, but he was going to have to come get me to do it. “No.”

“You stupid bitch. Don’t you see what I do to people who defy me?”

“So kill me, then.”

He laughed an evil laugh.

“Oh, darling. You have no idea what you’re saying. Sure I’ll kill you. But you won’t be the only one to suffer. Think about it darling Natalie. Don’t you love your sweet sister at all? I imagine I could have quite a bit of fun with her. For a long time.”

He watched with immense satisfaction as I took in the meaning of his words and fought the nausea roiling in my stomach.

“Now she’s getting it. I do my research. And I follow through. Now you can do what I say or I’d be happy to explore that option if you like. And you can be certain, I’ll explore it
exhaustively
.”

I said not one word as he came down the stairs, pointed the gun at my head and set about raping me. Right next to my best friend’s body.

********

I came back to myself to find Ruthie in my arms, and I was rocking her.

“Nattie! Nattie! Nattie look at me! I’m fine! Natalie!”

I started when I realized that was Ruthie yelling in my face. Ruthie!

“Oh thank God you’re okay!”

I burst out crying and Ruthie pulled me into her arms and started comforting me.
She
was comforting
me
. She was the one who had just been through something traumatic!

“Nattie, I’m fine. A little bruised and sore probably, but fine. Relax.”

I sat there like that in her arms for a few minutes until I got it under control.

“Who’s Jenny? You kept calling me Jenny. You were sayin’ it over and over and I couldn’t get your attention.”

Her question took me off guard and I looked around. What I didn’t do was answer her.

“Where’s Tuck? And Bobby. That asshole! I’m gonna kill him!”

I started to get up and go charging off to look for him, when Ruthie grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

“Whoa, relax Nattie. Don’t worry. Tuck already dragged him out of here, and I’m pretty sure he’s probably kicking his ass out on the lawn as we speak. And anyway, I don’t think he really meant to push me down the stairs.”

I gave her a look so murderous that she cowered.

“Nattie, come on. I’m not saying he’s not an asshole and that I’m not done with him or making excuses for him or any of that. I’m just saying I think the stairs thing was an honest mistake.”

Not willing to get into it right then, I grabbed her and dragged her out the front door to find that, indeed, Tuck had been out here kicking his ass. And it looked like he had done a pretty good job.

We got out there in time to see Tuck land a vicious punch to Bobby’s already beaten face. Bobby fell to the ground, unable to keep his feet anymore.

Tuck spoke, and his voice was in its rare low and deadly form. “This is done. We don’t exist for you. I hear you even breathe in Ruth or Natalie’s direction, you’re gonna see me again. And you can be sure I’ve got more than this to give you. You got me?”

Bobby just moaned. I tucked Ruthie into the crook of my arm hoping to shield her from some of this.

Tuck repeated, “I said, You fuckin’ got me?”

Obviously, Tuck’s patience was waning, but Bobby finally answered, “Whatever. I don’t need her anyway. A bad fuck’s all she is.”

Ruthie whimpered in my arms and I pulled her into me tighter.

That broke Tuck’s temporary hold on control. He cocked his elbow back and landed one final blow to Bobby’s face. Succumbing to his injuries, Bobby’s head lolled back and he went limp on the ground.

Tuck stepped back, wiped his bloody hands on his jeans, and shook his head in disgust at the form laying on the ground in front of him. Then he turned and headed for us.

He asked me directly, “She okay?”

I answered as honestly as I could. “I think so. She’s gonna be sore and bruised and just upset in general, but I think she’s alright.”

He nodded and continued, “What about you?”

“I’m fine,” I lied.

Instead of believing me, he brought up what I had hoped he would ignore. “You freaked out. Somethin’ happened in there. Somethin’ we’re gonna need to talk about.”

Actually agreeing with him for once, but procrastinating as usual, I answered, “I know. Just not now.” To make my point further, I inclined my head to the still in tears Ruthie in my arms.

Tuck nodded. “Right. I wanna talk to her.” With that, he reached out and curled Ruthie away from my body and into his.

Ruthie wrapped her arms around his waist and burrowed her face in his chest. Tuck reciprocated by wrapping his arms around her shoulders and began whispering into her hair.

He was talking softly, but I could still hear him. “First thing, sweetheart. I’m here for you always. Never forget.”

Ruthie seemed to cry harder so he just gave her a squeeze and continued, “Next thing. I’m done not sayin’ somethin’. I been scared you would leave me too if I started gettin’ in your business. That’s over. I’m tellin’ you, you and Bobby are done. He’s an asshole and you’re way too good for him. I don’t wanna see you lowerin’ yourself to that level ever again.”

Ruthie lifted her head and looked into Tuck’s eyes. “Thanks, Tuck.”

“My pleasure, sweetheart. Been wantin’ to kick his ass for some time now.”

She shook her head and spoke again. “No. I mean yeah, thanks for that too, but that’s not what I meant.”

He just stood there and waited for her to continue. She licked her lips, preparing to say something that was probably hard for her. “I mean thanks for carin’ enough to get in my business.”

I watched Tuck’s jaw get hard. But not from anger. No, he was fighting the emotion welling up inside him. He had needed that so bad. After his sister, he had held back from doing what he had always known. He had stopped stepping into situations that were considered other people’s business for fear that he would lose them too. He needed the affirmation that what he was doing was because he cared, not because he was trying to cause problems. He needed to show his love in its protective form and get that love back. And today, Ruthie gave it to him.

He kissed the top of her head and whispered, “I think it’s time I move on. Time to start livin’ again. Time to appreciate what I got instead’a stayin’ hung up on what I lost.”

Hearing him say those words was the dose of reality I needed. I needed to take his advice and apply it to myself. We’d both been living our lives so stuck in the past that we weren’t fully appreciating what we had in the present. Maybe I didn’t need revenge on Andrew. I still felt like it was a disservice to Jenny to just let what had happened go, but it was a disservice to myself not to. I had gotten out. I made a life for myself. A life where I was really truly happy.

With stunning clarity I realized that I
was
happy. Unbelievably so. I was happiest in any one of three places. In Joplin, Tennessee, on Tuck’s farm, or safely nestled in Tuck’s arms. Luckily for me, they were all in one place, safely cocooned inside one another like my very own matryoshka doll. After what I had gone through, I had thought finding happiness would be harder, but it wasn’t. It was easy because I didn’t have to find it. It found me.

I had to let Jenny go. If Tuck could do it, so could I. We could both let go of our pasts and move on. Together.

********

We had settled Ruthie in my apartment for the night and had just gotten home.

Tuck thought it would be better for her to stay in my apartment behind the security of extra locks and the alarm instead of at her townhouse until we knew if Bobby was going to heed all of Tuck’s warnings or not. I had thought she should come home with us, but they both disagreed with me. She claimed she wanted time to herself to relax and unwind, and he wanted time with me do the opposite without her in the next room. The plan had merit, and I wasn’t going to change their minds, so I went along with it.

We got into the bedroom and Tuck pulled me down so that I was facing him, straddling his lap.

He put his hands on my hips and I put mine on his shoulders as he started to talk. “Okay, Babe. We got some stuff to talk about, and you know what I mean. That was an intense scene, watchin’ her tumble down the stairs like that, but there was somethin’ more there for you. We’ve talked about how you got here and your past a little, but I think it’s time to fill in the gaps. What happened today?”

I squeezed his neck, looked into his eyes, and whispered, “You’re right. There was something more to that for me. Let’s just say I’ve been through a scene like that before with a different ending. In in a lot of ways, it was the beginning to a life I have no desire to remember.”

His grip tightened on my hips and he started to interrupt me, but I put a finger to his lips and shook my head. “No. Let me finish. I have no desire to remember it or talk about it, but I’m going to. It’s time we got everything out in the open. I’m going to tell you everything and you’re going to return the favor. But not right now. Tomorrow, please. Let’s just have tonight. Just tonight to enjoy each other without any demons from the past getting in the way. I want to make love to you and enjoy you, and if we talk tonight, it’s going to get in the way. So, please. Just let me have tonight.”

He paused for several seconds before answering, “Alright, Babe. I don’t like it, but we’ll wait.”

I smiled but he shook his head. “Tomorrow, we’re talkin’. No more delays, no more secrets.”

I agreed, “No more secrets,” and leaned down to touch my mouth to his.