Small Town Siren

Chapter Ten

Abby looked up and down Main Street and wondered whether she was going to have the courage to pull this off. There were some new stores, but otherwise it hadn’t changed. It was still a neat, little slice of small-town America. She looked over at the barbershop her father used to go to. Two old men were standing outside watching her with suspicious eyes. This wasn’t going to be easy.

Sam stared at her, a worried expression on his naturally happy face. “Are you sure you want to do this? It might be easier to just drive in to Tyler today. We can get everything you need there. Hell, we can get the essentials in Tyler and wait until Friday and then spend the weekend in Dallas. I assure you, we can find anything you want in Dallas. We’ll go to Neiman’s.”

Abby shook her head. She could handle the snootiest Neiman Marcus shoe salesman, but she wasn’t so sure about Greg Gunderson at the GrabItQuick. He seemed way scarier. The funny thing was the clerk at Neiman’s had to bet that a customer had the cash. Millionaires in Dallas came in all eccentric types. Greg Gunderson knew for damn sure he didn’t want to serve her. The trouble was Abby had to get herself served if she was going to make a go of it with Jack and Sam.

In her quest to do this, she had made two important decisions. The first decision was to lay it all out to Sam. She told him everything she was afraid of. She started at the beginning, when she was seventeen and had finally bagged Adam Echols. She had spared not a moment’s shame, right down to leaving town in order to save her mother’s job. Abby started with Sam because he was the easier of the two to talk to. Abby had been relatively certain that Sam would take it all with equanimity. She had been wrong. He had been furious, and not with her. After she calmed Sam down, she told him her plan. He was willing to go along with it, but he still had issues, hence the Neiman Marcus argument.

“Seriously, baby, it’ll be fun,” Sam continued. “We can spend the weekend at the Adolphus. We’ll get a big old suite and only leave when we need to take you shopping. There are some stores I’d like to take you to.”

Abby sent him a harried look. “I know what stores you’re talking about, Sam. Try to tempt me another time, please. I’m still dealing with the last sex toy you shoved up my butt.”

Sam had the good sense to look compassionate. Abby remembered this morning’s exercise well. It had started with Sam tossing her on the bed, jumping on top of her, riding her until they both screamed and ended with the pink medium-sized plug and a whole lot of lube.

“Is it terribly uncomfortable?”

Abby smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek. “No. Surprisingly not. I have to do this, Sam. I have to face them down. It would be great to spend a weekend in Dallas, but I can’t drive to Dallas every time we need a gallon of milk.”

“They really won’t sell stuff to you?” Sam still sounded stunned. He’d been surprised at the idea of a whole town turning against one woman.

Abby shook her head. “Not for twenty years, although, truth be told, it started earlier than that. Once the Echols clan figured out Adam was serious, it was hard for me to buy groceries for my mom. Hell, I got an F in a class I should have gotten an A in. It was suggested that my foreign language skills weren’t up to snuff. My Spanish teacher attended church with Ruby Echols.

Sam kicked at the curb with his well-worn boot. Abby heard him cut off a curse. “Hell, Abby, let’s just tell Jack everything. He’ll fix it.”

“It isn’t his job to fix my life.”

“Don’t you tell him that.” Sam wagged a finger at her. “You’re likely to find yourself over his knee getting the spanking of a lifetime. He takes this stuff seriously. He always has.”

Abby leaned against the body of the gorgeous pearl-white Mercedes Sam was driving today. She knew she was procrastinating, but she was curious. “He’s protective of you. The two of you met in a foster home, didn’t you?”

“It was a group home for teens,” Sam corrected. “I was almost fifteen. I guess they figured no one would want a fifteen-year-old boy. My parents and my older brother died in a car accident. I was left all alone. I was a terrified kid when I went into that home. It was basically a detention center with nice curtains. That first night, the oldest kid there decided to make an example of me after lights out. Jack stopped him. I’ve been with him ever since.”

Abby reached out to run her fingers across Sam’s tense jaw. She moved closer to him and put her arms around him. “I’m sorry you went through that, but I’m glad Jack was there.”

Sam crossed his arms over his chest and stood next to her. “I don’t know what would have happened without Jack, but I have a pretty good idea. I was a teenager, but Jack had been in the system since he was six. He never stayed in one place for more than a year. From what I understand, he was a difficult child. I’m pretty sure he was abused, Abby. You should know we’re both pretty damaged.”

Abby felt her heart swell with love for the two men. They had been through so much, and yet were still capable of loving a woman. She slipped her arm around Sam’s waist. He didn’t fight her at all. He accepted her comfort.

“I think we’re all damaged, Sam. You don’t get through life without some scars. You and Jack figured out a way to make it through.” They were halves of a whole, she recognized. Tragedy had ravaged both men, but together they were complete. Jack was the responsible one. Taking responsibility for Sam had given Jack an anchor in the world. Sam was the bright side. He forced Jack to have fun and connect with people. In return, Sam had someone who would never leave him. And they both needed her. She would tie them together even more than they were now. They loved her. She was comfortable with that fact, but there was more to it. She was a conduit for them to express their love for each other. When Abby really thought about it, it was a lovely thing to be. It was a unique solution, but it worked.

“All I’m trying to say is, let Jack take care of you,” Sam explained. “It’s who he is. He needs it.”

Abby nodded. “I understand, but this is something I have to do for myself. If I don’t face these people, I’ll never be comfortable here. I have to stand up for myself this time if I want to live here with you. This is about more than just being able to buy a gallon of milk.”

“All right, but if they get nasty with you, you can’t expect me to sit back.”

“If they get physical with me, you have my permission to ride in and rescue me,” Abby negotiated. “Otherwise, you hang back.”

“Jack’s gonna kill me.” He pushed himself off the Benz.

Abby fondly stroked the car. “I’ll be a little sad when he has to turn this car in, Sam. I have to admit, driving in this car gives me an ego boost the truck just can’t. I feel like walking in and telling everyone I drive a Mercedes, so you better sell me a Snickers bar or my car will destroy your car’s reputation.”

Sam laughed. “Well, you feel free to tell everyone that.”

Abby wrinkled her nose and shook her hair out. She was dressed in a pair of Christa’s Levi’s and one of Sam’s too big T-shirts. She did not look like a woman who drove a Benz. “Nah, I’d feel bad when I had to turn it back into the rental agency. But it is a gorgeous car.”

“It isn’t a rental, Abby,” Sam said slowly.

“Jack replaced his truck? Because of that little dent I put in it?”

“Nope. He replaced your car.” Sam stood back. He gave her a charming smile and patted the car.

“He bought me a car?” Abby tried to process the information. She sighed. “That is sweet, Sam, but my car is fine. It’s paid off, and it still runs…most of the time.”

“Abby, it has WHORE painted on it,” Sam pointed out.

“So, it needs a paint job.”

“Even with a paint job, it’ll always be your whore car,” Sam reasoned. “You’ll never be able to look at it the same way again. You’ll always see it right there on the hood of your car.”

Abby rolled her eyes. “Don’t be a drama queen, Sam. My car’s honor hasn’t been impugned.”

“Oh, yes it has.” There was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “It’s completely ruined in the eyes of society.” His hands slid across the top of the Benz lovingly. “But this baby is pure as the driven snow.”

“You’re insane,” Abby declared flatly. “I want my car back.”

“Not really possible. Jack thought you might want your whore car back, so he had it crushed.” Sam held his hands about two feet apart. “It’s this big now, Abby. It’s a nice little cube.”

“Jack cubed my car?”

“You’ll find that Jack thinks ahead. He figured you might be a little stubborn about the whole car thing, so he took care of it for you. Now you can feel free to enjoy the pristine beauty of the Benz, since you can’t exactly drive a cube.”

Abby felt her face flush. He really had cut her off at the knees. She wasn’t so stubborn as to throw the car back in Jack’s face. They were getting married, and he had caused her beloved Oldsmobile to meet its sad demise. He owed her a car. She just worried about the expense. Jack needed to understand that she wasn’t some princess who had to have the best of everything. She was willing to work with them to grow the ranch. Abby’s pointing finger came out, and Sam took a little step back. “Jack and I will be having a discussion about this tonight.”

“I will look forward to it.” Expectation lit his blue eyes. “Please don’t start in on Jack until I have a front-row seat.” Abby started down the sidewalk, and Sam followed. “I think I’ll pick up some popcorn because that is going to be one entertaining discussion.”

Abby let the doors to the local grocery store swing open in front of her. She thought about getting a cart and shopping leisurely, but decided a quick guerilla assault was more likely to work. Abby tried not to notice that everyone in the store was staring as she marched in. The girl at the register immediately picked up her phone and called for Mr. Gunderson.

Let him come, Abby thought.

She stalked through the store until she found the aisle with the feminine hygiene products. She grabbed a big box of tampons, and when she turned around, she nearly collided with a pimple-faced kid who couldn’t be much past seventeen. He dropped the box he had been carrying and packages of maxi pads went flying.

Abby sighed and bent over to start helping the kid pick them up.

“You’re Abigail Moore.” He was staring at her. Abby was pretty certain he wasn’t looking at her eyes.

“Yes.” She was not able to keep the surly tone out of her voice. This kid hadn’t even been alive when she’d left town. She wasn’t putting up with his crap. “Do you have a problem with that?”

He quickly shook his head. “No, no problem, ma’am,” the kid stammered. “My mom says now that you’re back, you’ll probably corrupt every teenage boy in town.”

“Do you listen to everything your mama says?”

He shook his head. “Not usually. I just thought…maybe I could take you out some time, Miss Abigail. I have some money left over from my birthday. We could go to someplace nice.”

Abby heard a man snort and saw Sam bent over in the aisle, laughing his ass off. Abby stared at the boy. He looked back with the earnest expression of a boy who wanted desperately to be corrupted. “Should I expect further invitations from the town’s high school boy population?”

He shrugged. “Most likely. We all decided you’re just the hottest thing this town has seen since Lisa Donald brought back a string bikini from her aunt’s house in L.A.”

Abby sighed and walked around the boy, completely ignoring his invitation. She narrowed her eyes at Sam as she walked by. “You’re supposed to defend me from things like that, Sam Fleetwood. Some fiancé you are.”

“Hell, Abby, the high school boys of Willow Fork have spoken,” Sam managed to wheeze. “You are their goddess. Who am I to stand in the way? Besides, baby, he weighs all of ninety pounds. After the way you handled Melissa Paul last night, he’ll be a breeze.”

Abby frowned at him and marched straight up to the checkout stand. Greg Gunderson stood waiting. He had relieved the clerk and stood panting from the exertion of running all the way from his office in the back of the store. He was about fifteen years older than Abigail, and she still remembered the first time he’d told her to get out of his store. He’d put on about fifty pounds since the last time she’d seen him. He still wore the tackiest ties, though.

Slamming the box of tampons on the counter, Abby looked Gunderson straight in the eyes. “I would like to purchase that, please.”

Unlike the last time, Gunderson looked slightly apologetic. “I can’t, Miss Moore. You know I can’t have you in here.”

A crowd of young mothers was gathering with their children in tow. Abby recognized Jan Echols among them. Walter’s wife smiled at her encouragingly. She looked back at the grocery store owner. She’d come too far to walk out defeated now.

“Are you telling me I cannot buy a box of feminine necessaries in your store?”

Gunderson sighed. “You know I can’t sell it to you.”

“You’re the only grocery in town, Mr. Gunderson,” Abby pointed out. “Where am I supposed to go?”

He stammered as he realized there were a whole lot of female eyes watching him. “Well, there’s always Tyler.”

“You expect her to drive to Tyler for a box of tampons?” Jan asked flatly. Abby looked back, noting a slightly unholy gleam in the eyes of many of the women there. It was as though the entire crowd sensed the distress of the man and was waiting eagerly to pounce.

“Obviously the man has never had a period,” said a young brunette with a baby strapped to her chest. She shook her head indignantly. “Is she just supposed to hold it until she can get there?”

“Now, this is certainly not a fit conversation for mixed company.” Gunderson’s eyes darted around, seeking out the first man he could find.

He wouldn’t get any help from Sam, Abby knew. Sam looked like he was having a grand old time. He stepped back with the women. “If he can refuse to sell poor Abby Moore her much-needed tampons, what is next, ladies? He’s a man on a mission to oppress the women of Willow Fork.”

“That is completely untrue.” The round man seemed to sense his Monday afternoon shoppers were about to turn into an unruly mob.

“We should protest,” someone from the back said. “We could get signs and everything.”

Jan Echols smiled. “I think, perhaps, tomorrow Mr. Gunderson might discover his store window covered in maxi pads. They stick, you know. We could line the whole store front with them. Don’t think of it as vandalism, sir. Think of it as artistic outrage.”

“That’ll be five dollars and ninety cents.” Gunderson looked down at his cash register.

Reaching into her purse, Abby pulled out a ten. She took her change and held the small bag in her hand.

When Abby turned, the female mob burst into applause.

“About time someone stood up to that old prude,” she heard someone mutter.

“He won’t even carry hair color,” another said bitterly. “He says it’s for loose women.”

“Maybe a little protest is still called for.” Jan stared at the very nervous grocery store owner.

“Maybe a new store is called for,” Sam offered cheerfully. “I’ve been looking to invest.” He took Abby by the hand and started to lead her away. “Baby, I take it all back. This is so much more fun than letting Jack scare the shit out of people. Let’s go up and down Main Street buying stuff you don’t need.”

As Abby let Sam lead her triumphantly out of the store, she noticed the stock boy watching her. Their eyes met, and he held a single hand up to wave goodbye. The lovelorn look on his face was enough to make Abby giggle. It really had been worth the trouble.

The nicest salon in town was across the street.

Abby decided she needed conditioner.

Ruby Echols heard of Abigail Moore’s conquest of Main Street very quickly. She’d been taking tea in her sitting room when the phone was brought to her. Helen Talbot had been in the Winchester Salon when Abby had threatened a multitude of lawsuits if she was not offered the ability to purchase hair products. What was the world coming to when decent store owners were not allowed to select their clientele?

Ruby wanted to shake with rage as she thought about the night before. It had taken a lot out of her to start that fire. It wasn’t as if the trashy little trailer had put up much of a fight, but she had been obliged to walk through the woods in order to conceal her vehicle. A window had been conveniently left open, and some filmy curtains had been easy to set aflame. Ruby was disappointed Abby hadn’t been caught in the trailer, but she should have known the tramp would have the devil’s own luck.

It was the sight of Adam taking care of the bitch that had infuriated Ruby. Adam had walked up the lane and taken charge, as she had always known he would. Adam was the smart, confident one. He was a leader. He was everything she had dreamed he would become. His body was a man’s body now. He wasn’t a boy anymore.

But he still needed a mother’s protection. He was still in that siren’s clutches, and it was up to Ruby to make sure things turned out differently this time.

Ruby’s head began to pound. Oh, she wondered, where was that youngest boy of hers? He was supposed to bring her those pills. She hadn’t taken them already, had she? Sometimes things were very confusing.

Ruby gathered the cashmere cardigan around her shoulders. The door chimes rang, and Ruby heard the housekeeper hustling to the door. She sat carefully on the antique sofa as Hillary Glass, Helen Talbot, and Miranda Knight were shown into the sitting room.

“Oh, Ruby, we heard all about it,” Miranda fretted as she moved to greet Ruby.

“Did you hear the news that the tramp’s trailer burned down?” Hillary settled herself on the early American arm chair Ruby’s great-grandmother had brought with her when the family moved from Atlanta after the War of Northern Aggression.

“Yes,” Ruby murmured. “I heard about it this morning. It doesn’t surprise me. I’m sure someone was drunk at the time. I doubt that her mother had insurance. Are they at a shelter?” It suited Ruby to think of those trashy women as homeless.

“No.” Helen shook her overly round head. Ruby had always thought Helen should lose some weight, but then again, her bloodlines were impeccable. One had to overlook such things at times. Now Helen’s large hands fluttered. “The rumor is she’s moved in with Jack Barnes, and they’re getting married on Thursday. Barnes called the judge this morning and got the paperwork going. Can you imagine it? Abigail Moore is going to marry the largest land holder in the county.”

Ruby flushed. “No, she is not.”

Helen shook her head. “I don’t know that you can stop this, Ruby. That Barnes fellow is quite intimidating. My son has done business with him. He says the man is tough but fair. However, when he’s crossed, he can be ruthless.”

“If he’s decided he wants Abigail Moore, then he’ll have her,” Miranda pronounced.

A plan formed in Ruby’s brain. She would drive Abigail out of town once and for all, and then Adam could come home. “Then we’ll have to convince little Abby to leave him, won’t we? I do believe I would like to get a cup of coffee at the café in town. I think Abigail will more than likely show up there, don’t you?”

Three hours later, Ruby smiled as a shaken Abigail Moore walked out of the café. It had been relatively simple to corner the girl. Miranda had waylaid the young man escorting Abigail around with tales of car trouble. The handsome blond man had been more than willing to help out a little old lady. Abigail had been flush with her own success. She had accepted Ruby’s invitation to talk with a look of challenge in her eyes.

She wasn’t so arrogant now, Ruby thought with pride.

She had shown the little tramp what real power was. Ruby had laid out a detailed plan of how she and her friends intended to destroy Jack Barnes and his business. When they were through, his business would be in ruins. Any money Abby thought she would take from the smitten man wouldn’t be worth the trouble Ruby would put them all through.

Ruby had made it very clear that if Abby Moore didn’t leave town by the end of the day, she would make Barnes’s life a living hell.

Ruby had no delusions that Abby loved her fiancé. A gold digger like Abigail Moore wasn’t capable of love. She was a practical girl, however. She had learned her lesson the first time. She would move on and find easier prey.

Ruby sipped at the coffee. It wasn’t up to her standards, but it tasted like victory nonetheless.