Small Town Siren

Chapter Eight

It was almost nine o’clock in the evening, but Ruby Echols wasn’t even beginning to think about going to bed. She knew there was no real point in it. She had gone to bed at the traditional hour of ten o’clock for the last month as a matter of principle, but she had slept very little. She lay awake knowing that dirty little whore was back in town. She couldn’t sleep knowing her own sweet son was buried in the ground while the woman who had led him to his death was having a grand old time.

Ever since Abigail Moore had come back to town, Ruby had discovered her life taken over again by the rage that had simmered close to the surface for twenty years. Adam had been her beautiful baby. He was headstrong, but that was just to be expected. He was handsome, rich, and smart. Arrogance went hand-in-hand with that. Unfortunately, he also had a man’s terrible taste in females.

Ruby believed firmly that had Adam lived, he would have come to his senses. He would never have actually married someone of Abigail’s class. He would have woken up and realized he had a future that couldn’t possibly involve a tramp like that red-haired hussy. Adam would attend the finest schools and take his rightful place in proper society. Ruby smiled. She already had a girl picked out for Adam, she thought with quiet satisfaction. Claire Winbourne would make a lovely bride. She was blonde and looked elegant in designer clothing. She wasn’t fat like the Moore girl. What men saw in fat women Ruby couldn’t understand. She herself had always maintained a proper figure. She ate very little because to be full meant one lacked restraint. It was just what a lady did. Adam’s wife would be slender and graceful.

Ruby put a hand to her head. Claire had married Walter, not Adam, she told herself.

Sometimes she got these things mixed up. Claire had married Walter, and Walter had screwed everything up. Now he was married to some fat girl named Jan who had been a secretary at one time.

“Mother Echols?”

Ruby looked up to see fat Jan in the doorway. Jan Lane Echols was a brunette with large breasts. They made her look trashy, and Ruby had offered to pay for plastic surgery to help her look more like a lady, but Jan refused. Ruby carefully schooled her expression. She had done just about everything she could to get rid of the gold-digger, but it hadn’t worked. Now Ruby had to deal with the fact that her granddaughters would grow up to be the sort of women who should be dancing half-naked for tips. The stupid cow hadn’t even managed to produce a single son.

“What is it you need?” Ruby asked evenly.

“I just came down to see if you needed anything. I heard the rumors about what happened at Delbert’s. I thought it might upset you.”

Ruby smiled. She had been happy with the conversations she’d had with her friends. They had taken great delight in informing her of the whore’s dismissal. The fact that she had thought she would be welcome in a genteel place like Delbert’s boggled the mind. Well, the idiot had never been very smart. The fool had turned down the money Ruby offered her to stay away from Adam.

“It didn’t upset me at all. It just proves that society still works. A person of her character should not be allowed to mingle with the rest of us.”

Jan’s blue eyes rolled. It was further proof to Ruby that her daughter-in-law wasn’t Echols material. Sarcasm had no place in a properly bred lady. “You need to be careful, Mother Echols. She wasn’t alone tonight. She was with Sam Fleetwood and Jack Barnes. You might not approve of their lifestyle, but there is no question you don’t want to upset those men.”

A brief vision of Jack Barnes entered Ruby’s head. He was dark and handsome, like Adam. He was broader, but Adam would have been broader, too, had he been allowed to reach maturity. Adam would have taken on a man’s build and authority. Sometimes, Ruby got confused and saw Adam when she was looking at Jack Barnes. Ruby waved off the statement, her big diamond ring catching the light. It shouldn’t shock her that Abigail Moore was trying to get her hooks into the Barnes fellow. She’d heard he was considered quite the up and comer in the business community.

“They have no place in society.” They didn’t, Ruby assured herself. They never attended socials or the charity balls. They weren’t powerful.

“Only because they don’t want to,” Jan replied. “I don’t know how serious they are about Abby Moore, but I wouldn’t want to get between Jack Barnes and something he wanted. I’m asking you to think about Walter before you do anything to hurt that girl. I wouldn’t want Walter’s election to get nasty. I don’t get it. She seems perfectly nice. I had lunch at the café with the girls. She was really sweet to them.”

Ruby’s eyes narrowed, and she stood up, reaching her full five-foot height. “You took my granddaughters to meet the whore who killed their uncle?” Ruby might not care for the girls, but they carried the Echols name and should not be allowed to sully it.

“Adam was killed in an accident, and it was twenty years ago.” Jan’s mouth firmed, and she crossed her arms stubbornly. “I’m not going to have some twenty-year-old feud hurt Walter’s chances of getting elected. The way you treated that girl was shameful then and ridiculous now, and I won’t do it. I am not going to pretend she doesn’t exist. I intend to ask Ms. Moore if my daughters can meet their cousin. They won’t have any more, so I think it’s important that they know the family they do have.”

The crack of Ruby’s open hand against Jan’s face resounded through the room. Ruby was sixty-eight and knew people considered her physically weak. They didn’t understand the strength that a righteous cause could give her.

Walter flew to his wife’s side, surprising them both. “Are you all right, baby?” Walter hugged his wife to him.

Jan pulled away from him and rubbed her reddened cheek. “I’ve had enough. I never wanted to push this, but I am going to now, Walter. I love you. It’s me or her. I don’t want her influencing my girls anymore.”

“You idiot,” Ruby sneered at her daughter-in-law, “a boy never leaves his mother.”

Walter was quiet for a moment. “I’ve been thinking a lot about that lately, Mother. I’ve been thinking about all the times you held me and lavished your love on me. It didn’t take long to go through those memories since they didn’t exist. Everything you had was reserved for Adam. Every bit of love you had in your heart was for him, not me. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make up for the fact that Adam is dead. I’ll be damned if my girls have to live like that, too. Only one person has ever loved me for being me. Mother, if you think I would choose you over Jan, you really have lost your damn mind.” He looked to his wife. “Pack up the girls. We’ll stay in the motel tonight. I’ll find us a place to live tomorrow.”

Ruby watched, stunned that her son would speak to her in such a manner. Didn’t he know his obligations? Hadn’t she spent his whole life making sure he understood what he owed his family?

Walter ignored her. He was too busy looking at his fat wife. “I love you, Jan. I love you. I will always choose you.” He finally turned to Ruby. “As for you, Mother, I’ll make certain the housekeeper knows to take care of you.”

Her whole world shifted. Ruby steadied herself as her son turned to leave. “I will cut you off, Walter,” Ruby threatened. “I will make sure you don’t get a dime.”

Walter shook his head. “I’m not the idiot you think I am. I don’t need your money, Mother. I have worked my entire adult life, and I know how to save. Daddy made sure I knew how to take care of myself financially. I have made some very savvy investments. Jan and I will do just fine. You keep your money. I suspect it will be the only thing to keep you warm at night.”

With that, he took his wife’s hand and walked up the stairs. Ruby Echols sank to the antique divan that had been in her family for generations.

Adam was leaving, she thought. That was what Adam had said.

“I don’t need your money, Mother,” Adam had said. “Abby and I will be just fine.”

Adam was leaving her again, and this time he was taking Walter, too. Abigail Moore was the reason she was losing her family. Just tonight Adam had tried to take her to a fancy restaurant.

Ruby picked up the keys to her car. Abby Moore wasn’t going to win this time.

The honky-tonk seemed even louder than before after the quiet intimacy of Sam’s room. Abby immediately spotted her best friend still sitting at the bar. Christa’s left eyebrow was practically in outer space as Abby walked up to her. It took everything Abby had not to pat her hair or smooth down her dress self-consciously. She wondered if she looked like a woman who had just had mind-blowing sex with two men. Suddenly, with her body still humming from the recent orgasms, Abby didn’t care.

“You look like the Cheshire Cat, you know.” Christa smiled as she slid a frosty cosmo Abby’s way.

“Do I?” Abby took the drink and sighed. “I can’t ever think why.” The grin on her face just wouldn’t go away.

“Probably for the same reason I need to hose down my desk from this morning’s session,” Christa complained good-naturedly.

Abby’s entire face flushed. “I am so sorry about that.”

“No, you’re not,” Christa replied. “I wouldn’t be. So was it Sam or Jack on the desk?”

Abby gingerly sat down on the barstool, the small butt plug still lodged discreetly where Jack said it would do them all the most good. She leaned over to her best friend and was so happy she had someone to confide in.

“Sam was on the desk. Jack was in the chair.”

Christa’s mouth hung open for a moment before she shook her head and laughed. “Girl, I am gonna live through you from now on. I want Facebook updates hourly. I can see it now. Abby Moore…is exhausted from doing her two gorgeous men.”

Abby gnawed thoughtfully on her lower lip. “I think I love them, Chris. Hell, I don’t think, I know I love them. I’m seriously thinking about staying in this two-bit town just so I can be with them.”

Christa’s hand went up in victory. “Yes! Another evil plan works. Damn, I am good. My brain is wasted on this town. Mike is gonna owe me a week’s worth of dish duty.”

“What do you mean?” Abby glanced over to where Jack stood talking to Mike. Sam was just joining them. His blond hair was still slightly damp from the shower. Abby’s insides fluttered when she thought about what he’d done to her in the shower.

Christa looked entirely satisfied with herself. Her jet-black ponytail bobbed as she nodded. “Oh, yeah, it was me. I sold you out. I told Sam to rifle through your little book collection if he wanted to know the way to your heart, which, by the way, is apparently through your…”

“Christa Marie Wade!” Abby said righteously, then ruined it by grinning. “You hush that filthy mouth of yours. I should be angry with you for giving that away. Girlfriends are supposed to keep quiet about their friend’s porn.”

“Not in this case,” Christa argued. “I saw the way you looked at them. Every time either one of them walked in the room you would go all gooey. Sam just followed you around like a puppy, and Jack brooded even worse when you were around. They wouldn’t approach you because they didn’t believe you would be okay with their lifestyle. They thought you would run. Those books let them know you were an open-minded girl. If I hadn’t shown Sam, the three of you would still be all about unrequited love. Instead, the three of you are practically glowing. And you owe it all to the fact that I can’t keep my nose out of other peoples’ business. If it keeps my best friend in town, then all my plotting was worth it!”

Sam eased up behind Abby’s barstool. “Oh, Christa, did you confess?” He lifted his hand to let the bartender know he was ready for another beer, and then his hand settled on Abigail’s back.

“I did, indeed.” Christa favored Sam with a saucy wink. “It’s my weakness as a super villain. I have an undeniable need for credit. I was thrilled to hear that Abby was thinking of staying.”

Sam looked slightly startled at the pronouncement. “Thinking?”

“Well, it’s a big decision, Sam.” Abby noticed Sam’s handsome face had turned mulishly stubborn, and she was beginning to recognize all the signs of Sam about to tattle on her to Jack. Abby put a hand on his arm. “It’s not like I’m planning on leaving anytime soon. I have to make sure my mom is fully healed, and I have to find a job.”

“Why the hell do you think you need a job?” Sam practically yelled. Abby looked over, and sure enough, Jack had heard the exchange. His green eyes were filled with suspicious concern.

“Because life requires money, Sam.” Abby was not looking forward to the next few minutes. “Did you expect that I’d just hang around in my mom’s trailer for the rest of my life? It’s going to take a hell of a lot of money to put my daughter through college.”

“You don’t trust us to take care of you?” Sam’s question came out as an outraged yelp. Out of the corner of her eye, Abby confirmed that now Jack was hurrying toward him.

Maybe, she would think later, it had been the vodka that did it. Perhaps it had been the vodka combined with the happy lethargy vigorous sex had brought about, but whatever it was, Abby heard herself saying the fateful words. “If you want me to trust you to take care of me, maybe you should think about marrying me.”

“All right,” Jack’s deep voice said from behind her. “Thursday work for you, sweetheart?”

Christa’s eyes were wide, and Abby thought they probably mirrored her own. “Jack, I was just trying to freak out Sam a little. He was being a tad bit overbearing. I wasn’t demanding that you marry me.”

“She sure as hell was.” There was an arrogant grin on Sam’s face. “She said she wouldn’t be able to trust us if we didn’t marry her.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Samuel. I was joking. Besides, you are overlooking the fact that it’s illegal to be married to two different men at the same time.”

Sam shrugged. “We got it all worked out. We’re going to rock-paper-scissors for it.”

Jack sighed and shook his head. “No, Abigail. We take this very seriously. I am going to legally marry you. You’ll be Abigail Barnes in the eyes of the law, but we expect you to wear Sam’s ring, too. I expect you to take him as seriously as you do me.”

Sam was wearing a dippy grin. She shook her head. “That’s hard sometimes, Jack.”

“You’ll muddle through.” Jack leaned over to steal a kiss. “I’ll apply for the license tomorrow. It takes three days. We’ll move your mother into the guest house.”

Abby’s head whirled. “Wait just a minute, Jack. We’ve only known each other for a month. You can’t just railroad me into marriage.”

Jack smiled wistfully. “Would it help if you knew I considered it more like I’m gently herding you into marriage?”

“No.” She had to laugh at the picture of Jack and Sam treating her like prized cattle. They did love their cattle. “That doesn’t make it better.” She got serious, thinking about what had happened earlier. “Jack, there’s a lot I don’t think you’ve considered. Marrying me means something in this town and not something good.”

Jack shook his head. “It’s too late, Abby. You said you loved us. You’re not going to be able to wiggle out of it now.”

“You belong to us,” Sam said implacably.

“And you belong here.” Christa looked just as serious as the men. She reached over and grabbed Abby’s hand. “I’ve missed you. I love you, and I’m tired of being apart. This is the time in our life when we get to go crazy again. This is the time when we get to be who we are, instead of who we thought we should be. I can’t stand the thought of figuring that out without you.”

Sam’s hand reached out to wipe away the tears Abby didn’t even know she had. Was she really going to let something that happened twenty years ago cost her all her happiness now? If she did that, then she wasn’t the woman she believed herself to be. If she let them run her out of town, she would be going against everything she’d worked to become. The idea of explaining to her daughter that she now was going to have two stepdads was daunting, but at least she knew her mom was all right with it.

Abby looked at Jack and Sam and grabbed her joy with both hands. “Thursday sounds great, Jack.”

The smile that spread across Jack’s face was well worth it. He looked happier than she’d ever seen him, and his masculine beauty took her breath away. Jack leaned in and kissed her lightly, but with the promise of so much more. “I love you, Abby-almost-Barnes.”

“I love you, too,” Abby said solemnly. Sam was less circumspect. He hauled her off the barstool and twirled her around before leaning her back for a wildly passionate kiss.

“Damn, Abby, you made us wait long enough.” Sam’s hands cupped her cheek with a tenderness that took her breath away.

“I made you wait a whole month and like three days,” Abby pointed out. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.

“Like I said, it was too damn long.” He smiled over at Jack, but something else seemed to catch his attention. Abby watched as his face went stark white, and he swallowed deeply. His face twisted like he was really trying to think of how to put something to her. “Baby, you know how I explained to you that I don’t always make the best decisions when I am inebriated? Here comes one of those bad decisions. Please save me.” He placed her strategically in front of him in a suspiciously shield-like fashion.

“Look what the trash man forgot to pick up.” Christa stood up and came to Abby’s side.

Abby was aware that Jack had moved onto her barstool. He looked terribly amused as a bleached blonde slinked into the room, wearing a shirt that barely contained her store-bought breasts and jeans that someone had spray-painted on. Her hair had been teased to within an inch of its life, and Abby couldn’t tell how old she was under the pound of makeup she was sporting. There was no mistaking the predatory gleam in her eye as she looked around the bar. Her brown eyes were hard, but they widened when she caught sight of her prey cowering behind another woman. It didn’t seem to affect the blonde. She gestured to someone, and yet another peroxide devotee of too little clothing came out of the woodwork.

“Oh, look. She brought a friend,” Christa said with a sarcastic grin. “I do believe she did that for you, Jack.”

Jack had the good sense to shudder. “I would hide behind Abigail, too, but Sam is taking up all the space.”

The dynamically tacky duo pushed their way across the crowded dance floor, making a beeline for Sam Fleetwood.

“You want to tell me who I’m protecting you from, Sam?” Abby had a guess.

“Melissa Paul.” Sam confirmed her suspicion. “She took advantage of me one night while I was drunk out of my mind, and then she had the horrible idea that she was my girlfriend.”

“Women get that way when you sleep with them, Sam,” Abby murmured.

“Well, they shouldn’t.” Sam’s hands tightened on her shoulders. “I assure you I didn’t mention it to her. I could have been stone drunk out of my mind, but the words I love you wouldn’t have passed my lips. I saved those words for you, baby.”

“Uh-huh,” Abby muttered with a resigned sigh. She looked back at her cowering future husband. “Does it bother you that you’re currently hiding behind a woman’s skirts?”

Jack laughed, but Sam looked unrepentant. “No, ma’am. You will find I am very flexible when it comes to your skirts. I will attempt to get into them as often as possible, and when the need arises, I will hide behind them shamelessly.”

Abby grinned because he was really heartbreakingly gorgeous. He was going to make her life a joy to live. She would never be bored with these two around. Abby couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. She was going to marry them.

“Sam,” Melissa Paul breathed in a sultry voice. Abby wondered if she got paid by the minute to talk on a sex line. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you’re avoiding me.”

“Then you must know something we don’t.” Christa sounded sassy and confronted the blondes with one hand on her waist. “Because he is definitely trying to avoid you.”

There was a huffing sound from the secondary blonde, but Melissa Paul just rolled her eyes and focused on Sam. “Can we go somewhere and…talk? Leslie here can keep Jack company. She doesn’t mind at all, do you, Leslie?”

The other blonde was slightly unsteady as she took a step toward Jack. “I don’t. He looks hot. I don’t think he’s scary at all. Lissa thinks you’re too kinky for her, but that don’t scare me none.” She reached out and put a hand on Jack’s chest.

That was a little too much. Abby’s hand shot out and forcibly removed the hand that desperately needed a manicure. “Hands off, honey. This one is mine.”

“Maybe he should decide.” The blonde was now paying attention to Abby.

Jack was stumbling all over himself to get the words out of his mouth. “Oh, I am one hundred percent hers. Yup, all hers. We’re getting married on Thursday.” Abby heard Christa laugh and barely managed to contain her own, because Jack looked positively terrified at the idea of having to deal with the horny chick.

Melissa Paul looked infinitely pleased. “So old Jack is marrying the village whore. Good for him. I always knew he didn’t mind used goods.”

Sam suddenly wasn’t cowering anymore. He stood straight up, and Jack was out of his barstool, too. Leslie had the good sense to look afraid, but Melissa didn’t have the Darwinian instincts to know she was in trouble. She was still looking coyly at her prey. Abigail realized that if she wanted to defuse the situation, she would have to take it in hand. She laughed because it was really a silly thing.

Her throaty gut laugh got everyone’s attention. Sam, Jack, and Christa all looked at her like she’d gone the tiniest bit crazy. Abby gestured toward the blonde. She couldn’t stop laughing. It was making her cry a little.

“Look at her. She just called me a whore. Seriously? Honey, I can see your nipples. Don’t be ridiculous.” Abby took a deep breath. “Now, turn around, little girl, before you make a complete idiot of yourself.”

Melissa Paul’s head bobbed in outrage. “I’m not the one making a fool of myself. You’re some old cougar trying to get her hands on a man who could be her son.”

Abby’s hands went up in disgust. “What? Did I have him when I was five? I am not that much older than him. What have you done, Sam? Have you slept with every twenty-something blonde in the county?”

Sam looked at her with wide eyes. Abby was beginning to think of it as his kicked puppy look. “Not every single one. I’m sure there are some I missed, and now I promise my blonde-banging days are over. I swear I haven’t slept with a single other person since I met you. I am all about the redhead now.”

Abby sent a questioning look back at Jack.

He smiled angelically. “I don’t even like blondes. You’ll find I’ve practically been a saint compared to Sam.”

“I believe that,” Abby said flatly, shaking her head the whole time. She turned back to her younger rival. “Now, you’re scaring Sam. Please go away.”

Melissa looked between the two men and Abigail, a revelation slowly dawning. “It’s true, isn’t it? I thought that was just some ugly rumor. You two perverts like to share women. Well, hell, Sam, if that’s all you need, I can do Jack, I suppose. You don’t have to settle for some old chick. I can be kinky, too. Me and Leslie will even do a four-way if you like.”

“But I’m the whore.” Abby looked to Christa, who had the same look of disgust on her face. Abby realized this could get bad. Christa winked, letting her know she had Abby’s back. A strange sense of excitement thrilled through Abby. Her life had been relatively calm for the last couple of years. Christa had been right. This was the time to reclaim a little of her crazy youth, and it was definitely time to put the young girls in their place. “Keep your hands off my man, little girl. This one’s mine, too. I don’t know what he did to make you think he wants you, but he doesn’t. He’s very sorry to have led you on…”

“I didn’t…” Sam started, and then smartly shut his mouth at the look on Abby’s face.

“…but he is very committed to our relationship,” Abby explained firmly. “There will no more drunken hook-ups with bottle blondes. He’s going to curb his drinking so he can make more appropriate choices in the future. Sam is limited to three beers from now on.”

“What?” Sam looked around for help from some corner. There was none forthcoming. “Damn it.”

“So go find some other man to bother.” Abby dismissed the woman with a curt nod of her head.

Melissa Paul obviously wasn’t used to being dismissed. She leaned over and shoved a hand into Abby’s chest. “Listen here, bitch. I am not letting some old cougar push me around. You can have Jack. I think he’s a pervert, anyway, and I’m going to tell everyone in town that he’s forcing Sam to sleep with you. Everyone knows Sam depends on Jack for money. I’m going to ruin all of you if I don’t get Sam.”

Christa gasped beside her at the threats of the younger woman. Abby had had far more than enough. Her hand curled into a fist. “You forgot one thing about us cougars, little kitten. We have claws.” Abby reared her fist back and punched the younger woman straight in the face.

“What the hell are we supposed to do, Jack?” Sam couldn’t keep his eyes off the two women. Abby got Melissa in a chokehold. Leslie had tried to jump into the fray to help her friend, but Christa had given a loud rebel yell and leapt on the smaller woman. They were wrestling on the floor of the bar. This had caused a chain reaction as many of the women in the bar seemed to think a taboo had been broken. Three other girl fights had broken out, and it was hair-pulling, nail-scratching chaos.

“Nothing,” Jack took a long drink. “Abby’s winning. Our little honey is downright mean, Sam. You had best follow that three-beer dictate of hers, or she’ll pile drive you. Where the hell did she learn that move?”

Melissa pulled out of the hold and reached out to snatch at Abby’s hair. Abby yelped, but then kicked out perfectly with her heel and Melissa went flying.

Sam watched his future wife pull another female up by her hair. A warmth flooded him. She was really pretty when she was fighting.

“And think about it, Sam,” Jack continued. He was watching Abby with a content grin. “She’s doing all it with a plug up her ass.”

Sam’s breath caught. Jack was right. “She is one hell of a woman.”

“And she’s all ours,” Jack said with a satisfaction Sam couldn’t mistake. He felt the same.

In the distance, Sam heard a familiar noise. Sam quickly calculated the distance and figured they didn’t have long.

Jack hopped off his barstool. He looked back at David Sandberg, who had a look of complete shock on his face. The Barn had seen its share of bar fights, but nothing like this, Sam knew.

“Tally up the damage and send me the bill, Dave,” Jack said with a wink. “The cops are coming. I’ll collect Abby. You tell Mike he needs to get Christa out of here, or we’ll be posting bail.”

Jack walked over to Abigail and tossed an arm around her waist, hauling her off her screaming blonde opponent.

“Hey, I wasn’t done with her!” Abby yelled as she was carted out like a piece of luggage.

Jack laughed. “You’re done for now, warrior princess. Sam’s honor has been avenged. It’s time to call it a night.”

Sam ran ahead. He helped Mike pull his wife off a crying Leslie. Christa laughed when Jack caught up to them. Even though they hustled, Sam noticed Abby and Christa seemed satisfied with the chaos they had wrought.

“Abby Moore’s back.” Christa made the pronouncement with a hearty fist pump.

Sam laughed. He opened the door. Even from her position over Jack’s shoulder, she replied with an arrogant grin. “You tell this town they ain’t seen nothing yet!”

Sam couldn’t wait to see what she’d come up with next.