Cooper sighed, handing me Lucille’s jacket. The smell of her perfume hit my nostrils as I squeezed the leather in my hand. “She don’t hate you. But she don’t like you either. Maybe if you stopped poking at her and tried talking to her, things wouldn’t be so cold between you two.”
My jaw tightened. “I don’t need her to like me. Lucille has no bearing on my life whatsoever. My only concern is Bone Ridge, and doing right by Memphis.” I wasn’t sure if I believed myself.
The old man’s smile grew as he raised a brow. “I’m sure Memphis would disagree.” He stared into my eyes for a moment, only breaking away once the timer buzzed, followed by the eruption of onlookers. “Take care of her, Forsythe. Just like you promised.” He walked away and joined Torchy. I looked back at Lucille, shouting with excitement over not falling off.
She raised her arm high and whistled with the other. “Tequila shots on me!” Everyone hooted and hollered.
Great…more fucking alcohol.
Lucille hopped down from the bull, wiping the spilt beer from her shirt as she caught my gaze. Her smile instantly fell. “What’reyoudoing here?” she asked. I raised her jacket, offering it back to her while trying to ignore the smell of her perfume and look of disgust stamped across her face.
I cleared my throat. “Cooper wanted me to make sure you were okay.” My eyes wandered to her exposed shoulders. “Here, put this on. You’re covered in beer.”
She snatched the jacket from my grasp and held it. “Oh he did, did he?” She looked past me at the two men sitting at the bar, ignoring us both. “Well, I hate to break it to you, but I don’t need, or want, your help. And I’m not planning to leave anytime soon.” She roughly pushed past me and tried to march off, flicking me off with her middle finger. “Fuck off, Forsythe.”
This fucking woman will be the death of me.
“Lucille,” I groaned. My body turned back to face her as she grabbed a beer from an empty table. “You shouldn’t drink anymore. We both know you never could handle more than a few drinks.” Her hazel eyes met mine, challenging me to do something while she downed the beer.
She slammed the bottle onto the table and wiped her mouth. “Yeah, well,” she exhaled. “I hate to break it to you, but I’m not the same little girl you remember.”
I stepped closer, shadowing over her small frame. “I’m not the same man from back then either,” I growled as my hands balled into fists at my side. “Get your shit. We’re leaving. Your momma would be ashamed if she saw you here, acting this way.”
Lucille’s brow raised. “And what way is that?” She stepped closer, the smell of her perfume mixing with the heavy lingering scent of alcohol, the two filling my nostrils as she tilted her head, waiting for me to answer.
A damn fool.
I could’ve said it right there, but I knew if she was acting out like this, something must’ve been bothering her. Something big enough to make her come all the way out here and get trashed. So, for once, I chose to bite my tongue.
Lucille scoffed. “That’s what I thought.” She pointed her finger and pressed it into my chest. “Leave me alone, Forsythe. You’ve done enough.” Lucille picked the beer back up, and I grabbed her wrist, preventing her from drinking it. “What the hell are you?—”
“I said that’senough.”
“Little Lucille?”
Her body tightened and froze at the woman’s voice that came from behind her. She dropped her hand and slowly turned around to look at the attractive woman, wearing a deep denim blue bustier and white mini-skirt with matching white cowboy boots. Her long, pitch-black hair bounced as she moved herhead, contrasting with the bright red lipstick she wore. The woman smiled at Lucille, holding what was probably a fruity little drink by the looks of the colorful umbrella sticking out of it.
“Oh my god!” The blue-eyed woman was then joined by a blonde-haired duo, looking almost identical to her with matching smirks and judgement filled gazes. “Itisyou, isn’t it?”
Lucille took a sip of her beer and sighed. “Priscilla Walker.” The way she pronounced the woman’s name, with such a low, disgruntled snarl, was enough to tell me the circumstances of their relationship to one another. “Been a while.”
Priscilla batted her lashes. “Not long enough, apparently.” She flashed a smile that reminded me of a wild animal ready to pounce on its prey. “Wow, how long has it been since you took off?” she asked sarcastically as the two blondes behind her giggled like pathetic teens. “Seven…eight years?”
“Nine.” Lucille bluntly corrected them. “But you never were good at math, were you?”
Priscilla scoffed, amused by the little dig. “My, my, Lucille!” The three women laughed together like hyenas. “Oh you got me! Burn!” She stepped closer to Lucille. “Let me guess…you think because you’ve changed your style and grown a set of tits that you’re some big shot now?” Priscilla scoffed with a smile. “Little Lucille, it’s going to take more than that to change who you really are.” She took a sip of her fruity drink.
I noticed Lucille's hand squeezed into fist. “And whoamI, Priscilla?”
The woman grinned, biting the tip of her straw. “A reject. Hell, your own momma didn’t want you.” Lucille’s arm began to tremble, and I could tell she was holding back all sorts of emotions. “You know, I really dodged a bullet dumping Boone’s ass when I did.” Priscilla turned and spoke to her little goons. “I mean, could you imagine being stuck withthisas a sister-in-law? What a joke!” The woman cackled and laughed like teen bullies.“It’s a shame, really.” Priscilla faced Lucille. “Boone had such potential…oh, but he spent all his time training and look where it got him. Stuck in a hospital bed, useless.” Priscilla’s grin grew into a sinister smile. “Just like his sister.” Lucille’s head fell in defeat, and my muscles tightened in a weird response.
I don’t know who the hell these women are, but you don’t deserve this.
“That’s enough.” Priscilla gasped softly, lifting her eyes to meet mine. “I think you ladies oughta move on.”
The blue-eyed woman scoffed and crossed her arms. “And who isthis, Lucille?” She looked between us. “There’s no way you two are together, I mean, look at him.” Her deadly blue eyes trailed up and down my body like a snake. “There’s no way little Lucille here could pull a man like you.” My entire body tightened and burned with anger. I was annoyed and fed up with this woman’s pathetic little game. And I was most pissed at how she had upset Lucille.
I gently placed my hand on Lucille’s bare shoulder. “It was nice meeting you, Priscilla, but we were on our way out. So if you don’t mind?—”
