“Guess I heard racoons out here. Those little buggers will dig through all trash. No matter how grotesque it is,” she says, glaring at Butch with disgust. “Do you need anything, sweetheart?”
Shaking my head, I let Zep help me stand. I just want to leave. “No, thanks.”
“Add my drinks to my tab, Nan. I gotta take off and get her home.” Turning to me, he cups my face and bends down to look into my eyes. There’s a mix of pain and concern in his expression, and it makes me want to break down again. “I have pizza at my place. Does that work?”
I nod, pick up my purse, and follow him to his bike. Clinging to him like my life depends on it, I fight the tears. I’m not scared of the bike or the rider, but I still feel Butch’s hand on my wrist. It’s a fear of being ripped away from the only person who makes me feel safe right now.
We pull up to his house, and I stay where I am as he puts the kickstand down and turns off the bike. Zep doesn’t rush me. He doesn’t try to talk me down. He just puts his hand on mine and lets me hold onto him.
After a few minutes, I gather my strength and let him go. I climb off the bike, and Zep’s right there to catch me when I stumble.
“Can we… I need something from my house.”
Thank God Bernie’s not home, but I need something of hers. Something to ground me and keep me from flying off the handle.
Zep guides me across the street, and he takes my keys from me when my hands shake too much to unlock the front door. “What do you need, baby?”
I drop my bag, and walk upstairs into Bernie’s room. She has a stuffed cat she never let out of her sight for four years, and I pull it into my arms and hug it tightly. I feel safe right now. Stronger.
“Misty?” Zep calls. “Your phone’s ringing. Carly’s mom.”
Shit. No, Bernie, I can’t let you come home right now.
Hurrying down the stairs, I take my phone from him, ignoring that he had to go through my purse to get it. “Janet? Is Bernie okay?”
“Bernie’s fine,” she says. “I heard about what happened at the bar. Are you okay?”
“You… you heard about what happened?”
My stomach drops. I don’t know how I’ll explain this to Bernie, but now I have to worry about others telling her first.
“Yeah, sorry. Small town. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay and see if you wanted Bernie to stay an extra night. If it was me, I’d need some more time to settle, so I wanted to offer.”
“That would be… That would be really helpful, Janet. I don’t… I don’t want her to see me like this right now. I’m kind of a mess.”
“I can only imagine. I’ll just let Bernie know we talked and asked if she could stay an extra night. We have a pool, and she and Carly are like little fish.”
Sniffling, I smile. Bernie loves swimming. “She’ll love it. Thank you.”
“No problem. This might not be the right time, but can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Are you dating that handsome biker that lives across the street from you?”
Seriously, I’m not loving the small town at the moment. “Um, not right now. Why?”
“Because Troy Martin told my husband about what he did.”
Glancing at Zep, I frown. “What are you talking about?”
“How your biker and a few of his friends showed up to threaten Troy. They said if he didn’t get Sierra to stop bullying Bernie, they’d hurt him. Scared him shitless, which was a nice change. He’s a pompous ass.”
“Oh, is that right?”
“So hot. I’m married, but you’re a lucky lady if he’s your guy. And it was nice to have someone put him in his place. I’ve needed a good reason to keep Carly from spending so much time with Sierra. And Bernie’s so sweet.”
I lick my lips. “Do you know when this happened?”
