“You look like you’re in shock,” he said. “Why don’t I drive you home?”
She nodded as he opened her door and helped her up. He walked back around the truck and got in behind the wheel. As soon as he turned the key in the ignition, the chair automatically started shifting forward to Michelle’s preferred position. With his knees jammed up against the dashboard, Brendan managed to reach over and shift the seat all the way back again. Feeling more comfortable now, Brendan backed the truck out and headed down the road.
Cruising silently towards Michelle’s house, the fight behind the bar replayed repeatedly through Brendan’s head. A couple of things didn’t really make sense, like how did they know he’d be there? Maybe they’d been spying on him and saw the two of them head into the bar. Hell, they could’ve had a guy inside the bar watching them and he’d never have known; he didn’t recognize most of these thugs at all from his previous life in Shallow Creek.
One other thing bugged him as he pulled into Michelle’s neighborhood, and it wasn’t just the close proximity of her neighborhood to Taryn’s.
“Did that guy call you Jasper?” he asked, not taking his eyes off the road.
Michelle turned away from the window.
“What?”
Now Brendan glanced her way as he navigated towards the houses.
“Sounded like the guy called you Jasper as he was pulling on you.”
“Must’ve heard wrong.”
“I know what I heard,” he said.
“And I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. Are you implying this is my fault?”
“No,” he said. “Damn, chill out. It was just weird.”
“Weird that maybe the other guy’s name was Jasper?” she said, obviously pissed. “After what you did to those other guys, you don’t think they both just wanted to get away?”
He tried to steer the subject elsewhere. “Why mess with you anyway?” She glared at him, not offering any explanations. “Think about it, what could you do? All five should’ve attacked me, but instead they went for you.”
She popped her purse open and revealed a snub-nosed .38. When Brendan didn’t respond, she smiled, but not kindly.
“Guess I’m not a helpless damsel in distress.”
“Why didn’t you pull it then?” Brendan stopped the truck in the street. He had no idea which house was hers.
“Shut up, Brendan.” Alcohol and anger was a volatile mixture. She thrashed at the door handle, trying to get out. Eventually she took a deep breath and composed herself before successfully unlocking the door and exiting. Brendan got out and met her in front of the truck to give her the keys.
She snatched them from his hand and stormed off down the street.
“You want me to come in and make sure it’s all clear?” he yelled.
“Keep the hell away from me.”
He waited in the street until she walked up to a double wide on the left and let herself in. He’d just saved her life, maybe, and that didn’t even warrant a wave as she disappeared from view.
Realizing that Michelle had picked him up from his parents’ house earlier, Brendan sighed dejectedly and started the long walk home.
Chapter 17
Brendan winced as he reached for the handle to the beer cooler. Fighting those guys the night before hadn’t felt that strenuous, but he’d managed to aggravate every injury from getting his ass kicked a few days ago. He’d woken up this morning feeling like one big bruise, so he made the gas station the first stop of the day to get his favorite remedy: Shiner Bock. His dad only drank Coors Light, which might as well have been flavored water as far as Brendan was concerned.
The frigid air escaping from the open cooler was a welcome relief from the heat outside. Even at this time of year, the thermometer in his truck exceeded ninety degrees Fahrenheit without much trouble. The dry heat was an improvement over the humidity in a city like Houston, but it was still unpleasant.
He grabbed a six-pack, but then returned it and grabbed twelve instead. As the door swung close, someone called out behind him, “Hey, stranger.”
When he turned, he expected to see Michelle again, but the friendly tone should’ve been the first hint that it wasn’t her. The woman smiling at him as she approached resembled Michelle very closely, but Brendan quickly realized it was her younger sister.
“Howdy, Kim.” He tried not to be too obvious about taking her all in. Her father, Mr. Prost, had been a complete ass-wipe, but damn, he could make some pretty daughters.
As Kim got a good look at Brendan, her smile turned to concern.
“Oh my gosh, what happened to your face?”
“Michelle didn’t tell you about my little run-in with your cousin, Scott?” And why hadn’t Michelle told him that Kim still lived in town?
The bell over the door rang.
“Hey, Kim—”
Brendan looked past Kim to the open door and found a familiar lady staring at him, stuck in midsentence.
“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” Brendan said, trying to keep the growl out of his voice.
Casey approached tentatively as Kim’s gaze switched between her and Brendan. “Y’all know each other?” Kim asked.
“Did you get the license plates on the truck that ran you over?” Casey asked, ignoring Kim and scrutinizing Brendan’s wounds.
“Yeah, I did. Scott was driving it. He didn’t mention it?”
“You know Scott—?” Kim started, but Brendan cut her off.
“How did you two meet, Kim?”
“We met at the park,” Kim said uneasily. “At the running track.”
“I didn’t realize it was such a popular hangout,” Brendan said, eying Casey.
“I run a lot, so I’m going to meet a lot of people there,” Casey explained nonchalantly before turning to Kim. “I was getting gas and saw you come in here and just wanted to say hey, but I’ve got to get going.”
“Oh, okay,” Kim said. “See you later, then.”
“Sure,” Casey said. “See you later. You, too, Brendan.”
Brendan grunted in response as Casey strode back out through the door.
“That was awkward,” Kim said, smiling a little.
“It happens,” Brendan said. “So Michelle didn’t tell you I was back?”
Her eyes dropped, sheepishly avoiding his. “We don’t really talk that much.”
“Oh, okay,” Brendan said, feeling that awkwardness that came from knowing something bad has happened between two people, but not knowing what the heck it could be. “Listen, you got some time to kill?”
She brightened up. “Yeah, I don’t have to be at work ‘til noon.”
Brendan hefted the twelve-pack up. “You down to share a drink with an old buddy?”
“Uh, it’s ten in the morning,” she said. “A bit early for me.”
Now Brendan was the one feeling sheepish. “Right, sure. Just a joke.”
She nodded uneasily, but said, “You can buy me a world-renowned gas station coffee, though.”
“Sounds good.” He put the beer back in the cooler and escorted Kim to the coffee station.
While she prepared the generic-looking caffeinated coffee, Brendan decided it was a little hot outside to be messing with warm drinks. He headed for the back coolers and grabbed two bottles of water. When he returned, Kim was smiling and ready to go. He paid for their drinks at the cash register, and then went outside with Kim in tow. A quick visual sweep of the area didn’t reveal Casey or Scott Fisher’s thugs lying in wait anywhere.
The gas station wasn’t exactly fit for purpose when it came to entertaining guests, so there weren’t any chairs or tables outside. No one else was parked at the pumps, and the overhang above them provided the only shelter from the sun, so Brendan led Kim over to his mom’s truck and popped the tailgate down. They sat down on the open tailgate and let their legs dangle off the edge.