Page 11 of Moonshine Lullabies

He nodded, then asked me the question that I knew was coming. “You ever shoot anybody?”

I sighed and reached into the front of my tee shirt and pulled out my dog tags.

His eyes widened as the tags clacked together and dropped against my chest.

“I did exactly as I was told by our government,” I said. “But yeah, that means I had to shoot some people.”

He swallowed hard and I think I swallowed harder. What I didn’t tell him, and what he was too young to know, was that I’d followed orders alright, and I’d been thrown right under the bus by my immediate command and got bounced right the fuck out of the military. It was a sore spot, and when I’d gone home, I’d only been able to get work in the mine through an old friend. Then, right after that, I’d been here, and let me tell you – living this life, the club life? Man did it ever fuckin’ appeal after the bullshit and lies of this so-called governing body.

I digress, though. That was another life, and this life? This life of freedom and fuck the fucking man? This was damn sure the life I wanted to live after all that.

“You think you an’ me can go shoot someday?” he asked. “You know, like practice.”

I nodded. “Absolutely.”

He looked a little more grounded after that and the plastic billowed in as a breeze went by outside.

“Your mom got a hair dryer?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’ll go get it.”

He went and found it. We used it on the plastic to tighten it up. It wasn’t perfect, but it would help ward off the chilly night some, which was coming and in that case? Something was better ‘n nothing.

“You got school tomorrow?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said, and I nodded.

“Not a word about any of this to anyone. Not even your friends, okay?”

He gave me a look like “don’t be stupid” and I huffed a laugh. “Yeah, sure, okay – forget I even said that.”

He nodded and said, “I know what’s up.”

I nodded and sighed tiredly.

“Yeah, I know you do.”

“I’m gonna go say goodnight to Mom,” he said and I nodded.

“You do that.”

“’Night,” he said to me, and I handed him the hair dryer.

“’Night, Tater.”

He gave me a crooked smile and disappeared into the dark maw of the hallway. I pulled out my burner and shot a call through to Cypress.

“Yeah, everything good?” he answered.

“Yeah, man. Everything’s as good as it’s gonna get tonight. What’s up with you?”

CHAPTERFIVE

Jessie-Lou…

“G’night, Mom.” I looked up from the broken things in my lap at my teenage son, in the doorway to my room.

“You good, Bubba?” I asked him.

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