Page 65 of Liberty
“When Deacon is dead?” I took a not so wild guess.
Nodding, he changed lanes as we were now on the freeway. “All of us Texas Walkers know that we cannot go home until this war is over. Until the threat to the family is gone. As in Deacon being six feet under.
“Liberty, you need to live your life too.”
“And I will be… as in, I will always be your bodyguard.” He winked at me then looked back at the road.
“I'm serious here. You cannot just give up everything to follow me home. And there are no ring fights in Ramton, Liberty. Except for some underground ones.”
He shrugged. “So? I could try that. I don’t need the money but the thrill might make it worth my while.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I pouted. “Not safe. Those fights have all kinds of bad people hanging around. Drunken guests, people on drugs.”
“I would be fine, Belle. I’m a big boy if you hadn't noticed.”
“Ha-ha. Yes, in more ways than one,” I teased.
He gasped in a mock dramatic way as he pressed one hand on his chest while he drove with the other. “Oh wow, was that like a flirty bit of dirty talk?”
We both laughed.
“Obviously, you are a bad influence,” I told him. “I mean, what are my co-workers gonna say when I start swearing like a biker and talking about sex?”
He laughed. “They will say, ‘wow the nun has finally loosened up.’ ”
I gasped in a mock dramatic way now. “Are you saying I was an uptight, snotty little bitch before I met you?” I pressed my hand onto my chest.
Liberty shook his head at me and replied, “Only if you’re saying that I was a big mouthed opinionated, dumbass oaf.”
We both laughed loudly.
This had become a running comic dialogue between us for the last several days. We made fun of our old fights and we shared what foul names we had silently called each other.
“Ok, take this exit,” I told him as I chuckled.
When we got into town, I glanced in the rearview mirror to see Fate behind us on his motorcycle. “And what are people going to think in my apartment building? Me living with two men?”
Liberty shook his head and shrugged. “That you have a big appetite?”
I gasped for real and reached over to pinch his upper arm.
“Owww!” he complained. “That hurt.”
“I’m serious. I went from a straight laced single woman who never brought a guy home to shacking up with two men? We need to discuss this before we get to my building. We need to pull over at the store anyway because there’s no food at my place after being gone for almost a month.” I pointed to my neighborhood grocery store on the left side of the road. “We need to talk to Fate and make some kind of a plan, so it doesn't look like you are both moving in.”
“Why?” Liberty asked. “Weareboth moving in.”
“I just told you why. I can’t have two men moving in with me!”
“I’m your boyfriend and he’s my brother, Belle. What is the big deal?”
I felt so frustrated. “I just never believed I would look like the neighborhood slut.”
Liberty snickered as he drove into the store's parking lot. “Look at it this way…you’ll cause a stir and old women will be jealous. Hell, your younger neighbors might even be jealous.”
That was when I suddenly remembered. “Oh. My. God.”
Parking, he looked over at me. “What is it?”
