Page 131 of Highball Rush
“You keep right on hoping, but I’m here to tell you, it will. Gibson ain’t gonna stop until he makes sure no one can ever hurt you again. He’s a Bodine. We’re not quitters.”
“You’re stubborn is what y’all are.”
She laughed. “You ain’t wrong. Sometimes it’s our best quality.”
“Speaking of Bodines, where are the rest of them? And where’s Devlin tonight?”
“With Gibs.” She took a swig of beer.
“Scarlett,” I said, my voice stern. “What are they doing?”
“I have no idea what you’re referring to.”
“He said he had things to do and left before I could ask questions. What’s going on?”
She patted my arm. “Trust me. Everything is gonna be fine.”
“Oh god, he’s going after Lee Williams, isn’t he? Why’d you let him do that? That man has killed people.”
“And I’m telling you, there’s no need to worry. They have it handled.”
“He picked you to babysit me because he knew you wouldn’t let me leave, didn’t he?”
She paused with her beer halfway to her mouth and grinned. “Maybe.”
“What’ll you do if I try?”
“I have options,” she said with a shrug. “He told me you’re not to leave his property under any circumstances. And I intend to keep my word.”
I sighed, then took a long pull of beer. Gibson had been right to get his sister to keep me here. Going toe to toe with Scarlett Bodine wasn’t something I had any interest in experiencing. I decided I’d trust her and stay—for now. “Tell you what, I’ll go easy on you. I won’t even try to run.”
“I think that’s smart.” She winked at me and we both smiled.
I stepped closer to the warmth of the fire. Cash seemed to be enjoying it. He rolled onto his back, his stocky legs sticking in the air.
A slow song came on and a few couples paired off to dance. Another car rumbled down the driveway and parked, four people pouring out. I couldn’t see who they were from here, but none of them were Gibson. It was hard not to worry about what he was up to. Maybe if his brothers were with him, that meant he’d be all right. Cassidy wasn’t here either. Did that mean they were involving the law? That was a comforting thought.
Apart from my concern for what kind of trouble Gibson might be getting himself into, I felt calm. The box in my mind wasn’t just empty—it was gone. I’d released all the horrible things inside. And I’d survived.
My parents hadn’t broken me when I was a child. And the trauma they’d inflicted wasn’t going to break me now. I still felt fear. The idea that they were out there, and quite possibly wanted me dead, was terrifying. I knew I’d never be completely safe until they were both behind bars. But my two halves had become whole.
I wasn’t Callie anymore—not the Callie of thirteen years ago, at least. I wasn’t Maya, either. I was both. I was a girl who’d been abused. A woman who’d built a new life. The demons of my past no longer festered in my mind. I’d faced the worst of them and come out on the other side.
I’d survived.
“Oh, hell no. What isshedoing here?” Scarlett said. She widened her stance and crossed her arms. “I didnotinvite skankzilla.”
Misty Lynn stood on the other side of the fire, holding a lit cigarette between two fingers. Her teased-out hair looked like it had been hair-sprayed into granite, and despite the chill in the air, she wore a bright yellow halter top and denim miniskirt.
“Bless your heart, Misty Lynn,” Scarlett said. “Did you have to give up your nicotine patches while you finished your chlamydia meds?”
Misty Lynn made a dramatic show of rolling her eyes. She walked around the fire and stood in front of Scarlett. Took a long drag from her cigarette and blew the smoke in Scarlett’s face.
Scarlett waved her hand in front of her. “Get your cancer stick out of here. And I swear to all that’s holy, if you leave a single cigarette butt on my brother’s property, I’ll give you a missing tooth to go with that crooked nose.”
“Shut your damn mouth. It’s bad enough your daddy’s old whore is trying to sink her claws into my dad. I don’t need you mouthing off at me too.”
I dropped my beer and threw my arms around Scarlett’s middle, dragging her out of arm’s reach before she gouged Misty Lynn’s eyes out.
