Gas or Ass (12 page)

M
om leaned over the bar. “Good morning, Shelby. Didn’t you sleep well, dear?”

My cheeks heated, mostly because Caine set his glass of orange juice down and followed Mom’s lead, raking my frame with curious eyes. Colt slipped from between my damp sheets just before the sun came up. I had no idea where he was, unless he’d gone to his room and blown off work to sleep. I didn’t have the same luxury. If I didn’t want to raise my mother’s suspicions, I had to go to school.

“You look nice, Shelby. Happy birthday, dear.” Mom broke the awkward silence. She smiled and pointed to the bar stool beside Caine. “You have time to eat breakfast.”

Caine patted me on the back. “Eat up, sis. I’ll drive you to school. I got stuck being the gopher today. Dad handed me a list longer than my di—longer than my arm—of stuff he needs me to pick up for the trip to Daytona.”

Daytona.
My fogged brain kicked into gear. Colt had skipped work because they were all leaving town.

On my eighteenth birthday. The night after I’d—

“T-thanks.” I grabbed the glass of juice Mom sat in front of me and drank deeply. I felt her puzzled gaze. I sat the glass down and stared at the two inches of orange liquid in the bottom. “So, excited about your honeymoon?”

She didn’t answer, so I looked up. She slid scrambled eggs onto a plate but cut her eyes toward Caine.

He burst out laughing. “Never fear, Macy. Me and Colt know Dad’s ‘get lost’ look. We’re just hitching a ride is all. Once we hit Daytona, you’ll never see us. Should be shorts weather in Florida. I can’t wait.” Caine sighed and stroked his chest. “The team’s gonna kick ass, too.”

Picturing girls in bikinis hanging all over Colt, I could barely form the words. “Uh, when are y’all leaving?”

“Dale said he’d be home by four, no later than five.” Mom scowled at Caine—for his language, no doubt. Was that the biggest problem she had? I felt like an understudy, shoved into a role I’d barely studied for. “Shelby, are you sure you don’t want to go?”

I conjured images of sleek, tanned bodies. The glare of sunshine off my skin might blind a racecar driver. Besides, in a space that small, Mom was bound to catch on to what was happening between Colt and me. Not to mention, it was their honeymoon. I imagined another squeaking bed, this time over my head. Just... no.

But why hadn’t Colt mentioned he still planned to go?
Stupid, stupid.
I knew he hadn’t meant a word of what he’d said. He wanted to hang on to the car, for his sister, that’s all.

I veered from memories of the night before and struggled to seem normal. “I have a paper due Friday and two tests. Better not.” If he’d just begged off this trip, we could have the house to ourselves.

My bad choices yawned in front of me like a black, gaping hole, filled with my own stupidity. Why had I done what I did for a girl no one liked and whom I barely knew?

Caine stood, reaching over my shoulder to snag his keys off the wooden board lined with hooks. “Ready to roll, Shelby?”

“Yep.” I jumped off the stool, leaving my eggs untouched.

An angry gray sky loomed low overhead. I settled my book bag over my shoulder and hurried to the passenger side of his truck. It took him a minute to climb in and unlock my door. My eyes strayed to the back of the Corvette. I vaguely recalled Brandon and Caroline dropping it off about the time Colt dragged me out of the shower. Three streams of dried liquid marred the shiny paint on the rear end.

My stomach rolled. Hot, acidic liquid bubbled up the back of my throat. I dashed to the grass, heaving and trying to bend forward far enough not to splatter my blue jeans and shoes.

A hand came down on my lower back. “You okay, Shelby?”

I scrubbed the back of my hand over my lips. Twisting away, I straightened. “Yes.”

“Hey, don’t worry. It’s a goddamn shame Mack’s dick’s too small for a rubber, but I guarantee, that bottle of Bud did the trick.”

“And if it didn’t?” I shoved past him and climbed into the truck.

“Most pharmacies ‘round here won’t carry the morning after pill. Religious objections, you know. We’ll get you an abortion, if we need to. Don’t worry about the money.”

I was about ninety-nine percent sure it was too soon for me to get pregnant, since I’d started the day after we’d moved in, but I wasn’t sure if Caine’s rough offer made me feel better or worse. I did know he was dead right about the emergency contraceptive. Most pharmacies didn’t carry it. If the ownership, like in the nationwide chain stores, had no objection, most of the pharmacists they hired just refused to stock it.

He took the same side road Colt had used the day before. I thought about asking him about the Daytona trip, but figured he’d just find a way to justify Colt’s decision. I was sure the trip had been planned for months. Maybe a few days alone would help me get my head on straight.

I needed a plan in case the worst happened. So much for going shopping with the money Mom gave me. I’d better hold on to every dime. I had to stop trusting every word these two said.

Caine’s hand came down on my leg, breaking my reverie. “Go to homeroom. Then, go see the nurse. Tell her... tell her that your parents fought all night. Tell her that things got ugly at the house. She’ll let you sleep for a few hours.”

***

“S
helby!” My mother’s voice rang down the hall. “We’re leaving, honey. Come say goodbye.”

I hurled my phone onto the bed and opened the door, cracking a huge yawn. “Mom? Leaving already?”

She raked her fingers through my hair, but peered over my shoulder. My laptop was on my desk, open to my English paper. I’d posed my History book on the rumpled bedspread. She brought her troubled gaze back to my face. “I’ve worried all day about leaving you home alone for so long. Especially without a car.”

I rolled my eyes. “If I had a car, that’d be your excuse to worry. I’m eighteen. Breathe.”

“Dad wants to know what the holdup is. You got another bag to go in the motor home, Macy?” Caine crossed his arms over his chest and leaned one shoulder against the wall beside the bathroom door, knocking a framed snapshot of their wedding askew.

“Macy!” Colt’s voice made me stiffen. “Dad’s ready to ride. He wants to be in Daytona before the next millennium rolls around.” He strode up to Caine, deliberately, I thought, bumping his brother in the back. He kept his eyes on Mom.

My face grew hotter. Why, oh, why couldn’t he wear a shirt?

I had to get them gone. I went up on tiptoe and kissed her cheek. “Have fun. And bring home that trophy, will ya?” She put her arms around me, squeezing until I was breathless. My eyes strayed to Colt. He looked toward the den.

“Better hurry.” I returned Mom’s tight squeeze, marveling at my ability to sound so normal when my foolish heart was breaking in two. “Love you. Drive safe. See you Monday.”

“It might be Tuesday.” She let me go but still hesitated, looking from me to the book to the laptop.

“Macy, move your sweet ass,” Dale yelled. Now the hallway was clogged with all three pieces of hot man flesh. Dale smiled over Mom’s shoulder. “Be good, kiddo.”

I gave him a thumbs up. “Give ‘em hell, Dale.”

His grin was arrogant. “That’s the job and I do it well.”

“Coming, honey.” Mom pecked me on the cheek again. To my relief, Dale grabbed her hand and half-dragged her away. She looked over her shoulder. “Be good, sweetheart.” 

Too late, Mom.

Colt and Caine made no move to follow. Despite my hammering heart, I grabbed the door and gave it a hard swing.

The panel bounced back at me before I could heave a sigh of relief. Only the toe of my Chuck Taylors stopped the edge from hitting me in the face. Colt wedged his body into the opening and peered at the back of the door. He eyed the skirt I’d hung up to put on later. I wasn’t going to sit home and cry over him. I ached to tell him that Caroline was coming over and we were going out, but didn’t dare. 

“I smell a rat. Your cheeks are damn near as red as your hair. You’ve been on the same damn page of that textbook for three hours now, and I’d burn that skirt, if there was enough of it to light on fire. You’d better not leave this house wearing it.” Colt’s blue eyes narrowed.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I whispered, praying Mom had already gone outside. But I hadn’t heard the side door open and close. She was probably in the kitchen.

“What skirt?” Caine added his weight to the door. I had no choice but to step back and let them in. Caine yanked the hangar off the hook and scowled at the garment.

They exchanged a look I couldn’t decipher, but they had no idea how paranoid my mother was. Fanning that flame made no sense. I felt like a mouse, pinned down while two eagles circled, wondering which would strike first.

And why.

While I glared at Colt, the suspicion drained from his eyes. “Okay. Guess me and Caine aren’t used to having a brain around. Good luck on the test and all, little sister.”

Caine slapped Colt in the gut with the back of his hand. “C’mon on, brother. You’re buying the first tank of gas, asshole.”

I blinked, partly because of the way Colt’s six-pack rippled with the violent motion. “Uh, aren’t y’all riding in the motor home with Mom and Dale?”

“Hell, no. we talked it over and decided to drive.” Caine grinned. “This family has a rule. If a chick needs a ride, she’d better be prepared to pay with ass or gas.” His brows flashed up and down. “And Dad puts the gas on a company card. I hope Macy knows she’s going to get bent over the table every time he has to fill that gas-guzzler up.”

His crude words made my cheeks sting. “That’s my mother you’re talking about.”

Caine just smiled and took his hand off the door. Curling his fingers around my arm, Colt yanked me against his chest. I knew I should jerk away, but shock rooted me in place. “Do you kiss your mama with that dirty mouth, little sister?” His smiling lips bent so close to mine that my mouth went dry.

“She’d better not be kissing anybody with it.” Caine scowled and moved closer to Colt. His black eyes flashed with ...
what the hell is that?

Not jealousy. Get real. What kind of game are they playing?

To my relief, Dale hollered from the kitchen. “Move your asses, both of you.”

“Bye.” I pulled away from Colt and threw all my weight into the door. My thundering pulse slowed when they allowed it to close. I held my breath until the side door squeaked, then banged shut.

I had no idea what kind of game they were playing, but relief and fury made it hard to catch my breath. I peered through the sheers. Dale helped Mom into the high seat. When he shut the door and rounded the front of the motor home, her face remained turned toward the house. Caine pulled his truck around the camper. I held my breath, fearing she’d get out and drag me along at the last minute. It seemed to take forever until Dale cranked the engine. At last, the big black box chugged up the road behind Caine’s truck.

I yanked my makeup bag open and stirred through the contents. They could both go to hell for all I cared. I was going out.

“W
hy didn’t you tell me you were Colt’s sister?” Caroline sprawled on my bed, watching me apply eyeliner.

She laughed. “I don’t know. You looked ready to slap me and all I’d done was hug him. I ain’t gonna lie. I was gonna play you for a while, just to see you get fired up.” She rolled onto her stomach, kicking her feet in the air above her butt like a kid. “But then you stepped up and saved my ass, big time, so I’m glad I didn’t have the chance.”

Can’t go there.
“So, your mother is Colt’s mother?” I licked the tip of the eyeliner pencil and studied her face in my makeup mirror.

“Yeah. She and Dale weren’t but kids when she got knocked up with Colt. Dale took him, because she wanted to finish school. He had Caine already, anyway. Said two would be half as much trouble as one.” She giggled. “Like puppies.”

Somewhere in the back of my mind, banjos dueled, playing the theme song to the movie
Deliverance
. Just as fast, I decided that harsh assessment wasn’t fair. It sounded like Dale had been a wild child, but when the time came, he’d stepped up and handled his responsibilities. Maybe he’d drilled that quality into his sons.