The Crown Jewels (25 page)

“Goddammit, George,” he replied, shaking his head. “Fine, but I don’t like it one fucking bit.”

I sighed in relief. My life was already turned upside down, the last thing I needed to deal with was a shit-show of Lee drama.

“Thank you. You’re a good friend,” I said, putting my head on Finn’s shoulder. He was shaking in anger, and I put my hand on his to calm him.

“I’m not so sure about that,” he replied.

Beau

“Lee did what?” I yelled.

“Look, Beau, you can’t say anything to our folks,” Finn replied. “I promised George I wouldn’t say anything, but I just can’t keep it to myself. I don’t know what to do.”

“I know what to do! Kick Lee’s idiotic ass!” I roared in anger. How could Lee have done that to George? For fuck’s sake, she’s an innocent girl. Yeah, so maybe she had grown up a little. Maybe she had filled out over the years and turned into a breathtakingly beautiful woman, but that didn’t matter. Not to mention she had just lost her parents. And on the same fucking night?

“No, way, Beau! Look, can we just keep it a secret for a little while? George has been through enough, I don’t want to make things worse for her, and she’ll be so pissed off that I told you.”

“Well, what did she expect you to do?”

“I don’t know,” he said, hanging his head. “Just listen, I guess. Like Mom says, you know?”

He was right. Mom was always telling us that most women just wanted a man to listen if they were talking, not try to fix things.

“Alright, shit. I’ll keep it to myself. But if I see Lee, you can bet I’m going to light his ass up.”

“Not if I see him first,” Finn replied.

George

I was crying at the kitchen table when Crit came home. The fact that I opened my mouth, to Finn of all people, was unbelievable, even to myself. Finn was a nice guy, but he had a terrible reputation when it came to keeping secrets.

If he knew what you were getting for your birthday before you did, he was sure to give you so many hints you couldn’t help but guess. Once, when Lee was afraid he may have gotten a girl pregnant, the only person he confided in was Finn, and within three days, the rumors were flying around school.

Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if Crit already knew before he came home. But, if not, he took one look at me, and sat down and demanded to know what was going on.

“I don’t know why, but something tells me this isn’t about Mom and Dad,” he began. “What’s going on, George? Let me help.”

I was already a blubbering mess, there was no way I could deny it. The whole story came spilling out of me before I could stop it. When I was done, I couldn’t meet his eyes.

“George,” he said, so quietly, so sternly, that I couldn’t help but look up.

“I’m sorry, Crit,” I began. “I only told you because I told Finn, and I know he won’t keep his big mouth shut.”

“Don’t you dare apologize!” He was attempting to remain calm, but the anger radiated off of his huge frame. “It’s not your fault.”

“Look, Crit, you can’t do anything, okay? I only told you so you heard it from me first, so you heard the truth…nothing happened. Well, I mean, you know.”

“No, I don’t know. It sure as hell sounds like something happened. It sounds to me like my little sister was assaulted by a drunken fucking prick. Those fucking Haggard boys are nothing but trouble!”

“I stopped him before he went too far. It’s my fault because I let him kiss me.”

“Did you fucking ask him to kiss you?”
“Well, no —,”

“— my point exactly!” he finally exploded out of his chair and started pacing around the kitchen.

“Look. In comparison to everything else, this is nothing. I want to just let it go, and it’s my choice, okay?” I pleaded. “This is already bad enough. And we don’t need another death on our hands.”

“Yeah, well, at this point I’m wondering if Lee fuckin’ Haggard even deserves to be alive.”

“Please, Crit? I’m begging you, please don’t do anything?”

“Fine!” he spat out the word. “But if that fucker comes near you again, I’m gonna knock his head into Houston, I tell you! I don’t give a damn what family he’s from, you hear?”

“Yes, Crit, thank you.” I sat at the table and quietly hung my head.

“Ah, hell, George…” he whispered, walking over to me and pulling me into his arms. “I love you, sis. I’m sorry that fuckin’ happened to you.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, as the tears fell down my cheeks.

Crit

I found Seth in the barn grooming Shiloh.

This was one problem I wasn’t prepared to handle alone. Up till now, I had everything covered, but Ma and Pa had never given me any advice about what to do in this situation.

My first instinct, of course, was to find Lee and whoop his ass like he deserved. But seeing Georgie there, looking so fuckin’ sad and beggin’ me to do the exact opposite, to do nothin’, hell, I couldn’t fuckin’ take it.

She’d already gone through so much, already. Hell, we all had. But to know that she had endured Lee’s bullshit that same night, well come hell or high water, there wasn’t any way I was going to just let that sorry-ass prick get off scot-free.

No fuckin’ way.

“We gotta talk,” I said to Seth.

“What’s up?” Seth asked, running his hands along Shiloh’s rump and down her leg. She picked it up and he reached for the hoof pick in his back pocket. I watched as he cleaned the mud from her hoof, waiting till he had put her leg back down before I continued.

“It’s about George.”

“What about her?” he asked, picking up Shiloh’s front hoof and repeating the process. Shiloh stood obediently, occasionally shifting her weight as Seth maneuvered around her.

“Look, stop for a second.”

“Okay,” he said, straightening up and facing me. Seth was just an inch shorter than me, but he was leaner and stronger, not that I would ever admit that to him. “What?”

“Something happened. With Lee. The night…the night of the party.”

“What do you mean something happened with Lee?” he asked, his jaw twitching as he narrowed his blue eyes.

“I guess he tried something with George. He was drunk, and it got so bad that George had to knee him in the balls to get him to stop. Apparently the fucker doesn’t know how to take no for an answer.”

“Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me?” he asked, a red flush of anger crawling up his face.

“I wish I was.”

“That motherfucker!” he roared.

“Look, man. George told me because I guess she finally told Finn today. But she made me promise not to do anything about it.”

“Do anything? I think we need to do something…like ring his fuckin’ neck!”

“Well you aren’t any help,” I said, shaking my head.

“Why do you say that?”
“Because I didn’t know how to handle this, and kickin’ his ass was my first idea. I came to you to see if you had a better idea, goddammit.”

“Well, first thought best thought, Crit! Let’s fuckin’ go,” he said, anger bubbling up in his voice.

“No, brother. I promised George I wouldn’t do anything…right now,” I replied.

“Well, I didn’t promise George a goddamned thing.”

“No, maybe not, but we both have to respect her wishes.”

“Fuck that. How can we just let him get away with it?”

“He didn’t. George took care of it herself, which I’m happy to hear,” I said.

“Well, look, I’ll respect George’s wishes, but that fucking prick better not cross my path or he’s gonna have a pitchfork stuck up his ass.”

Beau

I found Lee at his favorite tavern across town. It was only noon, but I knew that he would be there. There’s only one way Lee knows to numb his pain and ward off the demons I knew he was fighting.

I took one look at him, sitting at the bar, a glass of whiskey in front of him, and a sullen look on his face, and shook my head. By a stroke of dumb luck, or perhaps time just hadn’t caught up to him yet, but you’d never know by looking at him that he was so fucked-up. He was the handsomest of all three of us Haggard boys, as much as I hated to admit it.

But I wasn’t here to admire his looks, I was here to kick his ignorant ass.

He turned towards me as I approached.

“Hey, bro, what are you doing here?” he asked. But then, when he saw my eyes raging with anger, he puffed up. “What’s up man?”

“We need to talk. Now.”

“I just ordered this drink, can’t we talk here?”

“Fuck your drink. Meet me outside. Now.” I turned and walked back out of the bar, the bright sunlight blinding me. I blinked as I leaned against the brick exterior of the bar. A moment later, Lee walked out, shielding his eyes against the glaring sun.

“What’s so fuckin’ important?” he growled.

Lee towered over me, blocking out the sunlight with his large frame.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” I growled.

“Dude, I don’t know what you’re so angry about so just fuckin’ spill it,” he said, lighting up a cigarette.

“Georgia Hope.”

“What about her?” He cocked his head to the side, his eyes squinting curiously, as he inhaled.

“She told Finn what happened, you asshole!” I yelled.

“What the
fuck
are you talking about, Beau?”

“She told Finn you assaulted her. The night of the party…the night of the accident.”

He took a step back and looked genuinely bewildered.

“Why would she say that?” he asked.

“Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me? Because you fuckin’ did it, maybe?”

“No, I didn’t, Beau! I swear to you!” His eyes were filled with confusion as he threw his hands up in the air.

“You ever think, Lee, that maybe with all this fuckin’ drinkin’ and druggin’ you’re doing, you don’t remember doing it?”

“Dude, I fuckin’ didn’t do it! I got a whole fuckin’ gaggle of women that’ll open their legs at the drop of my hat, I don’t need to go fishin’ off the Hope’s porch! I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but this is
bullshit!
I didn’t lay a hand on her, I swear, Beau,” he said.

“Well, guess what? I don’t believe you.”

His entire body exploded in anger and any sense of staying calm was thrown out the door like a bucket of dirty water.

“Of course you fuckin’ don’t believe me! You’re gonna believe a Hope over your own fuckin’ brother, for fuck’s sake?”

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

“So, what then? You came here to kick my ass?”

“Something like that, yeah,” I said.

“Fuck you, Beau. Fuck you, fuck Finn, and fuck George! I didn’t fuckin’ touch her, you hear me?” he said, his voice seething.

“Yeah, like I said, I don’t believe you.”

“Well, take a shot, brother,” he said, throwing his arms out to his side. “Do your best.”

“I’m not going to fuckin’ hit you, Lee, as much as I want to,” I said, my anger boiling over. “But you go near George one more time, and you won’t live to do it again. You hear?” I was right in his face, the stench of whiskey assaulting my senses.

“Oh, I hear you loud and clear big brother. But listen, you won’t have to worry about that at all,” he replied, his eyes wild with anger.

“Hmm…” he stopped, looking me up and down, “maybe you have eyes for her yourself? Is that why you’re so pissed? You want a piece of her, Beau, now that she’s all grown up?”

My fist flew up before I could stop it, hitting him squarely in the jaw. He flew backwards, landing on his ass on the sidewalk.

“You motherfucker!” he roared, jumping to his feet and charging at me. I put a hand out in front of me.

“Don’t you fuckin’ touch me, Lee, I swear to God you don’t want to do this!”

He stopped in his tracks, his eyes clouded with alcohol and fury.

“You know what, Beau? I’m your fuckin’ brother. Your fuckin’
family
! You’re supposed to stand behind me, no matter what. Even if I did fuckin’ do it, I’d expect you -
my fuckin’ brother
- to support me.”

“How could I support you, Lee?” I said, my eyes trailing up and down his body. “Look at you. You’re fuckin’ pathetic.”

“Fuck you!” he spat the words in my place. “I’ve never gotten support from you, from our folks, from anyone in this God-forsaken fucked-up town! Nothing but blame and pointing fingers. Well, fuck this shit!” His voice was echoing down the empty street as his voice rose to deafening levels. “You know what, Beau? I don’t give a shit! I don’t need anyone - not you, not our parents, not one fuckin’ soul in this town! You can all go fuck yourselves. I don’t care about any of you. I’ll burn this whole goddamned town to the fuckin’ ground, do you fuckin’ hear me, Beau?”

“Fuck you, Lee,” I said, getting in his face again, my voice lowered and filled with fury. “You stay the fuck away from George, you understand?”