Touch Slowly (Red Light: Silver Girls series)
Read Touch Slowly (Red Light: Silver Girls series) Online
Authors: Debra Kayn
Touch Slowly
Red Light: Silver Girls series
By Debra Kayn
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Touch Slowly
1st Digital release: Copyright© 2016 Debra Kayn
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
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All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from Debra Kayn. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
~ Sneak Peek ~ | Wrapped Around Him —Book 1, Moroad Motorcycle Club series | Chapter One
To my family – Wheels, our daughter, our son, our twin sons.
To my Dad (in heaven) and Mom, brothers, sister in laws, nieces, nephews, grandnephew, and grandniece.
To my grandparents (in heaven), aunts, uncles, and cousins.
––––––––
Family comes in all different ways. Some by birth, some by marriage, some by adoption, some by love, and others by friendship. And, if you're lucky, by living in a great community.
W
allace, Idaho —
As most of you know, Federal Idaho where my Bantorus MC series, Moroad MC series, and now my Red Light: Silver Girls series books are based is set in my hometown of Wallace, Idaho. It's wonderful to live in an area where we take pride in our colorful past, rich history, and mining. Most of all the acceptance of those we call neighbors. Thank you to Ryan Motel, Lux Rooms, Oasis Bordello Museum, Wallace Inn, Rossi Building, Shoshone County Sheriff's Department, Harvest Food, Hecla Mining, Molly B'Damn Motel and the community for adding that special touch to my books.
~ F
ourteen years ago ~
The gravel on Lot 12 in front of the single-wide trailer Nova Kinsley called home warmed her bottom. She picked up a rock and squeezed it in her hand before adding it to the growing pile between her outstretched legs. The raised voices inside the house distracted her, and she lost track of how many rocks she'd counted.
"Why are your mom and my mom yelling at each other?" whispered Shayla.
Nova shrugged, pushing her hair out of her face, and looked at her cousin. "I don't know. Probably boring adult stuff."
Aunt Jennie had braided both of their hair after a breakfast of Fruit Loops, and already hers was coming undone. Shayla's hair always stayed nice, even though her cousin was six months younger than her.
A man coughed. Nova squinted against the sun in her eyes and gazed out at Joe, her mom's boyfriend. He leaned against the bug smoking a cigarette while waiting for her mom to come back outside.
That's what her mom called her car. Bug.
The black car looked like a giant potato bug, all round and with lights for the eyes. Her cousin Nick would slug her in the shoulder every time her mom drove up to the trailer after working at the restaurant in town. Nick would laugh and run away from her when she tried to hit him back, but he was older and could run faster.
"Hey, kid. See what's keeping your mom and tell her to hurry. We need to beat the traffic." Joe flicked his cigarette in her direction.
She watched the smoke curl against the gravel from the discarded cigarette and hopped to her feet. Her mom told her to play outside, and she could tell something big was going on. Nobody said anything to her, but she heard her mom talking on the phone through her bedroom wall last night. Her mom wanted to go somewhere far away.
Nova opened the screen door slowly and peeked her head inside. Aunt Jennie and Mom stood in the kitchen. Both of their heads turned at the sound of the hinge squeaking.
"There's my baby girl." Her mom smiled. "Come here, Nova."
She hurried inside, glad she wasn't going to get in trouble. Most of the time in the trailer park the adults sent her away when they talked. She liked playing outside, and there were always kids who came over to see if she wanted to ride bikes.
"Mr. Joe wants you to hurry." Nova tilted her head. "Where are you going?"
"That's what I need to talk to you about." Her mom picked her up with a groan and set her on the counter. "You're getting to be such a big girl."
Nova touched the leather strip with the green beads dangling from her mom's ponytail and hung down her mom's chest. She stayed quiet, knowing whatever her mom had to say was important.
"Mommy's going away for a while." Her mom smiled big, and her eyes grew excited. "Joe's buying us a new home and when we get settled, I'm going to come back and get you. You'll have a bigger room and a yard to play in. Won't that be nice?"
"What about Shayla and Nick? Aunt Jennie? Do they get a new house, too?" Her stomach tightened in excitement, and she kicked her feet over the edge of the counter, banging her sneakers against the cabinet below. "Can I have a swing set?"
"You can have whatever you want, baby." Her mom laughed.
Aunt Jennie cleared her throat. "Krissy."
Her mom ignored her aunt's frown and tickled Nova's ribs. She laughed and lunged for her mom, wrapping her arms around her neck and felt her bottom leave the counter. She held on tight and giggled. Her mom rarely picked her up, because she was a big girl.
At eight years old, she had to act like a young lady. Young ladies had more rules, which she hated. She wasn't supposed to play in the ditch and catch tadpoles anymore and last year she went shirtless with all the kids in the park during the summer. Now she had to wear a shirt when all her friends rode bikes through the sprinklers because her mom said she'd get boobs soon.
She wasn't sure she wanted boobs. It wasn't fair that Nick and the other boys could take their shirts off.
"I need to go." Her mom kissed Nova's cheek, then her other cheek and not stopping, she kissed all over Nova's face making her laugh and squeeze her eyes closed. "There's all the kisses you need. One for each night I'm gone, and then I promise to come back and take you to our new home. I can't wait, Nova. It's going to be the best thing that ever happened to you."
Her mom eased her down until Nova's feet hit the floor. Nova gazed up into her mom's hazel eyes shining with happy tears. "Is Aunt Jennie babysitting me?"
"Yep. She sure is, and you will have a blast." Her mom ran her hand down Nova's hair, and her voice softened. "Aunt Jennie will help you pack your things, and you'll stay at her trailer in Shayla's room. You'll like that. It'll be like having a sister."
She clutched her hands in front of her chest. "A sleepover?"
"Lots of sleepovers." Her mom bent at the waist and kissed Nova's nose. "Now, go outside like a good girl and tell Joe I'm coming. Be nice to him and tell him thank you for buying us a new house."
"Krissy." Aunt Jennie stepped closer to her mom. "Can't you see what you're doing to her?"
Nova glanced back and forth between her aunt and her mom, too excited to wonder what was more important than getting a new bigger house with a yard. She ran out the door, letting the screen door bang shut.
Her feet flew over the gravel. "Shayla. Shayla!"
Her cousin dropped the rocks in her hand and stood up. She grabbed onto Shayla's shirt and jumped in front of her. "I'm staying at your house. We're going to share a room. Then, mom's coming back for me, and I'm going to move into a gigantic house. You can come, too. And, Nick. We can all have a sleepover, and mom said I'd have a yard we can play in. Maybe she'll buy me a new bike and a swimming pool I can blow up."
Shayla laughed and grabbed her hand. Nova stopped jumping, remembering her mom's instructions and dragged her cousin with her to talk to Joe.
"Mom's coming out." She gazed up at Joe and stepped forward to wrap her arms around his hips. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
"Hey, hey, what's that for, kid?" Joe's deep voice rattled in laughter.
She stepped back. "For buying us a new house."
Joe never hung out long in the trailer park, and she rarely talked to him. She bit her lip. Once in a while, he'd take her along on one of his dates with her mom and buy her ice cream. She had a feeling he had never met any kids her age. He never gave her piggy back rides or tickled and teased her the way some of the men at the trailer park played with her.
"You'll do okay here." Joe lit another cigarette and blew a long stream of smoke before pulling his wallet out of his back pocket. "Here, have a couple of dollars and catch the ice cream truck when it comes through."
She grinned at Shayla and shoved the money in the pocket of her shorts before anyone could see. The other kids in the park would be jealous and try to take it from her.
Nova spotted Nick riding his bike between the two trailers and ran over to tell him the good news. Her older cousin jumped off the seat and threw his bicycle to the ground, glaring at Joe. Nick never told her why he always hated Joe coming around. Maybe her news would change Nick's mind, and they could all be friends.
"I'm staying at your house while my mom and Joe buy a new house." She laughed in excitement. "Don't tell anyone, but I think when mom comes back, we'll all move. Won't that be fun?"
Nick's frown deepened. "Where's your mom, Nova?"
"Inside," she said.
Nick put his arm around Nova's shoulders. "Stay out here with me, okay?"
"Okay." She grinned. Nothing would stop her happiness, even Nick being bossy and acting like he was cooler than her because he was older and bigger.
The screen door slapped against the house, and her mom hurried outside carrying a black garbage sack at her side. Nova looked up at Nick wanting to show him that she was right. Her mom was happy and would soon be back to get them all.
"Nova, come here, baby." Her mom handed the sack to Joe and kneeled in the grassy patch in the gravel.
Nova ran to her mom and leaned into the massive hug. "I can't breathe."
Her mom kissed her again.
She wiggled. "How many nights will I sleepover with Shayla?"
"Hm, ten? Maybe twelve." Her mom laughed when Nova squealed, looking forward to spending time with her best friend.
"I love you, mommy." Her stomach cramped, knowing her mom wouldn't be there to make sure she went to bed on time or make her popcorn while she watched cartoons. Suddenly, her going away scared her. Twelve nights was a long time. Longer than she'd ever been away from her mom.
She'd felt that feeling before when she had to stay with Mrs. Donovan or at school when the teacher told her to stop talking and do her work. The scared feeling would go away after her mom came back.
"I love you so, so, so much," whispered her mom. "I need to go now, so be a good girl for your aunt, okay?"
She nodded. Her chest hurt, and she blinked trying not to cry like a baby because everyone was looking at her.
Shayla stepped up beside her and held Nova's hand. She squeezed back.
Joe shut the front of the bug and got in the car. "Let's go, Krissy."
Her mom waved and blew her a kiss. Nova stared back, unable to lift her hand or see through the tears filling her eyes. She wanted to run after her and beg to go, too. She'd be quiet and not ask where they were going. She wouldn't kick the back of the seat or sing or anything.