“Maybe, but I think you know I love you. Nothing you could do will change that.”
“We got married,” I confess quietly, feeling his body quickly go tight. “He was going into the marines. He wanted us to start a life, wanted to go to school, so he joined, wanting a good life for himself and to provide one for me. The day before he left, we went to the courthouse and got married.”
“Jesus, June.”
“I know.” I squeeze my eyes closed. “I don’t know what happened. At first, everything was fine. When he was in boot camp, we connected regularly with letters, and when he could call, he did. He was supposed to come home for leave right after boot camp, and I planned on bringing him home then.”
“That didn’t happen,” Dad points out on a squeeze.
“No, it didn’t,” I agree. “They sent him to Afghanistan. Phone calls stopped soon after that. I tried to find out from his mom what was going on, but she didn’t really know, or she wasn’t willing to tell me anything. Then I heard he was home in Alabama. He didn’t come to me, and his mom found me and gave me divorce papers.”
“What the fuck?” Dad clips, and I tug on his hand, making him sit back down when he goes to stand.
“I was hurt, so fucking hurt. I signed the papers. Then I found out from Ashlyn that he got a job with Jax, and heard from her what happened to him when he was away.”
“No fucking excuses, June Bug.”
“You’re right, but you’re wrong,” I tell him quietly, squeezing his hand. “There was a lot I didn’t know, a lot of stuff he didn’t tell me. His dad was abusive, his mom was an alcoholic, his brother was in prison, and then his friends died. I don’t know the details of what happened when he was away, since we just started seeing each other again, but I can’t help but think all those things messed him up, and that monster you see is a result of those things.”
“Don’t give a fuck, baby girl. That man doesn’t deserve a second chance.”
“He said he didn’t want to get me dirty.” That sentence had stuck with me over the last couple days. There was something about it that is wrong, so wrong. I don’t… I can’t even begin to understand it.
“What?”
“He said I was too good for him, that he didn’t want to get me dirty. I don’t know what any of that means. I don’t fully understand what happened to us, but I know he loved me. I know he did, and I would scratch someone’s eyes out if they tried to tell me that wasn’t true.”
“Simmer down, June Bug,” Dad mutters, pulling me closer to his side, and I feel his lips at the top of my head. “I can’t say I’m happy about this.”
“I didn’t think you would be,” I murmur, wrapping my arms around his waist.
“I’m pissed you didn’t talk to me about him. I’m so fucking disappointed in you.”
Gahhh! Why is the whole I’m disappointed in you statement so much worse than your parents just being pissed at you?
“I know.”
“Your ma isn’t gonna be happy either, baby girl.”
Squeezing my eyes closed, I drop my temple to his shoulder and nod, because I know he’s right. My mom isn’t just my mom—she’s a friend, and I normally tell her everything. I know she’s gonna be even more disappointed in me than Dad is that I didn’t trust them with what was going on.
“We love you, always have and always will. One day when you have kids of your own, you’ll understand that. With that said, we can still be upset about your decisions, but it doesn’t mean you don’t always have our support.”
“I know,” I agree, and we sit in silence for a few more minutes.
“Do you want to tell your mom, or do you want me to?”
I wanted to ask if she really needs to know, but I know without asking the answer to that is yes. “I’ll tell her,” I mumble.
“Good call. I’ll get you guys some wine, and you can tell her once she’s had a couple glasses.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Anything,” he mutters, kissing the top of my head, then stands.
“You know I love you too, Dad, right?” I ask, tilting my head back to look at him.
“Yeah.” He grins before heading out the door.
“That went okay,” I whisper to the yard, hoping the talk with my mom won’t end with her in tears.
Unfortunately, I’m not that lucky. By the time I get around to telling my mom that Evan and I were married, she’d only had one glass of wine. She cried for an hour then told me—just like my dad—that she was disappointed in me. By the time we were done talking and I got up to go to sleep, she was so drunk, my dad had to carry her to bed.
Though, she did tell me drunkenly that Evan is hot.
*
“Uh… what are we doing here?” I ask, looking through the windshield at my sister’s vet clinic then over at Evan as he shuts down his truck.
“We’re getting you a dog,” he says, and my head jerks back as to him. “What?”
“You have the best alarm system on the market, but an alarm system only works if you turn it on.”
“Seriously?” I run my hands down my face. My dad lectured me about the alarm system last night and this morning. “I agreed to turn the alarm on.” I sigh.
“You’ll still set the alarm, but your also getting a dog.”
“What about a cat?”
“A dog will be on guard 24-7, a dog will tell you if someone is trying to get into the house, and a dog will protect you if someone does make it inside, now let’s go.” He hops out of the truck and slams the door then comes around to my side.
“I don’t know about this,” I tell him as soon as he opens my door, reaches around me, unhooks my belt, and helps me out.
“That’s all right. I do,” he replies, taking my hand and leading me toward the clinic.
As soon as we reach the front door, July is there pushing it open with a smile on her face, looking between me and Evan. “You said you would be here twenty minutes ago.”
“Had to pick up my truck,” is Evan’s reply as he tugs me through the door.
When I got off work and went home, I expected to have to face my house alone, but Evan was there, outside in his truck waiting for me. He didn’t even let me go inside, just took my hand and helped me into his truck. A truck that was just as cool on the inside as it was on the outside. Black leather seats with white stitching, black wood paneling, chrome everywhere there could be chrome, a killer sound system, and all the bells and whistles you could possibly ask for. I didn’t ask him what we were doing or where we were going. I was honestly just happy I didn’t have to be home alone, and even though I wouldn’t admit it out loud, I was happy to be spending time with him.
“Are you okay?” my sister asks, sweeping her eyes over me as we step through the door.
“Yeah, well, I was. Now, I don’t know.”
“What?” she asks, and her eyebrows pull tight as she studies me.
“Apparently, I need a dog.” I pause then turn to look at Evan, who is talking to Kayan at the reception desk. “A big one,” I mutter, and her eyes light up and a smile graces her lips.
“Ah.” Her gaze moves over my face and goes soft, and then she takes a step closer to me. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Letting out a breath, I nod. “I’m fine. I was freaked yesterday. I probably won’t want to stay alone for a while, but I’ll be okay.”
“I tried to call you.”
“My cell is still in the bottom of my bathtub.”
“What?”
“It fell in the tub. I need to get a new one. I’ll probably try to do that today.”
“When I called Mom and Dad’s last night, Dad said you and Mom were talking.”
“Yeah,” I reply quietly.
“You told them?” she whispers, looking over at Evan then back at me.
“I did,” I admit, and even though it sucked telling them, I’m happy to have that weight gone.
“How’d that go?”
“As expected. Dad w
as disappointed in me, and Mom was Mom: disappointed and hurt.”
“Did Dad talk to Evan?” she asks, and I shake my head. When Evan came to pick me up from my parents’ house this morning to take me home so I could get ready for work, I was expecting my dad to take him aside and have a talk with him. That didn’t happen. All my dad said was, “Know what you have, son, and don’t fuck up again.” To that, Evan jerked up his chin. My mom looked like she wanted to say more, but my dad held her close to his side, not letting her have a chance to do that. The whole thing was strange, but I had a feeling my dad heard me last night, and understood in his fatherly way what I said about Evan—or at least I hope he heard me.
“Dad likes Evan, or he did,” she mutters then continues, “I had an emergency surgery, but Wes called to tell me what was going on.”
“How did Wes know?” I ask, but it’s Evan who answers as he wraps his arm around my shoulders.
“I called the guys when I called Jax and Sage, and told them to rally.”
“What?” I ask, tilting my head back to look at him.
“Wasn’t sure if the guy was still in the area and wanted them to do a sweep.”
“Isn’t that a job for the police?”
“The cops in town are mostly good, but they’re undermanned. Town’s growing faster than the department. More drugs and petty crimes are happening daily, so they’re spread thin.”
That’s true. Our town, which used to be on the smaller side, had started sprawling out over the last ten years, ever since a big automotive factory moved in. There were now more jobs, more people, more homes, and more crime. “The guy was on foot. It’s easy to steer clear of a cop car, not as easy to steer clear of a guy on a Harley, or a man in a truck that looks like the rest that drive by.”
“How do you know he was on foot?”
“Baby, your next-door neighbor is Brew. He has two brothers who live on your block, and all of them keep an eye out.”
Okay, I didn’t know that either. Then again, I just moved in, so it wasn’t like I had a chance to invite people over and introduce myself to them.
“Oh,” was all I could say, and when I did, I watched Evan smile then his face bent and he touched his mouth to mine softly.
“Kayan said there are a couple dogs here we can look at. If one of them isn’t the one, there’s another shelter a few towns over we can go to.”
“I want a cat,” I repeat and he shakes his head.
“You’re not getting a cat.”
“Remember when I said you’re more annoying?” I glare.
“I remember,” he says with a smile.
“Well, it’s even more true now.”
His eyes scan my face and his smile turns into a grin. “As cute as you’re being right now, we don’t have all day to argue.”
“Annoying,” I mutter, and July laughs while leading us down the hall into the back of the clinic to look at dogs.
Chapter 7
Evan
“He’s kinda scary looking, right?” June asks, as I open the back door to my truck. “I mean, he’s white as snow, but it looks like he just killed someone.”
Chuckling, I shut the door after the dog jumps in the back then turn, pressing her against the side of the truck.
“His food stained his coat. He didn’t kill anyone.” I smile, and her eyes drop to my mouth then lift to meet mine.
“I know, but it still looks like he did.” She’s right. The one-hundred-and-thirty-pound dog is pure white, but around his mouth is stained a deep red, making it look like he just ripped someone’s throat out. Hopefully, that, his size, and his bark will have someone second-guessing stepping foot in June’s house without being invited in. June, who had been against the idea of getting a dog, took one look at the large Akita and started cooing at him like he was a baby the moment July showed him to us.
“He needs a name.” I wrap my hands around the sides of her neck and tilt her head back.
“T-bone.” She smiles, placing her hands against my chest then tilts her head to the side, putting pressure on one of my hands while I laugh. And I notice, not for the first time, that she always stops to watch me laugh. She didn’t do it before, but something about it hits my chest in a not-unpleasant way every time she does it now.
“T-bone?” I repeat, and she smiles and shrugs.
“T-bone, or maybe Snow. I like both, but I think T-bone is cooler.”
“I think you should think about this for a while.” I smile, touching my mouth to hers.
“He’s already going to have a hard time settling in, since he’s going to a new home. If he has to have a new name too, that’s just going to make it harder on him. I don’t want to call him ‘dog’ for a week and have him answering to that, only to figure out a name for him later,” she says in one long breath, and by the time she’s done, I’m pressing my lips tighter together to keep from laughing.
“T-bone, though? You really think that’s a good name?” I ask, and she looks to the sky like she’s thinking about it then meets my gaze once more.
“What about Fuzzy or Harry?”
“Now you’re just being cute.” I shake my head and ask, “What about Killer?”
“What?” her nose scrunches up.
“We’ll call him Killer.”
“How about a name that doesn’t scare everyone, like Ninja?”
“Ninja?”
“Well, he’s an Akita. I think they’re Japanese dogs, so Ninja fits.”
“It’s better than, T-bone, Snow, Fuzzy, or Harry,” I mutter, and she leans in, giving me a blinding smile.
“Ninja it is.” She presses up on her tiptoes, kissing the underside of my jaw, then leans back grinning.
“Ninja it is, baby,” I agree and with a press of my thumbs to the underside of her jaw, and a tilt of her head, I kiss her once more softly.
Dropping one hand to her hip, I lean her to the side, open the door, and help her in. I hear her say, “Ninja boy, you’re such a good boy,” to the dog, which barks once as I shut the door. Jogging around to the driver side and sliding behind the wheel, I start up The Beast, back out of the parking spot, and head out of the lot.
“Can we stop at the cell phone store in town?” she asks, as I make sure the road’s clear and coast into traffic on the highway. “I don’t think the rice trick will work on my phone since it was submerged in water over night,” she continues and I look over at her, nabbing her hand from her lap and dragging it to mine.
“You’re probably right. We’ll stop on the way back to your place, then pick up dog food and supplies for Ninja while were out.”
“I told my parents we were married,” she says like she didn’t mean to say it then moves to take her hand from my thigh, but I hold it tighter.
“I’m glad you told them,” I say gently squeezing her hand. I already knew she had. Her dad was waiting at the compound for me when I got back from dropping her at work this morning. He told me he would be watching me and that he hopes I have what it takes to fight whatever it is that made me leave his girl behind the first time. He didn’t give me his stamp of approval, but that didn’t surprise me either. I’m going to have to earn his respect, and I have a feeling that isn’t going to be easy. “I should have told them about you, about us, before,” she whispers after a moment of silence and I shake my head.
“We both should have done things differently.”
Her hand turns over under mine and she laces our fingers together. “I wasn’t ashamed of you, and I didn’t think you weren’t good enough for me. I don’t know what I was thinking back then, but that wasn’t it.”
“I know, baby,” I agree just as quietly, then listen to her laugh when Ninja sticks his head between us and rests his jaw on her shoulder, where it stays until we pull up in front of the cell phone store.
“I need to make a phone call. You go on in and I’ll be there in a minute,” I tell her, finding a spot in front of the double doors so I can watch her while I’m on the cell.
“You don’t need to come in. This shouldn’t take long,” she says, unhooking her belt and picking up her purse from the floorboard.
“I’ll be in,” I repeat, and she rolls her eyes as she exits the truck and heads into the store.
Picking up my cell, I press Send and put it to my ear. My brother called yesterday. We’re not close, we haven’t been for a long time. The year before I went into the military, he went to prison for possession of drugs with the intent to sell. His life was starting to look like my parents’, and I knew I wanted nothing to do with that shit. A month ago, he was released after serving his time. When we spoke a few days ago, he told me he was trying to figure out his life, and I told him if he stayed clean, he could stay with me.
Hearing the ringing go to voicemail, I watch June through the glass windows then mutter, “Fuck no,” when a guy moves from behind the counter with his eyes on her ass. I’m out of my truck telling Ninja to stay, and walking into the store before my brain even has a moment to catch up with where my feet are taking me.
“So the only difference is the front-facing camera?” I hear June ask, while inspecting the phone in her hand, flipping it back over, and studying the screen.
“No.” The fuckwad next to her smiles like she’s adorable and leans closer. “There are a lot of different features. The front-facing camera is just one of them.”
“I don’t know.” She bites her lip studying the phone. “I don’t really want to pay four hundred dollars for a phone that is basically the same one I had before, a phone I got for free when I signed my contract,” she states as I move to her side, and I watch the guy’s eyes move from the phone in her hand to her chest. I hear a growl and soon realize it’s me who’s growling.
His eyes fly to me and his Adam’s apple bobs. “Um…” He clears his throat, while I wrap my hand around June’s waist and pull her against me, keeping my stare locked on his.
“We’ll take the phone,” I declare, and I feel June looking at me, but I ignore her and grab my wallet out of my pocket, drop my hand from her waist, pull out my card, and hand it to him.