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“Anytime, sugar.” She smiled, but there was curiosity behind her eyes. I’m sure at least one of her questions involved asking what I was doing with her son and I couldn’t help wondering the same thing.
Hal and Fox worked together and loaded the shipment of restaurant supplies onto a large flatbed truck. They had an easy familiarity with each other the way a father and son would. I wondered how long Hal had been with Annette. Judging by the gold band on his left ring finger it had to be long enough for the two to decide to marry. After we brought the equipment back to Catch, as Fox and Hal had referred to the restaurant, Annette handed over a list of errands to run. Fox accepted the task, while Hal promptly turned and announced that he was going back to bed.
“So, your mom and Hal are married?” I asked as Fox and I pulled away from the restaurant.
“Yeah,” He nodded, then added. “They met when I was about three and Woody was just a baby.” I winced at the mention of his brother as I remembered my interactions with him the night before. “Hal pretty much raised us.” Fox continued, “He and Mama met in a nightclub in Columbia. She was waiting tables and Hal was part owner of the place. I remember him bringing us presents on Christmas and teaching my brother and me how to throw a football. We really liked him, and I guess after a while so did Mama.” He laughed as he steered the car down the curvy road.
“So, you are from Columbia then? How did your family come to live here?”
“When I was about seven, Hal brought us all here for a week during the summer. Mama liked it here so much that he bought her the restaurant and we moved out here to live permanently. My sister was born not long after that. He’s a good man and the only real father we’ve ever known. The first one we had was a worthless sack of shit.” Fox’s knuckles grew white as he tightly gripped the steering wheel.
“I’m glad you have him,” I said genuinely, knowing all too well what it was like to not have a father around when you needed him. Fox shot a quick glance at me.
“What’s wrong with you?” he eyed me suspiciously, all traces of emotion over his biological father gone.
“What do you mean?” I honestly had no idea what he was talking about.
“You haven’t said one mean or snide thing in the last two hours?” He grinned playfully. “Who are you and where is Harley ‘Kick-ass’ Wyatt?”
“Are you complaining? Because her appearance can be arranged.”
“She doesn’t worry me, but I like this version of her better.” My mind went back to the comment he made early about the side of me that made him hard. Kick-ass Harley couldn’t stop her eyes from traveling to the bulge between his legs and commenting, but Tame Harley liked the way things were playing out between them and didn’t want to ruin it. It was difficult to keep quiet as I turned my head to the window. God, I had no idea how the hell I was going to make it through the day by keeping my mouth in check, but I sure as hell wanted to try.
Chapter Ten
A few hours later, we’d finished all the tasks Annette had given us. The family had a few rental properties that needed to be checked on. We went to one of them in order to verify that the cleaning crew had come to ready the place for a new renter. At the other property, we had to replace the filters and check the thermostat. Luckily, there were no tenants to deal with. Fox and I just hung out together, sharing normal friendly conversation. The best part so far was that I had managed to be good and not give in to bad impulses that would ruin the day.
“So,” I began just as we pulled on the main road after leaving the last house. “If I’m going to be staying on the island for a little while, what is there to do here besides the beach? Something that only the locals know about?”
Fox flashed me a grin and instantly flipped a U-turn in the middle of the street. After traveling another quarter mile, we veered to the right and onto a hidden path you wouldn’t know was there unless you were looking for it. Curious, I didn’t say a word as I searched our surroundings in anticipation. Finally, we reached a clearing with a well-worn path created by repeated tire tracks. It lined the edge of the trees and disappeared behind them.
“What is this place?” I asked.
“You’re about to find out. Are you ready?” The excitement on his face was contagious. Ready? For what, I wasn’t sure, but I nodded enthusiastically anyway. Fox revved the engine several times before flooring the gas pedal. The tires spun briefly, kicking up rocks and dust as we flew down the path. I grabbed on to the door handle with all my might as the car steadily increased in speed. It reminded me of the time Mack let his ego convince him into accepting an impromptu race on the highway. It was more scary than fun at the time. There were too many variables to worry about such as other innocent drivers on the road, the cops, and the fact that Mack had been drinking most of the night. Mack won of course because he was the best, but yeah, it was not fun at all.
With Fox, it was different. Being scared never even occurred to me. When we reached a bend in the path, Fox shifted gears and slowed enough to take the turn. The clearing was wide and lined with a crudely constructed wooden fence that separated the road from the trees. The space was wide enough for at least three or four cars to make it through side by side, but Fox took up the entire middle. I loved the feel of the wind on my face as the trees flew by. It was so exhilarating that I threw my head back and hollered.
“Yeeeehaaaw!” Because it felt like the thing to say at that moment. I was feeling very Dukes of Hazzard-ish as we raced down a back-country road. I heard Fox’s laughter to my left and my cheeks began to hurt from smiling. For the first time, raging anger didn’t fill my veins and I felt free. My hair fell loose from its ponytail and was blowing around my face as I looked over at Fox. I couldn’t take my eyes off the intensity on his face as his eyes never left the road, the way his body moved as one with the car as he made each turn and how he changed gears as if the shifter was an extension of his arm. It was the hottest thing I’d ever seen.
We completed the course three times before Fox brought the car to a stop at the end of the clearing. Adrenaline was coursing through both of us as our eyes locked. The air crackled around us and an unexplainable force pulled us together. I unbuckled my seat belt and straddled his legs as he tugged me to him. Our mouths collided and suddenly we were all teeth and tongues, nipping and sucking, moaning and sighing. I tightened my arms around his neck as he cupped the back of my head, deepening our kiss. It was the kind of kiss that ignited a fire in your soul and you would do anything to stay as the flames consumed you.
My heart pounded wildly as one of Fox’s hands slid under the hem of my dress and his fingers made contact with the bare skin on my upper thigh. Our tongues continued to slide together as I rocked my hips against the bulge in his jeans. I became faintly aware of an engine roaring in the background, but neither of us seemed to care enough to pay attention to it until the sound was coming from right behind us.
“Fox? Is that you?” someone called out followed by the closing of a car door.
“Shit,” Fox muttered as we untangled ourselves just before our visitor reached the driver’s side window.
“Well, if it ain’t Sly-Motherfuckin’-Fox. Where the hell have you been?” A man leaned into the window and the first thing I noticed was the grease under his fingernails. He stared at both of us with dark eyes that narrowed at me uncomfortably. My creep detector immediately started going off.
“What’s up, Knight?” Fox finally spoke and tapped my behind lightly with his hand prompting me to go back to my own seat.
“You know, same old shit. Just bringing the new ride up to The Spot for a test.” He pointed to a black car behind us but from where I was sitting I couldn’t tell what make and model it was. Not that I knew much about cars. It could have been the Bat Mobile and I’d have no clue what I was looking at.
“Cool, man,” Fox replied but not sounding in the least bit interested in talking about the car. “I won’t hold you up then.” I didn’t know Fox all that well, but I could tell that he didn’t like Knight very much, however, he was doing his best to stay calm.
“Who’s this?” Knight nodded to me. “Do I know you? I feel like I’ve seen you before.”
“No,” I answered. “I don’t think so.” I would have remembered him. He had a dark and sinister look to him with long black hair that came to his shoulders and a jagged scar above his eye. The same eyes that studied me suspiciously.
