Page 85 of Guarding Glenda

The rain had held off a few hours but it was still cloudy and a bit windy. The trees in my yard swayed as I pulled up. I went in through the garage door and let Bruce out, but took him upstairs so he could go out the back door. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. I was drinking it in big gulps when Bruce started barking.

I opened the back door and looked over the porch. He was at the part of the privacy fence that faced the front yard. Running back through the house, I pulled my pistol out and left the bottle of water on the counter.

I couldn’t see shit from the front window but there had to be something out there. Opening the front door slowly, I still didn’t see anything. I kept my pistol ready as I went down the steps slowly, not sure what I would encounter.

Scaling the front of the house, I listened for sounds, but Bruce was barking so loud I couldn’t hear shit. Once I got to the corner, though, I peeked around; there was a truck in the yard that I didn’t recognize.

I had no way of knowing how many people were at my house, so I kept my gun out and started heading back to the porch so I could get a little cover and send an SOS to Hammer.

But I hadn’t even made it halfway back when someone came around from the garage side and shouted, “Out here! He’s out front!”

Bruce was growling, barking, and banging at the wood of the fence as I swung my pistol and took a shot. The piece of shit in a Scorpion cut ran back around the corner, but someone else bolted from the front door to the porch and took a shot.

I had nowhere to run with cover, so I took my chances with the idiot on the same level as me and ran toward the garage. More shots came from behind me but I didn’t feel any pinch.

When I rounded the corner, I didn’t see anyone. He had to be on the other side of the trucks. He still had the upper hand because he was already hiding somewhere waiting for me. The walk-through door to the garage was cracked so I dipped inside, but immediately regretted it.

Chapter 31

Glenda

“What a day,” Linny said as we made our way to the bar.

Bama had already brought Sofie to us to say hello. We took a break earlier to hang with her after she got back from school. She wanted to show off the pictures she made and tell us all about the playground drama without the men around. She told us they were too nosy and that Bama would hold a grudge against the little boys. It was cute that she already knew that.

“Right. I’m ready to go home.”

Working around the clubhouse was not all that strenuous. We only changed bed linens every few days. We did handle the laundry for them, which was complicated. We had to make sure we didn’t mix up anyone’s stuff so they all kept labeled laundry bags for us. That’s part of why we stayed busy. Like a hotel, towels could of course be mixed up, along with the sheets and comforters. There was never too much trash in the bedrooms, but we did dump those every few days. Most of the trash was in the bar, or even the old buffet. We also helped in the kitchen. Pretty much whatever needed to be done.

“Do you think you’ll be stuck here again?” she asked as we walked inside and headed to the bar. Most of the guys lingering around were at the tables, and Bama was sitting at a poker table playing some kind of card game with Sofie.

Pinkie passed me a beer as I sat down. “Hey, girl. You eating tonight?”

“Yeah. Leigh said he would be too. He should be here in a few.”

Pinkie gave Linny a beer, then went to the kitchen.

Linny took a swig, then asked, “I hope the weather sucks so you can go on home.”

“Same. But, oh well. It is what it is.” I took a pull then chuckled.

“What ya laughing at?” she asked.

I ran my finger over the top of the bottle. “Just weird. A few weeks ago I was living here, alone, avoiding Leigh at all costs. Now I can’t wait for him to come get me so we can go home. To his house, but together.”

“Girl, that is your house now.”

I took another sip, shrugging. “I guess so. It’s just crazy how things happen.” I wanted to gush to her about how I was so fucking in love with him it was hurting, but I hadn’t even told him yet, so I decided to change the subject. ‘What about you? Y’all plan on just staying here or you gonna go back to yours and Bama’s house?”

Linny ran her fingers through her hair with a sigh. “I mean. It’s not me that’s keeping us here. I’m still sad about Ollie but I figure we gotta go back. It’s our house.”

“So why camp out here every night? There was a time you didn’t want Sofie here at all.”

She nodded. “Well, it’s been pretty low key since… well…” She took a drink and looked over her shoulder at the table where Sofie and Bama were. “I mentioned to Bama that maybe it would be good for Sofie to go home, but he said not yet and left it at that. I can only assume one thing.”

We looked at each other and clinked out bottles, saying, “Club business,” in unison.

“What are you two laughing at?” Allie asked from behind us.