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Grabbing the letter opener I rip through the top of the envelope, pulling out a small stack of documents. Sifting through the papers, I wonder why the hell someone would send me car title documents. Confused, I read through the documentation of the 2006 Ford Mustang in search of the owner and find only one name. Neatly written in print then beneath is signed Kari White as the owner. Kari White? I search my memory bank quickly, but I don’t know a Kari White. I flip through the documents for more clues when a short slip falls from the stack, landing in my lap. Picking the slip up as I start to stuff it back into the pile, something on it catches my eye. I lay the documents down on the desk, gripping the slip in both hands. I read carefully over the check that paid for the 2006 Ford Mustang, and the salt to the wound singes my skin immediately. I pick up the phone calling down to Colton’s office telling him that I need him immediately. He comes bolting through the door moments later, with worry etching his face.
“Darlin’ what’s wrong?” He pants, as he drops to his knees in front of me.
“Lo-look at th-this.” I stammer as my lip quivers. Anger soars through my veins, as goose flesh prickles my skin, the hairs on my arms standing straight on end.
“What the hell is it?” He asks taking the check from my hand. “So, Big John bought a car? Are you pissed that it was a Ford?” He jokes and I shove him back on his haunches.
“Okay, Einstein. If that ain’t clear enough for ya, how ‘bout this. Can you add two plus two?” I snap, shoving the file in his face. I’m not mad at him, I’m just seething pissed in general and he’s the one here catching my wrath. He steps around the desk taking a seat in the chair as he begins to shift through the paperwork.
“Carly Jo, where the hell did you get this?”
“It was stuffed in the shuffle of mail.” I shrug, and the emotions that radiate from me are now heating the room like a damn sauna. Colton is seething mad, his face red with heat and anger.
“Kari drove a Mustang.” Click, click, click; the puzzle pieces lock in place and yet another lie is revealed.
“Damn it!” He shouts bouncing to his feet and with one swift move he shoves his steel toe boot into the front of my desk, forming a splinter in the cherry wood. “That son of a bitch set me up!” He paces the short space in front of my desk like a dog chasing its tail, a string of obscenities filtering from his mouth like water from a faucet. I can see this is going nowhere fast and what happened in the past is best left there. I walk around the desk and wrap my arms around his waist, stilling him instantly.
“Calm down.” I whisper softly against his back. “It’s in the past and they’re both in the grave.”
He turns around drawing my face to his chest, kissing the top of my head. “They’d better thank God. Because of them, I lost so much of you. We lost our baby, damn it; because your stubborn ass Daddy was too scared to let you go.” He grumbles. I grip him tighter trying to calm the shakes that control his body, but he’s too big, too strong.
Cradling his face in my palms, I tilt his head down to meet my eyes. “They did, baby, but it only made us stronger. Eight years later and look where we are. Don’t you see, Colton? We can be dragged through Hell’s flames and as long as we have faith in our love, ain’t a damn one of ‘em can break us.” I feather my lips delicately across his and that simple kiss just about burns the damn office down. Colton twists his fingers through my hair at the nape of my neck, and devours my kiss like a stark raging mad man. Stealing my breath, I pull away slowly dazed and drunk by his swollen red lips.
He presses his forehead to mine, rubbing his thumbs across my cheeks he whispers, “I love you, baby. They may have stripped us of so much, but the fact that we’re still standin’ hand and hand through all of Hell’s fury tells me more and more that you’re forever mine.”
After we both stow our anger, Colton goes back to his work leaving me to mine. The galling stack of documents lay on the opposite side of my desk just where Colton left them, and the longer I glare at the stack, the further my intrigue grows. Big John paid Kari off to seduce Colton and it worked. But how the hell did he get connected with an eighteen year old woman? Bells and whistles ding loudly in my head. I grab the phone, dialing the numbers as quickly as my fingers can dial.
“Jodie, this is Carly Simon. I need to leave a message for Tiffani, please.” I wait for her prompt to go ahead with the message. “Ask her to look into Kari White, deceased as of January 21, 2007. From the Lexington, KY area. See if there is any connection with White to Drew Varney or Josh Moore.”
“You sure you don’t wanna trade off the Camaro?” Colton ribs me as we load the suitcases into the back of his truck. I shoot him a piercing glare, but before I can speak Heidi Jo saves the day.
“Heck no, she ain’t gettin’ rid of that muscle. Are you crazy old man?” She quirks an eyebrow up at Colton, seriously considering whether he has lost his mind. My little Punky Brewster loves my Camaro almost as much as I do.
“Okay, the Camaro stays parked. Let’s get on the road.” Colton announces slamming the tail gate. We drive west for over an hour into Lexington, Kentucky. We pull into Man-O-War Chevrolet just in time for our scheduled appointment with Claude, the sales manager. Colton called yesterday and explained what I was looking for and Claude agreed to have a few options pulled for my selection. The vehicles he has on showcase for me range from crossover to full size SUV. Immediately without even having to look at any of the other vehicles, I’m drawn to the 2015 Tahoe LTZ 4WD. Tungsten Metallic in color, it screams luxurious while the size alone will make me feel safe, looking down on all of the other vehicles on the road. After being nearly ran off the road TWICE, I refuse to take any chances with my new family.
“Write it up.” I tell Claude.
“Carly Jo, wait.” Colton calls from behind me as I make my way inside to sign whatever paperwork necessary. “Don’t you want to at least drive a few SUVs? The Equinox is just as nice, just smaller.”
“Nope, I want the Tahoe. I like the color, the size, the luxuriously rich interior. It’s what I want.”
“Your vehicle. As long as you’re happy. But that bitch is gonna chug the hell outta the Shell station.” He replies following behind me with Heidi Jo in tow.
Colton talks numbers shortly with Claude, while I wait with the pen in hand ready to write a hefty check for my new ride. An hour later, I shake Claude’s hand, telling him I’ll be back tomorrow evening to pick up the Tahoe. He promises to have it fully detailed and clean from the salt and snow that has been littering the lot all winter long.
“Let’s go Daddy, I wanna go jump at Kangaroo Jack’s!” Heidi Jo stomps, pulling Colton with all of her small might.
“Alright, Princess settle down. We gotta get checked into the hotel first, so mind your manners and find some patience.” Colton says lifting her into the back seat, strapping the seat belt snuggly around her lap and chest. Crossing her arms over her chest, she pushes out her lip pouting.
“Bu-but Daddy,” she whines, stopping short of what she wants to say in defeat.
“Hey sweets, it won’t be long now, promise.” I wink back at her.
Keeping true to my promise, we check into the hotel rather quickly, then head downtown to Kangaroo Jack’s. Until today, I had no idea what this place was, but I can promise you this…if I never see this damn place again, it’ll be too frickin’ soon. And that jackass Colton Weston will pay dearly for ambushing me with this atrocity of a restaurant…trust me, that’s just a front for this damn glorified playground. The acoustics of this building echo piercing, shrilling voices loudly about the room, and my head throbs with a pending migraine. I bury myself into the corner farthest away from the over-sized inflatables and arcade as Heidi Jo and Colton race over the inflatable slide.
They wait in line together then Colton climbs up the rope ladder behind her guarding her safety, like a good Daddy should. When they get to the top, just when I expect him to climb back down, he flops down on his ass pulling Heidi Jo into his lap and they slide down together, laughter bursting from the both of them. And just like the first slide, he follows her to every inflatable, jumping, rolling and flopping around until they’re both covered in sweat and out of breath.
“What’re ya sittin’ in the corner all by yourself for?” Colton asks with a panted breath as he slides inside the booth beside me.
