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“I’m not cutting you out of my life, Daddy, but I’m through being your perfect little doll. I’m going to stay here. Stay with Cole as long as he’ll let me, then I’ll figure out where to go from there. I’ve let you run my life for too long. It’s time for me to grow up and live my own life. Right now, that life is here, but I don’t know where it will be honestly. I do know it won’t be in Mobile, or anywhere near Troy.”
Daddy’s face went from white to red. “You’re right. You are an adult, and you can make your own choices. But as an adult you also must live with the consequences of your choices.”
Sissy bit her tongue to keep from smarting off that she was already doing that, the beating she’d taken was a consequence of dating someone he had picked out. That wouldn’t help things right now.
“That’s fine. Let me know what needs to happen and I’ll get it taken care of.” She didn’t know if he meant he would be cutting her off financially or what. Not that she cared. He’d paid for her car because he’d wanted to be in control of what she drove, but she took care of most of her own bills. She had for a long time.
“I’ll be in touch with all that. I see you’ve replaced your phone, I assume you’re keeping the same number?”
“I am for now, if that changes I’ll let you know.” She didn’t say that the only reason she could think of to change it would be if Troy started harassing her. Again, not helpful.
“If you’re not coming home with me, I have no reason to stay any longer. I just hope you know, this is going to destroy your Aunt Jo.” He turned on his heel, as if his words were a final bomb to hurt her before he left.
“Some how I doubt that. She always liked Cole.” She watched as he headed for the door, only to have Ruger step in front of him.
She knew what the other man was saying… Telling her father that if Troy left town they would drop the charges but if he ever came back, ever contacted Sissy again, they would press charges, if the man survived the encounter with him and the rest of the Demented Souls. She watched as he stepped around Ruger and left. As soon as the door closed behind him she let out a breath and let her shoulders slump.
“I’m sorry Daddy was a jerk to you,” she said as she slid back into the seat beside Cole.
“Sweetheart, I stopped holding you responsible for what your daddy said while we were still in school. It took me a little longer to stop caring what he thought about me, but that was mostly because of how much it bothered you.” He covered her hands with one of his and squeezed. “You’re welcome in my home as long as you’d like to stay, you know that.”
“I know, but I didn’t want to assume. And if I didn’t give him plans for after, he would have used it as another angle to bully me from. And I have to be a realist. A lot of relationships feel like this, all happiness and joy, at least in the beginning. Only time will tell if it lasts. It’s never a bad idea to have a what if plan. What if things fall apart. If these ten days have taught me nothing else, it’s that an escape plan can be a life saver.”
“I hope you never feel like you need to escape from me.” Cole’s gaze met hers.
“I do too.” The clinking of bottles against tables, the smack of billiards balls hitting each other, all the noise of the bar faded, until all that mattered was the two of them. “I know you won’t hurt me, not like Troy did. But even after just a short time, I can tell you have things you can’t tell me. I’m okay with that. At least for now. What’s more important is I know who you are in here.” She laid her open hand against his chest and tapped the middle two fingers over his heart. “With as little time as I’ve been around, I can see that the Demented Souls are not exactly what they appear to be. I know who you are and I’m good with what you think you need to do.” She rolled her lips inward and bit them as she tried to find the words to tell him what she knew had to be said.
“Cole, I’ve loved you since I was sixteen. Nothing in the last week or in the last twelve years has done anything but make what I feel for you grow. I think the only way you could kill what I feel for you is to become as big of jackass as Troy is.” She searched his face for any clue he felt the same for her, or even close.
“Sweetheart, I walked away all those years ago because your daddy convinced me I was nothing but bad news for you. That didn’t change how I felt. Nothing has changed how I felt for you. Hell baby, I drove twelve hours to rescue you because you called me. Me.
“I can’t tell you how bad I wanted to kill that fuckwad for what he did to you. But taking care of you was more important. You are what’s important to me. Well, you and my brothers. I love you too, sweetheart. I think if I have you, I’ll be the happiest man on earth, even if the world were to burn down around us.”
Sissy smiled and leaned close. Her heart seemed to flutter in her chest as she watched him close the distance between them. His mouth came down over hers and she was lost in the hot press of his lips.
Smooching sounds and cat calls pulled her out of the bubble of Cole’s presence as he broke the kiss and pulled away.
“Get a room,” one voice called.
“There’s a couch in the office,” came another.
“We can go home if you like,” Cole offered.
Sissy shook her head and grinned. “No. I’m good for a bit yet. Get me a drink. I’m ready to unwind a little. I’m glad the confrontation with Daddy is over and all we have to look forward to is us.”
“I like the sound of us.”
“Me too.”
Sissy leaned against Cole as she glanced around the room. She’d never pictured herself somewhere like this, but for the first time in years, she felt like she was in the right place. Somehow, she knew it wasn’t the place that mattered, it was the man there beside her.
After more than ten years, she was back beside Cole and things were the way they were supposed to be. For now, at least, everything was right in her world.
Thank you for reading Bubba. There are several more in the Demented Souls series, which can be found on Melissa’s website http://melissastevens.us
Melissa Stevens has more than fifty books and is working on more all the time. She lives in Arizona with her husband, dog and wild children. Melissa loves reading and writing and spends her days dreaming up new tales for her favorite friends… the ones that live in her head.
Maverick Rising
