Trailer Trash (Neely Kate Mystery Book 1) Page 7

  This time the interruption wasn’t so timely. My phone rang before I could take a bite.

  “Do you think that’s Rose?” Jed asked.

  “Yeah.” I could feel my heart pounding in my ears.

  “Do you want me to go outside or to the bar so you can get that?”

  I’d considered continuing my evasive maneuvers, but she deserved better, and if Jed was taking a no-secrets policy, I could at least be open with this. “No. Stay.”

  I grabbed my phone out of my purse, answering the call seconds before it went to voice mail. “Hey, Rose.”

  “Thank God.” She sounded like she was about to cry. “Where are you?”

  “I’m safe.”

  “And I’m grateful for that, but where is that?”

  “Rose . . .”

  “You said you’re taking care of things. What exactly does that mean? Does this have to do with Kate? Are you in Little Rock?”

  I gave Jed a defeated look, but I couldn’t bear to hold his gaze, so I glanced down at my plate. “Yes, I saw Kate, but there are some other things I need to see to.”

  “This has to do with your past, doesn’t it?” Her voice was teary again. “What is Kate holding over you? I’ll tell Joe, and the three of us can deal with it together.”

  “No! Don’t call Joe!” I said in a panic. I hadn’t even considered the possibility that she would, which was pure carelessness on my part. I’d convinced myself well and good that I’d managed to outrun everything . . . so much so I’d lost my survival instincts. It was a wonder it had taken so long for my past to bite back. “He won’t understand.”

  “Because he’s in law enforcement?” She paused. “I know you think we’ll turn away from you once we find out your deep dark secrets, but we won’t, Neely Kate. We love you. No conditions. No strings. Just come home, and we’ll face it together.”

  “I can’t come home, Rose.”

  “Ever?” She sounded panicked.

  That was a good question. If things were as bad as I feared, I’d have more to worry about than how Rose and Joe would take the truth. I’d be evading a warrant for my arrest. “I don’t know.”

  “You come home right now, Neely Kate Rivers!” she demanded in a voice so sweet it was almost comical. “You come home, and we’ll come up with a plan together. You can’t do this alone.”

  “I’m not alone.”

  She hesitated. “Who’s with you? Witt?”

  I could see why she might think I’d turn to my cousin, but Witt didn’t know any more than she did. “No. Not Witt.”

  “Then who?”

  I looked up at the man across from me, and he nodded.

  “Jed.”

  Rose was silent for a second. “Jed? How did Jed end up with you?”

  “It’s a long story, Rose, and I’ll tell you later. Once this is taken care of.”

  “Come home, Neely Kate.”

  It hurt not to tell her yes, especially since I loved the sound of that—home—but I knew I couldn’t give her what she wanted. Not yet. “I love you, Rose.”

  “You let me speak to Jed right now!”

  I held the phone down. “She wants to talk to you.”

  He grimaced, but his lips were tipped up in a slight smile. “I heard.” He reached out and took the phone. “Rose.”

  I heard her voice, although I couldn’t make out all the words, but it was obvious she was giving him an earful.

  Finally, he said, “Rose. I’m watching out for her, and if you have any doubts, just remember how I watched over you.”

  She was silent for about five seconds; then I heard her say something else, something much too quiet for me to hear.

  He said, “I promise,” then handed the phone back to me.

  “Rose,” I said when I returned the phone to my ear, “I know you don’t understand, but this is something I have to do.”

  “I know.” Her voice broke and she sniffed. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?”

  I started to cry. “Yes.”

  “No,” she said insistently. “I don’t think you do; otherwise, you wouldn’t have run off without me. But you listen here: if you’re not back by next Sunday night, I will come to Oklahoma and find you and bring you back myself.”

  “I never said I was in Oklahoma.”

  “I’m no fool, Neely Kate Rivers. I will come find you. Do you understand?”

  I laughed through my tears. “Yeah. I understand.”

  “Promise me that you’ll stick with Jed.”

  I glanced up at him. “I promise.”

  “Good, because I can’t think of any other man I would trust you with besides Joe. So do what you need to do and come home.”

  “I will.” Then I remembered one other issue. “What are you going to tell Joe?”

  “What do you want me to tell him?”

  I knew she wouldn’t want to lie. “Just tell him I had to go take care of some Rivers family business . . . which is true. Say that I took off and you didn’t know I was leaving until after I left.”

  “He’ll probably call you.”

  “I know. I’ll talk to him.”

  “Good. He cares about you too.”

  “I know. Now I have to go.”

  I hung up and put the phone on the table.

  “You okay?” Jed asked.

  I nodded and picked up my fork.

  Silence hung over the table for several minutes before Jed broke it with a question. “How long did you live in Ardmore?”

  This seemed harmless enough to answer. “I’m not sure about the first time. We probably moved there when I was five or six and stayed until I went to live with my grandmother when I was twelve. The second time . . . nearly two years.”

  “You moved back after you graduated from high school?”

  I nodded.

  “Why?”

  I considered not answering, but in the scheme of things, this one seemed harmless enough too. “I kind of got lost with the whole Rivers family. They’re this big, loud, overwhelming group, and I felt like I could never get my footing. I needed to go somewhere I felt like me.”

  “And you went to find your mother.”

  I nodded. “But she was gone, of course.”

  “Yet you stayed.”

  I wasn’t sure how to explain. “You’ve lived in the same place your entire life. You know what it’s like to feel like you belong somewhere. I’ve never had that. Not until Rose.”

  “Not even with Ronnie?”

  I shook my head. “No.”

  We fell into silence again and finished our dinner. Jed flagged down the waiter so we could pay our bill. I insisted on paying for my half of the meal. It was bad enough he’d put his life on hold—and gotten fired to boot. I didn’t really understand why he was doing so much for me, but I didn’t want to owe him any more than I already did.

  We walked across the parking lot, and when we reached his car, I turned to face him before he could open the door for me. “I’m still trying to figure out why you’re here with me.”

  “I told you.”

  “No. Not really.” I wasn’t buying that he didn’t know. I suspected he was still hoping to get laid. “Are you coming with me in the hopes I’ll change my mind? You’ll exchange . . . what? Support? Driving me around? Paying for my bus ticket for sex?”

  His eyes darkened. “Let’s get something clear right now.” His voice was so hard I nearly jumped.

  “What?” I asked with a defiant look.

  “You are not a whore. You will not be bought, by me or anyone else. Have I made myself clear?”

  I stared at him in disbelief, and damned if tears didn’t burn my eyes. “You don’t know my past.”

  “And it might be better if I don’t know, seein’ as we’re about to muck around in it. I might have to beat a few faces in, and I’m not sure you have enough money to bail me out.”

  I smiled in spite of my tears. “Why are you so nice to me?”

  “Because you’re
worth being nice to. I don’t think you see what I see, Neely Kate.”

  “And what’s that?” I asked against my better judgment.

  “I see a woman so fierce she’d take on a man twice her size without a second thought. I see a woman who is willing to risk anything and everything to help her best friend. I see a woman so desperate to hold on to the few people who love her she’s willing to risk her life to keep them.” He gave me a sad smile. “I see a woman who deserves love more than anyone I know. I’m irredeemable, but I can help you.”

  I stared at this man who felt as lost and hopeless as I did. I slipped my arms around his back and pressed the side of my head to his chest. “You’re not irredeemable, Jed.”

  His arms tightened around me, but this embrace was different than the one at the train station. This one was about comfort and strength.

  Maybe we could save ourselves together.

  Chapter 10

  We arrived in Ardmore around ten p.m. Jed suggested we get a motel room and start in the morning, but I shook my head. It was time to start my investigation. Maybe all my investigations with Rose had been practice for this.

  “We need to go to Slick Willy’s.”

  His brows lifted and he asked in a dry tone, “Slick Willy’s?”

  “It’s a strip club west of Ardmore. Just outside of Wilson.”

  He gave me a long look, then said, “Tell me how to get there.”

  I gave him directions, and about fifteen minutes later, he pulled into the half-full parking lot. My stomach was in knots, but I knew I didn’t have a choice.

  “Are you looking for someone in particular here?” Jed asked.

  Pulling down the visor, I checked my appearance in the mirror. I grabbed my lip gloss and swiped my lips. “No. I just thought you might enjoy the show. You know . . . compare it to the Bunny Ranch. Maybe get a lap dance. My treat in exchange for the bus tickets.”

  His eyes narrowed.

  I closed the tube, dropped it in my purse, and then fluffed my hair, careful to not disturb my stitches. I knew he deserved the truth, but he’d figure it out on his own soon enough. Of all my friends and family, Jed was the person I would probably feel most comfortable bringing here with me.

  Rose and I had gone searching for my cousin at Gems, the other strip club in Fenton County (until it burned down), and there’d been no mistaking the look of horror on Rose’s face the entire time we were in the club. That look had told me she couldn’t know the truth about how I’d learned to dance on the pole. I’d come up with a lie about my cousin teaching me in her garage, when in truth, I’d been the one to teach her.

  But picking a companion to come here with me felt a whole lot like picking a body part where I wanted to be shot. Any location would hurt like hell, but some were less fatal.

  I stuffed my phone and some cash in my jacket pocket and got out of the car, leaving Jed to follow.

  “I take it you’ve been here before,” Jed said in a dry tone.

  “A time or two.”

  “What should I expect inside?”

  “It’s Wednesday night, so it will be pretty tame. The church crowd.”

  I half-expected a response to that, but one, he had experience with Skeeter’s strip club, and two, I suspected people were pretty much the same wherever you went.

  We were greeted in the small foyer by a bouncer, a guy who tried to look tough but shrank a bit when he saw Jed. I didn’t recognize him, not that I was surprised. Turnover was understandably high. I slipped him a twenty to cover both of us, then headed inside before Jed could protest.

  A couple of men were at the bar, but several more were sitting at the tables in front of the stage. On the far side of the room, a man and a woman sat facing the door. They were both well-dressed and totally out of the league of everyone else in the room. Interesting. But I’d temporarily caught the eye of the unaccompanied men, and they were practically ignoring the dancer gyrating to a Lady Gaga song. Her bra was already off, and there were several bills stuffed into her G-string.

  I felt Jed’s chest press against my back and left shoulder, and it occurred to me that he was crowding close to broadcast that I was off-limits. I practically rolled my eyes before I headed toward the bar.

  I was safe here. Probably.

  The bartender had his back to me when I sat on one of the stools, but I recognized him nonetheless. Jed slid onto the seat to my right, slowly scanning the room. He seemed tense, but I supposed that was my fault for springing this on him without any warning.

  Time to rip that Band-Aid right off.

  The bartender—who was also the owner—turned around and did a double take when he saw me. “Kitty?”

  “Hey, Stan,” I said, trying not to cringe.

  “Oh, my God! I haven’t seen you in years! Not since . . . well, all that shit went down.”

  “Yeah. I left right after.”

  “How are you? What are you doin’ here?” His gaze landed on Jed and he looked equally impressed and intimidated. “Got yourself a man.”

  “No,” I said, but Jed’s harsh “Yes” was louder.

  I shot him a look, wondering what the hell he was doing, but in this conversation, I didn’t think it would matter.

  “I’m back in town for a visit, so I figured I’d drop by. Any of the old girls still here?”

  He shook his head. “Most are gone, but a few are left.”

  “Who?”

  “Raven. Maddie.”

  “Carla?” I asked.

  “Yeah . . . I forgot she started working right around the time you left.”

  “Does she happen to be working tonight?”

  He shook his head. “Nope, but she’s on tomorrow night.”

  “Thanks.” I’d had a feeling I’d have to come back, but it didn’t mean I was happy about it. How did I handle the next part without drawing suspicion? I decided to just go for it. “Heard anything about Beasley?”

  He froze, a tell if ever I’d seen one, then picked up a bar rag and started to wipe the counter. “I don’t know nothin’ about it, Kitty.”

  “Forget I asked.”

  His shoulders relaxed and he set two glasses on the table.

  “How about a drink for old times’ sake?” He glanced at Jed and set out another tumbler before he picked up a whiskey bottle and gave us each a generous pour.

  That made me suspicious. Stan’s ass was so tight he shit out ribbons in the mornings.

  He handed out the drinks, then held up his tumbler. “To old friends returning to the fold.”

  I clinked my glass with his, but Jed simply picked up his glass and took a drink. The scowl on his face suggested he was in no mood to chitchat. Surely he’d figured out my dirty little secret by now. Maybe he was reexamining his decision to come with me.

  I couldn’t handle his derision, so I avoided looking him in the eye.

  My gaze flitted to the bottle as I took a sip. Looked like Stan had broken out the good stuff, or what passed for good stuff in this place. Now I was really on edge.

  “So . . . what have you been up to, Kitty?”

  I kept my glass up and gave him a half-shrug. “This and that.”

  “Where’d you take off to when you left?”

  “Tulsa,” I lied.

  “Working in the industry?”

  “I got out.”

  “You leave with Branson? He took off around the same time, from what I hear.”

  “Nope.” I took a drink, hoping my hand didn’t shake. Branson. I wasn’t surprised Stan had asked. “Once I found out he was cheating, I took off.”

  Stan snorted. “That’s a lie.”

  Jed’s hand curled into a fist, but Stan didn’t seem to notice.

  I gave Stan a look so cold I was sure his testicles shrank to the size of acorns. “Excuse me?”

  “It’s just that he cheated before that . . .” he stammered, caught off guard. “And you didn’t do anything about it then.”

  “The last time was different. H
e was cheating with my best friend.”

  I took another drink and looked up on the stage. Nothing much had changed. Same sad décor. Same damn poles—I could tell by the chip at the top of the one on the left, although the indentation was bigger now. Even a few of the same damn customers. I felt dirty being here, not necessarily from what I’d done on that stage—the money I’d made here had helped me survive—but everything else. Being here was like toweling off from a shower with an oily rag.

  Branson. Beasley. Stella.

  They were in my past, yet I still hadn’t lost the stink of them. Maybe I didn’t deserve to.

  I downed the glass and set it on the counter. “Get me another.”

  “Only the first one’s free,” Stan said.

  “She’s covered,” Jed growled. “Now get her drink.”

  I finally glanced back at him. He seemed like a firework about to go off at any moment. Why was he pissed? Did he want to leave? It seemed unlikely, since he’d insisted Stan get me another drink.

  Stan refilled my glass, and I took a generous sip. I felt both hollow inside and full of regret, kind of like when you have a stomach virus and you can’t tell if you’re hungry or need to vomit. It was a familiar feeling even if it had dulled over the last few years. I had yet to find a cure, but at least I had a crutch. I took another sip, needing to drown it all out.

  What was I doing here? I needed to accept that I’d done terrible things. I should be running to the farthest corners of the earth and praying I was never found.

  The things I’d done . . .

  They were locked up tight in my vault of secrets, but the liquor burning through my blood made it feel like someone was loosening the handle.

  Jed leaned over to my ear. “Neely Kate, is there anyone else you want to talk to here?”

  I glanced back at him, surprised by the softness in his eyes.

  “No.” I needed to talk to Carla, but I didn’t want to give her a heads-up either. I turned to Stan. “I want to surprise Carla, so don’t tell her I came in, okay?”

  “Sure, sure,” he said, wiping the bar again. He was nervous. Why?

  Jed looked torn, but he pulled out a ten-dollar bill and tossed it on the counter before he stood.