“Then it’s because you knew I cared about her.”
Cash snorted. “You didn’t care about Sutton. You let her go easily enough. If you were as into her as you claim, you would have whipped my ass over her. Greer tried to give me a beating over that slut Diane. You replaced Sutton with Lisa within a day. You were just tired of having blue balls, and it gave you the excuse to do what you wanted to do all along.”
“Which was what?” Tate snarled.
“Break up with Sutton and fuck Lisa. I saw her flirting with you when you would pick Greer up from football practice. Was that short little cheerleader skirt getting to you?
Tate stood, his chair scraping the linoleum. “I’ve gotta go before I knock the shit out of you. I can’t afford to do any jail time right now. Bye, Rach.”
“Tate!”
He ignored his sister trying to call him back. He didn’t bother paying his bill either, knowing Cash would take care of it. The son of a bitch deserved to pay his tab.
He strode to his truck and climbed inside to wait for Holly and Logan. He slammed his hand down on the steering wheel, wanting to vent the anger he couldn’t take out on Cash.
He was angry at himself and Cash. He should have beaten the ever-loving shit out of Cash all those years ago.
Tate ran his hand through his hair. He had never been with a girl as long as Sutton, certainly not one he hadn’t fucked on a regular basis and remained faithful. She had made plans for their future together, despite him constantly evading the issue. He had no intention of leaving Treepoint, and he had selfishy hoped deep down that she would change her mind about leaving. Moreover, she had stood beside him when his parents died, and Rachel had grown attached to her. She’d had dreams of being a lawyer, while his dreams had been simplier—a woman who would fuck his brains out and help him raise his brothers and sister. If she could do that, he would be content never to leave his mountain.
In his mind, he had seen Sutton getting out of Cash’s truck, and his pride had been stung. Truthfully, it still was. Now he realized how selfish he was being; she had only been seventeen, and he had been her first boyfriend.
Sutton had been the best part in the shit hole his life had become. She deserved to leave Treepoint and follow her dreams without him holding her back. She had probably figured that out for herself, which was why she had cheated on him with Cash.
Seeing Holly crossing the street with Logan, he got out to hold the door open for her, watching with a smile as Logan climbed inside. He ruffled the boy’s red hair when he succeeded.
“I did it all by myself,” Logan boasted.
“Yes, you did.” Tate chuckled as Logan sat down in his carseat.
“I’m getting too big for this. Can’t I just sit on the seat like you?” he complained, buckling himself in with nimble fingers.
“You have to gain a few more pounds for that to happen.” Seeing the frown of discontent, Tate winked at Holly. “How about we go to the store and see if we can find the next size up? If Holly tells me you’ve been good at your grandmother’s, I might even buy you that new bike you’ve been wanting.”
“I’ve been really good, haven’t I, Holly?” Logan looked anxiously at the woman sitting in the front seat.
“Yes, you have,” she said, throwing Tate a furtive look.
When he was back in the truck, Holly lowered her voice. “I thought we couldn’t afford it right now.”
Tate shrugged. “Came into some extra money.”
“I don’t know how I feel about you using your drug money to buy him a bike.”
Tate’s mouth firmed. “It’s a good thing it’s not up to you then, is it?”
Holly crossed her arms over her chest, turning to stare out the window.
Tate drove them to the store, letting Logan pick out his bike after they found a booster seat for the truck. Tate ignored Holly’s disapproval.
“Holly?” Logan’s face fell when she didn’t return his excitement.
Her expression softened as it always did where Logan was concerned. “It’s a nice bike.”
His excitement returned as they wheeled it toward the cash register. Tate ignored Holly’s holier-than-shit attitude as he paid for the purchases. He felt no guilt over how he and his brothers earned their money. If they didn’t purchase the weed from them, their customers would buy it off someone else. The money was better off in his wallet than the Hayes’s or the Coleman’s, and their clients damn sure were better off not smoking the weed they sold.
As they were going out the door, Tate saw Lyle Turner, the town drunk, coming in and throwing him a glare, which Tate forced himself to brush off. The case had been thrown out of court. If Lyle wanted to start a fight, he could do it with the store cameras on him. Tate wasn’t about to spend a night away from home with the sense of danger he had felt lately.
Tate loaded Logan’s bike into the bed of the truck and switched out the car seats before he climbed in. Logan fidgeted with excitement on the way to his grandmother’s house.
“How much longer are we going to have to stay with Mrs. Langley?” Holly asked.
“Just a few more days.” Tate took his eyes briefly off the road. “I figured you would prefer Mrs. Langley’s house over ours. It’s a hell of a lot bigger.”
“It’s not home.” Holly glanced away, avoiding his gaze.
“It won’t be much longer,” Tate promised as he pulled into the driveway.
Tate climbed out while Holly opened the back door to let Logan out. The anxious boy could hardly wait as Tate pulled his bike out of the truck.
He stayed and watched him for an hour until Dustin showed. Then Tate left them alone for some private time.
Logan and Dustin had developed a close relationship, but Tate noticed an expression of sadness appear in his brother’s eyes when he wasn’t aware someone was watching. His young, devil-may-care attitude hid the pain Samantha had left behind. Dustin had loved her. He had never discussed it with him or Greer, but both brothers felt Dustin’s pain.
Their father had warned them when they each turned sixteen that a Porter loves only once. He had often told them how he managed to catch their mother. He had loved her on first sight. Tate still remembered rolling his eyes when his father regaled them with his past. His mother had been engaged to Cash Adam’s father at the time.
“I knew she was meant for me the first time I set eyes on her.”
“She belonged to someone else,” Tate had reminded him.
His father had shrugged. “I knew Mattie would catch on to him cheating on her. Your momma ain’t nobody’s fool.”
“She caught him?” Greer had asked.
Their father had nodded, not trying to hide the triumph in his voice. “Kind of hard not to when he knocked up the town whore. Took me a year to talk her into going out with me, then another six months to get her in my bed.”
“Ew,” Dustin had groaned, covering his hands with his ears.
“Son, you won’t be thinking that in a few years when a pretty girl walks by you, sashaying a pretty ass in front of you.”
Tate and Greer had both laughed as their father had shot them a know-it-all grin.
“I wouldn’t laugh too hard if I were you two, either. I’m gonna give you the same warning my pa gave me: once a woman catches a Porter man’s heart, she never lets it go. My pa and each man before him only loved one woman.”
“Not in this day and time,” Tate had snickered.
He had shaken his head. “Porter men are different.”
“You really believe that?” Tate had asked in disbelief.
“I know that,” he had said in conviction. “I wouldn’t want to live without your ma.”
Tate had a feeling of forboding and quickly changed the subject. “Maybe it will skip our generation.”
“I hope not. I wouldn’t want you to miss out on what me and your ma have.”
“Didn’t Cash’s dad try to get her back?”
A familiar look that had always scared the
m shitless had come over his face, the same one that had been on his face when he had caught someone snooping around their property.
“He tried, hard.”
“What did you do?” Dustin had asked the question they all had wanted answered.
“I followed the rules my father gave me and the same one I keep telling you. A Porter always stands his ground. Don’t leave an enemy standing, and always keep what’s yours.”
All of them had stared at their father in awe.
“Don’t forget them rules,” he had ordered.
“We won’t.” Each of them had given their promise to their father.
“When I’m dead and gone, live and breathe them. Mark my words, no man or woman will stand a chance against you.”
Chapter 7
“Dammit.” Sutton stretched her aching back as she carried another box to place with the others the town church was picking up for their store. There wasn’t much left of Pap’s life, but she couldn’t bear to trash what there was. Maybe the items could find a new home with someone who would benefit from them.
She decided to finish the rest in the morning. Going to the kitchen, which she had spent the majority of the morning cleaning, she poured herself a glass of iced tea. Not hungry, she carried it outside and stood on the porch, enjoying the cool breeze and fresh air. At least the small house no longer smelled musty.
Sutton listened as the wind rustled the tree limbs. When she was younger, the sound would have frightened her. Now it only made her search the shadows of the woods, unafraid.
The years since then had taught her it wasn’t the things you couldn’t see, but the evil lurking right in front of your eyes that was the more deadly. To fear danger, you had to be afraid of dying, and Sutton wasn’t afraid of dying. She had courted it at one time until the medication that had been forced on her had given her mind a chance to heal. She realized then; if she was going to be forced to live this life, she was going to make it worthwhile.
Looking down at her watch, she went in to shower, dressing in a comfortable blue dress that fell just above her knees. She brushed out her hair then slid on her shoes before grabbing her purse and going outside. She didn’t have to look at the directions Cash had sent her. She had looked at them several times already.
She was nervous, not wanting to cause any conflict between the husband and wife. She chewed on her bottom lip nervously as she turned down the road toward their house. There weren’t any other houses down the dark road that practically ended at their front door.
Not giving herself time to change her mind, she got out of the car, picking up the gift she had brought, not wanting to take the chance she would forget it at the last minute.
At the door, Cash opened it before she could knock.
“Hi, Sutton.”
“Cash.” She returned his greeting, looking past him in search of Rachel.
“She’s in the kitchen,” Cash answered, giving her a gentle smile.
Sutton entered the cozy home, handing the bottle of wine to Cash.
“It needs to be chilled.”
“I’ll take care of it. Take a seat.”
Sutton sat down on the dark brown leather couch, perching on the end of the cushion.
“Can I get you something to drink?”
“An iced tea, if you have it.”
“Be right back.” Cash disappeared as she stared around the home, taking in the pictures of Rachel and Cash that were sitting on the small end table next to the couch. The couple was obviously very much in love, and Sutton was happy for both of them.
Hearing a noise, she looked over her shoulder to see Rachel carrying a glass and Cash following behind his wife.
“Sutton, I’m glad you came.”
Sutton stared at Rachel, seeing she was telling the truth. Her warm greeting dispelled some of her nervousness.
“Thank you,” she said, taking the drink from Rachel.
Rachel sat down on the chair in front of the couch, and Cash sat down on the arm of the chair, his arm across the back. The closeness between the couple twisted a knife in her heart.
Taking a drink of her tea, she listened as Rachel thanked her again for the donation she was making to the church store.
“It’s really not a big deal.” Sutton shrugged. “I’m sure a lot of it would be better off in the trash, but I thought it would be easier for you to do than me.”
“I’m sure we’ll manage to use most of it,” Rachel assured her.
“I hope so. Pap loved Treepoint, so I’d like to know a little of him is spread around town.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Most of our donated items do get taken. The only items we’re finding it hard to get rid of are the ones Mag—Cash’s grandmother—donated to make room for the new stuff she buys.”
Cash snorted. “There’s nothing new about that junk she buys at those yard sales she’s addicted to.”
“I’m afraid he’s right. She donated a stuffed owl last month, and I swear it’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen. We had to put it out back. The kids are all afraid of it.”
Sutton relaxed back against the couch. “I don’t have anything that bad to donate.”
“Good. That thing gives me the willies every time I go to the storage room.”
“Why don’t you just throw it away?”
“I’m too afraid Mag will ask what happened to it.”
Sutton understood. She remembered Cash’s grandmother well. The woman was terrifying, a cantankerous woman who made everyone dread running into her. She could cut you to the quick with her remarks. She wasn’t the sweet, grandmotherly type; she was an outspoken woman who made no attempt to filter what came out of her mouth, whether or not the recipient wanted to hear her opinion.
“How is your grandmother doing?”
“Mean as ever, but she’s playing nice right now.” Cash’s eyes twinkled. “I’ve threatened to not let her great-grandchild around her if she doesn’t behave.”
“You’re pregnant?” Sutton asked, glancing back and forth between the two.
Rachel nodded, taking Cash’s hand in hers. “We just found out a couple of weeks ago.”
“Congratulations,” she said sincerely. At one time, hearing of someone’s pregnancy would have wounded her. Now all Sutton felt was happiness that the couple was going to experience one of life’s greatest joys.
“Thank you.” Rachel stood up, releasing Cash’s hand. “Let’s eat before dinner gets cold.”
They moved to the dining room where Sutton sat down in a chair at the table Rachel had obviously taken pains to set.
When she had first started dating Tate, Rachel had been self-conscious about the difference between their two families. Sutton’s family was one of the wealthiest in Treepoint, whereas Rachel’s was one of the poorest. Sutton had made the mistake of inviting Rachel and her brothers to dinner at her home one time, and her mother and father had looked down on them.
“It looks beautiful,” Sutton complimented, appreciating the fresh flowers sitting on the middle of the table.
“Thank you. I’ll just be a minute.”
“Do you need any help?” Sutton started to rise from her chair.
“I have it under control. Stay and keep Cash company.”
Sutton sank back down into her chair as Rachel left to go into the kitchen. She didn’t try to break the strained silence that followed.
“You’re looking good, Sutton.”
“Thank you.” She began playing with her fork. “You do, too. Marriage agrees with you.”
“I’ve never been happier in my life.”
“It shows.”
“You?”
Sutton gazed directly back into his eyes. “I’m in a good place.”
“That’s good to hear. How long are you staying in town?”
“I haven’t decided.” Sutton shrugged. “Not long. I want to finish cleaning out Pap’s house and then decide if I want to sell or not.”
“Houses in Treepoint aren’t
exactly selling right now, and some people in town won’t want to buy what they’re already getting for free,” Cash hinted. “Some could even get angry.”
“I didn’t care about being popular, even in high school.” Her eyes darkened with memories as she remembered the cruel gossip that her so-called friends had participated in after her breakup with Tate.
“You could always set the record straight.”
“Why would I do that? It didn’t matter then, and it doesn’t now,” Sutton stated matter-of-factly.
“Don’t sit there and fucking lie to me about the gossip not hurting you. I tried to tell everyone I didn’t touch you, but with my reputation, no one would believe me. You didn’t even try to defend yourself.”
“What would have been the point? They wouldn’t have believed me either, not after Tate saw us together that morning.”
“You could have told him that you got into an argument with your dad when I came to pick you up and fell down your steps. You almost broke your damn neck, and would have, if I hadn’t managed to catch you before you hit the landing. You were bruised. You could have shown Tate. You could have made him believe you if you had wanted to, Sutton. Why didn’t you?”
“Have you ever heard the saying, ‘If you love something, set it free, if it comes back to you, it’s yours; if it doesn’t, it never was’?”
“Shit. You were testing Tate, and he failed, didn’t he?”
“It wasn’t a test, Cash. I knew I was putting too much pressure on Tate. He had the responsibility of his brothers and Rachel, but I loved him so much I couldn’t help myself. You heard the argument between me and my dad. He would have made sure Tate went to jail when he went to court.”
“So you were keeping Tate out of trouble and giving him time to come to a decision about your relationship?”
“Yes. I knew when I did it that I was taking a chance I would lose him,” Sutton said softly as she stared down at the table, lost in the past.
“Tate was a dumb fuck then, and he’s not changed.” Cash’s voice was laced with fury.
“This is one time I won’t disagree with you,” Rachel said angrily.