Blackout (16 page)

“She was just about to leave,” Dare says, his irritation rumbling in his throat. “Would you drive her back?”

“Why?” Randy glances back at me, opens his mouth, then abruptly stops. He cocks his head, as if trying to place me, then he moves on.

“Can I take the Mustang?” he asks excitedly.

“No. Take the truck.”

“When are you going to let me drive it?” Randy whines.

Dare tosses him the keys. “Never.”

He pushes me off of him and rises from the bed, gritting his teeth while holding his side. I walk toward Randy. As Dare stands, the squirrel pokes its claws into his shoulders so she doesn’t lose her grip. His fingers steady her until he drops her off by her crate. She runs inside and chatters at him, probably complaining.

“What happened to you?” Randy asks, punching Dare’s shoulder. “Get into another fight? Dad says you’re gonna end up like Sam.”

Dare winces, either from the punch or Randy’s words. “Take her home. She lives up in Kill Devil Hills.”

She? I’ve been whittled down to just she?

“I’ll go. I’ll go.” Randy shrugs his shoulders. “Why would you send her home?” His eyes run the length of me. He is definitely a Tucker. “She’s like smokin’. No offense, Ma’am.” His cheeks set on fire.

I smile. He’s always been the sweet Tucker.

Dare walks me out. He’s no longer touching me, and I miss his rough hands on me, even though indulging in those thoughts is a waste of my time.

I glance to my side. “Will you consider what I asked about the court records?”

He holds his side while snarling at me. “I’m not going down that road again. You’ve put me through enough, Teal.”

It hurts to hear him say that, though I know I’m partly to blame. I should’ve done more to find out about what happened, but I will try now.

Randy straightens and studies me harder. “The Teal?”

Dare gently nudges me out the door, one hand on my hip as though I might fall. All I ever wanted was his admiration in return, and now we can’t even be friends.

Carrying a shotgun, Dare’s father stumbles out of the swamp from the direction of his house. The moon casts an eerie grey shadow on him. His face is blotchy and grizzled with stubble. “You aren’t welcome around here. You’re no better than…”

Seeing the shotgun stuns me. When I trip over my own feet, Dare grips my arm.

Mr. Tucker raises his gun and levels it to my chest. “You demon siren from the depths of hell. You stay away from my boy before you drown him like every other man you’ve been with.”

It’s as if the swamp has grabbed hold of my ankles and rooted me to the ground. The stench of decay wafts into my nose. My hands shake, but I steel myself for whatever may come. I won’t black out. I grit my teeth, inhaling slow through my belly to calm myself.

What did Mr. Tucker mean by every man I’ve been with? I’ve only had sex with Henri, and I don’t think that really counts. I understand that Mr. Tucker blames me, like Dare does.

“W-w-what the hell, Dad?” Randy stammers, not moving.

“Mr. Tucker,” I start, waving my hands down as if to lower the shotgun.

He rubs bloodshot eyes, like he’s seeing me for the first time and teeters backward. He could accidentally shoot me. I falter, stumbling backward into Dare. I should run now.

He steps in front of me. “Dad, you’ve been drinking. Put the gun down.” His voice is steady, like this is an everyday occurrence. He’s no longer the child who found me in the swamp but a man capable of handling himself and others.

Mr. Tucker wavers only for a moment. “I should’ve shot you a long time ago. You’re nothin’ but trouble for this family. You good for nothin’ whore.”

What the hell? I’ve never come on to any guy really strong. Why would he think that way about me? Did Dare tell him I came onto him ten years ago, so he could dispel his father’s fears?

I peek around Dare. The muzzle now points at my waist. A wave of terror knocks my knees together.

“Dad?” Randy scoots away from us and out of range.

“Take Teal home,” Dare barks at Randy, who practically jumps out of his skin.

Randy doesn’t move until Dare yells again, “Go now.”

Randy dashes behind Dare and gestures for me to hurry. Facing Mr. Tucker and Dare, I back away from them. Dare is still shirtless, his solid, lean muscled back toward me. The tattoos glimmer from sweat, yet shine black against his bronzed skin.

Dare approaches his dad, pushes down the gun’s muzzle, and takes it away. “Come on. Let’s go home.” His arm drapes on his dad’s shoulder as he leads him back through the swamp to his house.

I continue walking backward, watching them. Dare speaks in a low voice, like his father is a child. It hurts that I’ve played a hand in their unhappiness.

I slide into the passenger side of the truck and buckle the seatbelt. Randy cranks the engine and drives down the gravel path toward the main road while I swivel around to see Dare and his father disappear into the dark woods.

“I don’t get it,” Randy starts. “After what you did to him, I don’t get why he let you into his house. I mean he never has girls over, not since Lisa.”

Her again. “Why don’t they date anymore?”

Randy laughs. “Once she went to the local community college, she dumped Dare, except in the summer. I reckon the heat gets to her.” He laughs. “That pissed Dare off until Shannon started chasing him.”

“What do you mean?”

“Lisa met some guy attending ECU in Greenville, but he works during the summer, so she only sees him during the school year. She started at ECU last year, so Dare’s her summer tide-me-over.”

“What about Shannon?” She doesn’t seem like he’s committed to her.

“She comes and goes. At first, they were hot and heavy, but then she’d pick up guys at the bar where she works. She’s kind of a slut if you ask me.”

Had Lisa broken Dare’s heart? “He never brought Shannon to his place?”

“Hell no. That’s why I don’t get it. And why would you be with a guy who allegedly molested you? At least that’s what you told everyone.”

“I never said or thought that he did.” How could anyone believe that about Dare?

“Well he sure is paying for it. Ever since that night, he’s been all fucked up…sorry.” He glances in my direction for my reaction. “Funny, I still don’t know what to believe. When Dare was convicted, Sam slapped Dare on the back and congratulated him. Dare was fifteen when he finally gave into Lisa’s advances, which made no sense, not with the way Lisa looks. Dare must’ve been scared he’d go back to juvenile detention. Jackson called him the Virgin Mary, kept asking Dare when he’d get to it.”

“Sam believed Dare was a child molester?” How could he?

“I don’t know, but Dare was so depressed maybe Sam tried to lighten the mood.”

“I want to expunge his record, but Dare won’t let me.”

“Whacha mean?”

“I need access to the court records. I don’t remember ever talking about Dare to the judge. I pretty much babbled incoherently.”

“Why won’t Dare help you? That seems stupid, but we are talking about my brother.” He chortles again.

“He thinks it’s a waste of time.” Perhaps, I should let him heal on his own without involving him.

“I don’t think so. Dare has been really angry since that night in the swamp. He went by to see you while you were in the hospital, but your dad wouldn’t let him near you. Damn, Dare even pulled out one of those swamp rose bushes for you. He got all tore up.” Randy laughs. “He ain’t very bright.”

A smile tugs on my lips. Though I don’t remember my stay, it was nice that Dare came to the hospital, especially after the cops blamed him. I told him how much I loved primroses. His mother did too. Sometimes when Dare was busy I’d help her in the garden. She loved flowers.

“Hell, Dare would never let me go with him gigging or down by the dock to fish, but he always let you hang with him,” he whines slightly. “It didn’t seem quite fair, you being a girl and all, so I sometimes wondered what was up with that.”

I’m no longer smiling. I know Dare didn’t touch me, but his own brother doesn’t trust him?

“I get why he likes you though. God, you’re…hot.” His cheeks blush. “Not so much when you were little though.”

Dare hates me. He’s more or less told me. I stare out the window until Gator Swamp comes up. I turn abruptly back to Randy, so I don’t see the approaching bog and the clouds drifting over the treetops. Terror nips at me, threatening to unglue me, like the darkness.

“The way Dare looks at you. And he brought you to his house. Something’s going on. I can tell.”

Is he serious? Dare can barely look at me. “I think you’re mistaken.”

Randy shakes his head. “He thought he was in love with Lisa, but whatever he feels for you is different. His eyes were all over you, like you were the finish line.”

I don’t know what to say to that. Dare keeps telling me there’s nothing, and there will be nothing between us—ever, and that’s okay, even though my attraction to him is demanding. I realize sometimes you don’t get what you want and for good reason.

When Randy drops me off, I thank him. He helps me grab my bike that I stash in the garage. I run into the house. Lulu is probably worried sick because the sun has already set, and it’s dark outside.

She’s on the couch snoring, a plate of leftover lasagna on her lap. I take the dish and put it on the coffee table.

I stretch her legs out on the coach and rest her head on a pillow, then drag the afghan she crocheted years ago over her. I push the coffee table away from her, so she doesn’t bump into it in the morning and pick up the plate to put it in the dishwasher.

Leaving a light on for her, I tiptoe to my room and switch on the overhead lights.

Daisies lie on my pillow, and the window is wide open, the sea breeze fluttering the sheer curtains.

I stumble backward, landing on my ass while stifling the scream scrambling to get out.

I stare at the darkness beyond the window, half expecting a head to pop through. My breath sticks in my chest, and it takes several moments before I can move.

I rush to the window to close and lock it then run through the house checking every window and door, looking under beds and in closets, my whole body shivering and the hairs on my arms standing straight up.

After securing the house, I call the cops. Sweat slicks the cell phone in my hand.

Ten minutes later, Chia Pet Jimmy and the deputy who dates Kami’s mom show up. His badge says Remy, and his eyes dip toward my breast, which I immediately cover with my arms. Kami’s mom doesn’t need this creep.

Lulu wakes up, stretching and yawning. She scratches her backside. “What’re they doing here?”

“It’s nothing, Lulu,” I say. “Go back to sleep.”

She sits up beside me and pats my leg. “Something’s amiss. Don’t want to miss all the excitement. What do the policemen look like? Are they cute?”

Not hardly. Remy grins at her comment though.

Please don’t call Daddy. If he’s around, I won’t be able to get Dare to open up about that night, though it’s best if I could figure this out without his help. He wants to move on, and I should let him.

“Why don’t you stay out here in the living room with your grandmother,” Jimmy says. “We’ll check the house.”

“I already did that,” I say, knuckling my hips while Lulu gets up.

“Would you like some coffee, officers?” she asks.

“No thanks, Ma’am.” Jimmy motions for her to stay put. “Miss, just let us do our job. You should both wait right here.”

Lulu doesn’t listen but fumbles in the fridge for sweet tea. She pulls out the jug then feels in the cupboard for a glass.

I get up and help her. “Please let me.” I pour it for her.

“I hate being dependent on someone else.” She sits and waits for me to hand her the glass of tea. “You tell me what happened.”

“Someone put daisies on my bed. The window was open.” I don’t know if it was locked.

“Oh, dear.” Concern creeps into the creases around her eyes. “We should call your daddy.”

“Please let me handle this.” If he comes home…I won’t see Dare. Does he really hold part of the answers like Miles believes?

“I don’t know, sweetie, though I’m glad you called the cops. We’ll talk about this in the morning after a good rest.”

How will I sleep in my bed after someone has intruded my space? I must’ve left the window open. “I’ll call in the morning to have a company install an alarm.”

“Good idea.”

“The house is all clear,” Jimmy says after another twenty or so minutes. “We should give Darius Tucker a call.

“It wasn’t him,” I say. “Someone has been leaving flowers on the front and back porch, and Dare hasn’t had the opportunity to do that.” It’s not likely. I saw him at the bar, drove him back, then Randy brought me home. There’s no way.

“Anyone else that you can think of?” Remy asks. “Maybe this boy’s just an admirer. He’s probably harmless.”

I’m so angry my nostrils flare. “He broke into my house, and I’ve been gone for two years.” Would someone stalk me after so long? “No one followed me before when I used to live here.”

“Maybe you just didn’t notice,” Jimmy says. “Or maybe he’s new. Fellas always followed that mama of yours. We’re still going to pay Darius a visit.”

“Did my mama tell you that?” I ask.

Lulu perks up in her chair. “I don’t recall her ever filing a complaint.”

“That’s just what I heard,” Jimmy says. “I started on the force about the time she left town.”

Remy scratches his head. “We’ll keep an eye out and have someone run by your house at night.”

I frown. “Thank you.”

After they leave, I hunt for the phonebook. Darius doesn’t have a phone at the cabin, but he probably has a cell phone.

I call the bar. Though I doubt Shannon would give me his number, maybe Carolina has it or can get it from her.

Within a few minutes, Carolina gives me the number. “You’re coming in tomorrow, right?”

No one else would hire me with a broken arm. “Yes. I’m looking forward to it.”

Given my hands are shaking after what Randy said about his brother liking me, it takes me a few times to punch in Dare’s number. I dread his reaction because it can’t possibly be true. He told me we could never happen.