Karaoke at the Tumbleweed (8 page)

Nicole released her grip on Peggy’s hair. She leaned over Peggy’s shoulder and spoke in her ear but Tag could still hear it. “You ever lay a hand on what’s mine again and I’ll break it.”

Tag pulled Nicole away from Peggy before the woman could say anything back. He led Nicole to the short hall that held the restrooms. Wrapping Nicole in his arms, he kissed her. “Don’t ever doubt my loyalty.”

“I wasn’t doubting your loyalty as much as the power of the pussy Peggy seems to have.”

“No, angel. I’m not Lonnie and skank isn’t my style. You need to get over your past and move forward.”

“You’re one to talk,” she said. Nicole crossed her arms and looked up at him. “Have you even been inside that big house you’ve inherited? Or are you afraid?”

Tag took a step back.
Where was this coming from?
“Why did you bring up the house?”

Nicole’s expression softened. “Because I know until you deal with it, there’ll always be a chance that you’ll leave me.”

“I won’t leave you, angel.” Tag tried his best to soothe Nicole’s fears.

“Prove it. Deal with your past. If you find you want to put down roots here in Ulrich you’ll know where to find me.” She stood on her toes and gave him a deep kiss. “I love you, Brian Taggert, but I need to know you won’t pick up and take off on me.”

Tag felt his heart sink as he watched Nicole walk away. She looked so sad, it took everything in him not to pull her back into his arms and propose. The only thing that stopped him was the past that he hadn’t dealt with. He just wasn’t sure if he was up to it. Someone was lying, and Tag wasn’t sure whose lies would hurt the most.

After Nicole convinced Darlene she was okay, she was finally left alone with her thoughts. She still couldn’t believe she’d basically given Tag an ultimatum. How would she live if he left town? The stupid thing was she’d follow him anywhere. Sure the little business she owned meant the world to her but not as much as Tag.

Wandering from room to room, Nicole finally settled on the couch with Tink on her lap. She petted the ugly dog and looked into his face. “You won’t leave me, will you?” Tink licked Nicole’s hand in agreement.

“You know, I’ve never cared about making more money than I needed to live on. That’s not the reason I want Tag to acknowledge who he is. It almost killed me when daddy died. He was the only stable thing in my life besides the shop.” She thought of Lonnie and realised he’d never been or would be stable. “Good, I don’t want him anyway.”

Nicole buried her face in a pillow. “I want Tag,” she wailed, punching the sofa arm. A knock at the door brought Nicole out of her tantrum. She wiped her eyes and tried to brush her hair out of her face as she rose from the sofa. As she looked through the peep-hole, Nicole sighed and rolled her eyes.

Knowing Lonnie as well as she did, she knew he wouldn’t go away until she’d talked to him. Unhooking the chain, she opened the door. “What do you want?”

Lonnie smiled and held up his hands. “Hey, babe, don’t take your anger out on me. I just stopped by to see how you were doing. I heard you caught your bartender paying attention to Peggy. See, I told you it was all that woman’s fault.”

“Yeah you did, and I believe I told you, it was physically impossible for your dick to get into her cunt unless you stuck it there.”

Lonnie made a soured face. “Geez, Skeeter, do you have to talk that way?”

“What can I say, you bring out the best in me. Now, what do you want?” Nicole propped her hands on her hips and waited. No way was she going to invite the sleaze-ball in.

“I miss you, baby. That’s the reason I came back to town. I had no idea you’d already shacked up with someone else.”

“You most likely miss my bank account, and I’m not shacked up with anyone.”

Lonnie dropped to his knees on the small front stoop. “Please give me another chance. I know messing around on you wasn’t the best way to deal with my overactive libido. I’ll try and do better this time.”

Studying the handsome man in front of her, something occurred to Nicole. “You know what? I’ve never thought this about another human being in my life, but dammit, I’m too good for you, Lonnie. When you left the first time to go away to school, I tried to tell myself it wasn’t because I wasn’t woman enough to keep you here. Then when you came back and cheated on me, I was convinced I must not be enough woman for you. But Tag has opened my eyes. I am good enough, I’m too good. You’re the one who was never good enough.”

Lonnie grabbed his chest. “Harsh, baby. Okay, now that you’ve gotten that out of your system, say you’ll give me another chance.”

Nicole shook her head. “Did you go and lose your hearing after you skipped town? I believe I just said you deserve a woman more like Peggy than you do one like me. Now get your sorry ass off my porch and don’t come back.”

“You’ll regret that decision when your new boyfriend sees through that pretty face of yours. Then you’ll be crawling back to me on your knees, you stupid bitch.”

“Well it would have to be on my knees to get down to your level.” Nicole didn’t wait for a reply. She slammed and locked the door and sunk to the floor. Lonnie had no idea how close he’d come to her biggest fear.

“What if he’s right and Tag sees through me and decides he doesn’t like what he sees?”

Tag rode his Harley by Nicole’s house when he finally got off work. He slowed as he passed, noticing no lights on. His chest tightened at the thought of their earlier conversation. It took all his strength to keep going down the road.

Pulling the bike up to his little cabin, Tag shut off the engine and sat there. He looked toward his father’s house. Even though he couldn’t see the white monster from the cabin, he was always aware of its presence.

Nicole had been right. He needed to deal with his past. He knew from Charles’ attorney that the house had been well cared for since his death. Tag started his bike and hoped the electricity was still connected. He roared off down the dirt path toward the answers to his life-long questions.

Chapter Six

After three days of not hearing from Tag, Nicole became worried. She’d received numerous calls from Bobby Jim asking if she’d talked to him. As far as she could tell, no one in town had seen or heard from Tag since he’d left work on Monday night.

Once she’d finished washing the last pan, Nicole locked the shops and got into her car. “Please start,” she prayed out loud as she turned the key in the ignition. After several attempts and a loud backfire, the old beast finally started.

Taking a chance, Nicole drove toward the old Barrett house. If Tag was still in town and no one could reach him at the cabin, that’s where he’d be. At least she hoped like hell that’s where he was. The thought of him leaving town without saying goodbye was too much for her nerves to handle.

Parking in front of the garage, Nicole walked to the front door and rang the bell. After several attempts, she went around to the side of the house. “Tag?” Nicole called as she walked around back. She was just about to leave when she noticed the back patio door wasn’t closed all the way.

Looking through the glass she couldn’t see a thing. “Tag?” she called again as she entered the quiet house. Walking through the empty rooms felt strange. It was evident Tag had been here. The big question was if he was still in the house and why he wasn’t answering her calls. “Tag?”

Nicole ascended the grand staircase toward the upper floor. The house was still as beautiful as she’d remembered from her childhood, although, it almost felt lonely. A house this big should be filled with children.

Searching bedrooms, Nicole opened the door at the end of the hall. “Tag?”

Tag was curled on the bed sound asleep. Nicole looked around the room. Scratch that previous thought. Tag was curled on the bed passed out from a bottle of Wild Turkey. “Oh, Tag,” Nicole sighed as she picked up the empty bottle.

Going to the bathroom down the hall, Nicole wet a washcloth and took it back to the bedroom. Sitting on the side of the small twin-size bed, Nicole wiped the grime off Tag’s masculine face. Deciding he needed a whole lot more than a face wash, Nicole started stripping the clothes from his body.

Tag didn’t even stir as she bathed his entire body with a washrag and pan of hot water. Even in sleep, Nicole could see the anguish on his face. “What have you been through this week?” she whispered.

After shaving his face, Nicole covered Tag and went downstairs to see if there was anything in the house to eat. As expected, the cupboards were bare which meant Tag probably hadn’t eaten at all in the last three days.

She penned a quick note and left the house.

Opening his eyes, Tag tasted toothpaste. “What the hell,” he grumbled. The sound of his own voice almost shattered his ear drums. His head was pounding and he thought for a second he must be dying.

The rolling of his stomach reminded him of his activities the past few days. He needed to pee so bad he was in pain, but the thought of lifting his head off the pillow was enough to keep him there. He tried to look around the room for something to pee in without having to actually get out of bed. It was then that he noticed he was naked and under the covers.

He held both hands to his head as he forced himself to sit up and swing his legs over the small bed. The sound of someone coming up the stairs had him releasing his head to cover his groin with the child’s bedspread, no, not the child’s, his. This had been his room when he was a boy.

The door opened and he looked up. “Angel?”

The smile Nicole flashed him gave Tag the strength he needed. “I need to pee.”

Laughing, Nicole helped him up. “Even hung-over you’re still a sweet-talker.”

He gave as much of a smile as he could master and put his arm around her shoulders. Without being asked, Nicole helped him down the hall to the bathroom. When he should have released her, he held on, making her walk him to the toilet.

“Do you want me to hold it for you, too?” she asked.

“Only if you want,” he answered. Tag reached down with his free hand and relieved himself with a sigh of pleasure. Very few things outside of the bedroom felt as good as that first pee of the morning. “What time is it?”

“Almost four.”

Four? “What day?” he asked as he shook himself off.

“Thursday.”

She helped him to the sink where he washed his hands, noticing his clean-shaven face. “Did you brush my teeth, too?”

“No,” she giggled. I did squirt a little toothpaste in your mouth though. I was working so closely that your breath was starting to get me drunk.”

Nicole walked him back to bed. “Why don’t you rest? I’ll go down and get you a bowl of soup.”

The thought of food had his stomach doing flip flops. “I don’t think I can keep anything down.”

“Too bad. You’re going to at least try. I’ll bring a puke bucket back up with me, but if you don’t get something in your stomach you’ll be sick for a different reason. Wild Turkey,” she scoffed. “You could’ve at least gotten drunk on something decent.”