Snake Charmer (Rawkfist MC Book 2) (7 page)

“Why is it always me who has to play
referee?”

“Who else can it be? If we leave it to
Justice, everyone will drown from me squirting them to death.”

I walk over to where Zeb and Jared
holler at each other over long ago slights.

“You're a criminal!” Zeb shouts.

“That’s rich coming from a moonshiner!”

“Moonshine ought to be legal!”

“Listen up!” I holler, stepping between
the men. “You are here to see this lovely woman,” I say, pulling Christine to
where we stand. “She returned to town to be close to her family. Now if you plan
to play nice, you can stay for dinner. If you plan to keep acting like rude
hillbillies, you can leave.”

“Aren’t all hillbillies rude?” Justice
asks, eliciting a squirt from Poppy.

As my sisters run outside where I
assume Justice will find a water pistol to make it a fair fight, I wrap an arm
around Christine.

“Why can’t we sit down for a nice
dinner and talk about the good times?” I ask Zeb. “Can’t you think of any happy
stories about when Christine was young?”

“You mean before this thug stole her
virginity?” Zeb asks.

“That’s it!” I yell. “I’m making you a
to-go meal, and then you need to get gone.”

“Why do I have to leave, but this
troublemaking son of a bitch can stay?” Zeb asks, poking at Jared.

I pile food into a disposable
Tupperware container. “He’s leaving too. I’m sick of the both of you.”

Bagging up the food and a few sodas, I take
them to Zeb and escort him onto the porch.

“Get gone and don’t come back until you
learn some manners, young man.”

I slam the door and sigh. “I really
enjoy yelling at old people. What does that say about me?”

“You’re evil?” suggests a damp Justice
from the backdoor.

Poppy squirts her and runs back
outside.

“That did not go well,” Christine says,
returning from the magical safe space in her head.

Jared wipes water from his jaw. “So I
guess I’ll leave.”

“Screw that. Sit down and eat.”

“You said...”

“You did as you were asked to do and
kept the old man focused on you. Now sit down and eat dinner with your
daughters.”

Christine looks at Jared. “Thank you
for coming.”

“No problem.”

A magnetic moment passes between them
until Justice and Poppy unleash water at the horny past lovers.

Poppy yells, “Keep it in your pants!”

“Keep what?” Otto asks, and I
immediately point at my sisters.

“If either of you tells him, I will
smother you both in your sleep tonight.”

Justice sighs. “Murder is wrong,
Journey. Duh.”

“I won’t kill you. No, I’ll just let
you think you’ll die.”

“Oh, in that case, is dinner ready?”

Since everyone won’t fit in the
kitchen, Justice, Court, and the kids eat outside at the picnic table. I would
join them, but leaving Christine and Jared alone doesn’t seem like a safe bet.
Poppy flees inside after a bumblebee tries to fly in her mouth.

As chaotic as Zeb’s visit proved to be,
I miss the distraction of the mayhem. Now with him gone and everyone calm, my
mind returns to Donovan and our hiking date tomorrow. I wish I could bail on
him and give up dating. Except I’m dying to see him. Though I hate wanting Donovan,
I can’t deny he’s all I think about anymore.

Before I pull a sickness out of my ass
and call off the date, I think of how my parents circle each other even after
all this time. They won’t face their past, let alone their present. If I don’t confront
my interest in Donovan, I’ll end up as stuck in limbo as they are.

Donovan

G
etting from Thursday to Saturday feels
like a damn eternity. I stare at Journey’s pictures too much and even begin
wondering if I’m suffering from an early midlife crisis.
Why have I pinned
so many of my hopes on this especially volatile woman?

Restless without her nearby, I feel
afflicted. I’d gotten along for months after we met, but that was before I knew
how she tasted. My lips want to touch Journey again. Everything my fingers
brush against is a weak substitute to her warm flesh. I’d gotten a hint of what
Journey has to offer, leaving me addicted.

On Friday, the office manager, Vickie,
asks if I can cover a guy’s shift. With no wife or kids, she figures I have
nothing else to do. Normally, she’s right.

“I have plans.”

“Are you sick?” she asks, suddenly
concerned.

“No. I have a date.”

Vickie gives me a wily grin. “Who’s the
lucky girl?”

“Journey Sheerer,” I blurt out like a
gossipy hag.

“Who?”

“Her sister is Justice Sheerer from
Tumbling Rock.”

“The snitch?” When I roll my eyes at
her term, Vickie catches herself and shakes her head. “I mean the witness.”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, Donnie, why don’t you find a nice
girl here in Rockwell?”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Sorry, but you’ll always be Donnie to
me.”

Vickie gives me the grin I got when she
babysat me as a kid.

“Journey and I click,” I tell Vickie,
since I can’t seem to shut up.

“I don’t know how your grandfather will
feel about you dating Jared Sheerer’s daughter.”

“Well, if you don’t tell him about
Journey, I won’t tell him how you used the word snitch.”

Vickie sighs loudly. “Well, she is
one.”

“Without snitches, we wouldn’t get many
convictions.”

“True.”

“Do we have a deal?”

“I’ll do what I can, Donnie, but you
know I can’t keep good gossip quiet for long.”

Ever since I leave Vickie to fight her
urge to spill to the entire town, I wonder why I told her anything at all.
Eventually, I suspect I wanted someone else to drop the news on my grandfather.
I didn’t need the hassle, and now the information was in Vickie’s very capable
hands.

Friday night never ends. I only sleep
after drinking enough beers to force my brain into neutral.

Despite the booze, I’m up too early on
Saturday and ready to leave my house by nine. Driving around town, I don’t know
what to do with myself. I end up stopping at a hole in the wall I frequent
called Moe and Mae’s Grill. No one in the sheriff’s department would be seen in
the place. The grill’s regulars mind their business as do I.

Reading the paper, I drink a lot of
coffee and try not to check my phone. Occasionally, I need to see her pictures.
Her frowning face soothes the sea of bullshit I’m drowning in. I’ve gone off
the deep end for a woman as willing to punch me as to kiss me.

Journey is wearing the same frown when
she opens her front door. Taking in the sight of her dressed in a white,
sleeveless shirt and denim shorts, I’ve never been so aware of bare flesh in my
life. Even her damn knees have my hard dick twitching.

“You came,” she says, pretending to be
surprised.

“You knew I would. That’s why you’re
wearing hiking boots.”

Journey gives me a dirty look, but she
still opens the door wider. “How long will we be gone?”

“Three weeks.”

“Wow,” Poppy says, pushing her sister
out of the way. “He’s actually here. I half expected him to stand you up.”

After glancing at her younger sister, I
smile at a grumpy Journey. “Are you ready to go?”

“No.”

“Want to come inside?” Poppy asks,
grabbing my wrist and tugging me forward. “Do you hunger to see where Journey
lives and breathes? We could interrogate you a little too. Yes, come inside.”

Walking past Journey, I sense most of
her irritation is for show. I study the room full of staring people. The only
one I’m certain won’t take a shot at me is Court. He’s too busy grinning at my
situation.

“This is Donovan, everyone,” Poppy announces.
“He’s a man and yet still interested in Journey. Let’s study him and discover
his defect.”

“Be nice, Poppy,” Christine says, but
she’s giving me the same overly curious smile as her daughters.

“Fine, but if I’m out, someone needs to
tag-team in.”

“I’ll do it,” Justice says, getting up
from the couch. She slaps Poppy’s hand before standing in front of me. “Have
you been tested for all sorts of gross diseases? I only ask because Journey is
clean, and we don’t want her coming home oozing anything.”

Christine sighs. “We should have left
Poppy in.”

“Too late,” Poppy announces from the
living room corner. “I’m too lazy to get back up.”

“I’ve got this,” Justice says, staring
into my eyes. “Tell me your most embarrassing desire and I’ll let you date my
sister. No, wait, I’ve figured it out. Your most embarrassing secret is wanting
to date my sister.”

Journey stomps over to Christine. “Tag
team me in.”

Christine slaps her hand, and Justice
immediately loses interest in me.

“Hey, I was only watching out for your
best interests,” Justice says and then runs out of the front door.

Journey is right behind her, and I
glance outside to see them running around the front yard with a little dog
barking at them.

“Hiking, huh?” Court says. “Who goes
hiking on a date?”

“The kind of fool with a cousin who
takes a beautiful girl fishing on a date.”

“Well played,” Court says, walking to
the kitchen. “Do you want anything to drink?”

“No.”

Christine stands up and joins me at the
door where we watch Journey grab Justice into a headlock.

“Don’t let her grumpy cat face fool
you,” Christine whispers. “Journey is sweet on you. No man in the history of
the world can claim that. Well, maybe her dad.”

“Thanks,” I say. “She’s a tough one to
read.”

“No doubt. She lies a lot. You should
prepare for that.”

Before I can ask Christine for details,
she walks outside where her daughters are now on the ground tickling each
other.

“Justice, stop bugging your sister so
she can get going.”

“Are you queefing kidding?” Justice
balks. “She’s sitting on me, and yet somehow I’m the bad guy?”

“Yes.”

Journey gets up and holds out a hand
for Justice. Once they’ve cleaned the grass off of their bare legs, they join
us on the porch.

“I guess we should go,” Journey tells
me.

“Probably.”

Justice rolls her eyes and walks
inside. Journey follows her long enough to say something to Otto. After
grabbing her bag, she returns to the porch.

“Bye,” she tells her family.

“Bye!” they yell in unison.

Journey only sighs. “I wish you hadn’t
come.”

“You look tired,” I say, caressing just
under her left eye. “Were you up all night thinking about me?”

Journey narrows her eyes and unveils a
truly nasty look. When I don’t run away screaming, she shrugs.

“Yeah, maybe a little bit, but only
because I didn’t want you to come.”

Opening my Jeep’s passenger door for
her, I ask, “Was I dressed when you were thinking about me?”

“I don’t know what you look like
naked,” she grumbles.

“Do you want to?”

Journey gives me the once over and I
catch a hint of a grin. “A little bit, yeah.”

“Well, you’ll need to suffer a bit
longer. Naked and the woods don’t mix. The last thing I need is chigger bites
on my ass.”

When Journey smiles big at me, I’m
certain my hunger for her isn’t a mistake. She possesses a face I could look at
forever.

Journey

D
onovan drives out to the Rock Crest
Falls Park next to the Hunter’s Luck Lake. He no doubt feels more comfortable
in his part of Clinton County than mine. I don’t blame him for needing a break
from the gossip of Tumbling Rock.

We make lame chit-chat on the drive.
Donovan tells me about his job in the most roundabout way possible. I’m no
better. I actually explain how I like “things” and don’t like other “things.”
We’ve quickly fallen into a contest to see who can be more obnoxiously vague.

Despite our awkward conversation, I’m
relieved to see Donovan. For days, I’ve second guessed everything from our
pizza date. Was I really interested in him? Did we have any chemistry or was it
all in my head? Now I’m nearly giddy to sit next to him.

Donovan’s scent makes me smile so much
I’m forced to cover my mouth. He smells like soap and deodorant. Nothing fancy
from a guy like Donovan, just a clean male scent.

After we arrive, Donovan straps on his
backpack full of supplies. I do the same even though mine mainly consists of
sugar. Having slept like crap, I’m yawning five minutes into our walk through
the tediously scenic woods.

“What would you do right now if you
weren’t with me?” I ask, wiping my exhausted eyes.

“Probably sitting in my backyard with
Kitty.”

“Do you have friends you spend time
with?”

“I stay to myself.”

“Are you anti-social or do people think
you suck?”

Donovan flashes me a smile so brilliant
that I feel it in my gut. “Can I pick a third choice?”

“What would that be?”

“I haven’t found the right people to
call friends. Do you have friends outside your family?”

“No. I’m anti-social.”

“I never would have guessed.”

I stop walking and look up at the sunny
sky. Feeling Donovan’s gaze is on me, I wonder what he sees. Does he have any
idea I’ve lost all confidence when it comes to him?

“The only real relationship I’ve ever
had was with a chick in high school,” I say, still looking up. “I couldn’t
stand men back then. My step dad super grossed me out about the opposite sex,
so I thought maybe I was a lesbian. Two weeks into the relationship, I realized
I didn’t like women either.”

“Too chatty?” he teases.

“Too everything. Women have a lot of
feelings.”

“No shit,” he says, laughing.

Shaking my head, I give him a quick
angry glance. “Men aren’t so great.”

“Yeah, that’s why I don’t date them.”

My irritation relents under the power
of his smile. “It’s not that I dislike people per se. I enjoy working with
patients at my job. I want to spend time with my family. So people as a whole
don’t repel me. I’m just picky.”

“So am I.”

“We’re nothing alike.”

“What was her name?” he asks, walking
again.

I hurry to catch up, admiring his
decision to test me. “Who?”

“Your girlfriend?”

“Why?”

“Just curious.”

“Are you planning to fantasize about
her and me while you do your business?”

“Now I am. Hell, why’d you put that in
my head?”

“Poor guy,” I mutter, grinning despite
my better judgment. “Holly and I never did anything sexy enough to put in a
porno.”

“When did all that happen?”

“My senior year in high school.”

“I’m relieved I don’t remember much
from my senior year. It’d probably be a lot of awkward moves and embarrassing
pickup lines.”

“Were you a hound in high school,
chasing all the girls?”

“Naw. I hung out with a bunch of
stoners. The girls weren’t into sex. I think it was all the pot.”

“A law and order kid tight with a bunch
of stoners. I’m sure your family was thrilled.”

“My mom was wild, and I’m the bastard
of the family. No one was all that surprised by my choice in friends. Of
course, when I joined the sheriff’s department, they were downright shocked.”

When I recall how handsome he looked in
his uniform, I instantly regret getting myself hot. “Why did you want to join?”

“I liked the idea of helping people.”

“You’re full of feces. I bet you only
wanted to do it to make your family think you’re one of them.”

Donovan glances down at my smiling
face, likely realizing I’m as capable of challenging him as he is me. “That
might have been some of it. As a kid, though, my favorite movie was
Smokey
and the Bandit
. I figured I couldn’t be the Bandit moving bootleg booze
over state lines, so I might as well be Smokey.”

“I’ve always gotten an outlaw feeling
about you.”

“Probably. Can’t change the fact I come
from outlaw blood. Having seen both sides growing up, I can’t say which choice
is better. Some people aren’t meant to live straight and narrow. Others won’t
survive on the wild side.”

“Could you survive?”

Donovan hitches up his backpack and
keeps walking. “Sure, but I’m not sure I’d like giving up all the perks of the
straight and the narrow.”

“My dad plays the average man well. I’d
never know he was anything besides a mechanic who rides a Harley. That’s the
thing about being an outlaw around here. You need to have a day job to make
yourself look legal.”

“How many hours do you think Court’s
ever spent at the storage units?”

I smile until our arms touch. He’s
moved too close. I know he’s at fault since I’ve been very careful about not
stepping into his personal zone. I want to retain my self-control, and I can’t
do that if I’m locking lips or staring into his eyes like a horny schoolgirl.

Keeping my plan in place would be a
heck of a lot easier if Donovan didn’t have dreamy fricking eyes and such an
inviting smile.

Cocking an eyebrow, he asks, “What does
the look you’re giving me mean?”

“I was just thinking you’re an annoying
hag.”

“You probably won’t believe this, but I
was thinking the exact same thing about you.”

“Hurtful,” I say, struggling against how
much I want to kiss his smiling lips. “Do you miss the ease of hookups rather
than enduring this crappy dating stuff?”

“Not particularly. Wait, were you
purposely being an annoying hag so I’d want to ditch you and hook up with a
friend with benefits? Poor, Journey. Don’t waste your time. Since we met, I’ve
been like a dog with a bone.”

My brain instantly imagines what my
sisters would say in response to his last comment.
Great, I hear them even
when they aren’t babbling.

“I don’t like dating,” I say, stepping
away from him as we walk.

“When I think of dating, I get the
heebie-jeebies about hearts, flowers, and boring chit chat. You need to do what
I do and think of us as two people hiking and looking at leaves and talking
about family and how stupid hiking is.”

“Okay,” I say, forcing myself to step
closer. “Hiking really is stupid. It’s just walking.”

“I also never expected the woods to
smell this much like a zoo.”

Swallowing hard, I slide my arm through
his as we walk. Donovan glances at me with his blue eyes and lifts a brow.

“That seemed painful.”

“It was.”

“Let me know if you need medical
attention, and I’ll call someone.”

“Smart ass.”

“Only with you.”

Smiling, I soak in the feel of him
against me. Donovan radiates a lot of heat in the already warm day. Against my
better judgment, I lean my head against his arm. I like how his breath catches
because it proves this man is at least a tiny percent as crazy over me as I am
for him.