Make You Mine by K.T. Quinn

35

Charlotte

I wasn’t sure if I was relieved, or disappointed, that Jayce didn’t push the issue.

I wanted to accept his ride home. I wanted him to invite himself into my room when we arrived. And then I wanted him to ravage me like it was our last day on earth, fulfilling the dreams I’d been having since arriving in this town.

But the danger from last night, and this morning, was still very real. A tangible thing in the air, like humidity, making it difficult to breathe. One Copperhead had already spied us in the cemetery the other day. All it would take was one more seeing Jayce’s truck parked outside the motel, and then watching him leave after a conspicuous amount of time…

“Better to walk,” I said out loud to convince myself.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. My heart leaped at the thought that maybe it was Jayce calling to tell me to come back, to get in his truck so he could take me somewhere secluded and make love to me on the soft Georgia grass, but it was only Scott. He’d called me twice today already, and this made three. But he hadn’t left a voicemail, so it couldn’t have been too important. He probably just wanted to convince me to pay for half of that stupid magazine ad.

“Fat chance,” I told the freshly-weeded road.

It didn’t rain on the walk home. It was actually rather pleasant, especially since it gave me more time to think about things with Jayce. There was something there. Not just the physical attraction—which was very, very strong. Something deeper. We were connecting in a powerful way, especially since I’d discovered his little workshop slash art studio. To think that a guy like him actually made art!

I wasn’t sure what would happen when my community service was over, but I was beginning to wonder if it would include Jayce. If I can convince him to leave town. That would be the hard part.

But I had another ten days to wear him down.

I took a shower to get the work sweat off me, then changed into a more comfortable pair of long jeans. I’d been wearing my cut-offs to give Jayce a little tease as we worked, but the wind had a chill in it that I knew would only get colder as the sun went down.

My phone buzzed. I went through a quick gauntlet of emotions: annoyance at Scott, excitement when I realized it was Jayce texting me, and then shock as I read his long text:

Jayce: Hey. I didn’t want to do this via text, but I don’t have it in me to say it in person. So, sorry in advance for this. I can’t be with you. Last night was amazing, but it just confirmed that I don’t have deeper feelings. You’re sweet, and absolutely gorgeous, but I just don’t have feelings for you beyond that. I didn’t think it would be fair to keep it from you before things got more out of hand. I hope you understand.

I read it three times, and my stomach sank deeper each time. This wasn’t about the dangers with Sid and the Copperheads, and how we needed to be careful. This was a completely different kind of rejection.

I started to text back. Then I stopped, deleted what I had written, and buried my face in my pillow to cry.

When I was all out of tears, I went into the bathroom and washed my face. Then I left my room and went to the lobby to get a burrito and six-pack of beer—but mostly the beer. When I walked into the lobby, however, the cooler from the corner was gone. There was a rectangular outline of dust where it had been.

“Compressor broke overnight,” Billy said when I asked. “Leaked ice all over the damn floor. New one’s comin’ tomorrow.”

I didn’t know what the compressor was, but I knew it meant no beer. “Was that why the sheriff was here this morning?”

“Uh huh,” Billy said, then scratched his head awkwardly. “Well, that was one reason. He’s got a new, uh, policy. About the motel. It sorta involves you.”

“Spit it out, Billy.”

“Sheriff says there’s a parking fee for all cars at the motel.”

I walked to the entrance, stood in the doorway, and pointed outside. “There are fifteen empty spots out there, Billy! It’s not like I’m blocking anything!”

To his credit, he looked guilty about it. “I know, I know. It ain’t my rule. I’m just lettin’ you know.”

I sighed and closed my eyes for a moment. “How much is it?”

“Ten bucks a day.”

“Bill me at the end,” I said as I left the lobby.

I looked at the sky. The clouds were grey and ominous, but I was too hungry to have potato chips for dinner. So I went back to my room, exchanged my flip flops for sneakers, and walked back into town.

The easy stroll I’d had out of town that afternoon was an angry speed-walk now, both because of my mood and my desire to avoid getting caught in the rain. The self-doubt that lingered in the back of every woman’s mind came roaring to the front like a banshee.

Maybe I’m bad in bed. Maybe I wasn’t dirty enough for him last night—I should have gone down on him. Maybe I smelled bad, or didn’t groom my lady-parts well enough. Maybe he doesn’t really like brunettes. Maybe he doesn’t like my personality. I talked too much, and told stupid jokes.

Maybe maybe maybe.

I re-read his text again on the walk. It didn’t matter that he said last night was amazing, and that I was gorgeous. The ever-expanding poison of doubt had taken its hold in my mind.

I called Momma, but it went straight to voicemail. This was the night she volunteered at the bingo hall. I wished I had someone to talk to. Calling Scott back was tempting, but I resisted the urge. That would only make my mood go from a zero to a negative twenty. I’d been dumped or rejected by two guys in the span of two weeks. And somehow, Jayce’s rejection was the worst.

It’s probably for the best, I told myself. Jayce is a dead man anyways. Better to not get involved with him before the Copperheads do something terrible.

The excuse was weak, and only left me feeling even more depressed about the situation.

I walked up main street and paused when the diner came into view. A white truck with a trash bag covering the driver-side window was parked out front. I couldn’t help but laugh. Of course he was here, because right here was the most inconvenient place. The universe really knew how to pile on.

For a moment I considered my other options. I definitely didn’t want to go to Flop’s, not after last night. The memory was still fresh in my head. The General Store might have food, but they had closed thirty minutes ago.

I started to turn around to walk back to the motel, then stopped. Men had immense power over my emotions. Scott could infuriate me with a brief phone call telling me he wanted me to pay for half the magazine spot, even though I had left over a week ago. With just a text message, Jayce could squeeze my soul into a little ball and toss it into the trash.

But I was not about to let a man keep me from getting food.

I spent a moment collecting myself and then strode inside the diner.

Jayce was seated at one of the booths facing the entrance. He looked up when the door dinged, glanced back at his phone, then jerked his eyes up again. He gave me a weak little smile.

I passed him and sat at the next booth over, with my back to him. “Motel is out of burritos.” Then, feeling aloof, I added, “I worked up one heck of an appetite last night.”

He chuckled, which made the seat back we shared shake just a little bit. “Me too.” He paused and then added, “Did you, uh…”

“I got your text,” I said curtly. “I understand. I appreciate you being honest with me.”

Jayce cleared his throat and replied, “Good.”

I felt proud of myself for saying something reasonable. It probably helped that I didn’t have to look him in the eyes when I said it.

Mindy came over, looked at each of us, and then grumbled something under her breath about fools. She took Jayce’s order, then mine, and then we sat in silence while waiting for our food. Cell phones made it easy these days. A few dozen cat photos on Reddit later and I was feeling at least somewhat good about myself.

I wasn’t lying about having worked up an appetite last night. I wolfed down Mindy’s breakfast special and still had room for a slice of cheesecake. I told myself it was because I’d burned a lot of calories last night and while pulling weeds today, and not because I was trying to eat my feelings.

I pushed aside the urge to order a second slice of cheesecake, gave Mindy my credit card, and waited for her to return. But when she did, she had a funny look on her face.

“Honey? It was rejected.”

“What?” I stared at her, confused. “I’ve been using it since I got here. Try it again.”

“Ran it three times. Technically I’m supposed to take the card after three, but I ain’t got time to mess with VISA’s bullshit, so you can have it back.”

Why was my card declined? I’m nowhere near the limit. Mindy was still standing there, so I sifted through my pocket to look for cash.

“I got her,” Jayce said.

“You don’t have to do that. Mindy, I’ll be back tomorrow with my debit card…”

Jayce handed her a twenty. “This’ll cover both of us.” Mindy gave an awkward smile and then walked back to the register.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“You already said that. And it’s too late now.”

I sighed and twisted around in the booth. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to make up for dumping me via text message.”

He still faced away from me, but I could see the smile in the way his beard tightened. “Can’t dump someone you were never dating, can you, Peaches?”

“Feels like we’ve been on a week’s worth of dates,” I mumbled.

He rumbled with laughter. “It really does.”

I took another sip of my water. “Thanks again. I’ll see you in the morning. With the nine bucks I owe you.” I began to rise.

“Sit down,” he said quietly.

I turned to look at him. “What, you suddenly have a change of heart about everything?”

“Charlotte,” he said in a tense voice, “sit down and be very quiet.”

That’s when I saw that a row of Harleys were parked outside the diner. I quickly sat back down, and seconds later came the ding of the door opening, and the unmistakable sound of boots walking inside.

I cradled my water in both hands and looked straight ahead.

“Look who it is!” one of the Copperheads announced loudly. “It’s our buddy Jayce.”

“Hey Jayce!” one of the others said in the same mocking tone. “You gone for a ride yet?”

“Too wet,” Jayce said flatly. “I drove the truck.”

The first Copperhead scoffed. “A little rain never scared away a real biker.”

“Maybe I’ll ride tonight,” Jayce said. He sounded like a bored father half-listening to an annoying child. “We’ll see what I feel like.”

“Hope you have a blast!” said the Copperhead. He and his buddies roared with laughter as they continued walking down the narrow diner, past me and to a booth in the far corner. None of them so much as glanced in my direction.

I started to casually get up to leave, but then noticed one of the Copperheads had remained behind. A big guy with tattoos all over his neck and left cheek. He stood next to our two booths, eyes locked onto Jayce. I sat back down and pretended to look at my phone.

“What do you want, Brick?” Jayce said in a voice so low that the other Copperheads couldn’t hear.

“That call you made last night?” Brick whispered back. “Askin’ if anyone knows what Carl was up to? Don’t pull that shit on me again.”

“I don’t plan to.”

Brick leaned closer. “Because I haven’t said nothin’, but if Sid asks? I ain’t gonna lie.”

“Wouldn’t expect you to.”

Brick sighed, lingered a moment longer, and then joined his Copperhead buddies in the booth.

“Wait a minute or two before leaving,” Jayce whispered. “If they think you’re leaving because you’re scared of them, it’ll just egg them on even more.”

I tinkered with my phone to buy time. Remembering the rejected credit card, I pulled up my banking app and looked at the recent transactions. Maybe it had flagged my purchases in this town as suspicious.

But as I opened up the recent transactions, I saw that the truth was much, much worse.

“Son of a bitch!”