Make You Mine by K.T. Quinn
48
Charlotte
I recognized my parents’ old station wagon immediately. The soft sputtering sound of the engine was as familiar to me as my face in the mirror. We’d had it since I was a little girl, using it for road trips up the coast to Colonial Williamsburg, and down to Disney World. Momma was adamant on keeping it rather than buying a minivan, because she thought minivans were for yuppies.
The station wagon stopped behind Scott’s car and my parents got out. “Momma?”
“There’s my sweet pea!” Her hug was strong and loving, squeezing my arms against my body.
“Momma, what are you doing here?”
She smiled at me with tears in her eyes. “The nice young man at the motel said you were out here. Oh, it’s so good to see you.”
“What are you doing in Eastland?” A bout of deja-vu came over me. I was having the same conversation all over again.
“We wanted to surprise you! Help you pack up and get out of town.” She looked over my shoulder. “Goodness, that’s the ugliest work of art I’ve ever seen.”
She was looking at the metal sculpture next to Mindy’s diner. Behind me, Jayce grunted like he’d been punched.
“Momma, you need to listen to me…”
“We were worried about your release fees,” she went on. “The bank deposit to your account was still pending, so we brought some cash just in case there were any problems. We weren’t going to let a few hiccups keep you here any longer.”
Dad got out of the car and surveyed the area with quiet, studious eyes. “What’s going on here?” he asked in a tone I recognized: his sheriff voice. His gaze lingered on the gun in Jayce’s hand.
“Dad, everything’s okay, but you need to listen to me right now…”
Scott had been trying to open his car, but it was locked and he fumbled with the handle. Suddenly my Momma spotted him.
“Scott?” Momma rounded on him like a dog approaching a squirrel, finger extended. “You sleazy, good-for-nothing slimeball! How dare you cheat on my daughter!”
“Cheat? We were on a break!”
“This isn’t Friends, and you’re not Ross! Charlotte was always too good for you. Dumping her is the biggest mistake you’ll ever make in your miserable little life, believe me it is!”
He held up his hands protectively as she cornered him against the car. “Yes ma’am, Mrs. Owens! I know! That’s why I’m here to get her back!”
“You…” Momma froze with another round of insults on her tongue, then turned to look at me. “Sweet pea?”
“It’s complicated,” I said. Then I shook my head. “Wait, no it’s not. He wants to get back together. I don’t.”
“You haven’t thought about it yet,” Scott said weakly.
“Nothing to think about.”
Momma resumed her verbal assault on my ex.
Dad slowly approached, glancing at the scene behind me. “Afternoon. What’s going on, here?”
“These people are kidnapping us!” the judge shouted. “Call the state police! Threatening a judge is a Class C felony!”
Dad glanced at me. “Is this true?”
I winced. “Now this is complicated.”
“Then you’d better explain it to me,” he repeated.
I knew my dad. He had the look in his eye that said he was deciding how much action to take. He was a small-town sheriff. He couldn’t walk away from a judge being threatened, no matter how corrupt he was.
If he stays, he’s a dead man. The Copperheads would be here any minute.
I took his arm and led him back to the station wagon. “There’s a lot of corruption in this town.”
“So I’ve heard,” Dad said skeptically.
“But you can’t get involved,” I quickly added. “Not yet. Not now. Listen to me carefully, Dad: get in the car and drive back to the motel. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Why?” Momma asked, turning away from Scott. “What’s wrong, sweet pea?”
“You have to go with them,” Jayce insisted. He cupped my cheek in his hand and looked at me with sadness. “Please, Peaches. If you ever cared about me, even a tiny bit, you’ll listen to me. Leave.”
It was like Jayce had reached inside my chest and gave my heart a squeeze. My feelings of betrayal swirled against my feelings of caring, fighting a battle nobody could see. My throat was tight as I said, “I do care.”
“Ah hah!” Scott announced as if he’d revealed some massive cover-up. “So he is your boyfriend!”
Jayce ignored him. “Go with your parents. Forget about the judge and the extra hours and whatever else may happen in this town. Start driving and don’t look back.”
I wanted to listen to him. After almost three weeks in this God-forsaken town, the idea of jumping in my car and driving west felt like grabbing a life preserver. This was my chance.
“I can’t,” I whispered. “I can’t let you stay here and get yourself killed.”
Jayce’s expression hardened. “I have to stop him, Peaches. You know I do.”
“But you don’t!” I insisted. “It’s over. Your sister is gone. Save yourself.”
Jayce gestured around him. “It’s too late for that.”
“Please,” I said in a small voice. “Don’t throw your life away.”
“Why?” he asked softly. “You said last night that you don’t care about me. That I deserve whatever happens. Have you changed your mind?”
No, I thought. I haven’t changed my mind because I never meant what I said. Of course I care about what happens to you. I care about you more than you know.
Before I could answer, a rumbling noise drifted in the distance like thunder from a cloudless sky. All of us turned toward the sound—the sheriff, Judge Benjamin, Mindy, Scott. Even my parents, who still looked frustrated and confused by the situation. And finally, Jayce and myself. We stared to the north as a wind blew across the main street of Eastland, bringing with it the smell of death.
Sid was here.
