Refuge for Flora by Deanndra Hall
Chapter 12
The night wascool and she had nothing―no sweater, no blanket, not even a plastic bag. Balling up on herself, Flora cried silently and prayed for morning. At least then she’d have some light. Under the tree canopy, the darkness was so deep that she couldn’t even see her hand. Something ran across her several times and she didn’t know what it was. It could’ve been a bug, a mouse, a snake, a possum, anything. She had no idea. And she didn’t dare scream. If he was out there somewhere, looking for her, he’d hear her and be on top of her in seconds, so that couldn’t happen. At least once she heard something moving around, but each time, she heard a snuffling sound, and she knew it was a deer somewhere nearby. Were there wild hogs in those woods? She didn’t know, but she was terrified of them. They were vicious, and running into one would be almost as bad as running into Darryl, Bradley, or whoever the other guy was.
No, she’d lie there, curled up and trying to stay warm, and wait. Barrett would eventually find her. It might take him a little while, but he would. She had to believe that.
Anything else was too terrible to imagine.
* * *
He got up extra early,had a cup of coffee and a Danish, and took a shower. When he stepped into the living room, he felt horrible for Barrett. The poor guy obviously hadn’t slept all night, and he was wound up incredibly tight. “Hey, did you manage to sleep for even a minute?”
Barrett’s eyes were so sad that they pierced Conor’s heart. He knew that feeling, and he hated that anyone else had to. “No. I couldn’t. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her smile, her hair, those beautiful green eyes. Conor, what if I never see―”
“Stop it, man. Just stop. We’re gonna find her and she’ll be fine. You’ve got to stay positive. Now, stop that pendulum on that clock over there, put your phone on silent and leave it on your dresser, and come back in here. I’m going to call them and set this up, and there can’t be a single sound in the background if I’m going to have them on speaker.” Seconds later, Barrett had done exactly as Conor said. Once the Kentucky officer was seated, Conor took out his phone and hit the contact, then turned the speaker on.
“Hello?”
“Yeah, hey, is this Darryl?”
“Who wants to know?”
“This is Conor from yesterday at the reptile expo.”
“Oh! Yeah! Hey, Conor! I wondered if I’d hear from you.”
“Yeah, I thought about it all night and I want in. I think I could make some money and help you out at the same time. So is there a time when I could come and look around? See some of the animals or something?”
“Sure. We can come and get you.”
“I can drive there. No big deal.”
“We’d really rather pick you up and bring you out. We’re trying to cut down on the number of people traipsing in and out of here, if’n you know what I mean.”
Conor didn’t like it. Not one bit. And he was pretty sure they were going to pat him down. They might even take his phone. He wasn’t sure what to do, but going there was the only way they’d get any evidence, and it might be the only way they’d find Flora. “Okay. Where and when?”
“Noon. At the gas station in LaCenter.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Good. See you then.” And the phone went dead.
Conor thought about it for a minute or two, but he was coming up with nothing. “Can you think of a way I could wear a wire that they’d never catch?”
“If we can get a dot, we can glue that to your scalp. They probably wouldn’t find that. Or to the inside of the elastic on your underwear. Let’s talk to Frankie and see if he has any ideas. And we’re going to need him to run interference for us with the Ballard County Sheriff’s Department.”
“True. Good ideas.”
Three hours later, Conor had a microphone the size of a pencil eraser glued to his scalp under his hair at the top where it was longer. They would have to run their fingers through his hair to find it, and everyone sincerely doubted that would happen. If it did, he had a lot more problems than alligators. As soon as he was ready, he gave Barrett what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “We’ll find her. Just have faith.”
“I’m too scared to have faith. I just want her back in my arms.”
“I get it. I know exactly how that feels. And we’ll do it. It’ll be fine. Guess I’d better go.”
Frankie stood to the side, his arms folded across his chest. “I don’t like this.”
“I don’t like it either, but looks like there’s no alternative.” Conor pulled his keys from his jeans pocket. “Y’all wish me luck.”
“Good luck. The Ballard County Sheriff’s Department will pick up when I call them. I’m giving you ten minutes and they’ll have an unmarked sitting where they can see you.” Kirby sighed. “Just be careful. These guys are dangerous.”
“I get it. I do. See y’all in a bit, maybe even with guns blazing!” Conor gave a little chuckle, but inside, he knew what he was doing was extremely dangerous. Those guys were ruthless, and one misstep could cost him everything.
As he drove, he laid his phone on the car seat, hit a contact, and put it on speaker. A female voice answered. “Hi, babe!”
“Hi to you! Whatcha doin’?”
“Reading a magazine. Thinking about work. Gotta get dressed in a little while. Your mom invited me for lunch.”
“Good! Take her up on it. If she’ll cook, you should eat!”
“No kidding! I miss you.”
“I miss you too. With any luck, I’ll be home by the first of the week. Probably have to come back here to testify, but at least I won’t be staying here.”
“Cracking the case?”
“Yeah, and hopefully in less than an hour. I’ll call you later. Love you, angel.”
“Love you too. Bye.”
That girl put a spring in his step every time! Conor pulled into the little gas station and parked in front of the building. He went in, got a soft drink and some chips, and went back to the car to wait. In a few minutes, a truck pulled up, and when he turned to look, Bradley was sitting in the passenger side.
Conor got out, locked the doors on the ancient beast, and ambled over to the truck with his drink and chips. “Hey, guys.”
“Hey. Get in.” Bradley hopped out and motioned for Conor to climb in. There was nowhere to sit except between the two of them, and he didn’t like that at all.
They’d no more than pulled out of the gas station parking lot when they whipped into the co-op’s parking lot. Darryl produced a bandana from his pocket. “We gotta do this.”
“What? Blindfold me? Are you serious?” An appropriate amount of indignation could go a long way.
“Yeah. Got a problem with that?”
“I do. If you don’t trust me any more than that, why am I doing this?”
“Because we don’t know you. And we ain’t takin’ no chances. You gonna wear it or we gonna call this off?” Darryl asked loudly.
“Okay, okay. I’ll wear it. Shit. Y’all acting like you got the gold from Fort Knox out here or something.”
“Nah. But it’s our own little piece of heaven, and we don’t want nobody knowing about it. Only take a few minutes.” Blindfolded, Conor felt the truck pull out onto the highway again. He tried to gauge how fast they were going and how far they were traveling, but he couldn’t tell. Eventually they stopped, Bradley got out, they drove a few dozen feet, and he got back in. Opening and closing a gate, Conor told himself, hoping they didn’t have any surveillance.
The truck lurched to a stop and both men got out. “You can take that off now.” Conor untied the bandana, hoping like hell that bullshit hadn’t dislodged the button mic. When he got a look around, he almost laughed.
In the middle of the space was the most pitiful trailer Conor had ever seen. One of the doors hung by only the top hinge, and there was no lawn, just dirt. And they’re supposed to make me think I can make money this way? There was a barn at the far end of the little dirt area. “That where they are?”
“Yeah. Come on down and see ‘em.” Nothing could have prepared Conor for what he saw when he stepped into that barn.
The entire center floor of the barn had been dug out and it was surrounded with a mesh-type fencing. They’d obviously used a pump and a well, because the whole thing was filled with nasty, smelly water. In it, much to his terror, were dozens of small animals. “What are these? Gators? Caimans? What?”
“Them over there,” Darryl said, pointing to the left, “is gators. And them over there,” he said, pointing to the right, “is caimans.”
“They’re babies!” Conor barked.
“Yeah. The caimans are older than the gators. That’s why they’s so much bigger.”
“You actually have a market for them?”
“Yeah! We got buyers all along the coast. Got a truckload of gators intercepted a few weeks ago. Dumbass truck driver. But otherwise, yeah. We’s making good money.”
“And you’re living here? Like this?”
“It’s only temporary. I got a little detail to clear up and then I’ll be outta here.”
“Got it. So what would it take for me to get, say, six of these?”
“The gators or the caimans?”
“The gators.”
“They’s two fitty apiece, so that’d be, what, fitteen hunnert?”
“Yeah.”
“You got fitteen hunnert dollars?” Bradley asked.
“Yeah. I do.”
Darryl laughed. “Well, then, you done got yoreself some gators, boy!”
“What do I feed them?”
“They eat all kindsa critters. Anything that’s meat. ‘Course, they’ll eat a person too, so watch yer step!”
“Can we load them up? I need to get them home pretty quick so I can pull together everything I’m gonna need to take care of them.”
“Oh, yeah. Sure, sure. Bradley, get that dog crate over there and load them bastards up in it.” It only took Bradley a couple of minutes to catch and crate six of the gators, and he loaded them in the back of the truck. “Okay. It’s payday, so pay up.”
Conor pulled out his wallet and took out a wad of hundred-dollar bills. “One, two, three …” He counted until he finally said, “Fifteen. We square?”
“Yessir, we square. Want a beer afore we take you back to―”
From seemingly nowhere, a voice called out, “Ballard County Sheriff’s Department! Hands in the air! All of you! Get ‘em up!” Men with guns moved in from every direction. Conor saw Kirby and Jonas, but he didn’t dare do anything to single himself out. Just as Darryl and Bradley did, Conor sank to his knees on the ground, his hands behind his head. “Darryl Stevens and Bradley Nolan, you’re hereby under arrest for dealing in illegal animals in violation of Kentucky Revised Statutes one fifty. Do you want to waive your Miranda rights?’
“Sure. Ain’t like I never heard ‘em before,” Darryl answered with a snort.
“Yeah. What he said,” Bradley echoed.
“Conor Parsons,” the deputy announced, using Conor’s agreed-upon alias, “you’re under arrest for receiving contraband property. Do you wish to waive your Miranda rights?”
“Yeah. Whatever,” he answered.
“If there is anyone else on the property, you need to tell us now. Anybody? Have anything to say?” the deputy asked loudly.
Darryl’s voice was pure acid. “Ain’t nobody else here.”
“We understood you had an associate who was looking for Flora Stevens. Is that correct?”
“Yeah, well, that sorry sumbitch failed, so he’s gone.”
The deputy poked him with a baton. “Where is he now?”
Darryl laughed. “You ain’t never gonna find him.”
Conor watched as the deputies talked among themselves, and then a truck rolled into view. Kirby was in the passenger seat, but Barrett was at the wheel. “Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources conservation officers. We need to take possession of the reptiles on the property,” Barrett announced.
“Go right ahead. I’m not fool enough to stand in your way,” the deputy responded with a smirk, and Conor wanted to punch him.
Ten minutes later, Darryl and Bradley were gone. Conor was being loaded into another vehicle but once the other two were out of sight, the deputy brought him back to the officers waiting at Darryl’s place. He’d no more than stepped out of the car when Barrett turned to him. “Where’s Flora?”
“They said they had an associate who was supposed to get her, but he failed. They also said we’d never find him. You know what that means.”
“Yeah. It means we’ve got to destroy every one of these animals and open them up to see if there are any human remains in them,” Kirby offered.
Conor’s tone left no room for doubt. “Absolutely. Barrett, you should go to the jail and talk to Bradley.”
“Why?”
“Because if he finds out what Darryl did with his girlfriend, we’re going to get a lot more information out of him.”
Barrett gestured toward his truck. “Mind if I …”
“No. Go right ahead. We’ve got this.” But before he could get into the car, Conor stepped up and put a hand firmly on Barrett’s shoulder. “Keep your cool, but wring that sumbitch out like a wet rag.”
“I will. Thanks.” The deputies and KDFWR officers watched Barrett go, along with one lone TPWD officer. His work was done. But for poor Barrett, the hardest part was coming.
* * *
“Where is she?”
“I told you, man, I have no idea!” Bradley was getting a little frustrated, so Barrett decided it was time.
“Bradley, where’s Velma?”
The man stopped dead and stared at Barrett. “How do you know about Velma?”
“Flora told us. You do know Velma’s dead, right?”
There was little doubt that Bradley was about to have a stroke. “What? No. You’re wrong. She just run off somewhurs.”
“No, Bradley. Velma is dead. Darryl killed her.”
“No. Yore lyin’.” Bradley’s face turned beet red and he was spitting as he talked. “Darryl wouldn’t never do nothin’ like that. Velma is my girlfriend. He wouldn’t do nothin’ like that right there.”
“He did. He got mad at her because she was mouthing off, so he slammed her up against the wall with his hand around her neck, and then he gutted her alive.”
“No! He did not! Darryl wouldn’t do that!” Bradley screamed.
“He did. He gutted her alive, then cut her up with a chainsaw and fed her to the gators.”
The red-faced man went white as a sheet. “No. He wouldn’t,” Bradley whispered.
“Yeah, he did. Sure did. Made Flora watch and help. Why do you think he’s been so obsessed with finding her? He wanted to kill her because she was the only one who knew what he’d done to Velma. What about your friend now, Bradley? What about your buddy who’s brought you here and gotten you into a world of hurt? Have you seen him do that with somebody else?”
If Barrett had thought Bradley was pale before, he was wrong. The tall, skinny man blanched white as flour. “I can’t … he wouldn’t … Are you sure?”
“Flora told me the whole story. It’s why she ran, Bradley. She was afraid of Darryl. You should be afraid of him too.” Something had been tickling Barrett’s brain, and suddenly, he knew what it was. “So this guy who was supposed to find Flora? What did Darryl do with him when he didn’t bring her back? Or did he bring her back?”
Bradley looked away. “No. He didn’t bring her back.”
“So where is she?”
“I dunno. He said she run out the back door.”
“Okay. So what happened to the guy?”
“You mean Ajax?”
Barrett stared at him. “Big guy, jailhouse tattoos.”
“Yeah. That was Ajax.”
“Was?”
“Yeah. Darryl, he … God damn it, can you hand me that trash can? I’m gonna be sick.” Barrett had no more than handed it to Bradley when the skinny man wretched into it.
“Bradley,” Barrett cajoled as the man choked and sputtered, “where’s Flora?”
“I don’t know. And I’m tellin’ the truth. Ajax was ‘sposed to bring her back, but he didn’t, so Darryl …” A look passed over Bradley’s face, something Barrett didn’t recognize, and when he spoke, it was exactly what Barrett had hoped for. “Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell ya. You just ask me. That sumbitch was ‘sposed to be my friend and he killt my girlfriend? Naw. That shit don’t fly with me. You ask me a question and I’ll tell you what I know.”
The door opened and two detectives stepped in. “He’s all yours,” Barrett said as he rose.
“Thank you, officer, and good luck.”
“Thanks.” Barrett flew out the front doors of the station, climbed up into his truck, and took off toward Mrs. Murphy’s house. Flora was out there somewhere. Dead, alive, no matter what―he had to find her.
And when he got there, the first person he saw was Conor. “I don’t know these woods, but I’ll help.”
“We’re here to help too,” Kirby announced, and Jonas nodded from beside him.
“We want to help too,” a male voice said from behind him, and Barrett turned.
His mom, dad, sister, and brother-in-law stood there in boots, jeans, and long-sleeve shirts. “We know these woods as well as you do or maybe better. If she’s out here, we’ll find her.” His mom took his arm and looked up into his face. “We’ll find her, son. I promise.”
Another voice caused him to turn, and he found his friends standing there. “We won’t stop until we do,” Zyan assured him as Landee nodded in agreement.
They looked at a map, talked it over, and headed out. Everyone had an area, but Barrett stood on the back porch and looked out toward the horizon. He knew Flora. She’d go through the tree line, skirt the field, and keep going. Depending on how fast she ran and for how long, she could be a very long distance away, especially if she kept moving.
He followed his gut and the route he thought she would’ve taken. Flora was out there somewhere, and she had his heart with her. There was no going home―not until she could go with him.
* * *
The sun had come up,and Barrett hadn’t come. Flora had to face the painful truth―he wouldn’t. All along he’d acted as if he cared for her, but in reality, he’d just used her to get to Darryl.
Or had he? Was her mind playing tricks on her? She didn’t know how much farther she’d managed to walk, but it was maybe a mile or two. And walking wasn’t really accurate. It was more like stumbling. She had bug bites of some kind on her legs, there were sticks and leaves clumped in her hair, and her feet were tired. The shoes she’d been wearing were just little canvas athletic shoes she’d gotten at the store for three dollars, so she had blisters aplenty. And she was thirsty, so thirsty. That concerned her. She knew she could go several days without food, but not without water, and she’d kept an eye open, but she wasn’t in the mountains. There, they often came across springs, their water always safe to drink in the foothills. But there, she’d found none. The only thing she’d come across was a small stream, and it looked more like drainage, brackish and almost still. It certainly wasn’t something anyone should drink from.
Her thoughts deteriorated into one mantra: One more step. One more step. One more step. There was nothing else to do. If she walked far enough, maybe she’d eventually find … what? A road where Darryl could find her? A house that turned out to be his or his neighbor’s? A river? A sinkhole? What could she possibly find?
“I should just give up,” she whispered aloud to herself. She had nothing. Her parents had written her off when she married Darryl. Then there was Darryl himself. Staying with him meant certain death at some point. Mrs. Murphy … She was most likely dead, so that was over, and even if she wasn’t, she probably hated Flora.
And then there was Barrett. Maybe she’d been just a passing fancy for him, but his words had seemed sincere. His hands were gentler than any she’d ever known, and when he held her, she felt safe. Sure as hell don’t feel safe now. The longer she walked, the more certain she felt that she’d never get out of those woods. Barrett had told her the story about Renita, Martina’s daughter, and she could picture some hunter finding her someday, or probably just pieces of her.
Would anyone remember her in a month? Six weeks? Six months? A year? Probably not. Somebody down the line would say, “Hey, remember that woman …” And whoever they were talking to would answer, “No. I have no idea who you’re talking about.” Yeah. That was Flora Dawn Stevens. Nobody. Nothing. A disposable person.
Mrs. Murphy had given her shit, but she felt safe with the woman, and there were times when she thought her charge was maybe even a little fond of her. But over the years, so many people had pretended to care about her that she wasn’t sure about that.
In that moment, she wasn’t sure about anything, even her next step.
* * *
Barrett followedthe edge of the field, staying just inside the tree line. When he reached the back edge of the field where the trees were at their thickest, he stepped through and stood there, scanning his surroundings. For as far as he could see, bushes, bramble, and piles of leaves cluttered the closed landscape. It almost felt like a tunnel or a cave, the vegetation dense and tangled. He kept walking, noting how uneven the ground was, how difficult it was to traverse. If she’d come that way, it had been rough travels.
His phone pinged and he took a look. Nothing yet, Zyan texted.
Me either, he texted back. There was no sign. None.
The terrain smoothed out a bit about a mile out, and it was easier to walk, even though brambles and branches snatched and snapped at him, slashing at his face and forcing him to duck and close his eyes over and over. He found himself chugging upward for a minute or two, and then on a decline down the other side. Before he reached the bottom, he noticed something.
Leaves were disturbed―a deer, a wild hog, raccoons, possums? It could’ve been anything, really. But as he walked along, he noticed several places where they’d been disturbed, so he kept following those. They ended about three miles back into the woods, and he stopped and spun around, looking here and there. Near some small trees he saw another spot that looked shaken up, so he stepped toward it and took a look. Peering through the small cedars, he found a dead space, and the leaves there had been crushed. Could’ve been a deer. A hog. A dog. Anything, he told himself. Maybe even a family of coyotes. He stepped through the little break in the trees and into the void, then turned around and around, staring. Was he missing anything? And that was the moment he saw them.
A few strands of reddish-blond hair.
Barrett copied his coordinates from his app and then pasted them into his text app with a message. Found something. Moving on. Move toward this location and then fan out gradually. She’s still here somewhere.
He pressed on. Flora was near, and he had to find her. Walking, walking, walking, he found spots here and there where he knew she might’ve stopped or stumbled. He checked his mapping function and discovered he’d walked five miles since they’d started. There was a sound nearby, and he looked up to see Conor picking his way across the forest floor. “On it?” the Texas officer asked.
“Yeah. Five miles in. She can’t be much farther if she slept the night, and I think I found her encampment. She’s gotta be exhausted and dehydrated by now, so she’d be moving a lot slower.”
“Yeah. You move a hundred feet that way and I’ll move a hundred the other, then we’ll walk in parallel. If she’s between us, we’ll find her.”
Barrett nodded. “Yeah. And we need to keep an eye out for a path that looks easier. That’s what she would choose.” They started off, walking, looking, scanning their surroundings. Barrett could hear movement behind him and turned to find Zyan there. “Go fifty feet to my right and walk parallel with me and Conor.” Zyan didn’t even answer, just moved that direction and walked along. In a few minutes, Kirby was on Conor’s left, and the team of four continued to move.
He checked his mapping app again. Six miles. They were on the outskirts of the wildlife management area, and he was pretty sure there weren’t any other people around for several miles. Sure, there were quite a few of them out there, but he was sure he, Conor, Zyan, and Kirby were farther out than any of the others. Still, even with all the help, it seemed impossible. Why hadn’t he thought to contact someone with a dog? They could’ve been tracking her! By the time they got one out there, it would be late afternoon, and she’d have to spend another night in the woods. He wasn’t sure she’d survive that.
One more step, followed by another. And then he heard something and stopped. It was strange, and he listened intently. Ten steps farther and he stopped again, only to hear the sound a bit louder from that spot. And as he listened, he recognized it.
Crying.
“Flora! Flora, I know you’re there! It’s Barrett! Baby, yell so we can hear you! Flora! Where are you?”
There was silence and he almost gave up when he heard a little voice call out, “I’m here! Help me! Please help me!”
He crashed through undergrowth, leaped a downed tree, and kept running. “I’m here, baby! Call out to me! Flora! Where are you?” Then he turned.
She sat under a tree, leaning up against the trunk. Her legs and arms were covered in bite marks, slashes from vegetation, and even her cheeks were scratched up. But she was alive, and she was lucid. “Babe! I’m right here!” Barrett dropped and slid on his knees the last two feet, his arms reaching for her, and in a split second, he was clutching her to him.
Flora clung to him and cried. “I didn’t think you were coming. I was so scared.”
He kissed the crown of her head as he heard his fellow searchers moving toward him. “I’ve been looking for you. I wasn’t going to just let you go. I’ll never let you go, precious. You’re my girl, and I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you, but I’m here now.” Someone tapped him on the shoulder and handed him a bottle of water. “Here. You need to drink, but drink slowly. Don’t get sick.” He barely got the cap off when she grasped it and chugged it. “Slow down, babe.”
She wiped her mouth with the back of a filthy hand and panted from the effort. “There was this man, and he came to the house and beat on the door, and―”
“We know, babe. We found Mrs. Murphy, and I found your phone.”
Flora began to sob. “Mrs. Murphy was always so kind to me, and now she’s dead because of me.”
Barrett chuckled. “Babe, she’s not dead. That old bag is too ornery to die. She’s in the hospital, and they think she’s going to be fine.”
Two bright green eyes peered into his. “She’s okay?”
“Yeah! She’s fine. And she’s very worried about you. She did her best to protect you. If she hadn’t been able to tell us what happened, we would’ve assumed Darryl got you and you were … Let’s not talk about that now. Let’s just get you out of here, okay?” Before he hoisted her up into his arms, he texted the entire group.
I’ve got her.
* * *
“So I wantyou to use this to shower for a few days and put this lotion on. Luckily, these are all superficial. I want you to see your regular doctor in ten days, but these are going to heal up very quickly and you’ll be fine. Questions?”
Flora smiled at the doctor there in the emergency department. He’d been extremely kind to her. “No. I can’t think of anything. I’ll get rehydrated and take care of all these cuts. Thank you so much.” Her head turned and she looked straight into Barrett’s eyes. “I just want to go home.”
“Want to go up and see Mrs. Murphy before we go?” She nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”
The door to the room was only open a crack, and a voice drifted into the hallway. “You have to eat this, Mama. You haven’t―”
“This ain’t food. It’s slop. I need a cheeseburger, Misty. One simple cheeseburger.” Flora knocked lightly. “Come on in, and I hope you got food.”
She grinned. “I don’t.”
“Flora! Oh my jaysus, I thought you was dead! Hallelujah!”
“I thought you were dead too. Thank you for trying to protect me.”
“I done my best. Got off a good shot at that asshole. What happened to him?”
Flora turned toward Barrett. She had no idea what had become of the man. “You remember what happened to Velma?” Flora nodded. “Well, that’s what he did to that guy. Ajax.” Flora shuddered.
“Aww, hell, I remember Flora tellin’ me ‘bout that. Damn. That’s awful, even for him.”
The woman Flora had forgotten was there chirped, “What? What happened?”
Flora shook her head as she took in the woman, her expensive clothes and perfect hair. “Nothing. Trust me, you don’t want to know. I guess you’re Misty?”
“Yes! Good to finally meet you.”
“You’re not mad at me for what happened to your mama?”
Misty laughed. “Lord, no! You kept her alive until she could get her pacemaker and, god help her, I always figured she’d fall and kill herself. This would definitely have been a far more interesting, exciting way to go, and that would suit her perfectly.”
“Yeah, she knows how I am. Life is too fuckin’ borin’ most-a the time. I need some ‘citement!” Mrs. Murphy barked as they all laughed.
Barrett rolled his eyes and shook his head as he laughed. “I think this was a little too much excitement!”
“Maybe. It weren’t fun at the time, but sure makes a damn good story, don’tcha think?” the old woman asked him and winked.
“You’re gonna corrupt my girl here. I need to get her home anyway. Mrs. Murphy, I’m glad you’re doing okay. Misty, if you need anything …”
“I’m having the carpet replaced where it was ruined and staying at the house for a bit, but you’re right down the road, right?” Barrett nodded. “If I need you, I’ll give you a call. She’s got your number, right?”
“Yep. Okay, you ladies take care. We’ll see you later. Come on, babe.”
“Wait one damn minute! You come here, girl,” Mrs. Murphy growled.
Flora stepped to the side of her hospital bed and Mrs. Murphy reached for her hand. “I love ya. Yore my family. I didn’t do a very good job of protecting ya, but I won’t let that happen again.”
For the first time, Flora leaned down and hugged the old woman, who squeezed her tightly. “I love you too, Mrs. Murphy, and I love living there with you. As far as I’m concerned, you’re my mama now.”
“Good girl.” The woman’s hand cupped Flora’s cheek and she smiled up into the younger woman’s eyes. “Now, you take care-a yoreself and take care-a that boy there. He deserves better than he’s got.”
“Thanks. I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said about me!” Barrett said, laughing.
Mrs. Murphy glared at him. “Don’t push yore luck, boy.”
He laughed loudly. “Yes, ma’am!”
Once they were in Barrett’s truck, he stuck the key into the ignition, but turned with a knee up on the seat to look at her. “Babe, I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.”
“You couldn’t be. You were trying to take care of the biggest threat. You couldn’t have known he had somebody else on board.”
“Yeah, but I’m still sorry. He’s gone. He’s not getting out―ever. Bradley likely isn’t either. There’s no one to stand in your way, so if you want to go back to Pikeville, you can do so safely. Is that what you want?”
“No. My home is here now. I feel like I have more family here than I ever had there.”
“So, are we okay?”
Flora reached for his hand and when it closed around hers, she felt calm for the first time since the whole ordeal began. “As far as I’m concerned, we are.”
“Then we are. I’ll call my attorney and get the ball rolling to get you a divorce as fast as we can.”
“I can’t afford―”
“It’s taken care of. Don’t worry about it. Now, let’s go get some of your things from Mrs. Murphy’s house and then go to mine. I want you to stay with me for a while.”
“Just for a while?”
Barrett smiled until his eyes squinted shut. “Forever, if you want.”
* * *
She was clean,wearing clean clothes, warm, and had a bottle of sparkling water in her hand, her feet up on the coffee table while Barrett showered. There was a knock at the front door, and Flora crept toward it. She hadn’t had a chance to peer through the peephole before a female voice said, “Flora, I know you’re in there. It’s Landee. Open the door.”
“Hi! What are you doing here?”
Landee thrust a large casserole dish toward Flora. “Brought you this. Thought you need some rest and this will let you get it.”
“Want to come in?”
“Nah. Zyan’s waiting in the car.” Flora looked past her and could see the big man sitting there. When he noticed her looking at him, he waved, and she waved back with a smile. “But we’ll see you soon, okay? We want you guys to come for dinner.”
“I’d love that. Thank you so much. And please thank Zyan for me.”
“I will. Talk to you soon.” Landee jogged back to the car, and she waved as she slipped into the passenger seat.
She found a spot in the refrigerator for the dish―there sure as hell wasn’t anything else in his refrigerator―and had just sat back down when she heard a car door. After peering through the peephole, she opened the door. “What in the―”
Beth and Rochelle stood there, their arms full of bags and boxes. “Hey! We just wanted to get some stuff together for you two so you don’t have to worry about food.” Barrett’s mom and sister powered right on into the house and past Flora to the kitchen. “Looks like somebody’s already been here,” Beth announced. “Let me guess … Landee.”
Flora laughed. “Yeah. She showed up just a little while ago.”
“Good. Y’all don’t need to be worrying about food, just getting rested up.” Rochelle rearranged some of the things her mom had put in the refrigerator so she could get more in. “This should last you for a few days.”
“Yeah. It should. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome. Thank you for loving my son.” Beth threw her arms around Flora and hugged her tightly, and Flora couldn’t ever remember a better mom hug. “Where’s Barrett?”
“Shower. Want to stay until he gets out?”
“Nah. We’ll go on. Just tell him we love y’all and want you to take it easy for a few days, okay?”
“Of course. Thank you again.”
“You’re welcome, honey. That’s what family’s for.” Beth cupped Flora’s cheek with a soft hand. “And you’re family, sweetie.”
As soon as she could get the door closed, tears poured down Flora’s face. Family. They wanted her as family. She’d been happy before, but she didn’t think she’d ever been as happy as she was in that moment.
In the course of the next hour, Frankie, Kirby, and Jonas brought food by. Conor had left the morning after they’d found Flora, and he texted at least once a day to check on them. They were pulling things from the refrigerator to eat for dinner when there was yet another knock at the front door. “I’ll get it,” Barrett offered and jetted out of the room. When he didn’t come right back, Flora headed that direction.
Jesse stood at the door and with him was another man. The guy wasn’t just good looking―he was drop-dead gorgeous. “Um, hey, babe, Jesse and Max brought something for us.”
“Yeah, it’s just a little something, but I thought it would help. You guys need to relax and get some rest.” Jesse patted the top of the casserole dish. “It was Max’s idea.”
“Oh, stop! It’s just something simple. Nothing special. But it’ll fill you up and it’s not too horrible for you!” Max said with a laugh.
“We really appreciate it, don’t we, babe?” Barrett’s free hand snaked around Flora’s waist and drew her up against him.
“Yes, we absolutely do. Would you guys like to come in and―”
To Flora’s relief, Jesse shook his head. “Nah. We’ve gotta get home. We’re still arguing about where his stuff goes and what I need to throw out!” They were getting ready to walk away when Jesse turned back to Barrett. “I just want you to be happy. I’m happy and I want that for you too.”
Barrett’s eyes closed softly and he nodded. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted for you. And Flora makes me ridiculously happy.”
“Well, that’s good to hear,” she said, her voice snarky.
“You guys have a good evening. Glad you’re okay, Flora.”
“Thanks, Jesse. Nice to meet you, Max.”
The handsome man waved to Flora. “And you too. See you guys around!”
The front door closed to the sound of Jesse’s truck rolling out of the driveway, and Flora caught sight of Barrett. His jaw had dropped and his eyes were wide. “What just happened there?”
She grinned. “I think he just introduced us to his new boyfriend.”
A deep sigh escaped Barrett’s throat, and Flora hadn’t realized how much the whole thing stressed him until that moment. “Thank god. Now maybe he’ll get a life and let me have mine.”
“Do you think you have a life?”
“With you?” Barrett stooped and kissed her cheek. “The best.”
* * *
Please checkout the newest book from Deanndra, Fighting for Amethyst: A Tarpley VFD Novel