Sunday Morning (Damaged #7.5)

 

Violence never bothered me, but I wasn’t one of those guys that got off on it. Hurting someone was a means to an end. If I needed money, and I had to take it by force, I used force. If someone threatened me, I defended myself. I never giggled about it afterward, but I got the job done.

 

With the moonshiners in Ellsberg, the violence wasn’t personal. I wanted their territory. They didn’t want me to have it. I offered them an easy way out. They laughed because they didn’t know how much I wanted the town for my woman and kid. That part was personal. Killing the moonshiners wasn’t, but I wouldn’t lose any sleep over their deaths.

 

While burying one of the moonshiners, I stumbled upon one of the most fucking beautiful places I’d seen in my life. Standing at the end of gentle drop-off, I drank in the sight of the thick green trees and a lazy river.

 

After I was done with the body, I walked around for hours and imagined what I could do with this land. I’d seen a “for sale” sign on the nearby road.

 

The land wasn’t cheap, but I talked down the owner. He was looking to retire with the money he made from the sale. The property sat for a long time without any interest, and I figured he would either take my offer or not. I wasn’t going to beg, not even for that view. There were other beautiful places around Ellsberg where I could build a life with Jodi.

 

The guy backed down like I suspected he would. He wanted out of Kentucky as much as I was looking to set up roots.

 

Despite getting closer to my goals, I missed the shit out of Jodi and hated not spending every day rubbing her belly. Bringing her to Ellsberg couldn’t happen until I had control of the town.

 

The moonshiners were gone, but I still needed to scare their customers into doing business with my club. The local cops remained dicey. They seemed willing to play ball as long as we didn’t cause too much trouble. I figured they’d soon enjoy their bribes too much to give them up, and I’d own them.

 

Too many damn weeks passed without Jodi. I called her every day, and she sounded as lonely as I felt.

 

“What’d you do today?” I asked one night when the baby had cooked for six months.

 

“I was so hot today that I walked around naked in the apartment. I read naked. Slept naked. Even ate naked.”

 

“Are you naked now?” I asked, grinning.

 

“No. I got a little chilly, and now I’m wearing one of your flannel shirts.”

 

“Just the flannel?”

 

Jodi laughed quietly. “Yeah, baby. I need you to come home.”

 

“I will soon. I gotta get our home together here.”

 

“I’ll live anywhere as long as I’m with you.”

 

Every night, we had the same conversation. I’d be frustrated by the repetition if I didn’t picture her sitting alone in the apartment all day every day. She had nowhere to go. She was alone and hormonal, and I kept telling her to be patient. Jodi was too young to be patient.

 

“Once I come for you, we won’t be apart again. I’ll bring you here, and this will be our home. We’ll be new people here. No one will know our secrets except us. Our boy will have anything he wants. The world will be at his fucking feet.”

 

Jodi was quiet for nearly a minute before asking in a small voice, “You are coming back, right?”

 

I hated how she now asked me this same question every night. At first, she trusted me enough to avoid worrying. Too long apart left her thinking I might ditch her and our baby. I didn’t understand how she believed I could start a new life without her.

 

“What did I have before you?” I asked, counting the days before I would drive back to Chesterfield. “I was nothing, and I had nothing. My life didn’t mean shit. Now I have everything. Would I really walk away from everything, Jodi?”

 

“No.”

 

“Would I want to live in this quiet town if I wasn’t building a life for my family?”

 

“No,” she said with more confidence.

 

“I love you and our boy. You need to believe everything I do is for you.”

 

“I do,” she said, and I heard the smile in her voice. “I know you’re doing what you think is right.”

 

“But?” I asked when she stopped speaking for too long.

 

“But I need you to come back here or bring me to you. I can’t be alone much longer. I don’t care if you stick me in a dump in Ellsberg until things are in order. I just need to be with you.”

 

Logic said I shouldn’t move her until everything was perfect. My heart said otherwise.

 

“I’ll come get you this weekend.”

 

“Really?” she asked, and her excitement was obvious.

 

“I want you happy, and this is what you want.”

 

“Is it what you want?”

 

“Hell, I’ve wanted to bring you since day one. Now I’ll get what I want.”