Escaping the Past

Lou tucked her shirt into her pants and climbed back into the Jeep. She adjusted her pants and said, “I couldn’t find my panties. Help me find them, will you?” She looked under the seat. Brody reached into his pocket and withdrew a lacy slip of fabric.

He held them out, “Do you mean these?” He grinned wolfishly at her.

She reached for them and he pulled them out of her grasp, grinning wildly, stuffing them back in the pocket. “You’ll just have to do without. Because those are going home with me.” Lou shook her head reproachfully.

She looked around, picked up the condom wrapper from the floor and tucked it into a discarded Coke can on the floor. “I’ll certainly never look at this Jeep the same way again.”

Brody reached over and grabbed the back of her head. He pulled her in for a quick kiss. “Neither will I,” he replied, laughing quietly.

She kissed him back.

He started the Jeep and reached over to take her hand.

“You know what, Lou?”

“What?”

“We never did have that talk you promised?”

“What talk?” She tried to play dumb.

“The one where you explain why you were still a virgin yet you have a daughter.”

She flinched. “I don’t want to discuss it now,” was her only reply.

“When would be a good time?”

“Never?” She made a job of twirling a piece of hair around her finger.

“Not good enough,” he replied.

“Ok. How about this? I’ll tell you my secrets when you call me to tell me what your plans are for the farm.”

“Deal,” he answered.

“Deal,” she agreed.

Chapter Fifteen

Lou dropped Brody off at the airport and was surprised when he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in for a long, slow kiss that stole her breath. Her knees shook and tears hid behind her eyelids as she pulled away from him and climbed into the driver’s seat. She dared not speak and she couldn’t look back as she drove away.

She drove home with the wind caressing her cheeks and making her hair fly haphazardly around her face. She sang along with the radio until a sad country song had her feeling as forlorn as the love-stricken subject of the song must have felt. Tears rolled from beneath her lashes and drenched her face like a torrential storm. She finally pulled over onto the side of the road when the sobs took her breath and her vision blurred from the assaulting tears.

She dropped her face into her hands and let the tears fall. For years, she had devoutly sworn she did not possess the girly emotions that make one fall prey to the pains of the heart. But now she realized the truth. She had sworn off tears and heartache because she had never been in love. And what an emotion to have missed for so long!

Lou sat on the side of the road with her head in her hands until the shaking subsided. Then she took a deep breath, wiped her face with her shirttail, and put both hands on the wheel. She started the Jeep and turned to look for traffic before pulling out into the street. Seeing headlights approaching, she waited for them to pass but noticed they slowed as they approached her. A dark four-door sedan slowed and pulled off the road in front of the Jeep. She froze as she saw a tall gentleman get out of the car. The baseball cap immediately made Lou jump and put the Jeep in gear.

His crisp, clear voice rang out. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Mary Lou.”

Lou froze where she was when he reached for the holster under his jacket. She took a deep breath and lifted her chin. “What do you want?”

He placed one hand on the roll bar behind her seat and the other on the frame of the windshield, effectively boxing her in. He smiled a smile that did not reach his eyes. “You seem like such a smart girl, Mary Lou.” He raised a cigar to his mouth and bit the end off of it. He took his sweet time lighting it and then blew a stream of cherry smoke into Lou’s face. “I want you to give me what I asked for.”

“Right now, you’re asking for a black eye, but I doubt that’s what you really want,” Lou tossed back at him with more bravado than she actually felt. Her knees shook as her eyes met his.

“Oh, you are so funny!” he said mockingly. He absently picked up a lock of hair from her shoulder and ran it between his fingers. “You remind me of your mother. She was all piss and vinegar, too. She was smart, a lot like you.”

“I am nothing like my mother,” Lou spat back at him.