The Outskirts Duet Read online

  Squinting under the invading light shining through the front window I cursed myself for not remembering to shut the curtains the night before, but it was all a blur, courtesy of my friend Jim Beam.

  A blast from a shotgun echoed through the house. The sound vibrating through my body, intensifying every ache, pain and unwelcome feeling.

  “What the fuck, Josh?” I stepped out onto the porch, pulling on an undershirt that was hanging from the railing.

  Sure enough, Josh was standing in my front yard, shotgun in hand.

  “What the fuck?” She placed a hand on her hip and propped her gun up with the other arm. “I’m the one that should be asking you that considering you tried to run an innocent girl off the road before breaking into her camper and attempting to run her off her land.”

  “What girl?” I asked, knowing full well who she was talking about although my brain was still muddied.

  “That girl!” Josh said, pointing to the little rusted camper parked across the way.

  “The road. That was an accident,” I admitted, scratching my jaw. I needed to trim my face before it became so itchy I scratched off my own skin. “I didn’t have my lights on.”

  “Figured as much,” Josh grumbled.

  “And she IS on my property,” I added.

  “She owns the quarter acre right behind it, she just can’t get to it, yet,” she argued.

  “Not my problem.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Now you should probably go.”

  Josh raised her gun, aimed, and fired.

  The back windshield of my Bronco shattered in an instant. “You don’t get to tell me what to do, Finn. I’m the law around here. Not you. We aren’t kids anymore. We aren’t even friends anymore. So I’m going to tell you how it’s going to go.”

  “Does the law always blow out the windows in people’s trucks to get their attention?” I asked, leaning on the rail.

  “I do what needs to be done. And the only reason I’m not blasting a hole through your chest is because I know what day yesterday was. But you WILL leave Sawyer alone. If I hear that you’re trying to mess with her again or run her off, or God forbid hurt her in any way...” Josh glared at me. “I swear to God I’ll bury you out back with the gators and the snakes.”

  “Josh…” I faltered.

  “No.” She raised her hand. “You don’t get to JOSH me. Not anymore. It’s Deputy Hugo to you.”

  My stomach churned. The yelling I could handle.

  The hurt in her voice was harder to swallow.

  “You can push us all away, Finn, but I can tell that girl’s been through some shit, so she don’t need more shit from the likes of you.” She lowered the gun.

  I took a step down from the porch but Josh regarded me with a watery warning in her big brown eyes and stepped back, tossing her gun in the bed of her truck.

  “No,” she said. “It’s too late for that. You got some need to want to hole up in your little swamp shack and pretend the world around you don’t exist? Then fine. Do just that. But leave Sawyer alone. Consider this your only warning.” She opened the door of her truck. “Do what you’re good at, Finn. Do to her what you’ve done to everyone else.” She lowered her voice. “Stay the hell away.”

  I retreated into my dark dank living room and picked up a half empty bottle of whiskey from the floor next to the worn sofa.

  Josh was right. I should stick to what I’m good at. I tipped the bottle to my mouth and tried to pretend I hadn’t just learned why they say the truth hurts.

  Chapter 12

  Sawyer

  No matter what I did. No matter what button I pushed or how many pleas I sent out into the universe, water would not come out of my sink or shower. The tank was full. I’d checked three times. No leaks either. Something was either clogging it, or the universe was plotting against me.

  Both had equal chances of being the reason why the water suddenly stopped working.

  I checked the clock. I had to be at Critter’s in just under an hour. By my estimate, it would take me about a half of an hour to walk there so if I didn’t get showered and ready in the next ten to fifteen minutes, I’d be late for my first day.

  The jugs I had bought days before were now empty and I didn’t know how to get water from the tank on the outside of the camper either.

  I decided that as much as I didn’t want to, that I’d ask Finn if I could use his shower. Unfortunately, I was almost to his door when one glance was all it took for me to realize why asking him would be a very, very bad idea.

  First, because Finn’s shower was outside on the left side of his porch.

  Second, because he was already in it.

  Third, because he was very, VERY naked.

  Finn stood under the spray with his hands flush on the side of the house, letting the water cascade over the back of his head and shoulders, dripping down every inch of taut muscle on the way down to his rounded backside and strong thick thighs. His eyes were closed tightly as if he were deep in thought.

  I’d meant to turn around and run the other way or at the very least cover my eyes. In my head, that’s exactly what I was doing.

  In reality, I stood there, gawking, unable to look away until Finn cleared his throat, breaking me out of my trance. I looked up to find him standing there, now facing me as he lathered up his naked body. He stepped back under the spray, the suds washed away, trailing down to the deep V pointing to the private place between his strong thighs.

  And then there it was.

  Just hanging there.

  Long.

  Thick.

  I stopped breathing.

  “Let me guess, not only was the other night the first night you heard the word fuck, but today’s the first day you’ve seen a real cock?”

  I couldn’t hear all of his words. I was heavily distracted by a clenching sensation going on in my pelvis.

  “Did you need something?” Finn asked, walking up to the railing, dripping water all over the wooden deck and giving me a much closer view of what he had going on between his legs. He shook out his hair and mussed it with his hand.

  “Uh.” I spun around, hiding my red face. “Never mind.”

  “Are you sure about that?” When I turned back around to face him I assumed he’d be covered up, but no such luck. He had a towel but he wasn’t using it to cover up, he was rubbing it up and down his torso and legs to dry off.

  “I was going to ask if I could use your shower,” I explained, keeping my eyes trained above his head. “Now I realize that wasn’t the best idea.”

  “You can use my shower,” Finn offered.

  “Really?” That was way too easy.

  “Yes,” he said, wickedly. “I was just finishing up. You can join me.”

  “That’s not what I…,” I tried to explain, although the glint in his eye told me he was aware it wasn’t what I’d meant.

  He smiled salaciously.

  “I got a job at Critter’s. The water tank on my camper isn’t working…you know what? I’ll figure something else out.” I stormed back off across the yard.

  My cheeks heated with frustration and embarrassment and something else entirely. I fiddled with the tank some more, but still couldn’t get it to work.

  After five-minutes, I spotted Finn out of the corner of my eye loading a small boat into the waterway behind the shack. He pulled the string on the small motor and after a few seconds he was gone and all that remained was the echoing ZING of the little motor.

  It was now or never. There was no time left for hesitation.

  I bolted across the yard, my feet sinking into the wet ground. I barely registered the blown-out window of Finn’s Bronco while I tossed my clothes on the porch steps. I ran over to the side of the house, stepped into the metal basin and turned the shower knob. I yelped under the cold spray, but after only a few seconds it began to warm.

  There were two plastic bottles at my feet. One was a bottle of liquid soap and another was shampoo, both with farmer’s market labe
ls. I squeezed a little of the shampoo into my palms and massaged it into my scalp. It smelled like cedar and clean laundry. I inhaled deeply but there wasn’t time to linger. I rinsed my hair in record time. Grabbing the bottle of soap, I rubbed it into a lather and smoothed it over every inch of my body and face.

  I’d just finished rinsing and reached for the knob to turn off the water when it squeaked to a close and it turned off.

  I hadn’t even touched it.

  My hands shook as I wiped the water from my eyes. I didn’t need to open them to know who I’d find standing right in front of me. I felt him there. His eyes on me. On my body.

  My naked body.

  I shivered long before his glinting blue eyes locked on mine. I crossed my arms over my chest to try and hide as much as myself from him as possible, including my now hardened nipples.

  “Too late, I’ve already seen it all,” Finn said with a grin.

  “You,” my cheeks heated, “were watching me?” I looked around for somewhere to go, somewhere to run, but I couldn’t focus on what was around me and there was no way I was going to get anywhere without revealing more of myself.

  Finn’s eyes darkened. He leaned in and I was so surprised by the move that I stumbled back against the wall.

  “What are you doing?”

  He inhaled deeply and stepped back. “I prefer the lavender.”

  “What?”

  “The other night. In your camper. You smelled like lavender.”

  “I…I need my clothes.” I bounced eagerly and uncomfortably on my knees. Finn nodded to a plastic chair in the far corner of the porch where a towel was draped across the back.

  I had no choice but to shuffle sideways to reach it, keeping my legs stiff and locked at the knee. I released myself for a micro second so I could snatch the towel and wrap it around my naked body. My stomach churned and when I turned back to face Finn again, I suddenly felt too warm and too cold all at the same time.

  Finn’s brow furrowed. Lines formed on his forehead. He leaned back against the porch railing and frowned.

  My father’s words seeped past the barrier that I’d put up in my brain to keep him out. A man is never to see your naked flesh besides your husband. Those women who allow themselves to be a feast for another’s eyes will burn in the depths of Hell.

  Hearing father’s words caused something inside me to shift. Suddenly, I wasn’t just anxious and confused.

  I was angry.

  “Thank you for letting me use your shower,” I said, straightening my shoulders. Feeling braver, I marched right up to Finn with every intention of zipping past him.

  “I didn’t let you do anything,” Finn said, reaching out and stopping me in my tracks by toying with the bottom of the towel, almost like a reminder that he could rip it off me at any moment.

  “I was trying sarcasm,” I said, my attempt at bravery falling flat.

  “You like torturing me, don’t you?” Finn asked, cocking his head to the side.

  “Me?” I asked. “You’re the one who…never mind. I’m just going to go.”

  Finn tugged on the towel again and I stilled, not wanting to be naked in front of him for the second time in just as many minutes.

  Finn stood tall, looming over me. Using his larger than life presence to his advantage. “You don’t have to torture me, you know. That job’s already taken.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, honestly. Although, this time when his eyes met mine, I recognized something familiar in them I couldn’t quite place.

  “You really don’t know, do you?” Finn traced the line of the towel with his fingertips, brushing the skin of my thigh and heating it along the way.

  “Know what?” I was breathless and suddenly feeling very dizzy.

  “So…innocent,” he crooned, shaking his head.

  I tried to collect myself. “I…I’m going to be late for work.”

  “Tell me one thing first and then you can go.” Finn tugged on the towel again. I had no choice but to back up so my hip was against his thigh.

  “What?”

  “Tell me something about yourself.”

  “Like what? My favorite color? I don’t think I have one,” I said.

  “No,” Finn licked his bottom lip. “Tell me what you thought when you saw me today. When you were watching me shower.”

  “Why?” I felt heated recalling his wet and glistening body.

  “The way you looked at me…” he started. “Let’s just say that your curiosity has made me curious.”

  I shifted uncomfortably, pressing my thighs together. I bit my lower lip. “Please, I just have to go and…”

  “Tell me and you can go.”

  Finn wasn’t holding me or hurting me. He was only asking me a question and I really, really had to go or I was going to be late.

  I closed my eyes tightly as I tossed him the truth. “I thought…”

  “Open your eyes, look at me,” Finn insisted.

  I looked at him and gasped, quickly realizing what I was seeing in his eyes that was so familiar to me.

  Hurt.

  “I was thinking that I didn’t know that a naked man…” I summoned every ounce of courage I had to continue. If Finn was doing this just to try and intimidate me, I wasn’t going to let him. I took a deep breath and steadied my words. Looking past his blue eyes I spoke directly to the hurt in them. “I was thinking that I didn’t know a naked man could be so beautiful.”

  Finn’s arm dropped and I didn’t stay to register his reaction. I darted to the steps, gathered my clothes, then sprinted across the yard.

  Once inside my camper, I dressed quickly, grabbed my bag, and started a fast-paced power walk to Critters. There was no time to linger on what had just happened.

  Especially, since I had no idea what exactly that was.

  Chapter 13

  Sawyer

  Despite the shower incident with Finn I managed to make it to work on time. Somewhat winded.

  But on time.

  There were three other waitresses working. Missy and Maya were identical twin sisters with long blonde hair and matching gap-toothed smiles. They stood off to the side, I caught an exchange of knowing glances between them while I dried some glasses.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “Missy just wanted to know…” Maya started.

  Maya nudged her in the shoulder and spoke between her teeth. “No, I didn’t. YOU wanted to know.”

  “Know what?” I prompted, setting down the glass.

  “About your clothes,” Missy and Maya echoed.

  I glanced down at my long denim skirt and button-down shirt. “What do you want to know?”

  “They want to know why you’re wearing them,” another voice jumped in. Kayla, another waitress who I assumed was around my age. Her skin was flawless and she had a big red lipped smile that showed off stunningly bright white teeth.

  They all wore tight tops and short shorts, paired with sneakers or boots. Kayla’s entire outfit looked as if it were painted on, showing off her tiny waist and perfectly round breasts.

  Just like Finn’s body, I wasn’t appalled by their form as I was always taught I should be. That women should hide their figures, but one look at these women and their beautiful curves and I knew that way of thinking had to be wrong. Why hide the very things that makes us women? That makes us beautiful.

  It had me wondering what Finn might have thought when he’d seen all of me that morning. Did he think my naked figure was beautiful?

  As beautiful as I thought his was?

  “I come from a conservative family,” I said, using the same simple explanation I’d given Josh.

  “You all go back to work and mind your own damned business,” Critter chimed in. The girls scattered like roaches under a light.

  I considered what the other girls were wearing. “I’m sorry. Should I be wearing something else?” I glanced down at my skirt. “I forgot to ask about the dress code.”

&nb
sp; Critter held up his hand and cut me off. “If that’s what you want to wear, then that’s what you should wear.” He shrugged. “It’s really as simple as that. No dress code around here except just, you know…wear some damned clothes.”

  “It’s not what I want to wear,” I admitted, glancing back over to Kayla who had a tray of glasses raised above her head. She walked from table to table with confidence and a smile.

  “Then I recommend heading to Bebe’s. She’ll take care of you.” Critter tapped out some numbers on an ancient calculator under the even more ancient looking register and jotted some notes down in a receipt book.

  “Josh said the same thing.”

  “And that girl knows her clothes. Despite the police uniform and that look in her eye like she’s about to cut you,” Critter joked.

  He went back to the kitchen and put Kayla in charge of showing me the ropes. She was patient with me while I tried to grasp the concept.

  I hadn’t eaten out much in my life, never mind waited tables, but toward the middle of the day I was finally catching on and knew the abbreviation for most everything on the menu and how to write them down on the order slip.

  “So where are you staying, Sawyer?” Maya asked. She threw me a rag and I followed her lead, wiping down tables and refilling the ketchup and mustard bottles. We were in the middle of shifting gears between the lunch and dinner crowd.

  “Off Orange Grove Blvd. If you ever want to come by, just look for the old shack in the middle of nowhere. I’m the camper across the way under about three feet of mud,” I said.

  “Mud is our town mascot,” Kayla chimed in, grabbing a broom and sweeping up around the bar, sliding the stools in and out, the feet making a horrible scraping noise against the concrete floor.

  “So I hear.”

  “Have you gotten a chance to meet anyone else in town?” Maya asked, spraying the front window with glass cleaner and wiping it down with a big coffee filter. “Less streaks than paper towels,” she explained when she saw me staring.