The General Store: Where Innocence Goes to Die Read online

  The light from Robyn’s room brightened the yellowing, dry grass in her yard, but going there didn’t feel like an option. I never knew where I stood with her and spilling the beans about Jayson’s tryst, certainly wasn’t going to earn me any brownie points. Stepping out of the air-conditioned car into the afternoon sun caused goose bumps to prickle down my legs. I tugged my shorts into place and locked the car.

  “Where’ve you been?” Tyler’s voice startled me as he made his way across the street. “I went by the store and Tom said he let you go early.”

  “I went for a drive,” I said, crossing my arms over my canary yellow baby-doll tee.

  “I heard Mommy and Daddy are out of town this weekend,” he said, tugging at my hand until I entwined my fingers with his.

  “How did you…”

  “Tom filled me in,” he cut me off with a crooked grin. “Said your dad asked him to check in on you.”

  “I think I can handle it,” I said, waving to the nosy lady who watched us from her rocker. “I’ve stayed by myself before.”

  Tilting his head to one side, he pulled me close enough to plant a dry kiss on my forehead. “Cute girl like you definitely needs someone looking out for her, but Tom is a busy man,” he said, his voice lowering as he tilted my chin up to meet his lips for a quick peck. “Don’t worry. I told him I’d do it.”

  The keys on his belt loop dug into my side as he slung his arm across my shoulder. “Why don’t you lock up here and grab some clothes. We’re all headed to the cabin for the weekend.”

  Snaps from my last trip to the cabin flashed behind my eyes. Kissing Tyler with his hands all over me. Drinking liquid fire. I shivered at the thought of going back. But then there were other memories, too. The earthy smell of leather. The way Liam’s eyes blazed when he was angry. Maybe I could be smarter this time. Keep my eyes open and avoid being alone with Tyler. After all, it’s not like we would be there alone.

  “Who is we?” I asked, hoping Tyler didn’t read too much into the question.

  “I’ll be there,” Tyler kissed my cheek. “Does anyone else matter?” His voice was calm on the surface, but I could tell a loaded question when I heard one.

  I hated that I was using him, but despite everything, I wanted to see Liam again. Besides, he was using me too, and I had no intentions of giving him what he wanted so there was no reason to spoil his fun yet. But I had to play it cool and be smarter. If I were going to be around Robyn and her friends, I needed to think like her. Do what she would do.

  Twisting on my heel, I chewed on my lip and pretended to debate. “Come on, Tyler, I don’t want to spend my weekend with my boss.” Tyler noted the change in my voice. He was like an animal sensing an easy kill. He reached out and took my hand to still me.

  “Tom rarely makes an appearance,” he said, leaning against my car and lighting a cigarette. “Robyn, John and Liam are already there.” He took a long drag and blew it straight up into the dry evening air. “Jayson and Alec are staying back to tie up a couple of loose ends for me. Then, they’ll be headed that way.”

  “What are the sleeping arrangements?” I asked coyly, but my mind was already made up. Liam was there and Tonya wasn’t. That was all I needed to hear.

  Tyler smiled playfully around the burning cigarette and grabbed my waist. “Don’t worry. I’ve already called dibs on the master. The others can crash on the floor in the living room.” The excitement in his eyes was hard to miss and I immediately regretted asking. He leaned in for a long kiss, gauging my eyes. “That’s cool with you, right? You seemed into it last night before what’s his face showed up.”

  If by “into it” he meant completely clueless to what he had in mind, then yeah, I had been into it. It seemed so obvious in the light of day. What had I expected when he started taking his shirt off and locking the door? I couldn’t let things get that far again. I had to do something now, before I found myself locked in the master suite of the cabin with him. It wasn’t like Mason would be there to interrupt this time.

  “I broke things off with Mason last night,” I started, kicking a piece of loose gravel into the road. Tyler was barely listening, watching the pink petals from our dogwoods carry away with the white smoke from his mouth. “Yeah, we’ve been together a long time,” I added solemnly. Still nothing. I was just going to have to say it straight.

  “Would you hate me if I wanted to slow down?” That got his attention, an argument already forming in his eyes. “At least give me some time to process everything,” I added quickly before he could say anything.

  Tyler’s brows arched as if the mere thought of having to get over Mason was preposterous. I could only imagine the words going through his head, “You have me. I’ll help you get over him.” To my great surprise, he didn’t say them. “No, I get it,” he said instead. “I don’t really see what there is to get over,” he huffed under his breath, stuffing his hands in his pockets, “but I’m cool with that. We can hang with everyone else.

  “Run and grab a bag,” he said, stomping out the cigarette-butt in my drive. “I’m going to fuel up.” He glanced over at my house, no doubt already calculating his next move. “I’ll meet you outside in ten.”

  ***

  The air was heavy with the sweet scent of barbeque before we made it to the dirt drive that wrapped the side of the cabin. My stomach growled as I stretched back on my hands to take in the beautiful shade trees branching out overhead. The cabin was a welcoming sight despite past events. There was smoke coming from the deck above the parked bikes, giving the appearance of an empty house. I was surprised and a little disappointed not to see the grill lit when I climbed the deck steps. The aroma was delicious, and I hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

  “Where’s the smoke coming from?”

  “Smoker,” Liam’s voice answered.

  I spun around to find him wiping his hands on a dishtowel as he stepped from the noisy kitchen. Most of the guys were inside.

  “I’m starved, Man,” Tyler said, slapping Liam on the back in a move that would’ve sent me to the ground.

  Liam barely noticed, sticking the dishtowel into the back pocket of his black jeans. Taking in his matching black t-shirt and boots, I couldn’t help but wonder if he had a Johnny Cash fixation.

  “I’m bringing it in now,” Liam said, reaching above my head to hold the screen door open as I followed Tyler. “Robyn’s got everything ready to go inside.”

  “Is Tonya coming,” I asked Tyler as casually as I could manage, stepping in behind him.

  “Not this time,” he said, turning around to catch my eye. “Why do you ask?”

  “I didn’t know if this was like a couples’ thing,” I shrugged.

  A sly grin curved his mouth. “Nah, but we can make it a couples’ thing whenever you’re ready,” he said, his eyes greedily running over my legs. “Just say the word.” I suddenly wished I’d worn jeans, too.

  Robyn looked as surprised to see me as always, and I couldn’t help the small amount of pleasure I got from showing I didn’t need her approval to be there.

  “Are you staying the whole weekend,” she asked, sipping from one of those large, oddly shaped glasses you find at beach bars.

  I nodded and handed my bag to a practically beaming Tyler as he disappeared through the house. Everything looked the same as I remembered. I wondered if Robyn cleaned, or if Mr. Smith had a maid come in. I couldn’t imagine his wife cleaning up liquor bottles and changing sheets soiled with other people’s bodily fluids.

  I started when Liam knocked on the door behind me, a sizzling roast in his hand. Robyn all but shoved me out of the way to open the door. No matter. Liam’s eyes didn’t move from mine as he set the roast on the counter, and they were livid. Taking a step back, I bumped right into Robyn, nearly sending us both to the floor. “Sorry,” I muttered. She rolled her eyes and went to help Liam with the roasting pan.

  Taking the potholder from his hand, she maneuvered the pan closer to the electric knife he was prepping.
She stood so close to him their hips touched. They looked much more like a couple than he and Tonya. Robyn’s dark hair cascaded down her back, complimenting Liam’s. It was nearly the same midnight shade.

  “What did you tell your parents?” Robyn asked, fishing out a butcher knife and handing it to Liam when the electric knife failed to come on. “I want to be prepared with the right story when Wally knocks on the door tonight.”

  “It’s Mason,” I corrected. “But you don’t need to worry about that. My parents are away for the weekend, so that won’t be a problem. Besides, I broke up with Mason last night,” I said, watching Liam’s tight shoulders rise and fall. “The search party is off.”

  “It’s about time you took my advice,” Robyn said, a genuine smile lighting her face. “How’d he take it?” she asked, pulling out a chair from the table and gesturing for me to sit.

  “Better than I imagined,” I admitted, a tad giddy at the thought of girl talk with Robyn. “It still feels weird. We’ve been together forever.”

  “Teen angst,” Robyn sighed dramatically, drawing her hand to her forehead. “I miss high school.”

  Liam hadn’t taken his eyes off the job at hand. The sun coming through the back windows put him in an ominous spotlight. That, combined with the head-to-toe black and muscles working under his shirt as he moved the knife, created the perfect scene for a horror movie. One would half expect to see him hacking into someone instead of carving our supper. Watching him spread roast onto the silver serving platter was comical, but I had to admit the result was impressive. My dad always butchered the turkey at Thanksgiving.

  “So, you and Ty,” Robyn smiled, drumming her nails on the table. “I knew you two would work.” She leaned in close, the sweet smell of strawberries and alcohol hitting me in the face. “He was talking you up to the guys earlier. Did you know he drove all the way back to the store on the chance he’d be able to get you up here?” Hearing that didn’t sit well in my stomach. Tyler didn’t seem like the snuggle type. I doubted he was eager to get me here to watch a movie and cuddle.

  “You do think he’s hot, right?” she asked, brushing her long hair off her shoulder.

  Liam glanced over his shoulder for a split second causing my cheeks to warm. Robyn’s green eyes brightened, misreading my reaction as an answer to her question.

  “Yep, Tyler’s playing his A-game,” she said, her chair scrapping across the wooden floor as she rejoined Liam. “And she’s just naïve enough to buy it,” she muttered, elbowing Liam.

  Leaving me at the table, in total shock of what to say, Robyn grabbed the barbeque sauce from the fridge and took the food from Liam. I started to argue but thought better of it. As much as I looked down on the giggling girls at school who let the jocks use them like party-favors after games on Friday nights, I could pretend to be one for the weekend.

  Robyn pulled two large packages of hamburger buns from above the refrigerator, twisting her long hair into a bun and using a potato chip clip to secure it before assembling the plates. The sun was low enough in the sky to see past the deck off the back. White wispy clouds swirled above the bending branches of the swaying trees. John and Alec were taking turns hacking into a large oak that had fallen near the grass line.

  “Why are they cutting down trees?”

  “Bonfire,” Liam called from the living room.

  “That’s a lot of wood for one fire,” I said, finding him on the couch.

  “Not the way we do it,” he said, a slight smile curving his lips.

  Catching my eye, he nodded to the cushion next to him. I couldn’t help but wonder if I was taking Tonya’s seat only because she wasn’t here.

  I chewed nervously on my lip, glancing down the empty hall for Tyler. As much as I wanted to be closer to Liam, sitting next to him felt like driving eighty in a school zone.

  “Where are your parents?” he asked, seemingly unaffected by my presence.

  “Visiting my Dad’s mom,” I said, easing past his knees. “My grandmother.”

  “And you’re spending the weekend with Tyler instead?” he asked as I sat down.

  “He promised we could keep things casual, a group thing,” I explained, curling one leg beneath me.

  Liam rolled his eyes and sank back against the couch with an agitated sigh.

  It was one thing for Robyn to look at me as if I didn’t have a thought in my head; I wouldn’t have Liam doing it, too. “I’m not stupid,” I pointed out. “Despite what you guys think. I know what Tyler’s thinking, but I’ve got it under control this time.”

  The front door opened, sending the receipts on the coffee table flying across the room. Tyler went straight for the kitchen, barely giving me a second glance.

  I froze, my breath catching when Liam’s large hand touched me. “As long as you know what you’re doing,” he said, giving my knee a pat. My skin burned where he’d touched. It was a friendly gesture, nothing more than a platonic touch like I’d get from Anna, but my body heated. My pulse raced like I was about to give a speech in front of class.

  “I just want to have a good time,” I said when he stood. “Just one weekend where I don’t have to answer to anyone.” He gave me the same disparaging look I’d gotten from Robyn and walked back into the kitchen.

  I fell back against the stiff cushion, my shoulders relaxing almost painfully from the tension. “Besides, you’re here,” I said sarcastically under my breath. “How could I possibly get into trouble?”

  “I’m off duty this weekend,” he called over his shoulder.

  ***

  We didn’t sit together and eat as we had the burgers. Everyone came and went as they pleased. It reminded me of the school cafeteria. John and Alec retreated to the deck, leaving Robyn, Jayson and Liam at the small kitchen table. Tyler sat on the counter already on his second plate. Besides a half smile when I grabbed an empty plate, he didn’t speak to me. It was a relief to know he was respecting my boundaries.

  I ate in the living room, preferring to be by myself rather than face Jayson and Robyn together. I was still fighting the urge to spill the beans about Tonya. It felt like I was betraying some girl code by not telling her. If there was such a thing.

  After finishing most of my sandwich, I stuck the plate in the sink and headed out front where I’d seen Robyn walk by the window. The air was a sticky hot that usually meant rain, but the sky looked clear as it darkened into night. Robyn wasn’t on the porch, so I rounded the back of the house, taking a peek in the smoker that still gave off the sweet aroma of hickory. Past the patio, hovered an ominous looking cloud that smothered out the last of a crimson-orange sunset. It billowed close to where I remembered the makeshift shooting range. It was there I found Robyn, sitting on an overturned five-gallon bucket, watching John and Tyler split wood. It surprised me that John’s gut hung over his pants a little; the other guys were so fit. Not that it made him any less attractive. He looked cuter, cuddly, a perfect complement to the teddy bear grin on his baby face. I sat down on the dry grass next to Robyn and watched the competition. Tyler’s bare chest glistened behind the flames of the roaring fire. He was winning.

  “Why are we having a fire? It’s like a hundred degrees out here.”

  Robyn took a swig from the liquor bottle between her feet. “What do you suggest, they dig a pool?”

  I scooted further back away from the heat and hugged my knees to my chest. “How long have they been at it?”

  “Only about ten minutes,” she said, passing me the bottle. “My money’s on John.”

  “No way,” I said, watching the sweat bead off John’s forehead. “Tyler’s got this.”

  Tyler’s woodpile was twice John’s size.

  “Ah, yes,” she grinned, “but it isn’t how much they can chop, it’s how long they can go.” She leaned closer to me, nearly falling off the bucket. “And Tyler isn’t known for his staying power.”

  “Good to know,” I laughed along with her. “Have you and Tyler…”

  “Ages ago
,” she said, bumping me with her shoulder. “Back in high school. Way before he became Top Dog.”

  “Top Dog?” I smirked.

  “Top Dog. Top Gun,” she laughed, “whatever you want to call him.

  I’d never seen her so boisterous and carefree, so drunk. It had to be the liquor, but it was a welcome change. I took another long swig, the amber liquid not burning as bad the second time, hoping to join in her good mood.

  “What do you think of John?” she asked, failing at a whisper, her hair breaking free from the clip.

  John was really cute. He looked younger than the other guys with one of those faces that could get him out of trouble, even caught red-handed.

  “He’s okay,” I said, unsure of what she was getting at. I didn’t trust her after the Tyler set up. “He’s no Jayson.”

  Jayson had more of a rugged look, threatening. His size alone turned heads. Liam had the same dangerous edge, but where Jayson’s eyes would cut you to pieces, Liam’s would hold you captive. John was the opposite. Despite his size, there was nothing intimidating about him, not on the surface. I had a feeling another side lurked behind his dimpled smile, or he wouldn’t be part of their group.

  “Jayson is fine,” she agreed, “but he took off again and won’t be back until tomorrow.”

  I elbowed her leg, causing her to lose balance and fall to the ground. She grabbed my arm and took me down with her. We laid there laughing and watching the stars peek through the smoke. The alcohol was starting to get to me, and I liked it. It felt good…numbing, snuffing out the boredom that was my life.

  “Damn it!” Tyler growled, slinging the ax so hard it stuck in the tree trunk.

  “Slow and steady,” John grinned, his stomach shaking with laughter as he slapped Tyler on the back.

  Tyler growled at John and sauntered over to me. “What’s so funny over here,” he said, throwing more wood on the blazing fire. The leaves on the trees were already glowing orange in the wind around us.