I laid back in my truck. I had my legs hanging out the open window. My head rested on my arms behind my head as I watched the cloudless sky from my sunroof. The birds chatted away. They were used to me being here at this point. I came here when I needed to get away from the small town drama. I pulled my legs into the cab and sat up. I was on a lookout that was hidden among the forest. You could almost see the whole town from here. This lookout is my own personal sanctuary. No one else dared to come up here because this is Old Man Milton's property. The grouchy asshole chased everyone away except me. I still hadn't figured out why he likes me but it's been 15 years so it must have been a good reason. Belleville had been my home since I could remember. I tried to get away once. I went to college and got my Bachelor's degree in criminal justice. I was a couple years into being a police officer when I got a call from Judie. She let me know that Old Man Milton fell off his tractor causing him to acquire a compound fracture in his leg, and he wouldn't allow her to take care of him so she asked if I could come back. Right after that phone call, I came back to Belleville. Milton was mad to say the least that I had come back for him, but I promised him I would apply for the police station here. It only took a month for them to put me in charge and make me the Chief of Belleville Police Station which didn't really make that big of a difference since there are only three officers including me in this town. Jack, the town jackass drunk, thought it was hilarious that they appointed a woman as Chief, but that quickly died as soon as he tried to take a swing at me and his face ended up smashed in the dirt. I smirked a little at the memory. His friends still give him hell for that. Jack and I were best friends up until I left for college. We were inseparable; where ever one went the other would be close behind. We both always had a muscular frame so we would get into tons of fights together. I have a suspicion that he's still a little mad that I had left him behind. I laid my head against the window sill just as a breeze started through the trees. My long black hair covered my face. I closed my eyes and started gently spitting trying to get the damn hair out of my mouth. I huffed when it wouldn't settle back down. I grabbed the hair tie I kept on my shifter. I quickly gathered up my hair into a messy top bun and went back to leaning on the door. I closed my eyes for a moment then sighed. Straightening up, I put my hand on the key in the ignition. I took the e-brake off. Pushing the clutch and brake, I threw my truck into reverse and backed out of the lookout. Once my tires hit the dirt road that lead back to the house, I hit the clutch and brake again to put the truck in first. I plugged my IPhone into my radio and cranked up the music before going back down the winding road through the trees.
Once Milton's house came into view, I started to slow down. There's a fence at the edge of the forest that marks the beginning of the horse and cow pasture leading to the house. As I neared the house, Elsie, my German Shepard, came running out to meet me. I laughed watching her jump around with her tongue hanging out. I slowed to a stop next to Milton's red pickup. Elsie patiently waited for me to step out of my truck. I smiled at her and patted her head.
"How's my beautiful girl?" I cooed. I scratched behind her ears for a moment. As I reached the bottom step to the house, Milton came out of his house. "Hey Milton!" I glanced at his casted left leg. Milton shifted on his crutches giving me a sour look.
"I fucking hate these rods," Milton growled, looking at the crutches with hatred filled eyes.
I laughed. "Hey just think Milton! One more month and you can get off those crutches!" Milton glared at me. He would much rather prefer for Mother Nature to take her course and choose whether or not to let him live than use the crutches. It took me a good 2 weeks to convince him that he had to use them if he wanted to heal. Elsie ran up the steps and sat next to Milton.
Milton smiles slightly at Elsie and turned back to me. "Cara, when do ya plan on going back to the big city?" I frowned at him.
"I wasn't planning on going back for a while." I explained. I walked up the steps and walked around Milton to go into the house.
"Cara. Cara! Wait. God damn pieces of shit," Milton cursed as he tried to maneuver the crutches to come after me. "Cara, you need to go back. I don't want to be the one to keep you here. Damn it Cara stop!"
I sighed pausing in the living room. Milton caught up to me and sat heavily on one of the couches. "Sit your ass down."
I shook my head, but moved to where I was sitting in an armchair next to Milton. I looked up at his face. I could see hurt, anger, and guilt flashing across it. I looked down at my lap.
"Cara," Milton started. "I want you to live your life. You have so much potential, and I don't want to be the reason you throw it away." I could feel Milton's eyes burning a hole through the top of my head.
I took a deep breath and looked into his eyes again. "Milton, first of all never blame yourself. You are the only person I consider family and you know that. If I have to stop everything and come down here again, I would in a heart beat. I will always be there for you, just like I know you would be there for me. Hell, you were there for me while I was growing up. Milton, you were the only one to report my father when I was 10 because he was beating me senseless. No one else could stand up to him like that. When CPS came and got me, you were the one to adopt me. You hate kids, but you still took me in. You are the best dad I could ever ask for. I realize I have potential. You are the one that made me realize that. I got a job at the police station here. It's not like I'm sitting around on my ass." I paused to let Milton process what I told him. Milton's eyes were filled with water that he was clearly struggling to not let fall. I moved out of the armchair and sat next to Milton. I threw my arms around his neck. Milton pulled me to him and hugged me back.
"Alright enough of this sissy shit," Milton grumbled. I laughed and pulled back from his arms. Despite not wanting to be affectionate, Milton was grinning from ear to ear. I shook my head and stood.
"Stay right there. I have something to show you," I told him. I ran back to my room and grabbed the letter that was sitting on my desk in the corner of the room. I walked back to Milton, who raised his grey eyebrow at me. I handed him the letter and stepped back. Milton slowly opened the letter and read it over. His eyes snapped back up to mine.
"What is this?" He asked.
"Waterbrough needs some help with their police station. They think they might have a informant in the station giving the dealers info. They asked me to work with them for a bit to get everything under control." I explained. Waterbrough is a big town that's about an hour away from Belleville. Milton looked back down at the letter then back at me. He grinned, handing the letter back.
"I'm so proud of you," he stated. I smiled at him and nodded my head. "We need to celebrate! It's Saturday! Let's go to the pub!"
I shook my head. "I don't think that's a good idea Milton."
Milton frowned at me. "Listen here," he stood up from the couch leaning heavily on his crutches. "Besides to go to work, I haven't seen you step foot outside this house."
"I drove to my lookout," I grumbled. I didn't want to hang out with the town folk as much as possible. I didn't need them to get into my life.
Milton followed up with a threat, "So help me, Carabella, if you don't go to the pub with me, I will call Frank, make him take me to the pub, and we will get so rowdy that the owner will be forced to call you to give us a drunk and disorderly." I sighed. I knew I wouldn't win this argument. "Oh and wear something nice!"
I rolled my eyes as I walked to my room. Elsie was on my heels. I stopped in front of my closet and looked at my options. Stripping, I picked out a matching red bra and thong set. I decided to throw on some black wash skinny jeans and a red tank top that hugged my breasts. I tucked the tank top into my skinny jeans. Pulling out some red converse and socks, I walked over to my vanity and sat on the chair. I slipped my socks and shoes on then looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was still in the half-ass bun. I pulled my curling iron out of the bottom drawer of my vanity and plugged it in. While I waited for it to heat up, I put on some light makeup. I let my hair down and brushed it out. I put all of it except two thick strands in the front framing my face into a high ponytail. I curled the two strands in the front and nodded at myself in the mirror. I turned off the iron and left it on my vanity to cool. I studied myself in the mirror for a moment before I grabbed my favorite necklace and clasped it on. It was a locket with a photo of Milton, Elsie, and me in it. I used to have another photo inside but it was taken out years ago. I grabbed my debit card and driver's license off the dresser by my door and shoved them into my front pocket. As I opened my door, I could hear Milton talking to someone in the living room.
I walked into Milton speaking about how proud he was of me to Judie. As soon as Judie saw me, she pounced and gave me a tight hug. "Honey I'm so proud of you! I just knew you would do amazing things!" Judie all but screamed in my ear.
I struggled not to pull away from her. I'm not big on physical contact with people I don't trust, which I'm sure I picked up from Milton. Judie finally let me go once she realized I wasn't going to hug her back. I was confused as to why she was even here. I sent Milton a questioning look. He beamed at me.
"Cara, we are going to have an amazing night! Judie is going to be our DD so you and I can let loose!" Of course Milton would think of every excuse I could throw at him. There's no way I was going to be able to get out of this celebration.
"Let me go get my phone," I sighed. I jogged out to my truck, grabbed my phone and met Judie and Milton at the steps. I shoved my phone in the back pocket of my jeans. Milton was in the middle of arguing with Judie about not needing help down the stairs. I slid up next to his left side and looped his arm around my shoulders. I took most of his weight as I helped him down the three steps. Milton took up his crutches as soon as we reached the bottom. He made his way over to Judie's SUV that was parked next to my car. I once again slid up next to him to help him into the vehicle.
"You look beautiful," Milton whispered to me so that Judie couldn't eavesdrop. I smiled widely at him and shut his door. I hopped into the back just as Judie got into the driver's seat.
It took us about 15 minutes to get to Sam's Bar and Grill. Nerves churned in my belly. I've been back in town for almost two months, but I haven't talked to anyone outside those I've had to converse with so this will be interesting to say the least. I jumped out of the car as soon as it stopped and walked to the passenger front door to help Milton out. Getting out was a bit more difficult than getting in. I supported all his weight making sure he came down on his leg lightly. As soon as he touched the ground, Milton pulled his crutches out of the truck and took off inside with Judie trailing behind him. I stood outside for a moment breathing deeply, looking around the busy parking lot. I looked at the dark outside corner of the bar. Memories flashed in my mind. Heated kisses, hands running through hair, electric blue eyes, blonde hair as soft as silk. I shook my head. Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I walked up to the bar and went inside. The noise died as soon as I walked in. I glanced around and squared my shoulders. Game time, I thought to myself. A few quick strides put me right next to Milton and Frank who were standing at the bar. Frank turned to me and smiled brightly. "Great job Cara!" He congratulated me. I nodded and smiled at him.
Milton completely ignored the dead silence in the bar and clapped once the bartender, Bailey, came over. "Right then! I'm going to buy the first round for myself and these two. We are here to get Cara wasted! I want a Coors. Frank wants a Coors light. Disgusting." Bailey laughed. "Then Carabella would like two shots of tequila. Oh and a round of tequila shots for all of us as well!" Bailey raised her eyebrows at me. I shrugged.
"You heard the man," I laughed. Bailey smiled at me and got our drinks in record time. She set the three tequila shots in front of me and gave me a wink. Before we could start picking up our drinks, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I tensed and turned around. Jack stood right behind me with a Bud light in his hand. The other hand gripped the back of his neck as he looked down.
"I'm sorry Cara." Jack apologized. My eyebrows shot up. I never would have expected that Jack Dunn would apologize for something. I turned back around and smiled at Bailey.
"Can I get two shots of Bazooka Joe?" I asked Bailey. Bailey smirked and got to work on making the shots. I turned back around to Jack to see a complete look of surprise on his face.
"You remembered?" He asked. I nodded with a smile. Jack grinned and tackled me into a hug. "Bella! I can't believe you remember our drink!" I laughed shoving him off me. Jack is a complete asshole, but he had been my best friend for years. We completed each other.
"Of course I did! How could I not?" I questioned. I heard Bailey set the shots down behind me. I turned and picked them up. "To friendship JJ." Jack took his shot. We threw them back and slammed them back on the bar.
"Bella, you should come hang out with us," Jack told me, jerking his head toward the pool tables. I nodded and smiled at him.
"Let me go take my shots with Milton first then I will be over," I told him. The noise in the bar returned. Grabbing my shots, I walked over to Milton and Frank who were sitting at a table. I smiled at them. We took our shot together then I finished off my other two. I started feeling the effects of the drinks. I felt happy and like I didn't have a care in the world. I went over to Jack's pool table and watched them play.
A couple hours passed and quite a few drinks when the bar went quiet for the second time that night. I laughed lightly. "Uh oh JJ is it someone else you were being an asshole to?" I giggled. Jack laughed loudly slinging an arm around my shoulders.
"You know Bella you were right about my drinking. It's gotten worse," he sighed. I frowned and shook my head. I was going to give some words of encouragement but I was cut off.
"Cara?" A light voice rang through the bar. My head snapped to the door. My alcohol buzz was instantly ruined. My eyes met electric blue ones. I turned back to Jack, who was wearing a scowl.
"What is she doing here," I tried to whisper but I'm pretty sure it came out louder because the woman at the door answered.
"I heard you were in town. I wanted to talk to you. I thought you might since it's been what? 6 years?" She told me. She stepped farther into the bar.
"No one wants you here, Madison," I heard Milton tell the woman from across the bar. "You do realize that most, if not all, of these people in this room are Cara's friends." Heads nodded in agreement. I turned to look at her again.
Jack stepped up beside me glaring at Madison, but Madison's eyes were on me the whole time. I dropped my eyes from Madison's face and studied the hardwood floor. Jack stepped in front of me and growled, "Madison, you need to leave Belleville. You aren't welcome here."
"Stop Jack," I whispered, but it was loud enough for Jack to step back. I took a deep breath and stepped closer to Madison, looking her in the eyes. "What the fuck do you want? Came here to ruin my life again?"
Madison's eyes blinked slowly. She shifted her gaze around the room, seeing all the people that were glaring at her.
"Can we talk outside?" She asked, refocusing on me. I thought for a moment. I was pissed when memories flashed across my mind once more. Running blonde hair through my hands, electric blue eyes filled with laughter, soft lips on my own.
I narrowed my eyes at her. "No, I don't think that would be a good idea. I've had a few drinks and I would prefer to properly be able to tell you to fuck off," I told her. Her eyes widened slightly. She ran a hand through her blonde hair and sighed.
"Cara it's important. I know you hate me, but this isn't about me," she pleaded. I shook my head. I wish I could hate you, I thought to myself.
"If it's so important, then you can wait until tomorrow afternoon when I'm on duty." I told her. "I'm leaving now so don't worry about having to run off somewhere else." I set the beer in my hand on a table next to the pool tables before walking over to the bar to pay my bill. Jack was next to me the whole time glaring at her. Jack paid his bill too and leaned down next to my face.
"I'll walk you home. One of the guys can help Milton even if he's kicking and screaming." Jack muttered to me. I smiled lightly and nodded. Milton's house was only about a 30 minute walk from the bar. Jack quickly went and told the guys about the plan as I stared harshly at the bar top. A body slid next to mine.
"You don't have to leave. I can," she mumbled. Her face flashed with pain and guilt. My eyes trailed over her features. Her full lips were pulled into a deep frown. Her eyes were trained on the bar top. From here, I could see the flecks of green that hid in the blue. My eyes travelled down her neck. Her skin was perfect and tanned from hours of being in the sun. She wore a black choker around her neck. My eyes trailed down more to her full breasts that were barely covered under the black top she was wearing.
"Like what you see?" My eyes snapped back up to hers. Madison was smirking now as she dragged her eyes down my body. I sucked in my breath and stepped back. I turned around and hurried out of the bar.
As I was walking out of the door, I called out to Bailey, "I can pick up my card tomorrow Bails!" I caught a glimpse of Bailey glaring at Madison and Jack moving to the door to follow me. I felt like I could finally breathe when the cool night air hit me.
I stepped away from the door and slid down the wall. The door opened and a body fell next to mine. Jack put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his chest. My eyes prickled with unshed tears. We sat that way for a couple minutes before I pushed off Jack and looked at him. "Can I stay at your house tonight?" I asked him. Jack smiled and nodded his head.
"You know you never have to ask Bella," he told me. Jack stood up and held out his hand for me. I took it and stood next to him. While Milton's house was about a 30 minute walk from the bar, Jack's was only 6 minutes. As we walked to Jack's house, I could help but think about Madison. Why did she come back? She made it clear all those years ago that she didn't want anything to do with this town.
MADISONS POV
I watched Cara walk out of the bar. The cool air hit me like a whip when the door closed. I shouldn't have said anything but seeing her eyes roam my body, made me hot and I couldn't resist. I turned back around to face Bailey who was scowling at me. A frown pulled at the corner of my mouth. Anger flashed through me. Even though Cara wasn't mine anymore, I still hated to watch Bailey try and throw herself at Cara. I smiled sweetly at Bailey and asked, "do you have a room open for the night?" Bailey glared at me as she pulled a room key out from behind the bar.
"You'll be gone soon enough," Bailey smirked. "I hope you know that you can't just walk out of Cara's life and waltz right back in. She has different priorities now that she's a Chief police officer. It makes her sexy as hell if you ask me." Bailey fluttered her eyes at me. I ground my teeth and snatched the key from her hand. I had always known that Bailey had a crush on Cara but I also knew that Cara never even looked twice at her. I glanced over Bailey's figure. She had large boobs and abs, but no ass at all. I smirked at that. I knew for a fact that Cara liked her women to be curvy. She had a thing for butts. Most of all though, her type was smarts. Cara loved a woman with a brain and lord did I have that and more. Bailey didn't; I swear the woman wasn't better than a box of rocks.
I stepped slightly away from the bar to say what I was going to next. "You and I both know Bailey that you could never get Carabella into bed. You just aren't her type, so after you get done trying to get into her pants, send her to someone that will actually peak her interest." Bailey looked at me seething and confused. I smirked and winked at her, "I'll leave my door unlocked for her." At that Bailey's mouth gaped open, I strode out of the bar making sure to swing my hips. Once I stepped outside, I sighed and looked at my feet. None of this had gone as I hoped. I started walking to my silver Audi but stopped halfway there to look at the secluded corner of the bar. Memories took me back 6 years ago.
I leaned against the dark wall while Cara towered above me. Her 5'11" frame shrank my 5'4" one, but I loved it. Cara trailed her hand up my leg to my hip. I groaned as she squeezed. My head fell against the wall as she put her other hand into my hair. Her raven black hair fanned across her shoulders. She pulled me flush against her body as she trailed kisses up my neck. Heat pooled in my core as she nibbled and sucked the soft spot on my neck. My legs felt weak but I knew she wouldn't let me go. I gasped when she pulled my hair to bring my mouth to hers. Her lips were so soft against mine. I moaned against her lips as I deepened the kiss. Cara moved the hand on my hip up to my breast. She massaged it through my crop top. I almost started begging her to just take it off. I had already found out how talented she was with her mouth from the three years of us dating. Cara pulled back and looked me in the eyes. I could see the hunger and passion in her emerald green eyes as she studied me. A smirk took over her face as she leaned closer to my lips.
"Please," I whispered as I tried to move my lips to hers. I gasped as I felt a hand around my neck as I was pushed up against the wall. Cara tilted my head and brought her lips to my ear.
"Are you going to be a good girl?" A shiver shot down my spine hearing those words in my ear.
I snapped back to the present, finding that I was still staring at the corner. Tears prickled my eyes at the memory. I got into my Audi and drove it around the back of the property to where four cabins sat. I looked at the key in my hand and saw that it had a 3 on it. I parked my car by the third cabin and got out. I pulled two suitcases out of the back and struggled carrying them up the stairs. Once I got inside, I instantly pulled out my laptop and other electronics I had to bring with me. The cabin was small like a hotel room. I set up my laptop on the desk that was in the room.
As soon as I was setting up the programs on my laptop, a call sounded on my phone. I picked up my phone and looked at the caller ID. I groaned in frustration as I saw who it was. I answered and snapped, "what do you want?"
"Hey now that's no way to answer your big brother is it?" the voice on the line drawled. I ground my teeth together.
"What. Do. You. Want." I growled. I hated when my brother called. He was in some deep shit. Burley was a mafia boss. One of the most deadly I might add.
