Wild Ride Page 14

  “I didn’t think he was still involved with them… I mean when would he possibly have time?” she asked.

  “He wasn’t actively involved but those punks seem to think once a person’s in, they’re in for life… divorce is not an option,” Dickie explained.

  “He never told me they were giving him a hard time. In fact he never mentioned the gang at all. I knew he was affiliated based on the tattoo on his neck but it just didn’t register I guess. Today was the first time I really saw his situation for what it is… what it’s like for him,” she said.

  “I mean he’s Chuck and he’s kind of a wild man but he’s fun, dependable, and talented. That’s what I normally see when I look at him. Today I saw someone fighting to live… not sickness or injury… but fighting for a better life. In the same moment I saw him willing to give his own life for mine and my mother’s. Why would he do that?” she cried.

  “The same reason you’re calling me night after night at well past midnight. He loves you and you love him. Where ya’ll go from here I can’t answer… that’s more of a Gran question,” he replied.

  He loved her? Oh she loved him… more and more with every look, every phone call, every touch, every sketch, every laugh and every breath. But could he possibly love her right back?

  “I can hear the wheels turning up there in that pretty little head of yours but you should get some sleep. He’s fine… now sleep,” Dickie finished and then disconnected the call.

  She’d always been close to her father and losing him hurt much worse than losing her foot. Gretchen hit the nail on the head with that one. Though talking to Dickie was in no way like the conversations she’d had with her dad, something about him was equally as comforting and she found herself finally drifting off to sleep.

  Chuck finally fell asleep around four in the morning only to get up some five hours later so he could go by the bank and then to the shop to finish up the final coat on one of the paint jobs he needed to have done before they left for New York. He had two other jobs he needed to finish no later than Thursday.

  He had to laugh a little bit… if Judge Patterson decided to lock him up he wouldn’t be painting anything… let alone worrying about deadlines. No painting and no Meredith.

  He worked for half a day and then headed home to shower and change before heading to Judge Patterson’s office downtown. His stomach was in knots… he’d gotten beaten in a couple of the foster homes he’d been in and remembered the taste of childhood fear well. This was worse.

  After parking and making his way inside he knocked on the door.

  “Enter, Mr. Reynolds,” Judge Patterson said.

  He entered the man’s office and closed the door behind him and immediately his eyes were drawn to the painting of Meredith’s grandmother on the wall behind the judge’s desk. Judge Patterson was turned around in his chair looking at the painting.

  “Meredith favors her a lot,” Judge Patterson said. Then after staring at the painting a few seconds more he added, “Have a seat.”

  Chuck sat down in a chair facing the judge’s desk and looked at the old man.

  “Tell me everything,” the judge said. “Starting with why those men came after my family.”

  Sighing loudly, he knew it was time he told the whole story and though Judge Patterson was a hard ass, he deserved the truth.

  “When I was thirteen I was placed in this foster home with a bunch of younger kids. I was the oldest and was labeled as ‘unruly’ which meant the state paid the foster parents more money for me. The man and his wife didn’t give shit one about me or any of the other kids for that matter… even the really little ones,” he started.

  “The man used to drink pretty heavily and would often sell the food vouchers for cash to fund his addiction. I started sneaking some of them from the wife’s purse and keeping them for those times when the food ran out along with the vouchers,” he continued.

  “One night he found my stash of vouchers and accused me of stealing and knocked me around a bit. I took off and JC Combs found me sleeping under a bridge,” he finished, eyeing the judge.

  “Go on,” Judge Patterson prompted.

  “JC hooked me up with a place to crash, food and money of my own in exchange for running dope for him and other odd jobs. When I turned fourteen I hit a growth spurt and grew like six inches in no time and bulked up as well,” he continued the story.

  “JC decided that since I was bigger than him at that point and no longer looked like a young kid it was time I earned my keep. He started having me jack cars and then moved on to robbing places. Once I’d proven my skill with picking locks and covering my ass, he moved me up to the harder jobs. The mini mart job you sentenced me for… was my first big job,” he finished nervously.

  The Judge didn’t look any too happy but he had wanted to know… and sometimes it was best to start the story at the beginning.

  “When I got out of Juvy I wanted to make a clean break so I took off in the opposite direction from those guys. One night a bad storm hit and I broke into Dickie’s shed to get out of the rain,” he said.

  “He caught me and gave me two choices… work off my crime or he’d turn me in. I spent the next week at Bobby Jackson’s shop working for Dickie and every night he fed me and let me crash on his couch,” he continued upon seeing the judge’s raised eyebrow.

  “At the end of the week Bobby offered me a part time job at the shop and invited me to a party at his house. His grandmother, Edna, pretty much took it from there,” he said with a smile reserved solely for Gran.

  “Then when I got on full time at the shop I got my own apartment… in south side… and almost as soon as I moved in, here come JC. I managed to blow him off for years until a rival moved into my complex and started taking pot shots at me a few months ago. I got a weapon from JC and after that whole mess went down at the shop with Lilly and it got confiscated… he came around looking for payment,” he finished, looking expectantly at the judge.

  “I see,” Judge Patterson said, leaning forward. “However, I also remember asking you where you got that weapon when you came before the court on that probation violation. Why didn’t you tell me all this then?”

  “I still lived in south side then… diming out JC would have been as effective a death sentence as if I walked out of the courthouse and wandered straight in front of a speeding bus,” he replied indignantly.

  The judge looked thoughtful for a minute and then said, “So you didn’t pay JC the money you owed him and he came after my family? Why? Help me to understand, Mr. Reynolds… is there something I’m missing?”

  “I think JC had been following me for a while. When you want to put the pressure on someone, you go after the stuff that person cares about. He was waiting inside my new apartment the other night when I came home and when I couldn’t pay up… his boys gave me a little incentive. They didn’t kill me because JC knew that all he had to do was threaten to hurt the Johnsons and I’d cave… come back and be his bitch again,” he said, disgusted with how easily JC had played him.

  If not for Dickie… JC would have gotten what he wanted. He would have died before allowing Meredith or Carla to be hurt or killed. JC knew that and had obviously come prepared to negotiate the terms of his reinstatement into the gang.

  It should bother him that he was so relieved over someone’s death but he was… God forgive him because he was not only relieved but happy about it. JC was the closest thing to hate he’d ever known.

  “You’re telling me that you’ve come to care enough for my family in the month you’ve known them that you would have gone back into the gang to keep them safe?” the judge asked.

  “Yea… I’d do anything to keep them safe. You might not want me anywhere near them now and they may never want to see me again for that matter, and I get that… but I love her… them,” he corrected.

  “I’m not real sure why you would let someone like me anywhere near your family in the first place… I mean they are like a real family
. I wasn’t very happy when I first found out about the community service thing, but now I… I just wanted to say thanks,” he replied with unshed tears burning his eyes and throat.

  After collecting himself he said, “I spent more time with them than I did in some of my foster homes. So, yea, JC managed to find one of the few things I care enough about and, yea, I would have gone back.”

  “Well, now that JC is out of the picture, are you planning to step in and fill his shoes?” Judge Patterson asked.

  “Hell no! Are you fucking crazy? This is my chance to finally be free of them,” he shouted standing up and shaking his head in disbelief. “I know you don’t expect anything less from a loser like me but that is the dumbest and last thing on earth I would do,” he finished a little quieter but with no less passion.

  Judge Patterson stared at him for several seconds before saying, “I just wanted to be sure. Do you have swimming trunks as well as a suit and tie, Mr. Reynolds?”

  Absurd confusion set in and Chuck sat back down in the chair and after a few seconds said, “What?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  He was trying not to stare at Judge Patterson out of the corner of his eye but his attempts were an epic failure. He was riding in Judge Patterson’s car, in the nicest clothes he owned complete with a tie, heading toward Meredith’s house.

  He wore his swim trunks under his pants and was still a little fuzzy on how he went from waiting for the judge to pass down his sentence and demand he stay as far from his family as possible, to heading to the Johnson’s cookout.

  When he’d finally answered the judge and told him that he had swim trunks but no suit and the nicest clothes he owned were the ones he’d worn to Bobby and Lilly’s wedding.

  The old man had surprised him by saying, “Head on home and change into that then. I’m going to lock up here and let the night watch officer know I am leaving. I’ll pick you up in less than an hour.”

  “Where are we going?” he’d asked in confusion.

  “To a cookout at the Johnson’s whom you profess to care so much about. There will be lots of suits and ties and also some very judgmental people there. I’d like to see you prove that you would do anything for my family,” Judge Patterson had responded.

  Now here he sat feeling way under dressed and they weren’t even at the party yet. He couldn’t wrap his head around the judge wanting him to go to a party full of rich people. The judge sat stone faced in the driver’s seat and didn’t appear to be worried about Chuck embarrassing him or his family.

  “Don’t worry, Judge… I’ll be on my best behavior,” he said in an effort to convince himself.

  “Just be yourself, Mr. Reynolds,” the judge replied without looking at him.

  After a few more minutes of silence he said, “Why do you call me Mr. Reynolds instead of Chuck?”

  “It’s a sign of respect. Until you give me permission to address you as Chuck, I will address you formally as Mr. Reynolds,” he replied.

  The Judge respected him? He again found himself staring and had to force himself to face forward again. “You can call me Chuck… that’s fine.”

  “Outside of the courtroom you may call me Nathan,” the judge said in return.

  “Well, Nathan, I’m not sure what exactly you expect me to do but I’ll do my very best at whatever it is” he said, rolling his eyes as he stared out the side window.

  This was like the game where you stuck your hand in a bag and tried to guess an item based on feeling it. It was unknown and felt weird.

  He felt a small band of sweat break out on his forehead when they pulled up outside of Meredith’s house and he got a load of all the high dollar wheels parked out front and in the driveway. Yep, rich people… lots and lots of rich people.

  He got out of the car and could hear the sounds of talking and laughter and splashing come from the back of the house.

  “Shall we go around to the back?” Nathan asked.

  Chuck followed him around to the back of the house where a large lawn tent was set up along with several four seat tables spread out around the shelter. Inside the tent appeared to be a buffet with a bar off to one side.

  Lights were strung all around both the inside and outside of the tent and several Tiki-Torches were scattered throughout the yard. The deck and pool lights were all on as well, providing a warm glow to the yard.

  He briefly scanned the yard for a sign of Meredith. He spotted her and Carla across the lawn just as a nice looking guy in a suit wrapped Meredith in a warm embrace. A couple around the same age as Carla stood next to the guy. The man’s posture showed clear interest in Meredith and he felt his temperature rising.

  “Chuck!” he heard Ben shout from the opposite direction.

  The little guy was so loud that it caused nearly the entire party to stop talking at once and turn to stare at the commotion. Upon seeing him there a near hush fell over the crowd. Meredith gave him a look he couldn’t read because in the next second Ben had plowed into his side with his best tackle yet.

  He fell over into the grass and Ben piled on top of him.

  “I sacked you… I sacked you,” Ben sang as he stood back up. Then he stopped and began to dance around like a chicken.

  He heard Matt laugh and looked over to see a huge grin spread across the boy’s face and expectation in his eyes. It had only been three days since he’d seen them but it felt like a year.

  “Nice hit, boy!” he yelled holding up his fist. Ben squealed with laughter and then bumped his fist.

  “Your brother’s got a mean hit… help me up, man,” he said to Matt.

  Matt came over and held out his hand. He stood up and brushed off his pants.

  “Will you go swimming with us, Chuck? Mom says we have to have adult supervision to be in the pool,” Matt said.

  Looking over to the pool he could see several young adults near his own age watching his every move.

  “Go get your swim trunks on while I say hi to your mom and then I’ll get in with you,” he said. A few of the people in the pool looked at each other as though unsure whether they should stay in or get out. He wasn’t diseased… just poor.

  Ben and Matt took off toward the house at a run with another little boy following close behind. Chuck turned back to where Meredith and Carla stood. Carla was looking at her feet and Meredith was looking at him.

  “Lead the way, Chuck,” Nathan said from beside him.

  He was here! Her heart felt like it might possibly beat right out of her chest. He looked so hot! He wasn’t really dressed for the party but wow… he wore black jeans with a white button up shirt which he’d left un-tucked and a tie. She had missed just being able to look at him. He was fine… that’s all there was to it… fine.

  His gaze locked with hers and the closer he walked toward her the more heat she could see in his eyes… and feel. She stepped a few paces toward him and away from Carla, Josh, and his parents.

  He approached, paused in front of her and leaning down he said, “Up for a swim, princess? You look like you need a little cooling off. God knows I do.” His eyes raked over her and her body actually responded just to his gaze.

  Then he moved past her to where her mother stood and stopped.

  “Anything I can do to help, Carla?” he asked.

  “Umm… no, Chuck… everything is being taken care of by the caterers,” she said looking first at him and then at the couple next to her. “Chuck, I’d like you to meet Steven and Nancy DeHart and their son Josh. This is Chuck Reynolds.”

  Josh simply stared at Chuck. His parents held out their hands first and the discomfort or dislike they felt for him was written all over their faces. She wanted to shout at them that Chuck was a good person, funny, talented and demand them not to judge him.

  Chuck shook hands with Josh’s parents, said hello and then eyed Josh before turning back to her.

  “Well then… how about that swim?” he asked. Was he serious? She couldn’t swim in front of these people… they would see
her foot… or lack thereof.

  “I don’t think so, Chuck,” she said quietly, looking around at those who stood nearby watching them.

  “Why not?” he asked.

  Awkward silence filled the yard for about a full minute as people’s gazes looked anywhere but at her.

  She finally glared up at him “Why do you think?” she hissed through her teeth.

  “Are you worried about all the ladies, and maybe even some of the guys, scoping out my smokin’ hot body?” he said, looking pointedly at Josh and then back to her.

  “Chuck…” she warned trying to stop any more wildly inappropriate words from escaping his sexy mouth.

  “You know it’s pretty… it’s like a piece of art… meant to be shared. Don’t be jealous now, babe,” he said with a sexy grin.

  Carla giggled and then tried to cover it up with a cough. Looking over toward her mother she could see that her eyes were so full of humor that they appeared glassy as she tried to contain her mirth.

  A giggle escaped her as well and before she was able to contain it they were both laughing as were a couple of other ladies standing nearby.

  “Yea, Meredith… art is meant to be shared,” her friend Ashley yelled from near the pool.

  Ashley and her two other friends, Caitlyn and Sara, laughed and began making cat calls at Chuck. Glancing over at them she could see genuine interest in their eyes.

  Before she could respond to them, Chuck began to bump and grind her as he unbuttoned his shirt from the bottom up.

  “Fine…” she began, hoping he would stop making a scene. Much like the first time she’d slept with him, he had no shame. He continued to dance and unbutton his shirt. Her friends laughed, whistled and clapped for him. As if he needed encouragement.

  “Stop, Chuck… please, I’ll go swimming,” she offered and then leaning closer she whispered, “You’re so going to pay for this later.”

  “Make me pay for it now, princess… I dare you,” he whispered back.

  He had already become the life of the party as many of her mother’s friends and all of hers looked on with interest, clapping out a beat for him. He was wild… untamed and could not be controlled. Or could he?