That Which Lurks, Page 4

  #

  Dad died in his sleep two nights later, and Josh hoped he'd taken much comfort from their visits until then. He felt heavy with sadness, of course, but not as much perhaps as if he'd been totally unprepared. He'd been steeling himself for months, after all. Nonetheless he found himself crying one time while he used the bathroom. Even though he hadn't believed Hunter's accusations of rape, he'd let them pull him further apart from his father too. He wished he'd spent more time with Dad in the last years they had left, but the awkwardness around the situation had led him to avoid many contacts.

  They got through the funeral, agreed on dividing their meager inheritance and prepared to leave town. Josh promised himself he would stay in better touch with Hunter after this. Before they went, Josh, who had been sampling Dad's aged liquors, got an idea. "Why don't we go out drinking here one last time? It's not often you get a chance to enjoy Nelson's local brews."

  "We might run into Rex's gang," she said.

  "We can handle them."

  "Well sure we can. Risk getting in trouble though."

  "It's just one night. Live dangerously, bro."

  She rolled her eyes. "Sure... sis."

  As they drove to Barney's Steak and Ale, Josh sobered some and wondered if they should turn back. His sister had been imprisoned for a year for the incident there, and that after the judge was lenient. Barney had always insisted it wasn't her fault. But Josh wondered. Couldn't a woman sometimes lead a man on too much? And at the height of her rebellion... he knew Hunter hadn't intended for the results. Yet had she not acted rather irresponsible?

  They arrived at Barney's and ordered the famous steak and ale pitcher combo. "Good to see you again after all these years, Joshua," Barney said. "And you, Hunter. Still looking beautiful."

  She gave a bashful grin. "I never apologized for the mess I caused before. Sorry about all that."

  "It's no problem. That boy was asking for trouble, got what he deserved in my book."

  Brother and sister sat watching the college football game while enjoying their food. Josh thought they could have a good time. But after drinking half the pitcher, Hunter began rambling about unhappy things again.

  "Why do you keep wanting me to forgive Dad? It was him who took a year of life from me."

  "No it wasn't," Josh said firmly. "Even if you're 'traumatized,' you're responsible for your actions."

  "Maybe so." She laughed, a crazy laugh. "But if he hadn't done what he did, do you think I would have killed that young man?"

  The two of them had many brawls with Rex Sloan and his friends in their youth, to the point of almost becoming a friendly rivalry if violent. But after her self-transformation, Hunter had met one of Rex's gang alone right here at Barney's and tested out her seductress' wiles on him. After teasing, she'd blown the simple brute off. When she left the bar, he'd tried to rape her.

  She'd killed him, and served a year for involuntary manslaughter. She probably hadn't meant to end his life, but a high heel through the eye proved pretty fatal. Her nickname around town was still Hell on Heels.

  "What supposedly happened to you isn't a reason to act like you did," Josh said. "That was your choice, your decision, and you deserved to be punished for it."

  "I guess a year isn't much for killing a man. I do feel a little sorry for his family, not that they did much of a job raising a would-be rapist. But still, you have to wonder if Dad didn't-"

  Josh put his foot down. "You don't have any proof he did."

  Hunter stood up. "Oh yeah, says who? My first boyfriend told me I wasn't a virgin. I didn't know what to make of that until I remembered."

  "Who knows if that's the reason for that. You were always so active, you could've torn or punctured it by accident."

  Before she could respond, they were interrupted by a smooth, harsh voice. "Well well well, so you are here. Thought that might be your car out front. Couldn't resist returning to the scene of the crime eh?"

  "Get out of here, Rex," Barney warned the tall, lean denim-jacketed Doberman of a man standing at the door with five of his friends.

  "Relax, we're not going to kill her like she did my boy Tom. We're just going to beat her so ugly, no man will ever want her again."

  Josh scowled. "Nobody touches my sister. Besides, you'll go to jail."

  "Oh yeah? No one here will testify for you. We'll just say the murderer picked a fight with us again. Barney, if you dare speak on their behalf you won't have a home or bar."

  The burly barkeep lowered his gaze and walked to the back. "Barney, you coward!" Hunter cried.

  "No, he's right," Josh said. "A man has to protect his livelihood. We'll just handle this ourselves."

  "Get 'em!" Rex snapped.

  The fight was on. Rex's boys charged them, two at Josh, three at Hunter herself. Josh threw a chair at one man, who blocked but stopped to do so, sidestepped a punch from the other who reached him first and hit him over the head with a mug that shattered. He followed up with an uppercut that dropped the man to his knees. Before he could finish him off, the first man hit him with the very chair he had thrown. Knocked dazed to his back, Josh watched him slowly raise the chair over his head. He grabbed a nearby table leg and yanked the table over so that its edge blocked the chair blow. Josh kicked the man's knee, causing him to fall and bust his teeth on the table corner. He rolled to a crouch and knocked out the moaning fighter with an elbow.

  Rex's other friend had recovered and kicked Josh in the head. He clutched his skull and fell back, grimacing with pain. The man tried to stomp him. He barely caught his foot—the bottom of a boot still making slight contact with his face—and twisted, breaking the ankle. His opponent screamed, grabbed his ankle and tried to hop away, then fell awkwardly and curled up in a fetal ball.

  Josh pulled himself to his feet with the aid of the bar and looked around for Hunter. Two of Rex's men who'd engaged her were strewn unconscious on the floor, but Big Bill, the largest of the gang in giant overalls, had knocked her down and punched her repeatedly as she lay against the bar. Josh strode over and hit him with an overhand sucker punch to his bearded jaw. Big Bill turned with fire in his eyes. Then Hunter popped up and kicked him in the back of the head, rendering him an insensate mass tumbling towards the hardwood.

  "Why'd you do that for?" Hunter asked. "I was handling him."

  "Sure. But only I get to beat up my sister."

  Rex was still by the door, a bewildered look on his face. He should've known what would happen if he didn't bother to participate, but righteous anger must have inflated his gang's chances in his mind. "You are such a coward, Rex!" Hunter taunted as they walked by him to the car. In truth, in the past Rex would have been eager to go fist to fist with them himself. But apparently even a hard man like him could freeze when confronted with an actual known killer, and Josh wondered if his confusion might not in fact be at his inability to act in aid of his friends. His sister didn't deserve such fear, though, not in his eyes.

  "I'm sorry about what I said back there," she said when they got in the car. "I know how much you love Dad. I won't bring it up again."

  "It's okay. I forgive you." But secretly Josh felt dismayed that after all, she still held the animosity that could not even be broken by death.

  "That fight was kind of fun, wasn't it?" Hunter said upon arriving back at the house. "We did have a lot of good times in this town. Remember when we painted Mr. Brown's car pink and he couldn't recognize it?"

  Josh grinned as he opened the door. "Or what about the time I barred the lunchroom doors so you and Stacy Huggins could have your big brawl? Toughest girl in school after you, I was shocked how many knees to the face she took and didn't give up."

  "I heard she models for romance novel covers now, kinda unexpected huh. But how about when we blew up the goal post? We were so terrified after it, but that shit was hilarious. Seeing that big thing lying across the field... surreal."
>
  He shook his head. "Dad spent a lot of money getting us out of that one."

  Hunter was briefly silent. "We should've made tater tots while we were here. We used to eat those things every day after school."

  "We'll do that tomorrow morning before we leave. It's late, we should go to bed."

  "Yeah... tater tots tomorrow!"

  They brushed their teeth, showered and went to sleep.