Breaking point, p.8
Breaking Point, page 8
“I don’t think you’ll find one witness to vouch for you in here. But there are dozens who will testify that you harass the women,” Collette said as she hurried toward the door, opening it for Sarge to push Joe through unimpeded. “Do you want to take that to court?”
Collette followed Sarge outside into the parking lot. The sun was well on its way toward the horizon, and dusk was settling over the town. The bright orange ball hung low in the sky, blinding Collette’s gaze to the west. She trained her attention on Joe as Sarge gave him a shove before releasing his wrist.
Joe stumbled forward, righted himself and turned, a sneer curling his lip up on one side. “I don’t need this stinking shithole anyway. The food isn’t good enough to feed to my dog, and the drinks are watered down.”
Sarge crossed his arms over his chest. “Leave, Joe, or I’ll have the police remove you from my property.”
Now that he was free of Sarge’s hold on his arm, Joe puffed out his chest and stared down at the retired Sergeant Major. “I’ll go when I’m good and ready.”
Sarge stepped forward, his hands clenched into fists. “You’ll go now.”
“Just leave, Joe.” Collette stood beside Sarge. “You’ve caused enough trouble for the night.”
“You’re the one who started it,” Joe said jabbing his finger at her. “If you hadn’t taken offense to a little lighthearted teasing, we wouldn’t be standing in the parking lot.”
“How would you like it if someone grabbed your crotch when all you wanted to do was your job?” Collette demanded.
“I didn’t grab your crotch,” Joe shouted. “I touched your ass like a friend would do. I thought you were my friend.”
“Well, you’re not. And you didn’t ask my permission to touch me. I didn’t like it, and I told you not to do it again. And you did it again.”
Joe lunged for her.
Collette backed up so fast, she tripped over the sidewalk curb and fell on her ass.
Joe was almost on her when he was jerked backward and was thrown to the ground.
John Sanders towered over the downed man. “Get in your car and get the hell out of here. Now.” His words were spoken in a quiet yet firm tone. John’s brow dipped low on his forehead, and he stood with his fists bunched and his legs braced for a fight.
Collette’s heart swelled as she scrambled to her feet. The man was every bit the “Tank” his friends called him. In his current mode, he was a gladiator ready to pummel his opponent into the ground.
Joe didn’t stand a chance against the big guy, and he knew it. He crab-walked backward until he was out of swinging range of those big fists. “You haven’t seen the last of me,” Joe called out as he hurried toward his two-door, older model truck. He climbed in, started the engine and spun gravel as he gunned the accelerator, shooting him out of the parking lot and onto the street.
Red stepped up to Sarge. “I called the cops and told them the make and model of his truck. They should be here any minute.”
Sirens sounded nearby as two Killeen police cars whipped into the parking lot.
“He just left.” Sarge pointed to the disappearing taillights. “White, two-door truck.” He gave them the license plate number and stood back as the officers sped after Joe.
Not much further down the street, Joe had stopped at a red light. The police were on him, pulling him over.
“They’ll get him for driving under the influence,” Red said.
“Will the courts come back against the Salty Dog Saloon?”
Sarge shook his head. “I’ll testify we stopped serving him booze after his third beer.” Sarge clapped his hands together and turned back to the entrance of the saloon. A crowd of customers had gathered. “Show’s over. How does a drink on the house sound?” A cheer went up, and the patrons pushed through the door, eager to get their free drinks.
“I’m sorry I brought you all this trouble,” Collette said to Sarge.
“No,” he touched her shoulder, “I’m sorry I didn’t kick his sorry ass out sooner. But you did prove one thing…”
“And what was that?”
“You can handle a tough customer.” Sarge grinned. “I didn’t know you had a badass streak inside you. You sure you weren’t a marine or something?”
Collette shook her head. “No, but Hope and I took self-defense lessons that were offered at the YMCA. I’m glad we did; they came in handy.”
“I could stand a few of those lessons myself,” Sarge said. “Come on, Red’s going to have her hands full filling drink orders. I need to help her behind the bar.”
“And I need to serve those drinks.” Collette fell in step behind Sarge, moving slower so that John could catch up with her. “Thank you,” she said.
“For what?”
“For coming to my rescue, once again.”
“I didn’t do much. You and Sarge had everything under control.”
Collette laughed. “Hardly. Joe just couldn’t see that he was doing anything wrong.”
“Well hopefully, the cops will convince him.”
She nodded. “Kind of leaves me feeling crappy. I don’t want Sarge to lose money by losing a customer.”
“He doesn’t need customers like that. If he’s been harassing the staff, he needed to learn a lesson. And you ladies need to be protected.”
“Anyway, thank you,” she said and entered the building. Then a thought occurred to her, and she spun toward John. “Is Hope all right? Are you here to tell me something’s wrong at home?”
John shook his head. “Hope’s fine. I made sure she went into the trailer and locked the door. She and I ate sandwiches for dinner at my outdoor camp table.”
Collette smiled. “She texted me for permission. Which I appreciated. How did dinner go?”
John tilted his head to one side. “Interesting. Hope is one smart young lady. I believe she has a future in counseling or law. She’s very convincing and passionate about her beliefs.”
Collet’s brow wrinkled. “Oh, dear. Did she try to give you all the advice? Sometimes, I think she’s the mom and I’m the kid. The girl researches psychology and politics for light reading. She knows what buttons to push and how to form an argument you can’t dispute.”
John chuckled. “I noticed.” He followed her through the tables to the bar.
Collette collected a tray full of drinks and hefted it up onto her shoulder. “What did she say?” she was almost afraid to ask. Her daughter had an over-inflated sense of responsibility for anyone who stepped into her sphere of influence. “Did she try to advise you on how to live your life?”
“A little. Only where it concerns you,” he said.
With her hands full of drinks to be delivered, Collette couldn’t hang around and drill John for answers to the million and one questions she had roiling around in her mind. What had Hope talked with him about? Her daughter had a protective streak a mile wide. She mothered Collette almost as much as Collette mothered her.
When she circled back around to the bar where John had been standing. He wasn’t there. Then she noticed a group of men who’d taken a table in the far corner. John was among them. She recognized Red’s guy, Blade, and vaguely recalled a couple of the others.
Red joined them briefly while Sarge manned the bar. There were several women among the men, each standing with a particular man. They all looked like friends, even the women,
Collette sighed, collected empty bottles and mugs from a table and hurried to the bar.
Sarge tipped his head toward the group of Deltas. “You should go hang out with them.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you,” he said. “You’re young. You know Tank and Red. You’d fit right in.”
“I’m here to work. I don’t get tips if I don’t deliver what the customers want.”
“Are you in a bind?” Sarge’s bushy eyebrows dipped, forming a V over his nose. “I can loan you some money to tide you over.”
“Not unless you can tide me over for the next year and a half.” She shook her head. “We’re okay. I’m sure there will be enough money in tips to keep us going.” She hoped. Her checking account was down to small change, and she’d already dipped into her savings twice that month. She had to make it last for their rent. Hope had helped her design a budget. It would only work if they followed it to the letter. Tip money was the wild card. Some days were better than others. The good days allowed them to purchase meats and fresh vegetables. Bad days, she just put the money aside and waited until her next shift to go out and buy more food.
Her gaze went to the group laughing and hugging a couple. They seemed to be congratulating them. The woman held up a ring on her left hand. Either they’d just gotten engaged or they had married.
Another sigh escaped her lips. A year and a half never seemed too long before. Why now?
Because she wanted to be with John. She wanted to know the other men on his team. The men he worked with on a daily basis. The ones who had his back in battle. The man was lucky. He had a brotherhood of friends surrounding him.
For the first time in a long time, Collette envied someone else. What would it be like to have a group of friends who had your back and would die for you, if it came right down to it? Her life with Hope was full and happy. She had no reason to envy anyone.
Yet, in the back of her mind, she knew why she was feeling that way. About the time she finished her training, Hope would be graduating high school and leaving home to go to college.
Collette would be well and truly alone.
Her gaze went to John.
He was looking her way, a slight frown puckering his brow. He mouthed the words, Are you all right?
She nodded, heat rising up her neck and filling her cheeks. Did the man read minds? Or was she too obvious with her emotions. She’d been told her expressions were very telling. Collette forced her face to smooth and expressionless when she next glanced toward John.
His frown had deepened. He left his friends and crossed the room to stand in front of her. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. Of course.” Collette dodged around him and hurried toward an empty table littered with mugs, bottles and whiskey glasses. Without looking up, she hurried through the motions of clearing the table.
“Are you afraid of me?” John whispered.
Her head jerked up. “No. Not at all. I trust you.” She laughed. “I don’t know you that well, yet somehow, I trust you.”
“I’d never hurt you,” he assured her.
Not intentionally, maybe. Collette had a feeling he’d hurt her eventually. Either she would be too busy to make the effort, or he’d decide to stick to his plan and remain attachment-free until he retired in four years. Collette wasn’t convinced she wanted the emotional strain of the hurt that was sure to come. Not when she needed to channel all her energy into school and making passing grades. Everything she did was for her daughter.
As she studied John, she wished, just once, that she could do something for herself.
And what would she do? Or who? A thrill of excitement rippled through her as she relived the dream she’d started the day with. She’d gone a long time without making love with a strong, virile man. Battery operated boyfriends didn’t count, nor were they as emotionally satisfying. Then again, they weren’t emotionally draining.
She sighed and kept serving. The tips were good that night. The customers must have felt sorry for how Joe had treated her. They’d tipped heavily for a weeknight. And thank goodness. She’d be able to buy some of the groceries they needed so desperately, and she’d show John she wasn’t a charity case.
During the workweek, the bar closed a few minutes after ten. Collette’s feet hurt as she stacked chairs on the tables and swept the floor. Sarge followed behind her, mopping up the stickiness of spilled drinks.
By the time they were done, Collette was so tired she could have crawled into her car and slept there. Much as the idea appealed to her exhausted body, she had a daughter at home.
The group of Deltas had left sometime after nine-forty-five. John must have left with them. She hadn’t seen him since.
Collette couldn’t help being a little disappointed that he hadn’t at least tried to say goodbye. Then again, he wasn’t her boyfriend, fiancé or spouse. She had no hold on the man and no right to be disappointed.
Yet she was.
“Go home, Collette,” Red said. “We’ll finish up what little is left.”
“You heard her,” Sarge seconded. “You can’t fall asleep in class. You’re supposed to be teacher’s pet.”
“She doesn’t have pets,” Collette murmured. “But since you insist, I’ll go home. I’d like to see my daughter before she goes to sleep.”
“See you Friday?” Sarge asked.
“I’ll be here unless something big comes up.” She laughed. “Who am I kidding? Nothing big comes up in my life.”
“Never say never,” Red warned. “Or is it never say nothing?” She shrugged and went back to work washing mugs and wine glasses. “Whatever.”
Collette collected her purse from beneath the counter, found her keys and walked out of the building.
It took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. She stood for a moment until they did, and then set out for her car where she’d parked it under one of the bright lights. As she neared it, a shadow detached itself from the side of a pickup. She caught the movement out of the corner of her eye. Her pulse leaped and she stopped in her tracks, unsure of whether she should run back to the bar or dive into her car. She spun, ready to race back to the bar where there were others to protect her.
She moved.
The shadow moved faster.
Chapter 7
Collette’s pulse pounded so hard it banged against her eardrums, so loudly she couldn’t ear herself think. She had to make it back to the bar before whoever it was caught up to her. She took off at a run.
Footsteps sounded behind her.
She ran faster.
“Collette,” a familiar voice called out. “It’s me…John.”
Collette staggered to a stop, breathing hard, afraid she’d heard wrong. When she turned to face the man following her, she realized she’d been running for nothing.
John closed the distance between them, and the light shined down on his rugged face.
Collette pressed a hand over her pounding heart. “You scared me.”
“Do you always walk out here alone at night?”
“No,” she said, dragging in a shaky breath. “I usually wait for Red or Sarge. But they let me go early so I could get home to see Hope before she goes to sleep.” She fumbled with her keys and moved toward the dilapidated car she’d been driving since she’d left home with a small baby to care for. “Why are you still here?” she asked. “I thought you’d left when your friends did.”
“I was worried Joe might show up and stir up more trouble.” He waited for her to open the car door and slip inside. “Do you mind if I follow you home?”
She laughed. “Why would I mind? You live next to me.” Collette twisted the key in the ignition. The engine turned over slowly and died. “Not now,” she whispered. She switched off the ignition then tried again. This time nothing happened. She checked the gauges, and then noticed the interior light wasn’t shining down on her. “Well, crap.” Collette pushed open the door and got out.
“Problem?” John asked.
“I think I have a dead battery.”
“Any idea how old it is?” John asked.
“I replaced it back before Hope started high school. Maybe three or four years.”
“The Texas heat can be hard on batteries. I’ve got jumper cables. Let’s see if the battery just needs to be charged.”
Collette crossed her fingers. It seemed like every time she got a little money, something big came up and she had to spend it on that, instead of food. She couldn’t get around without her car. If she needed a battery, her tip money would have to go toward that. Hopefully, it just needed to be charged. Maybe she’d left a light on somewhere and had inadvertently drained the battery.
Within a few short minutes, John had his truck parked beside her car and the cables connected to each vehicle’s batteries.
“Crank it,” John called out from where he stood in front of her car.
She turned the key. Though sluggish, the engine turned over and the car started.
Collette heaved a sigh. At least the engine was still performing. The big question was would there be enough of a charge in the morning to start it? She couldn’t be late to class. The instructor had no patience for students who were tardy or missed a day.
“You go ahead. I’ll follow in case the engine dies on the way.” John coiled the cables and stowed them behind the back seat in his truck.
Collette backed out of the parking space and headed home, praying the battery was charging and wouldn’t be a problem in the morning. She hated that every time she turned around, John had to bail her out of trouble. She’d handled her life just fine on her own, up until now.
The headlights behind her gave her too much of a sense of comfort. She could get used to having a backup.
With a sigh, she pulled into her parking space beside her trailer. A light shone from her daughter’s bedroom window. Good. Hope was still awake. Her day was never complete until she spoke to her daughter before she went to sleep. The night she couldn’t continue that ritual would come all too soon when Hope went off to college. Until then, Collette made it a priority to at least hug her only child and say goodnight.
She parked her car, afraid to turn it off.
John drove around the back of her trailer and parked his truck. He returned on foot and stood beside her vehicle when she switched off the key. “Try starting it now,” he said.
Collette held her breath and turned the key. The engine started right up. She let out a relieved breath, turned it off again, got out and locked the door behind her. When she turned to John, she smiled up at him. “Once again, I find myself beholden to you. How can I repay you?”
“You don’t have to. That’s what friends do.”
He stood close enough to her that she could raise her hand and touch his chest. Collette’s hand was halfway up before she realized that was exactly what she’d been about to do. She let herself continue and laid her fingers on his chest. “Does that mean we’re friends now?”
