Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Hazel watched over Amy while she dealt with the police and anyone else who had had a part in the shooting. Beth Parkerson had been shot seventeen times by police when she'd pointed her gun at the officers who were telling her to drop her weapon. Jamie hadn't come home to deal with the fallout but had been calling his sister hourly for updates. Amy had told him that she had this, and it didn't look like Roger was going to come back from his honeymoon for her either.

Because of Jamie's upcoming reelection campaign, he was distancing himself from the scandal as much as he could. He would have to own up to it sooner rather than later, but the details would be slightly different than the true ones. He'd never mention that his mother had wanted to be his lover. Hazel thought that was a brilliant idea.

They all had an idea, without being psychologists, that Beth had been having sex with her uncles and brothers since she was a child, and it had affected her mind. So much so that she thought that it was the most natural thing in the world for her to want to be with her son the same way. Something like that had long-range problems, and Bethy didn't get the help that she might have needed in time.

"Are you sure you don't mind being here with me? I love the company, but this isn't something that I would wish on my worst enemy." Hazel told her that she was glad to help her. "I am, too. Even just knowing you're right here with me makes me feel like it's less like a nightmare and more like something that I have to deal with. I think that I had it in my head that I was going to have to do this sooner rather than later, but I never dreamed that she'd be shot full of holes because she wanted someone to get her to my brother."

"Jayden said that he'd not known that she'd killed anyone when she first called him. He seems to think that she thought she was talking to Dallas and not his brother." Amy said that was good, too. Sparing Dallas of her shit. "Yes, well, they had all the cops there in about five minutes. That's pretty fast if you ask me."

"They all knew who she was. Jamie and I both were afraid that she'd get special treatment because of who she was to him. I'm happy that nothing kept them from doing their jobs. I wonder what would have happened had she got beyond the gates." Hazel didn't want to think about it either but was glad that Amy was taking it so well. "The body farm finally got around to calling me back—I was told that the secretary has been off with the flu. Anyway, they're happy to come and retrieve her body to use there. It will all be done under the cover of darkness so that no one will have any idea what was done to her remains."

There were seven body farms around the United States. They were in different regions around the states because the study would be incomplete if they only had one setting when there are different climates to be had all over the country. It was a place where both students and scientists could go to have firsthand knowledge of how a body decomposes in different settings, such as climates and even ways that they might have died. They hadn't had someone in a while who had been killed by bullets, and so many of them, so she could understand why they were glad to be taking her off their hands. No one would know who she was out there, nor would they care once she began the process of breaking down.

After Amy told her that she was going to take a long bath and then a nap, Hazel made her way home. Her mom wasn't around a great deal as she'd been seeing Mr. Shawn or just Shawn he was now. The vampire was making her mom happier than she'd been in a very long time, and she was glad that they'd found each other. She was headed home then when her cell phone rang.

It was a zoo out in California that wanted Amy to come out and take some pictures for a calendar for them like they had for the one here. She must have picked up the wrong cell phone and decided to take care of it for Amy so she could rest. They had left her a message a few days ago, Amy told her, and she'd forgotten to call them back with all the shit going on. After answering and being told that the zoo wanted pictures, too, she nodded in agreement before answering. Amy had been telling her that she wanted to get out and take more pictures. Instead of bothering Amy, she'd pretend to be her. It would be fun.

"I can do that. I'll have to call you back to see when I have an opening. I'm assuming that you got the information to call me from my website?" The woman said that she'd gotten one of the calendars and had gotten her information from the internet. "Oh, that's good. I'll still have to call you back. I've been pretty busy, if you can imagine that. I know that I have a couple of shots out that way soon, but I don't know the exact dates."

"You think that I'm going to wait? Oh, you are so funny. No, you misunderstood what I wanted." She stopped walking when the woman sounded slightly pissed off. Why? She couldn't think of a single reason why but listened. If Amy had to deal with this shit all the time, no wonder she had to take a nap. "I said I want you to come out and take the pictures now. My daughter is getting married this weekend, and I won't have time to watch over you while we're on our honeymoon together. My husband and I are going to surprise them by showing up, too. Won't that be grand? Anyway, I need for you to get out here today, take the pictures today, and then leave me with them so that I can decide if we're going to hire you or not. See? I'm making things easier for you, don't you think?"

"Perhaps for you, but not me. And I don't work like that. If and when I take you on as a client—and it's looking like a big fat no to me, then the two of us will discuss the dates. It will take me more than a single day—certainly more than half a day by the time I were to get there to take enough pictures for a single calendar." She said she wanted all the animals' pictures taken. It was going to be a multi-shot calendar. "All right. But that definitely won't be done in a day. And you'll pay me upfront, or I don't do it. I like my way better."

By the time she was home, her head was splitting. She knew that it was because she wasn't getting much in the way of sleep. She and Jayden were making love all the time, it seemed, but she hadn't been eating well. There was too much going on around her for that to happen, either. Ms. Archer was still telling her the way she wanted things done when she put the phone on speaker and sat in her office with a large glass of tea. The sweetest kind that she could drink, too.

"You're really supposed to do what I want, young lady. I'm the client, and I make the rules. Someone should have taught you that a while ago. Here is what you're going to be doing. And I do not want to hear the word ‘no' from you. I'm trying my best to be tolerant with you but you're being very difficult to work with. What would your boss say if I were to simply tell you I've changed my mind and go with someone else? He'd be upset with you, no doubt. Think of this as my saving your ass from getting reamed by the man that pays you. Now, listen to me. I've—"

Hazel laughed, cutting the woman off again. Now, it was getting fun for her. "I work for no one but myself. Which means if I had taken you on as a client, I'm the only person that you would have been dealing with. And I think that my ass is just fine as I don't ream my ass when I turn people down that are rude bitches that thinks that the world is revolving around them. In the event you didn't get that reference, that would be you I'm talking about." She told her that she'd better be watching her tone, or she'd not be working for their zoo. "Good, because I don't want any miscommunications about the fact that I wouldn't work for you or that zoo even if you were the difference between me having a roof over my head or not. You're just not fucking worth it. You have a nice weekend. I know that I will."

When she closed the connection, she felt immensely better than before she took the call. Hopefully, Amy wouldn't be too pissed off with her about it, but she had a feeling that she'd think it was funny too. It was as if she had to purge the built-up stress of the last few days on someone or pop. She was thrilled that it had been that woman who thought that she should take the job and pay her. That wasn't said, of course but that was what it had felt like.

When her cell phone rang again, she looked to see who it was. Since the name came up with the same number and zoo name as before, she turned it right over to voice mail. Once she was alerted that she had a message, Hazel picked up her phone, turned it off, and put it—as gently as she could back on the desk so that she didn't throw it across the room. Sitting there, trying her best to get her shoulders down around her neck instead of up in her ears, she looked over to see Logan standing in the doorway.

The kid had come to their home last night. It had been too late for Cullen and him to have dinner with the family. He'd asked the two of them not to say anything to the family just yet. They were late because they'd been the witness to a fender bender and had to stay to fill out paperwork for the police. Logan was already asleep when he was brought into the house.

"I was wondering if you've heard from Cullen?" She said that she'd only just gotten home herself. "Oh. He said that he'd take me to get some sneakers. He told me that my shoes are too small."

She'd noticed that last night. That everything that the kid had on was either too big or too small. And about as holey as any pair of fishnet stockings that she'd seen in old movies. The shoes being a good example of the kid not having a great deal. She asked him if he wanted her to take him.

"I don't want to impose." She assured him that he wasn't, and she stood up. "Ms. Hazel, I can wait on your husband to take me. Or Cullen." She nearly snapped at him that she was a fit and strong woman when he spoke again. "I mean, he'd know what I need and how much to spend. I don't want to get you into trouble."

"You're not. I promise. How about I contact him and ask him if I can take you out. And the other things that you mentioned, all right?" He still looked unsure, but she stood up again and got her keys and cell phone. "We'll go to the mall. I don't know how much they'll have in there. I think it's about shutdown anyway. But they have a pretzel place that, if nothing else, we can enjoy a great snack before dinner."

His eyes widened, and the grin, even though it was only there for a few seconds, nearly lit up the room. It made her not want to call Cullen for fear of him turning her down on this adventure. She needed this as much as Logan needed new shoes.

In the end, they were on their way to the mall when she finally reached out to Cullen. He was working on some things with Jayden today and had completely forgotten the time. He told her that he would very much appreciate her taking Logan out. Hazel had him repeat his consent so that Logan could understand that they had his permission to do whatever was needed. She only hoped that they had as much fun as he wanted. Both of them, she thought, needed a good afternoon.

The mall wasn't that busy. It really was losing business hand over fist by not having the place full. Even the food court was barely filled with restaurants nowadays. However, there was a nice store there that catered to Logan's age group. She'd been told that he was fourteen. She thought he was younger than that but didn't question him. This was a fun outing, not a question and answer session.

They got pretzels and slushies before shopping. While sitting at the little tables and chairs, they watched people go by them and made notes—she forever had a notebook and pen with her, so she was prepared—on what they were wearing and how much Logan liked it. After Logan finished off his and most of her pretzel, they dumped the slushie and made their way to the shop.

"I don't need any more shirts, Hazel." She'd gone a touch overboard, and she knew it. "I think that I could wear one every day for a year and not have to ever wash them."

It had taken her an hour to get him to call her by her first name. After that, it was a blast. He'd try things on, and she'd give him a thumbs up or down. Mostly, it was up, but it was wonderful to see his eyes brighten up with each new shirt she handed him. He loved the bright colors and the shoes that they'd picked out. All four pairs were perfect for the rest of summer into fall. Who knew that shopping with a complete stranger could be so fun.

"Is that your husband?" She looked up over the rack of shorts to see Jayden coming toward them. "He looks upset. I told you that we spent too much. Now he's going to take away my shoes, and I love them."

"He'll do no such thing." When he got to her, she saw Cullen coming in, too. Neither of them looked happy, but it wasn't until Jayden kissed her and dug her phone out of her pocket that she remembered that she'd turned it off earlier. "Well, why didn't you reach out to me?

And don't you dare take his shoes from him, or I'm going to hurt you both. Why is—"

"I don't know how you did it, but you blocked us all out." She asked him how she'd do that. "I have no idea, but I couldn't get across to you, and neither could Dallas, and there isn't supposed to be any way that you can block him out. We were worried."

"Oh no." He asked her what she had thought of. "I might have felt someone trying to talk to me, but I have no idea why, but I kept thinking it was that woman who called me before Logan and I left. I just wanted to shut her out and could…why are you laughing at me?"

"Because, my love, you were able to shut out not just me but my silverback brother, too. He's so unhappy that you can do that to him. Happy because you're not hurt, because we all thought the worst, but not at all thrilled that you were able to do that." She looked over at Cullen, who was talking to Logan. The cart that they had was filled, and she didn't think that he minded. Of course, he didn't know about the purchases that they'd taken to the car twice, but she'd let him know that later. "He asked her about the shoes."

"Oh. He's been telling me all day that if he was only able to keep one thing that he got today, he wanted it to be the shoes. It broke my heart to think that something so trivial and something that we take for granted could give so much pleasure to someone. He kissed her on the cheek and moved to talk to Logan. He asked if he'd had fun with his wife.

"She's amazing, she is. And we've had so many pretzels I think that I might not eat supper." Jayden told the young man that he'd had plans to have a big dinner with them and then asked if he was hungry. "Yes. Always. I'm a growing boy. What time is dinner? Do I have time to get this stuff in my room? A room? I never thought that I'd have that as well as new shoes."

The rest of the afternoon was spent at the house sorting out not just Logan's purchases but also the few things that they needed for the house as well. The linens that had been in the house were worn, and since they had new mattresses, they no longer were the right fit for the bed. Since they were all eating earlier tonight than they normally did, she was going to take her list this time to get some of the other things for the house.

~*~

Waylon was stocking shelves, a task that he loved to do, when a stranger walked into the store. He pegged him right off as someone who was on their way anyplace but here. While he wasn't positive, he was reasonably sure that the man had no idea how to deal with all the country life that he was being exposed to today. School was out, and the kids around this town knew that they were safe to hang out at the hardware store.

When Mark, a seventeen-year-old who worked weekends to have gas money, came to get him, telling Waylon that a man wanted to speak to the owner, he made his way up front. Cleaning his hands of the cardboard dust and whatever else he'd gotten into while hanging screwdrivers, the man still turned his nose up at him, putting out his hand. Waylon didn't care one way or the other if he shook hands with the man or not. But he wasn't going to allow him to be rude to anyone.

"May I help you?" The man repeated that he wanted to talk to the owner. "That would be me. I'm Waylon Dixon. What is it you're looking for?"

"Whatever. I need this part, and the kid here said he didn't know if we carried it and pointed me to the back of the store. Well, do you?" He took the part from the man, a washer that could be purchased for less than a buck anywhere. He handed it back, telling him that they did. They stood there looking at each other when Waylon had it hit him that the man wanted him to go and get the part for him.

Waylon pulled a clean apron from the drawer behind the counter, pulled it over his shirt and shorts, and then told Mark to go on lunch break. Before he got a foot away from the counter, the man grabbed the younger kid and looked at him.

"Am I supposed to go with him to get the part?" Mark pulled himself away from the man, and when Waylon told him to go on to his lunch, he was out the door before he finished speaking. "What kind of business are you running here?"

"I'm not sure what you mean. This is a hardware store that has things in it that can fix appliances or whatever you have. Or I can order whatever the washer is for if you need a new one. Otherwise, I've no idea what it is you want." The man huffed, and Waylon helped Mr. Harper, who had three little bags of screws that he got himself. He was out the door in seconds, and Waylon asked the man what else he needed.

"What I need is for you to get me this part like I wanted when I came in here. Or do you expect me to find it and bring it up to you to pay for? If that's the case, why are you even here? I've no need for you if I have to do all the work myself." Waylon pretended not to understand what the man was talking about. "You're going to lose a good customer if this is the way you run this business."

"It is and I think that I can take the hit on you not coming around again. I believe it's safe to say that most people who own a hardware store do the same thing as I am doing. Also, as this is the first time that I've ever met you so, it's not like you're in here daily. And you spending about fifty-seven cents for a washer, you more than likely have no idea how to put back from where you got…well, like I said, that's a chance that I'm willing to take." The man huffed at him, sounding so much like a sullen child than a grown man.

He was still standing at the counter when Mark came back from his lunch break. The man would tell people that this was a shotty place for service, but most everyone ignored him while they picked up what they wanted, brought it to the counter, and then paid. He hadn't realized in all his years owning this place that there was any different way to do it.

When Waylon went to pick up his lunch, the man was still standing near the counter. Coming back in, he wasn't surprised that the man was talking to Mark about how this wasn't a good place to work as the boss, him, was a crappy one. Mark, like him, ignored the man in favor of refilling the slots behind the register.

"Well, I want you to know that I'm not returning." He heard Mark tell him to have a good day while he was still putting away screwdrivers and wrenches. "Do you have any idea what you're missing out on with me leaving? I'm going to build a house, and you're not going to get any of the business."

Waylon knew that the man would think that he was holding something over him, but unless the man was building the house on his own, a contractor was going to do it. And he would more than likely come to his shop as Waylon would quote them a good price for the bundle packs that he'd put in for. The man left, and he and Mark got a good kick out of the man after he left.

It was nearly two hours later after he'd sent Mark home to get his chores done around his parents' home, when Sanders and Sons Construction Company—SSCC, Bob Sander told him that he'd need a full house package.

When Waylon had first opened his doors to large construction companies to order from him, he asked for amounts that were needed of each item that they would need and he priced it all out with a discount. That way, it would save the construction company time by not having to order for each and every item that would be needed. Also, they liked that they could order and pay for four commodes for a house setting and not have to have the extras on sight until they were needed. They could buy them all at once, receive a discount on them that way, and not have to make sure nothing happened to the piece if they were to lay on the site for a few months. SSCC was one of his biggest customers.

Bob asked him if he had a minute. Telling the man, who actually owned SSCC, was smiling an odd smile, which had Waylon smiling too, that he had all the time in the world for him. With a burst of laughter, he told Waylon about the man who had approached him about building him his dream home.

"But he said that he wants nothing from your store. I thought that didn't seem right. You are always way cheaper than anyone around, and you do that bundle thing. So I decided to come down here and see what had happened. I'm sure that the man was the bad guy in this, so I want to hear what he'd done to you." After telling him what had happened, how the man had wanted to be waited on, Bob laughed. "I knew it was going to be something petty. While he was at my office, he seemed disgusted that I didn't wipe off the chair that hadn't seen a butt in it for about a year. I didn't do it and he threatened me with not using my firm. I told him to ask around about prices and then come back when he heard that I was going to give him the best at all that I do. He did. But with the stipulation that we don't use you."

Before he could ask Bob if he was going to go to a competitor and tell him that he'd give the list that he had for houses so he could try and cut a deal, he pulled out his phone and pressed a few buttons. Whatever was going on, Bob had asked him to close up a few minutes early. He wanted him to speak to his buddies.

Closing up his store as it was nearly seven now, he sat in the back of the store with Bob and the nine other construction companies in the area that built houses like the one that the man, Douglas Brown, wanted to have built. He'd not realized that they were all on the one call until he was introduced to them all. He had to laugh. The shit, he thought, was about to hit the fan and be sprayed all over Mr. Brown.

After telling his buddies what had happened here today, they all got a good laugh out of it, too. None of them could remember any store—a hardware store that catered to your needs when there was no need for it. Then Bob told them what Brown said about not using Waylon's hardware. Everyone was dead silent. Which was almost too eerie to be true.

"You gonna do that, Bob? Go to someone else for the tinker set?" He'd heard the people around town call a hardware store a tinker set before. It was a kit you could get the pieces to build just about anything he'd heard before. Bob said that he wasn't going to do the job without Waylon getting the contract, too. "Yeah, don't send him my way. I won't do that either. Waylon's been good to all of us, and I don't see no fault that happened that would make that loon not want the best for his house."

Two other men on the phone spoke up and said they'd not do it either. One of them went so far as to ask for Brown's number so that he could call him up and tell him what an asshat he was being. Bob said that rudeness on their part didn't matter. He just wanted them to have the full story on the job in the event they were approached by Brown.

"Let me ask you something, Waylon. Would you want to do business with him if he were to apologize?" He had to think on that but before he could come up with an answer, Bob said that the deal was done as far as he was concerned. But he wouldn't work with the man. He didn't need the business to work with someone like that. And wouldn't, like Waylon had said to him, even if he didn't have a roof over his head. It was a done deal. They all said that Mr. Brown wouldn't be getting his house built by any of the seven companies that were friends with Waylon. He was so touched by the gesture that he hugged Bob when the meeting was adjourned, and he left him to go home.