Chaste (McCullough Mountain) (47 page)

Unsure
what to do, she poked around the room. Familiar relics from their high school
were buried under everyday items. Ashlynn lifted a pub menu tacked on a
corkboard and found pictures of Kelly when he was only a boy. She knew that
boy.

Smiling,
she opened a small box on the dresser and found his school ring, a few bottle
caps, and a rosary. When she did Kelly’s laundry she often found a rosary as
she emptied his pockets. It made her happy that he was finding his faith again.

He’d
gone with her to church on Sundays, only missing two masses since they’d been
married. She sympathized with his schedule and admired his effort to attend
mass.

She
opened the closet and saw nothing out of the ordinary. She did however lean in
and sniff his hanging shirts, loving the scent of him, loving that it now clung
to all the pillows on their bed and the furniture around the house.

After
she’d snooped enough, she sat on the edge of the bed and debated waking him.
Looking at her watch, she noted it was still early. Her fingers next went to
the latch on the drawer of the nightstand and slid it open. She frowned when
she saw her name written on small envelope in feminine handwriting.

* * * *

Kelly
had been having a delicious dream when a sharp edged object flew into his face.
The pointed corner of whatever hit him poking his cheek.

“What
the hell is this, Kelly McCullough?”

He
jolted at the sharp sound of his wife’s voice and opened his eyes. Was that his
wife? He’d never heard her raise her voice before.

When
his blurry vision focused on her face, he noted the way her brown eyes were set
on him under her low brows. Her mouth was tight and her nose seemed to be
pointing down.

“What?”
he asked, brushing his hair out of his face.

“What
the hell is
that
?” Her finger shot out and he glanced at the bed. There
was an envelope and sheet of paper twisted in the covers. He picked them up and
his heart stopped.

What
should he say? His mind raced. God damn his family! “Ashlynn…”

“
What
is it?”

“It
was a joke—”

“A
joke
?”

“It
was a stupid bet. It happened before we even knew each other.”

“We’ve
known each other since grade school!”

“I
mean before we started messing around.”

“Messing
around? I guess that was some incentive to talk to me.”

He
crumpled the paper in his fist. “I didn’t bet.”

“But
Josh did. Is this why he was suddenly trying to feel me up and started asking
for blowjobs?”

He
bolted to his feet. He’d kill the fucker!

“Why
do you have it? If you didn’t bet, why is it in your drawer? Was this your
idea? Was my virginity just some joke to all of you?”

Her
voice broke at the end, sounding on the verge of tears. He went to comfort her,
but she shoved him away. “Ashlynn—”

“Don’t
touch me.”

He
scowled. In a stern voice he said, “Ashlynn, I had nothing to do with this.”

She
turned and found her boots. “I’m going home.”

He
looked out the window as he shoved his legs into his jeans. “The roads are a
mess.”

“I
don’t care.”

“You’re
being unreasonable.”

“I
can’t even look at you right now!” She knotted her laces and stood, her eyes
shimmering with tears. “Was it worth it? Was it worth the money? You sure
bought the cow.”

“I
didn’t play! I told them it wasn’t right!”

“Then
why was it in
your
drawer?”

“Why
were
you
in my drawer?”

“I’m
your wife! I share everything with you! My house, my bed, my body! I’m not
allowed to see your personal stuff?”

He
wished he’d thrown it away the moment he found it sitting on his bed.

Ashlynn
sniffled and wiped her eyes. In a quiet voice, she said, “Did Luke and Sheilagh
get their money? They were both right. I held out for marriage and you got the
prize.”

He
took a step toward her and stilled when she shot him a look of pure disgust.
“Ashlynn, it wasn’t a game to me. I love you.”

She
removed her glasses and blotted her lashes. “Well, you’ve all taken something I
valued for the majority of my life and cheapened it into nothing but a joke in
a matter of one night. You made a joke of
me
, Kelly, of my faith, my
commitment to God,
our marriage
. You put a price on
me.”

He
threw the paper. “I didn’t do it! I told them they were all assholes!”

She
shook her head. “Even your father…”

“You
see how we are. We were drinking and playing cards. Sheilagh came in and Josh
was talking about how he had a date with you the following night. Your
virginity came up and—”

“I
can’t believe how stupid I am.”

Something
in her voice had him ignoring her unapproachable stature and gripping her arms.
“No, Ashlynn—”

“I
believed you. I fell for you like every other stupid girl that crosses your
path. And I made it so easy for you. All you had to do was acknowledge me to
make my heart race. For ten years I watched you, wanted you, and loved you, and
it was all a game to you.” Her watery eyes turned on him. “How long do you have
to stay married to me? What were the conditions?”

He
scowled, his fingers tightening on her arms. “Sorry to disappoint, but you’re
stuck with me forever.”

She
laughed without humor. “Well, bully for you. You just bought yourself a cold
marriage. I held out for twenty-four years. Don’t think of coming into my bed
again. My virginity may have been the purse, but my pride’s not for sale!”

With
that, she ripped her arms from his grip and left, slamming the door behind her.
Her truck barreled out of the snowy driveway a minute later and Kelly dropped
his head against the wall. Maybe after she calmed down he could explain.

She
had every right to be furious, but he wasn’t a part of their stupid bet. He’d
told them it was wrong. Maybe Sheilagh could explain it to her, but he was so disgusted
with all of them, including himself, he didn’t feel like looking at a single
one of them.

A
while later, Kelly headed home. Ashlynn’s truck wasn’t there. She was likely at
the market, but he assumed she wouldn’t want to be bothered at work. He headed
to O’Malley’s and spent the afternoon readying the stock for Halloween night.

Halloween
was always a big night at the pub, especially when it fell on a Friday like it
did this year. He called to confirm the band had everything they needed. He
usually contacted Sheilagh on busy nights to help hustle drinks, but he was
putting a great deal of the blame for his marital issues on his sister at the
moment.

At
five o’clock the regulars lumbered in followed by some others trying to get a
jump on their weekend. He was busy until well after midnight when the last few
customers left.

Sue
came into the kitchen a while later. “Chairs are up and the floors done. I’m
taking off.”

“Drive
safe. Can you come in early tomorrow?”

“Yeah.
Is Sheilagh helping out?”

“No.”

Sue’s
dark brow lifted. “We’re gonna be slammed, Kelly.”

“We’ll
be fine.”

She
huffed and left out the back. He put the cash in the safe and shut out the
lights. As he drove home he had to take it slow. The day had been warm, causing
the roads to slush, but once the sun went down the temperature dropped to the
low teens. The roads were a sheet of ice and it was starting to snow again.

When
he pulled up at home he frowned. The house was dark and Ashlynn’s truck wasn’t
there. He dialed her cell, but got no answer. Backing out of the driveway he
drove down the road to her dad’s.

“Shit.”
Her truck was parked beside the garage. His knuckles stung as they came down on
the dashboard.

He
backed out and returned home. The house was cold. There was no dinner waiting
for him, no note left on the chalkboard in the kitchen like usual. His laundry
was where he’d left it on the floor the day before and the bed was unmade.

Kelly
showered and climbed under the covers, tossing and turning for the better part
of the night. Around four he sent Ashlynn a text, figuring she’d be getting up
soon.

I love you. I’m sorry. Please come home.

He
fell asleep just as the birds started to chirp and didn’t wake until the
following afternoon. When he checked his phone there were no missed calls or
texts. He dialed her cell.

“Hello,
this is Ashlynn McCullough. Please leave me a message and I’ll get back to
you.” The phone beeped and he hung up.

Kelly
stayed in bed until after two. She was being unreasonable. He had no control
over his relatives—obviously. They all did whatever the hell they wanted.

He
called her several times throughout the day, but she never answered or even
replied to his numerous texts. When he got to the bar he was in a sour mood.

“You
look pleasant,” Sue said as she carried up a carbonation tank from the cellar.

“Do
me a favor, Sue, can the jokes for a day.”

She
stared at him then turned, mumbling something about men having PMS.

By
seven the band had arrived and was setting up. Customers showed up in
everything from goofy glasses to full out costumes. A group of girls sashayed
up to the bar dressed in the typical leotards that were acceptable this one
night a year. He used to love all the slutty get-ups women pranced around in on
Halloween, but now it all struck him as desperate.

“Hi,
Kelly,” they purred as one.

“What
can I get you ladies?” Great, they were supposed to be cats, if one could claim
to be a cat wearing only lingerie and pointed ears. The whiskers painted on
their faces helped. When men looked at them he was sure the first thing that
would come to mind was pussy.

They
placed their orders, all various martinis. As he mixed the drinks they made
small talk. “Are you gonna come dance later?” the brunette purred.

“I
gotta stay behind the bar. Sorry.”

She
pouted. “Maybe later.”

“We’ll
see.” There was no way he was going anywhere near those women. He gripped the
shaker, his wedding band clicking against the frosted metal, and turned to put
their money in the register.

As
the night dragged on, the crowd grew more rambunctious. The band was killing it
and the tip jar was overflowing with green. He’d be willing to bet Sue wasn’t
regretting Sheilagh’s absence now. He’d let her keep the jar.

There
was something going on at the end of the bar and Kelly needed to see what was
up. Sue stood, hands on hips, staring at a guy who looked freshly twenty-one.
Kelly ignored the customer’s vying for his attention and came to her side.

“What’s
going on?”

Sue
appeared relieved to see him. “License is out of state and he looks like he’s
already had a few.”

Kelly
took the kid’s license and held it under the light. He glanced at the kid who
was smirking under a pair of glasses that would make Elton John hard. Yeah, he
looked like he’d already been drinking.

He
passed back the Jersey ID and said, “He’s all right.” The kid took his license
and nodded as if they were friends. Kelly turned to Sue and whispered, “Lots of
ice and cut him off after his second.”

“You
got it, boss.”

Kelly
watched the kid over the next hour. He probably should have given him the boot,
but the license looked legit. There was no way of telling what customers put in
their mouth before they sat down at his bar. After his second drink Sue ignored
him and the kid eventually left.

“Kelly!”

He
turned and saw one of the regulars. “What’s up?”

“There’s
an accident out front. I called the cops, but you may want to check it out.”

Great.
“Sue—”

“Go.
I’m good for five.”

He
rounded the bar and pushed through the crowd. When he shoved open the door the
cold air hit him like a blanket of ice. He squinted through the still falling
snow and the first thing he saw was a blue Toyota pressed against the phone
pole. Did the driver lose control?

He
jogged over and cursed when he saw Jersey plates. Fuck. He opened the door and
the kid had a cut above his eye, but looked okay, if a little shaken. “Stay
put,” Kelly said. “Cops are on their way.”

The
driver moaned and said, “That truck came out of nowhere.”

Kelly
frowned. He unfolded his body from where he’d been crouching at the door and
scanned the area. Snow gathered on his shoulders as he wedged his fists in the
pockets of his jeans. When he noticed fresh tire tracks that swirled as if they
fishtailed he tracked them. That was when he saw the pearly white side of a
truck flipped in the ditch.