Welcome to Sugartown (32 page)

These
pregnancy hormones suck arse!

“
Both of you
shut up!” Ana yells and points at Jackson. “You need to back the
fuck off,” she says and then turns on me, “and you need to chill
the fuck out. This kind of stress is not good for the
baby.”

Just as she
says that I feel a sharp pang in my abdomen. I cry out and bend
over, breathing rapidly through my nose. Ana’s by my side in a
heartbeat, taking my arm in hers and leading me to the bedroom.
“Holly, are you okay?”

“
Yeah I …” I
begin, and then pivot on my heels and run for the bathroom. I
barely manage to get the lid on the toilet seat up before the vomit
comes gushing out of me. My stomach cramps down on itself over and
over again as I empty it into the bowl. Ana’s beside me holding
back my hair, which is just about the sweetest thing she could ever
do because she’s one of those people that loses her shit just
seeing someone dry-retching. Jackson stays over by the door, which
is typical Jackson, but when I ease back from the toilet and
finally rise to my feet my eyes meet his, and he’s clearly
stricken. Either that, or he’s just fighting the urge throw up now,
too.

“
Do you want
me to call your doctor?” Ana asks as she steers me over to the sink
and preps my toothbrush for me.

“
No. I’ll be
fine. I may have to call my boss though,” I kid.

Ana smiles
and heads over to the door as I freshen up. “Well, good luck. I
heard she was a raving bitch.”

“
Nah, she’s
okay. I think she mostly just needs a good lay,” I mutter back and
Ana laughs.

Out in the
hall she grabs her handbag and keys with a promise to call me at
lunch to make sure I’m okay. Then she turns on Jackson. “You. Take
care of her today. If she wants something, go get it for her. Do
not let her get out of bed unless it’s to pee.”

“
Yes
ma’am.”

She points at
me then. “And you, keep your bloody temper on a leash.”

“
Okay, Mum,”
I reply and then she’s gone, leaving Jackson and I to stare at one
another, our earlier argument abandoned. Though I know the world
hasn’t changed within these last few minutes of fighting,
everything in our world has. Silence fills up the space between us
until I finally turn away and trek back to my bedroom to hide
beneath the covers and wish like hell that the zomb-ocalypse was
upon us. At least that way I’d have a legitimate excuse to punch
his lights out.

Chapter Thirty
Three

Elijah

There’s
nothing like the rush of endorphins you feel when the gate slams
closed behind you and your feet touch the bitumen of the world
‘outside’. I close my eyes and inhale the country air. It’s no
different than the stuff we feel and breathe in the yard everyday,
but somehow it always feels different, more, free.

I open my
eyes and look around. The prison sits pretty much in the town’s
centre, so it’s only a short walk from here to the bus station. I
don’t know how I’ll get to Sugartown from there—maybe get off on
the highway and hitch, maybe walk the whole damn way, it doesn’t
matter. What matters is that I can walk anywhere at any time for
the rest of my life, ‘cause I ain’t ever planning on going back
inside.

A prison
supply van pulls out of the parking space in front of me and my
heart just about leaps outta my fucking chest when I see the hot
blonde leaning up against my bike. Fuck me, is that a sight for
sore eyes! I have an image of bending her over that bike and taking
her sweet pussy with my mouth, of making her open to me and cry my
name as her thighs squeeze the sides of my head and her heels dig
into my back. My cock twitches in my pants and I take a deep breath
and think about nuns again to calm myself down.

“
Easy tiger,”
I mutter as I run my hand over my freshly buzzed hair, and then
cross the parking lot towards her.

“
Whatcha
doing here, Ana?” I ask as I come to a stop in front of her. I’m
careful not to touch her, though it takes a fuck-load of restraint.
“Not that I’m not happy to see you, or my bike, for that
matter.”

“
I thought
you could use a ride.”

“
How she
handling?” I say, pointing to my baby, though to be honest, the
thought of Ana riding my bike is causing blood to pump and flow to
places it shouldn’t be right now.

“
Good. Dad
and I have been starting her up every few days. I know how precious
you are about her, so I’m the only one taking her out.”

“
And how are
you holding up?”

She gives me
a wistful smile. “I’m okay. I don’t get a lot of sleep on account
of the nightmares, but I’m dealing with it.”

Fuck! I’d
give my left nut to touch her right now, to hold her, to kiss her.
I’d squeeze her tight enough that another bad dream would never
enter her mind again. I’d keep all the bad thoughts away, forever,
or for as long she’d let me.
Christ, I
sound like a fucking pussy.

“
What about
you?” she asks.

“
Today’s a
good day.” I wink at her and the sweetest blush of colour floods
her cheeks. “A very good day.”

“
Listen, I
don’t want you to get the wrong idea here, but Holly and I have our
own place now. It’s a big four bedroom farmhouse outside Sugartown.
It’s not much, but we’ve already talked it over and you’re welcome
to stay as long as you want.”

I’d just
assumed that after making my way back to Sugartown I’d stay in the
motel again but this, this is so much better. It’s a chance to try
and win her back. A chance to prove we can’t live without one
another. Every fibre within me is pushing me to reach out and touch
her, but I fight it.

“
You sure?
Last time I checked, Holly wasn’t a big fan of mine.”

“
She’s
changed. A lot, actually. But she’s okay with it, if you
are?”

“
Yeah, that’d
be great.” I jam my hands in my pockets to keep from touching her.
“I’ve got some money saved up. I’ll pay my way.”

“
You don’t
have to—”

“
I said I’ll
pay my way.”

“
Okay, then
let’s take you home,” she mutters.

She doesn’t
realise that I’m already home, because wherever she is, is home to
me.

I always
thought there was nothing better than the freedom you feel when you
step outside prison. Clearly I’d forgotten the way it felt to have
Ana’s legs wrapped around mine, the press of her beautiful tits
against my back and her head tucked into my shoulder as we fly down
the highway toward home.

Fuck, I’ve
missed that.

Now, as I
pull up the long gravel drive leading to the farmhouse, I kinda
wish I’d taken the drive a little slower. I shut off the engine and
Ana jumps off the back of the bike. I instantly miss her heat
pressing against me. I watch as she pulls off her helmet and stare
as she walks her fine arse up the path to the front
steps.

“
You just
going to sit there all day?” she asks when she opens the front
porch gate and realises I’m not behind her.

“
No, I’m
coming.” I jump off the bike and follow after her like a lost
puppy, which I guess isn’t that far from the truth.

Ana leads me
into a big Victorian-style farmhouse with huge stained-glass
windows and wooden floors. I’ve never been into all that interior
design shit, but if I had a house to call my own, this is exactly
the kind of thing I’d want. Quiet and homey with a big-arse kitchen
for my knocked up wife to bake pies and biscuits all day, and
there’d still be enough room to plant her sexy arse on the bench
and lick her out before dinner. Yeah, yeah, that makes me sound
like a sexist, chauvinistic dick, but I’m okay with
that.

We walk
through the lounge room. All the furniture is mismatched and
second-hand, but it only makes the house seem more endearing. Ana
comes to a stop in the kitchen. I’m busy looking at the beautiful
red, gold and green stained-glass windows with the sunlight
filtering onto the wood floor in a swirl of distorted colours, so
it takes me a while to notice the half-naked man standing in front
of the fridge.

“
God, you’re
such a pig,” Ana mutters.

“
Love you
too, sweetheart.” The dude’s wearing only a towel around his hips.
One tiny scrap of terry towelling between his Johnson and the
world. My blood runs cold, then hot, then to boiling as I realise
this guy might be my replacement. There’s certainly enough tension
between them.

The dude
closes up the carton of milk he was drinking from and burps in our
direction. He’s pretty cut and he’s above average height, though
not as tall as me. He looks like he’s never been in a fight a day
in his life, so I’m as sure as fuck I can take him.

“
Hey man,” he
utters as his eyes roam over me. “Cool tatts.”

“
Ana, you
wanna tell me why there’s a half-naked man in your kitchen?” I say
in her ear, though it’s loud enough for Captain No Pants to hear
the threat, too.

Ana shivers,
and is it my imagination or did she just lean back into
me?

The dude
holds up his hands in surrender, “Whoa, mate, you’ve got the wrong
idea completely. It’s not like that.”

“
Then why
don’t you tell me what’s it like?” I say and take a step
forward.

“
Elijah, meet
Jackson,” she says—and damn if that name doesn’t sound
familiar—before clarifying, “my cousin.”

“
Cousin,
huh?”

“
Unfortunately.” They both say at the same time, and now that
I’m not thinking of pulverising the dude’s face, I can see a family
resemblance. Actually, Jackson looks more like her brother than
Sammy does.

“
Good to meet
ya, mate,” Jackson says, and steps forward to shake my hand. While
my hand is grasped in his, he pulls me toward him to whisper-yell
in my ear. “Just so you know, she’s been through hell. You break
her heart again and I’ll kick your arse.”

“
Jackson!”
Ana’s sending death glares at her cousin and making a slicing hand
gesture at her throat in my peripheral vision.

This whole
exchange makes me smile, not because I’m being an arrogant, cocky
arsehole—for once—and laughing at the threat, but because it feels
good to know someone else has her back. He clearly loves Ana, and
he’s going to keep an eye on me because of it. I nod and say, “I
wouldn’t dream of hurting her again.”

He studies my
face for a beat and then gives my hand one last shake before
nodding his approval and moving across the kitchen.

“
Now, if
you’re done pissing all over our new roommate, do you mind if I
show Elijah to his room?”

“
Nope. Knock
yourself out,” he says, then adds, “just don’t do anything I
wouldn’t do.”

“
Ha!
Is
there anything you
wouldn’t do?”

“
Yeah, you’re
right. Okay, don’t do anything Holly wouldn’t do.”

“
You do
realise that’s even worse?” Ana asks.

“
What’s
worse?” Holly asks, as she stumbles into the kitchen. Her hair is
sticking up all around her head like a copper bird’s nest, and her
clothes are swamping her. She’s clearly just woken from a nap,
though she looks as though she hasn’t slept in days. She hasn’t
seen me yet on account of me standing up against the wall beside
the fridge, and she’s rummaging through the cupboard like her life
depends on it. “Where’s the jailbird? I could use me some eye candy
right about now.”

“
Hey, I take
offense to that,” Jackson says, and winks at her.

“
You can sit
on the fence, for all I care. Preferably one of those über pointy
picket fences.”

“
Hey Holly,”
I say nervously, as she spins around with her mouth gaping open.
We’ve always rubbed each other the wrong way when it came to Ana. I
know I don’t deserve Ana, I could work on redemption my entire life
over and the next one, too, and I’d still never be enough for her.
But I love her. I need her in my life, in any way she chooses to be
in it, and I’m worried Holly is going to have something to say
about that.