“There’s a guy in the club,” Kirk said, sitting on a lounge chair. “Good guy really. Funny. Loyal. Good member. His only flaw is a need to beat on his wife. I don’t know why he does that shit. He’s not a crazy violent guy, but with his old lady, he’s fast to anger and violence. I’m not talking slapping her or pushing her around either. I mean fucked up punching and kicking shit. He finally put her in the hospital and that’s when I stepped in. She didn’t want me to, but the guy was a loose cannon when it came to her. He made me look bad and I got nervous about him killing her. The chick didn’t want saving, but it needed to happen.”
As I sat nearby, Kirk put out his cigarette and sighed. “The guy still wants to hit his wife. They get in real mean fights and I know he wants to bash her face in. The chick just sets him off and he thinks he needs to show her who’s the boss. The thing is he isn’t the boss. I am and I told him if he touch her wrong again that I was putting him in the ground. He’s never hit her since, but not because he’s changed. He just doesn’t want to die. Every time he gets riled up with his wife, he remembers what happens between them doesn’t stay between them. We’ll know if she has a single bruise. Once we know, he’ll disappear, so he behaves.”
Nearby the dogs caught the rabbit they were hunting. I looked away from their bloody celebration and towards Kirk who was studying me.
“We can scare the shit out of him and make him bleed, so he leaves town,” Kirk said. “Like the guy in the club, your dad needs constant pressure to behave. I can’t be checking on the fucker to ensure he doesn’t hassle my daughter and you. So if you can’t make the call now, just know the day will come when your dad will return and I’ll make the call. The truth is, Nick, some people just need killing. Like a rabid animal, you can’t fix what’s wrong with them. You can only cage or kill. Caging your dad ain’t an option.”
Hearing a car engine start, I thought of Bailey. She could have easily been hurt or even killed in the fight. When I faced my father the day before, I never worried about my safety. I knew how to take a beating. Suffering was more comfortable than safety for me. Bailey’s wellbeing was a different matter.
“Do what you need to do,” I said quietly. “I don’t want to know what happens. I won’t feel better knowing the details, but I can’t have him anywhere near Bailey ever again.”
Kirk stood up and gestured for me to follow him. We returned to the house where he rested on the couch. After he flipped on the TV and found a hunting show, he glanced at me.
“Do you really think Bailey is perfect?”
“Yes. Don’t you?”
Kirk laughed then focused on his show. Sitting with him until Bailey returned, we never spoke of my dad again. The issue was settled and the problem handled. My father would never bother me or Bailey again.
Chapter Thirty Five ~ Bailey
Maddy was patient like a good mother even when dealing with a florist. She sat through the reveals of arrangements with roses, another one with tulips, and a last one with weird looking exotic flowers. Once the florist stopped speaking, Maddy smiled.
“I want sunflowers.”
Hiding her disappointment, the florist no doubt wanted clients like those on TV shows, but this was a part of Kentucky where exotic flowers made the wrong kind of impression.
“Sunflowers,” I said as Maddy and I walked out of the shop. “Redneck chic is pretty badass.”
“The key is I really like these things, so it doesn’t feel fake. Being true to yourself is the best.”
“I don’t know. When I was myself, people kept telling me to stop acting like a bitch.”
Maddy grinned. “True, but you were really loud and pointless back then. Now you’re a bitch in a great way.”
“Yeah, I really am. Do you think I’m too much of a bitch still? Like will I scare away my man?”
“If he hasn’t run away screaming by now, he’s a keeper and you shouldn’t worry.”
Even nodding, I thought about my temper and Nick’s issues. I might still say or do something to send him screaming in terror.
“How did you know Tucker wasn’t going to ditch you?”
“I don’t know. I think it was when I told him I was pregnant and he got so excited that I knew he was for real. Of course, I didn’t know he messed with my pills to get me pregnant.”
“Didn’t you? You always say no, but come on.”
“Well maybe,” she sighed. “I don’t know. I took them in the mornings and I’m pretty out of it until I get a gallon of coffee in me. I don’t really think well until noon. Doesn’t matter since it worked out.”
“True. You have my stupid brother and a beautiful daughter who so far doesn’t seem stupid. Pretty sweet life.”
Wrapping her arm around my shoulders, Maddy grinned. “Thanks for being my maid of honor.”
“Thanks for loving my idiot brother. Guys like him either end up with awesome chicks or meth whores. It’s never in between. I’m happy he went the awesome route.”