Eddie’s Prize Read online

  Chapter 16

  “I’m heading up to Dane’s place,” Eddie announced casually at breakfast a week after the concert at the library.

  Lisa fumbled the jelly spoon. “You are?”

  “Yes.” He used his toast to mop up the smears of egg left on his plate. “I need to talk to him about a project we’ve been working on. You want to walk with me as far as the Wolfe place? Visit with your friend while I’m with Dane?”

  The breath trapped in her throat came out in a rush. “I’d love to.”

  Eddie pushed his plate away and got up. “I want to head out within the hour. That enough time for you to wash the dishes and get ready to go?”

  “Sure.”

  Her husband leaned over her to kiss her lips. He tasted of mint tea and smelled of the strong soap from his shower. It was a strange combination, but Lisa loved it. She held her hand to his cheek for a moment to savor it.

  After he was gone, Lisa sat another minute to enjoy the last of her tea before going to the dish tub to start the dishes. The coffee Eddie said he’d get from his parents had never come. She was almost getting to enjoy tea in the morning.

  It didn’t take long to wash their few breakfast dishes and tidy the kitchen. She debated for a moment about the ground meat she’d taken from the cold box to thaw for meatloaf for supper tonight. With a shrug, she decided to put it back. There was enough roast left from yesterday to make hot beef sandwiches if she made extra potatoes and beans.

  She was ready when Eddie came back, sitting on the couch in the living room with her coat beside her.

  Eddie smiled at her. “Ready?”

  She got up and put her short jacket on. “I sure am.”

  He gathered her up in his arms. His chest was warm and solid against her. “Lisa-love.” That was all he said before he kissed her. Their love life hadn’t lost any steam. In fact, as Eddie learned more about how to please her and what pleased him, he had become even more voracious in bed. His passion was tempered with self-control and finesse, enough to tease her with the hope of orgasm while holding it out of her reach until he decided it was time. Lisa sighed against Eddie’s lips when arousal blossomed.

  With a groan, he set her away from him. “No time for that right now.”

  “Okay.” Lisa fanned her flushed cheeks though it was cool in the house, mostly to tease Eddie. “Tonight?”

  He looked torn. “I was planning to stay overnight at Dane’s. We’ll see.”

  Good thing she put the meat back in the cold box. The walk was brisk. Lisa expected to walk beside Eddie, and they could talk along the way, but he had three of his friends with him. Eddie didn’t introduce them. Lisa didn’t know any of them, and her first reaction was to smile and chat, but Eddie’s frown reminded her to ignore them. Eddie and one of his friends walked in front, with Lisa trailing behind and the other two bringing up the rear. Lisa marched along, wondering sarcastically if she should wear a veil like a sultan’s favorite wife.

  It was a long walk to where Carla lived, and the walk was made longer by the detour Eddie insisted on to see the old brick apartment building Steve Herrick and his crew were working on getting fixed up for the plane crash survivors to live in. Lisa studied it curiously. Two days ago, a couple of men from Taye’s distant family came to Kearney to ask the town to take in the plane crash survivors. Ray and Darlene discussed it during the Monopoly game.

  “I don’t like it,” Ray said, scratching at his bearded chin. “All them single women in one place are gonna be a target for no-goods.”

  “Where else can they go?” Darlene argued in a calm tone. “Kearney is a safe place.”

  Lisa asked, “Will you have Bride Fights for them?”

  “Hell, no! ’Scuse my French. That would be a logistical nightmare.”

  As Lisa walked past the building now, she shivered. Nearly forty years ago it was used to house all the women sick with the Woman Killer Plague. Bree explained with ghoulish glee it stood empty all these years because it was haunted by the ghosts of the women who perished there. Lisa didn’t believe in ghosts, but the building did look somehow sad. The road it was located on was in poor repair, and the further they went, the worse the street was. It reminded her of the wagon ride from Odessa.

  An hour later they came to Taye Wolfe’s place. Carla lived in a long, low building protected by a tall fence. Lisa blinked at it, surprised it was a budget chain motel. The fence was guarded by huge gray dogs and a couple of men wearing only cut-off shorts. Just looking at those men, nearly naked in the autumn wind, made Lisa shiver.

  Eddie waved his friends to stay back. He took Lisa’s arm in a firm grip and pulled her toward a gate in the fence. “Don’t look at them!” he growled in her ear.

  Lisa couldn’t decide whether to laugh or yell at him. “Who?” she snapped.

  Her tone seemed to startle him. Was that a shadow of guilt on his face? His hand relaxed on her arm. “The guards.”

  Those guards sauntered to meet them at the gate. One had short, dark brown hair and a thick, muscular wrestler’s build. The other was young, with a slight limp. Lisa controlled the urge to leer at them to make a point to Eddie. Instead she kept her gaze on her husband.

  Eddie looked at the men behind the gate. “I’m Eddie Madison.”

  The younger guard was almost insolent. “We know who you are.”

  Lisa could feel Eddie’s annoyance in the way his shoulders stiffened. “Taye Wolfe told me I could bring my wife to visit Mrs. Wolfe.”

  “The Chief ain’t here.”

  The burlier of the two guards elbowed the younger one. “Pipe down, Chad. Taye told us Mrs. Madison was welcome anytime.” He raised his voice. “Hey, Snake! Come here. Walk Mrs. Madison into the den. She’s here to visit the Lupa.”

  One of the dogs loped over. Lisa blinked, realizing it wasn’t a dog when a weird shimmer went over its fur and the fur … disappeared. A man stood in the dog’s place, a handsome man with long, dark curly hair whose muscular physique was completely bare. Lisa couldn’t help but run her gaze approvingly over his body. Eddie’s hand on her arm tightened so hard she yelped with pain. He jerked her back.

  “Why are you looking at him?” he snarled.

  “Ow!” she complained. “Dammit, Eddie! That hurt!”

  For a long moment he didn’t change his grip. Lisa felt tears rise and press hotly against the backs of her eyes. They were more from emotional hurt and anger than physical pain. Finally Eddie’s hand loosened.

  “Sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” His eyes closed for a second, hiding some inner chaos. His hand trembled when he brought it up to touch her cheek. “I’m such an ass. I’m trying.” His voice was threaded with a note of helplessness. “I’m trying, but I can’t seem to control it.”

  Lisa clenched her teeth. “Keep trying, Eddie. Every time you say you’re sorry, you do it again. The next time you grab me like that I’ll slap you. Will that help?”

  Eddie’s eyes flashed with a weird yellow light. Lisa blinked, staring at his eyes. They looked normal now. Must have been the sun. Strangely, his mouth crooked in a small smile. “Maybe. I’d deserve it. Ready to go in?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Then you have a nice visit, and I’ll see you tomorrow before lunch.”

  When Eddie walked her back to the gate, Lisa almost flinched at the sight of the three men who stood, glaring forward, even though their obvious anger wasn’t directed at her. A minute ago Chad seemed like a jokester. Now he looked mean. Eddie narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. If he’d been a dog, his hackles would have been raised. The guards glared right back, not giving an inch.

  Eddie said, “I’m heading north to the Overdahls. I’ll be back to collect my wife at mid-morning tomorrow. Is that okay?”

  The burly one folded his arms over his bare chest. “Mrs. Madison is welcome. We’ll take good care of her.”

  Chad leaned forward as well until his nose almost brushed the fence. He sniffed. “You stink like a
ca—”

  “Chad!”

  Chad sulked. “Well, he does, Mikey.”

  “Open the gate, Chad. Mrs. Madison, Snake will take you inside to the Lupa.”

  Eddie gave her a quick kiss. “See you soon.”

  Chapter 17

  The interior of the building the men called “the den” was decorated in minimalist Americana. The floor was polished hardwood, the walls paneled with smoothed planks. Just inside the door was what must have been a small lobby once upon a time. It narrowed immediately into a hallway, and two large rooms opened off either side of the hall. By the rows of tables and the scent of food cooking, one was obviously a cafeteria. The other looked like a hybrid between a family room and a lounge. The room was dominated by a huge stone fireplace with a few chairs grouped around the hearth. The fire reflected off the highly polished hardwood floor, whose glossiness was punctuated by braided rag rugs and bearskins. Lisa took a moment to admire the coziness of the room while Snake walked a little ahead of her down the hallway. Lisa also admired the taut muscles in Snake’s ass. If Eddie were here, he’d be growling. Good thing he wasn’t here. If she wanted to admire a man’s fine ass, she would, but only for the aesthetic pleasure of it. She was a married woman, after all. The naked man stopped outside of room 119 and knocked. Lisa shook her head in amazement. The hall was stripped of carpet and wallpaper, and there was no sign of light fixtures, but the original black metal room numbers were still on the doors.

  “Come in,” called Carla’s muffled voice.

  Snake swung the door wide and ushered Lisa in with a wide, white smile and a flourish of a muscular arm. “Lupa, here’s a surprise for you. Your friend has come to visit!”

  It was a small motel room stripped of its usual furniture. The floor was more polished hardwood, but the walls were painted vanilla with no art to break them up. Thick curtains hung over a window along the far wall, but they were parted to let in the sun. A small, pot-bellied stove crouched on a platform of patterned brick in the corner. The room was bare of any furniture other than a metal-framed couch angled by the stove, a storage cabinet, and a couple of wooden chairs. The couch’s thick cushions were upholstered in garish tones of yellow and orange. The chairs had seat pads in the same yellow. Carla sat on the couch with a guitar slanted across her lap. One foot was tucked under her, while the other swung free. When she looked up and saw Lisa, her eyes flared wide with delighted welcome, and she quickly set the guitar aside to come forward.

  “Lisa! I’m so glad to see you!”

  Lisa gave her a quick, tight hug. “I’m glad to see you too.”

  “Come in and sit down. How long are you staying? Where’s Eddie?”

  Lisa laughed at the rapid fire questions. Before she could answer, Snake spoke.

  “Lupa, it’s almost time for lunch. I’ll come get you when it’s ready.”

  Carla waved a hand. “That’s okay. We’ll be down in a little while.”

  “Lupa.” Snake sounded like a scolding brother. “You always forget. I’ll come get you.”

  “Fine.” Carla huffed out a breath. “Just get dressed first, okay?”

  “Yes, Lupa.”

  After the door closed behind him, Carla rolled her eyes. “Ever since Taye told them to be sure I didn’t miss any meals, they’re like the food police. Once, Des tried to carry me to the dining hall, guitar and all.”

  Lisa took off her jacket and hung it over the back of a chair. “Who is Des?”

  “He’s one of the Betas, Taye’s lieutenants. He’s a little solemn, a little scary, but he would never hurt me.”

  Lisa shook her head at the strange idea of tame werewolves. “They love you, don’t they?”

  “I…” Carla’s voice trailed off. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  Lisa looked around the bare room. “Is this where you live?” She hoped not. Except for the couch, it was dreary and bare.

  Carla laughed. “No, Taye and I have our room through that connecting door. Taye says this room is for when I want to be private. None of the wolves is allowed in here without my permission.” She looked around too. “Taye is going to get another stove for me and some more furniture. Normally I stay in the rec room out front. But sometimes a girl wants to be alone, you know? It’s about impossible when you live with a few dozen men.”

  A slight shudder shimmied down Lisa’s back. Living in a motel with a bunch of guys who turned into wolves would freak her out. “I bet.”

  “Come and sit down, Lisa. How are you? What have you been up to?”

  “I’m doing pretty good.” Lisa settled herself on one end of the couch, luxuriating in the soft cushions. “I’m learning to cook. I’m not great at it yet, but Darlene—my mother-in-law, you know—is a good teacher. And you won’t believe it, but Ray really loves her.” In her mind’s eye, she saw the way he touched his hand to his wife’s cheek. “I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be a secret or not, but she’s pregnant.”

  Her friend stared for a minute and then laughed. “Wow, you’re going to have a brother-or sister-in-law in diapers.” Her voice dropped. “Lisa, do you ever think about having kids?”

  “Sure.” Lisa put her arms around herself. “It’s going to happen eventually. I use a ring for birth control. It’s only good for three weeks, and I don’t have any more, so…” She shrugged. “Do you think about it?”

  “A lot. Taye really wants kids, but I had my contraceptive shot only a couple of weeks ago. It’s good for a year, so I’m covered for a while. But do you want kids?”

  “Of course I want children someday.” She faltered as she began to spout the answer her publicist had prepared for her to give during interviews. The reasons given in that prepared statement—namely, her career and still being in search of Mr. Right—no longer applied. “You know, to be completely honest, I don’t know. Kids are a big responsibility, and I’m still trying to figure out what I’m doing.”

  Cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry kept her busy, barely able to squeeze an hour out of an afternoon to make some fashion sketches. Being a housewife was a full time job here. How could she possibly take care of a baby too? But without contraceptives, how could she keep from getting pregnant?

  She made a face at Carla. “I don’t think I have any say over that anymore. Unless I can convince Eddie to sleep alone, and since I have about as much chance of that as I do of learning to fly, I’m going to be pregnant soon.”

  “Do you want Eddie to sleep alone?”

  “No!” Lisa felt the blood rising to her cheeks at her vehemence. “No, I like what he does in bed. And he’s like the Energizer bunny … oh, God, I’m going to have a dozen kids, aren’t I?”

  Carla laughed and then sobered. “How are you and Eddie doing?”

  “Pretty good.” Lisa shied at giving too much detail. “He’s still … well, he’s ridiculously jealous. Before he left me here, he gave me a mini-lecture on not looking at men or talking to men. Can you believe it? I’m trying to be patient, but he’s going to have to learn to trust me.”

  “I agree. Have you discussed it with him?”

  Lisa looked down. “Not really. I’ve tried, but … he manages to avoid it.”

  Carla put a hand on Lisa’s wrist. “I think of you as my best friend, so I’m going to be really blunt, okay? Does Eddie hurt you?”

  “No!” The word exploded out of Lisa in a wave of shock. “Of course not.”

  “I don’t mean punching you. There are more kinds of abuse than physical abuse.”

  Lisa focused on her fingers picking at the seam of her jeans. “I know that. Eddie goes a bit overboard with the jealousy thing, but he loves me. He doesn’t mean to hurt me. We’ll work it out.”

  “Lisa, that’s what every abused woman says.”

  She was right. Lisa looked up. “I’m positive we’ll be able to work it out.”

  The other woman searched Lisa’s face before sighing. “Okay. But if it doesn’t work out, remember you can come live here.”

  Tears t
hreatened. Lisa blinked them back. “Maybe you should talk to your husband before you invite people to move in.”

  “No. Taye would agree with me. He hates to think of a woman in trouble.”

  “I’m fine. Thank you. But I’m fine.”

  A series of solid knocks pounded on the door. Carla stood up. “There’s our lunch call. Before we go, promise me you’ll come here if things don’t work out. Promise me.”

  “Okay, I promise.” Lisa’s smile wasn’t entirely forced. A friend was a wonderful thing. She wouldn’t need to take Carla up on her offer. Eddie wasn’t perfect, but he did love her, and with him she had a place in a family. Carla, with her loving parents, four brothers, and half a dozen nieces and nephews, couldn’t understand how precious that was to Lisa.

  In the dining hall Lisa tried not to be obvious as she looked around. The two dozen mostly naked men eating at the tables didn’t bother to try to hide their fascination with her. None of them came close or spoke to her, but they stared avidly at her until another of them said something in a firm voice. Once their eyes had dropped back to their plates, Lisa was able to breathe a little more easily.

  “I haven’t seen so many good-looking male bodies in one place since the Chippendales show I was dragged to last year,” she whispered to Carla.

  “They can hear every word we’re saying,” Carla whispered back.

  Lisa jerked horrified eyes to the men. Several were smiling at their plates, while others were blushing. Afterward, Lisa imitated her husband and paid strict attention to her food.

  She was relieved when Carla was done and walked her back to her room. They sat on the couch, both cross-legged and facing each other.

  “Now,” said Carla encouragingly. “Before lunch, you were telling me about how you were doing.”

  Except for Eddie’s jealousy, Lisa thought her life was pretty great. She tried to use the right words to explain her feelings to her friend. She’d never thought she’d like being a housewife, but watching Eddie eat something she cooked made her feel good. Putting away clothes she had spent a lot of time and energy washing made her proud. Sitting on the floor of her in-laws’ living room next to Eddie while they played antique board games gave her a sense of belonging. It was not the life she’d planned on, but it had its satisfying moments.