Page 7 of Wrangler

“It’s in your name, all right but they’re calling you Amber Lynn, all one word and the last nameof Damon. They even spelled your middle name wrong. There ain’t no ‘g’ in Lynn, is there?” She told her not that she could remember. “I didn’t think so. The missus was going on about how they were going to go out to dinner on their daughter’s dime, and I caught them stealing, too. Harold, my boss, he kicked them out without all the fixings that they had in their cart.”

“You think they’re using one that Wrangler gave you, Amber?” She told Wills that she wouldn’t think so but would ask him when he came home tonight. “I don’t see him letting them charge up stuff. Do you? I mean, he might, but I don’t know that he likes them any more than we do.”

Weston joined her in the little store and asked her if she was all right. After Betty explained about the credit card that had her name on it, he winked at her. She asked him if Wrangler would have given it to them.

“I told him what was going on and asked him about the card. He said he didn’t do it and wouldn’t unless you said it was all right to do. More than likely what happened is that they used your name and social security number to get one with your credit.” She asked if that was legal. “No. Not at all. But I know a lot of people that will do that. Use their kid’s names and socials to get their cable turned on after failing to keep it on with high bills and it being turned off. Also, I know that you have good credit, so that more than likely gave them a high credit limit, too.”

“Great. Just what I need. A terrible credit score.” Weston pointed out that it wouldn’t hurt her as they would take care of it for her. “What about the other people they’ve done this to? I’m sure that they have, aren’t you?”

“More than likely.” She asked him if he was buying something, changing the subject from her embarrassing parents. “I’m here to get sugar for the jams that the faeries are making today.”

“I’m helping you. And so you know, the faeries told us that you might be in trouble here, and I was the closest one to come to you. Wrangler is on his way, too.” She said that she had it under control. “I know that. So will Wrangler. But it’s fun to be the knight in shining armor for our newest sister.”

“You’re just trying to get brownie points, and I don’t understand why.” He kissed her on the cheek, and she looked up at him. “What was that for? You guys seemed to have some kind of kissing disease. You all keep going around kissing near strangers.”

“It’s a burden that I’m happy to have.” When she saw her parents again, they were standing outside the hotel that she knew they were staying in. “The good news is we can get them for using a credit card that isn’t in their name. It doesn’t matter if you’re their daughter. You simply need to press changes and that will be the end of them for a little while. They’ll spend some time in jail, and I doubt very much they can get their bail money. Because…you won’t pay it, will you?”

“No. Goodness, no.” She looked around for her brother and found him with a cart full of chips. After explaining the reason to Weston, then Wrangler, the two of them got a big kick out of it. And while Weston thought that the sweet, salty taste might be good, Wrangler said it wasn’t anything that he wanted to try. And put a couple of more bags of pretzels in the cart as well.

Weston checked them out. She nearly forgot what they had come here for. Picking the five pounds of sugar in bulk, they put all the groceries in his truck. When he took Wills home with him, she felt a huge burden being lifted from her shoulders.

The police came to find her, and she was suddenly standing in front of her parents. And for the first time in longer than she could remember, she wasn’t terrified of them. Her dad, William, she decided she was going to call him from now on, asked her what she was doing there.

“I live here.” He said that she wasn’t going to be living here all that long to not get comfy. “Oh, but I’m very comfy. I have a nice home, money, and a husband who dotes on me and my little brother. It’s nice to have someone to love you, I believe. But you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you? You’ve never loved anyone but yourself for a long time.”

“I love your mother. And we’d be sitting pretty if you were to just up and do what we want you to do. I will tell you this, missy, you’re not going to press charges either. I will have you beaten if you think that’s going to be something that we’re going to be fine with.” She said that she was actually going to press charges on not just them having one of her credit cards but also the fraudulent way thatthey’d acquired it.” He claimed that it wasn’t in any way fraudulent if he was her father. “It is. And since I know that you’ve done it to Wills as well, I’m going to enjoy pressing charges on both of you.”

“Whatever you think right now is going to come back and bite you in the ass, little girl. I’m your father, and this is your mother and I demand that you back off before I have to take you out to the woodshed like I should have done a long time ago.” She reminded him that he didn’t have anything to hold over her, but she had plenty to hold over him. “Like what? This credit card thing? Not going to stick. I’ll just tell them that you gave me permission and now that—did you say that you had a husband? Christ, oh mighty Amber, how the hell am I supposed to sell you off if I have to give him a part of the money that I’ll be making.”

“You won’t be selling her off, is how that is going to work. And if you come near her again, I’m going to tear your throat out.” She could have kissed Wrangler when he spoke up. He didn’t stand in front of her either but beside her. She thought that with him by her side, she could conquer anything, including her parents. “You’re not going to be able to do anything with Wills either. He’s my son now, and there is jack shit you can do about it.”

“He’s my son, you moron. Where do you get off saying shit like that to me? I know he’s my kid. And stop calling him Wills. His name is Junior. I hate that name. And this one here is my kid, too. And since I know for a fact that she didn’t ask me for permission to marry, then it’s voided.”

She didn’t know what to think when Wrangler threw back his head and laughed. Taking her hand into his, he kissed the back of it and showed them the ring that she had on. William’s eyes got as big as quarters, and she could just imagine the dollar signs that were going off in his head.

“You give me that there babble, and I’ll not have to bother you no more at least for the time being. You’ll not be pressing charges either on account of me being your father. I hate to have to keep repeating myself, but I am, you know.” She told him to fuck off. “Why, you little piece of shit. That’s the least you can do with all the trouble that you’ve caused me. Not to mention how you’ve made your poor dear mother suffer.”

Patsy started sobbing like she’d been poked with something sharp. But there were no tears and she had to really make herself heard over the train that was going through town. Amber rolled her eyes, telling her to shut up. That went over as well as she had expected.

“You’ve hurt me to the core. I hope you know that. I think you should be ashamed of yourself for the way that you’ve—”

“You have got to be kidding. What do you mean, how we’ve treated you? That is what you were going to say, isn’t it? How we’ve done you wrong?” She laughed. “You’ve never been there for us unless it’s to have your hand out wanting something from us. You’ve taken the very food from our mouths when we did live at home. Not to mention how you’ve beaten both of us until we were nearly dead. Then left us there to be picked over by the rats that we were forced to live with because of the two of you thinking that because you sired us, that you had every right to treat us in any way that you wished. I hope that Wrangler and I have a million children. And they will never know the things about you that you’ve done to us. Never will they go to bed hungry because you decided that we weren’t worthy of sitting at the same table as you were. And I will tell them every day, several times a day, how much I love them. Have you ever once done that for Wills and I? No, I’m thinking you haven’t. I’m finished with the two of you. As of right this moment, you’re dead to me and Wills.”

She turned and left them standing there with the police. She could hear William yelling at her to come back here that she’d taken his ring. But she continued walking until she was at the house that she shared with Wrangler. When she turned to see where he was, she fell into his arms when he told her that he had her.

Chapter 4

Wrangler held onto Amber for a few minutes, then scooped her up in his arms and sat down with her on the steps that led to their home. While holding her, he kept an eye out for anyone coming upon them, especially her parents. There wasn’t any way that they were going to hurt her again while he was there to protect her.

“We’ve arrested them both and put them in separate cells.”He let out a long breath when Larry, the local cop and wolf friend of his, spoke.“They’re a nasty sort of people, aren’t they? Wanted us to let them in the same cell because they had to have sex nightly or they couldn’t sleep. Sort of made me sick to my stomach when they told me that. Like anyone wants to see their nasty old asses having sex on a cot no bigger than a twin bed.”They both laughed, though it wasn’t all that funny.

“I also noticed that they don’t bathe all that often either. Just to stand next to them made my cat sort of ill.”They talked about the clothing that the two of them had on as well and wondered if they owned anything other than jogging pants and tee shirts.“I wear them around the house and maybe in the yard when I’m working but I don’t make it a habit of wearing them when I’m out and about. I mean, not like they had on. There were ten times more holes in their pants than required. And don’t get me started on their shirts. I doubt very much either one of them has heard of the bands that are on their shirts either.”

“My momma would have jerked me bawled if I did that.”They both laughed.“The judge won’t be coming through until next week. I can hold them that long because of the way things work around here. Also, I thought that I’d make sure you knew we’ve taken the card from them. They told you about them applying for one in Amber’s name, didn’t they? Well, not that they could do much with it in jail, but they don’t have it.”

Wrangler realized that Amber was quiet and looked into her lovely face. She’d fallen asleep, and he thought that she needed that more than anything else right now. He asked Larry if he knew if they were wanted anywhere else.

“It’s funny you should ask that. I have a certified letter here from the island that Archie was at with Carrie, and they’ll ask to have them brought to them after we have a trial for them. I was told that the two of them had been charging up money all over the city with their daughter’s credit card. I guess it’s over ten grand, too. Also, the airport where they left from is suing them as well for clogging up the bathrooms on a regular basis with their nastiness. It didn’t say that, but I understand it better now.”He asked his good friend if they had said anymore about selling off their kids.“They sure have. I’m surprised that someone hasn’t asked them about that before now. I mean, they’re out there in the open talking about selling off Wills and prostituting poor Amber for the cash. They don’t much care that the two of you are married either. However, the mister thinks that you’ll be all right with him pimping her out because nobody wants to sleep with the same woman every night. Christ, I could just puke at the things that they’ve said to me about Wills and Amber.”

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